Taran apponrs to be passing through a stage of grent'religious excitement. Ib is almost impossible to take up a news. paper without coming eross a paragraph detailing some stormy meeting, or even a riot in which heads are freely broken, the disputes in which were of a religious character. Now it is a Christian prayer-mooting or preaching. service that is violently interrupted by a gang of fervent Buddhists led by the priests of their soct, who disturb the proceedings, how! out opprobrious epithers, and plague the worshippers into wconfasion that ends in a free fight; and now it is an assembly of Buddhist priests who, in solemn conclave, discuss With hatred and alarm the progress of and draw up peti-tious, with that and. in view, to the Government, Lhe Chri us, on their side, appear to have adopted n more passive policy; but they, no doubt, desire very ardently, vot perhaps the forcible suppression of Buddhism, but speedy extinct the advance 1 powers of ud the Cros.
short, a very tieres battle is being waged between the two creeds, and Uhough we regret the broken heads tint lave resulted from the collision, we do not know that the petual fact of hostilities is altogether to be regretted. What is certain is that hostilities cannot be avoided, and not the most superficial student of history will, on consideration, he able to show any grounds for believing that they should he. Buddhism and Christianity are now the two great missionary religions of the world, for Mohammedanism seems long since to have retired into private life. When, then, these hostile and aggressive forces meet, it cannot but be that a clash of arms should resuit, The battle now bei fought is fierce, and may be long; bnt we do not think that any real harm will accrue from it to the cause of Christinuity in Japan, The eventual fruit of Christinuity may be pence, but before that comes there is often the sword; and the progress of a nation from religious darkness lo religious light ix free
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.