SOUTHERN BAPTIST MISSIONS. The Fortieth Annual Report of the Southern Baptist Convention, for the year ending April 30th, 1885, reports $25,078.91 as expended on its five missions in China, at Chefoo, IIwanghien, Shanghai, Chinkiang, and Canton. Missionaries and native assistants, number 56, Church members, 645; Contributions, $567.85. Efforts to secure a permanent occupation of IIwanghien, Shangtung, have so far been frustrated by the literati. Dr. Yates calls for six new men, one for Shanghai, two for Chinkiang, and three for Soochow; and writes:"There seems to be some prejudice against the climate of this part of China. It is more than thirty-eight years since Mrs. Yates and I left home for Shanghai. The Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court said to me recently, 'I would not like to call you as a witness against this climate."" A Baptist Association has been organized at Canton with twenty-five representatives, from six bodies. The death is announced of Lough Fook who went to British Guiana as a coolie, for the sole purpose of preaching Jesus to his countrymen there. He built up a Baptist Church of 200 members, with several chapels, who invested their funds for God, and contributed to benevolence $2,000 annually. He died at Demerara, May 15th, 1884. Dr. Graves says of him:-"Thus passed away one of the brightest jewels that Christianity has recovered from the dust-heaps of China. He is a proof of what the grace of God can do for a Chinaman, and what a Chinaman. can do when renewed by the grace of God." GLEANINGS. The following facts regarding the Province of Shantung are given by Rev. Gilbert Reid to the New York Evangelist. There are nine central stations occupied by Protestant Missionaries. Eight missionary stations are represented, three American, four English, and one Scotch; besides which there is a colporteur-superintendent of the British and Foreign Bible Society. There are thirty-nine Protestant Missionaries in the province, and nearly 5,000 native church members, which is about one fifth of all the members in China. Besides these, there are eighteen Roman Catholic priests of the Franciscan order, and an adult native membership of from 8,000 to 10,000. The Church Missionary Intelligencer for September gives an interesting letter from Ven. Archdeacon Moule regarding his visit to Chuki and Great Valley in May. At Santu and the neighborhood there are nearly thirty Christians who though persecuted-shall we say in consequence of persecution?-have engaged to pay about two dollars each, towards the church fund, this year. In Great Valley the Christian women hold a weekly prayermeeting in turn at different houses. At S-kao-u two Christian men were reconciled to each other, and were immediately sent out to rescue some of the Christians who had been exposed to violence from others, thus "trying to make the peace for others." A feature which is to be observed in almost every station is, that all can read intelligently in their Mandarin Bibles, and can use intelligently the Prayer-book and hymn-book in the Hangchow dialect. Our Book Table. We welcome Mr. Dobbin's new meteorology can supply concerning book on Asiatic Temples,* and Mr. the climate of Shanghai, and Davis' volume on The Chinese Boy that it is not unlikely that those who became a Preacher,† as valuable twelve years of observations comadditions to the Sabbath School prise a complete period of the literature of the home lands. They meteorological phenomena peculiar have both been written by persons to this country." familiar with the lands they de- English Student Life at Peking || scribe. They are truthful, and vivid, is amusingly written, with a light and healthful. Mr. Dobbins' pages and graceful pen. If it is a fair carry one rapidly through Japan, picture, such life must be excepChina, Siam, Burmah, and India, tionally lively, and not very studious. with many bright and pleasant The constant Mark-Twain-ish exouches. Mr. Davis, being con-aggerations, while amusing to thoso ned by his subject to an individual, gives a vivid picture of Chinese life in the Fukien Province that instructs adults as well as children. There is perhaps less of Iramatic interest in this tale than in the "Chinese Slave-Girl," by the same author, but we have been much interested in its well-drawn pictures of rural life in China. The tables of twelve years of Meteorological Observations at Zikawei, is a pamphlet to keep at hand for frequent reference. For the convenience of the greater number of residents in Shanghai, the measures have been given according to English standards, rather than French. The suggestion is made that "these tables contain all the information that who know something of China and "On his way lights on the barren plains We have before us two volumes regarding General Gordon. The first § relates to his Exploits in China. Though a volume of about three hundred pages, the portion of it from Gen. Gordon himself covered in manuscript only twenty pages of foolscap, and would be of but the slightest * The Ansons in Asiatic Temples, by Rev. Frank S. Dobbins. Philadelphia : American Baptist Publication Society, 1420 Chestnut St. [Kelly and Walsh, Price $1.75.] Cholin, The Chinese Boy who became a Preacher, by Rev. J. A. Davis, Author of the "Chinese Slave-Girl,” “Tom Bard," etc., Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication; 1334 Chestnut St. [Kelly & Walsh.] The Meteorological Elements of the Climate of Shanghai. Twelve Years of Observations made at Zikawei by the Missionaries of the Society of Jesus. Zikawei: 1885. [Kolly & Walsh.] "Where Chineses Drive." English Student-life at Peking. By a Student Interpreter. With Examples of Chinese Block-printing and other Illustrations. London: H. Allen and Co., 13 Waterloo Place; 1885. § General Gordon's Private Diary of his Exploits in China; Amplified by Samuel Mossman, Editor of "The North-China Herald" during Gordon's Suppression of the Tai-ping Rebellion. With Portraits and Maps. London: Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington; 1885. [Kelly and Walsh. $3.00.] use to the general reader without the amplifications by Mr. Mossman, a former editor of the NorthChina Herald. But for the prestige of Gen. Gordon's name this Private Diary, might about as well have been omitted, and no great loss would have been experienced by the world had the amplifications also been omitted! The second volume is his voluminous Journal during the siege of Khartoum, brought down to a few days before its fall. In the supreme crisis of his life, with his head and hands full of work, he appears to much better advantage than when indulging in meditative vagaries at Jerusalem. There is a robustness about his religious faith, a vigor in his rapid jottings, and a keen shrewdness in his estimates of men of various races and grades, that quite captivates the reader, whether he accept all his suggestions and conclusions, or not. The marvel grows upon us, as to how it is a man can be an earnest Christian, and an active soldier; but the fact cannot be denied; and Gen. Gordon is an eminent instance in our own day. No More Sea, is an interesting sermon by Rev. George Owen of Peking in memory of Laura E. Lees, whose sad death on the 20th of April, in the Indian Ocean, moved all hearts with sympathy. The sea is treated from a biblical point of view, as a symbol of Separation, of Unrest, of Danger, and of Mystery. The third number of the New Series of the Journal of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society has for its pièce de résistance an article by S. M. H. Playfair on "The Mystery of Ta-Ts'in," fully appreciative of Dr. Hirth's researches, and acquiescent in his main conclusions, though taking exception to some of the minor points made in his "China and the Roman Orient." The second article is a translation of the fourth chapter of the Chinese novel Ching Hua Yuan. Notes and Queries, and Literary Items, occupy eighteen pages, many of which will be of great interest and value to Chinese students. are The Circular of the Doshisha Collegiate and Theological School, Kiyoto, Japan, is a peculiarly valuable pamphlet. There three departments-the English Collegiate, the English Theological, and the Vernacular Theological. Forty-six have, in five classes, graduated from the English Collegiate Course, fourteen of whom have also graduated from the English Theological Course, while five others are still pursuing that course. Eleven others have taken a part of the Theological Course. In the class of 1884-5, there were 172 in the College Course, 9 in the English Theological, 25 in the Vernacular Theological, and 14 special Theological students, making a total of 220. The Faculty consists of twelve Professors, six of whom are missionaries. *The Journals of Major-Gen. C. G. Gordon, C. B., at Khartoum. Printed from the Original MSS. Introduction and Notes by A. Egmont Hake. London: Kegan Paul, French, and Co., 1 Paternoster Square; 1885. [Kelly and Walsh. $7.50.] No More Sea. A Sermon Preached in Tientsin, June 21st, 1885, by Rev. George Owen, of the London Missionary Society. Printed for private circulation. Shanghai: Kelly and Walsh; 1885. Editorial Notes and Missionary News. THE MISSIONARY CONFERENCE. Prayer, January 3rd to 10th, 1886, Wednesday, January 5th-Humiliation and Confession. Sunday, January 10thSermons; Luke 12: 35, 36. We have been requested to bring up the subject of the next Mission ary Conference. There has been some idea of holding it in 1877some idea of holding it in 1877 ten years after the first Conference; but a number of missionaries query whether it can to best advantage be convened at so early a day, and suggest 1890 as the better date. The labor of preparing properly for such a meeting in the little time that remains between this and any part of 1887 must be considered, together with the difficulty and expense of securing a sufficient attendance to render the Conference fully representative of the missionaries of China. Correspondence must probably be had between each Mission and its Board at home, and if, besides the needed funds from home, an attendance could be secured of friends from the home lands, particularly of the officers of Missionary Societies, the interest and usefulness of the Conference would be greatly enhanced. All this will take time and much care in the arrangement of details, so that it is quite possible that 1890 will be as early as the Conference can be held with the best results. Since our last issue, two of our We shall be happy to be the medium number have been removed sumof collecting the opinions of mis-marily by cholera. On the 5th of sionaries on the subject. If the brethren interested in this matter will address a brief line to the Editor of The Recorder, giving the date they would prefer, we will in due time announce the results. THE WEEK OF PRAYER. The following topics have been suggested for Exhortation and There is no doubt a difficulty in selecting fresh subjects each year; but we could wish there were more variety, and that the attempt was not, apparently, to cover in their full programme all possible topics each Week of Prayer, and that certain theological specialities were not always made so prominent. Might not the Committees of our several organizations in China make a more interesting selection for the use of Chinese Churches during the first week of their own coming New Year? OBITUARY NOTICES. October, Mr. Olssen, who was in the employ of the British and Foreign Bible Society, selling Scriptures not far from Shanghai, came back to the city in his boat, having been attacked by the fell disease the day before. He arrived at six o'clock in the morning, and peacefully fell on sleep by noon, his Christian hope sustaining him till unconsciousness set in. He had been a seaman, and for many years was engaged along the coasts of China; but for about four years he had been a Bible Colporteur, working in North and Central China. But a few weeks before his death he led the Monday afternoon missionary prayermeeting in a simple, unaffected way, which interested all, and gåve a pleasant glimpse of his inner life of faith and trust. He leaves a widow in England. The death of Rev. J. Butler, was if possible, still more sudden and sad. He and his wife and two sons, with several members of the Presbyterian Mission had been to Nanking, holding their Annual Meeting, and were returning, via Chinkiang and Soochow, in native boats. A short distance from were printed in it." "At Shanghai," TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN KWANGTUNG. The Rev. C. R. Hager, recently returned to Hongkong from a trip to the south-western part of Kwangtung. He writes:-On a previous visit I had already visited Yeungkong and Yeung Ch'un districts, and was very much pleased, not only with the scenery, but also with the people whom I met. They were quite ready to hear the gospel, although not ready to buy our books. When asked if they knew any thing about these, they replied, Chinkiang, in the Grand Canal, where they were spending the Sabbath, Mr. Butler's oldest child, a bright interesting boy of six years, was taken down, during the morning services which were being held on one of the boats. Miss. Dr. Hoag was called from Chinkiang, and later Dr. White, but the child died about three o'clock Monday morning, the 12th of October. The Yes, Jesus died on the cross," and father had meantime been pros- that was seemingly all that they trated, and his death took place could remember of what they had about one o'clock Monday after-read or in all probability heard, as Both father and child were buried in the quiet graveyard at Chinkiang. And so has passed away one of the most vigorous and most useful of our missionary noon. force. DR. CRAWFORD'S PHONETIC SYSTEM. Since the publication of our item on writing Chinese phonographically, which appeared last month, further facts have come to our knowledge regarding Dr. Crawford's system. We are informed that, "It was used extensively by those missionaries who took the trouble to learn it, and a number of books an explanation from a colporteur is far more easily remembered than what they read. This whole valley is well watered and the people are industrious and thrifty. Women as a rule do not bind their feet, and they carry burdens from place to place, yet it seems not to be because they are poor, but because it is customary for them to do much of the manual work. As we pass over into Ko Chan Fu there is a marked change, and in some parts the people are very poor, the principal cause of which is no doubt due to the large quantity of opium that is smoked here. Nearly every one is addicted to the |