Missionary Work in China

Rev. W. T. Huntington delivered an address last night in the rooms of the St. Paul's Society on "Missionary Work in China." He said in part:

The Chinese people have their virtues, from which other nations may take example. They are patient to the extreme, very industrious and frugal. In their commercial relations they may be relied on, far more than the Japanese. The Chinese have a great deal of reverence for the government, and are willing to obey the laws, such as there are, without question.

On the other hand, the people have many and terrible vices. They have no conception of truth, and will say anything in order to benefit themselves. Great dishonesty and corruption exist among the government officials, who live on the money that they acquire dishonestly. Only about one-ninth of the taxes reaches the treasury, the other eight-ninths being stolen by the various officials through whose hands the taxes pass. Justice may be bought, and, in a lawsuit, that side usually wins which pays the court the larger fee. Another feature in the executive government is the extreme cruelty used by officials. Beating is the commonest form of punishment, and torture is sometimes resorted to as a means of securing evidence. It must be said, however, that such cruelty is not characteristic of the nation. Another vice of the Chinese is the opium habit, which is much more serious than drunkenness, because those addicted to it cannot rid themselves of the habit. The existence of these and many other vices may be traced to the practice of Idolatry, which presents very low ideals it is believed that Christianity can uplift the Chinese people from their present low state, but the number of missionaries now in China is extremely inadequate to the task, and a great field for useful work lies open there.