SYNOPSIS OF LECTURE II The extent of this lecture renders any attempt to summarize it impracticable, but the following syllabus indicates the order in which the social evils of the non-Christian world have been treated. I.—THE INDIVIDUAL GROUP. (Evils affecting primarily the individual, and secondarily society through the individual.) (l) Intemperance; (2) The Opium Habit; (3) The Gambling Habit; (4) Immoral Vices; (5) Self-torture; (6) Suicide ; (7) Idleness and Improvidence; (8) Excessive Pride and Self-exaltation; (9) Moral Delinquencies. II.—THE FAMILY GROUP. (Evils affecting primarily the family, and secondarily society through the family.) (1) The Degradation of Woman; (2) Polygamy and Concubinage; (3) Adultery and Divorce; (4) Child Marriage and Widowhood; (5) Defective Family Training; (6) Infanticide. III.—THE TRIBAL GROUP. (Evils which pertain to intertribal relationships, and find their origin in the cruel passions of savage life.) (i) The Traffic in Human Flesh; (2) Slavery; (3) Cannibalism; (4) Human Sacrifices; (5) Cruel Ordeals; (6) Cruel Punishments and Torture; (7) Brutality in War; (8) Blood Feuds;
(9) Lawlessness. IV.—THE SOCIAL GROUP. (Evils which are incidental to the social relationships of uncivilized communities, and are due to lack of intelligence or the force of depraved habit.) (1) Ignorance; (2) Quackery; (3) Witchcraft; (4) Neglect of the Poor and Sick; (5) Uncivilized and Cruel Customs; (6) Insanitary Conditions; (7) Lack of Public Spirit; (8) Mutual Suspicion; (9) Poverty; (10) The Tyranny of Custom; (11) Caste. V.—THE NATIONAL GROUP. (Evils which afflict society through the misuse of the governing power.) (1) Civil Tyranny; (2) Oppressive Taxation; (3) The Subversion of Legal Rights; (4) Corruption and Bribery; (5) Massacre and Pillage. VI.—THE COMMERCIAL GROUP. (Evils incidental to low commercial standards or defective industrial methods.) (1) Lack of Business Confidence; (2) Commercial Deceit and Fraud; (3) Financial Irregularities; (4) Primitive Industrial Appliances. VII.—THE RELIGIOUS GROUP. (Evils which deprive society of the moral benefits of a pure religious faith and practice.) (1) Degrading Conceptions of the Nature and Requirements of Religion; (2) Idolatry; (3) Superstition; (4) Religious Tyranny and Persecution; (5) Scandalous Lives of Religious Leaders. LECTURE II
THE SOCIAL EVILS OF THE NON-CHRISTIAN WORLD
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"In estimating the adaptations of Christianity to be a world-wide faith in the ages to come, one fact should have decisive weight—that it is the only system of faith of which the world has made trial which combines dogmatic religious beliefs with corresponding principles of morality. It builds ethics on religion. The ancient religions, excepting that of the Hebrews, which was Christianity in embryo, had no systems of ethics. They did not profess to have any. Ante-Christian ethics, so far as they existed outside of Hebrew literature, were independent of religion. Neither had any radical relation to the other. A Greek or Roman devotee might be guilty of all the crimes and vices known to the criminal code of ancient jurisprudence, and it made no difference to his character as a religionist. He might be the most execrable of mankind in the courts of law, yet he could cross the street into a temple of religion and there be a saint. In the temple of Bacchus or of Venus his very vices were virtues. The identity of morals and religion is a Christian discovery." AUSTIN PHELPS, D.D., LL.D. "Undoubtedly Indian literature contains a large amount of moral teaching, some of which is of a very high order; but it is a remarkable circumstance, and one which European Christians find it difficult to believe or even to comprehend, that this moral teaching is totally unconnected with religious worship. . . . Morality is supposed to consist merely in the discharge of the duties of our caste and station towards our fellow-men. . . . Religion, on the other hand, is supposed to rise far above such petty considerations as the social duties, and to consist solely in the worship of the gods by means of the appointed praises, prayers, and observances, in the hope of obtaining thereby union with the Supreme Spirit and final emancipation. The duties of life are never inculcated in any Hindu temple. The discharge of those duties is never represented as enjoined by the gods, nor are any prayers ever offered in any temple for help to enable the worshippers to discharge those duties aright. It would be hard indeed even to conceive the possibility of prayers for purity ever being offered in a Hindu temple to a divinity surrounded by a bevy of dancing-girls. . . . There is no such teaching of morality as this by any Brahman or priest in any temple in all India. Hence we often see religion going in one direction and morality in another. We meet with a moral Hindu who has broken altogether away from religion, and, what is still more common, yet still more extraordinary, we meet with a devout Hindu who lives a flagrantly immoral life. In the latter case no person sees any inconsistency between the immorality and the devout-ness. Christianity, on the other hand, unites morality to religion by an indissoluble bond. It teaches that the right discharge of our duties to our fellowmen is an essential portion of the duty we owe to God, and that the very purpose for which Christ came into the world was ' that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.'" BISHOP CALDWELL, D.D., LL.D.
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LECTURE II
THE SOCIAL EVILS OF THE NON-CHRISTIAN WORLD THE subject before us in this lecture is so vast and complicated that one may well approach it with diffidence and even with dismay. Its range is so immense, and its details involve such a mass of facts, that first-hand treatment of the theme is entirely beyond the grasp of even the most learned student or the most observant traveller. We might well shrink from the responsibility involved were it not for the abundant testimony at our command in current literature, and especially as the result of an extensive private correspondence entered upon with the special purpose of securing reliable data from those whose observation and personal experience qualify them to speak with authority. The proper spirit of such an inquiry.It is a theme which should be approached with all humility and sobriety, and treated not with a view to impressionism or with any attempt to exploit the evils of non-Christian society. The aim should be rather to present a faithful and at the same time unflinching portraiture of the true state of human society in the less favored nations of the earth. We shall not aim at a highly wrought picture, but rather at a judicial presentation. Whatever of realism may characterize it will be fully justified by the facts of the case, and to those who can read between the lines there will be no difficulty in tracing the presence of a darker coloring and a more ghastly background to the picture than the proprieties of the printed page will allow. One thing we shall seek especially to guard against, and that is any attempt either
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to magnify the evils of the non-Christian world or to minimize those of Christendom. Our object will not be to make out a case by special pleading, or even to institute a comparison, but rather to unfold realities. Excellencies not to be ignored or minimized.Our purpose requires that we note what is objectionable and discreditable ; yet, on the other hand, we wish neither to hide nor ignore the existence of many virtues, both individual and social, which lend a peculiar interest and charm to the personal and national character of Eastern peoples, especially the more advanced among them. There is much that is beautiful and dignified in their social life. The great nations of the Orient, when once thoroughly purified and possessed by the spiritual culture of Christianity, will be as refined, as gracious, as gentle, as noble, and as true as any other people which the world contains. They have inherited and preserved, in many instances with singular fidelity, the best products and many of the most commendable customs of the ancient civilizations, and to refuse to recognize this would indicate a complacency on our part, at once invidious, ungenerous, and unjustifiable. The Chinese, for example, could teach a considerable portion of the Occidental world profitable lessons in filial piety, respect for law, reverence for superiors, economy, industry, patience, perseverance, contentment, cheerfulness, kindliness, politeness, skill in the use of opportunities, and energy in the conquering of an adverse environment. The merchants of China, in contradistinction to the officials and small traders, are held in high esteem as men of probity and business honor. The capabilities of the Chinese people, under favorable auspices, will surely secure to them an unexpectedly high and honorable place in the world's future. There is a staying power in their natural qualities and a possibility of development under helpful conditions which deserve more recognition than the world seems ready at present to accord. With proper discrimination as to specifications, and some necessary modification and readjustment of the precise emphasis of the characterization, similar statements might be made concerning the Japanese, Hindus, and other Asiatic peoples. We must bear in mind also that these nations have been obliged to struggle with crushing disabilities, and are weighted with ponderous burdens, which have handicapped them for ages in the race of progress. Considerations such as these, and others which will occur to the student, but to which we have not time here to refer, will suggest that a spirit of charitable and calm discrimination should mark the treatment of the theme of our present lecture.
It is not to be denied, moreover, that some of the gravest counts in
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The existence of serious evils in Christendom not to be denied.the indictment would hold against society, considered in its totality, in more civilized lands, even those most fully under the influence of Christianity. In fact, a catalogue of social evils pertaining to Occidental nations might be made, which would prove a formidable rival to its less civilized contemporary, although in many vital respects it would be different.1 If we consider the immense advantages of the environment of Christendom, it becomes a pertinent and searching question whether Occidental races under similar historic conditions, without the inspiration of Christian ideals, would have done better than their less fortunate brethren. It must be acknowledged also that there is an opportunity for a sombre and dismal retort on the part of the less civilized races, based upon the treatment they have experienced at the hands of professedly Christian nations, or upon the personal dealings and conduct of the unworthy representatives of Christendom with whom they have come in contact.2 There is little comfort to the sufferers in the statement that the truer Christian sentiment and the higher moral standards of Christendom condemn and repudiate these evils as abhorrent and disgraceful; yet that this is the truth is a fact which has in it a deep consolatory significance to a believer in the religion of Christ, and gives an added impulse to the missionary enterprise as a debt of Christianity to offset treatment on the part of so-called Christian nations which was far from commendable.
Christian civilization must be tested by it's active antagonism to moral evils.There is little that gives reason for any tone of exultation in the consideration of this whole matter, yet there is one test in which Christian civilization can serenely rest. The ground not of boasting, but of hopefulness and gratitude in Christendom, is that the forces of resistance to evil are alert and vigorous. The standards of life and conduct are permanently elevated. The demands of public opinion are enforced by regnant principles. The prevailing temper and tone
1 The iniquities of Christendom are not to be disguised or palliated. The forces of evil seem to cooperate with the passions and weaknesses of humanity to produce a record of wrong-doing which is both humbling and appalling. The shadow seems to rest most darkly where the signs of material civilization are most imposing (cf. Wilberforce, "The Trinity of Evil"). The story of the half-breeds, in all their variety, scattered through both continents, from the wilds of Canada to Patagonia, involving as it does such flagrant iniquity, is a most discreditable reminder of the failure of civilization to wholly restrain barbaric instinct and license. Cf. Adam, "The Canadian Northwest: Its History and its Troubles," p. 227; The Andover Review, July, 1889, pp. 15-36, article on "The Half-Breed Indians of North America." 2 Warneck, "Modern Missions and Culture," pp. 239-306.
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of society are in harmony with essential Christian ethics. The moral forces which represent law and order, peace and sobriety, justice and brotherhood, truth and honor, are in the ascendant, and working steadily towards a beneficent goal. The leaven of Christianity has permeated society, and is quickening it with a steadily expanding energy, and holds the balance of power in directing the educational machinery of civilization. In the non-Christian world almost the reverse is true. There is a totally different tone and temper in the public conscience. The trend is under the influence of other masters. The social status is marked by spiritual demoralization and ethical decadence. There is poverty of blood and paralysis of moral muscle. The heathen world now, as of old, is moribund. It is destitute in itself of recuperating power. It lacks the one vital force which can alone guarantee the moral hopefulness of social evolution. The Incarnation of the Son of God, and the practical stimulus of contact with that sublime fact and its spiritual corollaries, constitute the true secret of progress in the realm of higher social transformation. The subject now in hand hardly admits of analysis; yet we have thought it best to make an attempt to present the facts in orderly sequence, with a crude and confessedly artificial nexus. The effort must be regarded as simply tentative, and with a view to our present convenience. We have, therefore, divided the social evils to be noted into groups, with somewhat random specifications under each group. I.—THE INDIVIDUAL GROUP (Evils affecting primarily the individual, and secondarily society through the individual) 1. INTEMPERANCE.—A survey of the present state of the world Intemperance in many nations--a comparative survey.with special reference to the drink habit reveals the lamentable fact that it prevails more or less in almost all sections of the earth. A still further scrutiny exhibits the startling truth that regions where it has been least known are the very places where the emissaries of Satan, drawing their supplies from within the precincts of Christendom, are most eager to thrust this vile and demoralizing traffic. There are large sections of the world, including vast populations, where only the milder and less dangerous forms of semi-intoxicants were in common use until the cruel greed of those human harpies, the traders in intoxicants, introduced the foreign forms of stronger alcoholic poisons. We must ac-
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knowledge that the drink habit seems to be one of the deplorable phenomena of civilization, and that a comparative survey of the use of intoxicants reveals the fact that in no countries is it so prevalent as in those of the European and the North and South American Continents.1 If we turn our attention to the broader outlook of the world, we find that wherever European civilization has established itself or has a controlling influence, just there this scourge of intemperance, like a malign contagion, has appeared and is spreading, and that, although native races usually have intoxicants of their own manufacture, yet the evil effects have everywhere been immensely increased by the introduction of foreign alcoholic drinks. Turning our attention now exclusively to foreign mission fields, and including among them the countries where Roman Catholicism prevails, while exact comparative statistics are not to be found, yet the burden of evidence seems to indicate that none surpasses the South American Continent, Central America, and Mexico in the excessive use of intoxicants.2 Next perhaps would come India and Burma, where the British Government holds a gruesome monopoly of both the drink and opium traffics, and derives a revenue from both by auction sale of licenses and custom tax, which seems to blind its eyes to the moral evils of the sys- 1 Official statistics with reference to the United States indicate that, in spite of all efforts at temperance reform, the consumption of intoxicants, including malt liquors, from 1875 to 1892, rose from eight to seventeen gallons per head. (See "Temperance in all Nations," vol. i., p. 446.) It had, therefore, more than doubled in that period. In Great Britain the status is even more appalling. The estimate of The London Standard is that "2,500,000 go beyond the border line of sobriety every week in Great Britain." The estimate of "England's Glory and England's Shame" is 2,280,000. Upon the testimony of Sir Archibald Alison, when Sheriff of Glasgow, 30,000 went to bed intoxicated in that city every Saturday night. In London the number is placed at 70,000. According to the estimate of Dr. Norman Kerr, 150 die every day in Great Britain from the effects of strong drink, making a total of nearly 55,000 every year. By other careful statisticians the estimate is increased to 60,000. Similar statistics might be given for other European countries, notably Russia, Belgium, and Germany. All figures fail to represent the awful results of lunacy, disease, misery, and crime which accompany this loathsome revel in drink. Cf. Lecky, "Democracy and Liberty," vol. ii., pp. 135-168, for a comprehensive sketch of the progress of temperance legislation and reform. Cf. also "Temperance in all Nations," vol. i. 2 Cf. Reports of American Consuls upon various countries, published in "Temperance in all Nations," Report of the World's Temperance Congress held at Chicago, June, 1893. The consensus of testimony from resident missionaries in Mexico, Central and South America points to intemperance as a fearful and abounding social curse.
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tem, and to sear the official conscience as to any sense of responsibility for the rapid and fearful increase of the drinking habit. Next to India we must place some sections of Africa, where the same dismal story of foreign liquor introduction must be told. The West Coast, and to a less extent the East Coast, of the Continent are flooded with the white man's "fire-water." Millions of gallons enter every year, and the demoralizing custom of paying the wages of natives in liquor is becoming alarmingly prevalent.1 If we follow up the direct avenues of the Congo from the West Coast, and the inland waterways and caravan routes of the East Coast, we will find that the traffic is penetrating the recesses of the Continent.2 Commissioner Johnston estimates that at least thirty per cent, of those who die in Central Africa are the victims of alcohol.3 Pathetic instances of protest and appeal from native chiefs and even native communities are reported, which reveal the instinctive recogni- 1 The Niger Coast Protectorate, according to consular reports presented to Parliament in August, 1895, shows an increase in two years of 225 per cent, in import duties on spirituous liquors. The quantity received into the country during the year ending July, 1892, was 1,350,751 gallons; March, 1893, 1,371,517; March, 1894, 2,609,158. Holland, Germany, and Britain are the largest importers. (See consular reports quoted in The Missionary Record, Edinburgh, October, 1895.) In Lagos upon market-days the products of the country are bartered for foreign goods, and, according to the testimony of a resident English missionary, "nineteen shillings out of every twenty are exchanged for gin and rum" (Work and Workers, October, 1895, p. 414). In 1893 nearly 1,700,000 gallons of spirits entered Lagos. A powerful editorial on "Spirits in Africa" in The Times, London, March 4, 1895, called forth a confirmatory letter from Bishop Tugwell of Western Equatorial Africa, referring to the extent of the evil, which was published in The Times, August 17, 1895 (republished in Liberia, Bulletin No. 7, November, 1895). Cf. statement of Sir George Goldie, Governor of Royal Niger Company, reported in The Sentinel, June, 1895, p. 80. Cf. also The Mail (reprint of The Times), August 23, 1895, speech of Sir Charles Dilke on the African Liquor Traffic, and Ibid., August 28, 1895, p. 6, and August 30, 1895, p. I. See furthermore The Church Missionary Intelligencer, December, 1895, pp. 914, 915. The liquor traffic on the Gold Coast is stated by Sir Charles Dilke to have amounted to 9,000,000 gallons in the last twelve years. The condition in the Congo State and other European protectorates on the West Coast is substantially the same. For a statement of the situation in South and East Africa and in India up to 1884, consult Gustafson, "The Foundation of Death," pp. 351-356. For an elaborate and comprehensive survey of the status of the drink habit and the progress of the cause of temperance throughout the world, consult "Temperance in all Nations," Report of the World's Temperance Congress held at Chicago, June, 1893 (New York, The National Temperance Society and Publication House, No. 58 Reade Street). 2 Baptist Missionary Magazine, September, 1892, p. 392; Report of Baptist Missionary Union, 1894, p. 351; The Missionary Herald, June, 1893, p. 238; Regions Beyond, April, 1893, p. 221. 3 Central Africa, December, 1894, p. 182.
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tion on their part of the dangers of the habit,1 In Madagascar the native Government has taken strenuous action to prevent the extension of the trade in intoxicants, and has succeeded in greatly checking the advances of the evil, but how it will be now that French influence has obtained control is a matter of doubt. In Japan, Korea, and China, while intemperance is a social curse,—increasingly so in Japan,—yet it seems to be restrained to an extent which makes it far less of a national evil and a social danger than in the lands which we have passed in review. Of the Ainu of Northern Japan it is said, however, that they are "a nation of drunkards," and in the larger cities of Japan there is an increasing tendency to intoxication. In Korea also there are ominous signs of danger. In China, while drinking is sadly prevalent in the large cities, yet the nation as a whole sets an example of sobriety. The country is not as yet afflicted to any extent with the public saloon, and drinking is restricted to the home or to festive gatherings, and cannot be considered as by any means so demoralizing as the opium habit. Its extension is at present confined almost exclusively to the foreign ports.2 In Mohammedan lands the use of intoxicants is greatly on the increase. In the Turkish Empire, in Persia, and in North Africa, Mohammedans as well as the nominal Christian population seem to be yielding to the besetting temptation. The Koran, to be sure, prohibits wine, but the Moslem conscience by a species of exegetical legerdemain has interpreted the injunction as having no application to the concoctions of the modern still. In the Pacific Islands we have, with only one or two remarkable exceptions, the universal story of the introduction of foreign liquors and the prompt surrender of the native to the resistless enticement. The result of our survey is that intemperance, largely through foreign 1 Bishop Tugwell recently presented to the "United Committee on the Native Races and the Liquor Traffic "three remarkable documents bearing the names of over twelve thousand inhabitants of his diocese on the West Coast, for the most part natives, Christian, Mohammedan, and heathen. The documents were in support of the following resolution, passed at meetings held in August and September, 1895, in Abeokuta and Lagos: "That this meeting, recognizing that the traffic in spirits—i.e., gin, rum, and other poisonous liquor—introduced into Western Equatorial Africa, as elsewhere in Africa, is working immense harm physically, morally, and spiritually amongst every section of its communities, and further recognizing that the time has come when a decisive blow should be dealt against the traffic, pledges itself to support every effort that may be made in Africa or Europe to suppress it." 2 "Intemperance is pronounced a vice by Chinese public opinion. Habitual drunkards are few, and the habit has not the hold it has in Western lands, owing, possibly, to the weak wine and the favorite habit of tea-drinking. In the ports, where foreigners introduce and use strong drink, the habits of the people are undergoing change, and intemperance is increasing."—Rev. Joseph S.Adams (A. B. M. U.), Hankow, Province of Hupeh, China.
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introduction, is rapidly on the increase throughout the earth, and that Christianity owes it to herself and to the honor of Christendom to support and encourage every effort of missions and every agency of reform for saving the world from its ravages. 2. THE OPIUM HABIT.—The area of the prevalence of the opium habit may The extent of the opium traffic.be said to be limited to the eastern half of the continent of Asia, including the islands to the southeast of China, the Empire of Japan being a notable exception. The storm-centre of the vice is China, and here again we meet with the same amazing phenomenon of a civilized nation seriously compromised by complicity in the extension of a demoralizing traffic. The part which the British Government has taken in the introduction of opium into China is an indelible chapter in the history of the nineteenth century, and the persistent encouragement to its production in India up to the present time, and the advantage which is taken of its exportation to China by the British Government to swell the Indian revenue, is an aspect of English foreign policy which is exciting intense indignation and loathing on the part of rapidly increasing multitudes of the British public. While the habit has been known in the East for centuries to a very limited extent, yet its modern development and the fearful ravages of its excessive use may be said to be coincident with its production in India under the British rule and its recent cultivation in China as a native product, under the stimulus of the demand which has arisen within a half-century.1 The present production in India in round numbers is 54,700 1 Maughan, "Our Opium Trade in India and China" (London, Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, Finsbury House, Blomfield Street). "Under the auspices and fostering care of the East India Company the trade grew year by year so as to reach in 1800 as much as 4570 chests, and in 1854 not less than 78,354 chests, each chest containing 133 1/8 pounds avoirdupois. The average import of foreign opium into China for the past ten years (1880-90) is 72,012 chests. The Persian and Turkish trade in opium is comparatively insignificant, the average being only 4159 chests. Thus the average import from India alone is 67,418 chests. But this is not all. Prior to the introduction of the drug by foreigners it was not used by the Chinese as an article of luxury. They were not ignorant of its existence and medicinal properties, but there is not a particle of evidence to show that it was smoked or abused in any other way in those days. Now, however, the native growth exceeds the foreign at least six times. Whilst the demand for opium hardly existed in China one hundred and fifty years ago, the Chinese at present consume every year enough to fill from 400,000 to 500,000 chests."—Griffith John, D.D. (L. M. S.), Hankow, China.
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cwts. annually, and of this amount the annual exportation, almost exclusively to China, reaches 49,512 cwts., or 90.5 per cent.1 The revenue of the British Government in India from opium has decreased of late.2 Ten years ago it was fully twice what it is to-day. Its victims in China, however, are constantly increasing in number, and are estimated at present to be over 20,000,000, and by some as high as 40,000,000,3 while the expense to China is about £25,000,000 annually.4 The real points at issue in the conflict are the extent of the evil resulting from the use of opium, and the responsibility of the British Government in the matter. The British administration in India, for reasons of expediency and revenue, is inclined to defend itself by minimizing both these considerations. It is on the defensive, and contends vigorously and recklessly that the evils are insignificant, and therefore, as a matter of course, that no responsibility exists. On the other hand, a large and influential section of the British people contend with irrepressible earnestness and increasing vehemence that the opium traffic as conducted by the British Government in India is a national scandal and an indefensible crime, involving responsibility on the part of Great Britain, and discrediting to a painful degree the fair honor of a Christian nation. The Government has been hitherto unimpressible, and has maintained in general a policy of immobility or pleaded the non possumus argument. The agitation has been regarded in official circles with incredulous unconcern, and, while some measure of formal deference has been shown, the practical outcome has been of trifling value. Recent developments, however, indicate a marked advance along the lines of an effective and victorious crusade. 1 "Report of Royal Commission," vol. ii., p. 345. 2 The Budget estimate of gross revenue from opium for 1894-95 was, in tens of rupees, Rx 6,393,600, equal to 63,936,000 rupees ("Statesman's Year-Book," 1895, p. 130); and from this must be subtracted 22,553,000 rupees on the score of expenditure leaving a net revenue for that year of 41,383,000 rupees. To this must be added the net revenue from excise (sale of licenses, etc.), which for the average of five years, ending 1894, was 9,851,290, making the total approximate income of the Government from opium, in 1894-95, 51,234,290 rupees. The value of the rupee for that year was officially estimated at Is. 2d., so that if reduced to sterling currency the income is equivalent to £2,988,673. If we estimate the pound sterling at $5, this will give us $14,943,365, or in round numbers $15,000,000, as the present total annual revenue of the Indian Government from opium. Cf. The Friend of China, August, 1894, p. 6, and Wilson's "Minute of Dissent," Supplement to The Friend of China, May, 1895, p. 40. 3 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 335. 4 "Report of Shanghai Conference," 1890, p. 337.
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The subject has been before Parliament at various times, and in 1891 a resolution was passed which declared that the methods of the British The Royal Commission on Opium and its report.Government in connection with the opium revenue were "morally indefensible." On September 2, 1893, a Royal Commission was appointed by Par-
liament to investigate the question of opium in India, the report of which was presented early in 1895. It should be noted that the Commission did not undertake to investigate the question of its exportation to China and the results of its use there, but confined its attention to opium as used in India. This restriction limits greatly the usefulness of such an investigation, and gives a misleading impression to its conclusions. The report of this Commission is altogether in the interests of the present status, but its report is one thing and the mass of evidence which it has collected is quite a different matter. A member of the Commission, Mr. H. J. Wilson, presented a Minority Report dissenting from the judgment of the majority. Such searching analyses of the evidence as are presented in his "Minute of Dissent," and also in a published "Review of the Evidence" by Mr. Joshua Rowntree, reveal a mine of information on the subject of opium which can be worked to the manifest advantage of the anti-opium cause. The Royal Commission will not by any means have things its own way. Its voluminous documents, filling several large Government Blue Books, its accessory literature, in the shape of petitions, memorials, public addresses, and press discussions, and the awakening of general interest in the question will all serve to mark an era in the history of the campaign against opium, from which a large volume of new and striking data will emerge, and from which the agitation will derive new impulse and vigor and reap a decided advantage. The war is by no means on the wane. The recent action of the British Government in British restrictions in Burmarestricting the opium traffic in Burma may be regarded as a victory on the part of the opponents of the opium policy, although the reasons assigned by the British Government for that action revealed a studied indifference to the agitation, and in fact credited Buddhism with the moral influence against opium; yet the fact that the action was taken is highly significant, and stands with all the force of a moral paradox as a self-inflicted indictment of the Government policy for India and China. No one can read the official notification which announces that "the use of opium is condemned by the Buddhist religion, and the Government, believing the condemnation to be right, intends that the use of opium by persons of the Burmese race shall forever cease," without finding
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himself face to face with the puzzling enigma of how the condemnation is right when pronounced by Buddhism, and of indifferent value when pronounced by Christianity. He will find it difficult also to restrain a lively and irrepressible inquiry as to why, if the Government, "believing the condemnation to be right," feels under obligation to prohibit forever the Burmese race from using it, it should not also carry out the same prohibition in the case of the Indian races, and, so far as its participation is concerned, in the case of the Chinese race. The truth seems to be that the report of the recent Royal Commission was rendered in the interest of financial and political expediency rather than with any profound consideration of the moral responsibility involved. The area of the opium habit, and the evils of its use.As to the real extent of the evil, geographically, physically, morally, and socially, the evidence seems conclusive to one who receives it in an unprejudiced spirit and studies its significance. A geographical survey of the area of the opium habit presents at the outset the striking fact that Japan is free. The wisdom of her statesmen has guaranteed her by treaty against the introduction of the drug, while the laws against its manufacture and use are of exemplary severity and are strictly enforced. It had been carried into Korea by the Chinese, and was rapidly gaining headway, but there is reason to hope that if Japanese influence and supervision rather than Russian are to prevail in Korea, the evil will be checked. Throughout the length and breadth of China, even in her far western provinces of Shensi, Szechuan, and Yunnan, it prevails to an extent which may be regarded as a frightful and demoralizing social evil. The testimony as to its prevalence in Yunnan and the remoter provinces reports as high as eighty per cent. of the men and fifty per cent. of the women addicted to the pernicious habit.1 In Formosa opium and whiskey have been counted as two of the main evils to be contended with. The recent prohibition of the opium trade by the Japanese has, however, given the hope of a change for the better. In the Eastern Archipelago there is the same story of its desolating effects. In Siam and Laos it ranks as a baneful custom. In the Straits Settlements it has securely established itself. In Burma it was rapidly doing its deadly work until the revolt of the Burmese effected a remarkable change of policy on the part of the British Government. In India, owing to the Government custom of licensing for a consideration its use, and practically facilitating its consumption, it is an evil which is growing with alarming rapidity. Testimonies from 1 China's Millions, December, 1894, p. 168.
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all parts of India leave no doubt upon this point. Opium dens are becoming a feature of dissipation in the cities of India, and are not unknown even in the larger villages. The Island of Ceylon is plentifully supplied with them, especially its principal city of Colombo. One of the most distressing aspects of its use in India is the habit of giving it to children, even during infancy, to stupefy them into quietness. Its effect upon their physical and mental constitution induces a state of paralysis and collapse which frequently results in lifelong injury.1 In Persia the drug is both cultivated and used in considerable quantities. In Teheran, Meshed, and other cities opium dens are to be found.2 Beyond the boundaries mentioned, while there is a scattering and dangerous tendency to the prevalence of the vice, yet we cannot regard it as in the same sense a dominant social evil, as it certainly must be considered within the above-indicated geographical limits. As to its physical and moral effects a large volume might be written.3 We cannot enter into the subject at any length, and yet it should not be dismissed without at least a decisive verdict. To a candid student of the testimony of those whose assertions can be relied upon and who speak from personal observation, there can be but one conclusion, and that is that it is one of the most threatening and militant evils of China, and, indeed, of all sections of the earth where it is gaining headway.4 1 Friend of China, December, 1894, p. 111; The Missionary Herald, August, 1894, p. 324. 2 "The opium poppy is grown in many parts of Persia. The surplus opium is exported to China, India, and England. The commercial value of the opium exported from Persia per annum probably approaches $2,500,000. The quantity of opium consumed in Persia is comparatively large, and is no doubt on the increase. I think it is a low estimate to say that one third of the adult population, including both sexes, use it immoderately, and a very large proportion of the remainder use it to some extent. During a recent visit to the city of Meshed I went into two opium dens, and the people I found were the vilest of the vile. More recently, one night, I visited twelve of these dens in the city of Teheran. I found therein in all about one hundred and fifty people. I do not suppose that it is known how many of these public opium dens there are in Teheran, but I should not be surprised if there are one hundred of them, besides the ordinary tea-houses where the brittle opium is smoked, and private houses where a few friends meet regularly to indulge. Probably a million and a quarter of people in Persia are addicted to the opium habit. They consume at least 3,881,410 pounds in a year, which at present prices is worth $9,125,274."—Rev. Lewis F. Esselstyn (P. B. F. M. N.), Teheran, Persia. 3 Dudgeon, "The Evils of the Use of Opium." Cf. also "Report of Shanghai Conference," 1890, pp. 314-354. 4 For a recent sketch of the present status of the anti-opium movement see Missionary Review of the World, April, 1896, p. 265.
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3. THE GAMBLING HABIT.—Although gambling is to be found in Japan, and apparently in some places to excess, despite a laudable The prevalence of gambling in China and throughout the world.effort on the part of the Government to suppress it, yet the contrast with China in this particular is greatly to the credit of the Japanese. In Korea the passion is widespread, and is apparently unrestrained. China, however, seems to lead the van of the gambling fraternity throughout the world. The indulgence of the Chinese is immemorial and inveterate; in fact, it is justly regarded as the most prominent vice in China, its only rival being the opium habit.1 To be sure, it is forbidden by the Government, but the prohibition seems to be a dead letter, either through bribery or through the utter inefficiency of the authorities, and it can hardly be said that there is the slightest official restraint upon the universal passion, which seems to hold sway among all classes, from the mandarins and literati down to the homeless and poverty-stricken beggars, who are often in their way the most hopeless slaves to the habit. In Siam the vice seems to carry the nation by storm, but vigorous attempts at suppression have been made by the authorities, and it is now forbidden, except on holidays, when it is allowed unchecked. It cannot be said, however, that the efforts of the Government are ingenuous, as it draws a large revenue from this source by licensing lotteries and gambling-houses. These licenses are farmed out to the highest bidder, and give him a monopoly, with the power of prosecuting all competitors. It is next to impossible for a government to suppress a vice with one hand and encourage it for its own private gains with the other. We are not surprised to read, therefore, that "gambling houses and their natural concomitants and next-door neighbors, the pawnshops, are numerous in Bangkok," and that "this deadly national trade can but increase so long as a native government prefers to use it as a source of profit rather than to check it as a national curse."2 In Burma it is "the bane of the country," and in India, although checked by the British Government, it is still a social vice of large magnitude. It is a special feature of some religious festivals, when the British policy of non-interference in matters of religion leads the Government to allow it, on the ground that it is a concomitant of a religious celebration. In Persia and the Turkish Empire it is apparently increasingly prevalent. It hovers around the coast-line of Africa, 1 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., p, 825; Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 82, 383. 2 Norman, "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," p. 421.
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including Madagascar, but is little known in the interior. The whole Continent of South America seems to be under the demoralization of this social curse. In Central America and Mexico it is found to excess in all its forms, and often under official patronage. The South American Government lotteries are sources of vast revenues, portions of which are applied to the support of philanthropic institutions, and the remainder is appropriated by the State. Prizes as high as six hundred thousand dollars are given, and some as high as a million are already in contemplation.1 4. IMMORAL VICES.—The immemorial story of human frailty and lust, with their cruel adjuncts of brutality and crime and the wretched aftermath of shame and misery, is still in our day the most indelible moral taint of society which the world's history presents. There is no temptation more universal and more formidable than the solicitations of immorality. It is a theme which leads us by a short cut into the depths of human depravity, and we soon find that there are sins which cannot be named and revolting aspects of vice which can only be referred to with cautious reserve. It is in this connection that Christian morality wages its most stubborn conflicts and vindicates most engagingly its saintly beauty and its heavenly charm. It is the same old story in all ages, and the state of the world to-day, except as Christian purity has hallowed the relation of the sexes, is as abominable and nameless as ever. Immorality in Japan, Korea, and China.The old Roman status in its essential abandon is faithfully reproduced in the licensed and wholly undisguised Yoshiwara of Tokyo, which is quite as much a matter-of-fact feature of the city, in spite of its horrid commerce in girls, as its hotels and temples. The same plan of government provision for "regulated" vice prevails in all Japanese cities, and seems to be regarded with quite as much complacency as the public parks and the innocent-looking tea-houses.2 The inmates are virtually the galley-slaves of lust, having often been sold by fathers or brothers to the cruel servitude; yet, strange to say, they do not necessarily lose social caste, so that the transfer to the relation of legal marriage with the assumption of an honorable position in the home is entirely free from the shock which such an incident would 1 The Gospel in all Lands, July, 1894, p. 313. 2 Norman, "The Real Japan," p. 269. Cf. also "How the Social Evil is Regulated in Japan," a pamphlet printed in Tokyo for private circulation only.
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involve in Western or even in other Eastern lands. A Japanese may find there either a wife or a concubine, as he prefers, with hardly more comment upon the act in the one case than in the other. The fact that this is only rarely done may be conceded, but the possibility of its being accomplished with the easy and complacent assent of social sentiment is a significant sign of the lax views that prevail. Many Mikados, even in recent times, have been born of concubines.1 It is true that Japanese law prohibits bigamy, and that marital fidelity is exacted so far as the conduct of the wife is concerned, but there is no such demand upon the husband, and still less upon men who are not married.2 A dual code is as clearly recognized as the distinction of sex itself. The man is under no bonds which society or even his own wife can insist upon. He is free to legally register concubines as inmates of his home, and his indulgence, however open, meets no challenge or rebuke, not even from Japanese law, which does not recognize this kind of infidelity as even a partial plea for divorce.3 A candid survey of the social history of Japan would indicate immorality as her national vice. Relics of phallic worship are still to be found,4 and its spirit as well as its openly displayed symbols form even yet a feature of festival or holiday hilarity in certain sections of Japan. Hardly an expression of profanity is in use, but obscene references are common. Indecent pictures are tolerated with strange indifference in some sections in the interior of the country, even in public places where they catch the gaze of multitudes. Art and literature are made the medium of gross suggestiveness, and in too many cases are defiled with shameless indelicacy. Some strange and startling unconventionalities in connection with bathing customs and scantiness of attire seem to characterize the every-day life of the people. We should not, however, judge too hastily and severely customs like these as necessarily an indication of special moral depravity, since so much depends upon the spirit of the participants and the atmosphere of local sentiment. It cannot be disguised, however, that the "social evil" and all its concomitants are the open shame of Japan more than of any other people outside the license of tropical barbarism. An extract from Neesima's diary in 1864 gives an insight into the shocking condition of the coast cities and towns.5 There has been no change for the better, except as Christian effort has succeeded in grap 1 Chamberlain, "Things Japanese," p. 292. 2 Ibid., p. 285. 3 Griffis, "The Religions of Japan," pp. 124, 149, 320. 4 Edmund Buckley, "Phallicism in Japan" (Chicago, The University Press). 5 Davis, "Life of Neesima," p. 22.
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pling with the evil. "The finest houses in Japan belong to the woman in scarlet. . . . The licensed government brothel, covering acres of land, is the most beautiful part of the capital. Oriental splendor—a myth in the streets—becomes reality when the portals of the Yoshiwara are crossed."1 In Korea a severe code of reserve surrounds woman; yet concubinage, amounting, in fact, to practical polygamy, is legal and common, while harlotry flaunts itself with exceptional boldness.2 Vices of the deepest dye, "suggestive of the society of Gomorrah," are known to be practised even in the highest social circles.3 Dancing-girls of immoral character are employed and paid by the Government, and are subject to the call of the magistrate at any time. In China female chastity is severely guarded, and there is no licensed immorality; yet a state of things which is frankly acknowledged in Japan is simply an open secret among the Chinese.4 Society regards it with a sly frown, the Government prohibits and professes to discipline it; yet vice festers in every city of China and presents some shamefully loathsome aspects. The traffic in young girls, especially those who may be afflicted with blindness, is the usual method of supplying brothels with their inmates. The infamous trade of the "pocket-mother" and her colonies of native slave-girls, and its relation to the opium habit in the Straits Settlements and China, have been recently brought vividly to the attention of the British public by Mrs. Andrew and Dr. Kate Bushnell.5 In the every-day conversation of the Chinese, especially of the poorer classes, expressions so exceptionally vile that they cannot be hinted at are only too well known. "An English oath is a winged bullet; Chinese abuse is a ball of filth," says the author of "Chinese Characteristics." The notorious books and placards of Hunan are an indication of the interior furnishing of the Chinese imagination. In Siam adultery is lightly condemned, and unclean vices are practised. In Tibet the moral status is low. Marriage is often a convenient fiction, and may be adjusted as a temporary bargain wherever a man may happen to be. Not only is polygamy common, but polyandry is recognized and practised among the peasantry.6 1 Griffis, "The Mikado's Empire," seventh edition, pp. 362, 368. 2 Griffis, "Corea," p. 251; Gilmore, "Korea," p. 109. 3 Norman, "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," p. 352. 4 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 179; Douglas, "Society in China,"
p. 205.
5 Cf. The Christian (London), March 28, 1895, article entitled "Social Morals in the Orient." 6 Marston, "The Great Closed Land," pp. 47, 49.
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India occupies an unenviable prominence as a land where immoral tendencies have flourished and brought forth their fruit with tropical luxuriance. The moral condition of India.There is a panoramic variety in the phases of its social vice, the ill-concealed obscenity of much of its sacred literature, and the immoral aspects of some of its religious rites and festivals. The social demoralization which attends vice is revealed there to an unusual extent—the tell-tale stringency in the seclusion of woman, child marriage, low views of woman's place and function in society, a contemptuous estimate of her character and capacity, tainted, family life, unseemly marriage customs, obscenity in talk and song prostitution, concubinage, lax views of adultery, and the contamination of so-called religious rites and services with uncleanness. The spirit of that now happily obscure phase of nature-worship which is known as phallicism is distinctly traceable in India.1 Its symbols and signs are still visible at many of the shrines of Hinduism. Its grosser and more intolerable features have been permitted to lapse in recent times, but that unhallowed association of fancied religious fervor with lustful abandon is still hardly masked in some of the religious festivals and customs of Hindu society. It could hardly be otherwise when even the sacred literature is not free from gross impurity, and many of the gods worshipped are examples in vice ;2 when continence is not inculcated; when widows, often young and helpless, are condemned by necessity either to a life of social misery or shame; when the zenana system involves the frequent separation of husbands and wives, the former compelled to be absent, and the latter hidden in unnatural seclusion ;3 and when social customs and even religious observances encourage and minister to lewd license.4 The nautch dancing, so common, gives to immoral women social éclat, which is too often stimulated and enhanced by European patronage;5 harlotry is notoriously common in the towns and cities, although village life is comparatively free from it, and village women are as a class morally well behaved.6 Hindu temples are in many instances disgraced by indecent symbols and sculptures; while the old Greek custom of having female attendants attached to
1 Sir Monier-Williams, "Brahmanism and Hinduism," Index, sub Linga and Yoni. 2 J. Murray Mitchell, "The Hindu Religion," pp. 32, 33. 3 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 412, 413. 4 "Purity Reform in India," pp. 16, 25-28, Papers on Indian Social Reform, Madras, 1892. 5 Ibid., p. 16. 6 Wilkins, p. 412.
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the temples is a well-known fact in many of the Hindu shrines of India. These dancing-girls call themselves deva-dasi ("slaves of the gods"), and in the sense of being at the service of every comer, of whatever caste, are also the slaves of men.1 Young girls are frequently dedicated in infancy to some popular Hindu god, and the simple meaning of this is that they are devoted to a life of shame—branded and married to the god, to be forever known as consecrated to depravity in the name of religion.2 In fact, immorality is more distinctively a feature of Hinduism than morality. It is not to be supposed that Indian society without exception is wholly given over to this state of things. There are multitudes of worthy natives who regard these features of Hinduism with contempt and loathing, but they are exceptions, and they have broken with Hinduism, or at least with its moral laxity. English army life in India, and to a deplorable extent the habits of foreign residents, present a sadly compromising feature of social vice. The repeal of the Contagious Disease Act, although a moral victory, has been too inoperative to remedy entirely official complicity in the supervision and regulation of vice, as the evidence before the Committee recently appointed by the Indian Government on this subject clearly shows.3 This fact was brought to light chiefly by the testimony of Mrs. Elizabeth W. Andrew and Dr. Kate Bushnell, two American ladies connected with the W. C. T. U., who in the service of the cause of purity in India gave themselves to the heroic investigation of the true status of this question. The English Government is not unmindful, however, of its moral responsibility and its evident duty to deal vigorously with this burning subject of immorality in India. Penal codes and official regulations seem to open the way for the suppression or restriction of many forms of vice, but the evil is so gigantic that it can elude and defy the law, while in deference to the fanatical religious temper of India a significant exception has been made by the Government. In the clause of the penal code against obscenity in literature and art is the following caveat: "This Section does not extend to any representation sculptured, engraved, painted, or otherwise represented on or in any temple, or on any car used for the conveyance of idols, or kept or used for any religious purpose." The various governments of India, British and native, united in expressing their judgment, with reference to the above exception, that "native public opinion is not yet sufficiently advanced to 1 "Purity Reform in India," p. 26, Papers on Indian Social Reform, Madras, 1892. 2 Ibid., pp. 27, 28. 3 "Report of Committee to Inquire into Prostitution in India," London, 1893.
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permit the destruction of such indecencies." The result of this policy of non-interference on the part of the authorities with the religious customs of the people is that, however much of a saturnalia their festivals and celebrations may become, they are free from legal restraint if their indecencies are becomingly pious and their wickedness is under the shelter of religion. The British Government has already accomplished a beneficent rôle of reform in several respects where the interests of humanity required it, and the time will come—Christianity indeed is hastening it—when the unclean scandals of Hinduism must go also, and the various unsavory abominations of temple, festival, and pilgrimage will be consigned to oblivion. The status in Mohammedan lands, and in South America, Africa, and the Pacific Islands.The Mohammedan lands of Afghanistan, Arabia, Persia, Turkey, and Northern Africa are not above other sections of Asia characterized by exceptional immorality among the sexes. Prostitution is not carried on as a profession, except in the larger cities, where it is as well known as elsewhere ; but easy divorce and lax arrangements as to marriage relations open the way for a whited-sepulchre species of promiscuity gratifying to the pious Moslem, since it is sanctioned by his religion and counted as socially respectable. As is usually the case, however, where the relation of the sexes is severely guarded by artificial restrictions in a low moral environment, the prevalence of unnatural vices shows that the stream of lust if barred in one direction makes for itself a channel in another. There are aspects of vice in Mohammedan lands, and indeed throughout the Eastern world, which can only be referred to in veiled phrases as veritable mysteries of iniquity. The South American Continent is, with Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies, notorious for profligacy. The tone of society is dissolute. The influence and example of the Romish clergy are in favor of laxity. Society both high and low is exceptionally unchaste and vitiated by an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust, and prurient sensitiveness. Respectable parents guard their daughters with the utmost watchfulness until married, while their sons, with few exceptions, give way to vicious indulgence. The masses concern themselves little with legal restraints or formalities.1 If we turn now to the barbarous and savage races of the African Continent and the Pacific Islands, we find a state of morals which is truly ap- 1 Statistics of illegitimacy in these countries are startling in their significance. In Central America they range from fifty to seventy per cent. In Jamaica they have been reduced within sixty or seventy years from one hundred to sixty per cent. "The forty-per-cent. rate of legitimate births is clearly the result of mission work." The ratio in the South American States is also high. Infants can be easily disposed of by placing them in the turn-cylinders provided at the convents.
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palling in its bestiality.1 The morally gruesome details are too repulsive to admit of an attempt even to summarize them, and we must forbear. 5. SELF-TORTURE.—This is usually practised under the stimulus of religious fanaticism either to secure merit or reverence or to quiet superstitious fears. It is especially common in India on the part of the devotees who court veneration on account of supposed sanctity. As the torture is self-inflicted, at first thought one is inclined to denounce its folly and withhold sympathy for the sufferer; but when we reflect that it is often endured with a sincere, although mistaken, zeal as a religious act, one is rather inclined to pity the victim of such a delusion. The system of ascetic legalism which encourages such selfinflicted pain is largely responsible for the folly of its victims, and the spirit of the Gospel only will banish the haunting consciousness of condemnation which drives men to such cruel expedients to secure the favor of God. Self-torture in India, China, and Mohammedan lands.There is a ghastly variety in the methods of self-torture practised in India. Some of them, such as hook-swinging, have been abolished by the British Government as offenses against society. In several of the native states, however, it is still in vogue, and recent reports in many directions seem to indicate defiant attempts to revive the barbarous spectacle even in British India. Devotees and fakirs are accustomed to give themselves up to torture by fire, or by reclining for a long period upon beds of spikes or sharp stones. Others will refuse to give themselves rest, or abstain altogether from sleep, or hold some limb in a painful position until it becomes shrivelled and rigid. Others will allow themselves to be fed on any kind of revolting or improper food, having made a vow to reject nothing which is offered them to eat. The tests to which they are put are often horrible in the extreme. If they should refuse what is offered them they would thereby forfeit their sanctity and the veneration of their credulous admirers. A common practice is to pierce the body with large needles. Frequently iron skewers are thrust through the cheeks and tongue, which are thereby 1 Macdonald, "Religion and Myth," pp. 201-203; Slowan, "The Story of Our Kaffrarian Mission," p. 24.
2 The Missionary Herald, January, 1893, p. 16; July, 1893, p. 292; October, 1893, p. 38.
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caused to swell to frightful proportions. The flesh is cut with knives or pierced with wire.1 Men are sometimes buried to the neck, or are hung by the heels to a tree. The worship of some of the cruel Hindu divinities, especially the goddess Kali, is frequently attended with shocking exhibitions, which must involve intense suffering to the participants.2 In China a prominent motive to self-mutilation is devotion to sick parents. Dutiful sons and daughters will cut off pieces of their own flesh, of which soup is made and given to a sick or infirm parent.3 Other species of voluntary suffering, not always, however, from religious or filial motives, but with a view to gain, are walking with the feet or back bare in severe wintry weather, or appearing upon public occasions with iron chains around the body and heavy wooden collars around the neck, or swinging weighty censers fastened to the flesh by brass hooks,4 or causing self-deformity or loathsome ulcers upon the person with a view to excite sympathy and secure gain. In Mohammedan lands religious celebrations are frequently attended with these fanatical crúelties. Devotees will pierce and mutilate themselves, and in some instances prostrate themselves upon the ground to be trampled upon by horses with riders seated on their backs. Hinduism and Mohammedanism seem to present almost the only exhibition of this delusion, although Romanism has encouraged in the shape of ascetic penances much grievous bodily suffering, while among the pagan Indians of British Columbia acts of extreme self-cruelty are known to be practised. 6. SUICIDE.—There is nothing distinctive in the act of self-destruction in
Self-destruction prevalent in many lands.non-Christian lands except its prevalence, or the fact that it results from some pessimistic influence of the environment. It is more common in China than in any other nation of the earth,5 and is resorted to for reasons peculiar to Chinese modes of thought. Its frequency results, no doubt, from the frivolous estimate placed upon human life, and the strange notion that personal grievances may be avenged 1 Bishop Thoburn, "India and Malaysia," pp. 125—130. 2 "Popular Hinduism," p. 50, Papers on Indian Religious Reform, Madras, 1894. 3 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 183; Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 178. 4 Du Bose, "The Dragon Image and Demon," p. 265. 5 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 434.
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in this way and that more injury may be done to the living than to the victim himself.1 There is a singular theory in Chinese official circles that self-destruction on the part of a ruler in times of public danger is a matter of high merit. "The perfect man," according to Confucius, "is one who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life."2 The act is sometimes resorted to by military leaders in time of defeat, either for the above reason, from a sense of shame, or to escape punishment at the hands of the Government. The causes which lead to it in most cases are trivial, such as a shortage in accounts, a family quarrel, jealousy, or marital infelicity arising from the practice of polygamy. Even children of tender years resort to it when disciplined by teachers or parents.3 It is especially prevalent among women, on account of domestic unhappiness or from the desire to punish an incorrigible husband. It is considered an act of merit for a widow to follow her husband to the grave.4 Dread of the matrimonial alliance sometimes leads to self-destruction by young girls. The wives of native converts to Christianity have been known to adopt this vigorous method of protest to their husbands' change of faith. The doctrine of transmigration no doubt renders suicide easier, since the victim expects to continue his existence in a state possibly better than the one he now occupies.5 The most popular methods of accomplishing the act are by opium, by drowning, or by eating matches, as none of these instrumentalities mutilates the person, which passes intact into another life, the popular opinion being that any mutilation of the body in death must be continued in the existence beyond. The use of opium has had a tendency greatly to facilitate and multiply suicides.6 The Chinese New Year is a favorite time for accomplishing the act. A missionary physician reports having been called to ten cases in a single month, and to nearly as many in the month following.7 In Japan suicide has occupied a position of historic honor which has characterized it nowhere else in the world. It has been even canonized 1 Du Bose, "The Dragon Image and Demon," p. 453 ; Norman, "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," p. 278. 2 Moule, "New China and Old," p. 50. 3 The Mission Field, London, March, 1894, p. 89; The Messenger, Shanghai, May, 1895, p. 74. 4 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 434; Medhurst, " The Foreigner in Far Cathay," p. 105. 5 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 435. 6 The Missionary Herald, Boston, February, 1895, p. 57. 7 The Missionary Record, March, 1895, p. 88.
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and admired as an object of heroism and a sign of distinction.1 Japanese history and fiction mention with pride the various heroes and heroines, sometimes by the thousands, who have distinguished themselves by committing hara-kiri, the theory of which is that it is an exhibition of supreme loyalty to conviction, of patriotic sacrifice in the interests of family pride, or for the honor of one's country.2 The vanquished samurai in the old feudal days preferred death at his own hand to falling into the power of his conqueror.3 Later the practice came to be regarded as a privileged way of dying in the execution of a judicial sentence rather than having the punishment inflicted by other hands. The modus operandi of hara-kiri4 or rather seppuku, as it is called in more classical dialect, was that the victim himself with his own hand plunged a dirk into the abdomen until death ensued. An improvement has been introduced in modern times by enlisting the services of a friend upon the occasion, who is expected, as soon as the dirk has been used by the victim, to complete the act by immediately beheading the would-be suicide.5 This formal and privileged method of suicide is not, however, common in Japan at present, although, as a great favor, capital sentences may be executed in this manner. Other methods, however, are in vogue, such as poisoning or hanging.6 The act is more common on the part of women than of men, and that for trivial causes. The favorite method is by drowning.8 The number of suicides officially reported in 1891 was 7479, and in 1892 it was 7240. In India in a majority of instances suicide is the result of unhappy marriages or as a release from domestic cruelty. According to the statement of a native journal, suicide is common among married women, amounting to eighty-one per cent, of the total.8 A native Brahman, writing on the present social condition of the Hindus, states that in connection with domestic trouble "suicides are not uncommon." Deserted wives are apt to seek their own destruction. In the East Indies, and still more so in New Guinea, "suicide is very common, on account of the notoriety it confers."9 In Africa, although not as frequent as might be expected, it is often resorted to. 1 Griffis, "The Religions of Japan," p. 112. 2 Hearn, "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan," vol. ii., p. 390. 3 Griffis, "The Mikado's Empire," p. 221. 4 Literally, "belly-cutting." 5 Chamberlain, "Things Japanese," p. 200; Mitford, "Tales of Old Japan," Appendix A. 6 Griffis, "The Mikado's Empire," p. 473. 7 Mrs. Bishop, "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," vol. i., p. 188. 8 India's Women, June, 1895, p. 245. 9 Chalmers, "Work and Adventure in New Guinea," p. 330.
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7. IDLENESS AND IMPROVIDENCE. — Idle and shiftless habits in the
The evils of sloth and improvidence.
individual rob society of the personal increment of labor and thrift which he might contribute, and make him rather a burden to others as well as a hindrance to progress. A diligent and thrifty spirit, on the other hand, is a positive factor in social prosperity. Idleness results not alone from indolence, but among African savages it is the fruit of pride. Labor is a disgrace in the estimation of millions of lusty barbarians, whose ideal of dignity is luxurious laziness. The heavier as well as the lighter toils of life are left for the women to assume, who are in most African communities doomed to drudgery and severe servitude.1 The result is an undisciplined, flabby, and shiftless character, living in such careless, happy-go-lucky ways that the native African as a rule is socially a worthless drone, except when it suits his barbarous fancy to play the equally objectionable rôle of a professional warrior and plunderer. The Mashonas are said to be "born tired," so incorrigible is their aversion to work. On the West Coast labor is regarded with both contempt and dread. In the Pacific Islands the same spirit of sloth prevails among the primitive races. "The conduct of the men of Aniwa is to stand by or sit and look on while their women do the work," was the unctuous reply of a group of New Hebrides worthies to the appeal of Dr. Paton that they should engage in some useful occupation. Among the Negro and Indian races of the world, wherever the blight of barbarism prevails, industrious habits are practically unknown. Life is given over to shiftlessness and vice, while the storehouses stand empty and the fields lie barren and neglected. Idleness in the more advanced nations, such as China, Korea, and India, is productive of a vast system of vagrancy, and is responsible for much pitiable poverty. There are Beggars' Guilds in most of the large cities of China, so organized that what amounts to a regular tax of blackmail is exacted from society. If the expected contribution is not forthcoming, it is enforced by formidable raids or persecuting appeals, which are generally effective.2 Korea is "full of Micawbers." They play the rôle of parasites, blackmailers, and uninvited guests, forming themselves into a sort of syndicate of social harpies, from whose impertinence and tyranny the government is often called upon to protect the well-to-do classes.3 Official plunderers, however, are just as bad in their way, 1 Rowley, "Twenty Years in Central Africa," p. 169; Central Africa, April, 1894, p. 61. 2 Talmage, "Forty Years in South China," p. 85. 3 Griffis, "Corea," p. 289; The Gospel in all Lands, September, 1894, p. 411.
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and are responsible for much of the improvidence of the people, as their rapacity makes prosperity and providence almost impossible, since any effort at accumulation only tempts the officials to prey upon those who have the good fortune to lay up anything in store.1 In India the evils of mendicancy prevail. The poverty is extreme, and with it there is much improvidence and recklessness as to debt. Costly and exacting social customs are responsible for the impoverishment of many families, especially the expenses connected with marriages and burials. The economic problems of India are truly formidable. Debt, thriftlessness, and the prevalent poverty make the social condition of the people pitiable, and any hopeful reform or economic expedients which would help India to wiser methods of living would be an unspeakable benefit. In the countries of South America there is a blight of indolence and thriftlessness which sadly depresses social prosperity. An infusion of energy, foresight, and industrial aspirations would be of the highest economic value to all South American peoples. The idler and the drone are there, as elsewhere, an injury and a bane to society. 8. EXCESSIVE PRIDE AND SELF-EXALTATION.—Inordinate selfesteem in the individual affects society when it becomes a barrier to Pride and vanity are barriers to progress.the entrance of new and progressive ideas from without. Vanity, conceit, and self-worship may so prejudice the mind that it becomes blind to better things, and shuts itself up in its own provincial ignorance, refusing all help and inspiration from other sources. Progress becomes impossible. Rigid conservatism hardens into stupid contentment with things as they are. Conceit and self-complacency bar the path of improvement. The modern world is viewed with contempt, and all outside the little environment of primitive life which surrounds the victim of his own foolish pride is viewed with suspicion and disdain. This pitiable exaltation of ignorance may be intellectual and spiritual, shutting out the light of truth, or it may be social and material, rejecting the facilities and discoveries of the modern world. In either case it is an incalculable injury to society. It retards and arrests social development, and postpones indefinitely the entrance of nobler and larger life. Every Asiatic nation suffers more or less from this consciousness of its own superiority, although the energy and push of modern enterprise 1 The Missionary, October, 1894, p. 411.
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and the growing influence of missionary education are rapidly breaking down prejudice and letting in the light of wiser methods and larger knowledge. Of all Asiatic nations the Chinese are conspicuous for stolid conservatism and inflated pride. They belong to the "Middle Kingdom," and the outside world of barbarism lies around them as the centre.1 Everything outside of China is inferior, and all foreigners or foreign ideas are looked upon with contempt and hatred. One of the chief functions of the Chinese is to humiliate the rest of the world and teach it useful lessons of its own insignificance.2 In Japan this trait reveals itself rather in national vanity and intellectual conceit. There is some excuse, however, for Japan's self-consciousness. She is in marked and favorable contrast with China in her readiness to recognize the progress of more enlightened nations and avail herself of every benefit which the genius of the Occident has provided. Her great danger is that intellectual pride and moral hauteur will deprive her fair land of the uplifting influences of Christian enlightenment. Much, however, will be said elsewhere to encourage the hope that the Japanese will resist this tendency to intellectual arrogance, and welcome the nobler teachings of Christianity. Korea has shut herself up in the seclusion of ignorance for centuries, and only recently, through the force of circumstances, has the spell of her isolation been broken. Her upper classes and literati are steeped in pride, while the lower classes are still blinded with prejudice. In Siam the spirit of Oriental self-complacency greatly retards the development of the nation, although the influence of an enlightened and liberal king is doing much to encourage larger aspirations among his people. India is the camping-ground of Brahmanic pride, the very acme of supercilious conceit, and presents also notable illustrations of that absurd self-exaltation of the so-called devotees and holy men of Hinduism. The whole tendency of Hinduism is to stimulate self-esteem, while caste is a bulwark of pride in its most sublime proportions. The subtle speculations of Hindu religious thought have given a fascination to philosophical themes, and have developed intellectual conceit to an extraordinary degree. The Hindu religionist is pride incarnate, while the shadow of a Brahman is a natural phenomenon more impressive than a sunrise. The Mohammedan is a noted rival of the Hindu in religious and intellectual pride. No more striking exhibition of the paralyzing effect of the haughty spirit of Islam can be found than the social and 1 Henry, "The Cross and the Dragon," p. 33. 2 Coltman, "The Chinese: Medical, Political, and Social," p. 81.
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intellectual condition of the lands dominated by the Moslem. The Turkish Empire, Persia, the North African countries, and Arabia are samples of lands where pride rules with blighting sway. The African, as a rule, may be said to be vain and conceited in proportion to the density of his ignorance. If we take the Matabele as a sample, we can hardly find his equal for overweening pride and self-importance.1 The result has been manifest in thirty years of stagnation even under the influence of faithful missionary effort.2 The conquest of the nation by British arms, when permanently accomplished, will be a blessing, and no doubt beat down those hitherto impenetrable barriers which pride has erected. The pitiable condition of the proud savages of the earth is owing in some measure to their intense satisfaction with their own fancied superiority, and is a telling lesson of the social perils of pride. A religion which would teach to these nations the true exaltation of humility—its beauty, its nobility, and its gentle charm—would be a helpful blessing to the soul itself and to all its social environment. 9. MORAL DELINQUENCIES.—A terrible and pitiable count must be made under
The beginning effects of untruthfulness and dishonoesty. this head against the entire non-Christian world. The very foundations of social integrity and prosperity are shaken by such vices as untruthfulness and dishonesty. Truthfulness is a prime essential to mutual confidence, and honesty is a fundamental condition of just and fair intercourse. Where society is permeated with a spirit of deceit and knavery, where a lie is a commonplace and cheating is resorted to without compunction, all moral health and stability seem to have been destroyed. A lie will be met by a lie. Deceit will overreach deceit. Cheating will be matched by cheating; and all the arts of dishonesty will be excelled by some fresh ingenuity in fraud. As the status of non-Christian nations in respect to these moral qualities is studied, one is tempted to say, not in haste, but with calm deliberation, "All men are liars." That there are individual exceptions is happily true, but as a rule the world of heathenism lieth in the wickedness of deceit and dishonesty. Little can be said of any one nation in favorable contrast with others. Each in turn seems to pose as an expert in the guilty arts of deception. Among the Japanese lying is a sadly common fault of daily life. 1 Carnegie "Among the Matabele," pp. 18, 68. 2 The Chronicle, December, 1893, p. 307.
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This is acknowledged by themselves, and such is the testimony of those who know the country well.1 To their credit, however, it may be said that their patriotism and exceptional loyalty to public responsibilities save them to a notable extent from the official dishonesty and corruption which characterize the Chinese. China is preëminently "an empire of make-believe." Amid highsounding pretensions" a universal dishonesty of mind poisons the sap of the nation and produces all the cancers and evils which have made China a byword for deceit and corruption."2 True honor and uprightness seem to be lightly esteemed by all classes of society.3 The Rev. Arthur Smith, in "Chinese Characteristics," has an entire chapter on "The Absence of Sincerity." The testimony of Dr. S. Wells Williams, in summing up his estimate of the Chinese character, includes "the universal practice of lying and dishonest dealings."4 The Chinese seem to share with the Persians the melancholy distinction of being" a nation of liars." A flagrant exhibition of the Chinese capacity for misrepresentation has recently attracted the attention of the world in the anti-foreign publications which are so full of monstrous falsehoods. A Chinaman will steal almost as easily as he will lie, and will cheat with a facility and deftness which make him proverbial for "ways that are dark and tricks that are vain." In Siam, Burma, and Assam the rule of untruthfulness still holds. A fresh illustration of the ready application of the inveterate habit was discovered by Dr. McKean of Laos, who has recently introduced vaccination among the people. As soon as its beneficial effects were manifest, unprincipled charlatans were going about the country vaccinating the people with some worthless compound of their own, boldly asserting that they had obtained vaccine virus from the foreigner in Chieng Mai.5 Dr. Marston at Ambala has detected the same exhibition 1 "'Can you tell me in a sentence what the characteristics of the Japanese are ?' asked a puzzled visitor of one of the foreign instructors in government employ. The reply is said to have been, 'It don't need a sentence; two words"' are sufficient. They are conceit and deceit. 'They are the greatest liars on the face of the earth,' wrote Mr. Harris, whose diary Dr. Griffis has just published,"—Japan Evangelist, April, 1896, p. 215. These statements may be too severe and sweeping, but it seems fairly clear that untruthfulness and dishonesty are very prevalent in trade and in ordinary intercourse. If a lie is politic and convenient not many will respect truth for its own sake. Yet the sense of honor and the instinct of fidelity to trust are keen and are redeeming traits in the Japanese character. 2 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 84. 3 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 97. 4 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., p. 836. 5 The Church at Home and Abroad, May, 1894, p. 392.
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of unscrupulous dishonesty in sly medicine-selling behind her back.1 The Assamese have hardly a proper word in their language to indicate honesty. "Trade does not go on without falsehood," is a proverb among them.2 India is a realm where untruthfulness, dishonesty, and perjury are all characteristic of the people. We mean characteristic in the sense that they are notoriously common.3 Advancing through Central Asia, Tibet and the lands that lie in our pathway towards Persia present the same monotonous traits of unscrupulousness in word and dealing, while in Persia "every one walks warily and suspiciously through a maze of fraud and falsehood."4 According to the testimony of a Persian nobleman in conversation with Mrs. Bishop, "Lying is rotting this country. Persians tell lies before they can speak." The land is said to be "a hotbed of lies and intrigue. Nothing can be done without stratagem. The thing that strikes them about an Englishman is that he does not lie."5 To be called a liar in Persia is considered a very mild insult.6 Curzon, in his book on Persia, remarks, "I am convinced that the true son of Iran would sooner lie than tell the truth, and that he feels twinges of desperate remorse when upon occasions he has thoughtlessly strayed into veracity." The Turkish Empire is full of dissimulation. The arts of lying are not by any means monopolized by the Moslem population, but the subject Christian races, incited by fear in the presence of their unscrupulous rulers, have long practised in self-defense habits of falsehood and deceit, for which they are still noted. The whole routine of life is fairly riddled with a running fire of deception and dishonest dealing. Poor Africa may be said to be a continent of lies and a paradise of thievery. The native savage is trained in the arts of plunder, and lives by crafty wiles. Here, above all places on the face of the earth, a lie seems to be loved for its own sake, and a man must be taken for a thief and a rogue until he is proved to be the contrary.7 The barbarous races of the Pacific Islands present no exception to this sombre catalogue of nations who love a lie. Thievery and cheating 1 Woman's Work for Woman, November, 1894, p. 301. 2 The Baptist Missionary Review, Madras, India, April, 1895, p. 128. 3 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 399-403. 4 Bishop, "Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan," vol. ii., p. 174. 5 Regions Beyond, May, 1894, p. 191. 6 The Church Missionary Intelligencer, April, 1894, p. 242. 7 Ingham, "Sierra Leone after a Hundred Years," p. 293; Johnston, "Missionary Landscapes in the Dark Continent," p. 138; Carnegie, "Among the Matabele," p. 68.
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seem to be habitual and universal characteristics of these poor people, who have known no higher standards of morality than those suggested by the master passions of covetousness and lust.1 Substantially the same story applies to the West Indies; and even South America and Mexico, where nominal Christianity has been in evidence for centuries, are lands where lying and dishonesty are grievously to the front.2 II.—THE FAMILY GROUP (Evils affecting primarily the family, and secondarily society through the family) The historic result of heathenism is a demoralized family life. In no particular does the inexorableness of the evolutionary process, apart from The status and function of the family in ancient classical civilizations.the culture of Christianity, appear more clearly than in the steady and invariable trend of pagan society towards the disruption and practical destruction of the ideal family relation.3 The status of marriage and of domestic life in ancient Grecian and Roman civilization was marked by a dreary degradation of the marital relation to a political institution whose highest function was the service of the State in producing citizens,4 and in which all sacredness and refinement seemed to have been sunk in communal laxity. Marriage was considered as a species of political incubator, and woman was simply a necessary tool, to be used indiscriminately in case the highest interests of the State required it. It was Plato's suggestion that in the perfect republic the warriors should have the women in common. The aim of marriage was purely civil, and was looked upon in the light of a duty to the State.5 The natural result was a degraded womanhood and an easy descent into a state of indifference as to all legal forms and restrictions. Ancient heathen civilization was committed by the force of tradition and custom to the degradation of woman. It offered no goal of social dignity, no inspiration of hope; it gave no promise of grateful recognition and sacred security. Woman was made to feel 1 Paton, "Autobiography," Part I., p. 160; Cousins, "The Story of the South Seas," p. 19. 2 The Gospel in all Lands, March, 1895, p. 99; The South American Missionary Magazine, February, 1895, p. 38. 3 Inge, "Society in Rome under the Caesars," p. 61. 4 Ibid., p. 61; Schmidt, "The Social Results of Early Christianity," pp. 26-38. 5 Ibid., p. 30.
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that she was a mere convenience, and was allowed to have no real basis of self-respect. Her existence was, as a rule, passed in practical slavery, and her outlook was one of hopeless inanity. This situation, as was to be expected, developed those peculiar vices and weaknesses which, with some notable exceptions, have marked her character in non-Christian society for ages. On the other hand, Christianity from the first has recognized her equality of soul, her personal rights, her moral and intellectual capabilities, and has given her a sacred place of honor in the home. The Christian ideal of the family has been substituted for the communal function of a propagator of the State on the one hand, and a victim of lust on the other. The secret springs of the social degradation of woman in ancient heathenism are pride and selfishness on the part of her immemorial masters. Pride kept her in subjection, relegated her to a political nursery, and treated her with disdain and contumely. Selfishness refused her considerate and kindly treatment, denied her privileged companionship, and made her the sport of sensual desires.1 One does not have to look long at the social status of woman today in non-Christian lands to discover how largely that same pride and Little improvement in the heathen civilizations of to-day.selfishness take the old causal relation to her present degradation. Even the sorry dignity accorded her as the servant of the State has for the most part disappeared, and she has become rather a useful instrument in maintaining the male line of descent for the satisfaction of her master. Almost without exception, in the heathen civilizations of the present day she is regarded with severe suspicion, scant respect, and cool superciliousness. Her marital rights are scouted, while as a rule her marital duties are jealously exacted. The conception of an elevated, honored, and sacred womanhood may be said to be sadly uncommon in the traditions and customs of purely heathen civilization. Whatever of dignity and consideration she has received in the modern transformations of non-Christian society has been the result, more or less direct, of the modifying influence of Christian teaching. The group of social evils which centres about the family presents several salient aspects which call for specific notice. Among these we note: I. THE DEGRADATION OF WOMAN.—One of the most conspicuous and unmistakable insignia of false religious systems is their treatment of woman. They seem to be both bewildered and undone by her very 1 Ibid., pp. 42-44.
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existence. The sentiments they promulgate concerning her and the treatment they accord her stamp them with defects and blunders The status of woman outside Christendom.differentiating them at once and forever from the high ideal of Christianity. Ethnic religions and barbarous civilizations have united their forces in the consignment of womankind to a state of degradation—a fact which rises up in judgment against these erroneous systems in all ages of history, and in no period more pronouncedly than in our present century. She is still regarded, as of old, in a non-Christian environment as a scandal and a slave, a drudge and a disgrace, a temptation and a terror, a blemish and a burden—at once the touchstone and stumbling-block of human systems, the sign and shame of the non-Christian world. The status of woman outside of Christendom may be indicated by the estimate put upon her, by the opportunity given her, by the function assigned her, by the privilege accorded her, and by the service expected of her. The estimate, as a rule, is low, rarely rising above a physical or sensuous plane; the opportunity afforded her is meagre, in fact, often prohibitory; the function assigned her is that of reproduction and the gratification of man's baser passions ; the privilege extended to her is rarely other than to be suspected, distrusted, guarded with jealous seclusion, sometimes bought and sold as a chattel, married at the will of fathers or brothers, or possibly consigned to some worse fate, beaten if necessary, and kept in due subjection by tokens and signs of inferiority; the service expected of her is for the most part the menial drudgery and the hard toil of life. This indictment is too general to pass unchallenged in specific cases, and it will not, of course, hold in every particular in all countries alike; but as an average, all-around statement it is not beyond what the facts will justify, and can be supported by abundant and indubitable evidence. It will be sufficient for our present purpose if we can gather into clusters or groups the facts which indicate the social condition of woman, collecting them, as it were, around some characteristic feature of her status. Take, for instance, The signs and tokens of her inferiority.the various signs and tokens of inferiority which are imposed upon her. These seem to form a motley group by themselves, clustering together in grim picturesqueness as a grotesque medley of grimaces and scowls, of haughty airs and self-complacent attitudes, of boorish vulgarities and malicious insults. The common bond of affinity running through them all is well symbolized by that significant confession of a bland Hindu, that there was at least
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one doctrine upon which all Hindu sects were agreed: "We all believe in the sanctity of the cow and in the depravity of woman." The Japanese contribution to the picture has less of grossness and more of natural refinement in it than that of any other Eastern nation. Japanese women are gentler and more attractive than those of the ruder lands of the East, and although the estimate in which they are held is one of pronounced inferiority, yet the signs and tokens of it are not so offensive as elsewhere. The usual exacting manifestations of subjection to the husband are less conspicuous; neither are they insisted upon with such ruthless inconsiderateness as in China, India, and throughout Mohammedan lands. The power of a father, natural and right within proper limitations, is, however, often grievously misused in committing a daughter to a life of disrepute. Among the peasantry drudgery is shared by husbands, fathers, and brothers. In fact, there is probably no nation outside of Christendom, with possibly the exception of Burma, where woman's lot is so free from the signs of inferiority as in Japan.1 The Chinese contingent in the scene is largely in evidence. The tokens of disdain are not wanting, in China. Woman is "moulded out of faults." Even the Chinese hieroglyphic for woman, if doubled, signifies "to wrangle"; if trebled it means "intrigue"; a compound of the symbols for "women" and "together" yields a composite sign which signifies "to suspect, dislike, or loathe."2 No husband would willingly appear in public with his wife. If he is obliged to escort her, she must walk well in front as a sign of her inferior position. If by chance he refers to her, he is apt to designate her as his "dull thorn," or some equally derogatory expression.3 Little or no mourning follows her death. Her marriage is at the will, and in accordance with the choice, of parents, who usually commit the matter to professional matchmakers, an untrustworthy and unscrupulous class, who generally drive their own bargains with a view to their own sordid advantage.4 The bride rarely sees her husband before marriage, and does not even eat with him afterwards. The Chinese idea of wifely demeanor is that of abject dependence and subdued inanity. She is by no means to be known outside of her own house, and even in it she must disappear altogether if any chance male visitor should come.5 She is considered 1 Griffis, "The Mikado's Empire," p. 554. 2 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 185; Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 246. 3 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 212. Ibid., p. 193. Ibid., p. 211.
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a burden by her parents,1 and must be their servant until married, which amounts simply to an entrance into another state of servitude to her parents-in-law, often a cruel and exacting bondage from which relief is sometimes sought in suicide;2 and even in this there is no escape from the lifelong lot of service, since she is thought to become in the next life the servant of her husband, to whom, according to the Chinese code, she belongs both for time and eternity.3 The husband's power over her, like that of the father in Japan, is almost limitless.4 What has been said of the condition of women in China is applicable, with hardly any variation, to her lot in Korea.5 It is a relief, however, to note that in both countries the every-day, commonplace life of the laboring classes is largely free from this whole round of finical and farcical exactions. India makes a conspicuous contribution of signs and tokens of inferiority in her estimate of woman. She is there counted little more than a "necessary machine for producing children."6 Her degradation, if indeed she is allowed to live, begins at her birth, which is a time of condolence rather than of rejoicing, and when she is received rather as a nuisance and a burden.7 She is forbidden access to the sacred books of the Hindu religion.8 While still young the only ceremonial acts of worship and sacrifice allowed her are with a view to securing a husband,9 and after her marriage all right of approach to the gods in her own name and on her own behalf is denied her. Even her worship must be entirely in the name of her husband.10 After her marriage she is bound forever in life and in death by indissoluble bonds to her husband, according to the plain precepts of Manu,11 although the British law now grants the liberty of remarriage to a widow. She must revere her husband as a god, and bear meekly his infidelity without the slightest claim to divorce.12 She must never go out of the house without the consent of her husband. If he goes upon a journey, according to the teaching of the Shastras, his wife shall not "divert herself by play, nor see any public show, nor laugh, nor dress herself in jewels and fine clothes, nor 1 Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," p. 72. 2 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 201; Douglas, "Society in China," p. 214. 3 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 486. 4 Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," p. 31. 5 Griffis, "Corea," pp. 245, 252. 6 Sir Monier-Williams, "Brahmanism and Hinduism," p. 387. 7 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 337. 8 Ibid., p. 328. 9 Ibid., p. 340. 10 Ibid., p. 328. 11 Ibid., p, 328. 12 Ibid., p. 327.
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see dancing, nor hear music, nor sit at the window, nor ride out, nor behold anything choice and rare, but shall fasten well the house door and remain private."1 And, finally, she must be reborn into the world as a man before she can hope for any favored lot in the life beyond.2 In Mohammedan India, and all through the belt of Islamic lands to the northwest corner of Africa, substantially the same spirit of punctilious disdain of womankind prevails. The code of the harem is virtually one, and it is the same with the doctrine of the zenana. In savage Africa and among the barbarous nations of Polynesia the signs and tokens of woman's inferiority become more painful and brutal. She is bought and sold like a chattel, and for a consideration so insignificant that we can hardly rank her as superior to the domestic animals. "Five large blue glass beads will buy a woman" in some sections of Africa, but it takes "ten to buy a cow." Even stranger stories than this are reported of daughters sold and wives purchased among the interior tribes. She often eats with the dogs,3 and she may be thankful if when her husband dies she is not tossed with his dead body into the same grave. Many a burly savage thinks it unmanly to treat her with kindness and consideration. She is reckoned of little account to heart or home. Inferiority sinks almost into worthlessness in the estimation of masculine barbarians. Notice again the various deprivations Her deprivations and restrictions.and restrictions, many of them cruel and humiliating, which are inflicted upon her. She is deprived of knowledge and all opportunity for intellectual culture. She must not be taught to read.4 The more profound her ignorance, the more safely is she preserved from the perils of wisdom. According to the latest census report in India, an average of only six women in a thousand know how to read, and only one out of every hundred between the ages of five and fifteen enjoys any educational advantage. The total of absolutely illiterate women in the country amounts, in round numbers, to 128,000,000.5 This same terrible standard of ignorance is maintained, with some modifications, throughout the entire non-Christian world. The delights and benefits of knowledge, except where Christian influences have been introduced, are ruthlessly denied her as both unnecessary and dangerous. 1 Ibid., p. 333. 2 Ibid., p. 328. 3 Free Church of Scotland Monthly., March, 1893, p. 65. 4 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 486. 5 The Missions of the World, October, 1894, p. 328.
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In the same spirit she is deprived of her legitimate liberty. She is imprisoned in the zenanas of North India, shut up in the harems of Mohammedans, confined to the inner seclusion of her Chinese home, and among the higher classes of Korea her isolation is perhaps more prison-like and terrible than elsewhere.1 In China if she ventures out of her house she must be carefully hidden in the sedan-chair, or if she should appear upon the streets unguarded she must expect to be jeered and berated, even if she is not insulted.2 Pleasant exceptions to these severe restrictions may be noted in Japan, Siam, and Burma, where women (except in the case of royalty) enjoy a freedom unusual in Eastern lands. In Southern India the zenanas of the Punjab are not known, and much more personal freedom is allowed. It is gratifying to note also that among the peasantry and the working classes, living for the most part in villages, these artificial restrictions are almost altogether discarded. A severe code of obligation is almost universally maintained with reference to woman's duty in case of her husband's death. She is almost altogether deprived of the pleasure of mutual affection as a preliminary basis of marriage, since, according to the immemorial standards of the East, it is regarded as both immoral and indecorous.3 If even her betrothed should die before marriage she is expected in China to refrain from all further alliance,4 and in case of the death of her husband the truly honorable thing for her to do is either to commit suicide or remain forever a widow out of respect to his memory,5 although in China and Korea the singular concession is made that she may become a concubine and yet escape those depths of disgrace into which she would fall by becoming a legitimate wife.6 In Southern China this duty of suicide has been performed in the presence of an applauding crowd, with spectacular ceremonies.7 If the unfortunate widow should shrink from the ordeal, it sometimes happens that the surviving friends of her husband will force her to the performance of the rash act.8 In Korea substantially the same inexorable etiquette prevails,9 although in India the abominations of sati10 have now been legally prohibited. 1 Griffis, " Cores,"p. 245. 2 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 487. 3 Ibid., p. 488. 4 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., p. 793. 5 Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 191-216. 6 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 488; Griffis, "Corea," pp. 254, 255. 7 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 217. 8 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 489. 9 Griffis, "Corea," p. 255. 10 Often written "suttee," but more correctly as above.
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If, however, her husband lives, she must be prepared to welcome other women to share her conjugal rights, as he may desire; not, to be sure, as legitimate wives, but as concubines. The same rule prevails in this respect in China, Korea, and Japan,1 while in India and throughout the Mohammedan world there may be several legal wives. In Africa the universal rule is as many wives as a man can purchase, and the more he possesses the greater his social dignity. The position of a concubine is often one of bitter bondage not only to the husband, but also to the first or legal wife.2 If the hour of divorce comes, as it often does at the whim of the husband, nothing is easier than the destruction of all her legal rights by a cruel and arbitrary decree. There is one universal rule in this matter throughout the non-Christian world. It is as quickly and irreversibly done in Japan as elsewhere.3 A single passionate declaration will accomplish it in Korea, in China, in India, in every harem of Islam, and wherever an African savage chooses to speak the word. The power of life and death seems to be almost universally in the hands of the husband, unless the authority of some civilized government can call him to account. "Either to be killed or to be married is the universal female fate" in China.4 In Japan, even a father must be obeyed to the extent of self-immolation, if required.5 In times of dire distress and famine, alike in China and in Africa, wives and daughters may be sold without restraint in the open market.6 In such strange ways as these is woman robbed of her birthright and deprived of her heritage. Her indignities and burdens.There is still a final group of indignities and burdens, both physical and moral, which pertain to woman's lot in her non-Christian environment. The mere list of physical injuries inflicted upon her is painful. In almost all Eastern lands she is beaten without legal restraint and maltreated sometimes with brutal cruelty. She is often neglected when sick, as in many an Indian zenana. She is married everywhere at a tender age,—in India as early as seven years, —and the marriage is often consummated at eleven or twelve.7 There 1 Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," p. 28; Griffis, "The Mikado's Empire," P- 556. 2 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 202. 3 Bacon, "Japanese Girls and Women," p. 76. 4 4 Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," p. 25. 5 Griffis, "The Mikado's Empire," p. 555. 6 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 212; Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 204; The Church Missionary Intelligencer, May, 1895, p. 378. 7 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 345.
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seems to be no law in Mohammedan lands restricting the wishes of her rulers in this respect. Among the Kabyles she is often a married child at seven or eight. 1 Nor is there any constraint of custom as to the age of the bridegroom, who may be far advanced in years and yet married to a child.2 Amid the dismal barbarism of Chinese Turkestan even young children are sometimes drugged and forcibly married.3 In one of the islands of the New Hebrides a woman's marriage is attended by the painful ordeal of having her "two upper front teeth knocked out by the medicine-man, aided by half a dozen old women, who hold the girl's arms and legs while the cruel operation is being performed."4 Among the African tribes she is always liable to the charge of witchcraft, exposing her to torture or death, as among the Matabele and the Bule and the tribes of the East Equatorial region. In Uganda a wife was recently killed upon the supposition that she made her husband sick.5 On some of the South Pacific Islands, as in Aneityum and Efate, she is liable to be buried alive in the same grave with her husband or sacrificed in his honor by methods of extraordinary cruelty.6 Among all savage and ignorant races she is likely to be the victim of brutal quackery and barbarous surgical torture in her times of peril and distress. When widowhood becomes her lot she is everywhere the victim of suspicion and often of cruel neglect.7 Not infrequently her unprotected condition exposes her to violence. In China even the bright days of her childhood are shadowed by the lingering torture of bound, or rather crushed, feet, in accordance with that abominable custom. If afterwards in maturer life she is obliged to work, the burdens of her toil are immensely enhanced by the physical disability of her maimed person.8 The rough-and-tumble toil of life in mountain and field and garden seems to be her lot everywhere in heathen lands. Her daily lesson is drudgery, and throughout the East and in Africa every form of hard work is her appointed lot. She is "a hewer of wood and a carrier of water." In the fields and vineyards and olive orchards, on the tea plantations and at the wine-presses, carrying heavy loads upon her back and heavy jars upon her head, sometimes yoked to plows, usually walking while men ride, frequently with her babe strapped on her back— 1 Work and Workers, May, 1895, p. 201. 2 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 346. 3 Lansdell, "Chinese Central Asia," vol. i., p. 409. 4 The Independent, February 15, 1894, p. 16. 5 The Church Missionary Intelligencer, May, 1895, p. 378. 6 The Missionary, January, 1895, p. 36. 7 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 204. 8 Henry, "The Cross and the Dragon," pp. 49, 50.
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she goes through the weary round of her daily task. The filthy and loathsome service of fertilizing the soil and of preparing the fuel, made from offal, is always her menial task.1 The situation is well illustrated by the story of a native African who ordered his wife to carry him on her shoulders over a deep and perilous ford of a river. She obeyed his command successfully. The husband, on being remonstrated with by a white man, asked in astonishment, "Then whose wife should carry me over if my own does not?"2 Thus, while it is true that there are many industries in which women can and do happily engage, yet their lot, as a rule, is to be the slave and drudge of men who spend their time in idleness or sport, with no effort to lighten the burdens of life falling so heavily upon the women.3 Her indignities and burdens are not, however, physical alone. There are outrages upon her virtue inflicted by lust and greed. The Laws of Manu give the old Indian estimate of woman.4 She is regarded with intense distrust and counted as simply a malevolent snare to men. If a widow she is ever the victim of malicious gossip. "Scandals cluster around a widow's door," is a Chinese proverb.5 "No daughter's virtue can be praised until she is dead," is an Indian proverb.6 "She is married to the gods" in India, which means that she is married to no one, although the slave of all. She is set apart and trained for the indecencies of the nautch while still a child.7 If there is any difficulty attending her marriage, so inexorable is the law that no one must remain unmarried that she is given perhaps as the fortieth or fiftieth wife to some old man among the Brahmans whose special business it is to marry girls for a consideration, so that if they fail to find a husband in any other way this resource is still open.8 Then, again, according to the savage etiquette of African hospitality, they must serve as occasion may demand in the capacity of temporary wives to guests. As might be expected, the natural result of woman's environment and experience where Christianity is unknown is seen in her dwarfed intellectual capacity and her moral and physical degradation. Her service to society has in it necessarily little that is helpful or elevating. 1 Houghton, "Women of the Orient," p. 305. 2 Johnston, "Reality Versus Romance in South Cemral Africa," p. 65. 3 Cousins, "The Story of the South Seas," p. 143. 4 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 326-336. 5 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 245. 6 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 334. 7 "The Women of India," p. 78, Papers on Indian Social Reform, Madras, 1892. 8 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 347.
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Among savage races even the instincts of her humanity seem to have given place to a grovelling and loathsome animalism. In the higher The result upon her personal character.walks of heathenism she seems doomed to live in an atmosphere of suspicion, ignorance, and superstition. The Hindu zenana and the Moslem harem are, as a rule, the haunts of frivolous inanity, fleshly vulgarity, and intriguing jealousy. She knows little of the true ideal of home, and appreciates but feebly the dignity and responsibility of motherhood. False conceptions of duty, virtue, and responsibility govern her life; society is thus robbed of the helpful influence, the brightness, the fragrance, and the charm of her pure companionship, and the world is enfeebled, darkened, and saddened by its absence. Mr. Rudyard Kipling, in one of his stories of Indian life, gives the following trenchant verdict as to the real secret of India's degradation. He says by the mouth of one of his characters: "What's the matter with this country is not in the least political, but an all-round entanglement of physical, social, and moral evils and corruptions, all, more or less, due to the unnatural treatment of women. You can't gather figs from thistles, and so long as the system of infant marriage, the prohibition of the remarriage of widows, the lifelong imprisonment of wives in a worse than penal confinement, and the withholding from them of any kind of education or treatment as rational beings continues, the country cannot advance a step. Half of it is morally dead, and worse than dead, and that is just the half from which we have a right to look for the best impulses. It is right here where the trouble is, and not in any political considerations whatsoever. The foundations of their life are rotten—utterly rotten—and beastly rotten. The men talk of their rights and privileges. I have seen the women that bear these very men, and again—may God forgive the men!" It has been said, and no doubt truthfully, that, Some modifications of the dark picture which are to the credit of Eastern womanhood.in spite of all her disabilities, there is much of happiness as well as of dignity and influence in woman's lot in Eastern lands. This is certainly the case in Japan, where there are many bright modifications of the dark picture which has been presented, and where woman is naturally winsome and gentle, and, according to the standards of her country, refined and modest, with a degree of neatness, diligence, devotion, self-sacrifice, and affectionate concern for those she loves which places her on perhaps the highest plane of womanly excellence outside of the home life of Christendom. We must bear in mind in this connection that there is no zenana system in Japan, and very little physical ill-
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treatment of women. They are looked upon rather as babies and toys. The moral dignity of the Christian code of marriage.It is not unusual also in China, as well as in Japan, in Korea, and even in India, for women to win their way in some instances to a position of dignity, influence, and power, which secures the respect and admiration of all; yet these cases are confessedly exceptional, and they are especially creditable and honorable to woman herself in that she rises above her limitations and discouragements, and exhibits such characteristic cheerfulness, contentment, and patient docility in such untoward surroundings. The credit of this is due to her, and not to her environments, and shows her to be a tactful and resourceful conqueror of circumstances. Mere happiness, moreover, is not a sign that all is well. Slaves may be happy in their slavery, the ignorant may be contented in their degradation, the oppressed may have such a hopeless and narrow view of life that they make the best of their condition, and move blindly and carelessly on in the path of destiny; but this does not make their degradation the less real; it only reveals the capacity of endurance, of cheerful submission, and patient contentment, which abides in humanity. 2. POLYGAMY AND CONCUBINAGE.—Incidental mention has already been made of these subjects, but they can hardly be passed over without some more explicit and detailed reference to the facts concerning them. The unique teachings of Christianity concerning marriage form one of the most unmistakable evidences of the hallowed origin of the Christian code. It is in conflict with the immemorial customs of human history, stamping with instant and uncompromising disapproval the ordinary ways of men as revealed in the conventional non-Christian attitude of society through all time. The wisdom of Christ seems to have led Him to depart from His usual custom, and to legislate in detail as to the invariable Christian rule of morality in the case of marriage.1 He realized that in this matter not only principle but precept must be explicit and final if the world was to be guided aright. The necessity for definite directions on the part of the Founder of Christianity becomes all the more manifest when we note the devices that have been popular both in ancient and modern society, except where the divine code has ruled, to give a large scope to sensual instincts, while at the same time avoiding the recognized scandal of 1 Brace, "Gesta Christi," p. 30.
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universal lewdness. The different forms of marriage recognized by Roman law, especially that of usus, gave wide vent to laxity, while even to these was added, in the Augustan age, the omnium gatherum of concubinage.1 In the non-Christian world of to-day polygamy and concubinage, in connection with easy divorce, are still the recognized expedients for giving an official sanction to the wanton range of passion without the sacrifice of social caste. The convenient fiction of legality and the powerful password of custom lift the disgrace and save the pride of the Eastern world. In the East, as in the West, there is a ready condemnation and denunciation, in theory at least, if not always in practice, of the vice of prostitution. Nowhere will we find it more vigorously and scornfully berated than among Moslems, Hindus, and other Eastern nationalities. A Moslem will defend his piety and moral standing as passionately as lie guards the honor of his hidden retinue of the harem, and will repudiate with indignation any hint of irregularity or license in his habits of life. He insists, of course, that he is not holden to Christian standards and cannot be judged by them, his own moral code being the only one that he acknowledges. Thus we will find that the entire non-Christian world is prepared to defend stoutly the traditional moral environment of marriage, including polygamy, concubinage, and divorce at will, as wisely and happily ordered so as to combine a maximum of privilege with a minimum of scandal. This elastic legalization of compromising relations gives, in the eyes of the Oriental, a sufficient respectability to what would otherwise be pronounced illicit and scandalous. Strictly speaking, therefore, Licensed polygamy a characteristic of ethnic systems.according to the recognized social code, there is no polygamy in Japan, Korea, or China, and comparatively little even in India. The rule is that there is only one Bona fide wife of the first rank, and she rides but once in her lifetime in the bridal chair.2 To be sure, there are secondary wives and concubines, but this does not interfere with the monogamous supremacy and dignity of the first or chief wife, to whom the others often bear the relation of servants and underlings. In the imperial palaces, however, there are ranks upon ranks,3 and among the mandarins and the more wealthy classes of Japan, Korea, and China there is an indulgence in this domestic luxury proportionate to position and ability. While this is all true, it must be said, however, that, except among the higher 1 Schmidt, "The Social Results of Early Christianity," p. 42. 2 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 289. 3 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 15.
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classes in these countries, the polygamous household is the exception. The middle and lower classes, presumably rather under the stress of circumstances, usually observe the rule of monogamy.1 In Siam and Laos, also, polygamy is confined to a few,2 while in Burma it prevails to a very moderate extent. In India the rule among the Hindus in all ordinary castes is one wife, with the usual margin for concubines.3 In case, however, the first wife after seven years fails to bear a son, another wife is sure to be taken. There is one conspicuous exception to this general observation of monogamy, and this is among the Kulin Brahmans, whose bewildering code of polygamy without bounds or restraints is too complicated to deal with here.4 These much-married Brahmans, now found mostly in Bengal, seem to be able in view of their caste distinction to sell themselves as husbands to innumerable wives, whose friends will gladly pay a good round sum for the privilege of having daughters married in such an exalted connection. In India, as elsewhere, rajahs and princes are, as usual, unrestrained polygamists, while the lower classes are, as a rule, monogamists. The singular custom of polyandry is rarely met with. It exists, however, among the peasantry of Tibet, among some of the Nilgiri Hill tribes of South India, and somewhat also in Ceylon. The well-known rule of the Koran limits the Mohammedan to four legitimate wives at any one time, with a large license as to concubines and slaves. The facility of divorce, however, is always a ready expedient to make a convenient vacancy, so that the limit need not be exceeded, and the letter of the law observed.5 The Turkish harem and the Persian andarun are one and the same, and exhibit substantially the same phases of life.6 In Persia, moreover, an audaciously flagrant device of a temporary marriage seems to be in use to give a fictitious standing to a laxity wholly vicious and deplorable. This so-called marriage may be for a day or for years.7 At certain seasons of the year, when cultivators of the soil require special help, in accordance with this custom they adopt the expedient of marrying with a temporary contract as many women as they require. In the spring of the year the rice-planters of Ghilan and Mazanderan will thus secure a full con- 1 Holcombe, "The Real Chinaman," p. 77; Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," p. 28. 2 The Missionary Review of the World, January, 1895, p. 9. 3 Thoburn, "India and Malaysia," p. 368. 4 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 179-190. 5 Thoburn, "India and Malaysia," p. 368. 6 Bishop, "Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan," vol. ii., p. 109. 7 Benjamin, "Persia and the Persians," pp. 451-453.
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tingent of cultivators of their fields, and when the autumn harvesting is over, by a process of wholesale divorce the contract conies to an end. 1 The savage races brush aside all these fine distinctions of moral finesse so popular among the more advanced Orientals, and recognize no legal limitations whatever to their polygamous practices. Wives are a badge of social distinction, and give a princely éclat to the household. Throughout the whole African Continent and in the island homes of paganism the highest ambition, next to distinction in war, seems to be unlimited ownership of wives. 2 3. ADULTERY AND DIVORCE.—According to the social and legal standards of non-Christian lands, using the term in its strict technical sense, there is less adultery than one would expect. So far as the wife is concerned, she is guarded with extraordinary care, and her punishment in case of a lapse is severe and merciless. In theory it is usually death either by strangling or lapidation, but this extreme penalty is in most cases allowed to lapse in practice. So far as the man is concerned, the liberty which he claims to take to himself under legal forms secondary wives and concubines, and the right which he exercises of swift and informal divorce, put adultery in its technical sense outside the usual range of his indulgence. He finds such large license within the limits of custom and safety that an adulterous connection is not sought for, nor is it, as a rule, very practicable. Judged, however, by Christian standards, half the flimsy marital relations of the Asiatic and African nations are adulterous. Arbitrary power of divorce a conceded right in heathen systems.Divorce is everywhere easily accomplished with little formality and upon the most trivial pretexts. Almost the only restraint is the fear of scandal or of personally offending the relatives of the wife. It is practically at the will of the husband. It is his prerogative, not the wife's. It is hardly possible, nor is it usually conceded even in theory in non-Christian law, that a woman can either divorce or secure a divorce from her husband, although a separation by mutual consent can be everywhere resorted to without fear of legal consequences. A power so arbitrary and despotic on the part of the husband is, as might 1 Browne, "A Year among the Persians," p. 462; "Report of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, U. S. A., 1895," p. 166. 2 Rowley, "Twenty Years in Central Africa," p. 125; Tyler, "Forty Years among the Zulus," p. 117; Johnston, "Missionary Landscapes in the Dark Continent," p. 168; Ingham, "Sierra Leone after a Hundred Years," p. 316.
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be expected, a facile expedient for wrecking the marriage relation. It is the ready instrument of wanton desire, and at the same time introduces heartless uncertainty and gross injustice into the lot of woman. She is the passive victim, and has no redress for the wrong done her. In China the husband's power of divorce seems to be unlimited so far as his secondary wives are concerned. In the case of the first or chief wife, however, he must run the gantlet of possible complications arising from opposition on the part of her family friends. 1 Still further embarrassments arise in case the wife's parents have died since her marriage, or if she has served the husband's parents until their death, or if her husband has grown rich since her marriage. Theoretically the husband is free to divorce for any one of the "seven justifying causes," namely, "barrenness, lewdness, jealousy, talkativeness, thievery, disobedience to her husband's parents, and loathsome disease." 2 This would seem to open the door to the unrestricted exercise of the right. In reality, however, public opinion and the power of precedent and custom exert considerable influence in restraining intemperate impulses on the part of the husband. In Japan the list of justifying causes is substantially identical with those mentioned above, and the husband is practically under some constraint for the same reasons that hold in China, especially the possibility of offending the wife's family in case she is from the higher ranks of society. 3 Among the lower classes of Japan, however, there is much less restraint, and divorce is frequently resorted to. In the five years from 1885 to 1889, inclusive, there was a total of 1,579,648 marriages in the Empire of Japan, and a total of 559,032 divorces—or an average of 111,806 divorces annually, or one divorce to a fraction (2.88) less than every three marriages. In 1891 the marriages were 325,651, and the divorces 112,411, substantially the same proportion. Comparing these statistics with those of France for the same years, we find that from 1885 to 1889, inclusive, there were 29,148 divorces, or an average of 5829 annually, while the proportion of divorces to marriages was, in 1885,14 for 1000, which had increased, however, so that it amounted to 24 for 1000 in 1891. In the United States there were slightly over 40,000 divorces granted in 1894. Recent legislation in Japan has modified somewhat the legal features of divorce, so that at the present moment the whole subject is under the cognizance of law in a 1 Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 131. 2 Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," p. 32. 3 Griffis, "The Mikado's Empire," p. 557.
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way which was unknown a few years ago. It has become possible now for a wife to legally sue for a divorce.1 The immemorial rule, however, has been that a wife must give her husband full liberty to do as he will and should not even be jealous if he sought other society.2 In India divorce does not seem to be prevalent, except among Moslems.3 The Islamic code of divorce gives more license than is usual among Oriental nations. It is almost literally without restraint, except that the husband is required to pay the divorced wife's dowry.4 The absolute secrecy which enshrouds the Mohammedan harem covers many dark and cruel wrongs. According to Moslem tradition and custom, the Mohammedan husband can exercise absolute and irresponsible power within the precincts of his harem. Even the police are prohibited from entering on any pretext whatever. He can cast out his wife simply by the use of a familiar spoken formula, brief and peremptory, and she has no redress. In Turkey divorce is often resorted to among Moslems, and, except that certain legal formalities are required among the upper classes, it is a commonplace of domestic life. No disgrace attends it, nor is it any barrier to subsequent alliances. Even girls not yet twenty years of age may have been divorced and remarried a dozen times. This is virtually prostitution under guise of domestic relations, and the final lot of the victim is sooner or later to become a social outcast. In India an important aspect of this whole question is the proper regulation, by legal enactments, of the undoubted right of divorce where Christian converts are unjustly bound by non-Christian alliances. According to Mohammedan law in India, conversion to Christianity on the part of either husband or wife dissolves the marriage tie, and the party remaining a Moslem is free to contract another alliance. Legislation is needed which will secure to native Christian converts under these circumstances a legal divorce which will free them from bondage. In the case also of child marriage, which is regarded by present British law as binding, although it may have been contracted in infancy and remains still unconsummated, legislative reform is needed which will allow it to be regarded in the light simply of betrothal.5 1 Cf. "Civil Code of Japan: Book on the Law of the Person," paragraph 87, p. 31 (English translation). 2 Mrs. Bishop, "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," vol. i., p. 333. 3 Thoburn, "India and Malaysia," p. 368. 4 Indian Evangelical Review, July, 1895, p. 119. 5 "Report of the Bombay Conference, 1892," vol. i., pp. 56-95.
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4. CHILD MARRIAGE AND WIDOWHOOD.—Child marriage is in defiance of a law of nature at once beneficent and supreme. Its evils The evils of child marriage.are multiform and deplorable. It is physically injurious, morally deleterious, mentally weakening, destructive of family dignity, productive of enfeebled offspring, increases the probability of early widowhood, provokes the curse of poverty, and tends to rapid over-population.1 The testimony of native Indians of education and independent judgment (especially medical men) is clear and emphatic as to its sad and dangerous tendencies.2 The population of India to-day is largely the children of children, and, as marriage is contracted with little or no regard to the ability of the husband to support a family, this is one secret of the terrible and grinding poverty of the country. National vigor in many sections of the great peninsula has suffered a notable decline, owing to the constant stream of infant life born of immaturity, and called to struggle with insanitary conditions and blighting disease. Child marriage in its worst forms seems to be associated with the higher castes, among whom also the restrictions of intermarriage with other castes are inexorable, and involve a narrowing of the marriage relation within a too limited circle. The custom of infant marriage is not equally prevalent throughout India, and facts which may be true of one section of the country may not apply to others; yet the practice is sufficiently prevalent to make it a gigantic evil of Indian society and characteristic of the country. The census of 1891 reports 17,928,640 girls in India between the ages of five and nine. Of this number 2,201,404 were already married and 64,040 were widows. The report further shows that there were 12,168,592 girls between the ages of ten and fourteen, and of this number 6,016,759 were married and 174,532 were widows. In the province of Mysore the number of girls married under nine years of age in the year 1881 was 12,000, while in 1891 it was 18,000, showing an increase of 50 per cent In 1891 out of 971,500 married women 11,157 had been married at or before the age of four years, and 180,997 between the ages of five and nine, showing that one out of every five of the wives was married under the age of nine. There were in the province at that time 23,000 child widows below the age of fourteen. The total of married children in all India under five years of age is as follows: boys, 103,000; girls, 258,000. The total of widowed children under five years of age is, boys, 7000, and girls, 14,000. 1 "The Women of India," pp. 60-64. 2 "Sanitary Reform in India," p. 29.
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The average age of marriage for girls among the Brahmans is between six and seven. Some are married before seven years of age. Nearly all are married before ten. Even babes are often married as soon as they are born.1 Twelve seems to be the limit of age beyond which it is a disgrace for the girl not to be married and a sin for the father not to have found her a husband.2 The discussions of the Indian sacred books as to the marriageable age of girls are not fit for quotation. They are part of the prurient vulgarity of Hinduism in its treatment of woman. The reasons usually assigned for infant marriage are that it is essential to the peace of a man's soul after death that he should have children who can duly perform his funeral rites, and that early marriages increase the probability of offspring, and on this account are to be commended.3 It is also argued that the custom tends to morality, and that it is justified in India for physical reasons. The arguments that early marriages are required in the interests of morality and are justified by the early development of Indian girls are not sustained by facts. On the contrary, the custom is a dangerous stimulus to immorality, and quickens to an unnatural precocity the relation of the sexes. It is, moreover, denied by competent authority that climatic conditions in India are to the extent claimed responsible for early maturity. The pernicious customs of the country as regards marriage have unbalanced nature and prematurely forced the physical and mental growth of Indian children of both sexes.4 Further restrictive legislation concerning infant marriage greatly needed.The physical sufferings induced by early marriage form a shocking indictment against a cruel custom.5 In a recent memorial, signed by fifty-five lady doctors, petitioning the Indian Government on the subject of child marriage, and forwarded by Mrs. Dr. Mansell of Lucknow to the Governor-General, a strong appeal based upon medical experience was presented, urging that fourteen years be the minimum age for the consummation of marriage. The appeal is sustained by most pitiful facts, drawn from medical experience, as to the physical cruelties attending the prevalent custom of infant marriage. According to what is known as the "Native Marriage Act" of 1872, forced marriages are prohibited under the age of eighteen for men and 1 "The Women of India," p. 56. 2 Ibid., p. 57. 3 Sir Monier-Williams, " Brahmanism and Hinduism," p. 387. 4 "The Women of India," p. 59. 5 Ibid., p. 61.
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fourteen for women, while the written consent of parents or guardians is required when either party is under twenty-one. This at first sight seems to be valuable legislation, but, as the law remains a dead letter unless its protection is sought, it practically has little effect as a remedy for existing evils, since neither parents nor children appear inclined, except very rarely, to avail themselves of its provisions. According to the penal code of India, the minimum age for the consummation of marriage, so far as Hindus are concerned, was until quite recently ten years. It has now been raised to twelve by an act which became law on March 19, 1891. The significance of this is that it is regarded as a crime to consummate the marriage earlier than twelve years of age, but, owing to the supreme difficulty of prosecution and the many embarrassments attending it, the infraction of the law is rarely brought to book, and in the great majority of instances it is practically inoperative. As the limitation of ten years was often disregarded, so in all likelihood that of twelve years will be observed even to a less extent.1 The Parsees have secured for themselves by special legislation in their interest the age of fourteen, as also have the Brahmos (members of reform societies, like the Brahmo-Somaj and others) at their own request.2 The Kulin Brahmans,3 however, seem to break all rules with their barbarous customs. It is not unusual for individual members of this marrying syndicate to have from fifty to seventy-five girl wives scattered about the country, so that when the much-married husband dies it brings the social miseries and sorrows of widowhood upon a large circle of helpless victims.4 There is at the present time much agitation for new Indian legislation 1 Sir Monier-Williams, "Brahmanism and Hinduism," p. 387; "The Women of India,"p. 68. 2 "The Women of India," p. 67. 3 Ibid., p. 81. 4 Rev. Robert P. Wilder, of Kolhapur, India, has forwarded the following extract from a speech of Babu Dinanath Gangoli, delivered at the Sixth Social Conference, Allahabad, 1892: "It has been advanced in certain quarters that Kulinism is almost extinct, and that it is useless to take any trouble about it. Gentlemen, in my early days it was my belief that the practice would not last a decade more, but three decades have passed away and it is still prevalent. Some time ago I myself did not think much about Kulinism, considering that it had lost a good deal of its force; but three years ago, coming to know of the case of a Kulin who had left upwards of one hundred widows at his death, I was led to make inquiries about polygamous marriages among Kulins." After acknowledging his indebtedness to the editor of the Sanjwani, through whose good offices the investigation was made, the result of the inquiry is stated as follows; "Information was collected from 426 villages, showing 618 bigamists and 520 polygamists. Of the polygamists 180 have each 3 wives
98 have each 4 wives
54 have each 5 wives
35 have each 6 wives
26 have each 7 wives
20 have each 8 wives
10 have each 9 wives
19 have each 10 wives
9 have each 11 wives
12 have each 12 wives
5 have each 13 wives
11 have each 14 wives
4 have each 15 wives
6 have each 16 wives
2 have each 17 wives
1 has 19 wives
3 have each 20 wives
1 has 23 wives
4 have each 25 wives
1 has 26 wives
1 has 27 wives
1 has 28 wives
1 has 29 wives
4 have each 30 wives
2 have each 32 wives
1 has 34 wives
1 has 35 wives
1 has 36 wives
1 has 50 wives
1 has 52 wives
1 has 67 wives
1 has 107 wives
The mover of the last resolution informed you of his having heard of a Kulin being the husband of 107 wives; and the list I have placed before you shows that such a Kulin is really in existence. "Among the bigamists and polygamists the following deserve special notice: a boy of twelve years has two wives; a boy of fifteen years has four wives; three boys of fifteen years have two wives each; one boy of sixteen years has three wives ; one boy of sixteen years has seven wives; two young men twenty years old have eight wives each; one young man of twenty-two has seventeen wives; one of thirty-two has twenty wives, and one of thirty-seven has thirty-five wives. Educated young men and men of position also figure in this list."
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upon this burning subject.1 Another point upon which reform legislation is needed is to secure the non-recognition on the part of British law of the binding validity of infant marriage, so customary in India. It should be regarded in the light of a betrothal until bona fide marriage relations are established.2 We have referred as yet only to India, but the custom of early marriages is known also in Korea, China, Chinese Turkestan, Persia, Turkey, along the northern coast of Africa, and largely throughout the Continent, and it produces everywhere the same evil results. The present status of Indian legislation concerning the remarriage of widows.Child widowhood is a natural result of child marriage, and the evil is greatly enhanced by the uncompromising prohibition of remarriage in India. This singular prohibition is one of the fruits of the traditional subjection of woman. According to the social and religious standards of India, she is regarded as still bound to do reverence even to a dead husband, and his dominion is considered as lasting during her life, even though he has ceased to live. This idea of enslavement 1 "The Women of India," p. 66. 2 "Report of the Bombay Conference, 1892," vol. i., pp. 80-83.
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was carried to such an extreme that the widow was until recently bound to self-destruction at the death of her husband, in order that she might continue to be his wife and engage in his service in the life beyond. The prohibition of remarriage was lifted by what is known in British Indian legislation as the "Widow Marriage Act," passed by Lord Canning in 1856. The force of this act is simply that it removes the legal obstacles to remarriage on the part of the widow, if it is desired, but at the same time it requires her, in case of remarriage, to forfeit all property which she has inherited from her husband. This law has been modified by a special enactment in the case of native Christians and the theistic reformed sects of India, but it is still in force so far as the entire Hindu population is concerned. It is in reality, however, a dead letter, as the Hindus regard it with abhorrence, and have not mitigated in the least their strenuous opposition to the remarriage of a widow. Thirty years after its enactment only about sixty remarriages are reported in all India.1 It was a generation or more in advance of native opinion, which, however, at the present time is beginning to agitate for larger liberty in this matter. The law, being simply permissive in its character, legalizes without urging or facilitating the act of remarriage. It remains for native public opinion to relax its tyrannical stringency and yield itself to the urgent call for a more enlightened liberty. As the case stands now, the loss of property on the part of the widow is not the only penalty attending her remarriage; both she and her husband are ruled out of caste, and must suffer social ostracism in its most intense and virulent form. The sorrows of Indian widowhood.The condition of the Hindu widow is, almost without exception, a lamentable one. It has been fully described in books referring to the social and religious state of India.2 The chief features which make her fate a hard one, especially if she is widowed in childhood, are that she is immediately obliged to shave her head, is deprived forcibly of her jewels and ordinary clothing, and made to wear for the rest of her life a distinctive garb, which is a badge of humiliation. She is allowed to eat only once in the twenty-four hours, and every two weeks is required to observe a strict fast, omitting even the one meal. It has been decreed, however, by the highest religious court of Hinduism that if, acting on medical advice, the widow on these fast-days should drink a little water the offense should be condoned.3 Her person is forever 1 "The Women of India," p. 127. 2 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 364-375; "The Women of India," pp. 117-122. 3 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 364.
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held in contempt, and even her touch may be considered pollution. Her widowhood is regarded as an affliction brought upon her in punishment for heinous sin in a previous state of existence. If it come upon her in childhood she must grow to years of maturity with the painful consciousness of her isolation and unhappy ostracism shadowing the early years of her life. She is forever an object of suspicion, and is looked upon as capable of all evil. She is the victim of special temptations, and is often driven to a life of shame through sheer self-loathing and despair. It should not be understood that all widows are invariably treated with the same degree of severity and contempt throughout India. The treatment shown them varies in different castes, and even in different families. It may, of course, be mitigated by the personal kindness and consideration of their immediate circle, and it may be, on the other hand, intensified by fanaticism. In the Punjab, and especially in Bengal, the worst features of the widow's sad lot are prevalent. In other parts of India she may be treated with far less personal contumely, but the main features of isolation, suspicion, distinctive dress, cruel restrictions, and prohibition of remarriage prevail everywhere. According to the census of 1881, there were in India at that time 20,938,626 widows. The census of 1891 reports 22,657,429, but as this report was given with reference only to 262,300,000 out of a total population of 287,223,431, if the same proportion holds, the total number in all India would not be less than 25,000,000. Nearly every fifth woman in India is a widow. This large percentage may be traced directly to the custom of early marriages and the stringent prohibition of remarriage.1 The same shadow rests upon the widow in China and Korea, although the exactions of custom are by no means so inexorable as in India. If, however, she should remarry she loses her social position and is regarded as guilty of an unnatural and immodest act. In connection with the subject of widowhood and its enforced hardships, mention may be made of the now happily extinct custom of sati, 1 "The distribution according to age of the total 22,657,429 widows is as follows: From 0 to 4 years of age 13,878 From 5 to 9 years of age 64,040 From 10 to 14 years of age 174,532 From 15 to 34 years of age 4,160,548 From 35 to 49 years of age 6,996,592 From 50 and over 11,224,933 Age not returned 22,906 "Four hundred and eighty out of 10,000 males are widowed, against 1760 out of every 10,000 females. "For 8 widows in Europe, per population, there are 18 in India."—Indians Women, January, 1895, p. 42.
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or widow-burning. The usual form of the word in English is "suttee," but it is more correctly written sati, from a root The abolition of satisignifying "good" or "pure," the significance of the word being that self-destruction on the part of the widow is a preëminently virtuous act. The horrible custom was unknown among the early Aryans, nor is it inculcated in the Vedas. It is supposed that the Hindus adopted it from the Scythian tribes, who were accustomed to immolate "concubine and horse and slave on the tomb of the dead lord." Possibly the custom may have commended itself to the Hindus as one eminently fitting and in harmony with their ideas of what is becoming in a widow. At all events, it became prevalent to a fearful extent, and the relatives of the unhappy widow may have been all the more eager to insist upon it so that they might obtain her inheritance and be altogether relieved of the burden of supporting her. She was assured that untold happiness would follow this supreme sacrifice, and even those who aided in the act of burning would obtain for themselves extravagant merit. In numberless instances the unhappy victim, would shrink from her terrible fate, and would be forced to it in a way which made it a most abominable species of murder.1 In the year 1817 it was found that, on an average, two widows were burned alive in Bengal every day. In some cases death was by burial while alive instead of by burning. This most awful crime was abolished by the British Government in 1829 by the decisive action of Lord William Bentinck. The Hindus objected most vigorously to the regulation placing the practice of sati among the crimes punishable by law. They presented memorials to the Government, in which they justified the act of immolation as a sacred duty and exalted privilege, and claimed that the action of the authorities was an unwarranted interference with the religious customs of India. The appeal was transmitted to the Privy Council in England, but Lord Bentinck's action in the matter was sustained. The prohibition applied only to British territory, but the Government has also used its best influence in restricting the custom in Native States, and at the present time, although rare instances are still reported, it has been practically suppressed everywhere. The agitation for its abolition was begun under missionary auspices by Dr. Carey in 1801. 5. DEFECTIVE FAMILY TRAINING.—The delicate and responsible offices of parental training, although everywhere in the non-Christian 1 "The Women of India," p. 122.
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world more or less under the guiding instincts of natural feeling, are yet, through ignorance, passion, and thoughtlessness, sadly ineffective as a helpful discipline to the young. Family training can rise no higher in its temper and wisdom than the family character. Its aspirations may be the best, and its aims the highest that can be expected under the circumstances, yet they are not likely to transcend the family environment, except as Christian teachings give an uplifting impulse to parental desires. The sketch of Japanese child The training of children in Japan and China.life given by Miss Bacon, in her chapter on childhood in "Japanese Girls and Women," is a pleasing picture, and, owing to the kindness with which children are treated, Japan has been called a "paradise of babies." So far as gentleness and natural affection are concerned, the elements of happy family life seem to be present in Japan. The danger is rather in the lack of a wise self-restraint on the part of parents, modifying the tendency to an undue laxity which in the end may work injury. The absence of a high moral purpose and a deep sense of parental responsibility can hardly be atoned for by mere fondness. Later on in the life of a Japanese child comes the shadow of parental absolutism, which in many instances is guilty of inflicting grave wrongs upon confiding and obedient children, especially the daughters. In China there is a somewhat severe and elaborate ethical code of training which, if put into practice with wisdom and kindliness, is by no means void of good results. Its influence, however, is largely neutralized by the force of example and the power of the imitative instinct in the young. The "Nu Erh Ching; or, Classic for Girls" has been translated into English by Professor Headland, of Peking,1 and is full of sage advice and excellent counsel. Moral maxims and conventional politeness, however, may be insisted upon with much carefulness; yet if a child's mind" is filled with ill-natured gossip, low jests, filthy sayings, and a thousand slavish superstitions" the result is sure to be disastrous. Even though the letter of the discipline may be free from serious defect, yet the fact that it is ignored in thousands of families, and in its place is substituted the foolish and idolizing weakness of fond parents, interspersed with bursts of furious brutality, quite transforms the ideal Chinese home into a school of selfishness, conceit, and disobedience.2 The ordinary training of Chinese children is characterized by grave moral lapses, and sometimes by shocking cruelty. Punishment 1 The Chinese Recorder, December, 1895, p. 554. 2 Williams, "A New Thing," p. 27.
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is frequently brutal and even criminal.1 Parental care is in many cases neglected. In fact, the children are sometimes cast off and turned loose in the world under heartless conditions which insure either death, slavery, or shame.2 Child slavery is one of the reproaches of Chinese society.3 In India and Burma, and, in fact, throughout all Asiatic countries, the utter neglect of family training, seems to be the feature most to be noted In India and Africa.in this connection. The children, except those of the higher classes, are left to their own devices to grow up under the influence of their tainted environment. Where the climate will allow they are unclothed, until natural modesty ceases to exist, and are usually unwashed, unkempt, and covered with filth, flies, and vermin. In India "there exists a superstition according to which it is unlucky to wash children until they reach a certain age."4 The "joint family system," as known in India, is a dangerous one to family peace, and attended with practical disadvantages which are objectionable from many points of view. Its effect upon children is to concentrate the power of evil example and bring them into contact with every aspect of domestic infelicity.5 A sad aspect of the matter is the prurient precocity of children, who begin their vile language with their infant prattle and grow old in pollution while yet young in years.6 The average Indian mother 1 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 213; Turner, "Kwang Tung," p. 154; "Child Life in China," The Sunday-School Times, April 6, 1895. 2 Henry, "The Cross and the Dragon," pp. 309-311; Turner, "Kwang Tung," P- 154. 3 Woman's Work in the Far East, May, 1896, pp. 15-18; Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 404; Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 347-349. 4 Monier-Williams, "Brahmanism and Hinduism," p. 580. 5 "The redeeming virtues of the family system have been supplanted by vices of abnormal degree and magnitude. Where sincere sympathy was, stolid indifference now exists. Jealousy and hatred have usurped the place of harmony. Discordancy rides triumphant. Deceit and spoliation have seized those who were heretofore the trustees of our honor and property. A sense of distrust has seized each member against every member. Family feuds, litigation, and waste of resources are now every-day occurrences. So that the Hindu family has changed from a convenient social unit into an incoherent and cumbrous mass. Say what our countrymen may, our domestic relations are undergoing a revolution appalling to contemplate. It is not confined to this or that sect, this caste or that caste, but [pertains] to almost every household, Brahman or Sudra. It is only families still in their archaic state which form the exception. In them the patriarch's rule is still dominant."—Mullick, "Essays on the Hindu Family in Bengal," quoted in "The Women of India," p. 86. 6 "Even under the most favorable conditions of Indian life, how full of misery is the child's life! The obscene speech of Indian homes is one of its darkest features. It is indeed a βíθoς in this connexion to speak of the misery of the uncleanliness of Indian children. Yet how can it be but inevitable when 'Indian mothers trust largely to superstitious ceremonies to keep their children well, while they neglect sanitary arrangements ' ? Worse than all is the woe of Indian childhood which befalls the opening mind when, led by their mothers to the Indian temple, their eyes are met with sights, their ears assailed by songs, of such loathsome import that innocency may not sustain the strain, and the child mind perishes in that awful hour." —"Missions or Science, the Maker of India's Homes?" The Church Missionary Intelligencer, November, 1893, p. 807.
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seems to be all unconscious of the fact that she has anything to do in forming the character of her children.1 In Mohammedan lands the same physical and moral neglect prevails, and the young grow up under the unwholesome culture of surrounding influences. Parental petting alternates with parental passion in the daily treatment of children. In Africa family life is not very far above the plane of mere animalism, modified, of course, by human instincts ; yet there is really no family training. Children run wild and grow up with untamed and grossly tainted natures.2 The mission school is the best gift of heaven to African children, and under its auspices the long, slow process of making over those wild natures has commenced. A word should be said in this connection concerning the abuse of parental authority in Eastern lands—not a new or strange thing in heathenism, as we may read in classical history.3 In China it is answerable for much brutality and for the sale of children into slavery, while in Japan it often seals the doom of a daughter to a life of misery.4 In all the realms of savagery it suggests a dread possibility in the case of millions of little ones who may at any time become the victims of a sudden whim or a loathsome purpose on the part of those who are the irresponsible masters of young lives. 6. INFANTICIDE.—That the exposure of children in such a way as to insure their destruction was common in classical heathenism is too well known to require more than a passing notice.5 It is perhaps a less 1 Thoburn, "India and Malaysia," p. 365. 2 "Infants and children are usually grievously mismanaged, and the mortality among them is enormous."—Rev. G. M. Lawson (U. M. C. A.), Zanzibar. 3 Storrs, "The Divine Origin of Christianity," pp. 138-140; Ingram, "History of Slavery," pp. 16, 28. 4 The Japan Evangelist, February, 1896, p. 135. 5 Brace, "Gesta Christi," pp. 72-83; Storrs, "The Divine Origin of Christianity," pp. 138-141.
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familiar fact that this inhuman crime prevailed among the pagan barbarians of Central and Northern Europe as late as the thirteenth century.1 The heathenism of to-day, even in the centres of its most advanced civilization, is still red-handed with the traces of infanticide. Japan is in Child murder not uncommon in China.
pleasing and humane contrast with her more barbarous neighbors, the Chinese, as regards this dark and cruel crime. That the custom, although often practised in secret, prevails in China cannot be doubted. The united testimony of those who have had ample opportunities to know the facts presents a body of evidence which is irresistibly strong, although the custom is confined almost exclusively to the destruction of girls, unless in case of deformed or weakly infants. It is more prevalent in Central and Southern China, and is comparatively rare in the north. It is said that poverty and the desire to be free from the burden of caring for girls are the chief causes of its prevalence.2 The spirit which seems to reign in the hearts of Chinese mothers is illustrated by a conversation which Miss Fielde reports in "A Corner of Cathay" (p. 72). A pagan Chinese woman, discoursing upon the subject of daughters, remarked, "A daughter is a troublesome and expensive thing anyway. Not only has she to be fed, but there is all the trouble of binding her feet, and of getting her betrothed, and of making up her wedding garments; and even after she is married off she must have presents made to her when she has children. Really, it is no wonder that so many baby girls are slain at their birth!" While the difficulty of obtaining accurate data is recognized by all, and also the fact that statements which apply to certain sections of the vast empire are not representative of the true status in other parts, yet the prevalence of infanticide to a frightful extent is beyond question.3 The author of "Things Chinese" (p. 233) estimates on the basis of special inquiries that in the province of Fuhkien "an average of forty per cent. of the girls were thus murdered." Rev. C. Hartwell, in a paper read at the Shanghai Conference of 1877 ("Report,"p. 387), estimates that at Foochow" from thirty to seventy per cent, of the female infants have been destroyed." If the act of destruction is not actually committed, another 1 Lawrence, "Modern Missions in the East," p. 15. 2 Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 351-356; Williams, "The Middle Kingdom, "vol. ii., pp. 239-243. 3 Norman, "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," pp. 289-291; Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 179; Fielde, "Pagoda Shadows," chap. iii.; Moule, "New China and Old,"p. 179.
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method of accomplishing the result is to leave the infant in some exposed place, where it is either destroyed by animals or starved. It may be cast into the living tomb of a baby tower, or placed in a basket or shelter provided for the purpose, from whence some one may take it to sell into slavery or to adopt if so disposed. In the latter case the motive may be evil and the infant' future may be one of hopeless shame. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, a lifelong resident of China, writes in The Chinese Recorder, October, 1894, as follows: "Of the prevalence of infanticide in China there is unhappily no room for doubt. The question is set at rest by the testimony of the people themselves. Among their moral tracts dissuading from vice and crime a conspicuous place is filled by a class called 'Dissuasives from Drowning Daughters.' Official proclamations may often be seen posted on gates and walls forbidding the practice. "Other veteran missionaries, as Dr. Talmage, of Amoy, have reported the results of careful inquiry and observation to the same effect.1 Dr. Abeel, whose diary is quoted in the "Life of Talmage" (p. 69), and whose observation dates back about fifty years from the present time, gave it as his verdict, after repeated investigation in the vicinity of Amoy, that "the number destroyed varies exceedingly in different places, the extremes extending from seventy and eighty per cent, to ten per cent., and the average proportion destroyed in all these places amounting to nearly four tenths, or exactly thirty-nine per cent. In seventeen of these forty towns and villages [visited] my informants declare that one half or more are deprived of existence at birth." "When I reached here thirty-two years ago," writes Rev. J. Macgowan (L. M. S.), of Amoy, China, "there was a pond in the centre of the town known as the 'Babies' Pond.' This was the place where little ones were thrown by their mothers. There were always several bodies of infants floating on its green, slimy waters, and the passers-by looked on without any surprise." The influence of Christianity in Amoy has banished this scene. "As the Church grew," he writes, "the truth spread, and street preachers pointed to this pond as an evidence of the heartlessness of idolatry that tolerated such wickedness, and the people became ashamed. Foundling Institutions were established, which are carried on to-day and which now have fully two thousand children in connection with them. To-day thousands of women are alive who, but for Christianity, would have been put to death. The pond has long ago dried up."2 While, of course, no statement can be made which is other 1 Fagg, "Forty Years in South China: Life of John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.," pp. 66-70; Graves, "Forty Years in China," p. 89. 2 "Infanticide is practised in Cheh-kiang Province. One of our native Christians confessed to me that before she became a Christian she had five daughters, and had drowned them all, simply because she could not afford to bring them up. Our churches are practically anti-infanticide societies."—S. P. Barchet, M.D. (A. B. M. U.), Kinhwa, China. "Infanticide is practised extensively in some parts of China, but is not so common in North China. Here it is chiefly confined to the very poor, to sickly children and illegitimate children. But there is no sentiment against it as wrong. There is no hope of preventing it, except by the higher moral tone Christianity imparts."— Mrs. C. W. Mateer (P. B. F. M. N.), Tungchow, China.
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than an estimate, yet it seems beyond question that tens of thousands (we have seen it named as high as two hundred thousand) of infant girls are annually sacrificed in China. The custom is practised also in Formosa, as Dr. MacKay reports in "From Far Formosa" (p. 298). The testimony concerning the prevalence of infanticide in India before the advent of British rule is hardly less abundant than in China. It may Infanticide among the Hindus.be drawn largely from Indian sources. In a volume on "Medical Jurisprudence," quoted by Wilkins, it is stated that "the murder of female children, whether by the direct employment of homicidal means or by the more inhuman and not less certain measures of exposure to privation and neglect, has for ages been the chief and most characteristic crime of six sevenths of the inhabitants of British India."1 Syed A. M. Shah states, in an article on "Hindu Women in India," that, "among Rajputs, if the child were a girl the poor little creature used often to be killed by her cruel parents, who looked upon her birth as a direct curse from heaven." 2 In a lecture on "Kathiawar," delivered by Mr. M. A. Turkhud before the National Indian Association, the lecturer, in speaking of the Jadejas, remarked: "This tribe is noted for the practice of female infanticide. Whenever a child was born, if it was a girl it was immediately killed. How the practice originated is not exactly known, but it was probably due to the ambition among Rajputs to marry their daughters into families higher than their own, and this always involved a ruinous expenditure in dowries. This practice was not confined to the Jadejas alone, but it prevailed among the Sumras and Jethavas also. "The lecturer quoted, also, a paragraph from the writings of Colonel Watson upon the same theme. Referring to the method employed in the execution of the crime, the words reported are as follows: "It is not necessary to describe the mode of killing the unfortunate children. There were several methods. It is not difficult to kill a new-born child, 'What labor is there in 1 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 431. 2 The Indian Magazine and Review, April, 1894, p. 212.
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crushing a flower ?' said a Jadeja chief, on being asked what means were employed. The crime was formerly so universal that directly a female child was born it was killed by the women of the house, unless the father had given express orders beforehand that it should be reared, and such an order was rarely given. The father never saw the infant himself; he always pretended to be unconscious of the whole affair, and if any one ventured to ask him . . . the answer was, 'Nothing.' The event was always passed over in silence, and even when a girl's life was spared there was no rejoicing."1 When Kathiawar came under British rule, the Jains, whose chief religious tenet is total abstinence from taking all animal life, expressly stipulated that no cattle should be killed for the use of English troops ; yet this was in face of the fact that female infanticide had been practised for ages without the slightest protest. The sacrifice of children in the payment of vows to Indian deities has been "known for untold generations," and not until British legislation had largely abolished the custom were there any signs of its cessation. The question as to the extent of infanticide in India at the present time is more difficult to determine, as under the ban of British law it is Has it been entirely checked in India?carried on more secretly. In fifteen years, however, there have been officially reported twelve thousand five hundred and forty-two cases, and this number represents only a small proportion of the total. The Indian Social Reformer for August 3, 1895, contains the following statement: "Infanticide seems to be largely on the increase in the Madras Presidency. Hardly a week passes without our reading in the papers of painful instances in which new-born babies are either killed or deserted. The 'Sasilekha' rightly attributes this sad state of affairs to the peculiarly rigid and stupid marriage customs of the country, and exhorts all true patriots to do what they can to modify these customs." In a recent issue of The Bombay Gazette is the statement that "female infanticide continues prevalent in Northern India, and the subject comes under review by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab in a resolution on the Sanitary Commissioner's report. 'The unenviable notoriety enjoyed by the districts of Jullundur, Amritsar, and Ludhiana,' he remarks, 'by reason of their abnormally high death-rates of female infants, is again brought to notice.'" A chapter on infanticide in "Women of the Orient" gives some significant statements from official sources with reference to the state of affairs in India in 1870, and the author comes to this conclusion: "As the result of careful inquiry while in India, I am morally certain that, 1 The Indian Magazine and Review, April, 1896, p. 171.
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at the very lowest estimate admissible, fully one third of the girls born among the natives of that country are still secretly murdered."1 The British Government has waged strenuous warfare against infanticide in India, but, owing to the extreme difficulty of discovery and the impossibility of fixing the guilt, it has not been as successful in the matter of infant murder as in the case of other inhuman practices. The crime has been prohibited by British law since 1802, and this prescriptive legislation has gradually been extended to all parts of India, and more recently it has been enacted that in all proclaimed villages the proportion of girls born should bear a certain ratio to the boys, as it has been clearly indicated by experience that the normal proportion is about equal. A strict surveillance by the proper officials throughout Northern and Western India has secured at the present time a ratio of four girls to six boys, which is a decided improvement upon the past. The secrecy of the zenana renders it almost impossible to prove a case of infanticide, and, even though the act of murder should not be violently committed, the object can be attained with almost equal certainty by neglect. In the last census the relative number of girls to one hundred boys shows a marked improvement over past records. The average for all India is 92 girls to every 100 boys. The lowest recorded ratio is 69 78/100in Quetta, British Baluchistan, and the next is 83 17/100 in Sindh, while in Rajputana, once so noted for the prevalence of infanticide, it has risen to 87 48/100. It is worthy of note that in Upper Burma, where woman occupies a position of exceptional honor, the recorded ratio is 102 79/100 girls to every 100 boys. It is to be hoped that with the progress of Christianity and the abolition of the absurd extravagances of narriage the natural heart of India will revolt from the heinousness of this crime, and infanticide will disappear forever. In the Pacific Islands infanticide has prevailed to a frightful extent under circumstances of exceptional heartlessness and cruelty. "The early missionaries have testified that not less than two thirds of the children were put to death. Especially were female children killed. 'Why should the girl live?' they [the natives] would say. 'She cannot poise the spear, she cannot wield the club.' A mother would often strangle her own child, with one hand holding the nostrils and the other holding the mouth, and then herself dig the grave and bury the child."2 The above statement was made concerning the Fiji Islands, but it is substantially true with reference to almost the entire island world.3 1 Houghton, " Women of the Orient," p. 71. 2 Alexander, "The Islands of the Pacific," p. 394. 3 Michelsen, "Cannibals Won for Christ," pp. 133, 154; Gill, "Life in the Southern Isles," p. 213; Alexander, "The Islands of the Pacific," pp. 28, 77, 159, 268, 413.
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The Samoan Group seems to have presented a remarkable exception to other sections of Polynesia, as infanticide is said never to have prevailed there.1 As we enter the "habitations of cruelty" in the Dark Continent, the crime of infanticide is found in ghastly proportions. Among certain savage The doom of twins in Africa.races the advent of twins seems to excite every instinct of fear and brutality. In an address at a Ladies' Meeting of the Church Missionary Society, Mrs. Hill, the wife of the lamented Bishop Hill, of Western Equatorial Africa, made the following statement:" The birth of twins is considered a great curse, and the woman that has twins is disgraced for life afterwards, and she is compelled to throw the twins into the wood, where they are left to die. In a town five miles distant from where we were there are five hundred infants annually sacrificed in these two ways: they are murdered by hundreds, and left to die in the way which I have stated."2 Dr. Laws (U. P. C. S.), in writing from Old Calabar, a neighboring mission to Bishop Hill's, says, "It is almost impossible for any one at home to imagine the horror with which the birth of twins is regarded by the natives, and especially by the native women." In the same connection he refers to the "destruction of twins" as one of the great obstacles to the progress of Christianity in Old Calabar, inasmuch as the missionaries insist upon an entire change of custom as essential to the profession of Christianity.3 The missionary literature of other societies at work in Africa, especially that of the Universities' Mission and the London Missionary Society, yields similar statements with reference to "the fearful amount of child murder" prevailing in Africa. In some instances the heinous guilt of the little victim is declared to be that it" cut its upper teeth first." In other instances, strange to say, its fatal offense is reported as "cutting a lower tooth before the upper ones." In both cases the father was the executioner, fearing death himself if the infant lived. If a child should cut a tooth before birth its doom is sealed, according to what is known as the custom of the "vigego." 4 1 "Infanticide, wholly unknown in Samoa, prevailed throughout the Tokelau and Ellice groups." —Rev. J. K. Newell (L. M. S.), Malua Institution, Samoa. 2 The Church Missionary Intelligencer, June, 1893, p. 437. Cf. also Faulkner, "Joseph Sidney Hill," p. 144. 3 The Missionary Record, December, 1893, p. 354. 4 Central Africa, January, 1894, p. 8; Ibid., May, 1895, p. 68; The Missionary Record, January, 1893, p. 23.
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That infanticide Infanticide not common among the Mohammedans.has been only too well known among the Indians of North and South America is the testimony of those who are familiar with their history. To the credit of the Mohammedans it may be said that, except in the case of illegitimate children, infanticide is not now practised, being prohibited in the Koran.1 III.-THE TRIBAL GROUP (Evils which pertain to intertribal relationships and find their origin in the cruel passions of savage life) Turning now from the consideration of those evils which may be differentiated as individual or domestic in their origin and character, we come to a group whose genesis is tribal, pertaining rather to life in the larger relationships of clan, tribe, or race. As will be noted, this is a classification which is far from precise or exclusive, yet it is perhaps as definite as we can hope to attain. I. THE TRAFFIC IN HUMAN FLESH.—The slave-traffic The historical genesis of the slave trade.and its twin evil, slavery, have shadowed human history from the earliest times. Barbarous pride, inhuman greed, and the fortunes of war among savage races have proved a sufficient stimulus to this cruel wrong. A compact survey of the status of slavery in Greece and Rome, and of the enormous extent of the slave-traffic in those great empires, will be found in the excellent little volume of Dr. Ingram,2 who gives also, in chapter vi., a brief history of the rise of the African slave-trade in the 1 Cf. Sale's Preliminary Discourse, in Wherry's "Commentary on the Quran," sec. v., pp. 202-204. The custom of burying alive female infants as soon as they were born was a common one among the Arabs in the time of Mohammed. The prohibition of the Koran is explicit: "Kill not your children, for fear of being brought to want; we will provide for them and for you; verily, the killing them is a great sin." "Surat al Bani Israil" ("The Children of Israel"), entitled also "The Night Journey," verse 33. Cf. also "Surat al Anam" ("Cattle"), verses 137, 151; "Surat al Nahl" ("The Bee"), verses 60, 61; and "Surat al Takwir" ("The Folding Up"), verse 8. Dr. Wherry calls attention to the fact that the motive for the act among the Arabs was the same which influences the Hindus. "Commentary," vol. i., p. 203. 2 Ingram, "A History of Slavery and Serfdom," chaps, ii., iii. Cf. Storrs, "The Divine Origin of Christianity," pp. 155-157, 479-482.
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latter half of the fifteenth century, when the Portuguese, under Prince Henry the Navigator, made their first venture in "black men and gold dust." The awful scourge of colonial slavery and its monstrous crime of slave hunting and transportation followed with an amazingly rapid development.1 Its history, covering a period of over two hundred and fifty years, presents perhaps the most colossal wrong that man has ever inflicted upon man, unless we except the age-long records of war. Commerce in slaves was common in Russia until, in the reign of Alexander II., it came to an end with the abolition of serfdom in 1861. By this memorable act of emancipation, in which were included the serfs of the State, of the imperial appanages, and of the individual proprietors as well, over forty million bondmen were set free. Mohammedanism has been throughout its history responsible for the slave-hunt and the slave-market as necessary accompaniments to the slavery it recognizes and sanctions.2 The African slave-trade in modern times has been maintained to a large extent for the supply of Moslem markets in Arabia, Persia, Turkey, Egypt, Tripoli, and Morocco. The main avenues of the modern slave-traffic in Africa.Livingstone was the instrument used by Providence to awaken civilized nations to the enormity of this great evil and its awful cruelties. He pronounced it, in words which have lived and burned in the conscience of Christendom, to be "the open sore of the world." Since the abolition of the external traffic on the West Coast, which drained the deep recesses of the Continent for the supply of the colonial markets,3 there still lingers an internal trade among the native tribes of West Africa. The main avenues of the traffic, however, have branched out in three directions from East Central Africa and the Soudan as centres, and along these dreary paths the tramp of the 1 Ingram, pp. 140-153. 2 Ibid., p. 222. 3 "Immediately after the discovery of the New World, the demand for labour in its mines and plantations, of which the Western nations of Europe were rapidly taking possession, gave an immense stimulus to the traffic in slaves from Africa. This traffic was at first promoted most actively by the Spaniards, but in 1562 Sir John Hawkins engaged English ships in it, and thereafter it became a recognized department of English commerce. At least four companies were formed in succession, each of which possessed under Royal charter the sole right to traffic with Africa, but they were unable to exclude other traders, and none survived for any length of time. The Revolution of 1688 threw the trade open, and from this time it flourished. In the year 1771 no fewer than 192 ships sailed from England for Africa (107 of these from Liverpool), with provision for the transport of 47,146 slaves. The entries show that from 1700 to 1786 the number of slaves imported into Jamaica alone was 610,000, or an average of 7000 a year."—George Robson, D.D., "The Story of Our Jamaica Mission," p. 12.
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ghastly caravans may still be heard. One of these finds its outlet from the Western Soudan in a northerly direction through the burning regions of the Sahara to the Mohammedan States of North Africa, especially Tripoli and Morocco. Another is eastward to the coast, whence the slaves are conveyed to the markets in Arabia, Persia, and Turkey in the north, and, until recently, to Madagascar in the south. The third route is by the Nile Valley, through which a large traffic was formerly carried on, but which in late years has been so carefully guarded that it is not available except in instances where secrecy or cunning can succeed in eluding detection.1 According to a careful estimate, based upon the personal investigations of such explorers as Livingstone, Gordon, Cameron, Lavigerie, and others, the annual sacrifice of lives in Africa by the slave-trade, as conducted a generation ago, was not less than five hundred thousand. If we add to this the victims transported into slavery and those exiled from their burning villages and their ruined homes, we may regard the total number of those who were at that time victims to the slave-trader's violence as not less than two millions annually.2 Much has been done within a quarter of a century to mitigate these horrors and lessen their volume, but that the slave-trade still exists to an extent hardly realized by Christendom is a fact which cannot be doubted. It is to a lamentable extent a feature of internal commerce between the African tribes themselves, and all the efforts to seal its outlets along the extensive unguarded coast-line of East Africa have been as yet only partially successful. In the Congo Free State The slave-markets of the West Coast and its Hinterland.energetic attempts have been made, with considerable success, to break up the Arab strongholds of the traffic in the northeasterly regions of the State. The action of the Brussels Conference of 1889-90, which had for one of its objects the suppression of the slavetrade, has given a stimulus among all civilized nations to aggressive and benevolent efforts for its repression. It is in harmony with the agreement entered upon at that Conference that the 1"There can be little doubt that in course of time slavery in Egypt will entirely disappear, provided continual vigilance be exercised over buyers as well as over dealers. Notwithstanding what has been done to check the trade, it is certain that advantage is at once taken of the least relaxation in the measures heretofore adopted to prevent the introduction and the sale of slaves in Egypt, to smuggle in slaves from Tripoli or Bengazi, and dispose of them generally in out-of-the-way places where detection is difficult."—Report of Lord Cromer on Slavery in Egypt (vide Blue Book, Egypt, No. I, 1894), quoted in The Anti-Slavery Reporter, March-April, 1894, p. 96. 2 The Anti-Slavery Reporter, July, 1894, p. 208.
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recent campaign upon the northern and eastern borders of the Congo State was conducted. Germany, England, and France have responded to the sentiment embodied in the Brussels Act, and have throttled the giant evil here and there throughout their vast possessions and spheres of influence in Africa; yet the testimony of travellers who have penetrated the interior, of missionaries in various parts of the Continent, and especially the recent report of Mr. Donald Mackenzie, who in 1895 visited the East Coast of Africa from Suakin to Zanzibar as a special Commissioner of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, leave no room for doubt that the slave-trade is still a grim reality in Africa. Such is also the testimony of Mr. Heli Chatelain, who has resided for many years in West Africa, and who has been instrumental in organizing the "Philafrican Liberators' League" in the United States, for the purpose of establishing colonies in Africa, according to the suggestion of the Brussels Act, for the protection and industrial training of liberated slaves.1 Slave-markets for intertribal trade are scattered along the West Coast.2 In Yorubaland young children are driven like sheep to be sold in the shambles.3 In a recent volume on Hausaland, by Charles H. Robinson, M.A., startling statements are made concerning the extent and cruelty of the slave-traffic in the Hausa States and throughout the Western Soudan. His description of the slave-market at Kano, of the slave-raiding throughout that section of Africa, and of the singular custom of using slaves as currency, indicates that this region, although nominally under English supervision, through the Royal Niger Company, is cursed by the most abandoned and heartless species of slave-raiding and slave-trading. In the market at Kano there is an average of about five hundred human beings daily on sale. It appears, in fact, that about every important town in the Hausa States possesses a slave-market. The tribute paid by the smaller States to the larger 1 Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, No. I, 1896, p. 70; "Africa and the American Negro" (Addresses at Atlanta Congress on Africa), pp. 103-112. 2 The Missionary Record, January, 1895, p. 13. 3 "As the day cooled again we passed through the lonely though well-cultivated farms of Shobakia, Egbade, and Olipin. In the midst of them we saw a sight of saddening interest. It was a company of about thirty small children, ranging from seven to twelve years, who were being driven like a drove of sheep to Abeokuta. They came from the interior, and the next day would be sold in the market at Abeokuta. The sight was sad, but it is all too common. The reason that children and not men and women are more numerously for sale is that now men and women soon run away, while children can be retained for at least a few years." —Rev. Bryan Roe, in Work and Workers in the Mission Field, January, 1896, p. 14.
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consists usually of slaves. The Sultan of Sokoto receives a small army of them every year as his annual tribute. Mr. Robinson declares that "one out of every three hundred persons now living in the world is a Hausa-speaking slave," and justifies the statement upon the basis of a Hausa-speaking population of fifteen millions, or one per cent, of the world's inhabitants. As he regards it as beyond question that at least one third of these are in a state of slavery, this would result in one Hausa-speaking slave to every three hundred of the world's population.1 In "Fire and Sword in the Sudan," by Slatin Pasha, translated by Major Wingate, is another harrowing account of slavery and the slave-trade in the Soudan, chiefly in the eastern section. His descriptions of the desert slave-routes, and how women and girls are treated, present records of cruelty which are almost too appalling to quote.2 The existence of slave-markets in Morocco, supplied by transportation across the Sahara from the Western Soudan and the regions of the Upper Niger, is confirmed by abundant testimony.3 Mr. Henry 1 Robinson, "Hausaland," quoted in The Anti-Slavery Reporter, January-February, 1896, pp. 62, 63. [A decree issued March 6, 1897, by Sir George Goldie, abolishes slavery in all the territories of the Royal Niger Company after June 19th.] 2 The Anti-Slavery Reporter, January-February, 1896, pp. 55-57. 3 In a communication on this subject, a member of the North Africa Mission says: "Few people know the true state of affairs in Morocco; only those who live in daily touch with the common life of the people really get to understand the pernicious and soul-destroying system of human flesh-traffic, as carried on in most of the public markets of the interior. Having resided and travelled extensively in Morocco for some seven years, I feel constrained to bear witness against the whole gang of Arab slave-raiders and buyers of poor little innocent boys and girls. "When I first settled in Morocco I met those who denied the existence of slave-markets, but since that time I have seen children, some of whom were of tender years, as well as very pretty young women, openly sold in the City of Morocco, and in the towns along the Atlantic seaboard. It is also of very frequent occurrence to see slaves sold in Fez, the capital of Northern Morocco. "The first slave-girls that I actually saw being sold were of various ages. They had just arrived from the Soudan, a distance by camel, perhaps, of forty days' journey. Two swarthy-looking men were in charge of them. The timid little creatures, mute as touching Arabic, for they had not yet learned to speak in that tongue, were pushed out by their captors from a horribly dark and noisome dungeon into which they had been thrust the night before. Then, separately, or two by two, they were paraded up and down before the public gaze, being stopped now and again by some one of the spectators and examined exactly as the horse-dealer would examine the points of a horse before buying the animal at any of our public horse-marts in England. The sight was sickening. Some of the girls were terrified, others were silent and sad. Every movement was watched by the captives, anxious to know their present fate. My own face flushed with anger as I stood helplessly by and saw those sweet, dark-skinned, woolly-headed Soudanese sold into slavery. "Our hearts have ached as we have heard from time to time from the lips of slaves of the indescribable horrors of the journey across desert plains, cramped with pain, parched with thirst, and suffocated in panniers, their food a handful of maize. Again, we have sickened at the sight of murdered corpses, left by the wayside to the vulture and the burning rays of the African sun, and we have prayed, perhaps as never before, to the God of justice to stop these cruel practices."— The Anti-Slavery Reporter, December, 1895, pp. 267-268.
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ney assures us that he himself visited slave-markets in Morocco City and Fez, in I894.1 Substantially the The traffic in Morocco and North Africa.same information is given by correspondents who accompanied the Embassy of Marshal Martinez Campos to the Court of Morocco, who report the sale of slaves within view of the Imperial Palace, and by Luis Morote in a communication to the Spanish Anti-Slavery Society, describing the slave-markets in Morocco City, after a visit to Morocco in the winter of 1893-94.2 Mr. Morote speaks of the horrors of the slave-raids and the long caravan journeys across the trackless desert from Timbuctoo or the far Soudan. A correspondent of The New York Tribune, in a letter from Mogador, quoted in Illustrated Africa, November, 1895, p. II, declares that the trade has never been so thriving and prosperous as it is at present. There is also a restricted traffic through the ports of Tripoli, although carried on under the cover of various disguises, since by treaty with England the slave-trade in that province is illegal.3 In Egypt the trade is happily under strict espionage, and at Cairo a home for freed women slaves has been established, where in 1895 seventy-one were received; but of these only three were found to have been imported recently from outside, and the remainder were domestic slaves who had been set free.4 The English Government has established stations in the Nile Valley for watching the traffic, and along the Red Sea coast north of Suakin a camel corps is constantly patrolling to detect any signs either of export or import. Unfortunately, south of Suakin the Red Sea coast is practically unguarded, and the slaver still finds in that section an outlet for his chattel. The Red Sea coast from Suakin southward to the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, and the entire coast-line around Cape Guardafui to Zanzibar, 1 Ibid., May-June, 1894, p. 181; January-May, 1895, p. 63. 2 Ibid., July-August, 1894, p. 207. Cf. also Bonsai, "Morocco as It Is," pp. 328-334. 3 The Anti-Slavery Reporter, January-February, 1894, p. 9; January-May, 1895, p. 10. 4 Letter of Lord Cromer, quoted in The Anti-Slavery Reporter, March-April, 1896, p. 118.
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have hardly any effective restraint put upon the traffic. The report of Mr. Donald Mackenzie, already referred to as special Commissioner A recent report of the slave-traffic on the East Coast.of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, gives an elaborate account of his visit of investigation, in 1895, along the coast and to the opposite shores of Arabia. The evidence that he presents of a considerable traffic is convincing. The main recruiting-ground is Danakli and Aussa, and from the ports of Massowah, Mader, Eid, Margebelah, and Roheitah the slaves are shipped across to the Fursan Islands, which are a hotbed of slavery, and to Hodeidah and other ports. In some instances they are transported around to the eastern coast of Arabia. His report is strange reading for the nineteenth century, and gives some revolting details of cruelty and suffering.1 The report of Mr. Mackenzie concerning the slave-traffic in Zanzibar and Pemba brings a still more unwelcome surprise. The Sultanate of Zanzibar has been a protectorate of Great Britain since 1890, and according to treaties made in 1873, confirmed by a decree of the Sultan, August 12, 1890, the slave-trade is under prohibition with severe penalties. According to evidence gathered by Mr. Mackenzie during his visit in the spring of 1895, these restrictions are practically a dead letter. Out of a total population of 400,000, about 266,000 are slaves, and to maintain this status of slavery an importation from the mainland of at least 6000 annually is required, representing a yearly sacrifice of not less than 24,000 lives. He estimates further that some 11,000 are annually shipped either from the mainland or from the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba to the Arabian coast, representing a further slaughter of 40,000 lives, since every slave who leaves the coast is roughly calculated as standing for four others who have been slain in the process of his capture and transportation to the coast. Upon the basis of these facts most urgent appeals are made for the total abolition by the British Government of the status of slavery in Zanzibar. The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society is in communication with the Government on the subject. Bishop Tucker of Uganda has also written, emphasizing the imperative demand for some Government action which will forever abolish the present scandal.2 Mr. Mackenzie also passes 1 The Anti-Slavery Reporter, December, 1895, pp. 212-220. 2 "May I be allowed to express the anxiety of many out here with respect to any possible postponement of the abolition of slavery within the limits of the Zanzibar protectorates? Very clever schemes have been sketched for the gradual abolition of the hateful 'institution.' So clever, indeed, and plausible are these schemes that I am somewhat fearful lest principle should be drowned in the sea of plausibility. Stress is laid upon the expense that would be incurred in compensating the slave owners were immediate abolition proclaimed. Are we, may I ask, to weigh expense against principle? To my dull comprehension the question seems to be simply one of right or wrong. If it be wrong, then no question of £30,000 a year should be allowed for a moment to interfere with the doing of the right. Our fathers, thank God, had sufficient moral courage to insist on the abolition of slavery in the West Indies, even at the cost of millions, and England at that time in point of prosperity was immensely poorer than the England of to-day. Has England degenerated? I cannot and will not believe it." — Bishop Tucker, in a letter to The London Times, quoted in Report of the Church Missionary Society for 1896, p. 63.
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severe strictures upon the system of securing porters for trips into the interior. He regards them as in reality slaves, who are owned by masters in Zanzibar, and who hand over to their owners one half of their earnings. The mortality among these caravans of porters he estimates as high as thirty per cent., and his account of the system indicates that it should be under more effective regulations.1 A confirmation of Mr. Mackenzie's statements about exportation to Arabia is found in an extract from a letter of the Rev. P. J. Zwemer, of the Arabian Mission, dated Muscat, October 9, 1895. He says: "A large number of Negroes are still imported sub rosa from Africa. Although slave-importation as a trade is no longer carried on, yet the method of supplying the Arab with free Negro labor is very simple. Africa is the source of supply, and transportation is easily effected under the tricolor (French), which defies British inspection." Mr. Mackenzie also visited the German territory in East Africa south of Zanzibar, and reports the existence of an enormous slave-traffic from the interior of the Continent into German East Africa, but almost an entire prohibition of any export through the ports. His account of cruelties to the natives under German rule is hardly credible, yet it is fully confirmed by Miss Balfour in her recent book, "Twelve Hundred Miles in a Waggon," in an account of her visit to Dar-es-Salaam.2 1 Report of lecture by Mr. Donald Mackenzie in The Anti-Slavery Reporter, December, 1895, p. 226. In his report to the Society he sums up his conclusions as follows : "In looking at the whole question calmly, I am convinced that the legal status of slavery should be abolished at the earliest possible moment. I did think that compensation might form part of the scheme, but when we consider that all treaties and decrees have been thrown aside as waste paper, and that slavery has been going on for upwards of twenty years in violation of solemn engagements entered into with this country, I think that the question of compensation should be dismissed; in fact, I very much doubt if any slaves imported prior to 1873 are in existence. But any measure which the Government may propose for the abolition of slavery in Zan zibar and Pemba will share the same fate as former treaties and decrees, unless the carrying out of such measure is intrusted to a special staff of English officers appointed for the purpose." 2 The Anti-Slavery Reporter, December, 1895, pp. 220, 257.
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In the regions around Lake Nyassa, now a British protectorate, vigorous measures have been taken by Commissioner H. H. Johnston to Vigourous restrictions in the Nyassaland Protectorate.stamp out the slave-traffic. Military operations upon a considerable scale have been conducted, and several prominent leaders among the Arab slave-traders have been slain and their business broken up. A chain of forts has been established in the Nyassaland Protectorate under the administration of this energetic representative of the British Government, which guard the old slave-routes so effectively that the whole traffic may be said to be under surveillance and control within the limits of the protectorate.1 The Commissioner reports (Africa, No. 4, 1896, p. 25): "I have the pleasure now to inform your Lordship that, as far as I am aware, there does not exist a single independent avowedly slave-trading chief within the British Central Africa Protectorate." He also writes in a recent letter: "We have had splendid news from Lake Nyassa lately. I do not think now there is a recalcitrant slave-trading chief left unconquered. With the fall of Tambala the last slave-trading Yao chief in the protectorate has gone." 2 Interesting tidings from this section of Africa have come through the reports of Mr. E. J. Glave, who was sent out by the Century Company to obtain information on the slave-trade for publication in The Century Magazine. Mr. Glave entered Africa at the Zambesi, and journeyed to Lake Nyassa, and from thence in a northwesterly direction until he descended the Congo and reached Matadi. While waiting there for the homeward-bound steamer, he was stricken with fever and died.3 A series of illustrated articles made up of extracts from his journal are to be found in The Century Magazine, commencing with August, 1896, in which graphic pictures are given of the struggle with the exporting slave-trade in the Nyassa Protectorate. He speaks incidentally of Livingstone and his wife as the pioneers of civilization in those regions. In Central Africa for October, 1895, is printed an extract from one of his letters, describing his journey from Lake Nyassa to Lake Bangweolo, in which he speaks of the earnest request of natives whom he met, that white men might come to their country and protect them against the slave-raiders, " who are playing terrible havoc all over the land." He reports seeing "the ruins of dozens of villages which have been destroyed by these raiders, and the occupants carried into slavery." 1 "Correspondence Respecting Operations against Slave-Traders in British Central Africa" (Parliamentary documents, Africa, Nos. 2 and 4, 1896). 2 The Church of Scotland Mission Record, June, 1896, p. 198. 3 The Century Magazine, October, 1895.
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In the Island of Madagascar a decree of the Queen, in 1877, freed the African slaves in her dominion, and forbade their import or export; The status in Madagascar.yet domestic native slaves and serfs exist in abundance, and, according to a special correspondent of The London Times, writing under date of April II, 1895, slave-raids are still carried on in the interior of the island, and in another communication an account is given of the slave-market in the capital.1 The Ibara tribesmen and the Sakalava are represented as inveterate slave-dealers. The Hovas themselves stand in terror of these cruel forest tribes.2 The status, however, has been happily changed from what it was at the beginning of the present century, when Madagascar was an original source of supply for the slave-trade, and from three to four thousand Malagasy were, according to reliable data, exported annually to America or the West Indies. In 1817 this slave-trade was abolished by treaty between England and Madagascar.3 Our survey of the African Continent reveals encouraging progress in comparison with the state of things a generation ago, but it is plain that there is still much to be done before the barbarities of the slave-trade will cease. Were it not for the restraining influence of European governments, albeit as yet too imperfectly exercised, we should still have this cursed business in full blast. With the entrance of European control, the establishment of commerce, the opening of roads, and especially of railways, and the more vigorous intervention of the authorities, we may hope that the traffic in slaves will gradually disappear. In the Pacific Islands the kidnapping of natives for purposes of the The Kanaka traffic in the Pacific Islands.slave-trade has been known even under European traders, and Pacific Islanders have been transported to South America. Even as late as 1890, " the ship 'Alma' took four hundred natives of Micronesia to Guatemala, and two years afterwards only one hundred and eighty of them were living, the rest having died of fevers contracted in the malarious swamps of the plantations. In 1892 the brig 'Tahiti' took three hundred natives from the Gilbert Islands to labor on plantations in Central America, and was capsized near the coast of Mexico. Not one of its living freight was ever heard of." Even steamers have been 1 "Slavery [domestic] still exists, and, to the disgrace of the Malagasy, slaves are still bought and sold in the weekly market."—Rev. R. Baron (L. M. S.), Antananarivo. [The French Government happily abolished it September 29, 1896.] 2 The Indian Evangelical Review, October, 1895, p. 175. 3 Horne, "The Story of the London Missionary Society," p. 172.
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employed in the same service. These unfortunate islanders on arrival in Guatemala are put to work upon the plantations under conditions which virtually amount to slavery.1 Rev. John G. Paton, of the New Hebrides Mission, has investigated the Kanaka labor-traffic, which he pronounces a species of colonial slavery. He has estimated that seventy thousand Pacific Islanders have been taken from their homes by slave-hunters.2 It was in revenge for the crime of kidnapping by traders that Bishop Patteson was slain upon one of the islands of the Santa Cruz group in September, 1871. An account of the Queensland Kanaka traffic and its horrors is given by the Rev. Oscar Michelsen.3 The trade in coolies from China and India, and to a very limited extent from Japan, for the South American and West Indian plantations has The coolie-trade in China and India.been in some respects not far removed from a veritable slave-traffic. The slave-trade as it is known in Africa does not exist in China, but the coolie-traffic gained a bad prominence before it was brought within restrictions.4 The Japanese Government, to its honor, fought it fiercely and successfully.5 The coolie-traffic from India for the West Indian plantations has been, and is still, open to the same strictures. The position of the so-called coolie emigrant when he reaches his destination is little better than a slave. As late as 1893 there were one Dutch and seven English agencies engaged in the transportation of coolies. They are usually transported in sailing vessels, of which seventeen cleared from Calcutta alone in 1893, as well as three steamships. The exportation from Calcutta amounted to 10,674, making an average of 533 per vessel. "Recently about four hundred of these 'voluntary' emigrants begged the people of Calcutta to be liber- 1 Alexander, "The Islands of the Pacific," p. 37. 2 Ibid., p. 40; John G. Paton, "Autobiography," part i., p. 213. 3 Michelsen, "Cannibals Won for Christ," chap. xxi. 4 "Slavery and the slave-trade do not exist in China in the shape associated with our ideas of them. The coolie-traffic between the Southern Provinces and Peru, which caused so much feeling a few years back, approached them most nearly. That, however, was not an indigenous evil, and it has, I think, been since strictly regulated, if not largely stopped. The domestic slavery of the country is mostly confined to the use of purchased female children as servants, who often become concubines in the families of their masters, or are again sold for this purpose. The most abominable form of this curse is the purchase of women and girls for transport to distant cities for immoral uses. In the frequently recurring times of famine there are always wretches who succeed in obtaining many victims from the region affected." —Rev. Jonathan Lees (L. M. S.), Tientsin, North China. Cf. Graves, "Forty Years in China," pp. 149, 150. 5 Griffis, "The Mikado's Empire," pp. 566-568.
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ated as they had been made to leave their homes and relations by force. They attacked their escort, and about thirty escaped. The rest, however, were driven down to the landing by the police as if they were sheep." 1 In India there is no slave-trade so called, but children are often sold, especially in times of famine, and there is also a secret trade in female slaves in certain districts of the country. "Malwa has long been noted for its traffic in females." Many of the Rajput chiefs have their retinue of slaves. At the time of the distressing famine in Rajputana, in 1868-70, "children were sold by their parents for sums varying from one to five rupees." These incidents are happily rare, however, in India at the present day, and the watchfulness of the Government is most effective. In Persia there is slavery to a considerable extent, the ranks being recruited from the African coast, by way of the Persian Gulf or across Arabia overland.2 The atrocious cruelties of the African slave-trade have been vividly described by Livingstone, Stanley, Baker, Cameron, and others, and there is no need of dwelling upon the subject here.3 "Fire and Sword in the Sudan," by Slatin Pasha, previously referred to, contains recent information. 2. SLAVERY.—Slavery is linked with the slave-trade, both as cause and effect. The passing of slavery in Christendom. It is one of the ancient sorrows of the world, but we cannot deal with its history here.4 It is pleasant to observe that there are some sections of the Oriental in world where it has never existed. This is notably the case among the Japanese.f There are other regions where happily it has been abolished. With the singular exception of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, this has been true of the British Em- 1 Correspondence of Die Kölnische Zeitung, Cologne, quoted in The Literary Digest, September 8, 1894. 2 The Anti-Slavery Reporter, March-April, 1896, p. 72. 3 Blaikie, "The Personal Life of David Livingstone," pp. 390-434; Stanley, "Slavery and the Slave-Trade in Africa"; Johnston, "Missionary Landscapes in the Dark Continent," pp. 253-259. 4 Cf. Ingram, "History of Slavery and Serfdom"; Brace, "Gesta Christi," chaps, v., vi., xxi., xxviii.; Schmidt, "The Social Results of Early Christianity," pp. 75-100. 5 "I am not able to learn that slavery proper ever existed in Japan at any time in her history. The social condition of a class may at one time have been as bad as slavery or worse, but it could not be called slavery."—Rev. David S. Spencer (M. E. M. S.), Nagoya, Japan.
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pire since 1833, including its West Indian colonies and British Guiana. In 1848 France declared that no more slaves should be admitted into French territory. Serfdom in Russia ceased with the decree of Alexander II., in 1861, and the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, in 1863, restored to freedom 6,000,000 bondmen in the United States. In 1889 slavery was abolished in Brazil, as it had been in most of the South American republics at the time of their establishment. It is now the universal policy of civilized nations to prohibit the status of slavery. Its continuance in many sections of the non-Christian world.It is an evil which still exists, however, in vast sections of the non-Christian world. It may be said to be universal in Africa, except where European influence has been exerted in prohibition.1 It is characteristic of all Mohammedan society, and is found in Madagascar, where fully one third of the population is in bondage. In China, Korea, Siam, Assam, in some of the Native States of India, in Afghanistan, and in Central America it is also to be found. It is hardly necessary to refer at any length to the fact of its prevalence in Africa, as every explorer, traveller, and missionary bears witness to the evil; nor does the fact that it is a feature of the social and religious system of Islam need to be dwelt upon. In Madagascar, although slavery is rather of a domestic and patriarchal kind, with less severity than usual in the treatment of slaves, yet its evils are by no means light. The slave-market is a familiar sight, and the separation of families is of common occurrence.2 As France has now assumed colonial supervision of Madagascar, the question of the application to the island of the laws of France pertaining to the abolition of slavery has engaged the attention of the French Government. M. Lebon, the French Minister for the Colonies, has declared that the law of abolition is now applicable to Madagascar, but he remarks further that "the Government reserved to itself the right of promulgating this law at the time when it deemed fitting, in order that the situation might not be complicated by a too hurried application of its provisions." The law went into effect September 29, 1896. 1 Liberia, Bulletin No. 8, pp. 14-23. 2 "Slavery is still a great evil in Madagascar. It is true that the condition of many of the slaves is not hard, the slavery being akin to that of the old patriarchal times; but still the fact remains that slaves can be bought and sold, and that husband and wife and parents and children can be separated. The conditions under which a slave can redeem himself or herself are often very hard, and at death the property of a slave can be, and often is, claimed by the master or mistress."—Rev. J. Pearse (L. M. S.), Fianarantsoa, Tamatave, Madagascar. Cf. Cousins, "The Madagascar of To-day," p. 59; The Missionary Review of the World, June, 1895, p. 433.
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In China domestic slavery, mostly of females, exists extensively throughout the empire. The girls are usually purchased from their parents Domestic slavery in China, Korea, Siam, and Assam.while still young, and the trade is especially active in times of famine drought, or pestilence, or merely as an expedient in poverty. There is much that is shocking and suggestive of grinding drudgery, attended often by ill-treatment, which comes to light now and then concerning the domestic features of Chinese slavery.1 A darker aspect of it is that servitude is often another name for immorality. In Korea, although the abolition of slavery has been declared by edict, the institution still exists, and the law is practically inoperative, but it is almost altogether confined to the nobles and to the wealthier families of the land.2 In Siam the Government is virtually in place of master over its subjects, and in its demands for service pays little deference to personal rights. In addition, a species of slavery for debt prevails extensively, which is also true in the Laos country.3 In Assam the same custom of selling children to pay debts, or in some cases as offerings to the demons, is a pitiable incident in many a family history. If some child of the family is stricken with disease, the superstitious parents, while dreading and bemoaning the supposed necessity, will sell their children one after another in the hope of providing an appeasing sacrifice for the demon and securing the release and recovery of the sick member of the family. Children thus sold are rarely redeemed, and what is practically a state of slavery is thereby created.4 1 Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 346-350; Henry, "The Cross and the Dragon," p. 51. 2 "Slavery and Feudalism in Korea," The Korean Repository, October, 1895; Griffis, "Corea," p. 238. 3 "All, except the Chinese residents, are slaves of the general Government, and hence at the call of the Government master, whose whims usually demand more than is strictly lawful. Besides this, fully half of the population are debt slaves of the other half. These are sold into slavery, a child by a parent, a wife by her husband, or it may be a voluntary sale."—Dr. James B. Thompson (P. B. F. M. N.), Petchaburee, Siam. "Slavery is another evil of our land. Very often a man becomes financially embarrassed. He will borrow money where he can, and will often give himself and family as security Usually he gives one of his children 'to sit on the interest,' as our people express it. They never hesitate to put their children out in this way. When such debts are not paid by a certain time the entire family is often taken as slaves."—Rev. D. G. Collins (P. B. F. M. N.), Chieng Mai, Laos. 4 "Masters do not sell their slaves by auction, although they exchange or transfer them to others under certain conditions. But people sell themselves and their children in order to get money to pay their debts or to sacrifice to the demons. It is a kind of pawning themselves and their children until they find money, which they hardly ever do, to buy themselves or their children back. I have seen whole families becoming, to all practical purposes, childless in this way."—Rev. Robert Evans (W. C. M. M. S.), Mawphlang, Shillong, Assam.
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In India, although the status of slavery is not recognized by the British Government, and the institution as such is prohibited, yet in the Servitude for debt in the Native States of India. The status in Afghanistan.Native States, and to some extent in British territory, is found a system of labor slavery which is substantially the same as the bondage for debt above referred to.1 It is one of the advantages of British rule that the days of the old slave-kings have forever passed. The attachment of serfs to the soil, which amounted to slavery a century ago, has been gradually mitigated and banished by British law.2 Until 1843, however, the hereditary slaves in Madras were sold with the land.3 In Afghanistan the Amir has come into notoriety of late upon charges of being a kidnapper and slave-raider among neighboring independent tribes, especially the Kafirs of the Hindu-Kush. In fact, the extinction of the latter people seems to be well under way. That slavery exists in Afghanistan is evident. A recent volume by John Alfred Gray, M. B., late Surgeon to the Amir, entitled "At the Court of the Amir," gives undoubted testimony upon this point. He reports that "the slaves of Kabul are those who have been kidnapped from Kafiristan, and who are prisoners of war taken when some tribe breaks out in rebellion against the Amir."4 Other quotations fully confirming the status of slavery might be given. Slavery for debt exists in some sec- 1 "Legally there is no slavery. Virtually all the lower castes or outcastes are the slaves of the upper castes, who gain power by lending them money, and in time rob them of all their possessions, and compel all, men, women, and children, to work for them. They are often very cruel to them, and persecute them in case they try to benefit themselves by becoming Christians."—Dr. John Scudder (Ref. C. A.), Vellore, India. "There is a system of labor slavery. A poor man is in debt to a rich man and works for him. Unfortunately, as I have found in hundreds of cases, the debt never seems to decrease. When the poor fellow tries to escape his master, that master threatens him with a civil suit, and the old order goes on. If he cannot work he binds out his son to the rich man, and the same process continues. It is not slavery in the buying and selling of the man, but it is so in the absolute control of his service at the wish of the master, and supported by the civil law, though unwittingly, as far as Government goes. There are many thousands in such labor slavery among the people I know."—Rev. L. L. Uhl, Ph.D. (Luth. G. S.), Guntur, India. 2 Hunter, "The Indian Empire," p. 84. 3 Raghavaiyangar, "Progress of the Madras Presidency During the Last Forty Years of British Administration," p. 143, and Appendices, pp. Iviii., Ixviii. 4 The Anti-Slavery Reporter, January-February, 1896, pp. 15-34; The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, January, 1896, pp. 153-159.
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tions of Central America. The Rev. E. M. Haymaker (P. B. F. M. N.), of Guatemala City, writes: "Virtual slavery exists in some parts of the republic. The law compels a laborer to stay and work with his employer till his debt is discharged. The employer, however, has the means at hand by which he can, through an ever-increasing debt, keep the laborer in his power forever, the debt descending from father to son. He can abuse and beat the laborer as he pleases, for a mere 'Indian' would have no hope whatever before the judge against so powerful an opponent." The existence of slavery in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, an English protectorate since 1890, is an anomaly which is exciting vigorous The question of slavery in Zanzibar.discussion in anti-slavery circles in England, and the British Government has been repeatedly memorialized to abolish finally the status of slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba. The recent death of the Sultan and the attempt at revolution will perhaps facilitate this step on the part of the Government. The importation of slaves has been forbidden by treaty since 1872, and by a decree of the British Government all children born within the bounds of the sultanate after December, 1889, are free, so that the only really lawful slaves in the protectorate at the present time are the survivors of those imported before June, 1873, or their children born before 1890. The drift of events, however, has been to maintain slavery at about its usual standard, since a secret importation, of an average of 6000 slaves annually, has been going on in defiance of the treaty. The number actually in bondage in Zanzibar and Pemba is variously estimated from 140,000 by government officials, to 266,000 by Mr. Donald Mackenzie, the recent special Commissioner of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society to investigate slavery and the slave-trade on the East Coast of Africa. The effort to secure from the Government the total abolition of the recognized status of slavery in Zanzibar is timely, since the existence of slavery is an overwhelming temptation to the slave-trade, and adds immensely to the difficulties of preventing it. In a communication, before referred to, published in The Times (London), June 23, 1896, Bishop Tucker of East Africa urges most earnestly the immediate abolition of the status of slavery in the protectorate. His letter was accompanied by a memorial, which was forwarded to the Consul-General at Zanzibar by English missionaries of East Africa, praying that the action suggested might be speedily taken by Her Majesty's Government. Of the characteristic evils of slavery little need be said. They are 1 [Slavery in Zanzibar was abolished April 6, 1897.]
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too manifest to require discussion. Its cruel wounds, wherever it exists, are as fresh to-day as in the past, and its gross scandals are as pronounced now as at any former period. That Christian missions have had an honorable record in mitigating the miseries of slavery and dealing sturdy blows at the abominable traffic in slaves is a fact to which we shall give attention in another connection. 3. CANNIBALISM.—Cannibalism is one of the most fiendish and loathsome aspects of social barbarism. It is a fearful incentive to the crime of murder, and a stimulus to every bloodthirsty passion in the human breast. Strange to say, at a recent meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Ipswich, it found a mild apologist in Mr. H. A. Thrum, who deprecated its classification among vices, and would regard it rather as "a habit"! Its story for ages has been written in blood amid brutal scenes and inhuman orgies. Its prevalence has probably been far more extensive than the civilized world has realized. It is one of those hidden mysteries of iniquity which even heathenism instinctively conceals. Although much has come to light concerning it, its dark secrets will ever remain as part of the unwritten history of pure savagery. Is cannibalism still prevalent among savage races?The testimony as to its existence in the past among degraded races is abundant and cumulative, and need not be reviewed at any length here. Our interest in the subject centres rather in the question of its existence at the present time Are we to regard it as a relic of the past, or must we consider it as still characteristic of the savage life of the world to-day? A tendency to minimize its practice and make light of its existence has been manifest in some quarters, but the evidence that it is still practised in our day in many of the haunts of savagery is sufficient to justify its place in the list of the regnant evils of pagan society. Among the aborigines of Australia, especially the Papuans of Queensland, cannibal feasts are a common occurrence, as Lumholtz declares.1 The Maoris of New Zealand were detestable cannibals until the British Government took control of the islands, and the saving touch of Christianity transformed the whole social economy of a wildly savage race.2 In New Guinea, the Rev. James Chalmers has 1 Lumholtz, "Among Cannibals," p. 101; The Missionary Review, July, 1896, p. 492. 2 Tucker, "The English Church in Other Lands," pp. 84-95; Page, "Among the Maoris," p. 149.
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discovered abundant evidence of cannibal practice of the most filthy and barbarous description.1 He reports that it is the custom among the natives, when a man is shot down, for all to rush upon him for the purpose of biting his nose clean off and swallowing it, as the one who succeeds in accomplishing this feat "is looked upon as greater than the person who shot him." It is only a few years ago that the unfortunate ship "St. Paul," with three hundred and sixty Chinese passengers, fell into the hands of the natives. "They cooped up the victims like animals marked for slaughter, and clubbed and cooked so many every day till only four were left." 2 In the New Hebrides cannibal feasts are still of frequent occurrence, although upon several of the islands Christian missionary work has banished these scenes of cruelty. Among the "head-hunters" of Formosa a certain fastidiousness seems to control their cannibal instincts, as they usually select such delicacies as the brain and heart for their feasts.3 In many of the Pacific Islands the reign of cannibalism has been long and terrible, especially in the Fiji, Hervey, Society, and Marquesas groups.4 Among the Fijis in the early days of missionary labors scenes were witnessed which were "too horrible to be described, too full of fiendish cruelty to be imagined." The people were represented as "going beyond the ordinary limits of rapine and bloodshed, and violating the elementary instincts of mankind." While the aspect of many of these islands has been greatly changed by missionary effort and by the controlling power of civilized governments, yet there are dark corners where the old customs still linger, and from which the inhumanities of cannibalism have not wholly disappeared. In Fiji, however, cannibalism is now wholly extinct, and Christianity has fairly illumined the dismal darkness of former years. Cannibal ferocity still untamed in Africa.The African Continent has been and is still the scene of innumerable cannibal atrocities. The northern and southern sections are, however, comparatively free, as there is nothing to report north of the Soudan or south of the Congo State, although, according to Dr. Liengme, of the Romande Mission in Southeast Africa, Gasaland, in Portuguese territory, south of the Zambesi, is not free from the charge of cannibalism. We quote his words as recorded in the Bulletin Missionaire.5 The testimony of the Rev. Josiah Tyler, for many years 1 Chalmers, "Pioneering in New Guinea," pp. 59, 61, 62. 2 The Missionary Record, August, 1895, p. 230. 3 MacKay, "From Far Formosa," pp. 274, 276. 4 Ratzel, "The History of Mankind," vol. i, pp. 297-299. 5 "Lately ten thousand men and between two and three thousand women and children in strange costumes went through the royal dance in the king's presence. Nothing could be more savage. Alas! human sacrifices were not lacking. It is the custom on the last day for a young boy and girl to be killed. At night near sunset a young 'beef' is brought by the people of the king's household into a tightly closed kraal. An eager fight is begun between them and the animal, which they must, without any weapon, simply by their strength of arm, harass, throw down, disembowel, and kill, pushing it with savage cries. When they have despatched the animal, they bring, wrapped in reeds, the bodies of the two children who have been sacrificed. The flesh of the victims is mingled with that of the animal. Then all the young boys are seized and brought, willingly or by force, into the kraal. Some of them escape, unwilling to eat human flesh; others eagerly accept the invitation." —Quoted in The Missionary Herald, October, 1894, p. 431.
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a missionary in Zululand, is to the effect that no Zulu-speaking people are addicted to cannibalism, with the single exception of some tribes living on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyassa.1 In the central belt of the Continent, however, from the East Coast to the West, especially up and down the many tributaries of the Congo, cannibalism is still practised with every possible accompaniment of atrocious cruelty. In a paper descriptive of three years of travel in the extreme easterly regions of the Congo State, read before the Royal Geographical Society in London, on March it, 1895, by Captain S. L. Hinde, of the Belgian service, startling details are given illustrative of the ferocious spirit and horrible customs of some of the Congo tribes living between the Lualaba and Lomami rivers. In his descriptions of N'Gandu (Gandu), a fortified town on the bank of the Lomami River, he speaks of four gates to the city, the approach to which is in each case a pavement of human skulls. He counted more than two thousand skulls in the pavement of one gate alone. The stakes forming the entrenchment around the town were crowned with skulls. These skulls were largely relics of cannibal practices. He speaks of a slave-raider who had gathered together about ten thousand cannibal brigands. He recounts, among incidental illustrations of native barbarity, the death of a chief a short time previous to his visit, into whose grave one hundred men were thrown, having previously been killed. Upon these the chief's body was laid, and over it were thrown one hundred live women and the grave closed upon them. Over this mausoleum a magnificent house was built. Other details, referring more especially to cannibalism, are given.2 A French explorer named 1 Illustrated Africa, October, 1895, p. 6. 2 "Throughout this whole region of the Batetelas no gray-headed people are seen, nor any that are lame or blind. At the first sign of approaching old age the parents are eaten by their children."—Report of Captain Hinde, Geographical Journal, May, 1895.
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De Poumayrac, who ascended the Mobangi, a tributary of the Congo, in 1892, was attacked by members of a cannibal tribe and murdered with many of his party. The occasion was celebrated by a cannibal feast. The Ngombes, who occupy a long strip of land between the Lopori and Congo rivers, are all fierce cannibals, and are the terror of neighboring tribes. Mr. Vincent presents the same testimony in his chapter on the Congo Free State.1 Similar statements have been made concerning the Babus, Bangelas, Balubas, and Malelas, all tribes of the Congo. Mr. Dorsey Mohun, a United States commercial agent and an associate of Captain Hinde in his travels in Eastern Congo, who has resided two years in the Congo Free State, reports it as his judgment that there are not less than twenty million cannibals at the present time in that State. He speaks of surprising a village one day in the midst of a cannibal feast, and of witnessing the funeral of a great chief and the burial alive of fourteen persons in the grave with his dead body. The whole West Coast north of the equator, as far as the Upper Niger, if we penetrate the Continent but a short distance from the sea, The West Coast still notorious for cannibal atrocities.seems to be alive with cannibals. In November, 1895, Miss Kingsley, the niece of the late Charles Kingsley, returned to England from a visit to the West Coast in the vicinity of the Gaboon River. She explored the Ogowe for a distance of two hundred and six miles, and during her journey through the country of the Fang tribe encountered cannibalism in the shape of a determined purpose to kill and eat some of her attendants, who were members of a hostile tribe. The Fangs are one of the few tribes in Africa who eat their own. dead. She reports that she found no burial-places, but in most of the native mud huts pieces of human bodies were being kept just as civilized people keep eatables in their larders.2 Similar statements as to the cannibal habits of the Fangs are made by the Rev. W. S. Bannerman, of the Gaboon Mission of the American Presbyterians. A missionary explorer, the Rev. F. Autenrieth, of the Basel Mission, has recently made an extensive journey back of the German colony of Cameroons, into the interior range of the great Cameroons Mountains, and penetrated into regions where no white man had previously been. He reports that the country he explored is inhabited by cannibals, and that he himself, without his knowledge at the time, was condemned to be killed and eaten, but fortunately escaped the fate assigned him.3 Proceeding still farther north to 1 Vincent, "Actual Africa," p. 411. 2 The Missionary Record, January, 1896, p. 21. 3 Account in The Mail (London Times), May 8, 1896.
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the delta of the Niger and the immense region which forms its Hinterland, we find abundant evidence in the reports of Government officials, recent explorers, and resident missionaries to confirm the statement that the reign of cannibalism is almost undisturbed, except in regions under the immediate control of European administration. A report of Sir Claude Macdonald, in 1893, upon the state of affairs in the Oil Rivers Protectorate, speaks of cannibals who inhabit the banks of the Cross River. The report of Sir John Kirk on the recent disturbances at Brass, in the Niger Coast Protectorate, speaks of the murder of prisoners by the natives, and the cannibalism of the people. Their excuse for such conduct was that it was their custom under such circumstances to kill and eat their captives.1 The writings of the late Bishop Crowther contain statements to the same effect. He says: "Cannibalism prevails to a very great extent among the tribes from the delta to the regions of the Lower Niger, for instance, as among the people of Okrika, by whom one hundred and fifty prisoners taken from the opposite shore were divided among the chiefs to be killed and eaten. With the exception of eleven which fell to the lot of the church-goer chiefs, who took care of their share and spared them, the one hundred and thirty-nine remaining prisoners, which were divided among the heathen chiefs and people, were killed and eaten." A letter from the Rev. E. Deas, of the United Presbyterian Mission to Old Calabar, recounting the state of things in that region, refers to the existence of cannibal markets where slaves are sold for food. He himself had quite recently saved two sick women from being eaten by their fellow-creatures.2The Katholische Missionen of Freiburg, in a recent account of a journey made in 1895 by Father Bubendorf, of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, from Onitsha (on the Niger) to a neighboring district, reports his statement that he was a horrified eye-witness of the slaughter of a group of unfortunate captives before a king's dwelling. He writes: "Every moment men, women, and even children, passed me, one with a human leg on his shoulder, others carrying the lungs or the heart of an unfortunate Kroo boy in their hands. Several times I was offered my choice of these morsels dripping with gore." 3 Several communications in the English papers in the summer of 1895 reported the atrocities committed by an African band in the region of Sierra Leone, known as the "Human Leopards." Several of them 1 Report in The Mail (London Times), March 16, 1896. Cf. The Church Missionary Intelligencer, July, 1895, p. 528. 2 Quoted in Missions of the World, July, 1894, p. 232. 3 Quoted in Illustrated Africa, November, 1895, p. 3.
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have been captured and executed. They were accustomed to clothe themselves in leopard skins, attack their victim from behind, and stab him with a three-pronged dagger. The result was a cannibal feast. A correspondent of The Saturday Review, referring to the recent trial of members of this band, calls attention to the difference in method of cannibalism on the West Coast from that which prevails on the East Coast. In West Africa the custom is to have the barbaric feast follow immediately the slaughter of the victims. On the East Coast an element of domestic economy seems to pervade cannibal customs, since the flesh of the old, the infirm, and the useless is dried and preserved, with a sort of sacramental reverence, in the family larder. It is offered to guests as a special compliment, to refuse which would be a deadly insult, while its acceptance secures friendship. The correspondent remarks: "Many of our travellers in East Africa have eaten thus sacra-mentally of the ancestors of some dark-skinned potentate." He refers to the cannibalism of the West Coast, however, as the refinement of gluttony, based upon a hideously genuine appetite for fresh human flesh. "Young boys are bought from the dark interior, kept in pens, fattened upon bananas, and finally killed and baked." 1 A singular confirmation of these statements concerning cannibalism on the West Coast comes from another part of the earth, where some Voudoux worship in West Indies a relic of West Coast cannibalism.of the West Coast superstitions have been trans-planted in connection with the slave-trade. In Hayti the so-called vaudoux worship is still found among the secret practices of the Negroes. It is marked by the adoration of the serpent, and attended with the sacrifice of children and feasting upon their flesh. An abominable trade in human flesh for cannibal feasts, and cannibalism as a revolting luxury among natives, are still dark features of inland life upon the island.2 Froude remarks in this connection: "Behind the immorality, behind the religiosity, there lies active and alive the horrible revival of West African superstition: the serpent worship, the child sacrifice, and the cannibalism."3 4. HUMAN SACRIFICES.—The grim tyranny of superstition has exacted the sacrifice of human life among many savage races. Different motives have inspired the crime, and it has been justified by its 1 The Saturday Review (London), September 14, 1895. 2 St. John, "Hayti; or, The Black Republic," pp. 187, 242. 3 Froude, "The English in the West Indies," chap. xx.
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perpetrators either as a tribute to the dignity and station of some person of distinction who has died, or as a necessary propitiation offered The prevelance of human sacrifices in the non-Christian world.to some object of worship, under the inspiration of fear, or with a desire to placate. It is also frequently resorted to as a supposed means of securing successful harvests, or victories in warfare, or hoped-for success in connection with any new undertaking.1 It is often considered an essential part of the observance of festival occasions, or an indispensable feature of the ceremonial etiquette of savagery. The ghastly realism of the scene appeals in a vivid way to the native imagination. In many sections of the earth the practice has been greatly checked within a century.2 "Previous to the year 1837," writes the Rev. T. E. Slater (L. M. S.), "about one hundred and fifty human sacrifices were annually offered in Gumsur," a city situated in East Central India. The Rev. James M. Macphail (F. C. S.) writes that "human sacrifice existed among the Santals until quite recently," There are many localities in India where the traditions of human sacrifices, in some instances as a daily event, still linger, especially among the Rajputs, the Khonds, and in the Northern Punjab.3 In many of 1 "There are two kinds of human sacrifices: first, the immolation of slaves at the funeral of their masters, to accompany the departed spirits into the unseen world and attend them there as they do here; second, the sacrifices to some fetich. Such human sacrifices are made either to avert some apprehended evil or calamity, or to insure some public benefit. The Ondos, for example, attribute the power of fructifying the soil to a fetich represented by a brazen figure, and they offer a man annually to secure (as they believe) an abundant harvest. It is on this principle that the Yorubans, in times of war, offer human sacrifices to the god of war, represented by an iron figure, to insure victory over their enemies."—The Rt. Rev. Charles Phillips, D.D. (C. M. S.), Lagos, West Africa. Cf. Macdonald, "Religion and Myth," pp. 39, 51; Arnot, "Garenganze," pp. 240, 255 ; "Africa and the American Negro," p. 34. 2 "When a Chinese army first marches against an enemy it is customary to offer a human victim, usually a criminal, to the spirit of the banner. In 1854, when a rebel stronghold was taken by Sengkolinsin, a Mongol prince, the prisoners were offered in sacrifice to the manes of his fallen soldiers, their hearts being eaten by the victors to increase their courage. The horrid orgy is minutely described by a native historian without any note of reprobation. "Human blood is held to be the best cement for the foundations of high structures. There are numerous bridges whose stability is said to have been thus secured; and so obstinate is the old superstition that, when an English cathedral was erected in Shanghai, it was rumored among the natives that twenty children had been buried under its walls. Anciently it was customary every year to sacrifice a beautiful maiden to the god of the Yellow River."—Martin, "A Cycle of Cathay," p. 121. 3 "In olden times they [the Khonds] worshipped their deities with cruel rites, and offered children in sacrifice to them. The discovery of this practice led to the Gumsur war, which lasted nearly eight years, so stubborn was the resistance of the people. English rule has put down this horrid rite. More than two thousand victims were rescued from sacrifice, and handed over to the care of Indian missionaries. But the people are still enchained by the old superstition. One evening last year, during a drought, Mr. Wilkinson was preaching in the village of Raipoli, and the head man came to ask if he would intercede for them with the Government, and obtain permission for them to offer a living child in sacrifice as their fathers did, to take away disease from their homes and bring rain upon their fields. Mr. Wilkinson told them of Christ, the one sacrifice for all men and all time, but they said this was hard to understand. Their fathers sacrificed every year and in every valley."—The Illustrated Missionary News, May, 1893, p. 72.
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the Indian temples the very odor of human sacrifice seems to be still present. The whole subject has been carefully investigated by Dr. Rajendralala Mitra, a distinguished modern scholar of India, who published the result of his researches in The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. In reply to the contention that human sacrifices are not authorized in the Vedas, but were introduced in later times, Dr. Mitra remarks: "As a Hindu writing on the actions of my forefathers —remote as they are—it would have been a source of great satisfaction to me if I could adopt this conclusion as true, but I regret that I cannot do so consistently with my allegiance to the cause of history." He brings forward abundant evidence from Indian sources to show that "for a long time the rite was common all over Hindustan, and persons are not wanting who suspect that there are still nooks and corners in India where human victims are occasionally slaughtered for the gratification of the Devi." 1 In a learned article on "The Brahmanas of the Vedas," by K. S. Macdonald, D.D., published in The Indian Evangelical Review, the references to human sacrifices in the Vedas are given in exhaustive detail. In the case of one hundred and seventy-nine different gods the particular kind of human being who should be sacrificed is named in each instance.2 In Assam not long since children were offered as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. Among the Shans a belief in the efficacy of human sacrifice to procure a good harvest still exists. It is supposed by them that certain nats (spirits) are appeased only by human sacrifice. "The guardian spirit of one of the Salween ferries claims a victim every year, preferably a Chinaman. The nat saves trouble by capsizing a boat and securing his victim. The ferry is then safe for the rest of the year."3 Mr. J. George Scott, in an article on "The Wild Wa: A Head-Hunting Race," 1 Cf. "Swami Vivekananda on Hinduism : An Examination of his Address at the Chicago Parliament of Religions," pp. 58, 59. 2 The Indian Evangelical Review, July, 1895, pp. 102-105. 3 The Indian Magazine and Review, March, 1896, p. 153.
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Presents many illustrations of the abominable atrocities long prevalent among the tribes in the border-lands between the Shan tribes and Yunnan.1 Among some of the The evidence of its existence in Australiasia and the South Seas.aborigines of Australia the custom is said still to prevail that, in the case of the death of any member of a given tribe his fellow-tribesmen are thereby placed under obligations to kill some one else in the next tribe, to equalize matters.2 Among the Dyaks of Borneo and the mountain tribes of Formosa human sacrifices have been common, and are even at the present time resorted to in connection with public events, such as the proclamation of war. In the history of the Pacific Islands there are many traces of the bloody rites of human sacrifices. They were known among the Maoris, and in the New Hebrides, and almost universally throughout Polynesia. In the early chronicles of South Sea missions are repeated references to the custom.3 Worship was frequently attended with the sacrifice of life. It is recorded of King Pomare of the Society Islands that "during his reign of thirty years he had sacrificed two thousand human victims as offerings to his idols." 4 Upon almost every public occasion a human sacrifice was required. If war was to be declared or some chief died or was threatened with serious illness; if some public building was to be dedicated or even a new house built for a chief; if a new idol was to be set up or a new canoe launched, the blood of some human victim, or in some instances of many such, must be offered in honor of the occasion. The horrible reputation of the inhabitants of the Fiji Islands for every species of brutality and cruelty makes it easy to believe that their record for human sacrifices is one of exceptional atrocity.5 Among the aborigines of the West Indies and the pagan Indians of Guiana6 there is clear evidence of this odious crime. And even at the present time, according to the statement of Dr. Sheldon Jackson, the people of Alaska, during an epidemic of the grippe, "felt that a more malignant spirit than common had got hold of them, and they must needs make greater sacrifices; so men, women, and 1 The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, January, 1896, pp. 138-152. 2 The Bishop of Perth, in The Mission Field (S. P. G.), June, 1896, p. 208. 3 Cousins, "The Story of the South Seas," p. 20. Cf. "Journal of John Hunt, Missionary to Fiji," published in successive numbers of Work and Workers, 1896, and Ratzel, "The History of Mankind," vol. i., pp. 447-449. 4 Alexander, "The Islands of the Pacific," p. 87. 5 Ibid., p. 397. Cf. Ratzel, "The History of Mankind," vol. i., p. 297. 6 "The Apostle of the Indians of Guiana: A Memoir of W. H. Brett, B.D.," by the Rev. F. P. L. Josa, pp. 35-37.
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children were caught by the medicine-men and sacrificed—buried alive to appease the spirit of the grippe."1 The darkest record of all, however, is reserved for Africa, where rivers of blood have been poured out in human sacrifice. The almost The horrors of human sacrifice in Africa.universal practice in connection with the death of African chieftains is a bloody holocaust at the burial. Cameron, in an account of his journey across the Continent in 1874, speaks of "the atrocious sanguinary rites which attend the death of African despots." The resting-place of a chieftain's body is often a bed of living women, and his grave deeply saturated with the blood of victims slain in his honor. Ashanti, Dahomey, and the whole Niger delta with its tributaries have witnessed many a scene of sacrificial horror. The reports of English correspondents who accompanied the recent Ashanti expedition of the British Government, speak of hideous masses of bones and skulls of the victims of human sacrifice. An editorial in the London Times, November 13, 1895, referring to the fact that the ruler of Ashanti had expressly agreed by treaty to renounce human sacrifices and slave-raids, states that "it is notorious that these savage processes still continue." In a chapter on the "City of Blood," in the life of Thomas Birch Freeman, an account is given, based upon the testimony of missionaries who were present at the time, of the funeral ceremonies attending the death of a king, at which forty victims were immolated within two days, and the streets strewn with headless bodies.2 The ground around fetich trees was wet with the blood of victims, while from their branches were suspended portions of human bodies. In the early history of the United Presbyterian Mission in Old Calabar are accounts of the same shocking scenes. On the death of Eyamba, a native king, a massacre of his wives and slaves, and even of many other women, took place; of his hundred wives, thirty were slaughtered.3 Even late reports from these dark regions bear the same story of unabated bloodshed. The Ijebus have recently sacrificed two hundred and fifty victims to their gods, in order to prevent the white man from taking their country.4 The king of Eboe, at his death in 1893, was accompanied by forty sacrificial victims.5 The late Rev. J. Vernall wrote 1 The Gospel in all Lands, July, 1894, p. 296. 2 Milum, "Thomas Birch Freeman, Missionary Pioneer to Ashanti, Dahomey, and Egba," p. 62. Cf. Work and Workers in the Mission Field, January, 1896, p. 17; February, 1896, p. 8ij and April, 1896, p. 158. 3 Dickie, "Story of the Mission in Old Calabar," p. 29. 4 Church Missionary Intelligencer, February, 1893, p. 120. 5 Medical Missionarv Record, February, 1894, p. 40.
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from the Yoruba Mission to the Church Missionary Society that human sacrifices were offered in honor of the dead body of the head chief, Sasere, in 1893.1 The late Bishop Crowther, a native African in connection with the Church Missionary Society, often testified to the existence of these cruel practices in the valley of the Niger. The Congo contributes its full quota of gruesome evidence. United States Commercial Agent Dorsey Mohun, in his recent Report to Congress, states that he was an eye-witness to the tragic death of fourteen persons who were buried alive in honor of a great chief who had died.2 Dr. W. H. Leslie, a missionary of the American Baptist Missionary Union, located upon the Congo, states that a native chief presented himself for professional treatment whose hand was so shockingly diseased that at first he thought it would have to be amputated, but by powerful remedies he succeeded in saving all but a small portion of it. The chief remarked to the doctor that "thirty of his subjects had been put to death at different times because he thought they were eating it."3 "At Lukenga's royal city," writes Dr. Snyder, of the Southern Presbyterian Church Mission on the Congo," there is being enacted a horrible tragedy. The brother of the king is lying dead wrapped in cloth, under a shed, and, what is more, he has lain there for two months. And why? Because they have not caught and killed enough people to satisfy the demands of their diabolical superstition. They have killed one hundred, and are now trying to catch one hundred more."4 In Uganda, according to the statement of Mr. Ashe, King Mtesa confessed that "before the coming of white men to his country he had practised the horrid rites of the kiwendo, when thousands of victims were ruthlessly slaughtered in the performance of the sanguinary rites of Uganda. It was said that when Mtesa rebuilt his father Suna's tomb, the throats of two thousand unhappy human victims were cut at the dead king's grave."5 In Abyssinia, according to Macdonald, "human sacrifices to their divinities are common among the people of Senjero."6 In Southern Africa the Kaffirs (those tribes south of the Zambesi) and the Zulus, even in recent times, have been guilty of the same unspeakable atrocities, as Dr. Tyler and Dr. Emil Holub testify.7 1 "Report of the Church Missionary Society," 1893-94, p. 26. 2 Quoted in Illustrated Africa, February, 1895, p. 2. 3 The Baptist Missionary Magazine, May, 1894, p. 147. 4 The Missionary, November, 1894, p. 485. Cf. Regions Beyond, May, 1895, p. 220. 5 Ashe, "Chronicles of Uganda," p. 63. 6 Macdonald, "Religion and Myth," p. 39. 7 Illustrated Africa, December, 1895, p. 7; March, 1896, p. 4; and The African News, September, 1893, p. 28.
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The world's barbarism is by no means ended. In some of its fairest regions the passions of demons seem to rage in the human breast. 5. CRUEL ORDEALS. —In most instances the ordeals
Trial by ordeal--its serverity and curelty.which involve physical torment or exposure to death are resorted to with a view of testing and so discovering the innocence or guilt of some suspected person. These ghastly trials have been widely known in the world in various forms. The ordeal has been sometimes by fire or, again, by water or by the use of poisons or through personal encounter. Torture has also been employed to ascertain if the consciousness of guilt will bear the test. The peculiar horror which attaches to this custom is the probability in numberless instances of putting an absolutely innocent person to death, and in any case, of subjecting the victim to excruciating torture.1 Among the Ainu of Northern Japan various barbarous expedients have prevailed to secure confession where a crime was suspected. One was the hot-water ordeal, which was practised in two ways. According to one method, the victim was placed in an immense caldron of cold water, under which a blazing fire was kindled, and was kept there until the suffering was so intense that a confession was extorted. This severe test, however, was not common unless the evidence of guilt was strong. Still another method was compelling the accused person to thrust an arm into a pan of boiling water. If the test was refused it was regarded as indicative of guilt; or if accepted and the result was a severe scalding, this also was supposed to be evidence against the accused person. Only in case the flesh was uninjured was the innocence fully demonstrated. Other expedients were by grasping hot iron, or a hot stone held in the palm of the hand. Still another, which was especially a favorite in the case of testing the guilt or innocence of women, was to make them smoke an unusual quantity of tobacco and then drink the ashes of the weed. If made ill they were guilty; if not, their innocence was established. A more innocent trial was effected by causing a person to drink a cup of water and then throw the empty cup behind him over his head. If the cup fell the right way upward innocence was demonstrated ; if otherwise, guilt was regarded as manifest. Another singular trial consisted of seating the person before a 1 In the semi-pagan "trial by ordeal" among our Saxon forefathers this was actually the case when compurgators did not appear to vouch for the innocence of the accused.
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large tub of water with his mouth placed to it in such a way that he must drink continuously until it was all gone. This process perhaps does not seem very terrifying, but in reality it involved intense pain. If the water was all drank the person was innocent, but if he gave up the attempt it was an indication of guilt. The stake ordeal, hanging by the hair, and beating were also resorted to.1 In China confession is often extorted by processes of ingenious and frightful torture. The diabolical versatility of the Chinese in this respect is notorious.2 In India festivals are sometimes the scenes of ordeals by passing through fire to exhibit fortitude and devotion in evidence of the religious Ordeals in India, Siam, and Madagascar.sincerity of devotees. Among some of the native tribes, as, for example, the Mairs and Kois, it was customary to challenge one accused to prove his innocence by thrusting his hand into boiling oil or by grasping red-hot shot. In case any one among the Kois died a natural death it was considered to be the result of the machinations of some enemy, and when the most likely person was settled upon, the corpse of the deceased was brought into his presence, and he was called upon to demonstrate his innocence by undergoing the ordeal of thrusting his hand into boiling oil or water.3 In Siam and neighboring countries the trial by ordeal has long been known. The tests were similar to those already mentioned, though several of them were of exceptional cruelty. The interest in the subject at present is happily only historical, as the tests are not now practised.4 In Madagascar the ordeal by poison, or the use of tangéena, was formerly shamefully frequent. One out of every ten of the people, it has been computed, has been subjected to it, and half of the victims have died. According to the Rev. W. Ellis, "three thousand people perished every year a sacrifice to this superstition, for the belief, of course, was that while innocent people survived the ordeal, it invariably proved fatal to the guilty." 5 Africa has the melancholy distinction of continuing these practices, although in sections of the Continent under the control of European 1 Batchelor, "The Ainu of Japan," pp. 135-138. 2 Norman, "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," chap, xv., on "Chinese Horrors." 3 " Pictorial Tour Round India," p. 47. Cf. "The History of Christianity in India," p. 87. 4 "Trial by Ordeal in Siam," by Captain G. E. Gerini, The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, April and July, 1895. 5 Home, "The Story of the London Missionary Society," p. 175. Cf. Ratzel, "The History of Mankind," vol. i., p. 467.
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administration such cases are now usually the subject of judicial investigation.1 In former times in Old Calabar Their prevalance in Africa.the death of a chief was supposed to be because he was bewitched by some one. The suspected persons would be at one subject to the ordeal of drinking the powdered esere-bean, on the supposition that if guilty they would retain it and die; if innocent, they would be relieved of it and survive. The result was usually the death of the victims.2 Other grim variations in different sections of the Continent are mwavè-drinking in Nyassaland, reported as late as 1893, by Livingstonia missionaries of the Free Church of Scotland and mentioned also in a private letter from Dr. Laws, dated May 3, 1895,3 and the test of thrusting the hand into boiling water. In the latter case if the skin comes off the guilt is demonstrated, and the victim is then cut to pieces and burned. These superstitious customs have become to such an extent a part of the social code of savagery that nothing short of legal restriction backed by force can uproot them, except the enlightened teachings of Christianity.4 In the islands of the Pacific these strange and fiery ordeals 1 The Missionary Record, December, 1893, p. 354. 2 Dickie, "The Story of the Mission in Old Calabar," p. 44. 3 "The final arbiter of veracity was the ordeal by boiling water, in some cases, but most commonly by the mwavè poison (the bark of the Erythrophlceum Guineense). In one tribe several hundreds of persons have been compelled to take this poison at one time, and from such a wholesale administration from thirty to forty deaths have been known to take place. Following the use of the mwavè came quarrels over property, because if the victim died, his wife, or wives, and children became the slaves of the accuser, and his property also passed to him. On the other hand, if the accused vomited and recovered he could claim reparation from his accuser. The power to put these sequelae of the ordeal into effect depended very much on the influence and fighting power of the relatives, and of course bloodshed often was the result. You can also readily imagine what an instrument of oppression the ordeal could be made by a chief or powerful neighbor who had a grudge against any one, or wished to get possession of his goods."—Rev. Robert Laws, M.D., D.D. (F. C. S.), Kondowi, Livingstonia, British Central Africa. Cf. Free Church of Scotland Monthly, September, 1893, p, 202; The African News, January, 1894, p. 12. 4 "Witchcraft and poison-drinking are a recognized part of the social fabric of the Central African tribes. The main part of their legal customs is founded on these two things, and a natural consequence is the degradation of the administration of justice into a matter of chance, or the decision of the witch doctor and the strength of the poison he mixes. It is obvious that Christianity can make no truce with this sort of thing, and is in duty bound not merely to refuse to recognize it, but to do everything in its power to stop it, and to teach the natives by precept and example the Christian law of justice."—Rev. J. S. Wimbush (U. M. C, A.), Likoma, Nyassaland. British. Central Africa.
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have always been prevalent, but great changes have taken place in native customs on many of the islands since the entrance of Christian missions.1 6. CRUEL PUNISHMENTS AND TORTURE.—The just and proper method of inflicting punishment upon the guilty is a subject of great sociological interest, and has engaged the earnest thought and taxed the practical wisdom of distinguished modern reformers. Notable changes have been introduced in present-day penology, and it is one of the humane triumphs of Christian civilization that the old barbarities in the treatment of criminals have almost wholly disappeared within the bounds of Christendom. A succinct sketch of the cruel aspects of early judicial procedure, and of the processes of intimidation and torture which were not unknown even in the most cultured nations of the world until within a recent period, is given by Dr. Frederick Howard Wines in his interesting volume on the punishment of criminals.2 One is impressed, in reading that harrowing record, with the immense progress which is manifest in the humane transformations which distinguish the present system from the old. He is also, alas! reminded that there has been little improvement among the uncivilized peoples of the earth in respect to these penal cruelties, since the same horrid methods of inflicting punishment and torturing criminals are still practised in many barbarous communities. A punishment may be pronounced cruel when it is unjustly severe, or inflicts excessive suffering, or is administered with barbarous torture, without legal sanction or restraint, as the whim or passion of the one in authority may dictate. That all this is true of much of the punishment which is practised in the non-Christian world is a fact beyond question. Methods of punishment in Western Asia.To begin with Western Asia, it is a notorious fact that Turkey— the land which is even now the scene of such unparalleled atrocities— is full of dismal cruelties to those who fall under the ban of the law. This state of things pertains in a measure to all prisoners, but chiefly to non-Moslems who, perhaps most unjustly, fall under penal condemnation. Turkish prisons are horrible beyond description, and the treatment of prisoners is most inhuman. Shocking torture is not unfrequently inflicted to extract information or to serve some secret 1 Ratzel, "The History of Mankind," vol. i., pp. 292, 451. Cf. article by Andrew Lang in The Contemporary Review, August, 1896. 2 Wines, "Punishment and Reformation," chaps, iv., v.
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purpose of the authorities. The accounts of the recent massacres in Armenia, which have been spread before the world by reliable correspondents and by official reports, reveal what Turks and Kurds are capable of in the line of diabolical cruelty.1 An incident reported by Mr. Donald Mackenzie, special Commissioner of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, which fell under his own observation at Hodeidah, illustrates the awful possibilities of cruelty in a land of irresponsible power like Arabia.2 In Persia methods of punishment involving excruciating torture are resorted to, as illustrated articles in The New York Tribune of May 10, 1896, and The Graphic (London) of August 15, 1896, recount in detail. The latter article, reproduced in The New York Tribune of August 30th, gives an account by an eye-witness who succeeded in obtaining a photograph of the scene, describing the burial alive of five prisoners in a preparation of plaster of Paris, so placed as to enclose the body up to the chin—a method of execution which is attended with intense suffering, as the plaster soon swells, hardens, and stops the circulation. In this instance the victims were selected from the prisoners in the jail at Shiraz, and were put to death not because of their personal guilt, but as an example to strike terror into the hearts of the population and put a stop to pillage and robbery in the province, the actual perpetrators of which the authorities were not able to secure. The bastinado, and mutilation of the person, with other ingenious devices for inflicting suffering, are characteristic features of penal administration throughout Persia.3 It is reported of the late Shah that his method of punishing some obstinate subjects of his realm who tampered with the telegraph-wires when they were first introduced into Persia, was 1 Consult Blue Book of the British Government, Turkey, No. 3, 1896, on the
condition of the Asiatic provinces of Turkey previous to the massacres; and Bliss, "Turkey and the Armenian Atrocities," on the massacres themselves. 2 "While at Hodeidah I saw a most revolting sight: just outside the principal
gate of the town, in a Mohammedan burial-place, I found a poor old man chained, perfectly naked, exposed to the burning sun by day and dew by night, with no shed or covering of any kind; the poor fellow was quite insane. I found, from inquiries, that this wretched man had been chained at this place for seventeen years; that he
had been a powerful sheikh, but a more powerful one had ruined him and chained him in the burial-ground near the highroad for caravans, and opposite his rival's house, so that every one could see the latter's power in the country. The inhuman wretch who did this farms the Customs of Hodeidah from the Turkish Government.
I asked our Vice-Consul how it was that such a disgraceful thing was permitted; he replied that he had made representations to his chief at Jeddah, but could not obtain any satisfactory answer."—The Anti-Slavery Reporter, December, 1895, pp. 217, 218. 3 Wilson, "Persian Life and Customs," pp. 116, 119, 184, 185.
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to bury the offenders alive, one at the base of each telegraph-pole, as a hint that he would allow no trifling with his administration and no opposition to his will.1 In Central Asia the prisons are described as inexpressibly foul, and imprisonment is apt to be attended with dismal tortures.2 In Afghanistan there are characteristic cruelties of penal discipline, to which reference has been made by a recent correspondent of the London Times.3 In India the police administration has always been characterized by cruelties which even British administration has not been able wholly to stamp out. In a report of the commissioners for the investigation of alleged cases of torture in the Madras Presidency in 1855, the subject is dealt with in considerable detail, and aggravated instances of cruelty on the part of the police are brought to light.4 The punishment even of school-children used to be a species of torture.5 Many of the penalties recommended in the Code of Manu are abominable in character, especially those connected with violations of the proprieties of caste. Under British administration a changed state of things exists, although the shooting of sepoys bound at the cannon's mouth by British soldiers at the time of the mutiny was surely a strange lesson for a Christian government to give to the people of India. The subject of punishments in China leads us into a veritable Chamber of Horrors, to which Mr. Norman, in his "Peoples and Politics of the The Chinese Chamber of Horrors.Far East," has devoted an entire chapter, which, with its illustrations, presents a vivid picture of these frightful scenes (chap. xv.). In the Chinese Empire these things are not done in a corner, but are a recognized feature of judicial procedure. The ingenuity and variety of Chinese tortures have been fully described by standard writers upon the social customs of that strange empire.6 The infliction of torture is not confined to the prisoner who is on trial, but the unfortunate witnesses are also likely to receive the unwelcome attentions of the inquisitors. There is nothing that the Chinese dread more than the law itself and its administrators. Even a charge of wrong-doing, however unsubstantiated, is usually a signal for a series 1 The Outlook, May 9, 1896. 2. Lansdell, "Chinese Central Asia," vol. i., pp. 55-57, 352; vol. ii., p. 198. 3. Consult The Mail (London Times), January 22, 1896. 4. Raghavaiyangar, "Progress of the Madras Presidency During the Last Forty Years," Appendices, p. Ixxii. 5. Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 435, 436. 6. Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 71-78. Cf. Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., pp. 507-515; Ball, "Things Chinese," p. 472.
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of painful ordeals.1 The abominable extremities of the Chinese system do not stop with actual guilt, but the relatives of one who is under suspicion, especially if his crime is proved, are often regarded as equally amenable to the law.2 Chinese executions are usually by beheading in public, the execution ground being open to all. The stroke of an executioner's sword is a comparatively merciful proceeding; the prisoner may be thankful if he escapes the process of lingchi, which is being cut to pieces while still alive. The prisons of China are described as "loathsome, horrible dungeons, the scenes of cruelty and barbarism too fearful for description."3 In his chapter on "The Absence of Sympathy," Rev. Arthur Smith refers to the "deliberate routine cruelty with which all Chinese prisoners are treated who cannot pay for their 1 "Cruelty in various forms is shamefully tolerated. For example, their legal punishments include breaking the ankles with mallets, death by starvation, the condemned being exposed for days in a wooden cage, and that in an extremely painful position, and death by slicing the body of the criminal with a sword, but delaying the fatal thrust. Their prisons are frightful dens. So, generally, indulgence in ungoverned rage leads to all manner of cruel acts, from the sickening beating of a fallen animal to the choking almost to death of an offending child."--Rev. W. P. Chalfant (P. B. F. M. N.), Ichowfu, Shantung, China. "The Chinese are a cruel people. Their punishments are very cruel. Men are imprisoned, beaten, and tortured for slight offenses or on mere suspicion, and often before any hearing of their cases. Thousands die in China every year from torture, beatings, exposure in filthy prisons with insufficient food and clothes—'done to death,' accidentally or purposely. Undoubtedly a good percentage of these are innocent of the crimes laid to their charge. Beheading is the mildest form of capital punishment. Flaying alive and cutting in pieces are legal punishments for great crimes."—Mrs. C. W. Mateer (P. B. F. M. N.), Tungchow, China. 2 "It is painful to watch the course of the law in China. Its rigor frequently defeats its being carried out, and the guilty parties too often escape because the innocent will have to suffer with them. It is supposed that China desires to take her place beside the civilized nations of the world, but, alas! her methods of executing the law in the treatment of criminals keep her among the barbarous people of the earth, a place, by the way, that she richly deserves until ready to mend her ways. How often do we hear of the provincial judge returning criminals to the magistrate for reëxamination because the criminal could not endure his brutal treatment, and had confessed to anything to stop the excruciating torture--that gentle, persuasive way of making a man kneel on chains until he can endure the agony no longer, and faints, only to be brought to by a lighted taper stuck up his nose--crushing life out and burning it in! This is civilization with a vengeance, and yet we hear it boasted that China is civilized, has a literature dating away back to the hoary past, etc. China must revise her practices, for other nations have long since stamped such as barbarous, and given them up. Again, the truth is no better arrived at, but rather thwarted, by the barbarity shown." --Edgar Woods, M.D. (P. B. F. M. S.), Tsing-kiang-pu, China, The Missionary, July, 1896, p. 303. 3 Holcombe, "The Real Chinaman," p. 205.
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exemption."1 In the Island of Formosa substantially the same system has prevailed.2 In Korea "the vocabulary of torture is sufficiently copious to stamp Chō-sen as still a semi-civilized nation." The inventory of its implements as found in a court of justice or prison is ghastly in its suggestiveness.3 Public executions have always been conducted in brutal fashion, and are often attended with excruciating tortures of the prisoners.4 According to the old law of the realm, every member of a man's family was equally implicated in his offense. We read of the use of the rack even at the present time.5 Before we leave the Continent of Asia it should be noted that the Japanese, in comparison with all other Asiatic nations, stand in a favorable light so far as the general charge of cruelty is concerned. If we turn to the Continent of Africa we enter the shadows of pure savagery, and a record of barbarities meets us which is appalling to The cruelties of punishment in Africa.contemplate. The simple infliction of a death-penalty becomes a comparatively merciful punishment. It is well if an unfortunate prisoner escapes a fate which is full of lingering agony and painful mutilation. In the "Life of Livingstone" instances are given of the severing of members of a living prisoner for even trifling offenses. The use of the knife upon the living victim was often a barbarous preliminary to his final execution. Capital punishment was resorted to as a penalty for insignificant offenses. Even speaking unadvisedly was a crime for which the lips were roughly sand-papered in a way to produce a painful excoriation. The sufferings of the poor slaves throughout Africa make one of the most horrible chapters in human history. Of the Awemba it is reported that they have a "kind of feudal system and discipline which is very strict, the slightest disobedience being punished with loss of fingers or hands, eyes put out, ears and nose cut off. Often through mere caprice these dreadful sufferings are inflicted, while occasionally the chief kills a number of his people simply to let them know he is chief and to keep them in constant fear of him."6 The cruelties of Lobengula have filled a large place in recent South African history. Severing the nose and the ears of a victim seemed to be commonplace incidents in his administration. Among the Zulus, as the banana was 1 "Chinese Characteristics," p. 214. 2 MacKay, "From Far Formosa," pp. 107, 276. 3 Griffis, "Corea," p. 234. 4 Savage-Landor, "Corea," pp. 248-254. Cf. Norman, "Peoples and Politics
of the Far East," p. 348.
5 The Korean Repository, January, 1896, p. 34. 6 The Free Church of Scotland Monthly, August, 1895, p. 183.
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set apart for royal use, if it was eaten by an ordinary person the death-penalty was promptly inflicted, and the same punishment was administered for theft. Thieves had their throats cut or their eyes extracted or their hands and feet cut off. In the capital of Ashanti the mere will of the king inflicted death for the least transgression of the most whimsical laws.1 Before the English missionaries entered Uganda, in the days of King Mtesa, executions took place by the hundreds by any method which seemed to suit the fancy of the king. Among the barbarous West Coast tribes the punishment of wives by their husbands is often cruelly painful. Among the Pondos there is a punishment which one can hardly read of without shuddering. The victim is bound or stretched upon an ant-hill from which thousands of virulent ants emerge and proceed to devour him, penetrating nostrils, eyes, ears, and mouth.2 But we must end this dismal recital. Enough has been said to show that a reign of cruelty still lingers in the earth, and that there is a pressing call for some transforming lessons from the Gospel of divine mercy. 7. BRUTALITY IN WAR.—The awful realities of war are in many instances attended by unspeakable cruelties and wild outbursts of brutal passions. Civilization has, however, so far asserted itself as to insist upon every possible expedient for alleviating the miseries of the wounded and restraining the brutalities incident to the conflict. The code governing the conduct of war is now recognized among all civilized nations, and its humane provisions are of great value in mitigating the horrors of the field, diminishing suffering, securing a proper respect for prisoners and a sufficient recognition of their necessities. With all that has been done, however, to lessen its brutalities, war, even in modern times and among civilized nations, is often attended with experiences which are appalling to the imagination. Even contemporary warfare is not always free from the charge of unnecessary barbarity; and when we consider the facilities for maiming the person and destroying life which are now in use, the question arises whether war under modern conditions has, after all, to any great extent lost its ancient terrors.3 The recent Oriental war between Japan and China, while it revealed, 1. Work and Workers in the Mission Field, January, 1896, p. 18. 2. Ibid., September, 1894, p. 368. 3 Cf. a graphic article by Mr. H. W. Wilson, on "The Human Animal in, Battle," in The Fortnightly Review, August, 1896. See also the article "Blood-thirst," in the London Spectator, September 19, 1896.
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no doubt, a strenuous and to a marked degree successful effort on the part of the Japanese to banish the old traditional savagery of the The barbarities of Oriental warfare.Orient, was yet not without its dismal scenes of brutality on the part of both combatants. With the Japanese such scenes as were enacted at Port Arthur were, however, exceptional, and no doubt were stimulated by awful provocation. The improvement in present Japanese methods over those which prevailed even a generation or so ago reveals a remarkable readiness to adopt the modern code of warfare. An incident from the letter of a resident missionary will sufficiently illustrate this statement.1 The Chinese, on the other hand, exhibited all the old ferocity of their race. Not only were Japanese prisoners and wounded combatants who fell into their hands made the victims of savage torture and mutilation, but even their own wounded were neglected with shocking inhumanity. The spirit of Chinese warfare was represented by the remark of a high official to some Red Cross agents when he said, "We have no use for wounded soldiers."2 Statements still further illustrating the cold-blooded horrors 1 " Some years ago, in the course of an itinerating tour in company with a native
evangelist, I had occasion to pass through a district where some of the battles at the time of the Restoration were fought. My companion was one of the old-time military class, an intelligent, educated man, who, when he became a Christian, made thorough work of it and gave himself wholly to Christ. In the war of the Restoration he had been a petty officer on the side of the emperor. As we proceeded on our tour, we halted at an inn one day at noon in the immediate neighborhood of one of the old battle-fields, and, as we ate our noon meal, my companion told me about the battle that had taken place there, and in which he had himself participated. He said: 'Our side won the battle, and after it was over, as we held the field, we proceeded to show our hatred of the enemy by despatching the wounded and mutilating the bodies of the dead. We took out their entrails and decorated the trees with them; their spleens we roasted and ate.' I was shocked at the barbarity of such conduct, and amazed that my companion, now such an earnest Christian, should have had a part in anything so inhuman. But he assured me that it was nothing uncommon, that such things were done on both sides, and little or nothing thought of them. This is what Japanese soldiers did to enemies who were their own countrymen, only a little more than a quarter of a century ago. What a contrast as compared with the treatment accorded to Chinese prisoners in the present war!"—Rev. Thomas T. Alexander (P. B. F. M. N.), Tokyo, Japan. 2 "It has always been the custom for troops on the march to plunder their own
people, and when prisoners were taken to torture them. At the taking of Port Arthur the Japanese were angered to find their countrymen had been tortured, mutilated, burned alive, etc., and in consequence they gave no quarter. China will learn much from this war, and humanity to captives ought to be one of the lessons. 'We have no use for wounded soldiers,' was the answer of Sheng Tao-tai, Li Hung Chang's nephew and lieutenant, when a party of Red Cross missionaries requested of him permission to go to the front to care for the wounded Chinese soldiers."—Rev. Joseph S. Adams (A. B. M. U.), Hankow, Hupeh, China. "When Japanese prisoners fell into the hands of the Chinese, they cut off the heads and gouged out the eyes, and left the mutilated corpses lying in the road," —Rev. Isaac T, Headland (M. E. M. S.), Peking, China.
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of Chinese warfare are given by Mr. Henry Norman in his " Peoples and Politics of the Far East." He remarks: "It must never be forgotten that acts of appalling and almost incredible barbarity are the common accompaniment of all Chinese warfare. If it were not that the details are indescribable, I could give a blood-curdling list of horrors that have been described to me " (p. 86). In the same volume a correspondent of The Times is quoted as follows: " The Chinese take no prisoners. From dead, wounded, and vanquished alike they shear off the heads, mutilate them in various ways, and string them together by a rope passed through the mouth and gullet. The Japanese troops have seen these ghastly remnants of their comrades. A barrelful of them was found after the fight at Ping-Yang, and among the horrible trophies was the head of a young officer who had fallen wounded in a fort evacuated by General Oshima's men." Throughout Central Asia, Persia, and Turkey we find a state of things which is in horrible rivalry with the worst that China can reveal. The The annals of cruelty not yet closed.most atrocious chapter of modern history is the recent story of Kurdish and Turkish brutality in Asia Minor. It cannot be called warfare; it is rather the brutal spirit of fiends gratifying a diabolical passion for bloodshed and cruelty.1 The past history of India, extending down even to the advent of British rule, is full of shocking incidents. The barbarities of the great Afghan invasions "form one of the most appalling tales of bloodshed and wanton cruelty ever inflicted on the human race." Among the Rajputs it was a custom when victory seemed assured to their enemies to slaughter all their women rather than permit them to fall into the hands of the enemy. In the siege of Chittoor by the Mohammedans it is recorded that Padmani, the beautiful wife of the Rana, and all the women, to the number of many thousands, were entombed in immense caves, the mouths of which were closed, and all were destroyed by fires which were kindled within. The supremacy of British rule has now brought India under the code of modern warfare, and although the tragedy of the sepoy rebellion is still fresh in the memory, and there is no guarantee beyond the authority of British control that the old savagery will not reappear, yet the present 1 Cf. Wilson, Persian Life and Customs," p. 121.
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outlook is that the brutalities formerly so prevalent have vanished, never to return. In the northern States of Africa, especially in Morocco, the most sanguinary customs are characteristic of Mohammedan warfare. An Sanguinary customs in African warfare.incident recently reported in the London papers gives an insight into the ghastly realities of war in that section. A telegram announced the arrival, at Fez of a large consignment of salted heads that were being transported from Morocco as trophies of a recent victory. It is even considered a merciful proceeding by the fierce soldiery of Morocco to bury their wounded comrades before life is extinct, so that the enemy may have no opportunity of mutilating their bodies.1 In the recent Italian campaign with Abyssinia the hands and feet of the wounded were cut off by the enemy on the field of battle, and they were left to the mercy of the vultures.2 In the interior of the Continent and along the West Coast there is nothing more terrible than the scenes of harrowing atrocity which have been and are still incidental to barbarous strife.3 As we move southward there is nothing to relieve the dark shadows of brutal warfare. It is a carnival of cruelty and beastly savagery. The last journal of Livingstone contains an account of a massacre so terrible in its atrocity that it seems to have made an overwhelming impression upon his mind.4 The well-known reputation of the Matabele warrior has been often referred to.5 In the recent French war in Madagascar even a civilized nation seems to have been deeply compromised by the adoption of barbarous methods of warfare. The 1 Regions Beyond, November, 1894, p. 369. 2 The Literary Digest, May 30, 1896. 3 Arnot, " Garenganze," pp. 77, 78, 92; The Missionary Record, October, 1893, p. 286. 4 Blaikie, " Life of David Livingstone," pp. 427, 428. 5 " In war the Matabele were very cruel. They surrounded the towns against which they were fighting, in the early morning, set fire to the huts, and slaughtered indiscriminately, sparing only the boys and girls who could be used as slaves. Sometimes they made prisoners, and some of these were put to death with great cruelty, dried grass being wrapped round them and set on fire. In one instance at least they caught a lot of women, made them carry the spoil to the border of the country, and then in cold blood murdered them all. Children are snatched out of their mothers' arms and impaled on the assegai, sometimes caught by the heels and their heads smashed on the rocks. Others have been tied to poles and roasted to death. I have not seen these things done, but have been told of them by Matabele themselves."— Rev. Charles D. Helm (L. M. S.), Hope Fountain, Matabeleland, Africa. Cf. Wilmot, "The Expansion of South Africa," pp. 183, 184; Hepburn, " Twenty Years in Khama's Country," p. 248.
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alliance of the bloodthirsty Sakalava with the French resulted in indiscriminate massacres of women and children who fell into their hands. In one case, writes the correspondent of the London Times, " there can be no doubt that the Sakalava, who are well armed, murdered four hundred women and children." The savage races of the Pacific are not a whit less cruel than their fellow-barbarians of the Dark Continent. In New Guinea, the New Hebrides, and throughout the island realms of the South Seas, the ferocity of savage warfare has been illustrated for unknown generations. Happily, the encroachments of civilization, the spiritual victories of missions, and the extension of foreign authority over so many island groups of Oceania are influences which have greatly restrained the barbarities that have prevailed in the past. 8. BLOOD FEUDS.—War is not confined to nations and tribes alone, but sometimes occurs between clans, communities, villages, families, and even individuals, who engage in a kind of mimic warfare under the name of blood feuds. These have frequently resulted in serious and desperate conflicts prolonged for generations and involving intense bitterness of feeling, with vindictive reprisals and cruel atrocities. The causes of strife may differ; in some instances it may spring from religious hatred, in others it may result from trespass and violence, and at times it is the outcome of family intrigue, jealousy, and enmity. The Continent of Africa is all astir with these virulent feuds; tribes, communities, and families are in numberless instances pitted against The prevalance and bitterness of blood feuds throughout the African Continent.one another in irreconcilable strife. Now it is a feud between neighboring villages, which 'means indiscriminate war to the knife between entire communities; now it is a quarrel over boundary lines, or a raid for plunder or retaliation for trespass and murder, or the avenging of some insult which cannot be passed unnoticed. A constant state of anarchy and bloody hostility is thus kept up among neighboring clans and communities. "When the Word of God came among us," said a Kaffir chief in 1836, "we were like the wild beasts; we knew nothing—nothing but war and bloodshed. Every one was against his neighbor, every man tried to destroy his brother."1 Dr. Moffat has given vivid descriptions of the desperate character of the tribal feuds which he found prevailing in South Africa. Lust, revenge, and rapine were continually on the war-path. Throughout the length and breadth 1 Slowan, " The Story of Our Kaffrarian Mission," p. 109.
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of Zambesia raids and counter-raids, attended with savage barbarities, always have been, and, where opportunity offers, are still, the constant occupation of hostile tribes.1 The popular theory of punishment or revenge in Africa is not to seek out the guilty and inflict upon them the penalty; it is to strike an indiscriminate blow at the entire community or tribe to whom the offender belongs. Vengeance is sweet to the native African, and under some circumstances it becomes, according to his social code, an imperative duty.2 Sectional feuds in Turkey, Persia, and India.In Turkey and Persia, where national and religious distinctions honeycomb society, there is hardly a village which is not ready for sectional strife upon the slightest provocation. The horrors in Armenia show the fearful excesses to which religious and political hostility, when once aroused, will lead. The Kurd, who is facile princeps in his fiendishness, not only delights in barbarities upon Christians, but is often at war with his own people in local feuds.3 1 Wilmot, "The Expansion of South Africa," p. 183. Cf. Johnston, "Missionary Landscapes in the Dark Continent," p. 138. 2 "Love, forgiveness—these are things which the Pahouins cannot understand, nay, which even scandalize them," writes M. Allegret, from his station at Talagouga, in the French Congo. "They cannot understand renouncing a vengeance, and when a hostile village kills one of their people, it is not the death of their relation or their friend which they feel the most, but the insult which they have received. The father of one of our pupils came one day to ask that he might have his boy back for a time, for, said he, 'I am growing old, and before I die I should like to tell him all about our quarrels, that he may know who they are who owe us corpses.' To forgive a relation some little things, that may be allowed, but, to forgive an enemy, what madness!"—Quoted from the Journal des Missions Évangéliques, in The Missionary Record, October, 1895, p. 294. "From time immemorial the Gallas have been warriors, ready to use their spears on slight provocation, and delighting in the intertribal warfare which so many of the African race regard as a pastime. War has been constantly denounced by the missionaries,—its sin as well as its folly indicated,—and twice within the past two years I have been able to dissuade the warriors from retaliatory expeditions against the Somalis."—Rev. R. M. Ormerod (U. M. F. M. S.), Golbanti, Tana River, East Africa. 3 "As to blood feuds, our mountain field is full of them. It is safe to say that
no man of distinction can travel freely through the different mountain provinces, and until vengeance is taken any man, of whatever social standing, may be involved. This is one of the great hindrances to our school work. It is at times extremely difficult, and always difficult to some degree, for the boys and girls to pass through these provinces on their way to us."—Miss Anna Melton (P. B. F. M. N.), Mosul, Turkey. "Blood feuds between Kurdish tribes and neighborhoods are common."—George C, Raynolds, M.D. (A. B. C. F. M.), Van, Turkey.
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In India there is perpetual hostility between Hindus and Moslems, resulting in feuds which are handed down with religious fidelity from generation to generation, and are always ready to break out into bloody violence if some trifling cause awakens the spirit of strife. Among the wild tribes of the mountains trial by combat is a favorite method of settling disputes, while their blood feuds are transmitted as a sacred inheritance from father to son. The unforgiving character of the Hindus makes them cling tenaciously to the hope of revenge, and wait patiently and long for their opportunity.1 In Assam murder is regarded as a social accomplishment. "No young Naga," remarks The Indian Witness, "is considered a man unless his hands have been imbrued in the blood of his fellow-man, whether in war or in cold blood makes no difference." In Burma the war of clans and even smaller communities has been common.2 China is a network of clans Village feuds in China.ready to engage in hostile strife upon the slightest provocation. Massacre and bloodshed are the usual result of these conflicts. Village feuds are common among the Chinese. If they do not result in actual bloodshed they are sure to develop a system of petty trespass and the destruction of the property, especially the crops, of the village. In Formosa fierce and sanguinary warfare, lasting sometimes for half a century, has attended these feuds among savage tribes.3 The practice of head-hunting may be traced back to these village and tribal wars.4 The Chinese in Formosa are especially the objects of hatred, and the head of a Chinaman is a trophy highly prized. "No savage is esteemed," says Dr. Williams, "who 1 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 410. 2 "Cut up into tribes and clans, they were always at war with one another; that
is, tribe with tribe," clan with clan, and often village with village. Their quarrels almost always took the form of feuds, blood feuds, and in their wars the women and children suffered terribly. The object of these feuds was to seize as much property and as many captives as possible. These captives were held for ransom, and were
cared for only to save their lives for that purpose. I never saw in these warriors any impulse of pity or compassion, though there were doubtless cases. The greed for gain seemed to hide all else."—Rev. Alonzo Bunker, D.D. (A. B. M. U.), Toungoo, Burma. 3 MacKay, "From Far Formosa," p. 222. 4 "The bringing back of the head was regarded as satisfactory evidence, a kind of medical certificate that the sentence of the tribe had been carried out. When hostilities became fixed and certain tribes or races were regarded as unforgivable enemies, a premium was put upon their heads, and the brave who showed most skill was counted worthy of greatest honor and made head man of his village or chief of his tribe."—Ibid., p. 268.
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has not beheaded a Chinaman, while the greater the number of heads brought home from a fray the higher the position of a brave in the community."1 The traditions of Japan are full of reports of conflicts between the old feudal lords and their retainers, but in the present new era of advancing civilization and national reconstruction these petty strifes have almost entirely disappeared. A characteristic sight in Korea, usually in connection with the advent of the new year, is a promiscuous battle with clubs and stones between neighboring villages. It is often in sport, but in many instances it becomes a veritable mimic war.2 In New Guinea and throughout Oceania Intertribal feuds in the Pacific Islands.turmoil and strife are commonplace features of savage life. "Blood for blood is a sacred law almost of nature wherever Christianity has not prevailed." Trespass or violence on the part of any member of a tribe is regarded as fastening the guilt upon the entire tribe, and thus indiscriminate bloodshed follows. The sounds of savage warfare have echoed among the islands of the Pacific for unknown generations, and where the happier arts of peace now prevail they are almost entirely the result of Christian missionary teaching and influence.3 If we penetrate in almost any direction into the comparatively unknown and inaccessible recesses of heathenism we will find the same shocking story of blood feuds and perpetual outbursts of sanguinary hostility. An officer of a prominent trading company who has lived long among the Eskimos has given it as his opinion that "he did not think there was a single 1 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., p. 138. 2 Gilmore, "Korea from its Capital," pp. 173, 176. Cf. Savage-Landor, "Corea," p. 268, and The Missionary, May, 1895, p. 200. 3 "The natives of the New Hebrides, especially those in the same island, in
heathen days had feuds, which multiplied as the earlier inhabitants increased, and were passed down from one generation to another. These feuds tended to separate the natives still further, and indeed formed by far the most powerful factor in breaking them up into so many tribes; for since Christianity has driven out heathenism, the mountain barriers and the different languages have not prevented the tribes from communicating with each other. So great was the influence exerted by the feuds and wars among the natives in separating tribe from tribe that frequently, especially in Tanna, they could not, without danger to life, walk beyond a few miles from their own homes. Revenge was carried from generation to generation. Every injury, supposed or real, was avenged. Reviling was followed by reviling, blow by blow, theft avenged by theft. The injured wife revenged the act of an unfaithful husband by herself being unfaithful to him. Life taken away was only repaid by taking away another life, if not that of the murderer, at any rate that of one of his tribe."—Rev. William Gunn, M.D. (F. C. S.), Futuna, New Hebrides.
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Eskimo frequenting that post, and who had attained thirty years of age, who had not murdered a human being."1 The reign of the Prince of Peace is sadly needed among the warring factions of heathen society. 9. LAWLESSNESS. —One of the noblest missions of civilization is the establishment and enforcement of just and effective laws restraining and punishing crimes against both the person of the individual and the good order of society. The spirit of lawlessness has brought sorrow and unrest to humanity during all its history, and were it not for the majestic sway of law and its efficient administration there would be no guarantee of security and order even in civilized communities. The study of criminology within the bounds of civilization has been made a specialty by expert students (e.g., Wines, Henderson, Lombroso, and MacDonald), who have published the results of their investigations in instructive volumes. In the wide realms of barbarism crimes of every kind afflict society. The criminal is comparatively unrestrained by law, and pursues his wild career with little fear of justice. There are primitive and rude methods of punishment in vogue everywhere, and even in the less civilized states of the world the administration of justice would be prompt and effective were the practice equal to the theory. The possibility and, in many instances, the probability that justice will miscarry, combined with the allurements of lawlessness to untamed natures, give a fatal stimulus to criminal instincts and make the non-Christian world to a deplorable extent a prey to lawless violence. There are many sections both of Asia and Africa
The quieting power of civilized rule in Asia and Africa.that have been in the past noted for disorder and misrule which are to-day under the control of civilized governments, and are immensely benefited by their vigorous police administration. India is a prominent example. Crime and violence were rampant all through the vast peninsula before the advent of British rule. The native rulers themselves were arch-criminals, and society groaned under the miseries of rapine and vicious depravity.2 The terrible exploits of thugs, dacoits, and the robber castes, numbering over a hundred, make a vivid chapter in Indian lawlessness, which, thanks to the British Government, is now largely a thing of the past. What has been said of India is true of various portions of Burma, the Straits Settlements, Australasia wherever foreign rule pre- 1 The Church Missionary Intelligencer, April, 1893, p. 261. 2 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 419-436. Cf. "Is India Becoming Poorer
or Richer?" in Papers on Indian Social Reform, pp. 9-12.
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vails, and of many islands of the Pacific, together with extensive sections of Africa which have come under European supervision. It is impossible, of course, for a foreign power to restrain altogether the forces of disorder, and it need not surprise us to hear that under British as well as other European administrations the outlaws are not all cowed or old habits of crime entirely eradicated. In the Straits Settlements and in some districts of Burma there is unusual difficulty in breaking up the haunts of outlaws and destroying their power to do evil. To vast sections of the Asiatic and African world, however, it is an immense boon to have the judicial and police administration in the hands of foreign authorities. If we turn now to the purely native governments of
Lawlessness under native rule.Asia and Africa, we find that the criminal classes are allowed, to prey upon society to a frightful extent. The Empire of Japan, under its new régime, may be regarded as a notable exception, owing to the fact that the Japanese have a genius for government which is not found elsewhere in the Oriental world. They have adopted the criminal code of the most advanced nations, and are proceeding to enforce it with surprising impartiality, fidelity, and efficiency. It is to be hoped that the Island of Formosa, hitherto so noted for its piracy and brigandage, with all the atrocious deeds of its "Black Flags," or head-hunters, will be brought, at the hands of the Japanese authorities, under effective discipline. This task, apparently, is taxing severely the self-restraint of the Japanese officials. It is not easy for an Oriental government to break at once with traditional methods of administration, especially if there should be a supposed necessity for reviving them. In China, in spite of its fierce and relentless system of dealing with criminals, we find many secret organizations for the fomenting of disorder and the prosecution of lawless raids. A turbulent and reckless element is ever ready for mob violence and brigandage. Clans of banditti are the terror of many sections of the empire.1 Especially in times of disturbance is human life unsafe, and summary execution is often the result of mere suspicion.2 Chinese pirates have always had a notorious reputation, and even the regular soldiers of the Government are often little better than freebooters.3 The foreign residents of China have had dire experiences of the treachery and cruelty of lawless mobs, attended in some instances by fatal results. There is hardly a province 1 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., pp. 486, 487. 2. Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," pp. 211, 212. 3.Graves, "Forty Years in China," p. 114.
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in the country which is free from desperate perils at the hands of lawless marauders. The recent outrages upon missionaries in Western China and the deplorable tragedy at Kucheng, not to speak of other experiences of lesser moment, are still fresh in our memories. In Manchuria the state of things is hardly less serious. Bands of vagabonds link themselves together in a brotherhood of vice and engage in systematic blackmail of well-to-do citizens, playing the part of burdensome parasites, from whom it is impossible to obtain deliverance.1 The highways are beset with robber bands who attack travellers in such force that resistance is hopeless. In Korea the turbulent Tonghaks have recently been in open rebellion. It is a question, however, whether the Government, by its oppression and tyrannical abuse of power, has not justified resistance on the part of its subjects. Disorder and robbery are, however, all too prevalent in every section of Korea, and it is to be hoped that whatever change of government may occur, will be in the interests of better discipline throughout the kingdom. In Upper Burma, Assam, and Central Asia lawless deeds are of frequent occurrence. The Afghans are for the most part untamable outlaws.2 In Assam deeds of blood are committed without compunction. In Burma ferocious dacoity, for purposes of plunder and extortion, has been practised for generations. The cruelties of the Burman dacoits are phenomenal.3 The Turcomans on the eastern borders of Persia have been robbers for centuries. In Persia and in the mountains of Kurdistan especially there is hardly any security for life or property, while in distressed Armenia an awful whirlwind of lawlessness has swept away almost every vestige of security and order. The traditional attitude of Moslems towards Christians is that of insult and aggression. Dr. William H. Thomson, who formerly resided in Asiatic Turkey and is familiar with Eastern life, has said : "It is not safe at present to travel alone for a mile's space in the Moslem world beyond the reach of some Christian occupying power."4 Arabia, now as of old, is a 1 The Missionary Record, October, 1893, p. 294. 2 Sir Richard Temple, "Oriental Experience," p. 320. 3 "Cruelty is one of the distinguishing traits of the Burman character. Although
taught the laws of the compassionate Buddha, they seem totally devoid of feeling for those who may chance to become the victims of their cruelty. A band of Burman dacoits knows no such feeling as pity for man or brute. While I was in Rangoon a woman was brought into town with both breasts hewn off. This was done to extort
money. A mother was sent out to bring in her silver, and not returning immediately, her child was wrapped in a blanket saturated with kerosene oil and roasted on the spot."—Rev. F. H. Eveleth (A. B. M. U.), Sandoway, Burma. 4 "Arabia—Islam and the Eastern Question," Harper's Monthly, September, 1895.
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land where every man's hand is against his neighbor, so that except in settled localities there is no safety, even for an hour. Africa, except as foreign control is exercised,
Africa the haunt of lawless violence. is a favorite hunting-ground of the outlaw and plunderer. Robbery is a profession; murder is a commonplace incident. From the "tiger-men" of the West Coast through all the central stretches of the Continent warfare and plunder are the most characteristic features of savage life. The Angonis and Yaos in the region of Lake Nyassa, the bloody Masai east of the Victoria Nyanza, and innumerable lesser tribes and clans, live in the constant practice of their hereditary tendencies to lawless violence. The African rivers are often the haunts of pirates. Even in those countries bordering on the Mediterranean the interior regions are the scenes of violence. In Madagascar the dreaded raids of robber bands render much of the island unsafe. In the East Indies and the Pacific Islands where European authority is not in control, native life for centuries has been a gruesome record of conspiracy, murder, rapine, and robbery. 1 IV.—THE SOCIAL GROUP (Evils which are incidental to the social relationships of uncivilized communities, and are due to lack of intelligence or the force of depraved habit) The previous section brought to our attention some of the grosser and more inhuman aspects of non-Christian society, such as have arisen chiefly from intertribal warfare and race hostility. There remains to be dealt with a cluster of evils connected with social relationships of a more personal character, revealed in individual conduct and domestic habits of life. They are in some respects similar to those mentioned in the previous group, with perhaps less of the brutal impulses of barbarism, while, on the other hand, they may be said to reveal with no less precision the moral tone and the social temper of heathen peoples. The fact, however, that they are upon a different and higher plane, and more intimately identified with personal character and feeling, gives them a special significance as representative of the more subtle inner spirit of society. Several of the evils included in this list are not of 1 Chalmers, "Pioneering in New Guinea," p. 281. Cf. Alexander, "Islands of the Pacific," p. 223.
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a character to excite reproach so much as to inspire pity and stimulate a desire to overcome them. 1. IGNORANCE.—The first specification which
The social perils and disabilities of ignorance.suggests itself under this general category is ignorance. This is rather a misfortune to be lamented than a crime to be condemned, yet it is none the less an evil of stupendous magnitude, the fountain of a whole series of deplorable miseries and social disabilities. Human life everywhere needs for its wholesome development and higher progress the guidance and stimulus of knowledge, the incitement of quickening ideals, and the culture of refining customs. Ignorance is a blighting and depressing environment, in which the higher graces of human intercourse cannot be developed, and wherein the nobler life of the social man languishes, while his lower and meaner tendencies are under little restraint. It produces a rank growth of positive evils, which are both a peril and a stigma to society. It places, moreover, a serious embargo upon industrial enterprise, and fixes life in the old routine of antiquated methods, with little hope of improvement.1 l "China is, I suppose, the most striking illustration of arrested development in the world. The people know how to plow and sow and reap, to spin and weave and dye, to extract sugar and partly refine it, to get salt by evaporation, to extract oil from peanuts, to get the essence out of peas and beans; but all these processes are carried on with a crudity and laboriousness that astonishes one from the West, where invention has disclosed so many hidden forces and applied them with such great success. China seems to have lost the inventive gift; at least, it has lain latent so long that nobody seems to know of its existence. The everlasting backward look to see what the ancestors did and how they did it is unquestionably a great deadener to all inventive genius."—Rev. J. G. Fagg (Ref. C. A.), Amoy, China.
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"Two of the greatest evils in China at present are ignorance and poverty; that is, ignorance of modern science and Western improvements. To go Ignorance not always synonymous with illiteracy.from Peking to Tientsin costs me twenty times as much time and ten times as much money as would be required if I journeyed by railroad, to say nothing of the inconvenience and nervous strain. The freight from Shanghai to Peking is greater than from New York to Shanghai. My coal costs me twice as much as it would if transported by railroad instead of on camels. Oil costs more than three times what it would if the Chinese were not too superstitious to have oil-wells sunk. Millions of money are spent every year on walls around cities, only to be washed down by the next year's rains; millions of days of unproductive labor are wasted simply on account of the ignorance and prejudices of the people. If these poor people were led to give up their prejudices, and this unproductive labor were utilized in mining and building railroads, there would be no such poverty and suffering."—Rev, Isaac T. Headland (M. E. M. S.), Peking, China. By ignorance in this connection we do not mean mere illiteracy, although this is usually a prominent feature of it. We refer rather to an ignorance which may be coincident with advanced educational attainments in the heathen classics and in the standard literature of Oriental nations. Its scope is much broader than mere mental vacuity, and includes also a grievous dearth of that intellectual, moral, and social training which comes through contact with truth, and is a part of the broader culture which scientific knowledge gives. A very learned man in the scholastic lore of the Orient may be at the same time a slave to the most degrading customs and a victim to the most puerile superstitions.1 In India and China, for example, we find vast systems of philosophy and imposing curriculums of education, but with it all an obtuseness, a narrowness, a pedantry, an intensity of intellectual pride combined with a pitiful emptiness of mind, which justify the charge of ignorance, whatever may be the measure of attainment.2 An expert analysis of the actual condition of the educated mind of China is given by Dr. Martin in his "Hanlin Papers," and a more striking exhibition 1 "The great reason, perhaps, why China is stagnant is found in her ridiculous system of study, which compels the student to memorize books written in a fine literary style, model his own writing after the impossible rules of this style, and do absolutely nothing in the line of original research. Natural sciences are unknown subjects to the well-read Chinese, who believe still that thunder kills men, and not lightning, and that the bolt is in the control of a god and his wife. Officials still incite the people to join in making as great a noise as possible to drive away the dragon who is devouring the sun or the moon, although the Roman Catholic astronomers, who were in royal favor three hundred years ago, gave China the system by which she foretells when these eclipses are to come to pass, and so enables the magistrates to issue a proclamation beforehand, or the people to find in almanacs the date when the dragon will come."—Rev. J. C. Garritt (P. B. F. M. N.), Hangchow, China. 2 "I think of Hindustan, inhabited for ages by our own kindred, whose ornaments were sought by Solomon for his palace, whose gold brocades were in the courts of imperial Rome, whose poetry, antedating the Christian era, is still read and admired in Europe, without present science, history, poetry, or any recent mechanical arts, except as these have pressed in from abroad, with no geography, even of native production, and no philosophy which asserts itself valid to the mind of the world, constrained to import its very arguments against the religion of the New Testament from the countries in which men have been stimulated and trained by that religion; I think of China, where it is said that the seat of the understanding is assigned to the stomach, but where respect for learning is almost a religion, and where the assiduous cultivation of such learning is the pride of the people and the glory of the throne, without epic or art, with the old-time classics still in their place, but with no living literature to enlighten and discipline the mind of the people, whatever they attain marked, as Frederick Schlegel said, 'with unnatural stiffness, childish vanity, exaggerated refinement, in the most important provinces of thought, and the language itself chiefly characterized by jejuneness and poverty;' and then I turn to the lands which Christianity has filled with its Scriptures and with their unwasting, indefinable impulse, and how vast is the contrast!"—Storrs, "The Divine Origin of Christianity," pp. 243, 244.
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of what might be called learned ignorance it would be difficult to find.1 There is, no doubt, even in lands where education is not unknown, an astonishing degree of absolute, unmitigated illiteracy, but in large sections of the non-Christian world there is this and nothing else. The most remarkable exception to this statement is Japan, where education is now pushed with energy, and where the Government system of schools will already bear comparison with some of the nations of Western Christendom. Even in India, according to the last census, an appalling prevalence of illiteracy is revealed. Less than six per cent, of the entire population can read or write, and among the women only one in three hundred and thirty is able to do so. In many of the Native States there are no educational facilities, and even if provided they are only for the higher castes. The great mass of the population of India resides in its villages, where educational privileges exist only to a very limited extent. The education of India is a colossal task, which, with all the facilities of the English school system and missionary institutions, is as yet but just begun.2 In Assam popular education was unknown before the British occupation of the country in 1826, and even at the present time about eighty-five per cent, of the people are illiterate. The movement for popular education all over India has only begun to be felt in that land.3 China, although one of the most ancient
Enormous percentange of illiteracy in China.nations of the world, is still in its infancy as regards education. The Rev. John C. Gibson, in an essay on Bible versions, read at the Shanghai Missionary Conference of 1890, reckoned a total population of 300,000,000, of which 75,000,000 were children too young to read. If the remaining 225,000,000 of maturer years were divided equally, half being men and the other half women, he estimates that of the 112,500,000 women only one per cent., or 1,125,000, are able to read, and of the men ten 1 Martin, " Hanlin Papers; or, Essays on the Intellectual Life of the Chinese," First Series, pp. 34-50. 2 "Changes in India," by the Rev. J. Murray Mitchell, LL.D., in The Free Church of Scotland Monthly, May, 1896, pp. 101-104. Cf. also "Blue Book on the Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India During the Year 1894-95," chap, xii., on "Education and Literature." 3 "The Assamese People," by the Rev. P. H. Moore, in The Baptist Missionary Review, April, 1895, pp. 121-128.
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per cent, is named as a liberal estimate, or 11,250,000 who are readers. The result is that out of 225,000,000 only 12,375,000 are able to read. Another estimate, by Dr. Martin, reduces the number of readers to about 6,000,000. The significance of these estimates is emphasized by a comparison which Mr. Gibson makes with the percentage of readers in twenty-one of the Northern States in America, which is ninety-five and five tenths per cent, of the entire population over ten years of age, leaving a percentage of illiteracy of only four and five tenths per cent, as compared with ninety per cent, men and ninety-nine per cent, women in the Chinese Empire.1 Miss Adele M. Fielde, in referring to the mistaken idea, which many entertain, that education is universal among the men of the Middle Kingdom, states it as her judgment that" not more than one Chinese man in a hundred, taking the empire through, knows how to read, and still fewer can write a letter. Of the women not more than one in a thousand can read."2 The Rev. Jonathan Lees, of the London Missionary Society, who has resided thirty-five years in China, coincides with these statements.3 The Rev. A. H. Smith, in his chapter on "Intellectual Turbidity," dwells with much emphasis upon the brooding ignorance which shadows the intellectual life of China.4 "The Western child of ten years of age," says a writer in The Chinese Recorder, "knows more about the earth, the universe, and the immutable laws of nature than the average Hanlin, or member of the Imperial Academy."5 The effect of all this is sadly depressing, not only to the individual, 1 "Report of Shanghai Conference, 1890," pp. 67, 68. 2 Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," p. 94. Cf. "Hanlin Papers," First Series,
PP. 97, 98. 3 "From literature it is natural to turn to the subject of popular education.
Strange misconceptions prevail abroad as to the educational status of the population of China. Because there is a powerful literary class, and because the possession of Confucian scholarship is honorable, being at least nominally a pre-requisite to official position and emolument, it has been inferred that education is general, and even that there must exist something like a system of national schools. This is wholly a mistake. It is true that the knowledge of books is not confined to any class; it is true also that it is prized, though not often, perhaps, simply for its own sake; but there is absolutely no provision for general education, A whole half of the nation, the women and girls, is almost entirely untaught. It is nothing short of pathetic to visit a large village and find a congregation of fifty or sixty recent converts to Christianity, of whom not one can read at all. They can sing (from memory) and pray, but neither rulers nor religious teachers have put within their reach the key of knowledge."—Rev. Jonathan Lees (L. M. S.), Tientsin, China. 4 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 88. 5 The Chinese Recorder, January, 1896, p. 37.
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but to the social, political, and industrial life of China. If we take into consideration the incompetency of such a powerful political factor in the empire as the Tsung-li Yamen, arising from sheer ignorance,
The highly educated ignorance of Chinese officials.we can discover what an incalculable injury it is to the political life of a great empire to be controlled by a body of men concerning whom a recent correspondent of The Times, who "had the honor of discussing with their Excellencies some of the burning questions of the day," remarked that "the strongest impression which I carried away with me was that the whole world of thought in which the Western mind is trained and lives seems to be as alien to the Chinese mind as the language which we speak."1 Then, as regards the incalculable damage done to the industrial interests of the empire by the crass ignorance and unconquerable prejudices of the people, much might be said. Western methods and facilities in all departments of industrial enterprise are regarded with inane suspicion and supercilious contempt. Political economy is quite unknown as a modern science, nor is there any general recognition of the advantages of international trade and the possibilities of industrial enterprise. The Rev. Timothy Richard, in an address before the Peking Missionary Association in October, 1895, expressed the opinion that "China loses a million taels a day by ignorance."2 A curious study in Chinese questions by the Rev. J. H. Hors-burgh, missionary of the Church Missionary Society in Szechuan, is interesting as a revelation of their remarkable capabilities in that line, and also of the childish range of the information which they seek.3 In Korea substantially the same statements will hold true. It is a land of undeveloped, almost untouched resources, simply because of the intellectual slumber of the people and the inanity of what little education they can attain.4 In Formosa, where hardly any literature exists except such as has been provided by the missionaries, in the 1 Correspondence of the London Times, October 9, 1895. In this same connection the correspondent continues as follows: "The wisdom of their sages, which is the Alpha and Omega of their vaunted education, consists of unexceptionable aphorisms, which have about as much influence on their actions as the excellent commonplaces which in the days of our youth we have all copied out to improve our caligraphy, had in moulding our own characters. History, geography, the achievements of modern science, the lessons of political economy, the conditions which govern the policy of Western States, the influence of public opinion, of the Press, of Parliamentary institutions, are words which convey no real meaning to their ears." 2 The Chinese Recorder, January, 1896, p. 50. 3 The Church Missionary Intelligencer, July, 1895, p. 511. 4 The Korean Repository, September, 1895, p. 349.
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Pacific Islands, where a similar
Intellectual slumber of the orient.statement would hold, in Moslem lands, where education as conducted under native auspices is of practically little value, throughout the Continent of Africa, in many sections of South America and the West Indies, there are deep needs arising from the lack of educational facilities. A large part of the world, in fact, may be said to be still deeply wrapped in the slumber of ignorance, and, were it not for the educational efforts of foreign missions, there would be little hope of a speedy awakening. 2. QUACKERY. — Ignorance in some of its aspects may be
The contribution of quackery to the world's misery.regarded as only a negative evil, but when it undertakes to practise medicine and surgery it becomes a positive evil of an aggressive and deadly character. The agonies and sorrows which result from the stupid and cruel inflictions of quackery upon suffering humanity make an awful chapter in the daily experience of mankind. These miseries have been endured for centuries, and must continue indefinitely, unless scientific knowledge and competent skill take the place of the wretched incompetence which now does such harm to stricken victims. The vagaries of quackery would be only an interesting and curious study, were it not for the serious and shocking reality of the harm involved. After all, the thing to be lamented is not so much the resort to useless remedies as the ignorance and credulity which make them possible. It is natural for distressed humanity to seek relief from its sufferings, and this gives to ignorant assumption its opportunity, and opens the way for the adoption of those useless and dangerous expedients which have added such an untold increment to the world's misery. It is amazing to note the ignorance
The charlatanism of the Chinese doctor.of even practitioners of wide reputation in lands where no scientific medical instruction is known. In China the so-called doctors are "the merest empirics, and, having no fear of medical colleges or examination tests before their eyes, prey on the folly and ignorance of the people without let or hindrance."1 With no knowledge of physiology or anatomy, pathological diagnosis is the merest guesswork. Such a remedy as amputation is never, under any circumstances, thought of, since it is regarded as indicating disrespect to ancestors to mutilate the body. A Chinese doctor, entirely ignorant of the distinction between arteries and veins, 1 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 149.
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will feel the pulses of both wrists, with an idea that the beating of the pulse of the left arm indicates the state of the heart, while that of the right represents the health of the lungs and liver. If these signs fail, the tongue will surely yield some mystic augury concerning the nature of the disease. As to remedies, they are composed of many vegetable, mineral, and animal substances, some of them of the most absurd irrelevance. They are referred to in some detail by Mr. Douglas in his chapter on medicine.1 A remedy of noted efficacy is the carcass of a tiger. It can be used in a variety of ways and is supposed to possess marvelous tonic qualities.2 There is a potent remedial power in dried scorpions, and as a remedy for Asiatic cholera nothing excels a needle thrust into the abdomen. In a recent report of one of the Chinese hospitals of the Methodist Episcopal Mission in Central China, an account is given of a woman who had been sick for a long time before she came for treatment, and "had eaten more than two hundred spiders, and a large number of snakes' eggs, without being helped." A native medical prescription in Northern China required a wife to take some 1 Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 149-159. Cf. also Graves, " Forty Years
in China," pp. 226-237. "Chinese doctors profess to be able to diagnose disease by the state of the pulse only. Their knowledge of anatomy and physiology is almost nil, yet in place of exact knowledge they substitute the most absurd theories. To a large extent drugs are unknown, and most wonderful healing properties are attributed to such substances as dragons' teeth, fossils, tiger bones, pearls, etc. Moreover, superstitious notions and practices control and pervert medicine. In almost every case of sickness, idols, astrologers, and fortune-tellers are consulted. It is not wonderful, therefore, that, medical science being in so unsatisfactory a state in China, the cures wrought by the foreign doctors seem to the people little short of miraculous."—Dr. John Kenneth Mackenzie (L. M. S.), quoted in "Great Missionaries of the Church," by Rev. C. C. Creegan, pp. 149, 150. 2 "Just the other day a tiger that had been killed in the mountains was brought into the city and sold for medicinal purposes at a sum equivalent to about fifteen hundred dollars, American money. The least bit of this animal is supposed to impart wonderful vitality and strength to a sick patient. Accordingly, not the least part of the tiger is wasted; even the bones are ground up and taken as medicine. Last summer a large snake was captured, sold for a fabulous sum, and served up in like manner. The result of this kind of theory and practice is the illness and death of thousands where a little medical skill would relieve suffering and prevent death."—Rev. G. E. Whitman (A. B. M. U.), Kayin, China, in The Baptist Missionary Magazine, August, 1893, p. 405. "In China tigers' bones are given to the weak and debilitated as a strengthening medicine, and those who cannot afford such an expensive luxury may yet obtain some of the strength and courage of that ferocious beast by swallowing a decoction of the hairs of his moustache, which are retailed at the low price of a hundred cash (8 1/3 cents) a hair."—Rev. A. W. Douthwaite, M.D. (C. I. M.), Chefoo, China.
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of her own flesh and, having properly prepared it, to give it to her sick husband to eat. The directions were heroically carried out, but without avail. In the case of bullet wounds, prayers are written on a piece of red paper, which is burned, and from its ashes medicine is made. Frequent cases of blood-poisoning result from the putrid animal flesh so often applied to wounds. The superstition of the natives, and their suspicions of foreign treatment, are well illustrated in a letter from the Rev. C. Bennett (C. M. S.), on the plague in Hong Kong, published in The Church Missionary Intelligencer, October, 1894, p. 752. Some of the remedies are not only absurd, but characterized by cruel barbarity.1 Dr. MacKay, in writing of Formosa,
Native specifics in Formosa.has given many interesting facts bearing upon this theme.2 In a recent report of his mission hospital, an account of some of the native specifics for various diseases in North Formosa is given. For anaemia is prescribed a jelly made of the bones of a savage recently killed. An execution of some criminal will be numerously attended by practitioners to obtain the requisite material for making this valuable remedy. For Asiatic cholera the body is pierced with needles. For catarrh a chip is taken from some coffin after it has been let down into the grave, and boiled with other ingredients, and then laid aside for future use. In case of dog bite the tartar from teeth is considered an effective antidote. A dyspeptic must 1 "The doctors are, for the most part, men who have had no special preparation for their work. They do very ridiculous things. Physicians have no protection by law, and any one can practise, no matter how ignorant. The custom, if any one is very sick, is to go to the temple and consult the idols. The latter, of course, answer through the priests, and sometimes they prescribe very cruel treatment. A patient came one day to the hospital, who had been made very sick by walking over hot coals to cure her husband; the idol had told her that she must do so. Another woman came with her forehead badly bruised. This had been caused by knocking her head on the floor before the idol, beseeching that her child might be healed. The people are kind to their sick ones in many ways, but are so ignorant that they do not know how to take proper care of them. It is thought very dangerous to bathe a person when sick, even the hands and face, so we find patients in a very pitiful condition sometimes. They know nothing of surgery, and there is much unnecessary suffering attending childbirth on this account."—Dr. Kate C. Woodhull (A. B. C. F. M.), Foochow, China. " Their medical practice is often barbarous. In cholera and some other diseases they run needles under the nails of the fingers and toes, and into some parts of the body, as a counter-irritant. Tigers' teeth and dried scorpions are popular remedies. Abscesses are carefully plastered over, lest the pus escape. Soldiers sometimes eat the hearts of their enemies killed in battle to make them brave."—Mrs. C. W. Mateer (P. B. F. M. N.), Tungchow, China. 2 MacKay, "From Far Formosa," chap, xxxiii.
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be fed on dog's flesh, especially that of puppies. For ophthalmia the intestines of a bedbug are applied to the eye. For rheumatism a soup is made of the feet of the monkey, combined with other ingredients, such as pork and spirituous liquors. Then there are boiled toads and dried grass, while numerous other childish nostrums are resorted to as expedients for coping with the dread emergencies of disease.1 The Korean doctor and his methods are
Sovereign remedies in Korea and Tibet.described in an article by Dr. Busteed in The Korean Repository for May, 1895. He seems to be very fond of the needle, which he thrusts into the flesh as a sovereign remedy for many maladies. For hydrophobia he prescribes a powder made of the skull of a tiger. This is to be taken internally, and a poultice of garlic applied to the bite. The bones of a tiger are highly valued by the Koreans for their medicinal qualities, and they are regarded as a specific for cowardice. A good strong soup of tiger bones is supposed to make a hero of the most arrant coward. For general debility a Korean sufferer partakes of boiled bear's gall. The loathsome character of some of the poultices applied to wounds by the native practitioner is too sickening to mention. Various diseases are supposed to have special demoniacal attendants, and in a case of smallpox, for example, the principal function of a doctor is to exorcise its demon. This done, all will be well. Dr. Rosetta Sherwood Hall (M. E. M. S.) gives an account of the visit of a Korean doctor to a sick child. The first thing he did was to make a little pyramid of brownish-looking powder upon each breast of the child, and then to set it afire until it burned the tender skin. This was followed by the use of a large darning-needle, which was thrust through each little foot, the palms of the hands, the thumb-joints, and through the lips into the jaw just beneath the nose. In some cases this species of treatment results in suppuration with fatal consequences. The Ainu of Northern Japan, when he is sick, sends for his medicine-man, who, "falling into a sort of trance and working himself up into a kind of frenzy, tells why the disease has come and what demon has sent it." He prescribes some charms which, if worn by the sufferer, will banish the demon and relieve the distress.2 In Tibet the favorite remedy is butter, which is rubbed freely on the patient. Where this fails, as, for example, in case of smallpox, which they especially dread, they often adopt summary methods and dispose of the victims either by burning them or by throwing them into rapid torrents; or perhaps they carry them to a mountain-top, 1 The Illustrated Missionary News, December, 1894, p. 185. 2 Batchelor, "The Ainu of Japan," p. 197.
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where they leave them to recover or die, If the internal or external use of butter is of no avail for ordinary illnesses, the lamas, whose methods are peculiar, are summoned to the rescue. They make a life-sized image of the sick person, dressing it in his or her clothes, not forgetting personal ornaments, and place it in the courtyard. They then sit around this image and read passages from the sacred classics supposed to be suitable for the case. A wild dance with incantations follows, and this is supposed to be effective in transferring the malady from the patient to his effigy. After this the effigy is burned outside the village.1 Even in lands where Western intelligence
Medical destitution in India.has penetrated to a considerable extent the old tricks of quackery are still found. In India sickness is often ascribed to demons or to the anger of gods and goddesses, who are thought to preside over epidemics, and who must be propitiated in order to secure their suppression. "Killed by ignorance" is still the verdict in numberless cases of fatality, and when we remember that the total number of deaths in India every year is between five and six millions, we can appreciate how disastrous are the results of quackery, which has, no doubt, been the only ministry which the vast majority have received in their fatal illnesses. To be sure, the old system, with its charms and incantations, its profitless and often cruel remedies, is gradually passing away, yet the native hakim is the only recourse in the case of vast multitudes. It is estimated by Sir William Moore that" not five per cent, of the population is reached by the present system of medical aid." Even in the great cities, where there are hospitals and dispensaries, more than half of the people die unattended in sickness either by educated doctor or native quack. "If this is the case in the cities," writes Dr. Wanless, "what must be the condition in the 566,000 villages, each with a population of less than 500, not to mention thousands of large towns with a population of from 1000 to 5000,without even a native doctor?"2 The difficulties attending medical practice in India arising from the severity of the conventional rules of society add, no doubt, to the volume of neglect to which we referred. In an instructive discussion in the pages of The Indian Magazine and Review for the latter part of the year 1895 and the earlier numbers of 1896, concerning "Medical Aid to Indian Women," are to be found repeated references to the lamentable woes of Indian women in times of illness and suffering, even though, as in 1 Bishop, Among the Tibetans," p. 105. 2 The Student Volunteer, December, 1895, p. 47.
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many instances, medical aid might be available.1 It is a question whether the so-called hakims or vaidyas, with their foolish and worthless remedies, are any relief, or whether to be unattended is not a milder fate than to be ministered to by those who will gravely prescribe the powdered horn of the sacred bull as a remedy of special efficacy, or who repeat verses out of their sacred books for the relief of a person who has been bitten by a poisonous insect.2 In Burma and eastward the reign of
Empirical devices in Burma, Siam, Persia, and Arabia.quackery is still the occasion of numberless woes to those who might be relieved by intelligent medical aid in their times of distress. The singular and painful custom of roasting the abdomen of the mother of a new-born child is mentioned by Dr. Thomas, of Lakawn, Laos ("Report of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions," 1895, p. 183). The same Report, in the section on Persia (p. 168) mentions the case of a woman who had obtained from a mullah two or three prayers written on paper. Every morning she was to put one of these in a glass of water and when the writing had disappeared from the paper she was to drink the water. In her despair she had come to the hospital at Teheran for treatment. Surgery in Persia is heroic and reminds one of the various methods of 1 "Dr. Macphail (F. C. S.) gives some startling figures as to the medical destitution of India. The Health Officer of Calcutta, Dr. Simpson, reported that during the years 1886-91, out of 49,761 persons who died in that city, 31,221—more than three out of every five—had no medical attendance whatever, even the most insufficient, in their last illness. Less than one third of those who die in Calcutta are attended by those who have had any training in European medical science. . . .In the country districts, 'the Mofussil,' Dr. Macphail shows that an appalling state of things exists. In the villages there are great multitudes diseased for life, blind, lame, deaf, and dumb, because in early infancy or childhood the simplest remedies were not procurable. Native medicine and surgery are often worse than the disease. 'The red-hot iron is freely applied even for such trivial complaints as toothache and headache, or rags dipped in oil are set on fire and applied to the body. So with everything else. The cruelties in the name of surgery which Dr. Macphail describes as being practised at the time of childbirth are such that he ranks them with the suppressed custom of suttee. Surely here there is room for the medical missionary, not in units, but in hundreds."—The Church Missionary Intelligencer, November, 1893, p. 866. 2 "I have seen them repeating verses out of their sacred books to relieve a person who had been bitten by a scorpion. They believe in the indwelling of evil spirits, and when the disease—of whatever kind it may be, and especially if it concerns the nerves—is at all persistent and refuses to yield to their absurd efforts, then it is attributed to the presence of an evil spirit that must be driven out, often by the most brutal treatment, that not infrequently results in driving the spirit out of the person by death. The people in these circumstances are none too anxious to call in their native doctors if they can treat the person themselves. They have a few simple remedies which they fall back upon, but to a large extent they depend upon opium for all forms of disease. It at any rate removes the pain, which is all that they hope for."—Rev. John Wilkie (C. P. M.), Indore, India.
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torture rather than of an attempt to relieve suffering.1 In Arabia an ingenious expedient for relieving a patient is "burning holes in the body to let the disease out, branding sick children with red-hot bars, chopping off wounded limbs and sealing them with boiling tar." Who can doubt the dread woes of quackery when such measures as these are employed? Throughout Africa the belief in the influence of evil
The terrors of quackery in Africa.spirits and their ever-active machinations is all-powerful. They are thought to people the very atmosphere and to dwell in a thousand otherwise innocent things which are commonplace features of every-day environment. They are supposed to be forever busy in inflicting trouble and suffering upon humanity. Some of them are good, but the great majority are evil and bent upon doing harm. Sickness or disaster or distress of any kind is considered due to their malign intervention. There are, therefore, two classes of individuals in African communities whose supposed power is either dreaded or eagerly sought. One consists of those who are looked upon as capable of commanding the evil spirits and so controlling and directing their activity. The other consists of those who have power to banish them or render nugatory their influence. They are known respectively as witches and witch-doctors, although the native titles are many and various. Medical practice, therefore, is almost entirely in the hands of these witch-doctors, magicians, diviners, medicine-men, and devil-doctors. They are usually shrewd, cunning, and cruel, sometimes thoroughly demented, or it may be that possibly they are in some instances actually under the awful sway of demons, of whose mysterious activity in the dark realms of heathenism we know little and cannot therefore dogmatize. The service rendered by these weird characters, being a function which pertains exclusively to them, and consisting, according to native ideas, of an actual conflict with malign spirits, whose brooding terror rests upon every heart, is considered as of special value and regarded with reverential awe. The reign of such an awful delusion in the innermost consciousness of ignorant creatures is fearful to contemplate. We who live in the freedom of enlightenment can hardly imagine the dread alarms of a life supposed to be in actual contact with demons, exposed 1 Medical Mission Quarterly (C. M. S.), January, 1896, p. 8.
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to their whims and spites, their deadly anger, and their cruel malignity,1 What an opportunity does all this offer for a species of demoniacal blackmail, and what power is given to one whose ministry is supposed to be an effective remedy for all the sorrows and woes of life! It is no wonder that they turn in their ignorance to one who is regarded as possessing the power to deliver and defend them in the desperate emergencies in which they find themselves. The Rev. R. F. Acland Hood, in a few "Notes on Witchcraft,"
The demoniacal arts of the witch-doctor.published in Central Africa, March, 1895, has described some of the methods by which the supposed presence of witchcraft is discovered, and the remedies which a witch-doctor will apply for the relief of his patients. "To begin with," he remarks, "there are two classes of spiritual practitioners, which we are constantly meeting in African books of travel as the 'witches' and the 'witch-doctors.' The witches, or wachani, are the people (men and women) who know how to make and to use medicines and charms (uchani). If any one wishes to make use of uchani he will first go to a wachani and persuade him by gift to let him have the uchani which he requires. No one, at least here, wishes to use uchani except for the purpose of harming another. If any one is more prosperous than his neighbors, or if he is merely conceited, then let him look out, as he is sure to be bewitched. Uchani is generally practised at night; then the wachani go about, when every 1 "The darkest feature in popular life appears in their bondage to superstitious fears, cunning diviners, and witchcraft. They live in the midst of an invisible world of spiritual beings influencing for good or evil, but chiefly the latter. Shades of departed relatives are their gods (if they have any), to whom they render worship. Serpents are the representatives of the spirits among most tribes, but the Matabele regard crocodiles as such and therefore never kill them. Certain individuals of both sexes act as media, or priests, by whose agency they communicate with the spirit world or the lower regions. The principal name by which they are designated in Zululand is izanusi, literally 'smellers out.' Before discharging their official functions they study a year or two in the school of African prophets, clothe themselves with the skins of serpents and wild beasts, attach to their heads bladders of birds and small animals, tie about their necks dried roots, the claws of lions and panthers, the teeth of crocodiles, and also fasten a leopard's skin about the loins, frequenting desert places and talking to the moon until they become semi-lunatics. Then they begin their divinations, which are essentially the same in all parts of Africa, the natives beating the ground with canes, while the 'spirit-doctors' shout 'Yizwa! yizwa!' ('Hear! hear!') until the spirit is called up from below to designate some One present as a witch or poisoner. The condition of the poor victim thus 'smelt out' is perilous in the extreme. He is generally killed at once and his body given to the jackals and vultures".— "Kaffir Customs," by the Rev. Josiah Tyler, in Illustrated Africa, December, 1895.
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one is in bed. They call to one another, but no one except the specially gifted can hear them. Perhaps they will go in a body to the house of the person to be bewitched. They go naked, and no one can see them. Before they enter the house they wrest open the door and throw some powdered stuff on the fire, which ensures the man's sleeping; then they enter. If the man has been cautious he will have provided himself with a charm to hold in his hand while he sleeps, and then when the wachani come he will awake. As the wachani see him wake they will beseech him not to tell any one of their coming and will offer him large presents to be silent. It is believed that either if he accepts their presents or if he tells the chief the wachani will kill him, but if he refuses the presents and keeps silence he is safe." There are various other methods of accomplishing the purpose of bewitching an enemy, but when this is achieved the universal recourse is to the specialists, who are supposed to be able to cope with the situation. Upon this subject the same author remarks: "Now comes the remedy for witchcraft, which brings in the witch-doctor. But the witch-doctor is called in for everything—not only when a person is bewitched, but when any accident occurs, or if crops fail, or if war is imminent, in fact, in all emergencies. The stock in trade of a witch-doctor is a set of gourds, or horns, or in these days bottles with different medicines in them, which are not 'taken,' but only consulted, and a skin of some small animal, often a squirrel, which is stuffed with uchani. In the eyeholes are sewn two beads. This stuffed skin is generally held by the tail, and is supposed to answer questions put to it by standing up, nodding, etc. When a person wishes to consult a witch-doctor, he will first find out which of them has the best chisango, as their divining instruments are called. Let us suppose him to be going to inquire why his child is ill and what he should do to ensure recovery; the first thing for him to ascertain is whether the witch-doctor has a good chisango; so he will at first try to deceive him. 'My brother was wounded by a leopard out hunting, and we want to know why it happened.' Then the witch-doctor consults his chisango and says, 'No, you haven't come for that reason.' 'A herd of wild boars has been rooting up the crops in my farm, and I want to know how to stop them.' And so he goes on, until he mentions the real cause of his visit. In case the witch-doctor is taken in by any of these stories, the man goes off without paying anything, and makes it known that so-and-so's chisango is of no use; but when the witchdoctor is correct, he is asked to 'prescribe.' " The above description represents the modus operandi in merely one section of Africa, and chiefly in connection with a single tribe on the
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borders of Lake Nyassa.
Burning remedies and fiery tonics.The customs vary in different localities, and there may be said to be innumerable expedients which are in use in the practice of these masters of the black art. We have here to do rather with their remedies, which are sufficiently wonderful and terrible.1 The red-hot iron is often resorted to and applied freely to the quivering flesh of the patient. Burning under various devices is a supposed cure for many distresses. They cut and slash the flesh and rub irritating and painful medicine into the open wounds. It is indeed hardly possible to mention in detail the many absurdly futile ways in which they seek to accomplish their purpose. Another popular function of the medicine-man is administering some mysterious tonic to the warriors on the eve of battle. It is usually the preliminary to some military expedition. When an army is thus called to "eat medicine," some secret concoction by a medicine-man is administered to the warriors with as much formality as attends the reading of an official address to a European army. Unhappily, the ceremonies are often attended with human sacrifice. In addition, animals are slaughtered, the right fore leg being torn off while alive. This must be done without the use of knife or other utensil, by sheer wrenching of native hands. What then happens in connection with these mysterious ceremonies has been described by Dr. Liengme, a Swiss missionary located in the vicinity of Delagoa Bay.2 A similar military rite is described by a correspondent of The Mail (London Times), April 8, 1896, as falling under his observation in Swaziland. "This concoction, when duly finished," he writes, "is administered to the would-be warrior, and so great is its 1 Wilmot, "The Expansion of South Africa," pp. 14, 15. 2 "The ox, bellowing and bleeding, staggers away on three legs, amid the immense shouting of all spectators. After some twenty minutes or more the ox is thrust through with a spear and its misery ended. Then the leg of the ox, the 'unknown' medicines from within the king's hut, etc., are brought out and thoroughly mixed in large pots suitable for the purpose, and after this every soldier in the entire army marches up and drinks or swallows his portion out of the general dish. Dr. Liengme" stated that into the pots which he himself examined there had been thrown pieces of human flesh, bones, and hair in quantity sufficient to be easily recognizable ; nor would a physician and a surgeon in large daily practice be easily deceived. After eating the concoction the soldiers hastened with speed to the little river near by, where, owing to the peculiar composition of the medicine, every mortal fear was vehemently eructed, and nothing but bravest of brave courage remained. Then they were ready to attack anything, lion or Portuguese, no matter what—they must dip their spears in blood. So bloodthirsty do they become (owing to having worked themselves into a frenzy) that often they attack each other."—Illustrated Africa, September, 1895, p. 3.
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supposed power that the very minutest dose makes the tsi buts, or young soldier, invulnerable, and casts a spell over his enemies, delivering them into his hands and assuring him victory on all occasions." Facts like these only serve to illustrate that quackery has a far wider scope in Africa than elsewhere and is not confined merely to medical practice. In Madagascar substantially the same malign reign of the witch-doctor prevails.1 In the Pacific Islands the subtle power of the
The sorcerer's art in the Pacific Islands.charms and incantations of the sorcerer is a commonplace of native experience.2 The anger of the spirits is a daily dread, and the expedients adopted in illness are with a view to placating the spirits rather than relieving the patient. "Natives never believe in being sick," writes the Rev. James Chalmers, "from anything but spiritual causes, and consider that death, unless by murder, can take place from nothing but the wrath of the spirits. When there is sickness in a family, all the relatives begin to wonder what it means. The sick person getting no better, they conclude something must be done. A present is given; perhaps food is taken and placed on the sacred place, then removed and divided among friends. The invalid still being no better, a pig is taken on to the sacred place and there speared and presented to the spirits; it is then returned and divided to be eaten. When death comes, great is the mourning, and the cause, if not already known, is still inquired into. It may have been breaking some taboo or doing something the spirits did not like. Soon the body must be buried, and generally a grave is dug under the house. The older women of the family stand in the grave and receive the body, holding it in their hands if a child, or laying it on one side if heavy, saying, 'O great Spirit, you have been angry with us. We presented you with food, and that did not satisfy. We gave a pig, and still that did not satisfy. You have in your wrath taken this. Let that suffice your wrath, and take no more.' The body is thus placed in the grave and buried."3 Among the Indians of North and South America the same terrible superstitions prevail with reference to the causes and remedies of simple illnesses.4 Is it not apparent that if Christian missions had no other 1 The Medical Missionary Record, October, 1894, p. 210. 2 Alexander, "Islands of the Pacific," pp. 154, 155; Paton, "Autobiography," part ii., p. 135. 3 Chalmers, "Pioneering in New Guinea," pp. 329, 330. 4 Josa, "The Apostle of the Indians of Guiana: A Memoir of the Life and Labours of the Rev. W. H. Brett," pp, 38, 39; The South American Missionary Magazine, January, 1894, p. 12; November, 1895, p. 183; The Gospel in all Lands, July, 1894, p. 303; The Mission Field (S. P. G.), March, 1895, pp. 84-88.
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function than to introduce the resources of enlightened medical science among these victims of the wretched delusions of ignorant quackery throughout the world, there would still be a noble mission and an imperative call for the humane messengers of truth? 3. WITCHCRAFT. — This subject in its relations to medical
The spell of demons in pagan realms.practice has been referred to in the previous section. The witch-doctor, or medicine-man, in his well-known rôle as the "smeller out" or "smiter" of evil spirits, depends upon witchcraft as a powerful adjunct in the practice of quackery. He is believed to be the master of all the powers of evil, and able to deliver victims from those diseases and sufferings which are supposed to be produced by malignant spirits. In the present section we shall refer to witchcraft as connected with demonology and occultism. It is indeed a black art and has a fearful sway over the imaginations of those who, through ignorance or dominant credulity, fall under its spell. It prevails to an amazing extent throughout the superstitious Orient and in the pagan realms of fetichism and nature-worship. Wherever it exists it casts a dismal shadow over life, gives a grim and sombre aspect to nature, and turns the commonplace sequences of human experience into terrifying signs of the presence and malign activity of some mysterious and implacable enemy.1 The whole realm of occultism is a favorite camping-ground of the Oriental imagination. The vague lore of Asiatic and African nations is full of the mystic and gruesome enchantments of witchcraft. The true deliverance from the dominion of these wretched delusions is through the entrance into the mind of that truth which can "make us free" from superstition. Healthful and joyous mental vision comes through spiritual companionship with Him who is able to save from all the powers of evil, who has Himself conquered them, and can give even the most ignorant mind grace and wisdom to gain a like victory. Witchcraft has haunted savage life in all sections of the earth, but its great stronghold in its grosser forms is Africa, where it exerts a truly terrible power in the domestic, social, and even political life of the people.2 Its vagaries are innumerable. Where it holds sway it per- 1 Macdonald, "Religion and Myth," chap, vii., on "Witchcraft"; Ratzel, "The
History of Mankind," vol. i., pp. 54, 55. 2 "This class [witch-doctors] have always been at the beck and call of the
chiefs. As soon as any man without much power in the tribe became rich, he was a marked man. The chief was almost certain to set the witch-doctors after him. They brought a charge of witchcraft against him, and he was stripped of his all, and was fortunate if he escaped with his life. From the first the chiefs saw that Christianity was fatal to this part of their power, and they have therefore been its most bitter and steady opponents."—Rev. Brownlee J. Ross (F. C. S.), Cunningham, Transkei, South Africa.
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vades all human experience, and curses with its blighting touch the
Haunted Africa.whole routine of life. It is an ever ready instrument of persecution and revenge, and at any moment may become a swift and fatal weapon in the hands of suspicion. It is often made an engine of torture, and in the service of impostors is an unfailing agency of extortion. It has had a momentous part to play in politics and war, and has been the favorite tool of savage despots. There are chapters still fresh in the history of Western nations which reveal the ungovernable and resistless power of its delusions even among those who have had the advantages of enlightenment and civilization,1 and we can well imagine what must be the cruel records of its sway among those whose minds are darkened and pervaded by superstitious fears. Throughout the West Coast of the African Continent the arts of witchcraft are prevalent. It is supposed by some of the native tribes that a man may turn himself into an animal and in that form may injure his enemy. At Port Lokkoh, as reported by Bishop Ingham, of Sierra Leone, a man was burned in 1854 for having, as it was thought, changed himself into a leopard.2 Among the Bule of West Africa, east of Batanga, the master in the arts of witchcraft is known as ngee. He is supposed to be able to kill or cure at will and to have command of all the secret forces of the spirit world. Even to look upon this incarnate terror is believed to cause death, and when he enters an African village all the women and children and uninitiated men flee as for their lives. He exercises his authority at will over his victims.3 Dr. John Leighton Wilson, formerly a missionary in Africa, and the author of "Western Africa: Its History, Condition, and Prospects," a volume which was pronounced by Dr. Livingstone to be the best book ever written on that part of Africa, has given in a brief paragraph the results of his observation.4 1 Drake, "The Witchcraft Delusion in New England;" Lang, "Cock Lane and Common Sense: A Series of Essays." Cf. also article on "Witchcraft" in "Chambers's Encyclopædia," new edition. 2 Ingham, "Sierra Leone after a Hundred Years," p. 272. 3 The Missionary Review of the World, May, 1895, p. 363. 4 "Witchcraft is a prominent and leading superstition among all the races of Africa, and may be regarded as one of the heaviest curses which rest upon that benighted land. A person endowed with this mysterious art is supposed to possess little less than omnipotence. By his magical arts he can keep back the showers and fill the land with want and distress. Sickness, poverty, insanity, and almost every evil incident to human life are ascribed to its agency. Any man is liable to be charged with it. Every death which occurs in the community is ascribed to witchcraft, and some one consequently is guilty of the wicked deed. The priesthood go to work to find out the guilty person. It may be a brother, a sister, a father; there is no effectual shield against suspicion. Age, the ties of relationship, official prominence, and general benevolence of character are alike unavailing."—Du Bose, "Memoirs of Rev. John Leighton Wilson, D.D.," p. 201.
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Concerning its prevalence in Central Africa, the Rev. J. S. Wimbush, of the Universities' Mission, writes: "The practical
Witchcraft as a religion.religion of the natives may be summed up in the word witchcraft. Their belief in the supernatural seems to come out especially in times of calamity of an kind, as war, sickness, famine, or pestilence. They attribute it to the power of an evil spirit, but also believe that some person among themselves has induced or caused the evil spirit to send it. Having fixed on some person or persons by the help of a wizard or witch-doctor, the accused have to establish their innocence by drinking poison. If they vomit the poison they are no worse, as they have stood the ordeal and are considered innocent. If the poison kills them, they are considered guilty and deserving of death." Among the Ma-shonas, the Matabele, and the Kaffirs the belief in witchcraft is universal.1 So powerful has been its influence among the South African tribes that it has been an historical factor of considerable influence in occasioning war and regulating the attitude of the native tribes to European administration. Wilmot, in his "Expansion of South Africa," gives an account of a disaster in 1857, when, through the medium of witchcraft, the Kaffirs were induced to destroy their cattle as an expedient for defeating the British. The result, as stated in Mr. Wilmot's volume, was the death from starvation of seventy thousand natives.2 The 1 "The Matabele are great believers in witchcraft, and while the late chief
Lobengula was still in power the number of people killed every year was almost incredible. Sometimes whole villages were destroyed, men, women, and children. Every misfortune was attributed to witchcraft, and almost every sickness."—Rev. Charles D. Helm (L. M. S.), Hope Fountain, Matabeleland, Africa. Cf. Carnegie, "Among the Matabele," chap, iii., on "Witchcraft and RainMaking." 2 Wilmot, "The Expansion of South Africa," pp. 11, 12. In this connection
the same author remarks : "Nothing more devilishly cruel than witchcraft exists in the world. A rapacious chief, with equally rapacious counsellors, covets the herds and wives of a wealthy man. As a means to obtain possession of them, 'smelling out' by a witch-doctor is resorted to. The victim is charged with having caused some illness or disaster by means of incantations. In vain the unfortunate man begs for death. This is never granted until for many hours, generally for days, he has been subjected to the most inhuman and revolting tortures. From this Europeans have saved the natives, and civilisation can plead that if this alone were the result of its progress it would be more than sufficient for its 1justification."—Ibid., PP- 12, 13.
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Government of Cape Colony has found it so difficult to overcome the subtle and all-powerful thrall of witchcraft that a Bill has been introduced quite recently in the Legislative Council for the effective suppression of its influence. It is known as "The Witchcraft Suppression Act, 1895," and is truly in the interest not only of good government, but of native progress and enlightenment.1 Still another stronghold of sorcery is among the Negroes
The malign power of obeahism.of the West Indies, where what is known as has for many generations exercised a potent sway over the imagination. It is a species of witchcraft by which a malign or blighting spell is supposed to rest upon the victim through the instrumentality of an obeah man or woman. So powerful is the delusion that the person who has been selected seems incapable of resisting the spell, and is either smitten with some secret disease or pines away until death. The obeah thus becomes l The following is the full text of the Bill: "Be it enacted by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly thereof, as follows: "1. Whoever imputes to any other person the use of non-natural means in causing any disease in any person or animal, or in causing any injury to any person or property, that is to say, whoever names or indicates any other person as being a wizard or witch (in the Kaffir language Umtakati), shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding two pounds sterling, or in default of payment to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a period not exceeding fourteen days, unless such fine be sooner paid. "2. Whoever, having so named or indicated any person as wizard or witch as aforesaid, shall be proved at his trial under the last preceding section to be by habit and repute a witch-doctor or witch-finder (in the Kaffir language Isanusi) shall be liable, on conviction, in lieu of the punishment provided by the last preceding section, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding two years, or to corporal punishment not exceeding thirty-six lashes, or to any two or more of such punishments. "3. Whoever employs or solicits any such witch-doctor or witch-finder as aforesaid, so to name or indicate any person as wizard or witch as aforesaid, shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding five pounds, and in default of payment to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding two months, unless such fine be sooner paid. "4. Whoever professes a knowledge of so-called witchcraft or of the use of charms, either as a witch-doctor or witch-finder, and shall advise or undertake to advise any person applying to him how to bewitch or injure any other person or any property, including animals, and any person who shall supply any other person with the pretended means of witchcraft, shall, on conviction, be liable to the punishments provided by section two of this Act. "5. Whoever, on the advice of a witch-doctor or witch-finder, or in the exercise of any pretended knowledge of witchcraft or of the use of charms, shall use or cause to be put into operation such means or processes as he may have been advised or may believe to be cultivated to injure any other person or any property, including animals, shall be liable, on conviction, to the punishments provided by section two of this Act. "6. This Act shall take effect in any district of this Colony on and after any date not earlier than the first day of September, 1895, which may be fixed by any Proclamation extending the operation of this Act to such district. "7. This Act may be cited as 'The Witchcraft Suppression Act, 1895.' "
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a secret agency for working injury and blighting the life of its victim. In his volume entitled "Cruising Among the Caribbees," Dr. C. A. Stoddard has devoted an interesting chapter to this subject. 1 Obeahism has been very prevalent in Jamaica and in other West Indian islands.2 So serious, moreover, were the effects of these superstitious practices that severe laws have been passed against them, the penalty in some instances being death; yet so deeply rooted were they in the credulity of the people that no legislation has been able to prevent the secret resort to this dismal art. In the islands of the Pacific similar delusions have prevailed. This has been notably the case in Hawaii, and even at the present time many natives are under the sway of sorcery. By the instrumentality of a kahuna, or witch, a person is supposed to be able to produce the death of an enemy, and even the advent of the "white doctor" has not been able wholly to deliver the native mind from the power of these impostors, as has been illustrated during the recent visitation of Asiatic cholera.3 The Rev. William Wyatt Gill, in his "Life in the Southern Isles," reports
Soul-hunting in the South Seas. a curious device known as a "soul-trap," which he discovered among the so-called "sacred men" of Danger Island. By means of this trap the sorcerer was supposed to be able actually to obtain possession of the soul, which when once entangled in its meshes could be hurried off to the shades of the spirit world and served up as a dainty morsel at a mystic feast of spiritual cannibalism. "It 1 Cf. also "Witchcraft in the Caribbees," in The New York Observer, May 9, 1895. 2 "Jamaica Enslaved and Free," pp. 125-131; Work and Workers in the Mission Field, April, 1896, p. 164. 3 "Asiatic Cholera among Hawaiians," by the Rev. S. .E. Bishop, in The Independent, September 26, 1895. Cf. also an article on "Witch-Doctors in Hawaii," published in The New York Tribune, June 21, 1895.
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would then be speedily known throughout the island world that so-and-so had lost his soul, and great would be the lamentation." The sorcerer must thereupon be propitiated by elaborate offerings, and every effort made to induce him to restore the captured soul. This was often accomplished, but sometimes it was pronounced impossible. The soulless victim would then give himself up to despair and fall a prey to such profound mental distress that he would eventually die.1 In New Guinea and the New Hebrides we have accounts of similar uses of sorcery, or witchcraft, for the same base designs. Their sorcerers would claim the power of life and death, health and sickness, and seem to find little difficulty in exercising it. The black art known as nahak is reported by Dr. Paton to be the cause of most of the bloodshed and terror upon Tanna.2 In "Cannibals Won for Christ," by the Rev. Oscar Michel-sen, the author writes concerning Tongoa, of the New Hebrides group : "Every village had its sacred man, who was sometimes a chief. He undertook many functions, sacrificing to the spirits to avert their anger on behalf of sick persons, and practising kaimasi (a kind of witchcraft) to compass the evil or bring about the death of obnoxious individuals" (p. 119). Even in the more civilized countries of the Orient we
Belief in demon possession among Asiatic peoples.find a lively belief in the arts of witchcraft. So impressive have been the evidences of demon possession in China that a distinguished missionary, after a residence of forty years in that empire, has written a large volume upon "Demon Possession and Allied Themes," chiefly based upon what he has observed among the Chinese, and upon information which he has gathered from India, Japan, and other lands.3 The evidence which he brings forward in support of the theory of the actual fact of demon possession in China is sufficiently startling and curious, whatever may be the correct interpretation of it. Unhappily, the victims of supposed possession are often treated with shocking barbarity, cases of which are mentioned by Dr. Christie.4 At all events, the Chinese are profoundly under the influence of the system known as fung-shui, which, although regarded as a capital crime according to the Sacred Edict, is one of the mightiest forces in the social life of the people.5 1 Gill, "Life in the Southern Isles," pp. 180-183. Cf. Ratzel, "The History
of Mankind," vol. i., p. 47. 2 Paton, "Autobiography," part i., p. 227. 3 Nevius, "Demon Possession and Allied Themes." 4 Christie, "Ten Years in Manchuria," p. 86. 5 Moule, "New China and Old," p. 231; Martin, "A Cycle of Cathay," p, 41.
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The profession of fortune-teller is common, and the constant consultation of these diviners is a favorite expedient of the people."1 In Japan the belief in demon possession is found among the Ainu.2 In Korea the exorcism of spirits has the dignity of a profession.3 In India, especially in the Native States, a considerable belief in witchcraft still prevails, although throughout the peninsula as a whole severe restraint is put upon all cases. In Siam and Laos the usual resort in the event of sickness is to the spirit-doctor, that through him it may be ascertained whose spirit it is that is causing the trouble. The unfortunate victim of illness is often punished unmercifully to compel him to tell who it is that is the author of his affliction. If in his delirium or excitement some name is mentioned, possibly that of his best friend, the evidence is regarded as sufficient, and the culprit is warned that he must flee for his life.4 It is unnecessary, however, to give further instances of the melancholy sway of these spiritual delusions and the piercing sorrows that they bring to their superstitious victims. 1 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. ii., pp. 260 ff. "No people are more enslaved by fear of the unknown than the Chinese, and none resort more frequently to sortilege to ascertain whether an enterprise will be successful or a proposed remedy avail to cure. This desire actuates all classes, and thousands and myriads of persons take advantage of it to their own profit. The tables of fortune-tellers and the shops of geomancers are met at street corners, and a strong inducement to repair to the temples is to cast lots as to the success of the prayers offered."—Ibid., p. 260. Cf. also "Sorcery in the Celestial Empire," in The Literary Digest, June 9, 1894. 2 Batchelor, "The Ainu of Japan," p. 196. 3 The Korean Repository, December, 1895, p. 484; April, 1896, pp. 163-165. 4 "The Lao people believe in possession by evil spirits, and this leads them to practise many degrading things; for example, if a sick person becomes delirious, his friends believe that he is possessed by the spirit of some one who is still living. The spirit-doctor is called, and attempts to ascertain from the sick one the name of the person whose spirit is troubling him. In order to elicit this from the unconscious and delirious sufferer, he pinches, scratches, or beats the patient, often inflicting great bodily injury. Under such treatment the sick one sometimes pronounces in his delirium the name of some neighbor or friend or enemy. The spirit-doctor has done his work. There seems to be but little care for the recovery of the sick one, but the whole neighborhood begins a series of persecutions against the one whose name was mentioned by the patient. Threatening letters are sent to him, informing him that he is accused of witchcraft and warning him to leave the country. Unless he leaves at once, he is further tormented. His cattle are driven away or maimed or killed, or his orchard is cut down. His house is often torn down and burned, and he and his family are compelled to flee to distant parts, homeless, 'friend-less, and penniless, and with a stigma upon them which frequently renders intercourse with others impossible."—Dr. J. W. McKean (P. B. F. M. N.), Chieng Mai, Laos.
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4. NEGLECT OF THE POOR AND SICK.—Tenderness and sympathy in the
The compassionate spirit of Christianity. presence of suffering are characteristic of Christian rather than non-Christian society. Even the most cultured heathen nations of antiquity seem to have been lacking in those refined sensibilities which are so distinctively the insignia of Christianity. We search in vain among barbarous races for any sustained manifestation of that humane spirit which instinctively seeks to relieve distress and minister to the necessities of the helpless and afflicted. The heart of the world when untouched by Christian sentiment has always been singularly callous to the appeal of weakness and suffering.1 Christ has taught with the force of a new revelation the precious mission of sympathy and the sacred duty of healing. The consciousness of kinship and the instinctive promptings of natural affection have in varying degrees exerted their influence among all peoples, in some instances with results far more marked than in others. In the case of individuals, families, and tribes striking exceptions, no doubt, may be noted, which reveal unusual tenderness of heart and kindly habits in the treatment of dependents. As a rule, however, the heartless attitude of the non-Christian world in the presence of distress and helplessness, especially outside the bonds of kinship, has ever been a sad commentary upon "the brotherhood of man." The fact that this is in many instances due to ignorance, incompetence, and lack of facilities, or is the result of misdirected efforts prompted by superstitious notions, while it in a measure excuses the fault, does not alleviate the miseries of the victims. In some countries, as,
Philanthropic needs of Japan.for instance, Japan, the social disorganization attendant upon the transition from an old to a new order may be largely responsible for the failure to care properly for those in distress. According to the old feudal system, the suzerain lord was responsible for the welfare of all his retainers; but this custom has now passed away, and as yet no adequate substitute has been incorporated in the new social régime. There is at the present time great need of charitable organizations in Japan.2 The poor are sadly neg- 1 Uhlhorn, "Christian Charity in the Ancient Church," chap. i. 2 "The old feudal system made it obligatory upon the feudal lord to care for all of his retainers, and they were united in families, so that, while such cases of neglect doubtless existed, it could not be said to be marked. With the giving way of that system society became disorganized. The Government could not take at once the place of the feudal lord, and time must elapse before society could adjust itself to the new conditions. Ancient class distinctions also stood in the way. During this interval there was not a little suffering from sheer neglect. Hospitals for the sick, dumb, deaf, etc., are all new in Japan. If the Japanese fail in caring for these classes it happens rather out of lack of system and knowledge of how to aid them than out of indifference to their wants."—Rev. David S. Spencer (M. E. M. S.), Nagoya, Japan.
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lected, as well as the many lepers, and although hospitals and charitable institutions are being established, it is to be hoped that the Japanese will soon institute more systematic and adequate provision for their dependent classes.1 In other countries much of this neglect is the result of sheer ignorance or incapacity to meet the emergencies which arise, or it may be due to dependence upon resources suggested by superstition, which are not only utterly useless, but in many instances aggravate the sufferings of the victim. The idea that sickness is the result of sin and so an infliction of the gods, or an evidence of the displeasure of demons, as we have previously noted, prevails to a great extent. The recourse is therefore not to curative expedients, but rather to sacrifices with a view to appeasing the evil spirits. In Assam, for example, a long process of inane experiment is necessary to ascertain the cause of illness. Usually the method of discovery is through the breaking of eggs, and the revelation comes through some occult sign, which is as meaningless as it is absurd.2 1 "Prior to the present era Japan had no organized charities. There was little occasion for them. Every neighborhood, or daimiate, cared to some extent for its own poor with a sort of family feeling. Though the cases of suffering and neglect were numerous, they were not obtruded on society at large. The only beggars, speaking in general terms, were priests, pilgrims, and wandering samurai, and they were aided by individuals as much for the blessing or protection received as for the help given. The blind and dumb were taught, but not by society at large, a few simple arts, and thus became self-supporting. Nothing was done for any other class of unfortunates."—Pettee, "A Chapter of Mission History in Modern Japan," p. 141. 2 "There are egg-breakers in every village, and they are called wherever there is sickness. The family buy a basketful of eggs, no matter how old they are. In fact, almost every family in the village keep the eggs which their hens lay for six or twelve months, so that they may be ready at hand when there is any need. The egg-breaker sits down and goes through a process of conjuring. He throws a few grains of rice on his board several times and washes them away again with water. Then he stands up, takes an egg in his right hand, and throws it with force on the board so that it breaks in pieces. It is by the pieces of the shell that he professes to discover the cause of the disease. If certain pieces lie convex or concave in certain places on the board, they are supposed to indicate the cause of the disease and whether the person will live or die. So one egg after another is broken until some sign is given which is interpreted to spit the purpose or preconceived idea of the conjurer. In the same way it is found out what sacrifice should be offered to the demons. All this is done in front of the house and takes place day after day as long as the person is ill. While it is being done the sick person lies and groans in the house, without anybody paying him any attention whatever. This is an indication of the way in which the people neglect the sick, although they spend all they have in order to cure them. It is not in their case altogether a want of care, but a thorough misdirection of efforts, which deprives the sufferer of all benefit. I have no doubt that, humanly speaking, many die from neglect and starvation."—Rev. Robert Evans (W. C. M. M. S.), Mawphlang, Shillong, Assam.
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In India the superstitious reverence for the
Ancient customs in India.Ganges has induced the custom of exposing the sick, especially those who are supposed to be fatally ill, upon the banks of the river. The practice arises from motives partly devout and partly benevolent, with a view to conferring benefit upon the person thus exposed, as death upon the banks of the sacred river is supposed to secure a speedy entrance into heaven. The whole subject is carefully and fully treated by Wil-kins, whose information is derived almost entirely from Hindu sources.1 The custom was far more prevalent in the past than it is at present. When missionaries first entered India the scenes on the banks of the Ganges presented a panorama of horrors. The helpless and suffering were placed there to die, frequently with their mouths and ears filled with mud, by friends, who thus sought to secure their speedy death in proximity to those sacred waters. In spite of the supervision of the present Government of India, the old customs have not as yet entirely disappeared.2 Many other instances could be given illustrating the baneful results of mistaken ideas as to the nature of illness and the methods of cure. The neglect thus induced by superstition and ignorance is not, therefore, a clear indication of heartless cruelty, but may be the result of sheer incapacity to provide a proper remedy. 1 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 440-453. 2 "A missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel reported a journey which he took last October, in company with others, upon the Ganges, the boat being towed up the stream by natives, who walked upon the banks. This missionary reports that one day, while they were ascending slowly, a man was seen lying at the edge of the water, while on the bank above eight or nine men sat smoking their pipes and chatting. It appeared that three or four of these men were the grown-up sons, and the rest the brothers or near relatives of the man whom they had left to die at the edge of the stream. They did not wish him to die in his house, fearing that his spirit would haunt it, so they had already performed the funeral rites, expecting that the man would soon die. It seems that when the people have not the means for burning the whole body they burn the tongue, lips, and beard, and this horrible cruelty was committed upon this relative while still living, and who, to all appearances, might have lived for months. The sufferings of the man must have been intolerable, and though his sons promised to take him home and care for him, the probability is that after the interruption was over they filled the man's mouth with mud and threw him into the river. Hinduism tolerates such things even to-day!"—The Missionary Herald, April, 1894, p. 143.
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There are still other cases of neglect resulting from a
The treament of the sick in China.failure to carry into practice theories and acknowledged obligations which if duly recognized and executed would relieve much suffering and misery. In China, for example, there is a code of charity having both a religious and social basis, but it is largely inoperative through wilful neglect and indifference. Its stimulus is mainly the desire of obtaining merit as the reward of good works, and where this stimulus is sufficiently vigorous much may be done, but if the craving for merit grows cold the good works lapse into inactivity. There are scattered here and there homes and asylums for the aged, the friendless, the orphans, and the incapable, but side by side with these institutions we find much shocking callousness to suffering.1 In many sections of China, however, there are no hospitals, dispensaries, or charitable institutions, and the afflicted classes are left to the most awful sufferings.2 Cases of cruel neglect arise from the lack of any suitable provision for the insane, or from the dread of contact with loathsome diseases, or on account of superstitious fear of the presence and intervention of evil spirits. The insane are often confined and chained under circumstances of shocking misery, while the sick, if homeless, are transported from doorway to doorway, since it is the legal custom to hold a man 1 "One of the most striking of all the many exhibitions of the Chinese lack of
sympathy is to be found in their cruelty. It is popularly believed by the Chinese that the Mohammedans in China are more cruel than the Chinese themselves. However this may be, there can be no doubt in the mind of any one who knows the Chinese that they display an indifference to the sufferings of others which is probably
not to be matched in any other civilised country."—Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," pp. 212, 213. 2 "We have here no hospitals or dispensaries, except those of missionaries ; no blind schools, with the same exception; no leper asylums but those established by Christians; no care for the insane, the paralyzed, or the poor. The sick if wealthy are cared for, if poor are neglected. If friendless they are put out to die on the street without food or sufficient clothing, and are moved from door to door, as the person on whose door-step the body is found has to provide a coffin. 'You are not allowed to die opposite the Telegraph Office, as it is a government building,' was a statement I heard yelled into the ears of a dying man last summer. So the telegraph employees moved him to an adjoining dust-heap. "In winter benevolent persons give away boiled rice, wadded clothes, matting for huts and straw for beds; but this is an unusual thing and is done as a work of private merit, not as a public duty. We have institutions for saving infant girls, endowed by the Chinese to prevent infanticide. There are also to be found asylums for 'Friendless Old and Virtuous Widows,' built and endowed by natives as meritorious works."—Rev. Joseph S. Adams (A. B. M. U.), Hankow, Province of Hupeh, China.
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responsible for the funeral expenses of a stranger dying at his gate, and he is, moreover, exposed to blackmail under such suspicious circumstances. In Korea an instance is recorded, in a recent communication from a missionary, in which a sick man was hurriedly transported from village to village for a period of five days, without food, the inhabitants of each village fearing, in case he should die within its precincts, "that his spirit would remain to haunt them and work them mischief."1 Aside, however, from the instances already mentioned, there are
The pitiless fate of the helpless and suffering.numberless cases of neglect of the poor and the sick which are the result of pure heartlessness, and are productive of harrowing sufferings.2 The aged are cast out to die or exposed to wild beasts or to the lingering ravages of starvation. Cases of desperate illness or contagious diseases are left without attention or the victims are consigned in some secluded place to their fate. In many lands lepers are utter outcasts, without sympathy or care, and in some instances are put to death. "Lepers and people suffering from unpleasant diseases are usually destroyed," writes the Rev. G. M. Lawson, of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa. The blind and deformed must shift for themselves.3 The poor are indeed friendless, and can only hope to prolong their lives as they are able to beg for sustenance. Not infrequently the sick and the aged are cruelly killed, in some instances by being buried alive.4 This last crime has been practised in the case of lepers,5 lunatics,6 and 1 The Missionary Review of the World, August, 1894, p. 595. 2 "But what does sickness mean to millions of our fellow-creatures in heathen lands? Throughout the East sickness is believed to be the work of demons. The sick person at once becomes an object of loathing and terror, is put out of the house, is taken to an outhouse, is poorly fed and rarely visited; or the astrologers, or priests, or medicine-men, or wizards assemble, beating big drums and gongs, blowing horns, and making the most fearful noises. They light gigantic fires and dance round them with their unholy incantations. They beat the sick person with clubs to drive out the demon. They lay him before a roasting fire till his skin is blistered, and then throw him into cold water. They stuff the nostrils of the dying with aromatic mixtures or mud, and in some regions they carry the chronic sufferer to a mountain-top, placing barley balls and water beside him, and leave him to die alone."—Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop, "Heathen Claims and Christian Duty," address given in Exeter Hall, November 1, 1893. 3 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 196. 4 Chalmers and Gill, "Work and Adventure in New Guinea," p. 299. Cf. Alexander, "The Islands of the Pacific," p. 395. 5 The Missionary Review of the World, April, 1895, p. 267. Cf. Bailey, "The Lepers of Our Indian Empire," p. 72. 6 A missionary to the Laos people writes: "Two of their number became crazy, and, as was the custom, they were tied up for a time; but as they grew no better, they were taken out and buried alive in spite of their cries and pleading."—Mrs. S C. Peoples (P. B. F. M. N.), Laos, Siam.
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also infants, who among some degraded races are buried alive in case the mother dies. While it is not customary in China actually to bury children alive, yet what is hardly less cruel is all too common. In case of the serious illness of an infant, it is placed on one side pending the issue. If death ensues, it is cast into the street, to be picked up, carried off in a cart, and taken to a common pit outside the city walls.1 References confirmatory of these statements could be multiplied, but the facts are so notorious that there is no necessity for other than general statements concerning them. 5. UNCIVILIZED AND CRUEL CUSTOMS.—The social habits of heathenism
What are the standards of civilization?referred to in previous sections have certainly not been lacking either in barbarity or in cruelty. There remain, however, some customs, not as yet mentioned, which are beyond question cruel, and others which if judged by the standards of a true civilization—such as a consensus of the average culture of Christendom would sanction and enforce—must be designated as indecent and uncivilized, if not brutal. It is not sufficient to say in challenging this statement that many of these customs are regarded as unobjec- 1 "When a child sickens it has, according to the means and intelligence of the parents, the same anxious care and medical attendance that would be given among us; but if remedies fail of effect and death is apparently near, the situation changes at once. The little thing is stripped naked and placed on the mud or brick floor just inside the outer door. The parents leave it there and watch the issue. If it survives the ordeal, which is seldom the case, it is a true child of their own flesh and blood; if it dies, it never was their child, and is thrown into the street. No power could induce them to give it proper burial in the family resting-place for the dead. If you lived in Peking you would be surprised never to see a child's funeral pass, but if you go into the street very early in the morning you would find the explanation. You would meet a large covered vehicle, drawn by two oxen, having a sign across the front stating its horrible office, and piled to the brim with the bodies of children. Sometimes there are a hundred in the cart at once, thrown in as garbage, nearly all of them naked, a few tied up in old reed baskets, and fewer, never more than one or two, in cheap board coffins. These carts go about the streets each night, pick up these pitiable remains, some of them mutilated by dogs ; they are thrown in like so much wood and taken to a pit outside the city walls, into which they are dumped, then covered with quicklime."—Woman's Work for Woman, February, 1896, pp. 31, 32, quoted from "The Real Chinaman," by Holcombe. "When walking on the wall of the city not long since I found the head of a child, its body having been all eaten by the dogs. Every morning a cart goes around the city and gathers up the dead children which have been 'thrown away.' When a baby dies, instead of burying it they simply throw it out, where it will be gathered up and hauled away by this ox-cart."—Professor Isaac T. Headland (M. E. M. S.), Peking, China.
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tionable by those who practise them. This, if true, only indicates faulty standards of civilization and shows that they need a thorough reconstruction. Civilization is much more than a local subjective code which any barbarian can determine for himself. The mere fact that he is a barbarian renders him incompetent to fix the standards of social order and refinement. Civilization is the matured product of intellectual culture and material progress formed under the guiding influence of religion, morality, decency, justice, brotherhood, knowledge, science, industrial enterprise, and the inventive genius of man. Its goal is prosperity, peace, happiness, and the highest good of the race.1 Its code consists of those principles, laws, and customs which have become regulative among the enlightened nations of the earth, and have been drawn from the higher and purer sources of morality and culture. The elevating and fixing of refined standards of civilization is an achievement which cannot be surrendered at the dictum of a less civilized society, nor levelled down to coincide with the views and traditions of those peoples who have not yet passed the stage of barbarism. Civilization at its best must rather be maintained and cherished as a helpful incentive and guiding standard to communities which are still in a state of arrested development, under the power of blinding ignorance or degrading custom. The
Some customes which are uncivilized and cruel.specifications which seem to call for notice under this general head of uncivilized and cruel customs are such as foot-binding, barbarous and filthy manners, uncleanness in person and habits, lack of domestic privacy, insufficient clothing of the body, promiscuous bathing, disgusting peculiarities in diet, abominable dances and orgies, ascetic cruelties, and heathenish burial rites. 1 An admirable definition of civilization was given by Lord Russell, Chief Justice of Great Britain, in his Address on Arbitration before the American Bar Association at Saratoga, August 20, 1896. His words are as follows: "What indeed is true civilization? By its fruit you shall know it. It is not dominion, wealth, material luxury; nay, not even a great literature and education widespread, good though these things be. Civilization is not a veneer; it must penetrate to the very heart and core of societies of men. Its true signs are thought for the poor and suffering, chivalrous regard and respect for woman, the frank recognition of human brotherhood, irrespective of race or color or nation or religion, the narrowing of the domain of mere force as a governing factor in the world, the love of ordered freedom, abhorrence of what is mean and cruel and vile, ceaseless devotion to the claims of justice."—The Review of Reviews (American edition), September, 1896, p. 320.
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The process of foot-binding has been
Foot-binding in China.accurately described by Miss Adele M. Fielde, long a resident of China, in her "Pagoda Shadows." The suffering inflicted is no doubt most distressing and in some cases intense.1 Taking all China together, it is estimated that "probably nine-tenths of the women have bound feet,"2 The origin of the practice seems to be obscure. It was first known in the imperial household during the T'ang dynasty. It is said to have been adopted as a disguise to natural deformity. At present it is a tool of vanity, and has been made an arbitrary sign of respectability. It was not known in the classical period, and made its appearance about fourteen hundred years after the time of Confucius. It cannot therefore be said to have the sanction of the Chinese sages. It has, however, so firmly established itself in Chinese society that the emperors themselves have been 1 "The bandages used in misshaping the feet are woven in small hand-looms, and are about two inches wide and ten feet long. One end of the bandage is laid on the inside of the instep; thence it is carried over the four small toes, drawing them down upon the sole; then it passes under the foot, over the instep, and around the heel, drawing the heel and toe nearer together, making a bulge on the instep, and a deep niche in the sole underneath; thence it follows its former course until the bandage is all applied, and the last end is sewn down firmly on the underlying cloth. Once a month or oftener, the feet, with the bandages upon them, are put into a bucket of hot water and soaked. Then the bandages are removed, the dead skin is rubbed off, the foot is kneaded more fully into the desired shape, pulverized alum is laid on, and clean bandages quickly affixed. If the bandages are long left off, the blood again circulates in the feet, and the rebinding is very painful. The pain is least when the feet are so firmly and so constantly bound as to be benumbed by the pressure of the bandages. It not infrequently happens that the flesh becomes putrescent during the process of binding, and portions slough off from the sole. Sometimes a toe or more drops off. In this case the feet are much smaller than they could else be made, and elegance is secured at the cost of months of suffering. The dolor ordinarily continues about a year, then gradually diminishes, till at the end of two years the feet are dead and painless. During this time the victim of fashion sleeps only on her back, lying crosswise the bed, with her feet dangling over the side, so that the edge of the bedstead presses on the nerves behind the knees in such a way as to dull the pain somewhat. There she swings her feet and moans, and even in the coldest weather cannot wrap herself in a coverlet, because every return of warmth to her limbs increases the aching. The sensation is said to be like that of having the joints punctured with needles. While the feet are being formed they are useless, and their owner moves about the room to which she is confined by putting her knees on two stools, so that her feet will not touch the floor, and throwing her weight upon one knee at a time, while she moves the stools alternately forward with her hands. When the feet are completely remodeled there is a notch in the middle of the sole deep enough to conceal a silver dollar put in edgewise across the foot; the four small toes are so twisted that their ends may be seen on the inside of the foot below the ankle, and the broken and distorted bones of the middle of the foot are pressed into a mass where the instep should be; the shape is like a hen's head, the big toe representing the bill. There is little beside skin and bone below the knee. The foot cannot be stood upon without its bandages, and can never be restored to its natural shape. It is a frightful and fetid thing. No bound-footed woman ever willingly lets her bare feet be seen, even by those who are likewise maimed. She wears little cotton shoes when abed, putting, as it were, her night-cap on her feet."—Fielde, "Pagoda Shadows," pp. 40-42. 1 Ibid., p. 45.
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unable to dislodge it. No Manchu lady, it is said, binds her feet, and, strange to say, "the Empress of China and the highest ladies of the imperial court allow their feet to grow to their natural form and size. Foot-binding is therefore in defiance of imperial example."1 Dr. Henry is of the opinion that "any persistent attempt on the part of the Government to interfere with the practice would probably lead to rebellion."2 Dr. Talmage, of Amoy, has expressed his opinion that foot-binding is one great cause of the prevalence of infanticide in China,3 and this opinion is confirmed by a statement made by the Rev. F. P. Gilman.4 It is a hopeful sign of the passing of this deplorable custom that in connection with Christian enlightenment the powerful persuasions of Christianity are beginning to undermine its social status, and that And-Foot-Binding Societies are now a recognized feature of Christian missions in China. 1 Woman's Work in the Far East, May, 1894, pp. 117-120. Cf. Henry, "The Cross and the Dragon," p. 50. 2 There are some indications, however, that the subject is not to be forever
ignored in Chinese official circles. In the last medical report of the Chinese Maritime Customs (under the supervision of Sir Robert Hart) reference is made by the medical officer at Chungking to "the injuries frequently arising from the practice of compressing the feet of women and girls. It appears that the women of Szechuen Province, and especially of Chungking, bind the feet more tightly than in other districts in the Yang-tsze valley. The practice, too, is more general, for the very poor, as well as the farming community, bind the feet and seem to regard feet of the natural size in women as reproachfully as do the wealthy classes. When questioned closely, not one woman in a hundred will deny that she is a constant sufferer owing to the tight bandages. Many foreigners in China imagine that after a woman reaches maturity she is free from pain, but according to this authority this is not the case. Dr. Macartney, the writer of the report, never found an elderly woman who did not complain of pain. Women with compressed feet cannot stand for any length of time without great suffering, in addition to the agony endured in the early period of binding. Paralysis of the legs frequently ensues on the practice, and in every case treated by him the patient recovered rapidly when the feet were unbound and left free. Eczema and ulceration also are common, not amongst the poor only, but also amongst the wealthy and official classes. In several cases within his own practice gangrene, calling for amputation, followed on compression, and in two cases nature had amputated both feet after gangrene caused by bandaging."—The Mail (London Times), May 27, 1896. 3 "Report of Shanghai Conference, 1877," p. 137. 4 "Foot-binding is common among the Chinese [in Hainan], though the poverty of the people keeps it from becoming very prevalent. Among the Loi, or aboriginal population of the island of Hainan it is almost unknown. Where foot-binding is practised there is a great deal of infanticide, while in regions where it is not known this evil does not prevail."—Rev. F. P. Gilman (P. B. F. M. N.), Hainan.
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It is not worth while to describe in detail the
Uncleanly habits.filthy habits and the unclean ways of the heathen world. It is as a rule unkempt, malodorous, and monotonously repulsive. There are exceptions, of course, in every land, and many in stances of cleanly ways and refined instincts, which only serve to make more offensive the habits of the multitude. In some cases, as, for example, among the better class of Japanese, there is exceptional cleanliness of person ; yet even in Japan we find the Ainu, whose habits are especially objectionable. As a rule, however, heathenism in its more savage haunts sits in squalor, filth, and imperturbable dirtiness. A description of the Karens,1 given by one who resides among them, might serve for many other places where the statements would be equally applicable. The question of clothes is one upon which Christian civilization
Unseemly nudity.has a very firm and pronounced opinion. Whatever variety and adaptability there may be in the styles of clothing in different countries, the person should be decently covered, and this surely is not the case as yet among most savage races. Among semi-civilized peoples, and even within the precincts of civilization, there are customs in dress which are certainly not prompted by the truer instincts of re- 1 "The filthiness of the heathen Karens, especially those in the mountains, almost beggars description. They seldom bathe their bodies and never wash their clothing. They have a superstition that it is dangerous to bathe when affected with anything that causes fever, and that to bathe the body when there is an open sore anywhere on it is sure to make the sore worse. As there is a great deal of fever in the mountains, and open sores are very general, it is rare that all the conditions are favorable, and bathing is consequently very seldom attempted. As to washing such beds as they possess, or their clothing, such a thing is practically unknown. The washing of the vessels which they use for holding their food is as unusual as washing their clothing. It is a common custom to have the pig-pen under the house."-Rev. W. I. Price (A. B. M. U.), Henzada, Burma. Cf. also letter from Dr. J. N. Gushing (A. B. M. U.), of Rangoon, Burma, in The Independent, January 18, 1894, p. 15.
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finement. For a race as advanced as the Japanese their habits in this respect are open to criticism. That they do not recognize the indecorum of the customs which prevail among them is to their discredit, and until there is a decided change in Japanese ways the influence of such laxity cannot but be degrading to the social life of the people. It is noticeable that Japanese Christians "at once become more careful about exposing the person, even among themselves." A missionary writes: "It must in truth be said that there is now in Japan much less nudity than there used to be, but there is room for great and immediate improvement upon present customs." In connection with scantiness of clothing, the idea seems to have prevailed
Barbaric toilets.from ancient times that tattooing and a graceless overloading with ornaments must supplement the lack of clothing. The tattooing process is often most elaborately grotesque and hideous, as is the case among the Chins of Burma, the Maoris, and the island populations of the East Indies and the South Seas. In its complete and fantastic forms it produces corrugated ridges of flesh protruding in the shape of ugly and irregular designs, turning the face, which is usually selected for the highest exhibition of the art, into a shocking caricature of the human features.1 Tattooing is known also in Japan, India, Formosa, Africa, and among the Indian tribes of North and South America. The clumsy and even painful profusion of barbaric ornaments worn upon the lips, nose, ears, neck, and other parts of the person is one of the signs of savagery which only the refining power of Christian enlightenment is able to banish.2 Promiscuous bathing, as in Japan,
Promiscuous bathing.with all due allowance for what may be said in justification of it as an immemorial custom, and granting that it should not be regarded as a manifest indication of immorality or even of indelicacy among the Japanese,3 is yet a habit which they will inevitably abandon as they become more responsive to the spirit of a sensitive and refined civilization. In other countries it is very rarely tolerated, or if practised at all, is recognized as objectionable and something to be concealed. 1 Robley, "Moko; or, Maori Tattooing"; Vincent, "Actual Africa," pp. 432,
439; Ratzel, "The History of Mankind," vol. i., pp. 195, 196. 2 Tyler, "Forty Years among the Zulus," p. 61; Rowley, "Twenty Years in
Central Africa," p. 9; Vincent, "Actual Africa," p. 438; Work and Workers in the Mission Field, February, 1893, p. 55. 3 Bacon, "Japanese Girls and Women," pp. 258-260.
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In the matter of diet,
Loathsome diet.while there is much that is repulsive in almost every land, yet nothing seems quite so loathsome as the carrion-eating of the low castes and otitcastes in India.1 Dr.Uhl, an American Lutheran missionary at Guntur, writes: "The non-caste people have the foul and physically defiling habit of eating the carcasses of animals which have died from disease and which often are but a little departure from carrion. The results are seen in the puffy nature of the face and body of those who unceasingly follow this habit, and in their passionate nature." The prevalence of abominable dances,
Abominable dances.marked by wild and unnatural orgies, is characteristic of savage life. These dances are sometimes inspired by the spirit of war. Again, they are religious, or they are festal and social in their character. In many instances they are obscene revels, and present temptations which no savage nature is able to resist. In describing one of these performances in Micronesia, the Rev. Francis M. Price (A. B. C. F. M.) speaks of it as "a most subtle device of Satan, and his most powerful weapon, doing far more harm than all the wars and other evils combined. It is exciting, furnishes the only opportunity that their natural vanity has for expressing itself in decorating the body, and is licentious through and through."2 A similar incident in Africa is commented upon by Mr. George D. Adamson, a missionary among the Bakete in the Congo State.3 1 Thoburn, "India and Malaysia," p. 401. "The chuckler (or cobbler)—at least as I have had occasion to know him—has very much original sin in his nature. He has fallen low among the lowest. But that he can articulate human sounds and mend boots, there is very little to differentiate him from the beast whose hide he tans. Filth is his natural element, and he revels in it. His clothes and his habitation (both very limited in dimensions) are only less filthy than his habits and person. His talk, vile at the best, often reeks with filthiest abuse. He smokes bhang, drinks toddy, and, when he can get it, gluts himself on deceased animals."—Rev, Alfred Dumbarton (W. M. S.), Shimoga, Mysore, India, in Work and Workers in the Mission Field, August, 1895, p. 335. 2 The Missionary Herald, December, 1895, p. 503. 3 Mr. Adamson speaks of visiting the town of Kasenga, where a heathen dance was about to be held. He writes as follows: "As I passed through the main square in the town, I noted that they were sweeping it most thoroughly. On inquiry I found they were going to have one of their evening dances; not the comparatively innocent things indulged in at home, but a real heathenish dance, in which the women will appear minus the little clothes they usually wear, and with the men they will go through the most fantastic and beastly, as well as, to our mind, the most immoral capers imaginable. As this dance proceeds, the 'doctor' (for that is what they call this much-feared man among them) will come out of his little house in the centre of the square and go through the most vile movements, as well as say some most abominable things. His wicked capers form the pattern on which the people model theirs. When he changes his antics a new fashion in these abominations sets in. It is at once seen that until his fell power is broken there is not much chance of doing these people good."—Mr. George D. Aclamson (P. B. F. M. S.), Luebo, Congo Free State, in The Missionary, June, 1894, p. 239. Cf. also Macdonald, "Religion and Myth," pp. 44, 45.
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Ascetic cruelties have been
Tainted asceticism.referred to in a previous section, where self-torture was under consideration. Eastern asceticism is often accompanied by gross features, stamping it with a demoralizing taint. Besides its vulgar character, the cruel nature of many of its exhibitions makes it a degrading and hardening spectacle for those who habitually contemplate it. It prevails extensively in India, except in its more objectionable forms, which have been prohibited by law. The customs associated with
Funeral orgies.burial services are often barbaric and deplorable. A bereavement, sad and dreary enough in itself, becomes the occasion of extortion, and involves an amount of expensive ceremonialism which is extremely burdensome. It is often accompanied by rites and ceremonies which are debasing in their character, and as frequently it presents an opportunity for outbursts of barbarous fanaticism or the indulgence in wicked orgies, which would be objectionable at any time, but become shockingly so in the presence of death. In fact, one of the most beautiful and vivid touches of the religion of Christ is the transformation it works in the presence of death. There is hardly a more striking manifestation of the social tendencies of Christianity, as contrasted with those of heathenism, than that which is revealed at a Christian funeral when compared with the customs incidental to heathen burial. Miss Adele Fielde writes concerning
Mortuary customes of the Chinese and Parsis.the "Mortuary Customs" of China: "When the Chinese wish to declare the extreme vexatiousness of any piece of work, they say, 'It is more trouble than a funeral,' the obsequies of a parent being reckoned the most maddening affair in human experience."1 Chinese burial ceremonies frequently last many days, and are described as "a ruinous burden to the poor, since relatives, friends, and strangers all crowd in and fairly eat them out of house and home." As regards infant burial in China, it is a summary proceeding, usually without coffins, if indeed any burial is 1 Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," p. 49.
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attempted. The shocking custom of leaving babes unburied, to be the prey of dogs or other animals, is all too common.1 Among the Parsis of India burial is conducted with great decorum, but consists in placing the dead body in a "Tower of Silence," which is an enclosure surrounded by very high walls and open to the sky. It is the home of vultures, which swarm in its vicinity and swoop down upon the corpse as soon as it is deposited within the tower. In an incredibly brief time nothing is left but the skeleton. This method of disposing of the dead seems to be preferred to burial. Among the more savage races burial
Burial rites in the South Seas.ceremonies are attended with the most debasing customs. It is well if the living escape, since human sacrifices often form a ghastly feature of the scene. Funeral rites in the South Seas are said to beggar description" for obscenity, noise, cruelty, and beastly exposure."2 Around the grim realities of death have clustered innumerable heathen superstitions that often lead to strange treatment of the bodies of those who have passed away. Many of these singular customs are traceable to the belief, universal in Polynesia, that the soul of the dead person is not separated at once from the body, but lingers in some state of mystic alliance with it, and may be ministered to by the living relatives of the deceased.3 An Oriental funeral is frequently the scene of wild outbursts of grief, no doubt often sincere and expressive of the intense bitterness of sorrow ; yet in many cases the well-known fact that much of this fanatical fury and noise is in accordance with commonplace custom rather than indicative of genuine sorrow deprives it of its impressiveness, and turns a funeral occasion in not a few instances into little more than a ceremonial function. 1 A little poem entitled "No Children's Graves in China," by Andrew
J. Eidson, D.D., will be found in Woman's Work for Woman, July, 1894, p. 183. 2 A typical case is described by the Rev. James M. Alexander, in "The Islands of the Pacific," p. 241. Referring to funeral rites which he has witnessed, he says: "They lasted seven days and were the darkest days I ever saw. Companies came from all parts, filling the air with loud wailings, dancing in a state of perfect nudity around the corpse like so many furies, cutting their flesh with shells and sharp stones till the blood trickled down to their feet, the women tearing out their hair, both men and women knocking out their teeth, indulging in the most revolting licentiousness, and feasting to excess, while muskets were fired and sea-shells were blown with a long, deep, sepulchral sound during the whole night. Verily, I seemed to be for the time on the borders of the infernal regions." 3 Ratzel, "The History of Mankind," vol. i., pp. 46-48.
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6. INSANITARY CONDITIONS.—The science of modern sanitation may be said to be both a creation and a sign of civilization, yet even in the most enlightened communities proper arrangements can be secured only by the oversight and pressure of legal authority. In the non-Christian world, where neither knowledge, custom, public spirit, nor legal enactment exerts any very effective influence in controlling private habits or guarding common interests with a view to sanitary requirements, the whole matter has been left with little or no supervision. Even the crude and imperfect arrangements which are made for public and domestic sanitation are often not only useless, but harmful. In personal as well as domestic habits the most frightfully filthy and abominable customs prevail, and carry with them the penalties of defying nature's laws. Strange to say, some of the most
The sanitary conditions of India.advanced nations of the Orient, as, for example, India and China, are as indifferent as the most barbarous peoples to the simplest laws, and even the ordinary decencies, of a sanitary code. In the villages of India, and also in the large centres of population, even the most rudimentary provision for proper sanitation is neglected, while the most unspeakable desecration not only of the laws, but of the proprieties, of hygienic living exists. The water which is used for drinking and for all household purposes is almost invariably loaded with impurities of the most loathsome and dangerous character.1 Sir Richard Temple states with emphasis that impure water in India " has produced more physical mischief than any cause whatsoever, and perhaps as much mischief as all other causes put together could produce."2 At the Eighth International Congress of Hygiene and Demography, held at Budapest in 1894, the President of the Tropical Section, Dr. Theodore Duka, a surgeon in the Indian Army, presented an address on "Tropical Medicine," in which he referred in some detail to the sanitary state of Indian villages. The following passage is sufficiently explicit as to their condition: "It is almost needless to enter upon a description of the sanitation of an Indian village, for there is a total absence of it. The huts composing the villages and hamlets are erected, for the most part, on flat land or on slightly elevated ground, exposed to the scorching sun and fiery winds, or drenched by rain. The people drink from the pond in 1 "In one and the same tank, for many a town, clothes are washed and people bathe themselves, while also here is the supply of water for cooking and for drinking."—Rev. L. L. Uhl, Ph.D. (Luth. G. S.), Guntur, India. 2 "Oriental Experience," p. 474.
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which they bathe and in which their cattle wallow, surrounded by the refuse of their daily lives. The cattle consist of cows and buffaloes, occasionally of goats, donkeys, and pigs. All live under the same roof and lie upon the ground beside their master and his family. There is hardly a window or an opening for ventilation. The dung-pit is not far from the well-water supply, where the washing of clothes, of animals, and of men is carried on from day to day; and the women provide their households from this source with water for cooking purposes and for drinking. The people have so lived for centuries, knowing and apparently caring for nothing better"1 Even the larger centres of population are no better, except as the British Government, in spite of enormous difficulties, enforces sanitary regulations.2 These government provisions for the public health are often extremely unwelcome to the people, and are looked upon as tyrannical and impertinent, and disregarded whenever it is safe to do so.3 Even in the city of Calcutta the infant death-rate under one year of age, in 1894, was 402 per 1000, and in 1893 it was 415. The Health Officer of the city expresses his opinion that the "high infantile death-rate is due to a want of knowledge on the part of parents as to the care of infants, and to the insanitary conditions of the house."4 Indian pilgrimages, festivals, and enormous concourses at the holy places, with the consequent defilement 1 The Indian Magazine and Review, May, 1895, P- 262. " The heathen Santals almost never wash. Dirt diseases, especially itch, are at certain seasons almost universal. They keep their houses fairly clean. A woman after childbirth is left alone, unwashed for several days. The people eat carrion in almost any degree of putrefaction, also snakes of certain kinds, rats, mice, and snails. The cattle very often occupy the same house with the family at night. Every child swarms with vermin, unless its hair is kept closely cropped or the head shaved. These people will drink water containing sewage, but in this respect they are not so depraved as their Hindu neighbors, who almost constantly drink the water in which they have washed themselves and their household utensils."—Rev. James M. Macphail (F. C. S.), Chakai, Santalia, Bengal. 2 "Native cities, notwithstanding the strenuous efforts of government officers, are in a most filthy condition. Recently Surgeon-Major Roe was appointed to report on the sanitary condition of Rawal Pindi, a comparatively clean city, adjoining as it does about the most important military station of the empire and having been built up principally within recent years. The plain, unvarnished description of just what he saw was sickening."—Rev. Robert Morrison (P. B. F. M, N.), Lahore, India. 3 "A Collector (the highest European officer of the district) told me recently that probably nothing would sooner cause riot among the village population than sanitary laws forced upon them. Their ideas of sanitation are so vague that a long period of gradual instruction must precede any legislation that would be wise." — Rev. James E. Tracy (A. B. C. F. M.), Kodaikanal, Madras, India. 4 The Indian Magazine and Review, July, 1896, p. 383.
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of water used for both bathing and drinking by the multitude, and the prevalent mortuary customs, are also large counts in this indictment of polluted India.1 The result is disease and suffering to an extent distressing to contemplate. A missionary writes: "In some villages [of Ceylon], chiefly owing to the filth and immorality of the people, there is hardly a home free from a painful kind of sickness. In one of the new village schools, out of sixty children present only two were free from sickness."2 The British Government in
The efforts of the British Government to introduce proper sanitation.India is making heroic efforts to remedy these evils. Sanitary Boards are established and proper provisions for public health are being pushed as rapidly as possible. In the Blue Book for 1894-95, on "The Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India," interesting details are given as to the sanitary undertakings now in progress, which consist chiefly in providing pure water-supply for cities, in establishing sewerage schemes, in devising rules and regulations with reference to drainage, in the prohibiting of offensive and dangerous nuisances, and disseminating the knowledge of sanitary rules among the populace. The work of the sanitary engineering department is important, and the introduction of the "Village Sanitation Act" is reported in hundreds of villages. Many costly and splendid plants for the water-supply of important cities and towns are referred to as having been completed, as in Cawnpore, Lucknow, Delhi, and smaller places, with a high-level reservoir in Rangoon. Others are reported as in progress throughout the British provinces, with important drainage schemes ; yet, with all the care and oversight which the British Government can give this stupendous task, the statistics as to the death-rate and the fatalities from various diseases tell with painful emphasis 1 "Sanitation is sadly neglected. In many villages the streets are horribly
filthy, and almost all the approaches are foul and fetid, especially in the morning before the pigs and buffaloes have been round to act as scavengers. While the Mohammedans are careful of the graves of their people, the Hindus who bury are very careless of them. A Hindu graveyard is frequently a ghastly sight, as corpses are laid so near the surface of the ground that the graves are easily rifled by jackals and hyenas. During the prevalence of a bad cholera epidemic the condition of some graveyards is indescribable. Though Hindus are in theory very particular about the water they use, they concern themselves in practice with little more than ceremonial purity and are often very careless as to the condition of their wells. In some places I have seen Brahmans washing themselves and their clothes in wells from which the villagers obtained their drinking water."—Rev. W. Howard Campbell, M.A. (L. M. S.), Cuddapah, Madras, India. Cf. also "Sanitary Reform in India," pp. 7-10.
2 Work and Workers in the Mission Field, May, 1895, p. 209.
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how much there is still to be done. The year 1894 was marked by an exceptionally high death-rate, as the following figures reveal: from dysentery and diarrhœa, 257,808 deaths, as against 196,667 in 1893 ; from cholera, 521,647, being in the ratio of 2.44 per 1000 of population, as against 216,827 in 1893; from fever, 4,952,328, equal to 23.23 per 1000, as compared with 3,716,926, or 17.44 in 1893. The total number of successful vaccinations during 1894-95 amounted to 6,869,271. The result of this precautionary measure was that the deaths reported from smallpox were only 41,604, representing a ratio of 0.19 per 1000.1 The condition of the Native States, and of Farther India,2 including Assam, is even less sanitary than that of British India. China is notorious for the entire neglect of
Malodorous China.proper sanitation. There is even a lively rivalry among its most important cities as to which deserves the prize for surpassing filthiness.3 Peking, the capital, seems to be by no means an unworthy candidate for the highest laurels in the contest, and has even been pronounced by competent judges as the dirtiest city on the face of the globe.4 Mr. Curzon's description of an entrance into the Chinese capital is graphic in its realism.5 "Above all other characteristics of Peking," says Mr. Norman, "one thing stands out in horrible prominence. Not to mention it would be wilfully to omit the most striking feature of the place. I mean its filth. It is the most horribly and indescribably filthy place that can be imagined; indeed, imagination must fall far short of the fact. Some of the daily sights of the pedestrian in Peking 1 Cf. "Statement of the Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India
During the Year 1894-95," PP- 19-23. 2 "In heathen villages the condition of their homes is still much as it was a
hundred years ago, when Father Sangermano described them as a scene of confusion and dirtiness. While cooking meals the rice-water is poured down through the bamboo floors, and this, with all sorts of filth and rubbish collecting and putrefying, produces a stench that is truly nauseating. Itch in its most revolting development is very common here, while in some sections lepers are quite numerous. The children are allowed to run about naked until they are from six to ten years of age. When cholera or other infectious or contagious disease appears, the fatality is often appalling."—Rev. F. H. Eveleth (A. B. M. U.), Sandoway, Burma. 3 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 138. 4 "The insanitary conditions here are such that it would never do for me to
write a description of them, or if I wrote it, you would never care to present it to an audience. What I see, hear, and smell as I go along the street, with my wife or a lady friend walking with me, neither you nor I would dare to speak of before an American assembly."—Rev. Isaac T. Headland (M. E. M. S.), Peking, China. 5 Curzon, "Problems of the Far East," p. 245.
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could hardly be more than hinted at by one man to another in the disinfecting atmosphere of a smoking-room."1 We forbear to finish the paragraph. If all this can be said of the capital of the empire, what must be the state of things (if, indeed, there is any possibility of anything worse) throughout the thronging cities, towns, and thickly populated provinces of the great imperial cloaca of the Chinese Empire! In fact, the attempt to describe the sanitary state of China seems to exhaust the linguistic capacities of all who undertake it. The impression which one has in reading their struggling efforts is that the reality is literally beyond description.2 We are not surprised, therefore, to hear of the recent plague and its awful ravages in Chinese cities, and yet the lesson seems to be quite lost.3 Dr. S. Wells Williams has described in several places his impressions of the noisome and reeking aspects of Chinese cities.4 The testimony in private letters from residents of the country indicates that the China of to-day is no improvement upon the China of the past.5 Japan is perhaps the cleanest country in Asia, yet at the opposite extreme of nauseating defilement is its neighbor Korea. This repulsive story of slovenly sanitation could be continued with dismal monotony as descriptive of the status in all purely Asiatic countries. In fact, the annual threat of cholera which comes in connection with the pilgrimage to Mecca, and gathers sufficient cumulative power to throw a shadow of danger over all Europe, is a sharp reminder of the 1 Norman, "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," pp. 209, 210. 2 "The Records of the Shanghai Conference, 1890," pp. 269, 270. 3 "Since the plague, which carried off so many tens of thousands, one would have supposed that the decaying piles of rubbish would have been removed from the streets. But not a shovelful has been taken away, so far as one can judge."—Dr. Mary H. Fulton (P. B. F. M. N.), Canton, China. 4 "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., pp. 108, 205. 5 "The Chinese will never be a clean people till they become a Christian people. Superstition keeps the walls of the home black and grimy with the smoke of generations, because white is an unlucky color, and hence there is little whitewashing indoors. Superstition peoples the house with evil spirits, and too much displacing of furniture and sweeping of corners is disturbing and worrying to the spirits, and bound to be followed with evil results. No public sanitation will ever be undertaken until Christian unselfishness takes hold of the Chinese. Now it is every man for himself. He casts the dirt out of his home or yard and throws it on the common highway. Who cares if others are inconvenienced or injured by it?" —Rev. J. G. Fagg (Ref. C. A.), Amoy, China. "Your enquiry as to sanitary conditions is amusing to one who has lived for more than thirty years in a land where sanitation is unknown. The narrow, densely crowded streets and courts of this city; its moat, the convenient receptacle of all manner of abominations, emptied once a year just at the season when most harm can be done by the process; the fetid pools, whose stench fills the air during the summer heat; and the myriads of graves, many of them with half-buried coffins, upon the neighboring plain—these and the like are the surroundings of a population among which typhus and other infectious diseases are of course endemic, but which has never known anything better."—Rev. Jonathan Lees (L. M. S.), Tientsin, China. "In China sanitation is simply ignored; what with filthy personal habits, the absence of practical sewerage provisions, open cesspools, and lack of quarantine measures against infection, the wonder is that any Chinamen survive."—Rev. W. P. Chalfant (P. B. F. M. N.), Ichowfu, Shantung, China.
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deadly results of the defiance of all sanitary laws.1 We could still trace in Africa and the isles of the Pacific the signs of the same insanitary foulness which is almost universal in the heathen world. A striking result of the investigation would be to convince us that "cleanliness is next to godliness," and that Christianity, in coöperation with sanitary regulations, has a cleansing mission of colossal magnitude in the world. 7. LACK OF PUBLIC SPIRIT.—One of the most subtle
The enthronement of selfishness.characteristics of heathenism is the absence of a humanizing sympathy, that is, a sympathy which is not indifferent to human welfare. In its social relations and activities this broad and generous interest in the common good is known as public spirit. Selfishness is a deep and regnant law in non-Christian society. Even within the precincts of Christian civilization an interest in the general welfare sufficiently assertive to act as a practical stimulus to sacrifice and service is none too common, and is recognized as a very choice and noble quality in public and private life.2 Outside of Christendom "every man for himself" is the rule pretty much everywhere. The restraints and requirements of law remedy 1 "The invincible uncleanness of the people, joined to the fatalist's indifference to ordinary precautions against disease, is at the root of the cholera question. It is true that there might be no cholera at all in Egypt but for the ghastly sacrifice of thousands of animals during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The result is myriads of decomposing carcasses, which form the happy hunting-ground of the cholera microbe, whence he rises like a giant refreshed to open his campaign in all parts of
the world to which the Muslim Hajji returns, bringing his baccilline sheaves with him."— "The Cholera in Egypt," in The National Observer, June 6, 1896. 2 The Outlook, in a recent editorial on what it calls "The Crimes of Good Men," contains the following paragraph: "The source of nearly all the evils with which the lover of his country and his fellow-man must contend is the passive attitude of good men toward public affairs. Very good men frequently lack that sense of responsibiHty which ought to be the inheritance of all right-minded citizens of a republic. If every man were alive to his duty as a citizen, the political corruption of the present day would be impossible."
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the evil results of this spirit in some measure, but there are certain respects in which it is left wholly free, with no one to challenge its injurious tendencies. It is this heedless unconcern for the public good which makes nearly every street in the villages, larger towns, and cities of Asia under native, as distinguished from European rule, simply an elongated cesspool or a common dumping-ground of filth, breedin g disease and death. It is this universal spirit of "passing by on the other side" and refusing to recognize the obligations of neighborhood, much less of common humanity, which is the explanation of such absurd and shameful rascality as often characterizes the treatment of those who are in trouble in China. The Rev. Arthur Smith, in his "Chinese Characteristics," remarks : "Unwillingness to give help to others, unless there is some special reason for doing so, is a trait that runs through Chinese social relations in multifold manifestations. The general omission to do anything for the relief of the drowning strikes every foreigner in China." The same spirit is shown also, as he further remarks, "in a general callousness to the many cases of distress which are to be seen almost everywhere, especially along lines of travel. It is a common proverb that to be poor at home is not to be counted as poverty, but to be poor when on the highroad away from home will cost a man his life."1 A special chapter in "Chinese Characteristics" is entitled "The Absence of Public Spirit," in which many instances are given revealing the indifference to the common welfare which prevails in China.2 In 1 "It is in travelling in China that the absence of helpful kindness on the part of the people towards strangers is perhaps most conspicuous. When the summer rains have made all land-travel almost impossible, he whose circumstances make travel a necessity will find that 'heaven, earth, and man' are a threefold harmony in combination against him. No one will inform him that the road which he has taken will presently end in a quagmire. If you choose to drive into a morass, it is no business of the contiguous taxpayers. We have spoken of the neglect of Chinese highways. When the traveller has been plunged into one of the sloughs with which all such roads at certain seasons abound, and finds it impossible to extricate himself, a great crowd of persons will rapidly gather from somewhere, 'their hands in their sleeves, and idly gazing,' as the saying goes. It is not until a definite bargain has been made with them that any one of these bystanders, no matter how numerous, will lift a finger to help one in any particular. Not only so, but it is a constant practice on such occasions for the local rustics to dig deep pits in difficult places, with the express purpose of trapping the traveller, that he may be obliged to employ these same rustics to help the traveller out! When there is any doubt as to the road in such places, one might as well plunge forward, disregarding the cautions of those native to the spot, since one can never be sure that the directions given are not designed to hinder rather than help."—Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," pp. 208, 209. 2 Ibid., chap. xiii.
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the original edition of the book, published at
Laissez-faire the social law of China. Shanghai, is a chapter on "The Absence of Altruism," which has been omitted in the American edition. Its contents only emphasize the subject in hand. The tendencies of this same spirit are also manifested in the prevalent habit of trespass upon the rights of the weaker members of society by those who are strong. "The misery of the poor in China is their poverty and their inability to lift themselves out of it, since if they cannot do it themselves it will not be done at all." The North China Herald, a prominent journal published at Shanghai, in a recent editorial on the war with Japan, traces the weakness of China to the latter's regnant selfishness. Each individual, considering only his own interests, is indifferent as to what happens to his neighbors or his country. "Patriotism, national pride, esprit de corps," itremarks, "are all unknown, and, what is worse, undesired in the Celestial Empire. . . . The dynasty may be overthrown and. kings may come and kings may go, but so long as the Chinese official can continue to get hold of the dollar he is serenely indifferent to any crisis which may be convulsing the political world." The instinctive egoism of primitive savagery still pervades the barbaric life of the present day,1 and if public spirit is so slow in developing even in the atmosphere of the highest civilization, surely we cannot expect that it will ripen quickly and yield a generous harvest where the promptings of selfishness are so powerful and so free from restraint. 8. MUTUAL SUSPICION.—Social life involves
Confidence as social a tonic.such a web of personal
contact and interdependence, and is so based upon general confidence between man and man, that mutual suspicion, if it prevails to any extent, becomes a solvent of the very bonds which link society together. Public confidence is only another term for financial and industrial stability. Private confidence of man in man is the secret of contentment and security and an essential of social development. 1 "Selfishness is one of the most prominent characteristics of heathenism. The chiefs took the best things for themselves, and tabooed the common people from sharing in them. This extended even to good drinking-water. The sacred men and owners of certain parts of the beach tabooed the sea except to their own special friends. If the taboo was broken the transgressors had to pay the penalty by making a feast. When they could not agree in their disputes regarding ownership of fruit-trees, they cut them down, so that no one would receive any benefit from them. They took advantage of inland natives coming to take salt water from the sea for cooking purposes, and compelled them to pay for it."—Rev. William Gunn, M.D. (F. C. S.), Futuna, New Hebrides.
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Mutual suspicion begets timidity, and prevents that frank and free Interchange so necessary to prosperity and mutual helpfulness. Distrust is, however, one of the most universal sentiments which govern the intercourse of man with man in the heathen world. Men fear one another because they know one another, and they recognize the fact that there is ground for misgivings. The effect is depressing and paralyzing. Every one is alert, cautious, and on the defensive. The Chinese, for example, are especially suspicious; the Koreans are like them; and the Japanese, although not to the same extent, are yet wary and watchful. Some ulterior and secret motive of a dark and scheming, or at least a doubtful, character is usually taken for granted by Orientals in their dealings with one another. It is hard for them to believe in the simplicity and genuine disinterestedness of any one. Nothing is looked upon as square, upright, and open; it is more likely to be crooked, cunning, and deceitful, or at least to have some concealed design. The atmosphere is full of suspicions, which put a painful constraint upon social and personal relations, and add immensely to the difficulties of frank and friendly contact with one another. In China the officials are mutually distrustful,
Every man his own detective in China.perhaps with good reason, since each one either knows or suspects that the other is a rascal. The Tsung-li Yamen eye one another with caution and reserve, and they all look upon the foreigner with the most lively distrust. No mandarin can be seen with a foreigner, or accept his hospitality, without immediately falling under grave suspicion. Sinister designs and portentous conspiracies are always in the air, and it is this deep-rooted distrust and hatred which make the life of the foreigner so full of insecurity in China. The effect of this gnawing suspicion is especially manifest in Chinese domestic life and in all relations between the sexes.1 The real reason for any course of action is rarely accepted as the true one. 1 "There is no social life in China as we understand that term. Men do not trust the prudence, honesty, or virtue of women in general (though there is a great deal of genuine virtue among Chinese women), and women cannot trust men's truth or honor. Therefore there is no commingling of men and women, young or old, for social intercourse outside the family. In all their festivities, whether at weddings or other occasions, the men and women always feast in separate apartments and never meet one another during their stay. There are no concerts, lectures, or other entertainments, except the open-air theatres. Middle-aged and elderly women and little girls attend these freely, under proper escort, but the women are all seated by themselves on the outskirts of the crowd. Even in their religious associations men have their own societies and women have theirs, and these societies have nothing whatever in common, not even worshipping together in the temples."—Mrs. C. W. Mateer (P. B. F. M. N.), Tungchow, China.
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If another is not apparent, one must be invented. The Rev. Arthur Smith, writing upon "Mutual Suspicion" in "Chinese Characteristics" (chap, xxiv.), gives many illustrations to indicate the spirit of Chinese intercourse. They seek protection from one another, and are continually on guard lest they should be taken by surprise. The wondrous and mischievous character of Chinese gossip arises largely from the morbid intensity of their suspicions. Chinese family life is often clouded and irritated by this inveterate distrust. A stranger in a Chinese village gives occasion for the most lively solicitude as to who he is, what his business is, and what he purposes to do. If he arrives after dark he will often find that no one will come out of the house to meet or direct him. The effect of this temper in society is to render it exceedingly difficult to establish any new enterprise or undertake anything which is out of the ordinary line. Something dark and dreadful must be back of it all in the opinion of the wary Chinaman. In India it is exceedingly difficult for natives to coöperate with
The distrustful spirit of Oriental society.one another on account of mutual distrust.1 Even philanthropic effort is often misunderstood and viewed with suspicion. In Persia the rôle of deceit and venality has become so commonplace that the people have lost all confidence in one another.2 Among savages in the South Seas there is constant apprehension of evil designs on the part of some one. They live a life of disquietude, and the shadow of distrust clouds every relationship. Says Dr. Chalmers, in "Work and Adventure in New Guinea": "The state of fear of one another in which the savage lives is truly pitiful. To him every stranger seeks his life, and so does every other savage." In Africa it is difficult to convince a native that any one dies a natural death, so prevalent is the suspicion of evil designs. Poisoning is so much feared that the people are exceedingly loath to eat in one another's houses.3 Even the kings and chiefs are accustomed not to touch their food until either the one who has cooked it, or others appointed for the purpose, have partaken of it. It is not at all uncommon for one who gives food to another to eat part of it himself in order to prove that it contains nothing hurtful.4 The African Kaffir "breathes an atmosphere of suspicion and jealousy in which freedom cannot live."5 "We never trust one another," re- 1 The Indian Magazine and Review, March, 1896, p. 148. 2 Wilson, " Persian Life and Customs," p. 231. 3 Ingham, "Sierra Leone after a Hundred Years," p. 315. 4 Wilmot, "The Expansion of South Africa," p. 190. 5 Slowan, "The Story of Our Kaffrarian Mission," p. 24.
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marked one of the Hovas to a recent correspondent of The Times (London) in Madagascar, and the same statement might be made by a man of almost any Asiatic or African nationality. The social effect of these brooding misgivings is to make mutual intercourse reserved, constrained, and wary, while, on the other hand, frank and open confidence gives assurance, courage, and cheerfulness to men, and adds to the happiness and prosperity of society. 9. POVERTY.—The problem of poverty is an old one in the
The ceaseless struggle for survival.economic life of man. The struggle to live has been ceaseless. Slowly and surely man has added other resources to the ordinary products which nature supplies for his support, and has utilized her forces and cultivated her fructifying powers for his maintenance and comfort. The great difference between the abundant economic harvests of modern material civilization, so fruitful in provisions for human needs, and the pinched and meagre resources of early civilization, is due in large part to man's power over nature and his ability to subsidize her capabilities and extract her hidden wealth. The belated civilization of the non-Christian world is still in various stages of ignorance and incompetence as regards the mastery over nature and the intelligent use of her productive capacities. This is especially true so far as the modern industrial plant is concerned, and all those processes of developing and utilizing nature's generous resources which have been brought about by the inventive genius and the economic enterprise of modern times. This backward status is due not only to
The genesis of poverty.ignorance and the disabilities of primitive environment, but to the working of oppression and injustice, on the one hand, and, on the other, to the influence of prejudice, obstinacy, inertia, pride, incapacity, shiftlessness, the power of custom, and general heedlessness as to better modes of living. The result is that an awful status of poverty has weighted a large section of heathen society, and holds it prostrate in helpless and hopeless indigence. Dependence upon agricultural and pastoral resources, even if man escapes the ravages of war and pillage, is destined as population increases either to become a scant reliance or to fail altogether, so that the history of uncivilized man, and even of races with tolerably advanced methods, has been, and is still, often marked by a long and desperate struggle for livelihood or in many instances even for a meagre subsistence. Christianity as an agency for the teaching of saving moral
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principles, the production of a higher order and system in life, the cultivation of broader intelligence, the humanizing of law, the protection of property rights, the introduction of science, the establishment of philanthropy, the awakening of aspiration, the kindling of hope, and the heralding of a new and progressive era among uncivilized man, has a truly helpful mission in the material betterment of society. In cooperation with commerce, economic science, and modern industrial facilities, it will do much to mitigate the sorrows of poverty, and provide a remedy for the suffering and despair which penury produces among races where there is little or no relief from its grinding miseries. Where the struggle for the support of life is
The social import of poverty.intense and prolonged, yielding at best only a sustenance, and often only the daily bread necessary to sustain life, with now and then a temporary failure which threatens starvation, as is the case in China, and would be still in India were it not for governmental assistance, poverty becomes a social evil of portentous and gloomy import. It puts society into a state of distress and helplessness, in which life becomes a desperate and exhausting slavery to daily need. This struggle for existence may contain in an important sense the potency of evolutionary progress, but after it has gone on for centuries with little revelation of its power to alleviate and benefit, one longs for some outside help from a source which will give a new impetus to life, bring more hope and security, provide more sane and effective remedies, and lift the shadows of despair. This is one of the many reasons why the introduction of Christianity and modern civilization into China, and in fact throughout the non-Christian world, is a noble and beneficent undertaking. Once introduced there, it will become a saving power, as it has been in Christendom; not that it will at once banish poverty, but that it will provide many remedial forces and introduce many alleviating instrumentalities. It will at least give a helping hand to many who in their extremity are now without aid. It will tend also to break up that colossal system of pauperism which is incidental, more or less, to all false religious systems, and is so burdensome to the people, under the guise and sanction of priestly requirement, ceremonial obligation, or ascetic practice. Half the pauperism of the non-Christian world is religious, and a large section besides makes its plea in the name of religion, and so plays upon superstitious fears as to gain a ready hearing and impose large exactions. In this connection, however, we are not concerned so much with the explanation of this state of poverty as with the reality and extent of its existence and its social results.
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India is perhaps, more than other non-Christian
India's recurring misery.lands, the home of poverty. This is due to the immense population, which has increased for centuries within the fixed geographical limits of the peninsula, taxing its agricultural resources to the utmost. At the same time a burden of social and religious customs, far more expensive than the people can support, has rested upon them.1 The result of this twofold impoverishment has been the most grinding poverty among almost the entire rural population of India. If, as sometimes happens, the rains fail, and with them the harvests, the people are plunged into the extremities of famine. No more pathetic and dreadful .scenes of starvation have been witnessed than those which characterized some of the great famines of Indian history.2 Even as late as the famine of 1868-70 in Rajputana 1,250,000 people perished.3 A century or so ago there were famines which destroyed millions of the people.4 Mr. John Eliot, 1 "The Rev. C. B. Ward, of the American Methodist Episcopal Mission, has prepared a table of statistics showing some of the details and causes of the poverty prevailing among the working classes within the dominions of H. H. the Nizam of Hyderabad. These figures are the result of thirteen years of careful observation and diligent study of the subject in close contact with the people. These statistics
show, concerning the direct cost of heathenism per annum, that, out of every Rs 100 earned, Rs 36 go for heathen rites and bad or useless habits. If any one questions this, the figures can be produced. Is it a wonder that such a people is called poor?" —The Baptist Missionary Review (Madras), January, 1896, p. 38. 2 "There cannot be the slightest doubt that famines and epidemics were far more frequent and destructive in former centuries than at present. Allusions to terrible famines occur in ancient Hindu writings. The Ramayana mentions a severe and prolonged drought which occurred in Northern India. According to the Orissa legends, severe famines occurred between the years 1107 and 1143 A.D. The memory of a terrible twelve years' famine, 'Dvadasavarsha Panjam,' lives in tradition in Southern India. Duff, in his history of the Mahrattas, states that' in 1396 the dreadful famine, distinguished from all others by the name "Durga Devee," commenced in Maharashtra. It lasted, according to Hindu legends, for twelve years. At the end of that time the periodical rains returned; but whole districts were entirely depopulated, and a very scanty revenue was obtained from the territory between the Godavari and the Kistna for upwards of thirty years afterwards.' "—Raghavaiyangar, "The Progress of the Madras Presidency During the Last Forty Years," p. 4. For account of other famines, consult Ibid., pp. 6, 27, 31, 36, 42. 3 Robson, "The Story of the Rajputana Mission," p. 40. 4 "The following is an account of the famine in Bengal last century: " 'All through the hot season the people went on dying. The husbandmen sold their cattle; they sold their implements of agriculture; they devoured their seedgrain ; they sold their sons and daughters, till at length no buyer of children could be found; they ate the leaves of the trees and the grass of the field, and in June it was reported that the living were feeding on the dead. Two years after the dearth Warren Hastings made a progress through Bengal, and he states the loss to have been at least one third of the inhabitants, or probably about 10,000,000 of people. Nineteen years later, Lord Cornwallis reported that one third of Bengal was a jungle inhabited only by wild beasts.' " — "Pictorial Tour round India," pp. 33, 34.
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in a recently published volume on Indian Famines, states that there have been seventeen within one hundred and twenty-two years. The total mortality of these calamities, extending over centuries, is something appalling. In 1832-33, Madras, one of the districts affected, lost from 150,000 to 200,000 inhabitants out of a total population of 500,000. In 1837, in Upper India there were at least 800,000 victims. In 1860-61, in the Northwest Provinces and the Punjab, 500,000 human beings perished. In 1865-66, in Orissa alone 1,000,000 people died out of a total population of 3,000,000.1 These awful visitations have greatly increased the prevalence of leprosy throughout India. The Leprosy Commission in 1890-91 expressed the conviction that "the greater the poverty of a district, the more prone the latter is toward leprosy."2 It is also one of the causes of child labor, so detrimental at the tender age at which it is exacted by so many of the poor in India.3 The British Government has now established a
The beneficent efforts of the British Government.system of famine relief, or rather prevention, which makes past scenes of suffering no longer possible; but it cannot, of course, do more than save the people from extremities. As regards their condition of poverty, it is still distressing. The rule among the vast agricultural population of the Indian villages is that they live upon what is sufficient for sustenance, or little more. A careful estimate based upon the census shows that there are multitudes who have not more than from six to twelve rupees a year for support. The mean annual income of the people of India is from twenty to twenty-seven rupees, equivalent at the present rates of silver in India to about six to eight dollars.4 Among the resolutions offered and passed at the Indian National Congress of Madras, 1894, was one bearing upon the problem of poverty, introduced by Mr. Seymour Keay, M.P., in which it was urged that "this Congress, concurring in the views set forth in previous Congresses, affirms that fully 50,000,000 of the population, a number yearly increasing, are dragging out a miserable existence on the verge of starvation, and that 1 See The Literary Digest, December 7, 1895, "Famines in India." 2 "Report of the Leprosy Commission in India, 1890—91," p. 98. 3 Satthianadhan, "The History of Education in the Madras Presidency," p. 7. 4 "Report of the Tenth Indian National Congress, Held at Madras, 1894," p. 20.
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in every decade several millions actually perish by starvation; and humbly urges once more that immediate steps be taken to remedy this calamitous state of affairs."1 Sir William Hunter is authority for the statement that 40,000,000 (that is, about one sixth part of the population of India) go through life upon insufficient food.2 The address of Mr. Keay in support of the resolution is full of startling statements as to the deep social misery which Indian poverty inflicts upon the people. Dr. Uhl, in an account of a missionary tour in 1895, in which he visited one hundred and eight Indian villages, speaks of the poverty of the people as "a bondage killing the soul." The subject has been fully and ably treated in a very recent volume entitled "The Poverty Problem in India," by Prithwis Chandra Ray, published in Calcutta. He states substantially the same facts that have been given above. At the present time (November, 1896) a serious famine seems imminent in the Central and Northwest Provinces. The Government is already opening relief works, and with the greatly increased railway facilities of the country at its command, can with energy and promptitude do much to alleviate the distress. In the teeming Empire of China, with all its vast
Chinese poverty and its causes.natural resources, its extensive agricultural labors, the industry and frugality of its people, there is still a state of poverty widely prevalent, which threatens the immediate destruction of vast multitudes in case there is the slightest failure in ordinary production.3The Rev. Timothy Richard, of Shanghai, remarked at a public meeting in Peking, October 18, 1895, that "there has been deep poverty and intense suffering in China for years" ; and he estimates that "from three to four millions die every year of hunger." Instructive facts are also given by the same author in a powerful article on "China's Appalling Need of Reform."4 In the midst of their poverty, when distress deepens, no temporary financial 1 "Report of the Tenth Indian National Congress, Held at Madras, 1894," p. 47. 2 Ibid., p. 49. 3 "The awful poverty of this people is at the root of nearly all the evils with
which society is afflicted. This poverty is due in some small measure to the density of the population, and yet to no great extent, for China is not so overcrowded as some of the more prosperous parts of Europe. Neither is China poor because she is lacking in mineral wealth or agricultural products; for in these she is better furnished than any other country in the world, owing to the vast extent of her territory in a temperate zone. Her poverty is directly traceable to governmental weakness, to the oppression of her rulers, and to her lack of progress in education."—Rev. J. C. Ferguson (M. E. M. S.), Nanking, China. 4 Chinese Recorder, November, 1894; also published in "The China Mission Hand-Book," Shanghai, 1896, pp. 84-90.
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relief can be obtained, except at an exorbitant rate of interest, stated by Mr. Richard to be at least thirty per cent., and sometimes reaching one hundred per cent. He traces to the exigencies of poverty the recurring attempts at rebellion and the formation of so many secret societies. He refers to the fact that the name of Pharaoh is execrated because he threatened the extinction of two or three millions of the children of Israel, while in China "there is a greater number actually starved every year, and ten times that number exterminated every ten years." In an article by the Rev. A. G. Jones, of the English Baptist Mission, on "The Poverty of Shantung: Its Causes and Treatment," after referring to the poverty-stricken condition of the great mass of the population of that province, amounting in all to 30,000,000, the bearing of this fact upon their social status, and its influence as a hindrance to all progress, he proceeds to show that this status is in part due to the excessive proportion of economic expenditure necessary for the support of a Chinaman, as compared with that which obtains in Western nations. The rent of his land (the article refers especially to Shantung Province) is eight or nine per cent. on its value, as compared with three per cent, in Great Britain, France, and Germany. The money which he borrows on his land as security costs him about twenty-two per cent. annual interest, while in England it can be obtained at an annual interest of from four to five per cent. His land yields ordinarily about ten bushels of wheat an acre, or in the very best years about thirteen and a quarter, as compared with twenty-eight bushels to the acre in England. While recognizing the fact that natural causes have something to do with the existence of poverty, he considers that their influence is small as compared with other causes which are in large measure preventable.1 He names as chief among these ignorance, especially of the methods of industrial success, the hampering power of superstition, the prevalence of trickery and injustice, the extortions of the Government,1 especially the "squeezing" which results from the 1 "This province of course suffers from obviously natural and unpreventable
causes of poverty, the same as other provinces, such as drought, locusts, excessive rains, excessive wind, hail, and succession of bad harvests. Regarding this class of causes there is practically nothing to be said at this stage of things. The great poverty of the masses has causes, however, altogether different from these, and quite discernible. They are to be found in the intellectual, spiritual, and moral state of the Chinese, in their governmental system, and in their social constitution and principles." —The Rev. A. G. Jones (E. B. M. S.), in The Chinese Recorder, April, 1894, p. 187. 2 "The condition of the people in China, especially in the northern part, is wretched beyond description. Many of them seem to live all their lives in a state of semi-starvation. Several causes contribute and combine to produce this extreme poverty among the people; one of the most potent is the extortion of the rulers. Trade in many places would thrive and prosper, new forms of industry would spring up, and in course of time become productive of great wealth, were they allowed a natural growth; but these are all strangled in their infancy by the rapacious officials. These rulers become wonderfully expert in devising new methods of oppressing the people. Oh, the grinding poverty of the poor Chinese!"—Letter from the late Rev. J. A. Leyenberger (P. B. F. M. N.), Wei Hien, China.
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system of farming the taxes, the existence of bad roads, making distribution and exchange of commodities difficult, costly, and slow, cumbrous currency, and extortionate rates of interest, combined with antiquated appliances and slovenly management. An interesting aspect of the paper referred to treats of the bearing of missionary labors in their broader results as in a large and true sense remedial in their workings even in the realm of economic life.1 In his volume on "The Real Chinaman," Mr. Chester Holcombe
The sufferings of the poor in China.has a chapter on "The Poor in China," in which he remarks that the status of poverty there differs from that of Western lands in that it usually means "actual hunger and nakedness, if not starvation within sight." He describes in considerable detail the condition of the Chinese poor and the extent of their extremity.1 The Rev. Paul Bergen, of Chefoo, China, in a recent article refers to the distressing poverty of the people as one of the great difficulties of missionary work.3 The facts previously stated go far to explain the frequency and seriousness of Chinese famines. They may come either as the result of a flood or of a scant grain-supply, or may be produced by any one of many contingencies. "China's Sorrow" is the title of a chapter by Mr. R. S. Gundry in his recent volume on China. The reference is to the Yellow River and the fearful devastation of its floods. Mr. 1 The Chinese Recorder, April and May, 1894. 2 Holcombe, "The Real Chinaman," chap. xiv. 3 "Then the awful poverty of the people. No one can know what that means who has not delved and grubbed and worked his way into the inner life of the people, spending days and nights with them, and seeing repeatedly their common meals during seasons fat and lean. This is a bran-eating, not a flour-eating, people with which we have to do—a grass-eating and root-eating people. They live practically without meat. Should there be unhappy demise of cow or mule, dog or donkey, through accident or tuberculosis or general decrepitude, there is a neighborhood feast. They eat occasionally of wheat bread, buy a bit of pork, have a bowl of vegetables, a few ounces of salt fish, but just about as often as the ordinary American citizen indulges in terrapin or canvas-back ducks."—The Church at Home and Abroad, February, 1896, pp. 138, 139.
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Gundry's volume has instructive chapters on the progress and resources of China.1 These famines are so common that only great calamities attract attention and obtain notice.2 "Ten millions in one province of China," writes Dr. March, "perished for want of food and from diseases that follow in the wake of famine. A slight change in the rainfall for a single season will at any time strew the fields and pathways of the East with the skeletons of multitudes who die of want and of the pestilence which comes to glean in the fields where death has already gathered the harvest of millions of sheaves and left nothing but stubble behind."3 Even in ordinary times the desolations of an unheralded, almost unnoticed, famine attain the magnitude of a calamity. Poverty is the cause, no doubt, of the throngs of beggars who roam through China in their rags and filth and desperate wretchedness.4 Truly one of the social miseries of China is its poverty. In Korea, although there is widespread poverty,
Poverty in Korea and Japan.strange to state there is said to be no beggar class as in China, owing to the generous disposition of the people to aid one another. Korean hospitality is proverbial.5 These kindly customs open the door to grave abuses, and the well-to-do are forced into positions where they are obliged, whether willing or not, to help the improvident, who are not lacking, also, in a readiness to impose upon kindness. The causes of Korean poverty are stated by Mr. Hillier, the British Consul-General at Seoul, and are summarized in The Messenger of Shanghai.6 In Japan 1 Gundry, "China Present and Past," pp. 85-199. 2 "Famine refugees! But this is not a famine year? No, not a year of great
famine. But in China, where the great bulk of the population live from hand to mouth, and are dependent entirely upon the product of the soil, there are small famines every year."—Rev. Frederick W. Jackson (P. B. F. M. N.), formerly of Chefoo. 3 March, "Morning Light in Many Lands," p. 156. 4 "Oh, these beggars! In the merest kennels of straw huts, or under a slight
shelter of straw or bamboo, or just on the bare ground, they lay in their rags and wretchedness, men, women, and children, exhibiting open sores, maimed, deformed, and twisted limbs, footless and handless stumps, bleared and sightless eyeballs, whole limbs and faces one mass of corruption, a twisted arm hanging loose at the elbow and swinging around in sickening gyrations—in a word, one might almost say, every conceivable form of bodily misery and moral wretchedness. It was the Chamber of Horrors, rendered all the more awful and heart-sickening by the contrast with the clear blue sky, the bright sunshine, the everlasting hills towering above us, and the gentle, merry, musical little stream at our side."—Miss Augusta T. Graves
(P. B. F. M. S.), Hangchow, China, in The Missionary, February, 1895, pp. 82, 83. 5 The Korean Repository, September, 1895, p. 347; June, 1896, p. 253. 6 The causes of Korean poverty are succinctly stated by Mr. Hillier (British Consul-General), and are worth reproducing for the information of those who still wonder why it is that the opening of this long-closed country has produced such insignificant results. They are: first, want of native capital and the absence of substantial native merchants; second, the exactions of the officials and the burdens laid upon industry; and lastly, the lack of energy displayed by the producing and laboring classes, who feel that it is useless to produce more than is absolutely necessary for their daily wants, as any surplus they might acquire would be seized by the officials. When it is remembered that every officer in this country has to be bought, and that only members of the Nyang-ban, or patrician class, can hold any but the lowest posts, it is evident that no member of the trading class has even the inducement to amass money for buying himself an official position and so raising himself into the ranks of the aristocracy. Degrees of poverty, of course, exist, but it is doubtful whether any member of the trading class has a capital to his name which would meet the wants of the smallest shopkeeper at home, and it is a sine qua non with a Korean that he must receive an advance of money before he will undertake the execution of the most insignificant contract."—The Messenger (Shanghai), January, 1895, pp. 5, 6.
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the struggle for existence is strenuous, although poverty is hardly more general than in Western lands. A recent Japanese newspaper has called attention to the fact that suicide has greatly increased of late, as high as ten thousand cases a year having been reported. The same authority traces this fact to the greater intensity of the struggle for life, in view of the increased cost of living connected with the introduction of Western civilization. It is reported that the poor are becoming more numerous throughout Japan than was the case under the old régime. In Persia there is much pitiful destitution, while in poor Turkey, as the result of the cruel policy of the present Sultan, there is a reign of agony and despair which appeals to the charities of the world. In Africa the same story of poverty has been
The horrors of African famine.written large in the history of savage tribes, with the dire miseries of famine recurring at frequent intervals. The poor people seem to have been swept off by the thousands and tens of thousands, in circumstances of suffering which cannot be depicted. Even now there are the same ever-recurring experiences in different sections of the vast continent, as in Bechuanaland and Swaziland at the present moment. The terrible famine in Bondei and Usagara has only just ceased from its ravages, "A party of eight hundred natives," writes the Rev. Godfrey Dale, under date of April 14, 1895, "had started for the coast to seek food and work, but every one perished on the road."1 In the Pacific Islands, the West Indies, Mexico, and South America there is much extreme and hopeless poverty. 1 Central Africa, July, 1895, p. 107; The Church Missionary Intelligencer, April, 1895, pp. 276, 277.
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The result of our survey is only to confirm the saying of Christ, "Ye have the poor always with you," which is true of all lands, even those where wealth abounds and the best civilization which the world has yet known is found. The pertinence of placing this subject among, the social evils of the non-Christian world arises from the severity and extent of the poverty which exists, the misery it causes, the social depression it produces, and the pathetic appeal it makes for the introduction of such remedies as Christianity and civilization can offer to alleviate the sorrows of the poor. 10. THE TYRANNY OF CUSTOM.—Customs are conventional methods
An impersonal despot on an invincible throne.of living and acting according to established precedents, which have the power of habit and are generally recognized and observed throughout the community. These laws of life include social manners, political methods, economic habits, and religious observances. They exert their control not only in the sphere of practical living, but extend their influence to the realm of thought and feeling. They arise spontaneously, follow the leadings of instinct in their development, and become the accepted, cherished, often revered, rules and methods of social, civil, and religious habit. They control conduct with varying power. In some cases they rule with despotic sway; in others their demands may be somewhat relaxed. In all Oriental lands they exert a wide, exacting, and even fatalistic power. They wield the sceptre of arbitrary dominion over all life. They tyrannize with an imperious and resistless sway, and hold their supreme authority from one generation to another with undiminished rigor.1 They assume over the life and thought of the East a governing and proscriptive power which is most impressive in its mastery, so that they must be 1 "The authority of customs is found, in the first instance, in the feelings which they express and gratify. They are a spontaneous product of the feelings. They shortly, however, acquire an additional authority in the good order they establish, the interests they sustain, the calculable terms of action which they offer. They thus gather to themselves in a most imposing and imperious form all the motives and sentiments which unite men to one another. Any extensive dissolution of customs is a breaking down of the affinities by which men are bound to each other—is social chaos. "Customs are most potent with the ignorant. They in part take the place of those moral motives which bind together the more thoughtful. Men of the widest intelligence hold them in high consideration, but they do so because of the impossibility of supplying their place with the uncultivated. They act in the absence of higher motives. Boys are abjectly subject to the opinions and ways of their playmates. They secure no sufficient ground in reason from which to take up the labor of resistance. "Young men, journeymen, college students, show this disposition to submit to prevalent irrational customs. The governing sentiments of these little worlds rest on tradition. Their members oppose the unreasoned ways of the past to the better methods that are coming to prevail in the wider world which encloses them. Customs are thus the instinctive methods of restraint which overtake those otherwise ungovernable—an anticipation of reason and an organic substitute for its deficiencies."— Bascom, "Social Theory," pp. 33, 34.
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reckoned with as a mighty, conservative, and determining force in all efforts to introduce social changes or religious reforms. They exercise a function which seems to combine constitutional, legislative, judicial, and executive powers in one comprehensive control of all phases of life and all points of contact between man and man, and even between man and the material universe around him, or the Supreme Power above him. The East has so learned this lesson of reverence for and obedience to customs that those which are evil and detrimental have just as firm a hold upon men as those which are good and useful. An established custom becomes, therefore, the open sesame of every otherwise closed door. It is the arbiter of dispute; it gives the word of command; it pronounces a verdict from which there is no appeal; it surmounts difficulty and it settles destiny; it deals kindly with all who submit to its decree, but it subdues and crushes all who venture to call in question its wisdom or defy its authority. It is evident that a social force of such binding
The mysterious sway of custom.and decisive power may be of great benefit, or it may work untold injury. Unfortunately, in the non-Christian world custom is at many crucial points the greatest hindrance to social progress. It sanctions, establishes, and enforces that which is to the infinite injury of society, and has the power to oppose itself strenuously to all reform, and to stay the progress of all change for the better. The tyranny of custom is therefore a fact of immense social import. It weighs heavily against Christianity, against civilization, against all social reform and useful progress, and is usually bitterly hostile to the entrance of liberal views and enlightened methods, opposing with singular tenacity the establishment of more cleanly, refined, and in every respect sane standards of living. It is exceedingly difficult for those who are accustomed to Occidental independence of thought and action to realize the smiting and tyrannizing power of custom in the conservative, restricted social life of the East.1 1 Sir Richard Burton once spent two months with the King of Dahomey, and in conversation with Mr. James Anthony Froude spoke in favorable terms of the king as a benevolent and, on the whole, enlightened savage. Mr. Froude inquired why, if the king was so benevolent, did he not alter the customs. Burton looked at him in amazement and consternation, and said: "Alter the customs! Would you have the Archbishop of Canterbury alter the liturgy?" See Froude, "English Seamen of the Sixteenth Century," p. 37. "The evils which afflict heathen society are found established in those very customs and habits which are like chains of iron fast bound round the bodies of those who have blindly followed them for centuries."—Miss Emily H. Payne (A. B. M. U.), Pegu, Burma.
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It is especially difficult to understand the irrepressible sway of customs in themselves narrowing, retarding, dehumanizing, and detrimental in their tendencies. The giant system of caste in India is an illustration. The customs of child marriage, of enforced widowhood, of sati, of ascetic barbarities, of degrading superstitions, of inane ceremonies, and of many other objectionable features of Indian life, are all of a kind which one would think easy to overthrow when a better way was shown; but, on the contrary, the observance of the whole inflexible routine of custom is the very point of strenuous insistence. It is the breach, not the observance, of the custom which brings ignominy, sorrow, and social ostracism.1 So in the vast social organization of conservative China,
China's homage to established precedent.from the state functions of the Emperor to the binding of the tender feet of some child victim, this dominance of customs is manifest. They cluster around birth, marriage, and death; they determine the downsitting and uprising of all China; they regulate the eating, drinking, and visiting; they dictate domestic, social, commercial, industrial, political, and religious manners and observances. A Chinese must even be ill according to custom, and when he sins he must at least avoid the crowning and unpardonable impertinence of presuming to sin in some unusual way. Finally, when he dies custom seizes him in its iron grip, and he goes to his ancestors with the conventional funeral ceremonies which have been the torment and sorrow of the living for centuries. It would be impossible and altogether unnecessary to undertake to review in detail the innumerable predilections and practices which hold 1 'I am not without my apprehensions that many among you at the very sound of the word' custom' will consider it sinful even to enquire if the change should take place. There are others, again, who, though in their hearts they agree to the measure, have not the courage even to say that it should be adopted, only because it is opposed to the customs of their country. Oh, what a miserable state of things is this! Custom is the supreme ruler in this country; custom is the supreme instructor; the rule of custom is the paramount rule; the precept of custom is the paramount precept. What a mighty influence is thine, O custom! Inexpressible in words! With what absolute sway dost thou rule over thy votaries! Thou hast trampled upon the Sastras, triumphed over virtue, and crushed the power of discriminating right from wrong and good from evil."—Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, in a pamphlet on "The Marriage of Hindu Widows." "The grand characteristic of Hindu society is just its despotic character; its customs and ordinances are so rigid and unbending that no freedom is allowed to the individual. On every side he is hedged in by regulations and prescriptions, so that he can only walk in the narrow rut which these lay down for him. As a necessary consequence, the grand characteristic of the individual Hindu is his want of individuality—his want of a sense of personal responsibility and capability for independent thought and action. The family, the community, the whole social organism, is so prominent, so exacting, so absolute, that the individual in comparison is nothing."— Rev. William Stevenson (F. C. S.), formerly of Madras, India.
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sway in non-Christian society, to its detriment and degradation, since they have already occupied a large share of our attention in the present lecture. There are customs, to be sure, which are excellent and deserve to be perpetuated; but in many cases, usually where the tyranny is most exacting, they are a heritage of sorrow and misery, bringing with them burdens heavy to bear, and hindrances to progress difficult to overcome. What we are concerned to note just here is the tyrannical sway of their influence in society, their power to shut out the guiding light of truth and to stay the transforming entrance of a higher and nobler civilization. We shall have something to say elsewhere of missions as a power singularly effective in the gradual disintegration and final overthrow of the despotic authority of evil customs. II.CASTE.—The social system known as caste,
Caste versus social distinctions.a word supposed to be derived from casta, the Portuguese term for race, is so prominent and important a feature of Hindu society that its consideration fixes our attention almost exclusively upon India. Social distinctions have existed more or less among all races. They are found in classic and medieval society, where they are the outcome either of family rank or political station, or are based upon the grade and character of occupation. Trade guilds were known in the Roman Empire, and also in medieval Europe.1 Such social distinctions, if based upon qualities which deserve recognition and respect, are inevitable, and do not necessarily involve injustice, extinguish brotherhood, or destroy the natural and friendly intercourse of man with man. The peculiarity of the 1 Inge, "Society in Rome under the Cæsars." See chapter on "Grades of Society," pp. 119-171.
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Hindu system, however, is that it creates and insists upon mutually exclusive orders or ranks of humanity, involving an inexorable status of "repulsion between man and man," and that this conception is carried to an extreme which produces among the higher castes an estimate of the lower—and especially of all outcastes—which accords them a position hardly superior, if indeed equal, to that of the brutes. The whole system thus becomes simply an artificial and arbitrary device for exalting one social class and degrading another, upon the basis of purely imaginary distinctions so far as our common humanity is concerned. The origin of caste is involved in
The origin of caste and its social significance.some obscurity. It is the opinion of Dr. John Muir, a distinguished student of Sanscrit literature, and of Professor Max Müller, that in its remote origin it is based upon differences of race, color, and occupation. The fact that the vernacular names by which the caste system is known in the various languages of India are those which signify race, color, and occupation, and are usually fatalistic in their meaning, goes to support this view. While this may be the true view of the remoter origin, it seems certain that the caste system as developed in India is the creation of Hinduism at the hands of the Brahmans1 or their immediate predecessors known by the similar title of Rishas. It is thus a product of Brahmanical legislation, and in its developed form may be regarded as an evolution culminating in a giant system of ranks and orders, in which humanity is separated and labelled, and to each is given a fixed place in the social organism.2 These distinctions are, for the most 1 "The whole caste system as it has come down to us bears unmistakable evidence of Brahmanical origin." See "Madras Census Report for 1871," pp. 122, 123. 2 "Hinduism is a social organization and a religious confederacy. As a social organization it rests upon caste, with its roots deep down in the ethnical elements of the Indian people. As a religious confederacy it represents the coalition of the old Vedic faith of the Brahmans with Buddhism on the one hand, and with the ruder rites of the pre-Aryan and Indo-Scythic races on the other. "The ethnical basis of caste is disclosed in the twofold division of the people into the 'twice-born' Aryan castes, including the Brahmans, Kshattriyas (Rajputs), and Vaisyas ; and the 'once-born' non-Aryan Sudras. The Census proves that this classification remains the fundamental one to the present day. The three 'twice-born' castes still wear the sacred thread, and claim a joint, although an unequal, inheritance in the holy books of the Veda. The 'once-born' castes are still denied the sacred thread, and their initiation into the old religious literature of the Indo-Aryans has only been effected by the secular teaching of our Anglo-Indian schools. But while caste has thus its foundations deep in the distinctions of race, its superstructure is regulated by another system of division, based on the occupations of the people. The early classification of the people may be expressed either ethnically, as 'twice-born' Aryans and 'once-born' non-Aryans; or socially, as priests, warriors, husbandmen, and serfs. On these two principles of classification, according to race and to employment, still further modified by geographical position, has been built up the ethnical and social organization of Indian caste."—Sir W. W. Hunter, "The Indian Empire: Its Peoples, History, and Products," p. 241.
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part, based upon religious, military, literary, social, and industrial associations.1 It is therefore in its original conception a scheme of social and religious classification with a view to establishing and fixing once for all a system of inflexible allotment, which involves at one and the same time cohesion and separation, firmly uniting some members of the community, and rigorously excluding others. It provides for a perpetual system of social segregation, not only on the basis of heredity, but as a method of classified absorption of every foreign element which in future generations might become a part of the Indian social system through conquest or assimilation. No one can doubt that it was an inherent feature of the original conception to designate the supreme place in the social system to the Brahman, and regulate all the rest of society upon a sliding scale of relative inferiority to him, his rank being virtually divine in its superiority and dignity.2 This supremacy of the Brahman was not, however, actually secured without a severe struggle.3 It may be true, as Mr. Bhattacharya contends
Its evolution into a social monstrosity.in his "Hindu Castes and Sects" (an author to whom I would express my indebtedness for much valuable information upon this, to the ordinary lay intelligence, complex and inchoate subject), that the originators of the caste system were not, consciously at least, conspirators against the welfare and happiness of society, nor were they able to foresee the amazing and ramifying influence for evil which it was destined to exert. 1 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 139-149. 2 "The most remarkable feature in the mechanism of Hindu society is the high position occupied in it by the Brahmans. They not only claim almost divine honours as their birthright, but, generally speaking, the other classes, including the great Ksatriya princes and the rich Vaishya merchants, readily submit to their pretensions as a matter of course. A Brahman never bows his head to make a pranam to one who is not a Brahman. When saluted by a man of any other class, he only pronounces a benediction, saying, 'Victory be unto you.'... The more orthodox Sudras carry their veneration for the priestly class to such an extent that they will not cross the shadow of a Brahman, and it is not unusual for them to be under a vow not to eat any food in the morning before drinking Bipracharanamrita, i.e., water in which the toe of a Brahman has been dipped. On the other hand, the pride of the Brahmans is such that they do not bow to even the images of the gods worshipped in a Sudra's house by Brahman priests."—Bhattacharya, "Hindu Castes and Sects, pp. 19, 20. 3 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 150.
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In fact, this learned student, who has treated his theme with admirable system and clearness, is inclined to credit its authors with "large-hearted statesmanship" in designing such a facile instrumentality for keeping every one in his place in the social scale. He is, indeed, free to acknowledge that "the ambition that led the Hindu lawgivers to place their own class above the rest of mankind has no doubt an appearance of selfishness" (p. 5). He stoutly contends, however, that they were surely moved by a most benevolent and liberal spirit. Be this as it may, the truth remains that, both religiously and socially, the Brahman claims a monopoly of power and an eminence of position which have solidified into the most extravagant canonization, and even deification, of humanity as represented in his person, which history presents. Not only the substance, but even the very shadow, of the Brahman is sacred. As they were historically the authors of the developed system, so they have remained the most prominent representatives of the caste idea. They illustrate its tendency, and reveal in their characters and claims the ultimate results of its workings, which are seen in all other castes as well as in this supreme one. In its own place each caste is a typical product of the system, and in many respects presents hardly less marked evidence than that found in the Brahmans themselves of its powerful impress upon the social character.1 The system presents perhaps the most complete example of power over human will and action that can be found in the history of mankind, not excepting religion or governmental despotism. Religion, even though it has controlled the higher life and moulded the character and aims of men in accordance with moral standards, has never entered the details of human life and experience with such minute and peremptory decrees, and shaped it in all its minutiae with 1 Mr. Bhattacharya, in his volume already referred to, gives a detailed but well-systematized classification of Hindu castes and their formidable subdivisions and ramifications. A general idea of his presentation of the subject may be gathered from the following heads into which he divides his chapters : (1) "The Brahmans Generally"; (2) "The Brahmans of Northern India", (3) "The Brahmans of Southern India"; (4) "The Semi-Brahmanical Castes"; (5) "The Degraded Brahmans" ; (6) "The Military Castes"; (7) "The Scientific Castes" ; (8) " The Writer Castes" ; (9) " The Mercantile Castes"; (10) " The Artisan Castes Generally Recognized as Clean Sudras" ; (11) "The Manufacturing and Artisan Castes that are Regarded as Unclean Sudras"; (12) "The Clean Agricultural Castes"; (13) "The Cowherds and Shepherds" ; (14) "The Clean and the Unclean Castes Employed in Personal and Domestic Service"; (15) "Miscellaneous Castes." Under these various heads there is a large number of subdivisions and classifications, which reveal the intricate and interpenetrating relations of the system to Hindu society as a whole, from top to bottom.
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such an overshadowing mastery,
The overshadowing mastery of caste regulations.as has resulted from the inexorable and bewildering requirements of caste regulations. The influence of caste penetrates the innermost recesses of the spiritual life, and reaches to the uttermost bounds of outward conduct and habit, concerning itself with the most trivial as well as the most dignified aspects of daily experience.1 Sir M. Monier-Williams remarks: "It is difficult for us Europeans to understand how pride of caste as a divine ordinance interpenetrates the whole being of the Hindu. He looks upon caste as his veritable god, and thus caste rules, which we believe to be a hindrance to the acceptance of true religion, are to him the very essence of all religion. They influence his whole life and conduct." As it exists at the present day in India it is still as assertive in the lives of its devotees as it ever has been in the past, and over all other classes still towers the Brahman, who is regarded by the great mass of Hindus with a reverence which hardly differs from worship. By Brahman in this connection we do not refer to officiating priests, for, although the priestly caste is Brahmanical, the great mass of Brahmans are not priests, and in fact look down with considerable contempt upon the priestly class known as Pujari Brahmans. It is not the priestly office, but his birth- 1 A classic passage upon the regulative supremacy of caste in all its minute ramifications is found in the volume on "Indian Caste" from the pen of the Rev. Dr. Wilson. It is as follows: "It [caste] has for infancy, pupilage, and manhood its ordained methods of sucking, sipping, drinking, and eating; of washing, anointing; of clothing and ornamenting the body; of sitting, rising, reclining; of moving, visiting, travelling; of speaking, reading, listening, and reciting; and of meditating, singing, working, and fighting. It has its laws for social and religious rights, privileges, and occupations; for education, duty, religious service; for errors, sins, transgressions; for intercommunion, avoidance, and excommunication; for defilement and purification; for fines and other punishments. It unfolds the ways of committing what it calls sins, accumulating sin, and of putting away sin; of acquiring, dispensing, and losing merit. It treats of inheritance, conveyance, possession, and dispossession of property; and of bargains, gains, loss, and ruin. It deals with death, burial, and burning; and with commemoration, assistance, and injury after death. It interferes, in short, with all the relations and events of life, and with what precedes and follows, or what is supposed to precede and follow, life. It reigns supreme in the innumerable classes and divisions of the Hindus, whether they originate in family descent, in religious opinions, in civil or sacred occupations, or in local residence; and it professes to regulate all their interests, affairs, and relationships. Caste is the guiding principle of each of the classes and divisions of the Hindus viewed in their distinct and associated capacity. A caste is any of the classes or divisions of Hindu society. The authority of caste rests partly on written laws, partly on legendary fables and narratives, partly on the injunctions of instructors and priests, partly on custom and usage, and partly on the caprice and convenience of its votaries."—Quoted in Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 125, 126.
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right, which makes the Brahman.1 The proportion of Brahmans to the Hindu population may be roughly estimated as one twentieth, and they are separated into numerous divisions and subdivisions. "As a matter of fact," says Mr. Bhattacharya, "the divisions among the Brahmans are so numerous that it is exceedingly difficult, if not actually impossible, to frame an exhaustive and accurate list thereof" (p. 33). The number of separate castes is enormous, and difficult to determine with precision. The "Madras Census Report for 1881" contained 19,044 caste names, and Sir William Hunter states that there are "not fewer than 3000 of them which have separate names, and which regard themselves as separate classes."2 One of the most terrible counts against the system is that it belittles moral distinctions, while it exalts other tests of character and conduct of no moral significance.3 The social evil of the caste system is the aspect of the subject which
What can be said in its defense?calls for notice here. As a matter of course, caste is admired and defended by the great mass of Hindus, and, strange to say, even some English officials in India have defended it as facilitating the exercise of authority by foreign government, and would therefore sustain and foster it as a political convenience.4 The substance of what has been said in its advocacy may be summed up as follows: First, it insures a certain degree of excellence in labor by virtue of its assignment of the sphere of toil to successive generations. Second, it affords some measure of protection by uniting classes with similar interests and bound to help one another. Third, it promotes to some extent cleanliness by its regulations concerning the care of utensils, bathing, etc. 1 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 159, 160. 2 Hunter, "A Brief History of the Indian Peoples," p. 97. 3 "Caste carries out its own childish rules and laws with Draconian severity, while it disregards the greatest crimes. A man may be guilty of dakoity and murder; this does not affect his caste; but let him take a glass of water from a European, and caste is immediately destroyed. 'Other religions,' it has been remarked, 'may be seated in the mind and soul; but the stronghold of Hinduism is the stomach.' The most important distinctions between right and wrong are obliterated by caste."—Dr. J. Murdoch, essay on "Moral Courage," pp. 45, 46, in Papers on Indian Social Reform. 4 Sir Lepel Griffin has written of this aspect of the question as follows: " If England continues to rule with justice, moderation, and impartiality, with clean hands and an honest and eager desire to work for the good of the people, there is no fear that the Hindus will ever turn against her. And the explanation of this security is chiefly to be found in caste, which, by depriving the people of ambition, has left each man content with his position in life."—"Caste," p, 21, Papers on Indian Social Reform.
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Fourth, it promotes respect for authority. Fifth, it puts certain restraints upon immorality by confining it within caste lines.1 After all has been said, however, in its favor,
The counts in a great indictment.an overwhelming indictment can be brought against it as involving enormous disadvantages and disabilities to Hindu society. We condense
again, from Papers on Indian Social Reform, the following summary: First, it is productive of physical degeneracy in that it involves the intermarriage of near relatives, and is mainly responsible for early marriages. Second, it is one source of India's poverty, since it places restrictions on foreign intercourse, and makes professions hereditary and labor degrading. Third, it hinders intellectual progress, since it frowns upon general education. Fourth, it is antagonistic to social reform, and rights fiercely for the continuance of every social evil which burdens and crushes Indian society. Fifth, it destroys individual liberty, since it places inexorable disabilities upon its victims. Sixth, it hinders the growth of national sentiment, since it elevates caste above the idea of nationality. It is, in fact, an expedient for ruling out national unity, so that " 'a nation divided against itself' is the proper description of the Hindu race." This, it will be noted, is the very argument used by Sir Lepel Griffin in advocacy of caste as facilitating foreign dominion. Seventh, it creates discord among different classes of society, and has been in the past the fruitful cause of dissensions and quarrels. Eighth, it hardens the heart against human suffering, since the alleviation of suffering can never be attempted in violation of caste regulations.2 1 This statement of what can be said in favor of caste is taken from the paper on "Caste," issued in Papers on Indian Social Reform, Madras, 1893. 2 "As regards the moral influence of caste upon the Hindu nation," says
Vaughan, "it is impossible to denounce the caste system too strongly. Its tendency has been to eradicate human sympathies, to annihilate compassion, to make the heart hard, harsh, and selfish. No one who has not lived in India can understand to what an extent this hardening of the hearts of the Indian people has gone. No people in the world have a stronger sense of family ties than the Hindus. A friendly regard for the wider circle of kinship may be remarked. This goes so far as a respectful acknowledgment of all the members of one's own caste. But anything like an active and general thought of beneficence even towards his caste brethren is not to be thought of. Certainly, outside the caste, the weal or woe of his fellow-men makes no impression on him. We have repeatedly observed along the great pilgrim routes illustrations of this sad truth. We have seen poor creatures lying on the road seized with illness. Hundreds of their co-religionists passed and took no more notice of them than they would of a dying dog. We have heard the poor parched sufferers, with folded hands and earnest voice, pray for a drop of water to moisten their lips, but all in vain. Thus hundreds die uncared for, without sympathy, without help. Probably before death has done its work the vultures and the jackals begin theirs, and so the roads which lead to the holy places are lined with rows of white bones and bleached skulls. Whence this more than brutal hardening? What has dried up all the fountains of human sympathy? It is caste."—Quoted in Warneck, "Modern Missions and Culture," p. 368.
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Ninth, it consigns to hopeless degradation nearly the entire human race, and even assigns to a large section of mankind a rank lower than the brutes. Tenth, it fills certain classes with unspeakable arrogance and pride. The most consummate illustration of conceit in the world is the Brahman. Eleventh, it identifies religion with outward ceremony, and degrades moral standards to the level of external forms and customs. The offenses against caste are confined to such things as eating, drinking, and marrying contrary to rule, or neglecting some of the multiplied regulations of caste behavior. Caste pollution becomes the merest fiction, while moral uncleanness and gross crime are passed over with little, if any, notice. Twelfth, the whole system is based upon false conceptions of the Deity, and its most intense contentions have no basis whatever in truth. Thirteenth, it is in defiance of human rights and all strict justice between man and man. Its arbitrary divisions of sacred and common, clean and unclean, holy and unholy, noble and ignoble, have become crystallized into a regnant system which is despotic to the last degree. A striking commentary upon the whole system is the lamentable,
The ostracism of the Pariahs.almost hopeless, social degradation of the Pariahs, a low caste section of Indian population. An admirable résumé of the their state is given by the Rev. L. L. Uhl, Ph.D., of the American Lutheran Mission, Guntur, in a paper presented at the Bombay Conference of 1892-93, and published on page 550 of its report. The picture he draws is one of crushing social ostracism, of terrible restrictions in everything that concerns their hygienic, physical, intellectual, and moral welfare. The strenuousness of this social excommunication seems to vary somewhat in different sections of India. It prevails in the Native States more than in British India, and among them none is more caste-ridden than Travancore,1 in the southwesterly extremity of the penin- 1 "In Travancore they [Pariahs] are not allowed to pass along the public streets, and even in the city of Madras there is a street at the entrance to which there is a notice forbidding Pariahs to pass that way. They are not permitted to draw water from the village wells, and in many cases suffer severely from this prohibition. I have known places where they have been obliged to content themselves with mud degenerated from a foul hole, though there was an abundant supply of good water within easy reach. Except in a few very exceptional cases, they are not permitted to live in the main village, but occupy huts outside the village boundary. Although English law seeks to treat all classes alike, owing to the prejudices of the subordinate officials, who are Hindus, Pariahs are, as a rule, prevented from entering hospitals, courts, post-offices, and similar public buildings. Every attempt on the part of people belonging to these stations in life to improve their position calls forth the bitterest opposition of the higher classes."—Rev. W. Howard Campbell (L. M. S.), Cuddapah, Madras, India.
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sula. Brahmanism reigns there with its most extravagant pretensions. Mrs. Murray Mitchell, in a volume entitled "In Southern India," refers to Brahmanism as found in that section as follows: "Caste is intensely and exceptionally strong, and, as elsewhere, stands in the way of all progress. The degradation of the low castes, consequent on the absurd and oppressive laws of caste, is terrible here, and hardly to be believed. For example, no native Christian, however educated and intelligent, nor any person of low caste, can obtain employment in a public office, for fear of polluting those officials who may be of higher caste. Then the school difficulties are endless. The children of some of the inferior castes dare not even approach a school where higher-caste lads are taught. The disabilities are inconceivable and so are the injustice and inequality of the laws. Women, too, are degraded to a degree one hardly finds equalled in these days of reform in any other part of India. It is terrible to look at some of the poor, miserable-looking creatures, with hardly any clothing and no sense even of decency."1 A consensus of influential opinion as to the
Some representative opinions on caste.evils of caste by both foreign and native students of Indian history and society might be given at considerable length. Some of the most distinguished and intelligent natives of India have had the courage—and it has required great moral heroism—to renounce caste, and in some instances eminent Indians have done valiant service in seeking to deliver their countrymen from its stupendous bondage. Among them may be mentioned the late Rev. Dr. Krishna Mohun Banerjea, Pandit Bishan Narayan Dar, Raja Rammohun Roy, Keshub Chunder Sen, Sasipada Banerjee, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Raja Sir Tanjore Madhava Row, Protab Chunder Mozumdar, Pandit Shiva Nath Sastri, and Mr. Behramji M. Malabari, the accomplished editor of The Indian Spectator, 1 Quoted in Bailey, "A Glimpse at the Indian Mission Field and Leper Asylums" pp. 33, 34. Cf. also "The Condition of the Pariah Outcastes in India," by the Rev. James Johnston, in The Missionary Review of the World, April, 1895, P- 276; The Baptist Missionary Review (India), February, 1895, p. 56; March, 1895, p. 97; and "The Wrongs of the Pariah," by the Rev. George Patterson, in Work and Workers in the Mission Field, June, 1892, p. 70.
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who, although born a Parsi, had a Hindu mother and knew the system through and through. In the sketch of his life and times by Mr. R. P. Karkaria an instance is given (p. 116) of what it means for a Hindu to break caste.1 Other names might be given, and several of the native papers of India might be designated which have done excellent service in this direction, although edited by Hindus. As viewed from a missionary standpoint,
An indefensible and formidable barrier to social progress.the present workings of caste in Hindu society must be regarded as a social evil of immensely depressing and paralyzing power.2 Missionaries are not alone in this opinion, as learned students, such as Sir M. Monier-Williams and Professor Max Müller, have expressed most emphatic judgments as to the indefensible pretensions and terrible social evils of caste. Anglo-Indian officials of distinction have also united in this verdict. In the "Madras Census Report for 1871" Dr. Cornish, in an "Introduction on Caste," expresses it as his conclusion that it "is now the greatest bar to the advance of the Indian people in civilization and aptitude for self-government."3 In agreement with this is the judgment of Sir 1 " The complex machinery of caste, which unites Hindus and holds them as in a dead man's embrace, is set against them. The horrors of excommunication hang constantly over their heads. The social reformer's task is thus of a most trying nature. Many a stout heart has been broken under the strain of persecution. A man may not care for himself; he may in his own person defy any persecution, however bitter; but when his whole family is condemned along with him, and severed from all intercourse with the society around them,—when for his zeal his near and dear ones are made to suffer with him,—nothing short of heroism can bear him up. It is unreasonable to expect such heroism from many. Karsandas Mulji, a Hindu of Gujarat, showed such courage in the last generation, and for a long time defied caste and superstition. But he too had to yield at last. His last days were embittered by the helpless state to which his family had been reduced. He died in grief and solitude. Caste had proved too strong for his individual efforts. His family could not defy it. They retracted, and underwent a humiliating penance in order to be taken back into the fold of their caste. Superstition and bigotry thus triumphed." — Karkaria, "India: Forty Years of Progress and Reform," p. 116. 2 "Undoubtedly caste is the first and greatest social evil in this section of India."—Rev. D. Downie, D.D. (A. B. M. U.), Nellore, India. "The system amounts to a stupid, selfish, proud, stagnant, degrading tyranny, difficult for us to conceive."—Rev. Robert Morrison (P. B. F. M. N.), Lahore, India. "Caste is one of the greatest evils that are to be found in Hindu society. It separates man from man, fosters pride on the one hand and envy on the other, and effectually destroys individuality by bringing all classes under the yoke of a multitude of minute and vexatious formuke."—Rev. W. Howard Campbell (L. M. S.), Cuddapah, Madras, India. 3 "Madras Census Report, 1871," p. 130.
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Henry Maine that caste is "the most disastrous and blighting of all human institutions." There is evidently a hard fight, in fact a social convulsion, which must come in connection with the break-up of this tremendous system. Its solidarity is something which no mere words can describe.1 It will be one of the most signal triumphs of Christianity over human ignorance, superstition, pride, and stout-hearted defiance when it shall finally make a successful breach in these massive ramparts. The disciples of caste are no doubt aware that their system can never assimilate modern civilization, and can never coalesce with the spirit of the Gospel. It is now the policy of Christian missions not to recognize caste in the Church. In some sections of India, especially in the Native States,
The effort to fix cast disabilities upon native Christians.the position of native Christians is one of difficulty, and characterized by many unjust disabilities. They are even regarded as outcastes, and have been visited with some of the ignominy and ostracism which are common in the case of non-caste people. Their property rights have been declared as forfeited in the Province of Mysore.2 There is serious interference with the custody of children, prohibition of the use of public wells, and other minor annoyances. The Bangalore Native Christian Association has presented an address to the Lord Bishop of Madras, recounting the objectionable features of this situation, and in view of the fact that there are 30,000 Christians in the Province of Mysore, its members requested his aid to secure the removal of these 1 "We conceive that so peculiarly tenacious is the caste cement which binds the courses of its social masonry that the dislodgment of individual stones does nothing to impair the structural integrity of the edifice. The wall of its circumvallation is massive and smooth, and the separation of a fragment from its face is imperceptible in the solidity of the whole. The breach seems to close again of itself, and the defenses, instead of crumbling, seem only the more indurated by their slight and temporary disturbance."—The Church Missionary Intelligencer, July, 1893, p. 500. 2 "A convert to Christianity in Mysore has no rights at all. Act XXI. of 1850,
which confers rights of property on converts in British India, is not in force in Mysore, and consequently a convert cannot claim any share of the family property. If he had by his own earnings brought a large amount of property to the family, he would not be able to claim it in case he changed his creed. The Courts of Mysore would declare that he was patita (fallen from caste), and therefore entitled to no consideration whatever. The embracing of Christianity would make a rich man poor, and deprive the poor of the little he possessed; and the Mysore Courts would not interfere to redress the wrong." See paper on "The Position and Disabilities of Native Christians in the Province of Mysore," by the Rev. H. Gulliford, presented to the Bangalore Native Christian Association, October 9, 1895, and subsequently published as a supplement to The Christian Patriot of Madras.
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disabilities. A similar movement is in operation for the Native State of Travancore, where the situation is still more trying.1 The overshadowing import of caste as found
Milder forms of cast spirit in other lands.in India seems to render it a comparatively insignificant matter in other lands. It is, indeed, not found in China2 or Japan, although the old feudal distinctions were nearly as pronounced as caste classification in India. A powerful class spirit, however, is still found in Japanese society, but perhaps not more so than elsewhere.3 It is not found at all in Siam,4 although it prevails in all its intensity just north in Assam. We have mild phases of it in Korea, chiefly in connection with trade distinctions, for example, the butchers as a class were obliged to observe certain restrictions, which, however, have recently been abolished, largely through Christian influence, by official action of the Korean Government. In some of the South Sea Islands there is a strong caste feeling,5 and in certain sections of Africa it is quite pronounced, as in Dahomey and Bechuanaland.6 1 See editorial on "The Disabilities of Native Christians in the Travancore State," in The Christian Patriot, Madras, November 21, 1895. 2 "Caste, in the Indian sense of the word, is not found here."—Rev. Jonathan Lees (L. M. S.), Tientsin, North China. 3 "Class spirit once existed in Japan, and with great power. It certainly still
exists in a modified form. It cannot be said that the Japanese, even in the Christian Church, are wholly above the influence of the once powerful class spirit. But the manifestations of this spirit here are so seldom and so meagre compared with former times that the Japanese would themselves be almost ready to say that it does not exist. Christian civilization is a leveller, and this phase of the influence of Christianity upon Japan is specially prevalent. The once despised merchant and mechanic classes are rising in power, and are becoming more and more respected by the literary and social classes. The class distinctions that begin to prevail are those which come naturally to society in any land."—Rev. David S. Spencer (M. E. M. S.), Nagoya, Japan.
4 "There is no caste, and the separation between the two extremes of society is not so marked as in Christian lands to-day."—Rev. Daniel McGilvary (P. B. F. M. N.),
Chieng Mai, Laos. 5 "In the northern part of the New Hebrides Group the system of caste has as firm a hold upon the natives as it has in India. They belong to different castes according to rank. The women and children are outside the pale of caste."—Rev. William Gunn (F. C. S.), Futuna, New Hebrides.
6 Illustrated Africa, June, 1895, p. 9; Work and Workers in the Mission Field, February, 1893, p. 63.
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V.—THE NATIONAL GROUP (Evils which afflict society through the misuse of the governing power) Government is a fundamental and universal necessity to the prosperity and efficiency of the social organism. In its rudimentary as well as its more perfected forms it has been an inevitable
The dignity of the State, and the perils of power.feature of associate life through all history. No one form of government, patriarchal, tribal, monarchical, oligarchical, or even constitutional, can claim exclusive excellence or pose as the only possible system which can secure the common welfare. Good or bad rule does not depend so much on the form as on the spirit and method with which government is conducted. Any system may be abused or become the instrument of tyranny, although it is no doubt true that an immensely preponderating danger in this respect attends all forms of personal as distinguished from constitutional authority, since the balancing restraint of recognized responsibility is far more imperfectly realized in the exercise of personal than of constitutional power. The great and legitimate function of government is to secure and conserve the rights of subjects, while ministering to the good order, prosperity, liberty, and higher welfare of society. It has upon occasion the further duty of protecting its authority and its geographical domain from aggression, that it may preserve its title to independent existence. The State has a right to be as an essential condition of social order and safety. It is in reality the necessary outgrowth of the family, and as the family is divine in its origin, so the State is both established and sanctioned by God as the enlargement of family life.1 It is the evolution of primitive patriarchal and family relationships. In this sense "the powers that be are ordained of God" for the benefit of the larger life of man. The history of the world, however, shows what fearful misuse has been made of the governing power. The record of what the world has suffered from bad government is indeed a dark and melancholy chapter in human annals.2 The good of the people has been often heedlessly 1 " The original State was a family. Historically the State of to-day may be
regarded as in an important sense only an enlarged family: State is family writ large."—Woodrow Wilson, "The State," p. 3. 2 On misgovernment under the Roman emperors, especially Diocletian, see extract from Lactantius, in "Selections from Early Writers," by Henry Melville Gwatkin, p. 151.
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forgotten or purposely ignored, while the arbitrary will or personal ambition of the sovereign has become the guiding impulse of government. The fact that the common welfare puts under certain restraints not only the personal desires and projects of the individual subject, but also the will of the ruler, has been a principle all too frequently ignored by those possessing despotic power. In most instances the rulers of heathen history of all ranks and grades have looked upon government as simply a process of self-aggrandizement and exaltation at the expense of those who were subject to their authority. The most prominent conception of sovereignty in action which has occupied the minds and controlled the policy of rulers in the past history of the world, and which still prevails in non-Christian lands, is that it is the most available method for wresting from others the rights and liberties to which they are entitled by every law of justice and honesty. The temptations of power are almost resistless, and in illustration of this we need not travel far from even a civilized environment. If we are to believe much of what is reported in the colonial history of civilized governments, not to speak of the contemporary annals of Spanish rule or of European administration in the Congo Free State under Belgian rule or of German administration in certain sections of Africa, we have still available, even at the present moment, striking examples of how easily men of European lineage can yield themselves to the gross and cruel misuse of official authority. The history of heathenism is, as a rule, marked by despotism. The old Oriental empires and their modern successors are alike in this respect. Savage life has been almost invariably characterized by tyranny on the part of rulers. The non-Christian world at the present day is still to a great extent in the toils of irresponsible power. In some sections there has been great and promising improvement within even a half-century, as, for example, in India, Japan, and the European colonies and protectorates established in various parts of the world. In this connection, however, as we have intimated, some large reservations are no doubt necessary, but they are happily the exception rather than the rule. Under this general group we shall present a few specifications. 1. CIVIL TYRANNY.—The different phases of misgovernment are often so allied in principle and practice that it is difficult to deal with the subject under specific headings without the appearance of overlapping and repeating. This is, in fact, just what happens in the executive policy of despotic rulers, who usually improve every opportunity
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for misusing their power, with no scruples as to method. Some apparent confusion is therefore likely to be incidental to any attempt to expose the complex and intermingled phases of their misrule. By civil tyranny we refer more especially to the arbitrary use of power in trampling upon civil rights and reducing a citizen and subject to the position of a tool and a slave. It is illustrated in making the will of the ruler to be law, and the personal and civil rights of the subject to be non-existent whenever it suits the purpose of the governing power to ignore or violate them. This principle of despotism may be found not only in the ways of kings and superior officials, but in the methods of underlings and petty officers, in some instances with exceptional severity. The position of the helpless subjects, or rather victims,
Civil tyrany in Turkey.of some of the Oriental governments at the present hour would be pronounced absolutely intolerable if there were any remedy available. The attention of the world just now is fixed upon the status in the Turkish Empire under the rule of pashadom. This has been for ages little else than organized brigandage in the name of government. Political rule there is simply martial law under the guise of government in the hands of a ruling caste, whose object is not to protect and defend civil rights, but rather to use positions of authority for purposes of self-aggrandizement, at the expense, when necessary, of every principle of liberty, justice, and law.1 Now and then the slow, inconspicuous, grinding movement of the machinery of misrule loses its self-restraint, and begins to throb with passion and whirl with the propulsion of some unusual excitement, which results either in a massacre or in some extraordinary expedient of wholesale and peremptory blackmail. Just at present there is an acute and virulent outbreak of the passions of misrule, but the spirit which has now come to blows and deeds of blood and cruelty has all along been revealing its tendencies, until maladministration may be said to be the chronic curse of Turkey. A few words from a resident missionary of the empire, written before the recent massacres, reveal the existence of potential extermination as a political programme before the policy was actually put into execution.2 Pub- 1 In the index to Dwight's "Turkish Life in War Times," under the heading "Administrative Anomalies," is given a suggestive list of the eccentricities of Otto man maladministration. 2 "It would be out of place at the present time and in my position to enter upon a tirade against the powers that be, civil and religious, but I may remark in passing that there is much under the well-gilded surface which, if thoroughly exposed, would surprise and shock the common sense and decency of the world. The wildest dreams of a Malthus or a Machiavelli are commonplace in comparison with the schemes which have been calmly contemplated and discussed by different classes of the inhabitants of this land, for the purpose of reducing the numbers of those who do not fall in with the requirements of their own systems. How far these schemes have been, or are likely to be, carried into effect, is a question which may properly be referred to history for a reply."—Rev. Edward Riggs (A. B. C. F. M.), Marsovan, Turkey. Cf. also English Blue Book, Turkey, No. 3, 1896, entitled " Correspondence Relating to the Asiatic Provinces of Turkey, 1892-93"; "The Armenian Crisis in Turkey," by Frederick Davis Greene, chap, iii., on "The Chronic Condition of Armenia and Kurdistan"; "Report of the London Conference, 1888," vol. i., pp. 23-27, Address of the Rev. G. E. Post, M.D.; "Transcaucasia and Ararat," by James Bryce, fourth ed., with supplementary chapter on Armenia.
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lic opinion and the influence of the native press are entirely inoperative, being wholly subservient to the fierce power of despotic authority. A volume might be written upon this one subject of Turkish misrule. Would that some Dante of contemporary literature might present it in its realistic hideousness! although we fear no touch of art could sufficiently relieve the revolting ghastliness of this hell upon earth to save the reader from a shuddering misery in its perusal. Persia is perhaps less desperately bad than Turkey; yet the government of the shahs is despotic, and in the case of non-Moslems is often guilty of gross injustice.1 All Central Asia knows only the methods of tyranny. In China the entire government is conducted
Methods of extortion in China.on the principle that authority and power include the opportunity of mulcting the people; and not only the people, but even inferior officials, in accordance with the theory of responsibility which prevails there, are often the capegoats and victims of higher officials whenever occasion admits. Extortion is the rule. Every one in power searches for his victims, and the higher the official the larger must be his ill-gotten gains.2 It is customary not only to arraign the guilty party, but to count his relatives, his neighbors, and even his village, responsible for his misdoings.3 This simply enlarges the area for prosecuting, and practically destroys the principle of personal responsibility.4 Not only is extortion one of the manifest results of this system, but it affords an almost unlimited opportunity for the indefinite imprisonment of both the innocent and the guilty without any attempt to discriminate between them.5 It sometimes happens that prisoners are kept for years 1 Browne, "A Year amongst the Persians," pp. 107, 108. 2 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., pp. 474-482. 3 Ibid., p. 480. 4 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 235. 5 Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 88-91.
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in painful confinement without any effort at trial. "The most common complaint of the Chinese," writes Dr. Graves in "Forty Years in China," "except, perhaps, the ever-present cry of hard times so common in every land, is the injustice of the Courts. They have no confidence either in the integrity of their mandarins or the possibility of obtaining justice at their hands" (p. 104). Is it strange that revolution is a frequent incident in China? The Government becomes so intolerable that a change must be secured at any cost. As regards Korea, its Government has been pronounced
Civil administration in Korea and Japan.by a native Korean to be "a combination of a despotic monarchy and a corrupted oligarchy, with the worst elements of both. The sole design and purpose of the whole machinery is to promote the interest of the fewest possible at the cost of the nation. Most stringent measures have been adopted to impoverish the mind, enslave the spirit, repress the ambition, and discourage the progress of the people, for no other reason than to enable a few to enjoy power and wealth."1 The testimony of a resident missionary confirms this verdict.2 In Japan the old order, which was characterized by grievous defects,3 has been superseded by immense changes in the direction of civilization and reform, yet no nation, however receptive and aspiring, can hope to reverse at once the traditions and customs of ages. While the civiliza 1The Messenger (Shanghai), November, 1894, p. 162. 2 Korea has known nothing but civil oppression for years. There has not
been even a show of justice. A custom which has grown in the last quarter-century will illustrate this. Suppose a dissolute or rascally member of a family having wealthy connections contracts debts, his whole family (even distant connections) are held responsible for the payment of the same. An official desiring to extort
money will (possibly by conspiracy with the rascal) loan money to one who there upon absconds or loses the money in fraudulent investments. Then the process of securing this money from the man's relatives is begun, and these are all compelled to pay to the official whatever he may demand. Failure to do so subjects them to
imprisonment, torture, or death. I knew a case where a distant kinsman by marriage, who had never seen his fraudulent relative, and had never had any business relations with him, was thus compelled to help to pay his debts. The officials and all their underlings (of whom there are ten or one hundred times as many as there is
need for) live by plunder. In this city last winter a lad in the country was reported to have found a treasure in a field. On the basis of this rumor he was arrested by the underlings of an official here, and tortured in the hope of making him surrender the reported treasure. He was beaten so cruelly that death resulted. The officials and underlings are simply a band of conspirators ruling in order to rob the people. To fall into the clutches of the law on a true or false charge means release only upon payment of money."—Rev. S. A. Moffett (P. B. F. M. N.), Pyeng Yang, Korea. 3 Griffis, "The Religions of Japan," pp. 359-363.
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tion of Japan as a whole may be said to be still under the sway of its old pagan ideals, yet the presence of the spirit of reform and its extraordinary activity give promise of the speedy and permanent enthronement of the essential principles of civil and religious liberty in that empire.1 Japan is truly indebted to a few ardent and patriotic spirits who have "followed the gleam" of a higher civilization, and steadily wrought for its introduction into their native land. The infusion of Christianity will be of unspeakable value just at this stage of Japanese transformation. In India the British Government has laid the
British reforms in India.foundation of civil reforms, which seem to guarantee a promising future to that vast country. The difficulties of executive administration are still formidable, yet principles have been incorporated in the policy of the Government which have never been dreamed of before in India. Previous to the advent of British rule the government of the Indian races by native rulers was simply organized despotism of the most cruel order.2 The Native States, although under restraint, are still governed by a system which gives large scope for civil tyranny.3 Of the civil 1 "Anciently, civil oppression existed in Japan, but it would not be correct to declare that it now exists. The doctrine of individual rights has so far advanced as to cause surprise even to the missionary and to the advocate of progress in the Government. The coming Civil Code promises to be so drawn from European standards as to thoroughly protect the individual at every point. Indeed, he is nearly
as well protected now under the law as he is in the United States."—Rev. David S. Spencer (M. E. M. S.), Nagoya, Japan. 2 Raghavaiyangar, "Progress of the Madras Presidency During the Last Forty Years," Memorandum on the State of the Country and the Condition of the People in Former Centuries, pp. 2-19. An incident is narrated by Mr. Raghavaiyangar which illustrates the arbitrary character of former rulers. He reports that Tippoo Sultan, a ruler of Southern India at the end of the eighteenth century, "used to change the value of the coins in a very arbitrary manner. When he was about to pay his troops, the nominal value of every coin was raised very high, and kept at that level for a few days, and during this period the soldiery were allowed to pay off their debts at the high valuation" (ibid., p. 22). 3 "The poor, and indeed all classes, are subjected to a very considerable amount of civil oppression. The English officials do what they can to administer even-handed justice to all classes, but the subordinate officials, who are natives of the country, and many of them Brahmans, are too often very corrupt and oppressive. Bribery is the rule, not the exception. The police force is almost hopelessly corrupt, and its members are in many cases guilty of cruel extortion. It is by no means uncommon
for them to take bribes from a wealthy offender, and then by means of false evidence secure the conviction of some poor man wholly unconnected with the matter. The village officials are, as a rule, in league with the police, and aid them in their extortion. The subordinate officials connected with the forest and excise departments are little better than the police. Where local government has been introduced, the district and county boards have, where not controlled by a European officer, proved themselves incapable of rising above caste prejudice. In the Cuddapah district one county board issued an order forbidding the use of public rest-houses by any but high-caste Hindus, while another forbade the teacher of a government school to receive Pariah children into his school."—Rev. W. Howard Campbell (L. M. S.), Cuddapah, Madras, India.
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conditions in Assam and Siam it is not necessary to speak in detail.1 In Africa civil rights were practically unknown amid its savage population until European governments instituted colonial administration.2 A representative statement of the African theory of personal rights is given in the words of a resident missionary of Bechuanaland.3 2. OPPRESSIVE TAXATION.—The levying of taxes is a legitimate function of government, since the existence of the State and the wellbeing of its citizens are secured by a just and systematic impost. It is only when this department is administered in an arbitrary, unjust, and extortionate manner that objection can be taken to its methods. Taxation has always been a tempting field for the exploits of despotic power. It is just here that irresponsible government finds its opportunity, and, through ostensibly legal processes, seeks to aggrandize itself by rob- 1 "Heathen rulers are both greater and smaller than civilized ones. They are extremely despotic, but with no order or method. Justice is whatever suits them at the time. Should they occasionally try to follow any rule, they will follow it blindly without taking into consideration either different circumstances or different characters, so that really the one is as bad as the other—rule almost as bad as no rule. Heathen rulers as a class, with, of course, some few good exceptions, rule for their own advantage, and not for the good of the subjects. Taxes, fines, etc., go to the ruler's pocket, and not to the public treasury, because there is no public treasury. Every case of judging between parties is a pecuniary advantage to the ruler. And the result of this with unscrupulous people is that the ruler puts one person against another, that he may increase the number of cases to be judged, and thereby add to his income. This is a very common thing. To begin with, he takes bribes from both parties, and then justifies the one who has given him most, and fines the other in addition to what he has had to pay before. Sometimes he puts it into the head of the one who has lost the case to bring it up again before him under a slightly different aspect. If this is done, he may offer to settle the difference between them, and so get a little more money from one of the parties, or from both. Such a thing as this is of daily occurrence in this country. It is not a very rare thing for a king to give land belonging to one person to another, a favorite. In his kingdom he can get any number of people to do whatever he tells them."—Rev. Robert Evans (W. C. M. M. S.), Shillong, Assam. 2 Wilmot, "The Expansion of South Africa," pp. 10, 11, 190, 191. 3 "Their chiefs are the supreme power in the tribe, and in olden times it was death to disobey them. Although their power has in some aspects been curtailed by the presence of the English magistrate, their will is still paramount so far as the internal administration of the tribe is concerned. The government is a despotic monarchy. It is true every chief has his parliament, which consists of his sons, nephews, uncles, and cousins, but, generally speaking, these exist only to endorse his speeches and acts, and to supplement all his words with, 'Thou hast spoken well, O chief!' Said a man to me the other day, 'We must obey the chief even though we know lie is wrong.' This describes the whole attitude of the Bechuana toward their chiefs."—Rev. Alfred S. Sharp (W. M. S.), Mafeking, Bechuanaland.
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bing its subjects. Under these circumstances taxation becomes simply a species of official brigandage. That a large part of the non-Christian world groans under the miseries and wrongs of tyrannical taxation is a fact hardly to be disputed. In India, before the advent of the British Government,
Taxation, past and present, in India.taxes were imposed at the will of rapacious despots, and often collected by military force. The assessment was excessive, and the items on the taxlist were remarkable for variety, ingenuity, and absurdity.1 The state of taxation in Kashmir has been declared by Mr. Lawrence, Settlement Commissioner of Kashmir and Jammu State, to be a history of extortion and oppression extending over centuries, amounting at its maximum to not less than three fourths of the produce of the land, the effect of which was simply to pauperize almost the entire population.2It is needless to say that the British Government has worked an economic and social revolution in that region. There is, however, no little discontent in India at the present time with British taxation. The note of complaint is loudly sounded in the discussions of the native press and, in more dignified form, in the annual reports of the Indian National Congress. To what extent there is justice in these strictures we cannot judge. Perhaps under foreign rule dissatisfaction is more or less inevitable, especially if any extravagance characterizes the military and civil administration of the foreign occupancy. In comparison with the state of taxation under native rulers, there can be no doubt that system, fixedness, moderation, and reasonable fairness have taken the place of individual greed and arbitrary exaction, and that the country itself, directly or indirectly, reaps the benefits of the revenues it yields. In Assam, where the old native system largely prevails, almost every punishment takes in the first instance the form of fines, which become the perquisites of the authorities. In Siam the felicitous ex- 1 "The Native States of India," p. 3; Raghavaiyangar, "Progress of the Madras Presidency During the Last Forty Years," pp. 9, 31. 2 Lawrence, "The Valley of Kashmir."
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pression for ruling is "eating," since the rulers metaphorically "eat the people."1 In China the system of "squeezing" is reduced to a science,
The science of "squeezing" in China.and is one of the fine arts of government. The imposition of taxes becomes the ready expedient to which Chinese officials resort in reimbursing themselves for the expenses incidental to securing their political position. The dishonesty and extortion which characterize Chinese taxation rest as a crushing burden upon an industrious people,2 and afford to unscrupulous officials a constant opportunity for abusing their authority for the sake of personal emolument.3 Official rapacity in some instances overleaps itself, and the desperate people are driven to violence and revenge, which they often administer in the form of punishment upon the officials themselves.4 In times of political emergency, as, for example, during the late war, taxes of forty per cent, on the value of houses were suddenly exacted from the people, as was the case in Hankow.5 The lack of patriotism in China, and the distrust of those in authority, are traceable to this arbitrary use of power on the part of the officials. The lesser officials are as rapacious as those in higher positions, and there are even self-appointed extortioners, who cloak their fraudulent acts by the borrowed semblance of authority. The law in China becomes in many instances a facile instrument of blackmail in the hands of impudent impostors.6 1 "There is no stipulated amount of taxes, hence a subject is liable at any time to be called upon to meet some new form of taxation as well as an increase in the amount of some old one. And if any of the common people become possessed of more than the ordinary share of property, especially of some form that is usually owned by the nobility, as, for example, elephants, such constant requisitions are made upon this that he usually finds it better to dispose of it. One of our most prosperous Christians in the district of Chieng Hai was thus so pestered by the constant requisitions made upon his elephants that in desperation he sold them."—Rev. W. C. Dodd (P. B. F. M. N.), Lampoon, Laos. 2 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 121. 3 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., pp. 494-500. 4 Martin, "A Cycle of Cathay," pp. 91, 92. 5 The Illustrated Missionary News, March, 1895, p. 42. 6 "The myrmidons of the law are often violent oppressors. In this district three innkeepers, who merely went along with the crowd to view a corpse, were assessed in sums of money equal to $700, $500, $200, respectively, and paid it to the runners, rather than take the chances of going before the magistrate in connection with the case—murder in open daylight. In every town and village there are men, sometimes wealthy, known by the public as 'bullies,' to whom fees must be given or much would be impossible of accomplishment. In this town a proverb runs : 'Cleaning the public well, a small bully; getting up theatricals, a big bully.' The tax for these two things is collected by the bullies, with, of course, perfectly well-understood share of the amounts subscribed."—Rev. Donald MacGillivray (C. P. M.), Chu-Wang, China.
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In Korea the same terrible system of "squeezing" is found.
Official mulcting in Korea.Any one who possesses money is liable to be the victim of extortion.1 A Korean is taxed at a ruinous rate for the privilege of engaging in any honest industry, and he cannot sell the products of his toil or transport them from place to place without running the gantlet of tax stations on the roads and navigable rivers, at intervals sometimes of only a few miles apart. The result is that no Korean can succeed without enlisting against himself a ruinous system of extortion. Industry and prosperity are impossible, since the official classes are forever on the alert to crush and mulct without mercy all who by honest diligence and thrift are striving to accumulate the rewards of labor. The recent revolution and upheaval in Korea were due to these intolerable conditions. The taxes imposed upon the people were so heavy that they became a prohibitive tariff on all kinds of production.2 An incident is narrated by the Rev. D. L. Gifford, an American Presbyterian missionary, which illustrates the ingenious methods of extortion that are by no means uncommon in the experience of well-to-do Koreans. He relates how a prosperous farmer received an official message from Seoul that a title had been conferred upon him, but with the honor came a prompt intimation that he was expected to pay for it, and there followed a series of exactions which it was dangerous for him to contest, all on the score of an empty honor which some powerful official at the capital had made the ostensible occasion for extortion.3 Nothing, however, can surpass the story of extortion which we meet in the history of Mohammedan rule in Turkey and Persia. Taxation in Turkey has been a species of grinding tyranny for centuries. The officials are accustomed to sell for a liberal consideration the right of 1 Savage-Landor, "Corea," p. 163. The author further writes in this connection the following paragraph: " 'What is the use of working and making money,' said a Corean once to me, 'if, when the work is done and the money made, it is taken from you by the officials? You are worn out by the work you have done, yet are as poor as before, that is, mind you, if you are fortunate enough not to be exiled to a distant province by the magistrate who has enriched himself at your expense.' " 2 The Messenger (Shanghai), November, 1894, p. 162; The Gospel in all Lands, September, 1895, pp. 452-454. 3 Woman's Work for Woman, August, 1893, p. 210.
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collecting the taxes, and those who have purchased this privilege
The grinding tyrany of taxation in Turkey and Persia.have the authority of the Government at their command to enforce collection. They must not only reimburse themselves, but also secure a handsome advance upon what they have paid. Their methods are arbitrary and terrifying, and the agents they employ cruel and rapacious. The poor peasantry of Turkey have been doubly, and sometimes trebly, taxed. The Government in the background has often withheld receipts, and then brought in a demand either for double payment or for arrears of taxes, to the dismay and despair of its victims. Much has appeared in current literature of late concerning the ruinous system of taxation in Mohammedan lands.1 In Persia the methods of taxation are similar to those which prevail in Turkey. Each province has its governor, and under him are numerous officials over cities or districts. These appointments are universally by purchase, and out of each sub-governor's domain must come not only funds sufficient to satisfy the demands of his superiors in the Government, but also to reimburse himself and provide an amount in anticipation of his future needs, as before long it is likely he will be supplanted and must purchase another position. Beneath these superior officials are agents, collectors, and subordinate functionaries, who must also receive what they will consider their share of the spoils. The same custom of farming out the taxes exists, and the purchaser is usually some powerful chief, or agha, with whom regular taxes would go but a little way in satisfying his demands. He must impose double or extra taxes, and exact forced labor or gifts or numerous fees as his perquisites. Thus the very idea of government becomes identified with an endless round 1 "The financial management of the Government is probably the worst in existence. Properly speaking, Turkey has no finance. There are revenues, but no regular way of collecting them. There are salaries, but no regular way of paying them. The result is chaos. From the Sultan down to the lowest grade in the public service it is a scramble for money, each one getting all he can and giving up as little as possible. Many of the revenues are mortgaged to pay the loans contracted, chiefly during the extravagant reign of Abdul Aziz, and are under the absolute control of a commission of foreigners. The tithes are farmed out to the highest bidders, who have the whole power of the Government at their disposal to enable them to collect all they can, on the general principle of a division of any profits between the collectors and the authorities. Tax-receipts are repeatedly refused, so that when subsequent collectors come they can take advantage of their absence to collect back taxes to the very limit of possibility. Enumerators for personal taxes make their lists small, so as to lessen the amount for which they are held responsible, while in view of this they levy on the community as high as the community will give. Importers try to secure undervaluation of their goods, landowners undervaluation oftheir land, peasants hide their grain, and men will often bear imprisonment, and even the severest beating, rather than reveal their deposits. "In case of special need at Constantinople, requisition is made upon some province for a certain sum. Forthwith all the efforts of every member of the administration of that province are directed to two things: (1) to lessen if possible the amount demanded; (2) to secure for themselves a portion of the money that must be collected. Spies and informers abound on every hand, and exceptional harvests, fortunate investments, fat legacies, are made the pretexts of all sorts of pressure. Salaries are always in arrears for months, and sometimes years. The announcement that the treasury is to pay a month's salary to the clerks of the departments, or to the army and navy, is a matter of public comment and advertisements in the newspapers. But people must live. Hence bribery and extortion rule everywhere. Judges, officials of every grade, even heads of departments, rely for their support not upon the Government itself, but upon what influence they can exert on the lives and fortunes of others, and upon appropriating at least a little of what passes through their hands."—Bliss, "Turkey and the Armenian Atrocities," pp. 290, 291. Cf. Laurie, "Missions and Science" (The Ely Volume), second edition, revised, pp. 68, 69; Greene, "The Armenian Crisis in Turkey," chap. iii. ; "Annual Report of the American Bible Society, 1894," p. 134; The Independent, January 17, 1895; The Missionary Review of the World, January, 1896, pp. 52, 53.
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of extortion.1 The central Government is not often an active participant in these vexatious exactions; the sub-officials are usually the guilty parties. The late Shah Naser-ed-Din a few days before his assassination issued a jubilee proclamation abolishing all taxes upon meat and bread throughout his realm. This, however, did not apply to the produce of the soil, nor to flocks and herds, but simply to meat as sold in the market and to bread as it comes from the baker. The whole system of taxation is in a hopeless tangle everywhere throughout the Mohammedan world, except where some foreign jurisdiction supervises its working. Nothing can be said of all North Africa under unrestricted Moslem rule which is substantially different in its tenor from what has been said of Turkey and Persia. Of the district governors of Morocco it is reported upon good authority that their administration "is marked by cruelties and extortions on an infamous scale. Myriads of acres of fine tracts of soil lie in 'flat idleness' on account of the burdens imposed by tax-gatherers." 2 We can hardly pursue this theme further, although much remains to be said. Certainly one of the most urgent calls for reform in the universal government of the non-Christian world is the readjustment and reconstruction of the whole system of taxation. 1 Bishop, "Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan," vol. ii., p. 199; Wilson, "Persian Life and Customs," pp. 130, 273. 2 Johnston, "Missionary Landscapes in the Dark Continent," p. 38.
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3. THE SUBVERSION OF LEGAL RIGHTS.—The guardianship of the rights of its citizens
The benign mission of law in a civilized society.is one of the noblest functions of the State. It is characteristic of civilized governments that the rights of person and of property are, as a rule, scrupulously guarded. The shelter and protection of the law are, in theory at least, accorded to its humblest citizen. We who are born to the enjoyment of freedom and the security of civilization hardly know how to estimate at its proper value that nice adjustment of the State to the service of the citizen so that his individual rights are conserved, his person defended, and his possessions guarded from attack and spoliation. It is one of the marvels of the modern State that all this is accomplished while at the same time the highest interests of the commonweal are jealously guarded. The precise, impartial, unswerving workings of judicial and administrative law, so far as justice sanctions, in the interests of the individual citizen, and the almost automatic security of the guarantee which he possesses, in common with all others, that he is neither to be defrauded nor mulcted, have become among civilized peoples such an essential feature of ordinary government that we fail to realize the significance of the facts or the value of the boon. Whatever imperfection may attend the administration of the legal codes, even though a miscarriage of justice should sometimes occur, it remains true that, except in the case of improper legislation, the law is an instrument of justice for the help and protection of all who need its intervention. In the non-Christian world this majestic interposition of law for the security of individual rights cannot be counted upon, although it does exist in a somewhat haphazard way. The menace of aggression is rarely lifted, and, without the assurance of legal refuge and protection, is the cause of much popular misery and discontent as well as industrial paralysis. Where the will of rulers is the foundation of law, with little practical restraint except such as the fear of popular revolution imposes, the temptation to make sport of human rights is usually too great to be resisted. In the irrepressible conflict between the authority of rulers and the private rights of individual subjects, little advantage has been gained by the latter among savage or semicivilized races. In some of the more prominent nations of the non-Christian world the development of constitutional limitations, the establishment of judicial restraints, and the evolution of legislative assemblies have made no perceptible advance for ages. The misuse of the governing power and the misdirection of its authority for selfish and despotic ends have become characteristic of semi-civilized and barbarous rule. The indi-
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vidual has been the victim, and the subversion of rights which are his in theory has been the invariable result. Of all Oriental nations, none can compare with Japan an exception in Oriental history.Japan in her willingness to place herself under constitutional restrictions and adopt the principles of civilized government. The new civil and penal codes which have been promulgated indicate an astonishing development in the direction of Western civilization, and the unanimity and dignity which have marked their incorporation into her system of government are greatly to the credit of the Japanese. Japan, however, is an exception in Oriental history. We have simply to cross the narrow sea to the mainland of Asia and we come at once upon the old traditional system of despotism. In Korea the devices for robbing a man of his earnings or confiscating his
Korea follows the rule of spoliation.possessions are both numerous and effective.1 Mr. Henry Norman has referred in some detail to this execrable feature of Korean maladministration. He quotes from an official report as follows: "The rapacity and cruelty of the officials are not conducive to the accumulation of wealth. All stimulus or inducement to increase his possessions and give himself comforts is denied the middle-class Korean; for he is not allowed to enjoy the results of his labor and industry, never feeling sure that the little property he may have (or even his life) is safe from official despotism, and consequently the people have become dispirited and indifferent. Safety and security are found in obscurity only."2 The rights of ownership in property are not, however, the only ones that are violated. More sacred domains are ruthlessly invaded. It is not uncommon that confiscation extends to the wife and daughters, thus inflicting a gross and cruel wrong in violation of rights which are recognized throughout all human society.3 In China official robbery is by
Legal rights the sport of officials in China, Turkey, and Persiano means uncommon, and many are the expedients for accomplishing it under the guise of legality. Even foreign residents of China have had most vexatious experience of the ability of officials to tamper with every property right, even to the extent of persecution and violence. In the Turkish Empire legal rights, even those fully acknowledged in Turkish law, are simply the sport of officialdom. The victims are usually natives of the empire, 1 The Missionary, October, 1894, p. 441; Gilmore, "Korea from Its Capital," pp. 28, 29. 2 Norman, "Peoples and Politics of the Far East," pp. 347, 348. 3 Ibid., pp. 349, 350; Gilmore, " Korea from Its Capital," pp. 29, 30.
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but of late foreign property has been destroyed or subjected to arbitrary and vexatious meddling.1 In Persia confiscation is usually one of the penalties of conversion to Christianity on the part of Moslems, and in some instances painful mutilation of the person, or death, has followed. The Persian agha will not only lay violent hands upon some young Christian woman, but upon the plea of her having embraced Islam will claim her property also.2 Mrs. Bishop, in her letters from Persia, touches upon the well-known facility with which official robbery is accomplished.3 Even in India, until quite recently, the losing of caste was held to involve also the forfeiting of property,4 and at the present time in some of the Native States conversion to Christianity imposes legal disabilities which are most unjust and vexatious. In Africa, unhappily, the native has been the
Insecurity in Africa.victim not alone of the rapacity of local native governments, but the early history of colonization, especially in South Africa, has been marked by gross violation on the part of the Dutch of the rights of the natives. The great injustice and ill-treatment which attended the aggressions of the Dutch colonists have left an indelible stain upon their good name.5 Among native tribes the confiscation of property, and even of wives and children, is all too common. Nobody saves in Dahomey, lest the king should seize the savings. Where the witch-doctor "smells out" some supposed guilty party, although in most instances the suspected person may be absolutely innocent, the immediate confiscation of his property is in order, and he may be thankful if he escapes with his life.6 The recognition of the individual and respect for his legal rights are points in which there is much to be learned throughout the realms of backward civilization. 1 The Independent, May 16, 1895, pp. 14-16; The Missionary Herald, April, 896, pp. 14.6-149. 2 Aurahan, "The Persia of To-day," p. 72. 3 "In Persia a reputation for wealth is the last thing a rich man desires. To elevate a gateway or to give any external sign of affluence is to make himself a mark for the official rapacity which spares none. The policy is to let a man grow quietly rich, to 'let the sheep's wool grow,' but as soon as he shows any enjoyment of wealth to deprive him of his gains, according to a common Persian expression, 'He is ripe; he must be squeezed.'"—Bishop, "Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan," vol. i., pp. 100, 101. 4 Horne, "The Story of the London Missionary Society," p. 279. 5 Ibid., pp. 56-59; Wilmot, "The Expansion of South Africa," p. 51. 6 Work and Workers in the Mission Field, September, 1894, p. 368; Illustrated Africa, June, 1895, p. 9.
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4. CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY. — Crookedness in official life and gross betrayal of trust in public service have been so manifestly implied in much that has been already said that only a brief reference to these aspects of maladministration in heathen society is needed. China seems to
The characteristic role of Chinese officials.be facile princeps in the rôle of official corruption. There are no doubt some men of integrity in public service in the Chinese Empire, but they are rare and refreshing exceptions to the general rule. There would be no improper emphasis given to the simple facts of the situation to say that the most characteristic thing in Chinese officialdom, from the highest mandarin to the lowest "bully" in a country hamlet, is the misuse of official position, either by the taking of bribes, or the imposition of blackmail, or the accumulation of private gains by the betrayal of public trust.1 As far back as the eleventh century, in connection with the temporary trial of a populist experiment in Chinese government, when special opportunity was afforded to the people to enter the realm of public service, the rapacity, peculation, and corruption of the administration brought into permanent disrepute the populistic schemes of a noted reformer of that age.2 The traditional system, however, from that day to this, has preserved and exemplified with unbroken continuity the transformation of official opportunity into a means of private emolument as the indisputable prerogative of public office.3 The result is disastrous to the governmental service. Office becomes the goal of unscrupulous venality, and is the prize of low cunning, intrigue, and bribery. Not that all mandarins are always bad, but the system is so incorrigibly corrupt that it is almost sure to ruin even a good man. It is next to impossible to secure 1 The Rev. W. Muirhead, D.D. (L. M. S.), Shanghai, China, in a letter to the author, mentions as among the prominent social evils of China the prevalent official corruption, referring especially to the magistrates. His words are as follows: "Though the officials are trained in the ethics of the country, and are chosen for their literary and intellectual ability, and supposed to be most highly influenced by moral and humane considerations, they are looked upon generally as selfish, rapacious, and only in few cases governing for the best interests of the people. They are a byword everywhere, and the crowds of scholars aiming at similar positions in life have the same ends in view and in due course act accordingly." 2 Cf. an article on "Chinese Populism," by William Elliot Griffis, D.D., in The Independent of September 24, 1896. 3 "The financial support of the administration of the Government thus rests upon a deliberately adopted policy of allowing each official to fleece his subjects. The game, then, with nearly every one of them, is how to do this fleecing in the best way, and how to judge shrewdly just where the limit of endurance is on the part of the people. They know as well as any one that a general enlightenment of the people would be a death-blow to their corrupt gains, and therefore they will fight against the 'new civilization' until they are themselves either morally regenerated or overpowered."—Rev. Henry V. Noyes (P. B. F. M. N.), Canton, China.
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an appointment to the public service without purchasing it, either directly or indirectly, and once in office, whatever may be its grade, private advantage becomes the guiding principle of action. This is especially true of all underlings and minor officials, who in many instances receive no regular salary, but are expected to live by what they can extract from the people in the discharge of their function or by the misuse of their authority. In some of the cities of China there are as many as a thousand unpaid police, who have no visible means of support except the extortion which their position renders possible.1 It is a notorious fact that justice is a marketable commodity
The enormities of corruption in China.in all Chinese courts. Every complaint, every effort to secure the interposition of the law, as well as every attempt to escape its penalty, is a business proceeding and a matter of finance, pure and simple. "The amount of money given to the underlings of the court determines the speed with which the complaint reaches the hands of the magistrate; and then if there be no personal gain in the case the magistrate gives the plea no attention, plaintiffs being many, and lucrative business pressing." Thus writes Miss Fielde in "A Corner of Cathay" (p. 122), and she goes on to describe in considerable detail what is involved in the further prosecution of the case, and the wonderfully ingenious methods by which all legal ventures in China are made to yield lucrative gains from both plaintiff and defendant to the magistrate and court attendants. Current proverbs illustrate the popular estimate of all legal processes in China.2 So serious is the moral bankruptcy of Chinese officialdom that the sense of honor, the consciousness of pub- 1 Williams, "The Middle Kingdom," vol. i., p. 476. "In the misappropriation of public funds and peculation of all kinds in materials, government stores, rations, wages, and salaries, the Chinese officials are skilled experts, and are never surprised at any disclosures."—Ibid., vol. i., p. 477. Cf. also Martin, "A Cycle of Cathay," p. 333; Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 33, 86-91; Norman, "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," pp. 266-268, 282-285. 2 Among them are the following quoted by Miss Fielde: "It is better to live on garbage than to go to law"; "To win a lawsuit reduces one to penury "; "If you consort with beggars you may have a handful of rice given to you, but if you go among lawyers you will lose your last coin" ("A Corner of Cathay," p. 127).
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lic trust, and the demands of patriotism are alike powerless to stay the habitual rascality of the average Chinese office-holder. Even the recent struggle with Japan seemed to afford an opportunity for gross betrayal of the Government by some of the highest authorities. Well-informed observers of Chinese methods have expressed the opinion that her collapse was due, more than from any other cause, to the dishonesty of her administration.1 The facility with which the scales of justice can be turned by the timely casting of a coin upon either side is well illustrated in a description by Dr. MacKay of the method of procedure in a Chinese yamen.2 There is one department of Chinese revenue which claims special notice as an exception to the usual course of procedure. It is the Maritime Customs Service for the collection of the revenue derived from foreign customs, under the supervision of an English official as Inspector-General. The Chinese revenue system as a whole is complicated and cumbersome, and is the happy hunting-ground of a 1 The North China Herald of Shanghai printed the following indictment in an editorial upon China's humiliation : "With wealth practically unlimited, with soldiers simply innumerable, with fortresses believed to be impregnable, and with a strong navy, her defenses went down like a house of cards, as soon as they were puffed on from the outside. . . . Here is a problem not only well worth solving, but of which a correct solution is a vital necessity. To us Europeans it is, as we have shown, simplicity itself. It seems to be fully comprised in one word, . . . dishonesty."— Quoted in The Missionary, July, 1895, p. 299. 2 "From Far Formosa," pp. 105-107. A resident missionary in another section of the empire writes as follows: "It is a common saying that 'right does not avail in courts—only money avails.' In most cases it is true that the man who pays the biggest fee to the magistrate or the one who has most influence in the community gains the suit. Rogues escape the clutches of the law by sending a bribe to the constables. If this is liberal enough, the constables will allow the rogue to escape even at the risk of a beating for their failure to catch him. If he is caught and tried and sentenced, the degree of severity with which the punishment is inflicted depends upon the amount of money he is willing to give the constables and lictors. The magistrates will all take bribes, and so will all the officials, from the lowest to the highest, and nobody is ashamed to do it. Theoretically, office is conferred for scholarship, the third degree rendering a man eligible for office; but the degrees may all be bought, and are, in fact, openly purchased constantly. It requires money and influence to get into office after one has obtained his degree, and promotion in office comes also only by the use of money. The legitimate salary of all officers is unjustly low, and the chances for bribes and squeezes are very many. It is a rare man who will not make the most of them. Indeed, the chief motive in seeking office is 'to get rich,' and it is almost the only avenue to wealth. By law a man has a right to appeal to a superior officer if he thinks his suit has been unjustly decided, but in case of an appeal the judge who has tried the case has only to send a present of money to his superior, and the appeal is ruled out or remanded to the same judge to be retried. In case the appellant can make a still larger present he stands some chance, not otherwise. Military officers are no better men, and they have still more chances to practise oppression and dishonesty. The soldiers' pay and rations pass through their hands, and they make a good percentage off these, as they draw pay for full companies when they are far from full—possibly less than half full. Officers deceive their superiors and their men, and their men desert them in the day of battle—yes, they smell the battle afar off and desert betimes."—Mrs. C. W. Mateer (P. B. F. M. N.), Tungchow, China.
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horde of hungry officials.1 The establishment
The Maritime Customs Service and its excellent record.of the Imperial Maritime Customs under foreign supervision has grown out of the exigencies of the situation, the Chinese administration failing utterly to discharge the duty with tolerable honesty. It originated in a local provision for the admimstration of foreign customs at Shanghai by agreement between the Tao-tai of Shanghai and the British, American, and French Consuls, in 1854, which stipulated that the service at the port of Shanghai should be put in charge of a foreigner. The first inspector appointed was Mr. (afterwards Sir) Thomas Wade. This new system was subsequently extended so as to include in its supervision all treaty ports. It has grown in favor with the Chinese authorities, who recognize the integrity of their foreign servants, and highly appreciate the security and perceptible increment of their revenue. The present incumbent in the 1 Mr. Allen, the British Consul at Foochow, in his last report on the trade of that port, says that" an obstacle to the development of commerce in China, less easily remedied than bad roads, is a faulty, not to say an utterly rotten and corrupt, system of collecting revenue, wherein the vested interests involved are so enormous that nothing short of the reform of the whole fiscal arrangements of China can set it right. The system of farming the taxes, or at least making the official in charge of them remit a certain sum every year, while he puts the balance into his own pocket, insures the largest possible collection at the greatest possible cost and the least possible benefit to the Government. It is said that the cost of collecting likin is seventy per cent. of the total sum realized." In Foochow there are four separate establishments levying taxes on merchandise, each one competing with the others and looking on the revenue collected by them as a loss to itself. These are: (1) The Maritime Custom-House, levying duties on all goods imported or exported in foreign bottoms or in Chinese steamers. (2) The native Custom-House, levying duties on junk-borne cargo. (3) The Likin Office. The likin tax, originally a temporary war tax, is supposed to provide for the wants of the provincial administration and is under the control of the provincial treasurer. It is a universal excise duty from which nothing is exempt, and is so burdensome that it is occasionally resisted by riots. (4) The Lo Ti Shui, or Octroi Office. Intense jealousy of the foreign customs revenue exists in all other revenue departments of China.—Condensed from an article on "The Effects of the Chinese Revenue System on Foreign Trade," in the London Mail, August 12, 1896.
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office of Inspector-General (or I. G., as he is familiarly called) is Sir Robert Hart, whose distinguished career and valuable services make a unique chapter in modern Chinese history.1 It seems more than probable that the model administration of the foreign customs may have a marked influence in helping China to reform her entire system of finance. Korea seems to be a rival of
Official salary-grabing in Korea.China in official dishonesty. The Government is robbed in one direction, and the people in another. The official class, if one can judge from the testimony which every one acquainted with the facts unites in giving, exists for the purpose of defrauding the Government and "squeezing" the people. All financial administration is simply chaotic. In a recent report rendered to the Japanese Government by Count Inouye, he describes at considerable length the governmental and financial status in Korea. His forcible language speaks for itself.2 In his "Problems of the Far East" Mr. Curzon speaks of the immense army of office-holders distributed through the eight provinces and three hundred and thirty-two prefectures of the kingdom, among whom only the superior ranks receive any salary, and this usually in arrears, while the rest must butter 1 Dr. Martin has a special chapter in "A Cycle of Cathay" on "Sir Robert Hart and the Customs Service" (part ii., chap, xiii.), in which he gives much interesting information based upon personal friendship with the Inspector and thorough knowledge of his services. Mr. R. S. Gundry, in his recent volume, "China Present and Past," thus summarizes the personnel of the service: "The work is carried on, under the Inspector-General, by a staff of 30 commissioners, 12 deputy commissioners, and 132 assistants, besides clerks and others, who bring up the indoor staff to 206. The outdoor staff comprises 415 tide-surveyors, examiners, tide-waiters, etc. There are 6 armed revenue cruisers, commanded by Europeans, but manned by Chinese, besides a number of armed launches. The entire service employs about 753 foreigners and 3540 Chinese, or a grand total of 4293. The annual cost is about £400,000 a year, while the revenue collected in 1893 amounted to close on £4,000,000" (p. 197). 2 "There was no practical distinction between the Court and the Administration; no attempt to clearly differentiate the functions of the one from those of the other. There were no financial laws of any kind; no account-books. If the Court wanted money, it put its hands into the coffers of the official section outside the Household; if the officials wanted money, they had recourse to the coffers of the Court. Neither made any scrutiny into the objects of the other's expenditure. When the coffers of both were empty, the provincial Governors were required to find the requisite sum. It was always a welcome mandate to the Governors, for neither the method of collection nor the amount collected was ever closely examined. Each Governor adopted whatever system of requisition promised most prolific results, and the prison doors stood always open for reluctant subscribers. If prisoners died of torture, starvation, or disease before they untied their purse-strings, no inconvenient questions were asked. Neither need accounts be rendered of the sums collected; any excess over and above the contribution called for by the Court went into the pockets of the local Governors. To get a person of substance into prison was officialdom's best opportunity. Hence no line was drawn between criminal procedure and civil procedure, nor did any preliminary inquiry stand between a defendant and the gaol. So soon as a suit was duly lodged against a man the officials were competent to thrust him into prison at once. "Against the terrible abuses practised under such a system there was no redress, for the idea that an administration's first duty is to secure the lives and properties of the people under its sway did not enter into the theory of government in Korea. Government, indeed, had no practical significance beyond the sale of offices. Every official had to buy his post, purchasing either from the central authority or from the local, the necessary funds being furnished by usurers, who exacted interest at the rate of twenty per cent. per month, and the official, having no assurance as to the time that might remain at his disposal before his post was resold to some one else, lost not a moment in recouping his original outlay."—Quoted from the Korean correspondence of the London Mail, August 21, 1895.
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their own bread as best they can.1 In an article on "Korean Finance," published in The Korean Repository, April, 1896, the author states that the revenue which is paid by the people is double the amount which the Government actually receives. "More than one half goes astray after it leaves the hands of the people. Where does it go? It is evident that it goes to fill the pockets of these officials, whose business it is to squeeze the people and rob the Government." In the Turkish Empire and Persia
Bribery at flood-tide in Turkey and Persia.official corruption and a wellnigh universal practice of bribery are habitual features of governmental administration. In both these typical Oriental empires an elaborate theory of good government exists, with hardly any perceptible application in practice. Principles and rules are on record as the impressive symbols of law and order to be appealed to in times of inconvenient exposure as the supposed programme of official procedure, but that they have any control over executive action is so palpably false that it would be a waste of time to assert it. In fact, the "itching palm" is not found among secular officials only, but it lurks under priestly robes also, and ecclesiastical officials are hardly less alert than State functionaries to the material advantages which the use of authority can be made to yield. The native press itself admits the existence of this serious fault in ecclesiastical circles.2 Mrs. Bishop, in her vol- 1 "Problems of the Far East," p. 173. 2 Cf. an article by the Rev. S. G. Wilson, of Tabriz, on "Church Reform—a Corning Armenian Watchword," in The Church at Home and Abroad, October, 1895, p. 309. In this article Mr. Wilson quotes extensively from native Armenian journals, in which the statement made above is confirmed. Mr. Wilson's recent book, "Persian Life and Customs," contains many references to the misuse of official position in that country, especially among the minor officials (pp. 67, 179, 182, and introduction, p. 15).
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umes entitled "Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan," while giving full credit to the energy and personal zeal for reform manifest in the administration of the late Shah, refers in strong language to the fact that "justice seems to be here, much as in Turkey, a marketable commodity, which the working classes are too poor to buy." She speaks again of "the inherent rottenness of Persian administration, an abyss of official corruption and infamy without a bottom or a shore, a corruption of heredity and tradition, unchecked by public opinion or the teachings of even an elementary education in morals and the rudiments of justice. There are few men pure enough to judge their fellows or to lift clean hands to heaven, and power and place are valued for their opportunities for plunder." 1 In Turkey the condition of the secular administration is so notorious that no one acquainted with the country or having had opportunity to observe the methods of civil and criminal procedure would venture to question the existence of bribery and corruption among the official classes. The most explicit and damaging statements upon this point are to be found in the official communications of diplomatic residents in reports to their respective governments. Mr. Wilson, British Consul-General in Anatolia, writes that "the most open and shameless bribery is practised, from highest to lowest." Mr. Everett, Vice-Consul at Erzerum, says: "The first consideration of the administrators of justice is the amount of money that can be extorted from an individual, and the second is his creed." The spirit which animates the courts of Asia Minor is well defined as "fanaticism tempered by corruption." 2 In fact, the bane of semi-civilized governments is the uncontrollable venality of official life. It was as bad in India as elsewhere a few generations back, and were it not for the vigorous oversight of English authority and the fact that British officials are chiefly in the places of responsibility, there would be nothing to guarantee purity of administration to-day. Our limits of space will not permit us to dwell longer upon this theme. 5. MASSACRE AND PILLAGE. — References have already been made, in several specifications under a previous group in this lecture, to the brutality and rapine which usually attend tribal warfare. In this con- 1 "Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan," vol. i., p. 103; vol. ii., p. 257. 2 Greene, "The Armenian Crisis in Turkey," pp. 74, 113.
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nection we shall say a word concerning
Extermination as a national policy.wanton bloodshed and spoliation as a national policy. It is not often that the purpose of extermination is deliberately adopted and put into execution by an organized government. There are, to be sure, some historic precedents for this ghastly project, but they have usually taken the form of plots or conspiracies rather than an accepted and predetermined plan of action conceived and executed by the government itself.1 That this policy is still a possibility of Oriental statecraft hardly admits of question, however, to any intelligent student of events in the Turkish Empire at the present time. The Armenian nation, a Christian people who are so unhappy as to be among the subject races of the Ottoman Porte, numbering within Turkish territory possibly two millions, have become the victims of the political rage and the fanatical barbarity of their Turkish masters. In common with other Christian races, they have a long and serious grievance against Ottoman misrule, which the Powers of Europe have hitherto sought through vain and empty diplomatic pledges to remedy.2 A few restless spirits among the Armenians,
The Armenian massacres.with vague revolutionary aims, and inspired by hopes of European intervention in the event of disorder, sought to arouse resistance to the intolerable exactions and oppressive wrongs which characterize Turkish rule. The effort was abortive and hopeless from the start and in no way involved the Armenian people as a whole. It served, however, to arouse the wrath of the Turkish rulers, especially the Sultan Abdul Hamid, to be known forever after in history as the "Great Assassin," and a policy of extermination was entered upon. Its execution has found willing instruments in the Kurdish brigands, organized by the Government under the name of the Hamidieh Cavalry, and the Moslem populace, who have joined in the bloodshed and pillage with relish. The awful results are well known to the world.3 The fiendish cruelty of these 1 Cf. The Contemporary Review, September, 1896, article by Professor W. M. Ramsay, on "Two Massacres in Asia Minor," and "Harper's Book of Facts," under the heading "Massacres," p. 494, for many illustrations. 2 Treaty of Berlin, Article 61: "The Sublime Porte engages to realize with out delay those ameliorations and reforms which local needs require in the provinces inhabited by the Armenians, and guarantees their security against the Circassians and the Kurds. It undertakes to make known, from time to time, the measures taken with this object to the Powers, who will watch over their application." 3 The Rev. Edwin M. Bliss, D.D., in his volume on "Turkey and the Armenian Atrocities," published in the spring of 1896, gives (p. 554) the following summary of results up to the beginning of that year. Since then other massacres have occurred, notably that of Van in June, and of Constantinople in August, 1896, numbering, according to a conservative estimate, not less than 18,000 victims all told up to November, 1896, which must now be added to the statements given below:
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massacres has never been surpassed. Spoliation, rape, torture, agonizing assaults upon the person, dastardly sport with children, loathsome brutality which no civilized journal would dare to describe, living holocausts, wholesale murder of an inoffensive population, carried on for hours without cessation, and renewed day after day, robbery, looting, burning of homes, and horrible criminal orgies have combined to make a record of inhuman outrage upon Armenians, which the onlooking Christian nations of the world have as yet utterly failed to restrain, a fact which casts a shadow of ignominy over all Christendom.1 Sources for the verification of these facts are not wanting.2 That the facts themselves should be doubted or called in question by any one is due either to a desire to cover them up, or is the result of that strange passion for incredulity which asserts itself sooner or later in some minds concerning almost every great historic incident. This story of massacre, we fear, is not yet ended, and unless European Powers can agree upon some policy of intervention, the Turkish Government will pursue it to the bitter end. Massacre as a policy or as a military expedient is not new in Turkey; it has been put into practice many times before.3 1 As these sheets are going through the press (December, 1896), there are some indications of impending intervention, which, let us hope, will result in effective measures for securing better order throughout Turkey. 2 Blue Books of the British Government, Turkey, Nos. 2 and 3, 1896, entitled "Correspondence Relating to the Asiatic Provinces of Turkey, 1892-93"; Ibid., Turkey, No. 6, 1896, entitled "Correspondence Relating to the Asiatic Provinces of Turkey, 1894-95"; The Contemporary Review, August, 1895, article by E. J. Dillon on "The Condition of Armenia"; January, 1896, article by Mr. Dillon entitled "Armenia: An Appeal "; Christian Literature, February, 1896 (reprint of the above articles); Greene, "The Armenian Crisis in Turkey"; Bliss, "Turkey and the Armenian Atrocities"; correspondence of the London Times, April 5, 1895 ; symposium on "The Turkish Question" in The Independent, March 5, 1896; article on "The Situation in Armenia," by Grace N. Kimball, M.D., in The Outlook, November 21, 1896; Bryce, "Transcaucasia and Ararat," newed.; MacCoIl, "The Sultan and the Powers." See also Scribner's Magazine, January, 1897, p. 48. 3 The following figures, summarizing, with minor omissions, the Turkish massacres of this century, are taken from the best authorities: 1822. In Scio and vicinity, 50,000 Greeks (R. G. Latham, "Russian and Turk," p. 417). 1843. In Kurdistan, 10,000 Nestorians and Armenians (Layard, "Nineveh," vol. i., p. 153, Amer. ed., and The Contemporary Review, January,1895, p. 16). 1860. In Lebanon, 11,000 Syrians (Churchill, "Druses and Maronites," p. 219). 1876. In Bulgaria, 15,000 Bulgarians (Schuyler, quoted in The Independent, January 10, 1895). See Senate Ex. Doc. No. 24, 44th Cong., 2d Sess., p. 8. 1877. In Bayazid, 1100 Armenians (C. B. Norman, "Armenia and the Campaign of 1877," p. 296). 1892. In Mosul, 2000 Yezidis (Parry's Report to the British Government). 1894. In Sassun, 12,000 Armenians (Greene, "The Armenian Crisis in Turkey," chap. i.). Cf. article by Theodore Peterson, B.D., on "Turkey and the Armenian Crisis," in The Catholic World, August, 1895, p. 667.
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The Kurds are not capable of conducting warfare on any other plan. Their murderous raid into Persia in 1880, under Sheikh Obeidullah, was marked by similar atrocities.1 We turn from this recent illustration of
Blood-thirst in China, India, and Africa.Armenia as representative of the policy of massacre, to look at the history of other nations. China, upon occasion, resorts to indiscriminate slaughter in order to exterminate her enemies, and especially those in rebellion against her authority. If the Chinese officials could have their own way with foreign residents throughout the empire, it is probable that massacre would be the order of the day. Indian history has its bloody record of wholesale slaughter, especially in connection with the invasion of Timur and his Tartar horde in the fourteenth century. The Afghan invasions of the last century were simply a succession of massacres, and "form one of the most appalling tales of bloodshed and wanton cruelty ever inflicted on the human race." In one of the civil wars which also afflicted India, the Sultan of Gulburga, a fanatical Moslem, took an oath upon the Koran that "he would not sheathe the sword till he had put to death a hundred thousand infidels." Mohammedan historians record in this connection that, from first to last, not less than five hundred thousand "infidels" were butchered by the "true believers." The massacres of 1857 indicate that the old spirit would quickly revive were British Government to be supplanted by native rule. In African warfare a general massacre is sure to follow a victory. The Matabele, the Zulus, the Kaffirs, and numerous other bloodthirsty tribes know no method of subjugation more attractive than this.2 1 Wilson, "Persian Life and Customs," pp. 109-124. 2 Wilmot, "The Expansion of South Africa," pp. 100, 119, 181, 186, 188.
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Madagascar was the scene of massacres as a feature of State policy in the reign of Ranavalona I. (1828-61). The South Sea Islands were long the home of barbaric warfare marked by epochs of indiscriminate slaughter. The passion for bloodshed still burns in millions of savage breasts throughout the realms of barbarism. It is easily fanned into a flame which burns not less fiercely in this advanced period of history than in past ages. VI.—THE COMMERCIAL GROUP (Evils incidental to low commercial standards or defective industrial methods) Next to the national administration, in its influence upon social peace, happiness, and prosperity, comes the commercial life of a people, with its varied financial, industrial, and economic interests. If the commercial status is weighted with low moral standards, fraudulent methods, and paralyzing defects, trade is handicapped and there is little financial confidence. If industrial scope and method are narrow and clumsy, enterprise is balked and business is crippled. The state of trade and productive industry has a direct influence upon social conditions, so that moral hindrances or economic disabilities which affect the commercial prosperity of a people may properly be regarded as social evils. As the gates of modern commerce spring open to the secluded peoples of the world, and the opportunities of business prosperity in the realms of belated civilization become more promising, this commercial incapacity, unless it is remedied, will press more severely on society, and its injury to the well-being of the people will become more serious. A few specifications deserve mention under this general group. 1. LACK OF BUSINESS CONFIDENCE.—Under the head of "Mutual Suspicion," in a previous group,1 facts were brought forward to illustrate the feeling of distrust which pervades non-Christian society. In the present section we view this mutual suspicion in its relations to business intercourse. All trade and bargaining in the Orient excite in the foreigner and the native alike a lively apprehension of trickery or shrewd overreaching. The result is a prevalent lack of confidence in commercial relations, and an abnormal development of the capacity for artful and unscrupulous dealings. 1 Supra, pp. 226-229.
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It is pleasant to note that there is valuable testimony
Commercial distrust in China.from reliable sources which credits many of the better class of Chinese merchants, who are engaged in the larger business operations of the empire, with probity and commercial integrity.1 They are placed in this respect in favorable contrast with the official classes, whose dishonesty and corruption are so notorious. This high standard, however, seems to collapse when we step outside the business offices of a select circle of well-known Chinese merchants in the treaty ports and in the prominent centres of trade. The Chinese people as a whole, in their business transactions, live on a low level of detestable duplicity.2 "Neither buyer nor seller trusts the other, and each for that reason thinks that his interests are subserved by putting his affairs for the time being out of his own hands into those of a third person, who is strictly neutral since his percentage will only be obtained on the completion of the bargain. No transaction is considered as made at all until 'bargain money' has been paid. . . The high rate of Chinese interest, ranging from twenty-four to thirty-six or more per cent., is a proof of the lack of mutual confidence. The larger part of this extortionate exaction does not represent payment for the use of money, but insurance on risk, which is very great."3 The disastrous results to the economic prosperity of China from this reign of suspicion in all business transactions are manifest in the disabilities which obstruct industrial life, and in the general poverty which afflicts a country which might be exceptionally prosperous if the currents of trade moved freely among its immense population, and there was confidence which would justify financial investment and the development of its resources.4 The Rev. Timothy 1 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," pp. 279, 280. 2 "No man trusts his neighbor. It is scarcely possible to imagine the evil effects which this want of mutual confidence produces on society. Trust funds are almost in every case misapplied, or rather appropriated for the use of the person to whom they are confided. Officials are corrupt, and funds that are entrusted to them for public uses are almost always embezzled. This is the rule in China. In most cases I should say that not more than half of the funds which are appropriated for any particular purpose ever reach their destination. The Chinese all know this. It is the recognized state of society. They stand appalled at the magnitude of the evil, but are utterly powerless and hopeless as to any remedy for its removal."—The late Rev. J. A. Leyenberge (P. B. F. M. N.), Wei Hien, China. "Low commercial standards is a feeble phrase to express the dishonesty and general unreliability prevalent in the commercial life of China."—Rev. W. P. Chalfant (P. B. F. M. N.), Ichowfu, China. 3 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," pp. 254, 255. 4 "The general fear of trickery, swindling, insecurity, lying, and injustice represses all commerce, and especially investment and coöperation. Perfidy and mendacity necessitate the most wasteful expenditure of effort to check it, both in the markets and in the Government. The unreliability of samples and want of confidence as to execution of orders in bulk is a direct obstacle to trade. Adulteration tends to destroy business and profit, as, for instance, in the foreign tea trade, which is being gradually lost partly on this account."—The Chinese Recorder, May, 1894, article on "The Poverty of Shantung: Its Causes and Treatment," by the Rev. A. G. Jones (E. B. M. S.), Ching Chow Fu, China.
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Richard (E. B. M. S.), Shanghai, in a paper entitled " China's Appalling Need of Reform," read before the Nanking Missionary Association in November, 1893, deals in a thoroughgoing manner with the enormous loss to the commercial interests of China due to her unwillingness to reform her methods of trade and accept the higher standards of commercial morality.1 Statements of similar tenor may be made
The moralities of trade in Japan.concerning the Japanese, among whom, as in the case of the Chinese, there are examples of integrity and loyalty to trust in some of the larger commercial houses, with the notable extension of these characteristics to Japanese officials in the discharge of patriotic duty, while, as in China, the same singular phenomenon of the collapse of these higher standards obtains in the ordinary walks of trade.2 A decided improvement in the ways of Japanese traders within recent years has been noted by careful observers. Bad faith, which was notoriously the rule, is less universal than formerly. The Japanese Trading Guilds are open to impeachment because of their unscrupulous use of power and unfair commercial methods.3 " It is the united opinion of foreign merchants," writes an American resident, " that the average Japanese have very defective 1 Mr. Richard's article is published in full in The Chinese Recorder, November, 1894, and in " The China Mission Hand-Book," first issue, 1896, pp. 84-90. 2 " There are in Japan a few great merchants whose word may be trusted, and whose obligations will be fulfilled with absolute honesty; but a large part of the buying and selling is still in the hands of mercantile freebooters, who will take an advantage wherever it is possible to get one, in whose morality honesty has no place, and who have not yet discovered the efficacy of that virtue simply as a matter of policy. Their trade, conducted in a small way upon small means, is more of the nature of a game, in which one person is the winner and the other the loser, than a fair exchange, in which both parties obtain what they want. It is the mediaeval, not the modern idea of business, that is still held among Japanese merchants. With them, trade is a warfare between buyer and seller, in which every man must take all possible advantage for himself, and it is the lookout of the other party if he is cheated."—Bacon, "Japanese Girls and Women,' pp. 263, 264. 3 Cf. article on " Commercial Morality in Japan," in The Nineteenth Century, November, 1896, pp. 721-728.
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commercial standards. . . . This is the bane of all business transactions. They cannot be said to be worse than some individual foreigners in this respect, but as a rule their standards have been very low. Happily there are signs of improvement, principally among those who have been influenced by Christian principles." In India, Turkey, and Persia the same lack of
Questionable standards in other parts of the world.business confidence is based upon the same minimum of commercial integrity which characterizes the people.1 In Persia "large partnerships or companies are not usual, because of lack of confidence, and in all the minor intricacies of the world, trade an amount of laborious and unrelenting surveillance is necessary in order to prevent the most abominable fraud.2 In Turkey every one expects to be cheated without mercy unless he can prevent it by adequate safeguards. Where the lack of confidence is so general, financial investments are regarded as attended with exceptional risks. This not only places the rate of interest at an exorbitant figure, but checks the spirit of business enterprise. In North Africa, where Islam has moulded social character, the distrust in all matters of business is so invincible that commercial transactions are almost handicapped.3 Throughout the South American Continent there is a grievous lack of the higher standards of business integrity. " In Central America," writes a resident of Guatemala City, "commercial standards are as low in every conceivable respect as they can get." " In Brazil," writes the Rev. J. J. Taylor, " there is no public confidence." A similar testimony is given by the Rev. J. M. Allis of Santiago, Chile, in a published letter.4 Statements so general in their scope, while they may be 1 Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," p. 408. 2 Wilson, " Persian Life and Customs," pp. 281, 285. 3 " The Moor or the Berber in the ordinary relations of life seems not so unlike other members of the race—fine and manly in his bearing, often industrious, and personally intelligent enough to realize the value of honesty and the disadvantage of the violation of those moral precepts upon which the Koran so strenuously insists. He seems, however, incapable of any efficient social or commercial organization, owing to his unconquerable distrust of his fellow-native. There are few, if any, commercial partnerships among the Muslimm of the Barbary States. Banks are not only unknown, but actually unrealizable institutions. The money not immediately required must be concealed, generally buried, and the secret is often not even communicated to the sons of the owner."—See article on " The Condition of Morocco," in The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, October, 1896, p. 323. 4 " I was recently talking with a business man, who was trying to raise capital in England to put in a complete closed drainage system in the cities of Concepcion, Talca, and Chilian. I asked him why he did not raise it here in Chile. His reply and explanation were significant. He said that the moneyed men had no confidence in any management that might be chosen for such an enterprise. The funds would be squandered and stolen, and bankruptcy would follow, and foreign capital would buy out the assets. This condition of things was because there was no moral or religious principle in the country. The Government makes foreign loans because the people have no confidence in the honesty of the ruling few, and have no power to compel the Government to meet financial obligations unless by a revolution, and then all is usually lost, and heavier burdens imposed. Foreign governments can compel treaties by gunboats, but the citizen is helpless."—Letter in The New York Observer, March 8, 1894.
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absolutely true, should be made and received with a certain discount for individual exceptions. It is rarely the case that a people are altogether bad in any single particular. The average may be higher or lower, and even when it is unusually low there is still a certain percentage of exceptions to the rule, for which due allowance must be made. 2. COMMERCIAL DECEIT AND FRAUD. — Integrity and honesty inspire trust,
The Christian ideal of commercial integrity.but where these are wanting as a basis of commercial dealing no artificial expedient can create and perpetuate that tone of buoyancy and assurance which is the sing of business confidence. The moral standards of trade and its practical methods among semi-civilized peoples are certainly not calculated to banish that subtle distrust which seems to be the most prominent characteristic of business intercourse pretty much everywhere in the non-Christian world. Duplicity, misrepresentation, fraud, and a constant effort to secure some unfair advantage, are all too common in business transactions in every land under the sun. It is in the non-Christian environment, however, that the restraints of public opinion, the standards of honorable dealing, and the obligations of honesty seem to be less effective than elsewhere. There is no more reliable basis of business fidelity than regnant Christian principle. Absolute honesty is the ideal as well as the inflexible demand of Christian ethics. All fraud and deceit are in defiance of the rigorous requirements of that perfect law of just and righteous dealing of man with man which Christianity seeks to enforce. Dishonest business is recognized everywhere in theory as a curse to society. It is especially condemned by the ethical code of Christianity as a serious social offense. In a previous section, under the head of " Moral Delinquencies " (p. 99), reference has been made to untruthfulness and dishonesty as sadly prominent features of non- Christian society. In this connection our attention is directed to the realm of business inter-
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course as a sphere in which these characteristics become especially noticeable. Making, therefore, every proper allowance for individual exceptions, all the more commendable and beautiful because of their rarity in an environment of temptation and lax example, we still seem to have abundant reason to regard the commercial activities of Oriental nations, especially in minor transactions, as shot through and through with unscrupulous dealings. The Chinese are expert smugglers,
Business trickery in China.and much given to cunning fraud in business. Over every financial venture hangs the grave shadow of almost certain attempts at crooked administration. Along every avenue of revenue is the lurking spectre of unfaithful service. Every shop door might have its sign of warning against double-dealing and deception. The weights and measures, as well as the currency, are all tampered with for purposes of cheating. The common copper " cash " of Chinese trade is specially subject to the manipulation and shortage of financial tricksters.1 The result of these dishonest dealings is in the end to hamper trade and check its productiveness. The Chinese tea trade has been steadily supplanted of late by that of Ceylon and India, as has been shown by Mr. A. G. Stanton in a paper recently read before the London Society of Arts. In 1866 China supplied ninety-six per cent, of the tea for Great Britain, and in 1894 only twelve per cent. The statement is made, with reference to this great falling off, that " it is not the result so much of the growth of tea culture in India as of the dishonest tricks of the Chinese trade." 2 The power of this temptation to defraud is manifest even in the distribution of charity, so that the 1 " Bad money, in this province at least, is universal, that is, thin, illicit coins, a certain proportion of which is judiciously mixed on the string of cash, which may. contain five hundred or one thousand. The currency in general is bad. Bank-notes (paper) have only a local circulation. The Government issues none, and the lump silver may be adulterated, as it repeatedly is, with pewter, brass, etc. This silver is changed for cash at so much per ounce, the ounce weight of no two localities being alike. Hence losses of exchange between places a few miles apart. Multifarious weights and measures—no standard for anything. Each place a law unto itself. There is no government inspection of weights and measures."—Rev. Donald MacGillivray (C. P. M.), Chu-Wang, China. 2 " Straw braid promised to be a good business in Shantung. The exports brought large returns. But, as usual, deception and cupidity worked in. The inside of the large bundles was poor work, or no work at all, only refuse. The trade is hurt seriously. So of kerosene, it comes to us from Philadelphia and New York in good condition, but at the ports it is mixed in some way with a kind of cheap oil and water and sold to the natives who know no better."—Rev. John Murray (P. B. F. M. N.), Chinanfu, Shantung, China.
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dispensing of foreign relief funds cannot usually be safely committed to native hands.1 So inveterate is the tendency to palm off the false for the true that even the hated foreigner has been counterfeited with a view to the advantage which it might bring.2 Japan has made remarkable progress
The commercial sinuosities of the Japanese.of late years in the expansion of her commercial interests. Her trade, both external and internal, is increasing rapidly, and promises to enter into serious competition with that of Western nations. A grave danger, however, meets her at the very threshold of her new industrial era. It is the temptation to dishonesty and fraud in business transactions.3 Owing to the absence of all protection in the case of foreign patents, trade-marks, or labels, the 1 " Poor people tell me that, in some places when rice is distributed, not only is an inferior quality substituted for what ought to be given, but it is mixed with plaster of Paris,, which in small quantities makes rice look white, and also makes the eater auseated, thus preventing him from consuming too much. The result is a profit to the officials in charge. Distribution of famine relief funds cannot be left even to native so-called benevolent societies."—B. C. Atterbury, M.D. (P. B. F. M. N.), Peking, China. 2 " There are in this part of China a number of ' counterfeit foreigners.' I was myself taken to be one of that class, because of an ability to make myself understood in Chinese. It seems that one or more enterprising Celestials have gone into the work of dispensing medicines, after the manner of the American physician. Usually two or three men go together. One of these dresses in foreign costume, and talks a gibberish which is not understood by the natives, and so passes for a foreign language. In imitation of American physicians all medicine is given away, but unlike that fraternity the bogus representative of America is quite willing to receive contributions of grain to feed the animal which helps convey him from village to village. In consequence grain pours in upon him by the quantity. This is disposed of by a confederate at the nearest fair, and then Ah Sin departs for ' fresh fields and pastures new.'"—Rev. Franklin M. Chapin (A. B. C. F. M.), Lin Ching, China, in The Missionary Herald, July, 1893, p. 285. Dr. S. S. McFarlane, of the Chi Chou station of the London Missionary Society, in the same section of China, southwest of Tientsin, reports in July, 1896, a similar incident: " For several years past the Mission has been troubled with a Chinaman attired in foreign hat and shoes, travelling in a jinricksha, drawn by a donkey. This Celestial goes about selling foreign sweets as infallible cures for every disease under the sun. A large red notice hangs in front of his chariot, stating his honourable connections with Ta Ying Kuo (England). He gives out at markets and fairs that the Chi Chou Mission Hospital has employed him to sell foreign medicines at a salary amounting to 10s 6d, per month. His reputation is thus established, and his quack remedies sell like wildfire. ... I may mention that our American neighbours, a day's journey away, had a similar experience some time ago with another ' foreign' impostor, who was supposed to have been connected with their medical work and in their honourable employ."—The Chronicle, July, 1896, p. 151. 3 " One thing has been especially noticeable, and that is the low business Standards in commercial life. The result is that the merchant class is distrusted on every hand, and business integrity is the exception and not the rule. A prominent merchant of Yokohama told me recently that many of the storehouses are filled with goods ordered by Japanese merchants, but which they refuse to take, because they hope to buy the same at auction at a less price than was stipulated. It is also a remarkable fact that the banks and large mercantile establishments do not entrust their funds or their business to Japanese clerks and assistants, but employ Chinamen instead. An illustration of the want of moral principle was seen in the appropriation by the officials to whom they were entrusted for distribution, of funds donated for the relief of the sufferers by the earthquake."—Rev. Henry Loomis (A. B. S.), Yokohama, Japan. "And thus we find it the unanimous opinion of those in a position to judge, that Japanese commercial morality is of a defective type when compared even with the standard prevailing in China, where trade has never been stamped as degrading, or with the customs of those nations which, amid all the trickery immemorially associated with trade, have yet kept before them a certain standard of integrity in business as in other walks of life. It is, indeed, a common belief, among those who have investigated the conditions of trade in Japan, that commercial morality there stands almost on the lowest plane possible to a civilised people, and that, with few exceptions, even Japanese who prove estimable and high-minded in every other matter are not to be trusted when business transactions are in question. As a direct outcome of the contempt and degradation visited upon trade in feudal days, all classes now appear to regard commerce simply as a game of ' besting,' and the man who fails to take advantage of his neighbour when opportunity serves is looked upon rather as a fool than as one whose example should be praised and imitated."—Article entitled " Commercial Morality in Japan," by Robert Young (Editor of The Kobe Chronicle, Japan), in The Nineteenth Century, November, 1896, pp. 722, 723.
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Japanese have already obtained an unenviable notoriety by the fraudulent reproduction and use of foreign trade symbols and patent reservations. Their imitations of European products, which they palm off as the genuine article from abroad, have already expanded into considerable variety. Mr. Hillier, British Consul-General in Korea, speaks of "a wonderful reproduction of Pears' Soap, perfect in so far as box, label, advertisements, and general appearance are concerned, but absolutely worthless as soap; and also a clever imitation of Colman's Mustard. These spurious products are sold side by side in the same shop with the genuine article, but at much lower price." If the Japanese fall into the mistake of sacrificing quality to cheapness, and genuineness to fraudulent imitation, their commercial prosperity is doomed to be at least morally discredited. The energy, ingenuity, and skill of a nation so gifted with the artistic faculty should not be betrayed into the service of commercial dishonesty. Upon a basis of fair dealing, and the production of sterling and genuine articles in all lines of trade, they could easily enter into formidable rivalry with Western nations, and in the end win a reputation for in integrity and commercial honor which would
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place them in the front rank of the world's trade. At present, however, boycotts, enforced by the Trade Guilds to facilitate a dishonorable advantage, or cover the fact of repudiation and force a. compromise of a just obligation, are becoming all too frequent, and are not condemned by public opinion. Shady commercial transactions are condoned if they result in profit. The ethics of honesty cannot hold their own where they conflict with the devices that succeed. A Japanese merchant, in discussing with a foreigner a case of practical repudiation of a debt on the part of a Japanese merchant when goods previously ordered arrived at the time of a falling market, remarked, " But if he had taken delivery he would have lost money." This seemed to settle the matter; he was justified in refusing to receive the goods and pay the price. The writer of the article in which this incident is related, Mr. Robert Young, Editor of The Kobe Chronicle,1 remarks: " That is the attitude which, with some few honourable exceptions, is almost invariably taken up by the Japanese merchant. The profit on a transaction must be on his side. If he perceives that he is likely to lose money, he will repudiate his bargains and his contracts, and will permit all manner of evil things to be said of him rather than fulfil his obligations. It is ' business' to secure the greatest advantage for one's self at all costs to reputation, and this seems the only touchstone which, in Japan, is applied to commercial matters. We see in this the direct outcome of the contempt for trade and for all who concerned themselves in barter, which was one of the features of feudal days in Japan. Ethical considerations were held to be out of place in the field of commerce, and as a result we find that men who would not dream of doing their neighbours injustice or injury in the ordinary affairs of life have no hesitation in overreaching them in a commercial bargain. Trade is thus placed by immemorial custom outside the sphere of morality,—it is something to which ethics do not apply any more than they apply to the differential calculus,—and the result is what might be expected." In India deceit is regarded by the
Dearth of commercial integrity in India, Persia, and Turkey.mass of the people as the guarantee of business success. " There is a story of a magistrate who planted a bazaar with pipal-trees, but was waited upon by a deputation of the shopkeepers, who begged him to remove the trees, for they could not tell lies under them, and business would come to a standstill." This request was based upon the common belief that gods reside hidden among the leaves of the pipal-tree, and inflict punishment 1 See The Nineteenth Century, November, 1896, p. 727.
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upon any one whom they hear telling lies. A common oath is made, while crushing the leaves of the tree in the hand, by invoking the gods to crush the maker of the oath as he crushes the leaf in his hand if he is not telling the truth.1 It was formerly the custom for the Government to superintend the management of Hindu temples, but this duty was afterwards handed over to the Hindus themselves. Many complaints have resulted as to the maladministration of temple revenues, and the British Government has been invited to interfere again.2 These remarks do not apply to all sections of the Hindu population, as the influence of the British element, and the contact of the larger merchants with European commerce, have brought new standards to the more civilized and enlightened sections of Indian traders. In Persia and the Turkish Empire there is a deplorable dearth of commercial integrity. A resident of the Turkish Empire of long experience writes as follows: "The ideal of young men here in going into business is to start out without either principal or principle. Blarney and borrowed money are the prime requisites. The economic value of honesty does not come into consideration. To drive a sharp bargain and to escape detection and punishment, to give little and get much, to make people believe that you know all about a given line of business without taking the trouble to learn, to ape the outside varnish of European wares and of Levantine manners, to grow fat on other people's labors, and strut in honors due to another, these are the standards of far too much that is called business." Rev. S. G. Wilson, in his "Persian Life and Customs," gives many illustrations of infidelity to trust and unscrupulous-ness in dealing.3 Through all Northern Africa trickery is implied in commercial dealings.4 That these tendencies are manifest among sav 1 The Free Church of Scotland Monthly, January, 1895, p. 13. 2 "The Great Temples of India, Ceylon, and Burma," p. 85. 3 "Persian Life and Customs," pp. 86, 231, 285, 290. 4 "The most conspicuous evils here are the low moral standards, both in commercial and social dealings, and the substitution of religiousness for righteousness. The Europeans here are mostly Maltese (perhaps the most unscrupulous and morally degraded of nominally Christian peoples, at least of Western Christians), but even a Maltese is universally regarded by the natives as more truthful and generally upright than themselves, and they put it down to his religion, corrupt as it is. They hold that it is a sin to lie, to cheat, or to steal, but they have no practical notion of what lying, cheating, and stealing are. Religion with them has little to do with righteousness or unrighteousness. Business means roguery; a good liar or a clever cheater is envied and respected, and his lying and cheating would not seriously detract from his religious character. Yet they recognize the beauty of upright dealing when they find it."—Mr. Henry G. Harding (N. A. M.), Tripoli, Barbary, North Africa.
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age tribes and barbarous races still lower in civilization than those already mentioned is a fact which need not be dwelt upon. 3. FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES.—There is no more searching
A crucial test to the average Oriental.test to the average Oriental than the money ordeal. He may reveal most engaging qualities in other respects, but we can never be sure of his moral stamina and fortitude until he has faced the temptation which comes with such dazzling and bewitching power when he feels the thrill of the gleaming coin in his sensitive palm. The same fearful and fateful allurements to unfaithfulness seem to lurk in all financial transactions, large or small, with exceptions which will be referred to presently. When we consider the enormous variety, the fathomless complexity, and the disorderly irregularities of the dealings in money which occupy the Eastern world en masse every day of the year, we realize that this subject brings us into immediate contact with the busiest and most absorbing activities of the entire Orient. It ushers us into the offices of the bankers and money-lenders; we visit the bazaars we stand in the markets; we follow the footsteps of toil; we tramp with the caravans; we sail upon rivers and seas in every imaginable craft; we till the soil and ply every art and industry; we are bewildered with the cunning ways of bargaining, and deafened with its clamor; we enter every public building and call upon every public functionary from Constantinople to Tokyo, and from Moukden to Cape Town; we watch the housewife and her servant just home from the market; we sit by the soldier in his camp, and listen to the ecclesiastic as he tries to probe some crookedness or adjust some hot dispute which has been brought to him for settlement by the parties whose mutual attempts at overreaching have brought both to bay. In all this seething turmoil of the Oriental world the chief subject on every side is the meum et tuum of cash. Yet with all this tendency to crookedness
Some remarkable features of Asiatic banking.there is a vein of traditional fidelity in the large banking houses of the Orient. The great financial firms of every Eastern nation have ways of transacting business which seem to imply and secure exceptional loyalty on the part of certain trusted employees, as well as surprising integrity on the part of those to whom they make advances. In some instances this may be due to conscientious motives based upon moral principle, but in many other cases the explanation will be found rather in the
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power of custom or the claims of self-interest, and perhaps also in the lack of nerve for great crimes, or the hopelessness of success therein. If the idea can be once established that in certain situations there is no precedent for infidelity, that it is contrary to all tradition, and involves swift ruin to the participant and his entire circle of friends, the mystic spell of this status over some Oriental minds becomes wonderful. Every other sin may be possible, and even unfaithfulness to obligations in every other direction may be conceivable, but at the post of duty in the banking house of his master, fidelity is the unwritten and unchangeable law of life to the end. Then, again, self-interest in the case of those who receive advances, and need to be financed year after year in order to survive, is a powerful stimulus to their honesty. A single lapse, and all is over. Every door of hope is closed to them, and the prospects of a lifetime, built in thousands of instances on the expectation of loans when they are needed, are blasted. Once more, the charmed existence of these great Asiatic banking houses seems to awe the criminal instincts of those who might otherwise be ready for plunder. There is not the courage and daring necessary to conceive and execute colossal crimes against them. They have secret ways, also, of securing their profit and safeguarding their wealth, which have worked as well for centuries as the most elaborate modern burglar-proof devices.1 We must provide a margin, then, for exceptional, even in some instances extraordinary, faithfulness in individual cases, or in certain environments in the East; but, with this allowance, it may be said without hesitation that, as a rule, the financial dealings of Oriental peoples are a mass of crooked and tangled unscrupulousness. One of the most prominent figures in
A prominent figure in Eastern finance.Eastern finance is the moneylender. He is everywhere, and his function is important, and yet there is hardly any member of society who needs regulating and supervising more than he. His ruinous exactions are terrible, and press with dire and cruel weight upon his helpless victims, who are mostly from the trading or peasant classes, although every rank in life, from the highest to the lowest, sends its representatives to his door. His rates of interest are rarely lower than twelve per cent., and are frequently as high as fifty or seventy per cent. Perhaps they will average from twenty to thirty per cent, throughout Asia.2 The burden is para- 1 Cf. an article on "Asiatic Bankers," in The Spectator (London), October 31, 1896, in which some of the remarkable features of this subject are most intelligently considered. 2 "Almost all [in India] are in debt, and are so hampered by this burden that it is hardly possible for them to improve their circumstances. The most moderate rate of interest is twelve per cent, per annum, but for small sums one anna to the rupee per month, that is, seventy-five per cent, per annum, or even more, is commonly charged. Frequently rich money-lenders make claims where there is no real indebtedness, and by the production of forged documents succeed in enforcing these claims. I remember a case in which a village magistrate forged a document for ninety rupees against a poor laborer, simply because the man refused to join his faction, and actually obtained a decree for the amount. Often poor people are induced to assent to a document under an utterly false impression. The heads of a Pariah community, for example, in a village in one district were induced to put their marks to a deed of sale for the land belonging to the community, through those who drew up the deed reading it as if it were simply a lease for ten years."—Rev. W. Howard Campbell (L. M. S.), Cuddapah, Madras, India. "The regular rate of interest is twenty-four per cent, per annum, and is so recognized by law. How this produces debt is evident. There are no savings-banks. The facility with which anything may be pawned also tends to poverty. The pawnshops are the wealthiest concerns of every city."—Rev. Donald MacGillivray (C. P. M.), Chu-Wang, China.
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lyzing. Yet from the days when Old Testament lawgivers prohibited usury, even in its strict biblical sense of any interest whatever, until now, the usurious loans of the money-lending oppressor have, been the bane and sorrow of the needy Oriental.1 Debt is therefore a social and economic burden of crushing weight almost everywhere in the East.2 In some countries the grasp of the usurer lays hold upon other things than money—it may be houses, lands, or children, until all is gone.3 In India the money-lender is a busy man, and is found well distributed all through the country, although the majority in North India come from Marwar, a Rajputana State, and are therefore known as 1 Cf. The Spectator (London), February 15, 1896, article on "Money-lending in the East." 2 "Debt is a great evil in India. A very large proportion of the community never expect to get out of debt. Debt is oftenest contracted by foolish expenditure required by custom on occasions such as marriages, births, and burials. It is pretty often to the interest of the money-lender that the principal should not be repaid. It is not unusual to charge interest at the rate of seventy-five per cent, per annum, payment monthly in advance, the bare amount of interest constituting by no means the sole profit of the lender. One of the most serious problems of Government is how to rid the agricultural community from the clutches of the usurer."—Rev. Robert Morrison (P. B. F. M. N.), Lahore, India. 3 "The rate of interest is always very high. Often the note is written thus : 'If not paid when due, one shall become two.' That is, the principal is to be doubled if the note is not paid at maturity. The creditor may then take the whole family as his slaves, or he may take one or two of the children to 'sit on the interest,' as they term it. That is, the services of the children will prevent the accumulation of interest, but will not reduce the principal. Slavery for debt is exceedingly common, and escape from it, when once entrapped, is very uncommon."—J. W. McKean, M.D. (P. B. F. M. N.), Chieng Mai, Laos. "The King promulgated a law a few years ago providing for the gradual abolition of debt-slavery. It is beginning to take some effect."—Rev. W. G. McClure (P. B. F. M. N.), Petchaburee, Siam.
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Marwaris. Other names, as, for instance, sowkar, in the Deccan, prevail in other sections of India. These money-brokers drive a thriving and ruinous business. It is a characteristic weakness of Hindus to fall into their trap. Mr. Malabari, in his "Gujarat and the Gujaratis," has pointed out the insidious wiles of the Marwari, and the fatal ascendancy he soon secures.1 Books upon India give detailed accounts of the inveterate habit of borrowing, and the methods long in use by moneylenders to get the peasantry and small traders into their power, and of the inevitable catastrophe which follows.2 "One of the greatest curses in India," writes Dr. Robert Stewart, "is the Hindu broker."3 The 1 "The Marwari allows credit to his customers till it has reached, say, a rupee;then begins the interest at two annas a month; then it becomes a book debt; then is required a security—an old ring, a few cooking utensils, some wearing apparel, etc. These are lodged with the Marwari till the lodger has drawn upon the shop for about half their value. Fresh security is now required if fresh supplies of rotten grain, adulterated oil, wet fuel, etc., are applied for. He charges heavy interest for the credit money, and he turns to account the security lodged with him. He lends the ring, the clothes, the utensils, or the furniture to others, and charges for the use. If those who have lodged the articles with him object to their being used, why, they must close their account with him! "The Marwari will lend and sell on credit to the last pie compatible with safety. Infinite is his power of lending, so is his power of recovering. The moment the Marwari finds difficulty in repayment, he sets about squeezing the last drop out of the unhappy wretch. He removes from his house everything worth removing. He does not scruple to put his victims to the vilest uses, so he can recover what he thinks to be his due. When all fails to satisfy the relentless fiend, he resorts to the Small Cause Court. Those who know what a summary suit is need not be told that the Marwari has the power to sell by auction everything the debtor may possess. He often buys up everything himself. "The Marwari feeds upon the poorer classes of Hindus, but clerks and others likewise fall victims to his rapacity. His policy is the policy of the 'long rope.' He lends and lends till the man is completely in his power, and is virtually his slave for life."—Malabari, "Gujarat and the Gujaratis," quoted in "The Principal Nations of India," p. 81. 2 Cf. Raghavaiyangar, "Progress of the Madras Presidency During the Last Forty Years,"Appendices, p. cclxxv.; Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 409, 410. See also "Debt and the Right Use of Money," a timely little pamphlet in the series of Papers on Social Reform, published by the Christian Literature Society, Madras. The beguiling allurements and sinuosities of Indian debt-traps are briefly and instructively treated in this useful tract written especially for Indian readers. 3 " Life and Work in India," p. 127.
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conditions, however, are greatly improved by financial reforms introduced by the British Government.1 In China currency is the
Currency problems in China.sport of tricksters. Few are inclined to part with coin without surreptitiously extracting something of its value; all are reluctant to receive it without carefully testing its integrity. The rate of interest is uniformly high, ranging from twenty-four to thirty-six percent., and sometimes even more.2 The mysteries and uncertainties of Chinese finances are discussed by Mr. R. S. Gundry, in "China, Present and Past," in a special chapter on "Currency" (pp. 141-158). China is still dependent in her treaty ports and vicinity upon the Mexican, Japanese, and to some extent the British dollar issued at Hong Kong, for her current medium and her accepted standard. In the interior the small "cash" and the awkward silver "shoes"—blocks 1 "The extension of the security of property to all parts of the country, the adoption of a uniform currency, the introduction of the money-order system and of currency notes and State banks, and the creation of a public stock in which money can be invested with perfect security, have rendered it now impossible for the money- lending classes to make the enormous gains which they did in former times. . . .There can be no doubt, however, that, with the increase of trade and the growth of a money economy, money-lending classes have increased in large numbers and spread all through the country instead of being confined to the towns. According to the returns of income tax for the year 1890-91, there were in this [Madras]
Presidency 14,621 money lenders with incomes exceeding Rs 500 per annum. There is no means of forming an estimate of petty money-lenders with less income than Rs 500."—Raghavaiyangar, "Progress of the Madras Presidency During the Last Forty Years," p. 160. At the Poona Social Conference held in December, 1895, the president, Dr. Bhandarkar, in his inaugural address referred to the money-lender and his virtual war upon Indian society as follows: "And I will make bold to assert that the chronic poverty of the agricultural classes and the depredations of the proverbial sowkar, or money-lender, are a great social evil. The Government has been endeavoring to do a good deal by means of mere special legislation; but that does not seem to have remedied the evil, and the money-lender continues to charge interest from eighteen to twenty-five per cent, on loans raised on the security of lands. This is a political as well as a social question. The Government has been on several occasions urged to establish agricultural banks. . . . An ordinary bank with agencies at the district towns, and sub-agencies for circles with a radius of about ten miles, will, I think, fully answer the purpose. Money should be lent on the security of land at an interest of from nine to twelve per cent., payable about the same time as the land revenue. Sympathetic, though firm, treatment should be accorded to the peasants, and the agents employed should not be unscrupulous men exacting perquisites for themselves." See for full text of the Address, which deals with many aspects of social reform in India, Delhi Mission News, July, 1896. 2 Smith, "Chinese Characteristics," p. 255.
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valued at about forty dollars—are the common currency. The Celestial Empire awaits some system of terrestrial coinage which will be of practical service and guaranteed stability for advantageous commercial use. Just at present financial matters are in a confused and unstable state, and foreign investments, as well as native ventures, are attended with considerable risk, all of which is depressing to China and retards her commercial progress.1 It is sufficient to say, in conclusion, that systematic and regulative measures are desperately needed in the sphere of finance and banking everywhere throughout the less civilized sections of the world. The assurance now felt is almost entirely due to the fact that great banking establishments, under foreign control, backed by foreign capital, conducted by orderly methods, having the confidence of the whole commercial East, and with a bed-rock of moral stability under them, control the finances of the Orient. 4. PRIMITIVE INDUSTRIAL APPLIANCES.—Financial uncertainties
The fixedness of industrial methods in the East.are in league with clumsy tools and antiquated methods in trades, industries, and agricultural labors to retard the development of the East. It is social heresy of the most pronounced kind in many sections of the Orient to forsake the time-honored ways of antiquity for new and improved methods, however advantageous they may be. Every one is afraid to begin, lest he offend public sentiment or become the butt of ridicule, or possibly find himself incompetent to succeed in any other way than that of his fathers for generations past. The gradual development of better facilities has been hitherto checked as if by proscription; the natural transformation of ways and means from the old and cumbersome to the new and facile has been interdicted as if it were high treason to society. The result of this wholesale condemnation of better methods, simply because they are different from the old, is a check to the business prosperity and the social advancement of the East, while it is a serious drawback to progress. In China the old, awkward methods of farming with rude implements are still in vogue, and the modern facilities of Western nations are under a ban of contempt. Harvesting and threshing are done in primitive and laborious fashion.2 The Koreans are, if possible, even 1 The subject has been fully and ably treated by Vissering, "Chinese Currency" (Leyden, Brill, 1877). 2 "Accustomed as we are to large farms and extended systems of agriculture, Chinese farms appear to partake more of the nature of market-gardens than of agricultural holdings. The implements used are primitive in the extreme, and are such as, we learn from the sculptures, were used in ancient Assyria. Two only may be said to be generally used, the plough and the hoe. The first of these is little more than a spade fastened to a single handle by bamboo bands. As a rule, it is drawn by a buffalo or buffaloes, and some travellers even claim to have seen women harnessed in the same yoke with these beasts of burden. From the shape of the share the Chinese plough does little more than disturb the surface of the soil, and rarely penetrates more than four or five inches. . . . The spade is seldom used, and the hoe is made to take its place. Rakes and bill-hooks complete the farmer's stock in trade. The bamboo, which is made to serve almost every purpose, forms the material of each part of the rake; while the bill-hook has a treble debt to pay, serving as a pruning-knife in the spring, a scythe in the summer, and a sickle when the grain is ripe to harvest."—Douglas, "Society in China," p. 126.
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behind the Chinese, while elsewhere in Asia, with the exception of India and Japan, the old, worn-out appliances of patriarchal agriculture sum up the resources of the people pretty much everywhere. Many Asiatic countries, and
The industrial capabilities of the Orient.China not the least among them, are endowed with as yet unexplored resources. Mineral wealth in apparently exhaustless abundance and variety, untouched natural sources of power and production, are kept in wasteful idleness, while the people to work them are swarming on every side, with the finest gifts of patient industry, awaiting that inspiring and guiding leadership which will direct them in paths of usefulness. Asiatics are by no means deficient in capacity; they are able to do an immense share of the world's work with a skill and deftness which, if they could be brought into touch with the appliances of modern times, would astonish and perhaps greatly disconcert the Western nations, who seem to look upon their trade and commerce as beyond competition so far as Eastern rivalry is concerned. Japan has already sent a nervous thrill through the commercial circles of the West, and other peoples of the East will before long add their increment of force to the shock. An illustration of the prompt advantage of the adoption of modern improvements is at hand. China since the days of the Roman emperors, as has been shown by Mr. Gundry,1 has been noted for her trade in silk, but, adhering to her primitive methods, her output was limited, and other nations with improved machinery absorbed a large share of the industry. Now her people are just beginning to adopt the facilities for machine-reeling, and China is coming into rapid competition with her rivals.2 So in the case of the sugar-cane industry in Central China; the native mills are so im- 1 "China, Present and Past," p. 122. 2 "In a recent report from the British Legation in Peking on Chinese commercial topics, silk is described as the most characteristic of all Chinese products, and that which gave the country its name in the West in ancient times. The export is growing rapidly, especially in certain varieties, such as raw steam filature, in which it was half a million pounds in 1894, and three and one half millions last year. The increased export of silk is especially marked in Shanghai, where the total value last year was estimated at nearly six millions sterling. Shanghai has now twenty-five silk filatures; new factories are about to be erected in Su-chau and Hang-chau, which are close to the silk-producing districts, and it is believed that before long all the Chinese silk going abroad will be filature reeled before leaving the country. This will involve a large increase in the silk production, in consequence of the abandonment of the native method of reeling from fresh cocoons. Hitherto the silk producers have never reared more worms than could be dealt with in the ten days that elapse between the completion of the cocoon by the worm and the appearance of the moth, as the perfect insects eat their way through the cocoons to the light, and thus destroy them. But with steam filatures the cocoon is baked, or kiln-dried, so that the chrysalis is killed, and the spinning of the silk can take place at any time. The increased production thereby secured in China will probably seriously influence the production in France and Italy. Sir Robert Hart has been instrumental in introducing to China the Pasteur system of treating diseased silkworms, much to the advantage of the cultivators. Canton comes next in importance as a silk port to Shanghai, and is followed by Chifu, though the yellow silk produced in the districts for which the last is the outlet is not in demand in Europe, for the winding of it is not such as to please European manufacturers. Silk goods manufactured in China are also more largely exported."—The Mail (London Times), November 6, 1896.
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perfect in their processes that an enormous waste of twenty per cent. of the best juice is left in the cane and subsequently burned up. Modern machinery would do away with this loss, and in a recent letter from the Rev. W. N. Brewster, of Hinghua City, Fuhkien, he intimates his intention to make the effort to introduce modern sugarcane mills in that section. Yet, with all the facilities for competition which Western manufacturers possess, native fabrics still hold their own in many parts of Asia. The products of the Indian looms are not so cheap as those of Manchester, but they are more durable, and Sir W. Hunter estimates that about three fifths of the cotton cloth used in India is woven there.1 The facilities of communication
The demand for improved facilities of transportation.form another pressing problem throughout Asia, except where Western capital and skill have "made a highway" for transportation and intercourse. The railway is thrusting itself into China; there is already a magnificent system in India; and Japan is rapidly developing an extensive plant. Siam is as yet untouched, except in the vicinity of its capital,2 although various projects have been announced, and preliminary explorations have been 1 Hunter, "The Indian Empire," p. 702. The whole chapter on "Arts and Manufactures" (pp. 700-721) is an instructive commentary on the industrial capacity and manual skill of native workmen. 2 "The solution of the most pressing problems of Siam's future is, of course, means of communication. So long as this one and only remedy is untouched by any efforts except the present perfunctory and fictitious designs of the Royal Railway Department, so long the vast possibilities of Siamese development must remain unrealized. Take about half an hour's walk from the Grand Palace in Bangkok in any direction you please, and you find you can go no further. Not, however, because the roads are atrocious, as in Korea, or impassable, as in China. They simply do not exist—there are none. Even the great waterway, the one hope and stay of the struggling timber-dealers and despairing rice-traders, is allowed to remain in a more or less unnavigable condition for half of every year. The trade of Siam, the development of Siam, the resources of Siam, have become what they are in the teeth of almost insuperable obstacles. In this complete absence of roads, one can of course only get out of Bangkok and see anything of the country by boat-travelling either on the canals or the main river; and afterwards start from certain recognized centres, on ponies, or more often on foot, with bullocks or coolies for baggage, along the rough trails and jungle paths, created simply by the persistent tramping of feet, without artificial construction of any sort, which still do duty for 'Internal Communications.'"—Norman, "The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," p. 426.
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made with a view to an entrance from Burma on the north. Throughout much of interior Asia the difficulties of transportation and intercommunication are an insurmountable barrier to development.1 With the progress of the new era of national aspiration and social advance which is opening in all parts of the world, we shall witness the acceptance of industrial facilities and their skilful use, when sufficient experience and training have made them serviceable. In the meantime industries lag under the weight of antiquated methods. VII.—THE RELIGIOUS GROUP (Evils which deprive society of the moral benefits of a pure religious faith and practice) THE universality of the religious instinct in mankind is
The universality of religion.now no longer an open question among the most eminent students of anthropology and ethnology. Dr. F. B. Jevons, in his recent admirable volume, defends the statement that there never was a time in the history of man when he was without religion. He shows that, although some writers have endeavored to demonstrate its falsity by producing savage peoples alleged to have no religious ideas whatever, it is nevertheless, as every anthropologist knows, a discussion which "has now gone to the limbo of dead controversies." He confirms this judgment by show- 1 "In South China we have nothing but the sedan-chair or the pony's back to give any variety from walking. Tens of thousands of men in South China are little more than beasts of burden. Rice and sugar and tobacco and tea are brought for miles and miles on the shoulders of men, as the only means of conveyance, until the produce reaches some river, and is thence transported by boat."—Rev. J. G. Fagg (Ref. C. A.), Amoy, China.
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ing that "writers approaching the subject from such different points of view as Professor Tylor, Max Müller, Ratzel, De Quatrefages, Tiele, Waitz, Gerland, and Peschel, all agree that there are no races, however rude, which are destitute of all idea of religion."1 This universality of religion has been identified with the social life of primitive peoples quite as much, if not more, than with their individual life. Early religion, in fact, entered into the life of the clan or tribe quite as definitely as into that of the family or individual. As Dr. Jevons writes, religion from the beginning "was not an affair which concerned the individual only, but one which demanded the coöperation of the whole community ; and a religious community was the earliest form of society."2 Thus, for good or for ill, the social evolution of humanity has been to a most impressive degree influenced by religious beliefs and practices, and this is especially true to-day in lands where the social and religious life of the people are largely identical. Social degeneracy has been hastened by the defects of religion, and the advance to better conditions has been stimulated by its superior qualities. The great variety of religious beliefs and practices has occasioned widely divergent tendencies in social life. The difficulty has been not so much the absence of religion as its imperfections and perversions. The history of mankind has not been irreligious, but it has been perversely erroneous and wayward in its religious tendencies. The explanation of the religious
The fact of general religious defection.wanderings and defections of mankind is not a matter which it is necessary to discuss here. The theory which biblical history clearly indicates is intelligible and consistent. The fact of primitive monotheism is sufficiently clear as a doctrine of Scripture, and there seems to be no good reason, based upon either philosophical or scientific data, to doubt it; but it is equally plain that early monotheism failed to hold the race in allegiance. Mankind deserted God the Creator and turned to the creature. Man forsook the law of his Maker, turned to vain and superstitious imaginations concerning the supernatural, and through various gradations of totemism, 1 Jevons, "An Introduction to the History of Religion," p. 7. Professor Ratzel, in his "History of Mankind," remarks : "Ethnography knows no race devoid of religion, but only differences in the degree to which religious ideas are developed" (vol. i., p. 40). 2 Page 101.
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fetichism, animism, idolatry, and the prostitution of religion to the service of sensuous and destructive desires, lost spiritual contact with his God and fell into deep and general apostasy. This collapse would no doubt have been universal and final had not God laid hold of a remnant of humanity, and, by spiritual touch and strenuous discipline, preserved them from the prevalent defection, and guided them by many and varied interventions into the ways of allegiance and obedience. Judaism, however, as revealed in Hebrew history, was not free from faults and gross scandals, culminating in an almost total eclipse; although in its deep and wonderful religious development, and as a preparatory training for the spiritual doctrine and the larger life of Christianity, it bears every evidence of its divine mission. In the case of other peoples, however, the spiritual defection has been a dark and overshadowing calamity, which has culminated in the long tragedy of man's spiritual history. The loss of the true God out of the consciousness of the race is a sufficient and, under all the circumstances, a perfectly natural explanation of its religious blindness, perversity, and degeneracy. In the deep and awful excesses of man's sinful career there have appeared from time to time men of nobler and higher, but, alas! most defective vision,
The genesis of ethnic faiths.whose natures have revolted from the spiritual and sensual degradation of their environment, and some of whom have sought, upon he basis of philosophy or ethics or devout aspiration or partial rehabilitation of the remnants of truth still present in religious tradition, to reform the spiritual life of mankind. Such, we may believe, has been in the main the spirit of the purer heathen sages, and the true genesis of the great ethnic faiths of the Orient, which in most instances originated in a revolt from degeneracy, a break with pagan despair, and a struggle to establish a truer and nobler religious cult. These religious revivals, some far purer than others in their original conception, have themselves in time suffered collapse. The resulting cult has become corrupted, and in certain instances defiled by gross lapses into idolatry or compromising alliances with the flesh. There is a pathos in their aspiration, a nobility in their revolt, but, alas! a sorrowful incapacity in their vital spiritual forces to cope with the sinful perversity of the human heart. They have had their partial and imperfect messages to mankind and have helped humanity in a measure; they have brought fitful gleams of light and disproportionate religious instruction ; but they have failed at vital points, and have advocated fatal compromises and concessions, which have weakened, if not in some instances wholly destroyed, their capacity to lift humanity to higher levels.
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Mankind has been in some respects indebted to them, but in other respects they have proved disappointing and deceptive. The world of to-day, with its manifold miseries and iniquities, is probably as good a world as the ethnic faiths could be expected to produce. In considering, therefore, the social benefits which
The social value of true religion.may be hoped for through religious influence, it will be seen that everything depends upon the character of the religion itself. If it is not true in doctrine and pure in practice, if it is not gifted with spiritual vitality sufficiently persuasive and vivifying to control the moral nature, if it does not, in fact, lead men to the living and true God and produce in them a transformation of character after the likeness of the Eternal Goodness, then its powerlessness dooms it to failure. The absolute essential of a true and efficient religion is that it secures reconciliation between God and man, and produces in the latter a worthy moral character. In other words, it must put sinful man into right relations with God, and so renew and purify his nature by the processes of training and soul culture that he is spiritually made over. Whatever else it does, if it does not do this in the case of its individual believers and followers, it will inevitably fail to reconstruct society after the pattern of divine righteousness. There is no basis for purified social ethics except a transformed individual character.1 If, however, the religious life of a community is true to the higher standards of righteousness, a high and noble religious experience will prove an immense and inspiring force in the moulding of social development. In a word, true religion is a fountain of social and national ideals, and is the source of higher ethical impulses in the State. It becomes also a conservative restraint in times of passion and excitement; it creates a respect for law, and quickens the reverence for justice; it rebukes not only individual, but social and even national selfishness; it stimulates the aspiration after liberty; it checks the spirit of revenge and retaliation; it quickens the desire for peace and conciliation; it identifies true manhood with gentleness, true courage with forbearance, true manly and womanly character with virtue. The constructive forces of society are, therefore, moral; the genesis of all true and high enthusiasm for goodness is religious. It is only through religious faith that the influence of invisible realities is brought to bear in an environment of visible things. Faith in immortality, that mighty secret of the soul, comes to us through religion. Only thus can men live here in this world "under the power of the 1 Cf. Hillis, "A Man's Value to Society," especially chap, i., "Elements of Worth in the Individual."
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world to come." Supernaturalism, to be sure, may be an immense power for evil if it degenerates into superstition, but, on the other hand, it may be a magnificent stimulus for good. With God as its centre, and with the illuminating instruction of revelation poured upon it, it becomes wonderfully fruitful in motive power towards individual and social perfection. We turn now to a few specifications illustrative of the unhappy results upon society of a religious life which is destitute of the purifying and vitalizing forces of Christianity. I. DEGRADING CONCEPTIONS OF THE NATURE AND REQUIREMENTS OF RELIGION.—We have said that the influence
The true test of social value in a religion.of a religion upon the individual and social life depends, not only upon the power of its ascendancy over the conscience, but upon the character of the object it presents for worship and the subject-matter of its teaching. If it is conceded that there is but one living and true God, who is alone worthy of religious adoration and faith, and whose moral precepts provide the only safe and helpful guidance to the soul, it follows that if in place of this supreme and holy personal Creator as the spiritual centre of religious faith we have impersonal abstractions, perhaps vaguely personified, or pantheistic theories, or imaginary pantheons, or an environment of demons or fetiches, we have lost touch with a supreme, divine Personality. If we have nature-worship, idolatry, or some gross form of sensualism; if we have mere philosophical dogma, or an ethical code, however elaborate and severe, or pagan mysticism, however ecstatic, or rationalism, however pretentious and dogmatic, or mere humanitarianism, as the sum of religious duty, we are bound to have a moral impression which is worth to society just what the spiritual dignity of its central truth amounts to, and nothing more. We cannot vitalize the moral nature through a religious system which is itself without living spiritual forces. The subject-matter of religious teaching is also a test of its social value. If in place of the sweet, pure morality and the spiritual discipline of Christianity we have crude philosophical formulae, or error posing as truth, or lax ethical principles, or compromises with the flesh, or external formalism, or sacerdotal pretensions, the result is depressing just in proportion to the degeneracy of the religious standards upheld and practised. Thus, if a religion presents ideals of character in its gods which are degrading; if its worship is compromising to true manhood and womanhood; if the creature is exalted to a dignity which belongs only to the Creator; if religion is
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made a matter of forms and ceremonies, of feasts, fasts, festivals, and pilgrimages ; if it fosters asceticism, mendicancy, monasticism, self-torture, or vain display; if it nourishes fanatical pride and intolerance, or sanctions persecution, cruelty, and moral defection; if it gives scope to sins of the flesh and severs morality from piety; if it regards a religious profession as valuable simply in proportion to the material advantages and immunities it brings; if it fails to regard humanitarian service as a part of religious duty, or in other ways lowers the scope and efficiency of its spiritual mission, then to that extent it is sure to fail as an uplifting force in society. In the religious life of China, for example,
Some effects of anscestor-worship on Chinese society.whatever amiable and, were it not for its idolatrous trend, comparatively venial faults may be connected with the worship of ancestors, there are certain aspects of the subject which inflict a burden of needless fears and pessimistic alarms upon all Chinese society. The whole realm of the dead becomes peopled with spirits, not of ancestors alone, but of thousands who have died around them, and of this swarming host the Chinese stand in troubled awe and haunting fear. "They worship them just as they worship devils or demons to keep them away. They regard all such pretty much as they do the living beggars who come to their doors, and the sole object in contributing to either is to induce them to leave. Shopmen who do not wish to be annoyed by the professional beggars can be exempt by paying regularly in advance a certain sum to the king of the beggars, who will place a mark over their doors that is readily understood by all the craft of professionals. Thus the people hope, by contributing at regular periods to the comfort of the forlorn spirits in the other world, in like manner to be exempt from annoyance from them."1 This burden of worshipping the dead imposes an enormous annual monetary outlay upon the Chinese, estimated by Dr. Yates at $151,752,000. This immense expenditure .to quiet the spirits of the dead is not merely a tribute of filial piety or charity, but of servile fear. The living become the slaves of the dead, and all in the name of religion. Mr. Smith, in "Chinese Characteristics" (p. 184), expresses his conviction thus: "The true root of the Chinese practice of filial piety we believe to be a mixture of fear and self-love, two of the most powerful motives which can act on the human soul. The spirits must be worshipped on account of the power which they have for evil." Dr. Henry says in the same connection: "The motives for this devotion are not 1 The Rev. M. T. Yates, D.D., in an essay on "Ancestral Worship," published in the "Report of the Shanghai Conference, 1877," p. 383.
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found in reverence or affection for the deceased, but in self-love and fear of personal distress. The people are chained to the dead. They cannot move or act without encountering prosperous or adverse influences excited by the spirits of the dead. They are kept all their lifetime in fear, not of death, but of the dead."1 This dread of the spirits overshadows the whole life of the Chinese. It gives to geomancy its paralyzing influence, since it is dangerous to disturb the natural configuration of the earth, lest it excite the fatal animosity of lurking spirits of evil. Grading for a railway becomes presumptuous trifling with unseen foes; mining for coal, iron, copper, silver, and other metals is simply a blasphemous assault upon a stronghold of demons. At every turn the Chinaman has to reckon with impending calamity.2 This brooding apprehension gives to the priestly class a monopoly of power in the use of their supposed gift of exorcism, which they are not slow to use. Take, once more, the Chinese doctrine of metempsychosis,
Other illustrations from China.or the possible transmigration of the soul, either for better or for worse, after leaving the present life. Of this Dr. Martin remarks that he considers this doctrine, as generally held "largely responsible for the prevalence of suicide, leading those who are hopelessly wretched to try their luck on another throw of the dice." 3 On the other hand, in the expectation of a reward and a betterment of his condition in the future state, the Chinaman looks to his Buddhist priest as the "established medium, through whom his merits may be demonstrated and made known in heaven, and from whose hands he looks to receive his official diploma of celestial promotion." 4 Here again is slavery, and an opportunity for extortion which is not neglected. Once more, the Chinese doctrine of merit robs morality of its power to command. By special donations, or by gifts to charity or for religious purposes, the Chinese believe that they can make atonement for immoral lives, and so can purchase immunity from the condemnation of public opinion here, and from the judgments of a higher tribunal beyond.5 All this serves to illustrate the moral disorder which settles down upon society as the result of mistaken conceptions of the nature and requirements of religion. 1 "The Cross and the Dragon," p. 125. Cf. also Du Bose, "The Dragon, Image, and Demon," p. 80. 2 Henry, "The Cross and the Dragon," p. 150. 3 "A Cycle of Cathay," p. 39. 4 Curzon, "Problems of the Far East," p. 377. 5 Moule, "New China and Old," p. 170.
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In India the strict observance of caste amounts to a religion with the great mass of Hindus, so that social life is shot through and through with the exactions of that strange system.
The social influence of Hinduism.In other respects the religious ideas and practices of Hinduism are a degrading social incubus. There are features of Hindu worship which no society with any self-respect would tolerate, and which make social morality impossible without an utter break with religion. So mysterious and abominable are the tenets and the ceremonial observances of certain sects in India that educated Hindus themselves stand aghast when they undertake to refer to them in language addressed to Occidental readers.1 Saivism, or the worship of Siva, and Vaishnavism, or the worship of Vishnu, are mysteries into which the very passwords of entrance must be left unsaid.2 Saktism, or the worship of force personified as a goddess, as exemplified in the religious honors paid to Kall, Durga, and other goddesses, often represented in places of worship by living women, goes to an extreme which the Hindu himself recognizes as esoteric.3 Then there is the endless repetition of the names of gods, the worship of heroes, saints, and devotees, and the reverence paid to animals, including especially cows, monkeys, and serpents, and the religious honors rendered to sacred trees and various inanimate objects, all of which tend to lower the tone of religion and degrade it to the level of superstition, until its influence as a social uplift is practically destroyed. It has so little to do with the moral life of the people that religion goes one way and social morals go another.4 Fasts, festivals, 1 Mr. Bhattacharya, in his "Hindu Castes and Sects," designates a number of Hindu sects as "disreputable," and in writing of the nature of Sakti worship he draws a deep veil of reserve over his references. Concerning the image of Siva which they worship, he remarks : "The true nature of such images is not generally known, though it is defined in unmistakable terms in the Dhyan, or formula for contemplating the Goddess Kali." In referring to the image of Kali, he states that popular ideas on the subject by no means reach the mysterious vileness it suggests. "What its real meaning is," he remarks, "cannot possibly be explained here. Those inclined to dive into such filth must study the ritual for Kali worship" (p. 408). 2 Sir M. Monier-Williams, "Brahmanism and Hinduism," pp. 73-94, 101, 136, 137. 143; Bhattacharya, "Hindu Castes and Sects," p. 368. 3 Sir M. Monier-Williams, "Brahmanism and Hinduism," pp. 190-192; Wilkins, "Modern Hinduism," pp. 94, 193-321; Bhattacharya, "Hindu Castes and Sects," pp. 407-413. 4 " In this land of mysticism, religion has long been dissociated in the popular mind from ordinary human conduct. To hundreds and thousands of people religion is a something apart from the moral conduct of a person. He may be mean, or selfish, or untruthful, he may cheat his neighbour or rob the poor widow, yet if he performs a number of acts prescribed in the Shastras, or goes through the ordinances of the current faith, or spends some hours of the day in sentimental ecstacies, he consoles himself with the belief that he has fulfilled the best conditions of religious life."—The Indian Messenger, November 27, 1892.
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pilgrimages, holy days, and shrines, sacred waters with supposed powers to purify, innumerable temples imposing in architecture and ornate in furnishing, uncounted idols at every turn in the daily life—all give to the religious life of India a depressing influence disastrous to social weal. Indian Mohammedanism has certain features which deeply compromise its helpfulness, and, although it is far cleaner and more loyal to higher religious truth than Hinduism, its social benefits are sadly neutralized by its moral concessions. The fatal idea that sins against society can be condoned, or atoned for by religious ceremonialism, and even that merit may be accumulated in spite of moral laxity, pervades more or less all the religious systems of India.1 As in China so in 1 Raja Rammohun Roy, a noted Indian reformer at the beginning of the present century, in the introduction to his translation of the Isopanishad, remarks upon this feature of Hinduism as follows: "The chief part of the theory and practice of Hinduism, I am sorry to say, is made to consist in the adoption of a peculiar mode of diet, the least aberration from which (even though the conduct of the offender may in other respects be pure and blameless) is not only visited with the severest censure, but actually punished by exclusion from the society of his family and friends. In a word, he is doomed to undergo what is commonly called loss of caste. "On the contrary, the rigid observance of this grand article of Hindu faith is considered in so high a light as to compensate for every moral defect. Even the most atrocious crimes weigh little or nothing in the balance against the supposed guilt of its violation. "Murder, theft, or perjury, though brought home to the party by a judicial sentence, so far from inducing loss of caste, is visited in their society with no peculiar mark of infamy or disgrace. "A trifling present to the Brahman, commonly called prayaschit, with the performance of a few idle ceremonies, is held as a sufficient atonement for all these crimes ; and the delinquent is at once freed from all temporal inconveniences, as well as all dread of future retribution." In an article on "Social and Religious Reform," published in of June 24, 1887, is found substantially the same verdict, as follows : "The Hindu mythology has to be purged of the absurdities that have overgrown it during centuries of ignorance and of superstitious and timid isolation. In the same manner, the moral ideas of our common people have to be improved. An orthodox Hindu would tolerate falsehood, cowardice, and self-abasement, but would damn to perdition his neighbour who swerves the least from accepted conventions even in the details of personal habits. Such moral perversity does not indicate a healthy social condition. Similarly, our ideas of charity, of social distinction, education, and social well-being in general, have to be drawn out of the influence of an obsolete and backward civilization, and brought in harmony with the fresh spirit of the time."
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India the religious atmosphere is deeply pessimistic. Fear is a controlling influence in religious life. The anger of the gods hangs like a brooding curse over life. The dread of evil spirits dwarfs the mind and chills the heart. Religion is an aggressive struggle to ward off perils and propitiate angry gods or malicious demons. The disadvantages of a religious faith and practice so burdensome, so depressing, so misleading can be fully understood only by one who is familiar with the social condition of the Indian people. In Mohammedan lands there are strange and crude
Islam and its relation to social morality.conceptions of what religion is and what it requires. The influence of Islam, so far as it relates to the cultivation of liberty, purity, justice, and kindliness, is revealed in its own history. It has ever taken an attitude towards humanity which is marked by relentless spiritual and social despotism. True to its historic demand that all unbelievers shall choose between Islam, tribute, and the sword, it offers to humanity its own rigid matrix, into which social life must flow and be cast after the old Islamic model, or accept humiliation and ostracism as the only alternatives. When the fanatical passions of Islam are stirred all guarantees of public order are worthless. Mohammedan feasts and festivals, where the population is not constituted exclusively of Moslems, often involve grave dangers. When the processions of the Muharram Passion Play are in progress no Christian in Persia can venture upon the streets, except at his peril. Wherever Islam is aggressively to the front human society cannot count upon its safeguards, nor the State upon its liberties. It has already smitten some of the fairest lands of the earth with the blight of social disorder and decay.1 Islam carries into the family polygamy, unrestricted divorce, and slavery, the latter, as a rule, being simply an indefinite and unrestrained expansion of the first, under the guise of concubinage.2 In the name of the Moslem's reli- 1 Cf. article entitled "Turkey for the Turks," in The Independent, November 12, 1896, p. 15.
2 "As asocial system," writes Stanley Lane-Poole, "Islam is a complete failure: it has misunderstood the relation of the sexes, upon which the whole character of a nation's life hangs, and, by degrading women, has degraded each successive generation of their children down an increasing scale of infamy and corruption, until it seems almost impossible to reach a lower level of vice. "The fatal spot in Islam is the degradation of women. The true test of a nation's place in the ranks of civilisation is the position of its women. When they are held in reverence, when it is considered the most infamous of crimes to subject a woman to dishonour, and the highest distinction to protect her from wrong; when the family life is real and strong, of which the mother-wife is the heart; when each man's pulse beats loyal to womanhood, then is a nation great. When women are treated as playthings, toys, drudges, worth anything only if they have beauty to be enjoyed or strength to labour; when sex is considered the chief thing in a woman, and heart and mind are forgotten; when a man buys women for his pleasure, and dismisses them when his appetite is glutted, then is a nation despicable."—"Studies in a Mosque," pp. 101, 102.
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gion there is all the scope to desire which an Oriental wishes. Is not female slavery, with all that it practically means, down in the code ? He therefore believes in it and practises it, so far as he is able, with a religious as well as a fleshly zest. The Moslem soldier for centuries has marched to his victories, not alone over the dead bodies of men, but over the dishonored forms of women. He even departs for his Paradise with the gleam of expectant passion in his glazing eyes. The family life of Islam is a nursery of ideas which are necessarily fatal to social purity.1 Its political spirit gives no place to liberty and civilized statecraft. The Moslem creed, in its attitude to both the State and the family, in its spirit of ostracism, in its despotic assumptions, in its narrow bigotry, its rigid limitations to progress, its triumphant adjustment of God's law to man's natural desire, and its failure to generate moral character, is a striking illustration of the social blight which is sure to result from a degrading conception of the nature and requirements of religion. The same difficulties which attended the reconstruction of social morality among
The difficulties of social reconstruction in an environment of religious degeneracy.heathen converts in the apostolic age still hinder the progress of Christianity in modern mission fields. It was not easy to banish pagan laxity from the new life Christians in the great cities of the Roman Empire. Some of the most searching and vigorous passages in the apostolic epistles are directed to the emphasis and elucidation of morality as an essential of Christian living. History is repeating itself as Christianity enters the pagan environment of to-day. Hundreds, even thousands, of natives in different mission fields in Polynesia and Africa, and even in more enlightened Oriental lands, have been, and are still, seeking admission to the Christian Church without quite understanding why their inconsistent morality presents any serious obstacle to their enrolment. Their old religions put little or no restriction upon individual conduct or traditional social customs; why, therefore, should the new faith introduce such troublesome innovations into the realm of every-day life? No student of the religious condition of the world, however, will recognize this state of things as pertaining to a heathen environment alone. In Mexico and the entire 1 Lane, "Arabian Society in the Middle Ages," chap, ix., on "Women."
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South American Continent, where Roman Catholic Christianity prevails, the divorce of morality from religion seems to be almost as grievous and as fatal in many respects as in non-Christian lands. Enough has been said, without dwelling further upon this subject, to show the social demoralization which is sure to attend a low conception of the nature, purpose, and moral demands of religion. Is it not evident that reconstruction of society is made immensely more difficult where there is moral paralysis arising from defective views of the nature and tendencies of a true religious cult? 2. IDOLATRY.—That idolatry is degrading to the spiritual nature of man need
The social degradation of idolatry.not be seriously argued. Its evil effects upon social life are not quite so apparent; yet a little reflection will convince us that the degradation of the individual character means inevitably the lowering of the spiritual tone and the moral sensibilities of society. To banish the living God from the individual consciousness means an immense loss of inspiration, guidance, corrective discipline, moral restraint, spiritual courage, and ennobling impulse to the social life of a people. Nothing will so quickly and hopelessly put the progressive forces of society into a state of collapse, lower the practical influence of ethical standards, weaken the power of higher motives, destroy the sense of responsibility, and dissipate the consciousness of moral obligation as the substitution of idolatry for the worship and fear of a living personal deity.1 If man regards himself as accountable only to dumb images, even though they may be regarded as symbols of, deity, he soon loses his touch with a personal God. The history of idolatry, however, shows that to the popular mind the refinements of the symbolic conception of idols soon lose their distinctive sway, while the idol itself, as an object of reverence and fear, gains a sure ascendancy. The apologetic conception that idols are merely symbols of a supreme deity, and are used as such by idolaters, is far from tenable. The facts of history and experience give little evidence in its favor. On the contrary, idolatry as it actually exists, and has always existed, in the world is almost without exception the worship of idols as such, or at least as the personification of some mysterious forces of the supernatural or natural world.2 1 Cf. March, "Morning Light in Many Lands," chap, xiii., "Faith and Hope in Heathen Lands."
2 "Until recent years no one ever thought of apologising for idolatry. We have now reached a stage, however, when it is a common thing to hear it explained, defended, and justified; a philosophy of idolatry, so to speak, has sprung up, and has been so far accepted that not only is it adopted by the priests and servitors of idol temples, but is endorsed, even if it were not originally invented, by many highly cultivated European apologists. We are told, briefly, that images are intended to, and actually do, help the ignorant masses in their devotions. They are quite unable, it is contended, to form for themselves an abstract ideal, and the concrete image therefore is a step towards progress, as a focus for aspiration and concentration of devotion. It is contended that these idols of wood and stone, of metal or mud, as the case may be, are in no case worshipped, but are really only objects into which the worshipper first thinks the god, and then worships, not the image, but the particular divinity, great or small, good or otherwise, which the image is supposed to represent."—"Idolatry and its Apologists," by the Rev. T. H. Whitamore (W. M. S.), in Work and Workers in the Mission Field, May, 1895, p. 189.
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The opinion of learned natives of India as to the practical meaning of idolatry gives a far truer view of it. Rammohun Roy, early in the present century, writing upon this subject,
Is there a tenable apology for idolatry. notices this specious explanation of idolatry only to condemn it "I have observed," he remarks, "that both in their writings and conversation many Europeans feel a wish to palliate and soften the features of Hindu idolatry, and are inclined to inculcate that all objects of worship are considered by their votaries as emblematical representations of the Supreme Divinity! If this were indeed the case, I might perhaps be led into some examination of the subject; but the truth is, the Hindus of the present day have no such views of the subject, but firmly believe in the real existence of innumerable gods and goddesses, who possess in their own departments full and independent power; and to propitiate them, and not the true God, are temples erected and ceremonies performed." He further remarks: "Neither do they regard the images of these gods merely in the light of instruments for elevating the mind to the conception of those supposed beings; they are simply in themselves made objects of worship. For whatever Hindu purchases an idol in the market, or constructs one with his own hands, or has one made under his own superintendence, it is his invariable practice to perform certain ceremonies, called pran pratishtha, or the endowment of animation, by which he believes that its nature is changed from that of the mere materials of which it is formed, and that it acquires not only life, but supernatural powers. Shortly afterwards, if the idol be of the masculine gender, he marries it to a feminine one, with no less pomp and magnificence than he celebrates the nuptials of his own children. The mysterious process is now complete, and the god and goddess are esteemed the arbiters of his destiny, and continually receive his most ardent adoration."
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It seems clear to a candid student of religious history that if in certain instances the original concept of the idol was symbolical of a supreme deity, it was just as often simply the personification of some force of nature or some lower order of created being. There may be obscurity in the matter of historic sequences or precise details involved in the genesis of idolatry, but its spirit and purpose, and therefore its spiritual in distinction from its historical origin, are clearly intimated by the apostle Paul in the first chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. He there pronounces it to be a device of the wayward imagination of man to substitute a visible, tangible, material object of worship in the place of the spiritual God. It resulted from an unhallowed and presumptuous desire to lower the Deity to an earthly environment, and bring Him into touch with the carnal life and customs of an apostate society. It was a bold expedient to banish the Creator from their thoughts by the invention of some substitute from the realm of the creature.1 1 Archdeacon Farrar has given a trenchant exposition of the genesis and effects of idolatry, based upon this passage from St. Paul. Speaking of heathen idolaters, as Paul regarded them, he says: "The facts which render them inexcusable are: (I) That God did in reality manifest Himself to them, and the invisibilities of His eternal power and Godhead were clearly visible in His works; and (2) that though they knew God, yet by denying Him the due glory and gratitude they suffered themselves to plunge into the penal darkness of ignorant speculation, and the penal folly of self-asserted wisdom, and the self-conceited boast of a degraded culture, until they sank to such depths of spiritual imbecility as to end even in the idolatry of reptiles ; and (3) because mental infatuation, both as to its natural result and as to its fearful punishment, issued in moral crime. Their sin was inexcusable, because it was the outcome, and the retribution, and the natural child, of sin. Because they guiltily abandoned God, God abandoned them to their own guiltiness. The conscious lie of idolatry became the conscious infamy of uncleanness. These 'passions of dishonour,' to which God abandoned them, ruled the heart of manhood with their retributive corruption, and affected even women with their execrable stain. Pagan society, in its hideous disintegration, became one foul disease of unnatural depravity. The cancer of it ate into the heart; the miasma of it tainted the air. Even the moralists of Paganism were infected with its vileness. God scourged their moral ignorance by suffering it to become a deeper ignorance. He punished their contempt by letting them make themselves utterly contemptible. The mere consequence of this abandonment of them was a natural Nemesis, a justice in kind, beginning even in this life, whereby their unwillingness to discernHim became an incapacity to discern the most elementary distinctions between nobleness and shame. Therefore their hearts became surcharged with every element of vileness; with impurity in its most abysmal degradations ; with hatred alike in its meanest and most virulent developments; with insolence culminating in the deliberate search for fresh forms of evil; with cruelty and falsity in their most repulsive features. And the last and worst crime of all-beyond which crime itself could go no further—was the awful defiant attitude of moral evil, which led them—while they were fully aware of God's sentence of death, pronounced as willing guilt—not only to incur it themselves, but, with a devilish delight in human depravity and human ruin, to take a positive pleasure in those who practise the same. Sin, as has been truly said, reaches its climax in wicked maxims and wicked principles. It is no longer Vice the result of moral weakness, or the outcome of an evil education, but Vice deliberately accepted with all its consequences, Vice assuming the airs of self-justification, Vice in act becoming Vice in elaborate theory—the unblushing shamelessness of Sodom in horrible aggravation of its polluting sin."—"The Life and Works of St. Paul," vol. ii., p. 195 sq.
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The spirit of idolatry is the same to-day as it was of old.
The spirit of contempoary idolatry.It is a compound of ignorance, fear, carnality, and the unhallowed desire to identify human conceptions with the object of religious worship. It involves a curious mixture of fearful imagining, brooding terror, puerile coaxing, anxious propitiation, inordinate feasting, and riotous indulgence. It is absolutely certain that idolatry and immorality go hand in hand.1 The moral nature withers and collapses as it bows in adoration before a material image. The ancient Vedic religion, before it became wholly polytheistic, was far purer in its morality than modern Hinduism with its wanton idolatry. The descent into idolatry has always brought the corresponding collapse of morality. It cannot be otherwise, since the materializing of worship means the materializing of moral standards.2 Man cannot rise above the things that he adores: "They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." 1 Cf. an article entitled "On Idolatry," by the late Rev, Samuel Mateer, of Travancore, India, in The Missionary Review of the World, May, 1895, pp. 331—339. 2 Keshub Chunder Sen thus addressed his countrymen upon this subject: "There can be no doubt that the root of all the evils which afflict Hindu society, that which constitutes the chief cause of its degradation, is idolatry. Idolatry is the curse of Hindustan, the deadly canker that has eaten into the vitals of native society. It would be an insult to your superior education to say that you have faith in idolatry, that you still cherish in your hearts reverence for the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, or that you believe in the thousand and one absurdities of your ancestral creed. But however repugnant to your understanding and repulsive to your good sense the idolatry of your forefathers may be, there is not a thorough appreciation of its deadly character on moral grounds. It will not do to retain in the mind a speculative and passive disbelief in its dogmas: you must practically break with it as a dangerous sin and an abomination; you must give it up altogether as an unclean thing. You must discountenance it, discourage it, oppose it, and hunt it out of your country. For the sake of your souls and for the sake of the souls of the millions of your countrymen, come away from hateful idolatry, and acknowledge the one supreme and true God, our Maker, Preserver, and Moral Governor, not in belief only, but in the every-day concerns and avocations of your life."
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The idolatry of the heathen world to-day is not one whit less loathsome or degrading or sinful than that of any age of classical history. It stands on precisely
The abiding moral blight of idol-worship.the same level of ignorance, superstition, and spiritual shame, and where its carnality is manifested, its sensual abandon and mystical vileness can match anything in the records of pagan license.1 While there are degrees of grossness, superstition, and degradation in idol-worship, ranging from the philosophical refinements of a limited circle of enlightened Japanese 2 to the dense ignorance of the savage tribes, yet the moral blight of idol-worship is found wherever idolatrous customs prevail. The idol gods of Japan,3 Korea, China,4 India, Africa, and many of the South Sea Islands are not less hideous and repulsive than the idols of the ancients. We need not dwell longer upon this theme. It is sufficient for our 1 Dr. Storrs, in "The Divine Origin of Christianity," p. 38, has given a vivid picture of the immoralities of pagan worship. 2 The persistency of these idolatrous customs is illustrated even in a country so ready to break with the past as Japan. The backward look is evident in the recent action of the Japanese Diet in voting funds for the erection of two temples in Formosa, and in providing a place of worship in Japan where the spirit of a lately deceased prince was to receive religious honors. It is in contemplation at present to celebrate the recent victories over China by the erection of a gigantic statue of Buddha, 120 feet in height, and costing $1,000,000, to be cast out of metal taken from the ordnance captured from the enemy. A department of religious oversight and direction has also just been established, by vote of Parliament, with an official at its head who will have the management of matters pertaining to Shintoism, the old national religion of the country. The appointment of a priestly functionary in the civil government, or one whose office practically involves religious authority, is full of ominous possibilities. It threatens at once the very existence of religious liberty.—Condensed from a Japanese journal. 3 Bishop Hendrix, in articles on "The Three Japans," published in The Independent, May 21 and 28, 1896, speaks of the Official, the Old, and the Christian Japan. Of the second he writes: "There is another, or Old Japan, which is no less devoted to its idolatrous or ancestral shrines than if Commodore Perry had never appeared in the harbor of Yeddo, or if the Mikado had never removed his capital from Kyoto. This Japan probably numbers nearly forty millions. It is divided between Shintoism and Buddhism. It has a hundred thousand more Buddhist temples than there are individual 4 "If I might point out the gravest of the social evils of China—a subject upon which I have studied—it is idolatry."—Rev. H. C. Du Bose (P. B. F. M. S.), Soochow, China. " There are more than thousand temples in Peking, and I have heard Chinese say that there are more than thirty thousand domestic shrines."—Professor I. T. Headland (M. E. M. S), Peking, China Christians in Japan. It is industrious, patriotic, contented, especially when the rice crop is abundant and the taxes not too heavy, or when the nets are laden with fish and the typhoons deal gently with the junks. They know only of the religion of their fathers. They bow before their ancestral shrines, make their offerings of rice, burn incense, make their 'dead boats' at the appointed season for the spirits to return in, and seek to propitiate the fox, whose cunning they so much dread. Morally it is not much removed from the days of the Shoguns, despite the public schools and numerous newspapers, and the elaborate postal system which reaches every part of the empire. Nor is this Old Japan simply rural Japan. The worshippers in many of the temples of Tokyo go on electric cars, and pilgrims to sacred Nikko or Ise go by railroad. Costly shrines are to be found in the homes or business houses of the wealthy merchants or manufacturers in the treaty ports. Children from the public schools are none the less attendants at the temples. Official Japan, with all its wonderful progress, has not overthrown a single altar or destroyed a single heathen temple." In The Japan Evangelist for December, 1895, occurs the following paragraph : "Idolatry is by no means a thing of the past in this country. At a place called Narita there is a celebrated idol of the god Fudo. Thousands of people pray to this image annually. It is said that not for eighty years has the number of worshippers been so great as during the past twelve months."
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purpose in this connection to contemplate the dismal fact that millions, even hundreds of millions, of our fellow-beings are down on their knees every day before innumerable idols. What can we hope to accomplish in the social elevation of the world until a purer and nobler spiritual worship is put into the human heart? Until the adoration of the one living and true God shall take possession of the immortal mind of man, and banish the thronging demons and the grinning idols, there is little prospect of the regeneration of heathen society. 3. SUPERSTITION.—Superstition is faith in the false or unreal. It is produced, in
The prevalence and power of superstition.whatever sphere of thought it may exist, by making erroneous and absurd fancies the bases of faith. A superstitious mind is one which is deceived and imposed upon by convictions or fears or fancies which are visionary like the unrealities they represent. A superstitious society is one which is haunted by mental phantoms and by imaginary visitations which the whole community believes to be real. While the visionary character of these convictions may be granted, yet the superstitions themselves can be very real and portentous to those over whom they have dominion. They fill the imagination and take possession of the mind as if they were truth itself. This is what makes them so dangerous and so little amenable to the reason. The part played by superstitions in the control of the human mind,
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and the decisive sway which they exercise over human conduct, are hardly realized by those who dwell in the light of civilization. Magicians, soothsayers, necromancers, sorcerers, diviners, and astrologers have ever been prowling amid the ruins of man's early faith, and seeking to impose upon him with their audacious claims. The ignorant and superstitious, or those who have become unbalanced in their allegiance to the one divine Guide, become their easy victims. Christianity has had a long struggle with this unclean and uncanny brood, not without serious reverses, and even now only among an enlightened majority of modern Christendom has a final emancipation been accomplished. In the heathen world superstitions, especially of a religious character, abound to an almost incredible extent. They hold an easy ascendancy, and maintain their sway over the mind with singular pertinacity. The struggle which it costs to part with darling delusions is pitiful. The fear and misery which attend the casting out of gross and cruel phantasmagoria from the minds of those who have been under their dominion are touching evidences of the reality of the tyranny which false belief establishes over its victims. In China superstition is the native air of the people. Fung-shui (literally, "wind and water") is a system of geomancy
Geomancy and demonology among the Chinese.which is supposed by the Chinese to contain an esoteric secret of successful living. The earth itself, and the circumambient air, are considered to be the abode of the spirits, and are therefore regarded as sacred and inviolable. Railways, telegraphs, mining, scientific road-making, and all other Western abominations which threaten to disturb the mysterious haunts of the spirits or to disarrange the immemorial fixedness which characterizes the hallowed undulations of the earth's surface, are looked upon by the Chinese as intolerable outrages, involving a terrifying element of reckless presumption.1 The priesthood throughout China, especially the Taoists, who are experts in magic, trade upon the multitudinous superstitions of the people.2 Demoniacal possession is a sober fact to all Chinese. Every one believes in it as thoroughly as he believes in his existence. He can no more free himself from it than he can banish the sunshine. He lives in a grim environment 1 Douglas, "Society in China," pp. 340, 341; Ball, "Things Chinese," sub "Geomancy," p. 204; Martin, "A Cycle of Cathay," p. 41. 2 Douglas, "Society in China," p. 407. Cf. also Fielde, "A Corner of Cathay," pp. 139-151. In this chapter on "Sundry Superstitions" Miss Fielde places in curious array some marvels of the Chinese imagination, grave, gay, and gruesome. See also Henry, "The Cross and the Dragon," p. in, and Holcombe, "The Real Chinaman," p. 144.
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of viewless spirits, whose machinations may at any moment blight his existence. " Possession " is the trade-mark of a regular profession, the members of which rely upon their supposed capacity for solving difficulties and suggesting methods of escape from all the ills of life. There seems to be an extraordinary susceptibility in the Chinese, which brings them easily under the power of occult suggestions. Almost every book on China has its chapter dealing with these phenomena. Perhaps the most notable of them all, considering its source, is " Demon Possession and Allied Themes," by the late Dr. J. L. Nevius, a distinguished missionary of the Presbyterian Church in China.1 The custom of ancestor-worship is allied to the whole subject of demonology, and gives it, no doubt, much of its mighty supremacy over the Chinese mind. In Japan, perhaps, superstitions are not so abundant as in
Japanese occultism.China, but there is still an occult realm in which the great mass of the people thoroughly believe, and where their imaginations are forever excursionizing.2 The sly and frolic-some fox seems to play havoc with the Japanese fancy; at least, he appears to be the most prominent figure in much of the " possession " which the people experience.3 While Japan is becoming enlightened, but only as yet within a very 1 Consult also Du Bose, "The Dragon, Image, and Demon," chap, xxx., on " Demonolatry." Dr. Henry, in " The Cross and the Dragon," p. 170, writes of Chinese superstitions as follows : " Their belief in spirits is notorious. Elves, fairies, brownies, imps, etc., abound. Haunted houses are frequent. They believe in spirit-rapping, plan-chette, alchemy, mesmerism, and divination of various kinds—by bamboo slips, by images, by somnambulism, chiromancy, and palmistry. Branches are hung over the doors to ward off evil influences, and cash swords are suspended inside their bed-curtains as protection against nocturnal spirits. Their roads are always crooked, and abound in sharp turns and corners, so made to obstruct the approach of spirits, which delight in broad, straight ways. The houses on a street are never built in an even line, but present somewhat of a zigzag appearance, as some project, while others are set in. This is done intentionally to check the spirits. Corner houses are avoided because their position affords such facilities for the evil spirits to sweep around them. The gable end of a house with its sharp roof turned to the street indicates that only a barber shop will prosper opposite. The entrance to a house is never direct. A screen just within necessitates a turn to the right or to the left, and the arrangement of the open court, with its flowers and other ornaments, shows a circuitous path to the inner apartments. Many accounts of supernatural appearances are met with, such as the story of the fairy who visited the Emperor Leang, and in reply to his question whence she came, said, ' I live on the terrace of the Sun, in the enchanted mountains. In the morning I am a cloud, in the evening a shower of rain.'" 2 Cf. Lowell, " Occult Japan; or, The Way of the Gods." 3 Chamberlain, "Things Japanese," p. 106.
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limited circle, the vast mass of her people are still under the sway of thronging superstitions, many of them light and trifling, but others serious and portentous.1 Korea is the haunted house among the nations. It is a land of phantom
Korea the haunt of spectres.hosts and demoniacal cohorts. It is afflicted with what Dr. Griffis calls the " delirium tremens of paganism." 2 Its cities, villages, and homes, its palaces, public buildings, and temples, its streets, lanes, and by-ways, its highways, mountains, and caves, with a thousand objects of nature on every side, are all on the defensive with guards and devices to ward off the gruesome visitors, or are themselves objects of suspicion to be either avoided or placated.3 Sickness, distress, and disaster are all supposed to be due to demoniacal agency, and this fact provides lucrative employment to the exorcists.4 Good spirits, especially the supposed guardians of houses, are worshipped 1 " Out of the soil of diseased imagination has sprung up a growth as terrible as the drunkard's phantasies. The earthquake, flood, tidal wave, famine, withering or devastating wind, and poisonous gases, the geological monsters and ravening bird, beast, and fish, have their representatives or supposed incarnations in mythical phantasms. Frightful as these shadows of the mind appear, they are both very real and, in a sense, very necessary to the ignorant man. He must have some theory by which to explain the phenomena of nature and soothe his own terrors. Hence he peoples the earth and water, not only with invisible spirits more or less malevolent, but also with bodily presences usually in terrific bestial form. To those who believe in one Spirit pervading, ordering, governing all things, there is unity amid all phenomena, and the universe is all order and beauty. To the mind which has not reached this height of simplicity, instead of one cause there are many. The diverse phenomena of nature are brought about by spirits innumerable, warring and discordant. Instead of a unity to the mind, as of sun and solar system, there is nothing but planets, asteroids, and a constant rain of shooting stars."—Griffis, " The Religions of Japan," pp. 14, 15. 2 " Corea, the Hermit Nation," p. 306. 3 Curzon, " Problems of the Far East," p. 109. 4 " The belief in demoniacal possession is very common. This belief is fostered by numbers whose interests are furthered by it. The exorcists and conjurers find in the commonest ailments excuses for using their powers in dispossessing the sick body of the sprites which have made it their home. It was no infrequent occurrence, in rambles over the country or when out hunting, to hear the noise of drums and to see a crowd around some house, waiting with eager curiosity to learn the result. Inquiry would elicit the fact that some devils had entered that house, and the sickness of one of the inmates had resulted. Meanwhile, day and night, it may be for a week, the ceaseless beat of drums is maintained, until nature is either wearied out and death results, or she recovers herself and the patient is restored to health. " Spirits good and bad, sprites evil and benign, fairies kindly and malign, abound on hill and in dale, in nook and crevice of the rock, in hollow trees and cunningly hidden caves. Any event of life may be governed by their interference. Luck plays a large part in the economy of native life. Innumerable are the specifics for various ills, the former growing out of the care, and the latter out of the malevolence, of fairies or demons. Children are scared into good behavior and adults are kept at home by reports of spirits that are abroad at night. Omens are seen in the visits of the birds; the dreams which disturb the night are portents; and almost every chance event has for Koreans a bearing on the future."—Gilmore, " Korea from its Capital," pp. 194, 195.
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most devoutly. The sanitary fastidiousness of these guardian spirits is a curious feature of their relation to the people. If they could only be persuaded to exert their influence in the direction of scientific sanitary measures, much good might result.1 India is a land of myths, a perfect "jungle of disorderly superstitions, ghosts and demons, demigods and deified saints, household gods, local gods, tribal gods, universal gods, with their countless shrines and temples."
India and he reign of the mantra.Sir Alfred Lyall speaks of the " extraordinary fecundity of the superstitious sentiment." The whole country is alive with imaginary terrors—it is a realm swarming with ghostly fears. Devotees in every direction are working with might and main to free themselves from some dire fate or win some hoped-for merit. The wily Brahman, with his monopoly of enchantments, can count upon the absolute mental servility of the spellbound Hindus. The mantra is his ready and facile tool. This is a sacred text, usually of Vedic origin, transformed into a spell or charm, which, if pronounced in accordance with some mystical formula and with absolute accuracy of enunciation, be- 1 " There are also self-existent spirits of kindlier disposition and the spirits of the good and prosperous, who may be induced by proper intercessions, accompanied by offerings, to deliver the afflicted from the power of the evil spirits. The good of each individual in this life is dependent on his ability to keep the favor of the latter class, and to do so is the constant and deep anxiety which makes other considerations secondary. Comforts and bare necessities of life are sacrificed for this. "At every house the god of the site is worshipped. At every house, when invited with becoming ceremony, the house-god dwells. This spirit is supposed to bring health and happiness to the inmates of the house, though he is not able always to ward off disease, and in case of contagious fevers he will leave the house till it has been purified and he has been asked to return. The ceremonies attending the introduction or recall of this spirit are rather interesting. The house having been purified and a feast prepared, the mootang (sorceress), who has been called for the occasion, starts out to hunt the house-god. She ties a good-sized sheet of paper around an oak rod, which she holds upright in her hand. She may find the spirit just outside the house, or she may have to go some distance before he indicates his presence by shaking the rod with so much force that many men with their united strength could not hold it still. He accompanies the mootang to the house. Upon their arrival great demonstrations of joy are made that he has come to bless the family with his presence. The paper which was tied around the stick is folded, soaked in wine, a few pieces of cash slipped into it, and then tossed up against a beam in the house, to which it adheres. Rice is thrown up, some of which sticks to the paper. That particular spot is to be the abiding-place of the spirit. The expense connected with this ceremony is considerable, and in some cases poverty compels a family to dispense with it. '' The word mama, which we hear applied to smallpox, is not the name of the disease, but of the spirit whose presence with the victim is indicated by the disease. He has been known in Korea only during the last one thousand years, I have been told, and his native place is Southern China. When the disease makes its appearance the mootang is called to honor the spirit with appropriate ceremonies and a feast. During his stay no work, or as little as possible, is done, even by the neighbors, especially if they have children who have not had the disease, lest, displeased with the lack of respect shown him, he deal severely with them. The parents do obeisance to the afflicted child, addressing it at all times in terms of highest respect. When the twelfth day has passed, if the child live through it, all danger being then supposed to be over, the mootang is again called and a farewell banquet given. A miniature wooden horse is prepared and loaded with miniature sacks of food and money for the spirit's journey, and he is bidden adieu with many wishes for a safe return to his native place."—Quoted from an article on " Spirit-Worship in Korea," by Mrs. D. L. Gifford (P. B. F. M. N.), Seoul, Korea, in Woman's Work in the Far East, May, 1894, pp. 107-109.
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comes an all-powerful talisman. This magical device is used for securing good or evil, as the case may be, and is used by the mantrasastris—Brahmans who make a profession of trading in mantras. They are regarded with supernatural reverence and fear by the Hindus.1 Austerities, curses, omens, the evil eye, and the marvelous horoscope of the astrologer are all of intense significance to the Hindu. That this grim procession of phantasies, and the attendant mystical expedients which they imply, should be inevitable in the mental outlook of the philosophic and acute Hindu seems manifest. Without the true light of revelation and science, he must seek such relief as his own fertile imagination can invent. His deeply mystical, and at the same time deeply sensuous, nature has reared an imposing pantheon of phantasmagoria, where he dwells with restless soul and tortured sensibilities. 1 The following description of the mantra-monger is from the pen of Sir M. Monier-Williams: " No magician, wizard, sorcerer, or witch, whose feats are recorded in history, biography, or fable, has ever pretended to be able to accomplish by incantation and enchantment half of what the mantra-sastri claims to have power to effect by help of his mantras. For example, he can prognosticate futurity, work the most startling prodigies, infuse breath into dead bodies, kill or humiliate enemies, afflict any one anywhere with disease or madness, inspire any one with love, charm weapons and give them unerring efficacy, enchant armour and make it impenetrable, turn milk into wine, plants into meat, or invert all such processes at will. He is even superior to the gods, and can make gods, goddesses, imps, and demons carry out his most trifling behests. Hence it is not surprising that the following remarkable saying is everywhere current throughout India: ' The whole universe is subject to the gods; the gods are subject to the mantras; the mantras to the Brahmans; therefore the Brahmans are our gods.'"—" Brahmanism and Hinduism," pp. 201, 202.
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The same story of talismans, omens, and every-day
The "Arabian Nights" up to date.marvels of jinn, afreet, and magical paraphernalia, runs through the religious and social life of Moslems in India, Persia, and Turkey, while numerous superstitions are prevalent among the unreformed Christian sects of the Levant.1 In fact, the Oriental Christians, except as the enlightenment of modern education has entered among them, are hardly less the victims of credulity than their Moslem neighbors. In Africa there is a rank growth of overshadowing superstitions as real as daylight and darkness to the diseased imagination of the native. Totemism, fetichism, animism, in their pristine vigor or in degenerate forms, are in absolute possession of all the religious and social life of the people. Sorcery, witchcraft, and every phase of demoniacal environment are the intellectual atmosphere of the native African.2 Australasia outside of the modern colonial expansion, but including the
Demon-ridden islands.Pacific Islands, has been noted for immemorial superstitions, many of which were abominable in their character, and all of which held terrific sway over the imagination. In writing of the Pacific Islands, Alexander says: "Distressing superstitions darkened all the lives of the natives and held them in iron bondage. In the long night of their isolation from enlightening influences they had come to worship innumerable gods and demigods and demons, with which they supposed the sky and earth and sea to swarm. With this worship were combined painful restrictions, called tabu, divination, sorcery, the use of charms to cure sickness, and black arts to employ evil spirits in destroying their enemies." 3 Great enlightenment has come to many of these islands, where the long, dark reign of superstition has, to a great extent, passed away. In places where it still holds the old sway over the mind, fears and suspicions predominate in the daily experience of 1 "Superstition in Syria," by Dr. George A. Ford, in Woman's Work for Woman, December, 1895, p. 323; Wilson, " Persian Life and Customs," pp. 84, 132, 143, 157, 220-225. 2 Jevons, "Introduction to the History of Religion"; Macdonald, "Religion and Myth "; Tyler, " Forty Years among the Zulus," chap. xii.; Sibree, " Mada gascar before the Conquest," especially chap. xiii. 3 " The Islands of the Pacific." p. 28. Cf. Ratzel, " History of Mankind," vol. i., pp. 300-330.
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natives. There are still, unhappily, vast populations that are demonridden, and live under the blight of dominant superstitions, childish as well as terrifying.1 Almost everywhere upon the face of the earth a gross
Superstition in a social calamity.darkness of ignorance seems to rest upon the hearts of men. A heavy burden of erroneous belief, both distressing and degrading, has become fixed upon their consciences, and there it remains, except as the light of Christian education and Gospel instruction breaks in upon their night and introduces them into the freedom of the truth. The blighting power of these superstitions on social life is beyond question. It is mental and spiritual slavery to the unreal and the untrue which is blinding, misleading, and sure to result in injustice, cruelty, and the abuse of power. It prohibits the entrance of true light so far as it has power to do so, and maintains entirely false standards of social obligation. It scatters and dissipates the religious sentiment among a mass of puerile and erroneous vagaries, barring out the truth and fixing the dominance of the false. The banishment of superstition will go far toward securing a brighter and more cheerful social life and a higher and more beneficial social order. 4. RELIGIOUS TYRANNY AND PERSECUTION.—The sacred gift of religious freedom is an
The genesis of persecution.endowment from the Creator, and, except where it is claimed as a cover for immorality and crime, is a universal prerogative of man.2 Humanity cannot be deprived of this precious liberty with-out the infliction of a great and cruel wrong; yet this heinous usurpation has been characteristic of both the political and religious life of mankind in all ages. " Christianos ad leones " represents a spirit of persecution which has prevailed more or less through- 1 Michelsen, "Cannibals Won for Christ," chap, xv., on "Native Superstitions"; Chalmers, "Pioneering in New Guinea," chap, viii., on "The Habits, Customs, and Beliefs of Motu and Motumotu." 2 " Liberty is the greatest gift of God to man. It is a natural, fundamental, and inalienable right of every man created in the image of God. The most precious of all liberties is religious liberty. It is rooted in the sacredness of conscience, which is the voice of God in man, and above the reach and control of human authority. It is a law above all human laws that 'we ought to obey God rather than man.' Liberty of conscience requires liberty of worship. Despots allow the one because they cannot help it, but deny the other. Religion in its nature is voluntary, and ceases to be religion in proportion as it is forced. God desires free worshippers and hates hypocrites."—Schaff, "Theological Propaedeutic," p. 470.
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out history. The fact that religion in its primitive form was to such an extent a social function, pertaining to family, tribal, and even national life, has led to the assumption on the part of the State, in its various stages of development, of a large measure of control over the religious life of its subjects. In the Roman Empire the supervision of the religion of the people was made a matter of State policy on political grounds. Bishop Creighton calls attention to the following language of Plato upon this subject, which, he remarks, did not materiall differ from that of the Inquisitor: " Let this, then, be the law: No one shall possess shrines of the gods in private houses, and he who is found to possess them, and perform any sacred rites not publicly authorised, shall be informed against to the guardians of the law; and let them issue orders that he shall carry his private rites to the public temples, and if he do not obey, let them inflict a penalty until he comply. And if a person be proven guilty of impiety, not merely from childish levity, but such as grownup men may be guilty of, let him be punished with death." 1 These sentiments were representative in Roman history. The theocracy of the Old Testament dispensation has been
Christianity rightly interpreted not persecuting in its spirit.misinterpreted by some as sanctioning, and even enforcing, the exercise of civil authority in the sphere of religion. Even the Testament dispensation has been marked by most frightful and iniquitous misuse, not only of civil, but ecclesiastical, power to subdue the consciences of men and annihilate all religious freedom. That this has been the result of a distorted conception of Christianity and a gross abuse of authority has been shown by Bishop Creighton, in opposition to the view advocated by Mr. Lecky, that Christianity sanctions and is in large measure responsible for this spirit.2 A new era of religious liberty has come, 1 Quoted in " Persecution and Tolerance," p. 7. Dr. Merivale, in his " Boyle Lectures," expresses a similar opinion: "Undoubtedly various feelings entered into the demand for the persecution of the Christians. The magistrate regarded them as transgressors of a principle in public law, as evil-doers, as fosterers of treason and sedition, and was disposed to punish them accordingly. But the people generally, and sometimes the rulers themselves, yielded to a superstitious impulse in ascribing to their rejection of sacrifice and of idol-worship every public calamity, which testified, as they supposed, to the wrath of the offended deities. The execution of the Christians was thus popularly regarded as a means of propitiation." — New York cd., 1865, p. 25:, note. 2 Dr. Creighton sums up his conclusions on this subject as follows: " (l) Persecution, or the infliction of punishment for erroneous opinions, was contrary to the express teaching of Christ, and was alien to the spirit of Christianity; (2) was adopted by the Church from the system of the world when the Church accepted the responsibility of maintaining order in the community; (3) was really exercised for political rather than religious ends; (4) was always condemned by the Christian conscience; (5) was felt by those who used it to land them in contradictions ; (6) neither originated in any misunderstanding of the Scriptures, nor was removed by the progress of intellectual enlightenment; but (7) disappeared because the State became conscious that there was an adequate basis for the maintenance of political society in those principles of right and wrong which were universally recognised by its citizens, apart from their position or beliefs as members of any religious organisation. " Such opinions differ materially from those which are generally current on this subject. The origin of persecution is commonly found in the overwhelming claim which Christianity makes on its adherents. Christianity, it is said, regards man's life on earth as but the beginning of an eternal destiny, and asserts that eternity can only bring happiness to those who are within the fold of the Church. Consequently the maintenance of right opinion about religious matters is a point of primary importance for human happiness, rightly understood, and ought in the interests of mankind to be enforced even at the cost of immediate suffering to obdurate and misguided individuals. This is doubtless a logical position and is warranted by the language of the advocates of persecution. But a line of distinction must be drawn between the motives which prompted to persecution and the arguments by which it was defended when once it was undertaken. It is obvious that this reasoning was the only one by which persecution could be defended, and it is equally obvious that persecution needed a defence."— "Persecution and Tolerance," pp. 2-4. Cf. Schaff, " Christ and Christianity," p. 283, for similar views.
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all too slowly, as the centuries have passed, and not without painful and desperate struggles. The close of our present century finds only a portion of mankind enjoying the rights, privileges, and consolations of liberty of conscience. " This principle of religious freedom and separation of Church and State," writes Dr. Schaff, " is slowly, but irresistibly, making progress in Europe, and is becoming more and more an essential part of modern civilization. It develops the power of self-government, which is inherent in the Christian Church. It favors, indeed, the multiplication of sects, but honest division is preferable to an enforced uniformity which breeds hypocrisy and infidelity. The principle of liberty secures also the possibility of a reunion of Christendom on the solid basis of freedom and voluntary consent."1 In the old Oriental empires, except as Western
Religious absolutism the prevailing temper of the Orient.ideas have been introduced and gained some ascendancy, the theory of State control over the religious life of men still holds its place. It is even supplemented and extended in practice by the supposed right of the family, the clan, the tribe, the sect, the village, or even the neighborhood, to maintain an authoritative oversight of the religious life of every member, and inflict exemplary penalties upon any one who de- 1 Ibid., p. 276-291.
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serts the common faith. The attitude of Islam towards apostasy is well known. The penalty, even at the present hour, is death wherever Mohammedan authorities have their own way, free from external restrictions. Other religions may be less bold and relentless, but the spirit which prevails is not dissimilar, and logically carried out would lead to the same result. It is only within the present generation that the death-penalty has been lifted in Japan. The violent aggressiveness of the persecuting spirit throughout the heathen world is hardly understood in Christendom. That it exists with little theoretical abatement, and is still marked by extreme cruelty in practice, is an undeniable fact, although the spirit of Christian civilization exercises a certain constraint, and the presence of the representatives of foreign governments is some check to its otherwise unrestrained fierceness. In Turkey, Persia, North Africa, except Egypt and Algiers, and generally throughout the Moslem world, except where the civil authority is in the hands of Christian rulers, the old Islamic fanaticism is in the ascendancy. No Moslem, unless under very exceptional circumstances, dares to profess Christianity; he knows that his doom would be sealed. The story of Mirza Ibrahim, a recent martyr in Persia, is typical of the hopelessness of escape where a Mohammedan ventures to change his faith.1 The terrible persecution of the Armenians, although perpetrated under the cover of political provocation, has only illustrated the genuine historic temper of Islamic fanaticism. The " noble army of martyrs " has received many accessions within the past year or two at the hands of Mohammedan fiends, who, while honoring their religion, as they suppose, have disgraced their humanity. Unhappily, the spirit of persecution is by no means confined to the Moslem, in contrast with the Christian, element in the Orient. The annals of Protestantism, in its heroic struggles with the old hierarchies of Eastern Christianity, reveal the possibilities of iniquitous persecution which lurk in the misguided minds of the ecclesiastical authorities, and even the laity, of the Oriental Christian sects. In India a strong tendency to persecution is found among Hindus,
A sceptre of caste in India.but it is revealed more in connection with the breaking of caste regulations than in diversity of view in matters of dogmatic belief. There is a disposition to tolerate liberty of thought among Hindus in the realm of purely religious or philosophical conviction, while any infraction of caste regulations is visited with the severest ostracism. The English Government guarantees and is disposed to enforce reli- 1 Wilson, " Persian Life and Customs," p. 300.
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gious freedom, but it is difficult to reach other than notorious and overt cases of persecution. Many complications, also, are apt to arise, which increase the embarrassment of the civil power in taking cognizance of religious matters among the people. In China the spirit of persecution is not awakened by
The peril of Chinese Christians.distinctively religious motives so much as through the influence of political and anti-foreign sentiment.1 It is true, however, that converts to Christianity are often exposed to great perils and severe trials, because the anti-foreign hostility is frequently turned in their direction, since they are supposed to be the dupes and tools of foreigners. The persecution is no less real than if it were prompted by exclusively religious zeal, and it is the fact of their being Christians which calls down upon them these hostile and cruel attacks. " There is scarcely a man, woman, or child," writes Dr. Henry, "among the forty-four hundred Christians in Canton, who has not been exposed to reproach, calumny, injustice, or physical violence because of his religion." 2 The antiforeign propaganda in China breaks out with renewed virulence from time to time, and in such seasons of mob violence the missionaries themselves are exposed to dire peril,3 as has been so shockingly illustrated by the recent massacres. Native Chinese Christians at such times are called upon to face the most desperate possibilities, but have given remarkable evidence of their stability and fortitude. There is the best possible reason for the insertion of the guarantee of religious liberty in the treaties between China and all foreign powers, and although China has conceded such liberty, it is not as yet guarded and enforced as it should be. The history of missions in Formosa contains many thrilling chapters of bloodthirsty persecution.4 The entrance of papal Christianity into Japan in the sixteenth century was attended by the most frightful assaults and tortures in the effort to exterminate its professors. In 1637 a terrible onslaught upon 1 " The spirit of the national life tends in the main to tolerance, persecution usually arising from social or political causes. That which is new is opposed because it is novel or subversive of ancient ideas and practices, and leads to singularity, not because it is regarded as false. The persecution which Christianity has met with has been mainly due to fear of foreign domination, and has had its origin with the literati and official class, who think that they see in it a danger to their own power. It could be easily kept in check if the Government desired to do so."—Rev. Jonathan Lees (L. M. S.), Tientsin, North China. 2 " The Cross and the Dragon," p. 357. 3 Work and Workers in the Mission Field, February, 1896, p. 68. 4 MacKay, "From Far Formosa," pp. III, 167, 191, 337.
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the Christians resulted in the death of thirty thousand,
The passing of persecution in Japan.who were buried in the same grave, over which the following inscription was placed: " So long as the sun shall warm the earth, let no Christian be so bold as to come to Japan." The acceptance of Christianity was made a capital offense, while in public places throughout Japan, and even at cross-roads and bridges, were placed official interdicts forbidding the profession of Christianity, under severe penalties. These antichristian proclamations were not removed until 1873. Violent persecutions have taken place even within a few years, but they have been local, and not under the patronage of the Government. The new national Constitution of Japan, promulgated in 1889, guarantees religious freedom.1 Barring the inevitable outbursts of the reactionary spirit, which will probably be only local and temporary, there seems to be every reason to anticipate that an era of religious liberty has come to stay in Japan. In Korea the profession of Christianity is pretty sure to arouse a spirit of persecution, but on the part of Government officials and priests rather than the common people. The progress of Christianity in Africa has not been
The martyrdoms of Uganda and Madagascar.attended by universal demonstrations of hostility, but as a rule African converts have had to face severe trials. It was so in South Africa, and to some extent upon the West Coast, while in Uganda the memorable martyrdom of the three lads who were tortured and burned by the fierce and cruel Mujasi, the chief of the king's body-guards, in 1885, has given a heroic setting to its earliest Christian records. Other horrors soon followed, including the martyrdom of Bishop Hannington, and the great persecution of 1886, under Mwanga.2 The story of the repeated persecutions in Madagascar is well known, especially that of 1849. The Rev. James Sibree describes the precipice (or "place of hurling") from which so many Malagasy Christians were cast headlong.3 He names it the Tarpeian of Antananarivo. Upon this com- 1 " Religious tyranny was once severe in this land. Belief in a foreign faith was even punishable with death. This is simply a fact of history. Then came a period of silent toleration. This was finally followed by the Constitution of February 11, 1889, the Magna Charta of Japanese religious and civil liberty. It is proper now to say that Government persecution on account of religion is wholly a thing of the past. It would, however, be misleading to say that the profession of Christianity is no bar to a man's happiness or social and civil progress in any community in Japan. Where Buddhist influence prevails, a man must still suffer a silent persecution because of his belief in Jesus."—Rev. David S. Spencer (M. E. M. S.), Nagoya, Japan. 2 Stock, " The Story of Uganda," p. 125. 3 Sibree, " Madagascar before the Conquest," p. 36.
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manding site was subsequently erected an imposing memorial church in commemoration of the martyrs. In South America, under Romish ecclesiastical auspices,
Outbursts of intolerance in South America and Mexico.there have been bitter outbursts of persecuting zeal against Protestant missions. In Colombia, in Brazil, in Peru and Chile, the papal authorities have striven to subsidize the Government for their purposes, but of late a spirit of political and religious freedom has, theoretically at least, controlled the South American administrations, although from time to time the Romish hierarchy are able to secure an ascendancy which they are not slow to use. The ignorant and fanatical populace are still largely under the influence of the priesthood. The same may be said of Mexico, where the struggle for civil and political liberty has been strenuous for over a generation. Many martyrdoms have occurred among Protestant converts, but there are signs that liberal sentiments are slowly gaining an ascendancy over the people, while the Government seems intent upon enforcing its guarantee of freedom. In many parts of the West Indies severe persecutions have occurred, and in some of the islands, especially Hayti, liberty, religious and political, is little more than a name. 5. SCANDALOUS LIVES OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS,—The author is not insensible to the responsibility
The import of the theme.involved in venturing upon a subject of such delicate and searching import as the one here introduced. The moral character of the religious guides of the non-Christian world is indeed a most distasteful theme, as disheartening and uninviting as it is painful. Its bearing upon the tone of public opinion and upon the direction of social tendencies is, however, so patent and weighty that it cannot be passed over unnoticed without ignoring one of the gravest and most mischievous social evils of heathen communities. The corrosive example of many of the moral leaders of the ethnic faiths is a most deplorable and pernicious plague-spot in the social status of non-Christian peoples. While this is true to an amazing extent, yet, happily, there are exceptions which are all the more notable and welcome because of the dark background of their environment. There always have been, and there are to-day, some spiritual guides who are gentle and devout in spirit, humble, kindly, sympathetic, and inspired with a desire to minister worthily, in the name of religion, to sorrowing and confiding human hearts. All honor to such as are worthy to be ranked in this class: they are noble illustrations of the power of con-
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science and of the possibility of triumph over an evil environment to one who seeks heavenly succor. In some instances they reveal a graciousness and sobriety of personal character which make them like " a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn." We cannot but hope that, in response to their prayers to God for help and guidance, although He may have been but dimly revealed to their consciousness, such influences of the Holy Spirit have been given as would lead them into the sanctuary of communion with the living God, which we believe to be ever open to humble, reverent, penitent, and spiritually aspiring souls. Such men are not the ordinary product of their religious environment, and it is to be feared that they are comparatively few in number. Another aspect of this subject which should be noted, is that the existence of lax moral standards does not pertain to the religious hierarchies of heathenism alone, but to a lamentable extent is characteristic of the ecclesiastical priesthood of all ranks in the unre-formed Christian Churches of the Orient, as well as of Mexico and Central and South America, although in this connection also there are, happily, exceptions to the rule. Iniquity in high places is an old stain upon the religious history of heathenism. The gods themselves in the Greek and Roman pantheons were morally vile. The temples were trysting-places of vice, whose priests and keepers were guilty of the most abandoned sacrilege, while the grossly depraved emperors of Rome were deified and worshipped.1 A dark shadow of scandal rests also upon the moral character of many medieval ecclesiastics. The influence of their example through a subtle law of traditional heredity will, perhaps, explain in part at least the laxity of the priesthood in certain of the corrupt Christian Churches of the present age. In the non-Christian world of to-day the same strange
Morals of priesthood in Japan.and wanton characteristics are to be found in the lives of its religious leaders. In Japan the moral standing of the Buddhist priest-hood may be inferred from the words of a Japanese pries in his " Farewell to the Buddhists," a document issued by him on severing his connection quite recently with the Buddhist sect. He writes: " It is not a rare thing to see men with shaven heads and attired in black garments 1 Quotations from original authorities will be found in Storrs, " The Divine Origin of Christianity," pp. 385, 572. Cf. also Fisher, " The Beginnings of Christianity," chap, vi., on "The State of Morals in Ancient Heathen Society"; De Pressensé, " The Ancient World and Christianity," American edition, book v., chap, ii., pp. 419-466, on "The Pagan World at the Coming of Christ."
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wandering about in prostitute quarters, or to find women living in temples. My desire was to reform this state of things, but I have been driven to the conclusion that there is no hope. The priests, from the lowest to the highest, are listless. The religion has no rallying power left, no inner life. The people have lost faith in it. Its end has come. What will take its place in the future is Christianity. I say this without doubt or hesitation."1 The Buddhist periodicals themselves have been discussing of late the moral condition of their priesthood. The strictures have been severe, and have dwelt almost invariably upon the subject of impurity. A recent issue of The Japan Mail notes the numerous references from month to month in the native religious press upon the subject of the Buddhist priesthood. A prominent Buddhist paper takes note of three special failings: first, idleness and inactivity; second, immorality; and third, disloyalty to the faith. " The decay of morality is attributed to the priesthood, who fail to check vice and to set an example of activity in good works."2 In an article on "Religious Thought in Japan," published in The Japan Evangelist, February, 1896, the author, in the section on Buddhism, writes as follows: "The immorality and corruption prevalent among the Buddhists have become matters of extensive and severe comment on the part of the secular papers. The Jiji Shimpo is especially sharp in its strictures. The charge is made that even the high priests of the Shin sect keep concubines. Considering the fact that the Shin sect is the sect of Reformed Buddhism, and the leading Buddhist organization of the present, the charge is a very grave one for Buddhism indeed." He then refers to the document entitled " Farewell to the Buddhists," and in a somewhat lengthy quotation from it we find the following paragraph: " Of the immorality of priests it makes me blush to speak." 3The Nation's Friend published an arti- 1 Quoted in The Independent, January 14, 1897, p. 14. 2 The Missionary Herald, March, 1893, p. 88. 3 " In a recent number of theFukttin Shimpo, for example, the publication of the fact that the late chief high priest of the Hongwanji had several concubines as well as a lawful wife, and a son by a concubine, leads a writer to lament his country's lot. He knows that such things are common in small villages and among ordinary monks, but here was the great pope of Japan, the so-called living Hotoke, or divine incarnation, given to this life. What can be said? In one sense the Hongwanji is merely a temple, and its pope is but a priest; but the influence of this temple pervades the nation, and its pope does much to shape the national development. Such things are poison to Japan, the traitor of the State, the sword of Satan. They are of profound importance to our welfare now and for the future. In the Shukyo, a writer on ' National Reformation' bewails his nation's corruption. Those in whose care the moral life of the people lies are themselves immoral. Upper as well as lower classes are tainted. Private utility is pursued through the sacrifice of public good Vices of the lowest and meanest kinds are common. The Land of the Rising Sun is in a dense cloud of falsehood. The light of conscience is fading away. A fundamental reformation is needed. Improvement in politics or social customs will not bring about this needed change. Individual regeneration is a necessity, and to this end the regeneration of young men is the ground of hope. The destiny of Japan lies in the character of its youth."—Quoted in The Baptist Missionary Magazine, September, 1894, p. 461.
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cle entitled " The Good and Evil Effects of Buddhism on History," which was translated by Mr. H. Kannari, and appears in The Japan Evangelist for October, 1893. The first paragraph of the article is as follows: " The priests are more zealous in financial matters or in lawsuits than the laymen. They are busy with envy and strife by day and by night. In their houses fornication is common. The idols of the saints are guarded by those who are inferior to prostitutes. There is a chief of a section of Buddhist temples who makes a large sum of money or a fortune by ostensibly engaging in public works. There is one who offers the harlot on the one hand, and on the other the priest who receives her with pleasure. Who can say that such priests and morality can save the nation of Japan? The corruption of Buddhism is, it can be said, at its worst." In May, 1895, the Japanese Minister of Home Affairs issued a
The Japanese Government gives an official warning.document containing instructions and warnings to the Shinto and Buddhist priests of the empire. The paper is a significant one, and contains plain intimations that the ignorance and immorality of the priesthood call loudly for reformation.1 A native writer, the Rev. K. Y. Fujiu, in "A Review of the Year 1895," referring to this action by the Home Minister, remarks: " This act occasioned not a little commotion among them. Moreover, severe attacks by leading newspapers upon some Buddhist sects on account of moral abuses showed the attitude of popular religious feeling and the needs of the 1 The following paragraph is taken from the document referred to: " Priests of either Shinto or Buddhist sects, charged as they are with the grave duty of propagating religious doctrines, ought to combine both learning and virtue, so as to command the respect of the people. Hence the processes pursued for testing their qualifications should be specially scrupulous and exact, everything savouring of partiality being carefully avoided. It is nevertheless commonly reported of the priests now in holy orders that not a few are distinguished neither by learning nor by virtuous conduct, and entirely unfitted for their posts. Not only do these defects disqualify them to discharge their duties, but the evil also tends to bring about the decline of religious tenets and of general morality, even to the extent of causing the decay of sects and encouraging the spread of false ideas throughout the country."— Quoted in The Japan Evangelist, October, 1895, p. 42.
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time. Bat we regret to see not only that these attacks and admonitions went unheeded, but that the moral condition of the priests is getting worse and worse."1 The Rev. J. H. De Forest, D.D., in an article on " The Japan of 1896—Religiously," writes as follows concerning the aftermath which followed the demise of a leading priest of the Shin sect: " When the head of the Shin sect in Kyoto died, three years ago, many papers were merciless in exposing his harem arrangements. His successor is now being attacked on the same line by some of the ablest papers in the land. The chief priest is accused of extreme extravagance and sensuality, and it is to the glory of Buddhism that a large revolt is in progress against the shameless immoralities of this great temple. There is a demand among Buddhists for purity of life on the part of the priests."2 In the capital of Korea Buddhist priests are practically ostracized, as they are not allowed to reside within the walls.3 The common explanation of this banishment is their evil character. Writers upon Korea characterize the " bonzes," or monks, as lazy and depraved.4 The popular estimate of the religious leaders in China is
Character of religious leaders in China.emphatically to their discredit. Their moral character is too well known to command respect. They are almost universally subjects of open ridicule or hardly concealed contempt. In an estimate of Buddhism by Mr. Ball, in "Things Chinese," the statement is made that " its priests are ignorant, low, and immoral, addicted to opium, despised by the people, held up to contempt and ridicule, and the gibe and joke 1 The Japan Evangelist, February, 1896, p. 154. Cf. also similar articles in ibid., June, 1896, pp. 280, 300. 2 The Independent, January 14, 1897, p. 14. 3 Curzon, "Problems of the Far East," p. no; Savage-Landor, "Corea," p. 217; Gilmore, " Korea from its Capital," p. 188. 4 " By lovers of the picturesque nothing more enchanting than these monastic retreats can anywhere be found; nor will the discovery that, while every prospect pleases, man alone is vile—even though his depravity assume, as is credibly alleged of the Korean bonzes, the most profligate expression, or, as it did in my own experience, the more modest form of larceny on one's personal effects—deter the traveller from keen appreciation of surroundings so romantic."—Curzon, " Problems of the Far East," p. 104. " More interesting to me than the temples and buildings were the bonzes, who are, I may as well say at once, a very depraved lot. . . . Morals they have none; if it were possible, one might say even less than none. They lead a lazy and vicious life in these monasteries, gambling among themselves, and spending much time in orgies. They feed themselves well at the expense of the charitable, and a great deal of their energy is expended in blackmailing rich persons, not of course openly, but through agents as disreputable as themselves."—Savage-Landor, " Corea," pp. 227, 228.
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of the populace. The nuns likewise hold a very low position in the public estimation."1 " They are opium-smokers almost to a man," says Dr. Henry, referring to the priests, " and are held in but little esteem by the people. To be called a Wo-sheung, or priest, is a term expressive of contempt at one's stupidity and general worthlessness." 2 Mr. Henry Norman, in his recent volume, gives an account of a narrow escape which he had from robbery and personal violence at the hands of Buddhist monks at a temple on the outskirts of Peking, whom he describes as "a set of as thorough-paced blackguards as could be imagined: filthy, vermin-covered, bloated, scrofulous, and with the marks of nameless vices stamped clearly on many of their faces." He congratulated himself on escaping with his life.3 Dr. Martin, in referring to the same temple, remarks: " Here twelve hundred lazy monks, filthy and vicious, are housed in the palace of a prince, who, on coming to the throne, gave them his dwelling and ordered them to be fed at his expense. So greedy are these recluses, whose first law is self-abnegation, and so indelicate is their mode of picking pockets, that a visitor always departed with the conviction that instead of visiting a house of prayer he had fallen into a den of thieves." 4 He refers in another connection to monks in general as follows: "Theoretically contemplative, pious, and virtuous, as a matter of fact most of these bonzes, or monks, are lazy, ignorant, and immoral. As such they are unsparingly satirized in Chinese popular literature." 5 The Rev. J. R. Graham, a missionary of the American Presbyterian Church (South), in an article on " The Character of Buddhist Priests," refers to the popular estimate concerning them in China as follows: "The Chinese, almost to a man, know how utterly depraved nine out of ten of the priests are." And again: " The priests are notoriously immoral and corrupt, opium-eaters and gamblers." 6 In an article by Dr. Arthur Neve, of Kashmir, on " The Unevangelized Countries of Asia," the priesthood of Tibet is described as follows: "The Dulai Llama, who is head of the hierarchy, rules the country and receives the abject worship of the people. He is supported by tens of thousands of monks, recruited from the people and living on them—a parasitic growth which 1 Ball, " Things Chinese," second edition, p. 70. Cf. also Douglas, " Society in China," pp. 119, 412, and "Report of the London Missionary Conference of 1888," vol. i., p. 66. 2 Henry, " The Cross and the Dragon," p. 91. 3 " The Peoples and Politics of the Far East," pp. 205-209. 4 " A Cycle of Cathay," p. 244. 5 Ibid., p. 227. 6 The Missionary, June, 1895, p. 274.
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crushes all freedom of thought or action, and under the guise of asceticism encourages the vilest immorality. Nothing short of a military occupation of Lhassa itself by British troops would avail to deliver the country from their yoke. And even in Ladak the power of the Llamas exercises a most baneful influence."1 In India there has been of late much criticism
The moral standing of the Hindu priesthood.on the part of intelligent natives of the moral standing of their religious leaders. According to The Indian Witness, as stated in a recent number of The Christian Patriot of Madras, " There is at present a conspiracy of utterance on the part of Indian journalists to draw attention to the utterly indefensible and worthless character of the Hindu priesthood."2 Of the Siva ascetics it is said, in a volume on "Religious Reform," published at Madras, that they " are some of the worst men in India."3 In their persons they are filthy and disgusting, which is to them, however, a clear indication of sanctity. They live upon the bounty of others, in absolute idleness, no small percentage of the earnings of industrious India going to support them in their debasing sloth. The fakirs and devotees are among the most revolting spectacles of humanity to be found anywhere; yet their power over Hindus is startling. They have been called " the captains-general of Hinduism " by a native authority. Their shocking ascetic practices seem to exert a strange spell over the imagination. Perhaps this is owing in great measure to fear of their curses, which they are ready to distribute broadcast upon slight provocation.5 1 The Church Missionary Intelligencer, May, 1895, p. 348. Cf. also Schneider, "Working and Waiting for Tibet," p. 39. 2 The following extract is all the more significant from the fact that it is found in an influential Hindu journal: " In countries and in religions where there is a certain standard of character insisted upon and exacted from those who are ordained as priests, life offers a basis of agreement even with those whose notions may be diametrically opposed to those of the priestly class. But here, what is the standard of character one expects in a priest? None, absolutely none. So far from the priests having to mend our lives, we have to mend them first or end them. To tell them to regard the notions which contribute to their livelihood as secondary, and to drive at practices which are injurious or dishonest, is to tell them to hang themselves. No doubt there should be exceptions even among our priests, but this admission! is more a matter of logical necessity with us than of actual experience."—Quoted in The Christian Patriot, December 10, 1896. 3 " Popular Hinduism," p. 33. 4 Stewart, " Life and Work in India," p. 205. 6 '' The reverence of the common Hindus for all classes of devotees is very great. A man with a shriveled arm held erect is an object of constant adoration as he walks along the road. Large numbers prostrate themselves at his feet, and that man would be daring indeed who hesitated a moment in obeying any command he might receive from such a saint. This power over the multitude would be a dangerous weapon in the hands of better men than the devotees; but when it is stated that large numbers of these fellows are the veriest scoundrels that walk the earth, the reader can well understand how much oppression they can practise without endangering themselves in any way. In former years they were undisguised tyrants; but for many years past the Indian Government has ceased to pay them any deference whatever. If one of the most sacred of these men violates the law of the land, he is punished precisely as another man; and this has done much, not only to protect the people, but to break the spell which enabled the devotee through long ages to oppress them with impunity."—Thoburn, " India and Malaysia," pp. 130, 131. Cf. also an article on " Hindu Devotees," by the Rev. T. H. Whitamore, in Work and Workers in the Mission Field, August, 1893, p. 320.
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The example which these fakirs set is evil in its influence upon Hindu society,
The priest, the guru, the mohunt and the fakir.although their reputed sanctity is rarely, if ever, questioned. " In the Punjab," writes the Rev. R. M. Paterson, of Guirat, "a fakir is thought to be entirely free to do as he desires. Nothing he does is considered a sin. No one dares proceed against him in the law courts, as all are afraid of his curse." A single fakir in an Indian village may be guilty of the most impudent and atrocious crimes, and yet no one would dare to witness in a court of law against him. " He would send us to hell by his curse," is their deprecating answer to any suggestion of legal prosecution. The guru, who seems to be the executive of the Hindu religion, who is the intermediary in the initiation of the young into the pale of Hinduism, and whose hand places the sacred thread, the sign of being "twice-born," upon the novitiate, has the same mischievous dominion over the Hindu mind. " Both the guru and the priest," writes a native Hindu, " vie with each other in ignorance and conceit. Both are covetous, unprincipled, and up to every vice, but the guru is much more revered than his adversary, owing to the speculative and mysterious nature of his avocations, and to the fact that he is a less frequent visitor. The guru's sway over the family is complete.1 The enlightened Indian press speaks in no uncertain tone as to the personal characteristics of the priesthood. The Hindu Patriot refers to this section of society in the following terms: " Profoundly ignorant as a class, and infinitely selfish, it is the mainstay of every unholy, immoral, and cruel custom and superstition in our midst, from the wretched dancing-girl, who insults the Deity by her existence, to the pining child-widow, whose every tear and every hair of her head 1 Quoted in Wilkins, " Modern Hinduism," p. 30.
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shall stand up against every one of us who tolerate it on the Day of Judgment. And of such a priestly class our women are the ignorant tools and helpless dupes."1 Associated with the most sacred services of Hindu temples and shrines are moral atrocities with which the religious guides of the people are often prominently identified. The mohunt, who is usually the keeper and guardian of an Indian shrine, seems to have absolute control of all funds contributed as votive offerings. He has therefore at his command immense sums of money, which he is free to use in accordance with his own desires, and almost resistless influence over the minds of visitors.2 Hindu pilgrimages to sacred places have certain dark aspects, concerning which there is coming to be much frank and outspoken discussion in the best journals of India. A recent issue of The Bombay Guardian refers to Bindraban, one of the sacred cities of the Hindus in North India. It is full of temples and priests, and 1 Quoted in The Baptist Missionary Magazine, September, 1895, p. 503. 2 "Babu Jogendra Nath Niyogi, B.A., in an able letter to The Indian Daily News of September 25, 1894, states the facts of the case as regards Bengal clearly, in these words: " ' There are three principal shrines in Bengal, viz., at Tarkheswar, Baidynath, and Kalighat. The first is under the management of a mohunt, the second under a high priest, and the third under persons known as haldars. These shrines yield very large incomes, which are entirely at the disposal of the persons referred to. These persons are not bound to give any account of the money to anybody. It is not to be wondered at, then, that vast sums should be squandered and dissipated. The term "mohunt" means a person who, being in charge of shrines, should, among other conditions, remain a bachelor and lead a strictly pure and ascetic life. It is in the very nature of things that, with vast sums of money at their disposal to do them yeoman's service in case of emergency, they should pass their lives in constant plots, intrigues, and excesses. It has been asserted by your vernacular contemporary, The Hitabadi, that no women of attractive appearance, unless accompanied by strong male guardians, can leave the precincts of these places without carrying away with them a sense of pollution. Among the Hindus it is considered an act of piety to see in person the priests at these shrines.' "—Quoted in The Indian Evangelical Review, October, 1894, p. 255. Mr. Bhattacharya, in his learned volume, remarks: "When a shrine is in the struggling stage, the high priest generally leads a pure life and spends a large part of his income in feeding the poor pilgrims. But the high priests of the temples that have a well-established character for sanctity are usually just the kind of men that they ought not to be. There are just five stages in the careers of the successful monks and nuns : first, the beggar; then the charlatan; then the temple promoter; then the princely high priest; and the last of all the debauchee. The theme is one to which justice could be done only by the genius of a Shakespeare."—" Hindu Castes and Sects," p. 362. Cf. also article on " Hinduism as It Is," by the Rev. J. P. Haythornthwaite, in The Church Missionary Intelligencer, August, 1896.
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is especially a resort of Hindu widows. Few of these escape the moral contamination of the place.1 The morality of Buddhist monks in India is certainly not in advance of that of the
The secrets of Buddhist monostaries in Ceylon.average Hindu priest. Dr. J. Bowles Daly, editor of The Indian World, in a recent report presented to the Government by him as a commissioner appointed by the Indian Government to examine into the working of the " Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance," makes some stinging criticisms of the moral status of the Buddhist priesthood in Ceylon. Dr. Daly, it may be remarked, is strongly pro-Buddhist in his sympathies, and does not conceal his admiration for Buddhism as a religious system. In his report he claims to have visited in four years about thirteen hundred of the pansalas, or monasteries, and therefore bases his remarks upon extensive personal observation. Concerning this report, the Rev. J. Ireland Jones, who occupies the position of the James Long Lecturer on Buddhism, expresses the following judgment in a recent issue of The Church Missionary Intelligencer: " His Report to Government, which lies before me, is a very remarkable document; no more striking commentary could have been written on the morality of Buddhism from its practical side. No writer with whom I am acquainted has drawn a darker picture of the Buddhist priesthood as a whole, or has been more severe in denunciation of their dishonesty, untruthfulness, and general depravity. Not only, in the opinion of this candid Buddhist, does ' brutal stagnation of mind prevail in the monasteries '; language seems hardly strong enough to describe the corruption existing on every side. Of one pansala his report is: ' Its funds are mismanaged, and a system of wholesale fraud is being perpetrated.' Of another he says: 'This temple is scandalously mismanaged; its monks, four in number, are idle and depraved.' A third temple had 'procured for itself a terrible notoriety' through the use of poison for the removal of troublesome claimants of its property. And these are but specimens. Other portions of the Report are more gross still, and refer to abominations which forbid mention." 2 In Mohammedan lands religious leadership reflects the spiritual temper and the moral standards of Islam. The intense legalism of the Islamic code is nowhere more strikingly illustrated than in the characteristic perfunctoriness of its religious officials. The imam, the mufti, and the kadi are not, as a rule, models to be imitated. Their offi- 1 See The Sentinel, March, 1896, p. 34. 2 The Church Missionary Intelligencer, August, 1895, p. 576.
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cial life, both in its governing principles and its dubious practices,
The imam, the mufti, the kadi, the mullah, and the dervish.will need considerable reconstruction before it can be regarded as uplifting or helpful in the direction either of political or social righteousness. The numerous orders of fakirs and dervishes, those weird and fantastic mystics of the Orient, with their frenzied utterances, their exhausting ecstasies, their whirling zikrs, and their endless iteration of titles and texts to the music of their rosaries, can hardly be said to contribute to either the moral or the material well-being of society. In Persia the Mohammedan clergy, or mullahs, and the dervishes, are sorry specimens of religious guides. Concerning the latter we have the testimony of Mrs. Bishop, in a recent account of her journeys in Persia and Kurdistan. "They are the 'mendicant friars' of Persia," she writes, " and are under vows of poverty. Some are said to be learned, but they object to discussing religious matters with infidels, and almost nothing is known as to their beliefs. They hold universally the sanctity of idleness, and the duty of being supported by the community. The lower classes hold them in reverence, and the upper, though they are apt to loathe them, treat them with great respect, for fear of laying themselves open to the charge of laxity in religious matters. Many of them deal in charms, and are consulted as astrologers. Some are professed tellers of stories, to which, I am told, no European could degrade himself by listening, but which are most palatable to a village audience. . . . They are credited with many vices, among the least of which are hazy ideas as to mine and thine, opium and bhang smoking to excess, and drunkenness."1 As regards the mullahs, it is interesting to note that one of the strongest counts in the indictment of Mirza AH Mohammed against the Mohammedanism of his day was the scandalous vices of the Moslem clergy and their unfitness to be the spiritual guides of the people. This religious reformer is better known as " The Bab," the founder of the Babi religion, a recent revolt from Mohammedanism in Persia.2 His strictures, as recorded in "The Tarikh-I-Jadid ; or, The New History of the Bab," translated by Mr. Edward G. Browne, are many and unequivocal, and they are significant as coming from a native source, with every opportunity to possess an inside knowledge of facts. The history contains repeated denunciations of the selfishness, hypocrisy, venality, and de- 1 "Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan," vol. i., p. 237. 2 Cf. article by the Rev. Benjamin Labaree, D.D., on " The Babi Religion in Persia," in The Church at Home and Abroad, October, 1893, p. 296.
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based personal character of the Persian mullahs. It calls attention to the fact that they have had no proper education for their religious responsibilities, and that they grossly misuse their power for unworthy purposes.1 The Mohammedan shrines of Persia, especially that of Imam Riza of Meshed, are notorious for immorality. "The shrine of Imam Riza," writes a recent visitor, " is the great centre round which everything in Meshed swings, but under cover of its protection or service the grossest forms of sin prevail, while traffic in women for the convenience of pilgrims is a business so closely connected with the shrine as to be inseparable from it. A thousand men are employed in its service. It 1 A single paragraph from " The Tarikh-I-Jadid " will suffice: "So heedless are they [the Persian people] that they do not perceive that most of these divines originally spring from the rustic population or the scum of the towns. They enter our cities and colleges with a smock and a staff, and feet full of sores encased in coarse socks and canvas shoes. There, by the alms and votive offerings of the people, by begging from this one and that one, by prayers and fastings paid for at the rate of two tumans a year, by reading through the whole Kuran for a kran, and by fees obtained for the performance of devotions, they manage to live in extreme wretchedness and poverty. After reading a few books, learning Arabic, filling their minds with all manner of doubts, hesitations, and vain scruples, and developing their obsolete superstitions and prejudices, they leave college, take their seats in the chair of the Law and the Imamate, and forthwith become the absolute arbiters and lawgivers of the nation, the controllers of all men's lands and possessions, the owners of horses, mules, gold, and silver. They then think themselves entitled to set their feet on the necks of all mankind, to lord it over the noble, to maintain troops of horses and retinues of servants, to claim to be the vicegerents of the Imam, to receive his tithes> and to make atonements for wrongs. They account themselves the most noble amongst all creatures, and the most perfect, the generality of men as ' like cattle,' and the common folk as ' even more astray.' They become dead men's heirs, consumers of endowments, and collectors of tithes and ' thirds,' and usurp the station of ' the One, the Dominant,' ' to whom belongeth dominion.' " Most people, however, have not sufficient sense to perceive from what sources all these luxuries, powers, shops, villages, lands, aqueducts, possessions, and moneys which the clergy possess are derived. Have they skill in working mines? No. Do they traffic in the merchandise of India, China, America, or Europe? No. Do they traverse land and sea, or cultivate fields which lie waste? No. Have they amassed their wealth by the discovery of new arts? No. This luxury and opulence result, as all, wise or simple, may plainly see, from the plunder of rich and poor, from payments for legal decisions, written or pronounced, from the profits of writing, ' I decree this,' or saying, ' I am witness to this,' and ' It is thus and thus,' and from the hire obtained for the use of their honourable seals. Such being the case, what folly it is to take as guides men so notoriously evil and hypocritical, to follow their opinions, to be governed by their decisions, to cringe to them, flatter them, beseech their favour, and reckon them, forsooth, as the repositories of learning!"— Browne, "The Tarikh-I-Jadid; or. The New History of the Bab," pp. 184, 185. See also Ibid., pp. 77, 189.
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has an annual income estimated by different authorities to be equal to £12,000 in money and 3000 tons in wheat as a minimum, up to £7 2,000 and 12,000 tons as a maximum, amount. Instead of being a 'house of prayer' it is literally a ' den of thieves.' " It is not necessary to dwell upon this theme in connection with the religious leadership of Africa and the South Sea Islands, where the guardians of the spiritual welfare of the people seem to be examples of ignorance and pride, and the masters of every art and device of superstition. They have apparently entered into partnership with the demons they claim to control, to exert a malign influence over human hearts. In South America, Central America, and
Religious guides in South America, Central America, and Mexico.Mexico the religious guides of the people cannot be said to exemplify the morality which Christianity requires. On the contrary, there is much that is gross and lamentable in their lives. In Brazil, Peru, and Chile, and, in fact, pretty generally throughout Central and South America, the immorality of the clergy is notorious and undisguised.1 This statement is not based simply upon the testimony of Protestant missionaries. In 1867 there was published in Paris the report of Abbé Emanuel Domenech, Chaplain of the French Expeditionary Force who represented Napoleon III. at the time of the failure of the French intervention which ended in the death of Maximilian. This Roman Catholic prelate was charged with a special mission to ascertain the true moral and religious condition of the clergy and Church of Rome in Mexico. He 1 " Romanism in Europe and in the United States is manifestly far in advance of anything ever beheld here. There we see something good in that Church. Here the good has been reduced to such a minimum that one scarcely ever beholds anything but weakness and wickedness. There the priests, as a rule, keep up the appearance of Christian perfection, preserving their characters, as much as possible, blameless and above reproach. Here it is nothing for them to be openly immoral."— See article entitled " Peru as a Mission Field," in The Gospel in all Lands, January, 1896, p. 9. " The character of the religious teachers of any people is a fair index to the general moral condition of the masses who receive their instructions. The priesthood of Mexico has a few names that are untarnished in their reputation for virtue, but in the vast majority there is not as great an ' odor of sanctity,' outside of the pulpit, as would befit the ministers of Christ. Many are so notoriously drunken, profane, and lecherous that they are a positive scandal to a society that is itself thoroughly honeycombed by vice and impurity. These men are never expelled from the ministry for their outrageous lives, but are simply changed from one parish to another when their vices or crimes become unbearable."—See article on " The Religions and Moral Condition of Mexico," by the Rev. Samuel P. Graver, in The Gospel in all Lands, March, 1894, p. 100. Cf. also The Missionary Review of the World, March, 1895, pp. 198-202.
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made a tour of personal observation, and published his report after his return to France, giving it the title of " Mexico as It Is: The Truth Respecting the Climate, its Inhabitants, and its Government." The document is a scathing arraignment of the Church and its clergy. We have here to do simply with what he had to say with reference to the priesthood, although the entire report is a weighty indictment against Romanism as it appears in Mexico.1 The Abbé has said in plain words all that we have hinted at in this paragraph. Coming from such a source, the testimony, under the circumstances, is convincing, and is so explicit that it requires no confirmation from Protestant writings. It is quoted by Mr. Butler from a volume entitled " Mexico and the United States," by Gorham D. Abbot.2 1 For further information upon the contents of the report consult Butler, " Mexico in Transition," pp. 27-34, and The Missionary Review of the World, March, 1896, p. 177, article by Mr. Robert E. Speer, on " Mexico: Her Needs and Our Duty." 2 The Abbé writes as follows: " I say that Mexico is not a Catholic country: (1) Because a majority of the native population are semi-idolaters. (2) Because the majority of the Mexicans carry ignorance of religion to such a point that they have no other worship than that of form. It is materialism without a doubt. They do, not know what it is to worship God in spirit and in truth, according to the Gospel. ... If the pope should abolish all simoniacal livings, and excommunicate all the priests having concubines, the Mexican clergy would be reduced to a very small affair. Nevertheless, there are some worthy men among them, whose conduct as priests is irreproachable. ... In all Spanish America there are found among the priests the veriest wretches—knaves deserving the gallows—men who make an infamous traffic of religion. Mexico has her share of these wretches. . . . " The clergy carry their love of the family to that of paternity. In my travels in the interior of Mexico, many pastors have refused me hospitality in order to prevent my seeing their nieces and cousins and their children. It is difficult to determine the character of these connections. Priests who are recognized as fathers of families are by no means rare. The people consider it natural enough, and do not rail at the conduct of their pastors, excepting when they are not contented with one wife. . . . I remember that, one of these prelates passing through a village near the episcopal city, the priest said to him, ' Sire, have the goodness to bless my children and their mother.' The good bishop blessed them. There was a chamberful. Another did better still. He baptized the child of one of his priests. Can a clergy of such character make saints? I doubt. Nevertheless, they must not be taken for heretics. . . . " They make merchandise of the sacraments, and make money by every religious ceremony, without thinking that they are guilty of simony and expose themselves to the censures of the Church. If Roman justice had its course in Mexico, one half of the Mexican clergy would be excommunicated. . . . The well-instructed priests, disinterested and animated by a truly apostolical spirit, holy souls whose religious sentiments are of good character, constitute an insignificant minority."—Quoted in Butler, " Mexico in Transition," pp. 32, 33.
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Is it not evident, from this hasty and imperfect sketch of the moral status of the religious leaders of the non-Christian, and also of some sections of the Christian, world, that we have here a sadly suggestive brief as to the desperate needs of social reconstruction from the top to the bottom? And now this long and dreary, yet needful, review of the evils of heathen society may be closed. Something more than a mere enumeration of its characteristic defects seemed necessary, for the sake of comprehensive and concise information, as well as to give emphasis to the call for Christian reconstruction. It was desirable that the treatment should be sufficiently in detail, and that it should be based upon authentic testimony. I have endeavored to substantiate facts, and have in most instances indicated authorities. Many more might have been given for almost every important statement made. I have written nothing which I do not believe to be true, upon satisfactory evidence. In connection with certain aspects of the subject I have not been able to print some incidents and details which have been given me in the freedom of private correspondence. In others, information too direct and authentic to doubt was not, however, suitable for publication. If the picture is considered by some to be overdrawn, I can only reply that it has been my endeavor rather to photograph facts than to portray them in striking colors, and that I have been guided by fidelity to the truth within the limitations of propriety more than by a desire not to disturb the reader's sensibilities. It will be our privilege in the remaining pages to turn to brighter and more attractive phases of our theme, which the dark background of the present lecture will serve to bring out into vivid and cheering relief. We shall realize, perhaps all the more gratefully, what Christianity means to human society, and what an object-lesson of hope and inspiration has been given to mankind in the victorious life of Christ: " Who brings the fading flower of poor HumanityTo perfect blossoming and sweetest fruit."
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LITERATURE AND AUTHORITIES FOR LECTURE II The subjects referred to in the preceding lecture are so many and varied that the author cannot hope in a brief bibliography to do more than suggest to students some sources of his own information, and indicate where further and fuller investigation of special countries or topics may be made. With a few exceptions only recent books are noted. Missionary volumes referred to in Lecture II., will be found, in most instances, in the bibliography of Lecture I. I. SOCIETY BEFORE THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY ANDERSON, ROBERT E., The Story of Extinct Civilizations of the East. N. Y., D. Appleton & Co., 1896. BLÜMNER, H., The Home Life of the Ancient Greeks. (Translated by Alice Zimmern.) L., Cassell & Co., 1893. BOUGHTON, WILLIS, History of Ancient Peoples. N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1897. BRINTON, DANIEL G., Religions of Primitive Peoples. N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1897. FRAZER, R. W., Silent Gods and Sun-Steeped Lands. L., T. Fisher Unwin, 1895. INGE, WILLIAM RALPH, Society in Rome under the Casars. L., John Murray; N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1892. JEVONS, FRANK BYRON, An Introduction to the History of Religion. L. and N. Y., The Macmillan Co., 1896. LAURIE, S. S., Historical Survey of Pre-Christian Education. L. and N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1895. MASPERO, G., The Dawn of Civilization. (Egypt and Chaldæa.) (Translated by M. L. McClure.) Second edition, revised. N. Y., D. Appleton & Co., 1896. MORGAN, L. H., Ancient Society. N. Y., Henry Holt & Co., 1878. MOZLEY, Rev. J. B., Ruling Ideas in Early Ages and their Relation to Old Testament Faith. New edition. L., and N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1896. RATZEL, FRIEDRICH, The History of Mankind. (Translated by A. J. Butler.) Vol. i. L. and N. Y., The Macmillan Co., 1896. SIENKIEWICZ, H., Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero. (Translated from the Polish by Jeremiah Curtin.) B., Little, Brown & Co., 1896. TAYLOR, HENRY OSBORN, Ancient Ideals: A Study of Intellectual and Spiritual Growth from Early Times to the Establishment of Christianity. N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1896. TYLOR, E. B., Primitive Culture. 2 vols.L., John Murray; N. Y., Henry Holt & Co., 1873. TYLOR, E. B., Researches into the Early History of Mankind. L., John Murray; N. Y., Henry Holt & Co., 1878. TYLOR, E. B., Anthropology: Introduction to Study of Man and Civilization. L. and N. Y., Macmillan & Co., 1881. WIEDEMANN, A., Religion of the Ancient Egyptians. N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1897. II. SOCIETY IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN AND MEDIEVAL PERIOD BRACE, CHARLES LORING, Gesta Christi; or, A History of Humane Progress under Christianity. Fifth edition.N, Y., A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1893. CHURCH, Dean, The Beginning of the Middle Ages. L. and N. Y., The Macmillan Co., 1896. SCHMIDT, C., The Social Results of Early Christianity. (Translated by Mrs. Thorpe. Second edition. William Isbister, 1889.
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STORRS, Rev. RICHARD S., The Divine Origin of Christianity. N. Y., A. D. F. Randolph & Co., 1884. UHLHORN, GERHARD, Christian Charity in the Ancient Church. (Translated from the German.) N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1883. UHLHORN, GERHARD, The Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism. N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1894. III. SOCIETY IN THE MODERN ERA I. JAPAN BACON, ALICE M., Japanese Girls and Women. B. and N. Y., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1893. BATCHELOR, Rev. JOHN, The Ainu of Japan. L., Religious Tract Society; N. Y. and C., Fleming H. Revell Co., 1892. BUCKLEY, EDMUND, Phallicism in Japan. C., The University Press, 1895. CHAMBERLAIN, BASIL HALL, Things Japanese. Second edition, revised and enlarged. L., Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1891. CURZON, GEORGE N., Problems of the Far East. L. and N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1894. New and revised edition. L., A. Constable & Co., 1896. GRIFFIS, Rev. WILLIAM ELLIOT, The Mikado's Empire. Seventh edition, with supplementary chapters. N. Y., Harper & Brothers, 1894. GRIFFIS, Rev. WILLIAM ELLIOT, The Religions of Japan. N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895. HEARN, LAFCADIO, Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan. 2 vols. B. and N. Y., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1894. KNAPP, ARTHUR MAY, Feudal and Modern Japan. 2 vols. B., Joseph Knight Co., 1896. LANDOR, A. H. SAVAGE-, Alone with the Hairy Ainu; or, Thirty-eight Hundred Miles on a Pack-Saddle in Yezo, and a Cruise to the Kurile Islands. L., John Murray, 1896. LOWELL, PERCIVAL, Occult Japan : The Way of the Gods. B. and N. Y., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1895. MACKAY, Rev. GEORGE LESLIE, From Far Formosa. N. Y. and C., Fleming H. Revell Co., 1896. MITFORD, A. B., Tales of Old Japan. L. and N. Y., Macmillan & Co., 1890. NORMAN, HENRY, The Peoples and Politics of the Far East. L., T. Fisher Unwin; N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895. NORMAN, HENRY, The Real Japan. L., T. Fisher Unwin; N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893. PEERY, R. B., A.M., Ph.D., The Gist of Japan. N. Y. and C., Fleming H. Revell Co., 1897. TRISTRAM, Canon H. B., Rambles in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun
. N. Y. and C., Fleming H. Revell Co., 1895. 2. KOREA BISHOP, ISABELLA BIRD, Korea and her Neighbors. L., John Murray; N. Y. and C., Fleming H. Revell Co., 1897. CULIN, STEWART, Korean Games; with Notes on the Corresponding Games of China and Japan. P., University of Pennyslvania, 1895. GILMORE, Rev. GEORGE W., Korea from its Capital. P., Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1892. GRIFFIS, Rev. WILLIAM ELLIOT, Corea, the Hermit Nation. Sixth edition, revised and enlarged, with additional chapter on Corea in 1897.N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1897. LANDOR, A. H. SAVAGE-, Corea, or Cho-sen, the Land of the Morning Calm. L. and N. Y., Macmillan & Co., 1895. LOWELL, PERCIVAL, Sketch of Corea. B., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1887. MILN, LOUISE JORDAN, Quaint Korea. L., Osgood & Co., 1895; N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895. 3. CHINA BALL, J. DYER, Things Chinese. Second edition, revised and enlarged. N. Y,, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893. BARNES, IRENE H., Behind the Great Wall. L., Marshall Brothers, 1896. CHIROL, VALENTINE, The Far Eastern Question. L. and N. Y., The Macmillan Co., 1896. COCKBURN, Rev. G., John Chinaman: His Ways and Notions. E., Gardner Hitt, 1896.
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LATIMER, ELIZABETH WORMELEY, Europe in Africa in the Nineteenth Century. C., A. C. McClurg & Co., 1895. LIVINGSTONE, DAVID, Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa. L., John Murray, 1857. LIVINGSTONE, DAVID, Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi. L., John Murray, 1865. LIVINGSTONE, DAVID, Last Journals in Central Africa. Second edition. L., John Murray, 1880. LUCAS, C. P., A Historical Geography of the British Colonies. Vol. iii., on "West Africa" (1894), and vol. iv., on " South and East Africa." L., Henry Frowde, 1897. LUGARD, F. D., The Rise of our East African Empire. 2 vols. E. and L., William Blackwood & Sons, 1893. MACDONALD, Rev. DUFF, Africana; or, The Heart of Heathen Africa. 2 vols. L., Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1882. MACDONALD, Rev. JAMES, Religion and Myth. L., D. Nutt; N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893. MACDONALD, Major J. R., 'L., Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa, 1891-94. L. and N. Y., Edward Arnold, 1897. MACKENZIE, Rev. J., Austral Africa: Losing It or Ruling It?. 2 vols. L., Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1897. MAUDE, FRANCIS CORNWALLIS, Five Years in Madagascar; with Notes on the Military Situation. N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1896. MILNEK, Sir ALFRED, England in Egypt. L. and N. Y., Edward Arnold, 1894. OHRWALDER, JOSEPH, Ten Years' Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp. L., Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1893. Papers on the Liqitor Traffic in Africa. L., Office of Aborigines Protection Society, Broadway Chambers, Westminster, S. W. PIERSON, Rev. ARTHUR T., Seven Years in Sierra Leone. N. Y. and C., Fleming H. Revell Co., 1897. Political Laws of the South African Republic. (Translated by W. A. Macfadyen.) L., William Clowes & Son, 1896. POOLE, STANLEY LANE, Social Life in Egypt. L., Virtue & Co., 1884. POWELL, R. S. S. BADEN-, The Downfall of Prempeh : A Diary of Life with the Native Levy in Ashanti. L., Methuen & Co., 1896. PURVIS, W. F., and BIGGS, L. V., South Africa: Its People, Progress, and Problems. L., Chapman & Hall, 1896. REEVES, JESSE SIDDALL, The International Beginnings of the Congo Free State. Baltimore, Md., The Johns Hopkins Press, 1895. REINDORF, Rev. CARL CHRISTIAN, History of the Gold Coast and Asante Based on Traditions and Historical Facts Comprising a Period of More than Three Centuries, from about 1500 to 1860. L., Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1895. Report by Commissioner Johnston of the First Three Years' Administration of the Eastern Portion of British Central Africa, Dated March31,1894. Blue Book Africa, No. b (1896). ROBINSON, CHARLES HENRY, Hausaland. L., Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1896. ROWLEY, Rev. HENRY, Twenty Years in Central Africa. L., Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., 1881. SCHULZ, AUREL, and HAMMAR, AUGUST, The New Africa: A Journey up the Chobe and down the Okovanga Rivers. L., William Heinemann, 1897. SELOUS, F. C., Travel and Adventure in South-East Africa. L., Rowland Ward, 1893. SIBREE, Rev. JAMES, Madagascar before the Conquest: The Island, the Country, and the People. L. and N. Y., The Macmillan Co., 1896. SLATIN, RUDOLPH C. (Slatin Pasha), Fire and Sword in the Sudan. (Translated by Major F. R. Wingate.) L. and N. Y., Edward Arnold, 1896. SLOWAN, WILLIAM J., The Story of our Kaffrarian Mission. E., Offices of United Presbyterian Church, 1894. SMITH, A. DONALDSON, Through Unknown African Countries. L. and N. Y., Edward Arnold, 1897. SMITH, Rev. G. HERBERT, Among the Menace: Thirteen Months in Madagascar. L., S. P. C. K., 1897. STANLEY, H. M., How I Found Livingstone: Travels, Adventures, and Discoveries. Second edition. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1874. STANLEY, H. M., In Darkest Africa. N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1890; new edition, L., Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1897. STANLEY, H. M., The Congo, and the Founding of the Free State. L., Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1885.
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STANLEY, H. M., Thro' the Dark Continent. Second edition. L., Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1879. STATHAM, F. REGINALD, South Africa as it is. L., T. Fisher Unwin, 1897. TANGYE, H. L., In New South Africa. L., Horace Cox, 1896. THEAL, G. M'CALL, The Portuguese in South Africa. L., T. Fisher Unwin, 1896. THOMSON, JOSEPH, To the Central African Lakes and Back. Second edition. L., Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1888. THOMSON, JOSEPH, Travels in the Atlas and Southern Morocco. L., George Philip & Son, 1889. TYLER, Rev, JOSIAH, Forty Years among the Zulus. B. and C., Congregational Sunday-school and Publishing Society, 1891. VANDELEUR, C. F. S., Two Years' Travel in Uganda, Unyoro, and on the Upper Nile. L., Office of The Geographical Journal1897. VINCENT, FRANK, Actual Africa; or, The Coming Continent. N. Y., D. Appleton & Co., 1895. WALLER, Rev. HORACE, Slaving and Slavery in our British Protectorate. L., P. S. King & Co., 1895. WARD, HERBERT, Five Years with the Congo Cannibals. L., Chatto & Windus; N. Y., Robert Bonner's Sons, 1890. WIDDICOMBK, Rev. Canon, In the Lesuto: A Sketch of African Mission Life. L., S, P. C. K., 1895. WILMOT, A., The Story of the Expansion of South Africa. L., T. Fisher Unwin, 1894. WINGATE, Major F. R., Mahdism and the Egyptian Sudan. L. and N. Y., Macmillan & Co., 1891. WITHERS, H., The English and the Dutch in South Africa: An Historical Retrospect. L., Wilson & Co., 1896. WOOD, H. F., Egypt under the British. L., Chapman & Hall, 1897. WORSFOLD, W. B., South Africa: A Study in Colonial Administration and Development. N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895. 11. THE WEST INDIES CASSECANARIE, M. D., Obeah Simplified: The True Wanga, What it Really is, and How it is Done. Port of Spain, Mirror Office, 1896. FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY, The English in the West Indies. L., Longmans, Green & Co., 1888. Jamaica: Enslaved and Free. N. Y., Carlton & Porter, n.d. LUCAS, C. P., The West Indian Colonies. L., Henry Frowde, 1888. MORRIS, IRA NELSON, With the Trade-Winds: A Jaunt in Venezuela and the West Indies. N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1897. MUSSON, S. P., and ROXBURGH, T. L., The Handbook of Jamaica. Second edition. Kingston, Jamaica, Government Printing Office; L., Edward Stanford, 1894. ROHSON, Rev. GEORGE, The Story of Our Jamaica Mission. E., Offices of United Presbyterian Church, 1894. RODWAY, JAMES, The West Indies and the Spanish Main. N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons; L.,T. Fisher Unwin, 1896. ST. JOHN, Sir SPENCER, Hayti; or, The Black Republic
. Second edition. L., Smith & Elder, 1889. STODDARD, Rev. CHARLES A., Cruising among the Carribees. N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895. UNDERBILL, EDWARD BEAN, The West Indies: Their Social and Religious Condition. L., Jackson & Walford, 1862. 12. MEXICO, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA BRETT, Rev. W, H., Legends and Myths of the Indians of British Guiana. L., Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., 1880. BRETT, Rev. W. H., The Indian Tribes of Guiana. Second edition. L., Bell & Sons, 1868. BUTLER, Rev. WILLIAM, Mexico in Transition from the Power of Political Romanism to Civil and Religious Liberty. Third edition. N. Y., Hunt & Eaton, . CROMMELIN, MAY, Over the Andes from the Argentine to Chili and Peru. L., Richard Bentley & Sons, 1896. GROESBECK, TELFORD, The Incas: The Children of the Sun. N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1896. JOSA, Rev. F. P. L., The Apostle of the Indians of Guiana : A Memoir of the Life and Labours of the Rev. W. H. Brett. L., Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., 1887. RODWAY, JAMES, In the Guiana Forest. Third edition. L,. T. Fisher Unwin, 1897.
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WHYMPER, E., Travels amongst the Great Andes of the Equator. New edition. N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1896. 13. NORTH AMERICA ADAM, G. MERCER, The Canadian North-West: Its History and its Troubles. Toronto, 1885. BRINTON, DANIEL G., The Myths of the New World: A Treatise on the Symbolism and Mythology of the Red Race of America. Third edition, revised.P., David McKay, 1896. BRUCE, MINER. W., Alaska: Its History and Resources. Seattle, Washington, Lowman & Hanford Stationery and Printing Co., 1895. EICKEMEYKR, CHARLES, and LILIAN W., Among the Pueblo Indians. N. Y., The Merriam Co., 1895. FIELD, Rev. H. M., Our Western Archipelago. N. Y., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895. HENDREN, S. RIVERS, Government and Religion of the Virginia Indians. Baltimore, Md., Johns Hopkins Press, 1895. KNAPP, FRANCES, and CHILDE, R. L., The Thlinkets of Alaska. C., Stone & Kimball, 1897. NEWTON, W., Twenty Years on the Saskatchewan, N. W. Canada: A Narrative of Missionary Work. L.. Elliot Stock, 1897. YOUNG, EGERTON RYERSON, By Canoe and Dog-Train among the Cree and Salteaux Indians. N. Y., Hunt & Eaton, 1892. YOUNG, EGERTON RYERSON, On the Indian Trail. N. Y. and C., Fleming H. Revell Co., 1897. YOUNG, EGERTON RYERSON, Stories from Indian Wigwams and Northern Camp-Fires. N. Y., Hunt & Eaton, 1893. IV. SPECIAL SUBJECTS I. TEMPERANCE. GUSTAFSON, AXEL, The Foundation of Death : A Study of the Drink Question. N. Y., Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1887. MURDOCH, J., Temperance Reform in India. Madras, Christian Literature Society for India, 1897. RUNCIMAN, JAMES, The Ethics of Drink, and Other Social Questions. L., Hodder & Stoughton, 1895. Temperance in all Nations. Report of the World's Temperance Congress, held at Chicago, June, 1893. N. Y., The National Temperance Society and Publication House, 1893. 2. THE OPIUM EVIL CLIEFE, H. H. T., England's Greatest National Sin. L., Elliot Stock, 1892. DUDGEON, Dr. J., The Evils of the Use of Opium. (A valuable essay in Records of Shanghai Conference, 1890, pp. 314-354.) MAUGHAN, W. C., Our Opium Trade in India and China. L., Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, Finsbury House, Blomfield Street, 1894. Publications of the Society for the Suppression of the Opium Trade, Finsbury House, Blomfield Street, London, England. ROBERTS, Sir W., Opium Habit in India. Second edition. L., Smith, Elder & Co., 1897. ROWNTREE, JOSHUA, The Opium Habit in the East: A Study of the Evidence Given to the Royal Commission on Opium, 1893-94. L., P. S. King & Son, 1895. STRKDDAR, ELEANOR, Aluteh: A Story of the Chinese Hills. Treats of the opium evil in China. L., Stoneman, 1896. TURNER, Rev. F. STORRS, British Opium Policy. L., Sampson Low, Marston & Co. 3. GAMBLING MACKENZIE, W. DOUGLAS, The Ethics of Gambling. L., Sunday-school Union, 1895; P., Henry Altemus, 1897. 4. SLAVERY AND THE SLAVE-TRADE FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY, English Seamen in the Sixteenth Century. New edition. L. and N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1895. INGRAM, JOHN KELLS, A History of Slavery and Serfdom. L., Adam & Charles Black, 1895. 5. SUPERSTITIONS AND WITCHCRAFT Devil-Dancers, Witch-Finders, Rain-Makers, and Medicine-Men. Madras, Christian Literature Society, 1896.
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ELWORTHY, F. T., The Evil Eye: An Account of this Ancient Superstition. L., John Murray, 1896. KING, L. W., Babylonian Magic and Sorcery. L., Luzac & Co., 1896. MALLOCK, W. H., Studies of Contemporary Superstition. L., Ward & Downey, 1895. NEVIUS, Rev. JOHN L., Demon. Possession and Allied Themes. N. Y. and C., Fleming H. Revell Co., 1894. SIMPSON, W., The Buddhist Praying-Wheel: A Collection of Material Bearing upon the Symbolism of the Wheel and Circular Movements in Custom and Religious Ritual. L. and N. Y., The Macmillan Co., 1896. V. MISCELLANEOUS DOWKONTT, G. D., Murdered Millions versus Medical Missions. N. Y. (published by the author), 121 East Forty-fifth Street. EARLE, ALICE MORSE, Curious Punishments of Bygone Days. C., H. S. Stone & Co., 1896. HOUGHTON, Rev. Ross C., Women of the Orient. Cincinnati, Curts & Jennings ; N. Y., Hunt & Eaton, 1877. LECKY, WILLIAM EDWARD HARTPOLE, Democracy and Liberty. 2 vols. L. and N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1896. LUCKOCK, Dean H. M., The History of Marriage, Jewish and Christian. Second edition, revised and enlarged. L. and N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1895. LYALL, Sir A. C., Asiatic Studies: Religious and Social. Second edition. L., John Murray, 1884. MILLER, F. MAX, Contributions to the Science of Mythology. 2 vols. L. and N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1896. SCOTT, BENJAMIN, A State Inquiry : Its Rise, Extension, and Overthrow. L., Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., 1890. SINK JEE, Sir BHAGVAT, A Short History of Aryan Medical Science. L. and N. Y., The Macmillan Co., 1896. SMITH, W. R., Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia. Cambridge, Cambridge Press, 1885. WAKEFIELD, C. C., future Trade in the Far East. L., Whittaker & Co., 1896. WATKINS, OSCAR D., A Treatise on the Divine Laws of Marriage. L., Rivington & Percival, 1895. WESTERMARCK, Dr. EDWARD, A History of Human Marriage. Second edition. L. and N. Y., Macmillan & Co., 1894. WINES, FREDERICK HOWARD, Punishment and Reformation: An Historical Sketch of the Rise of the Penitentiary System. N. Y., Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., 1895. |