To the Editor of the "Norra-Cutsa Datty News."
Si,—Your leader of the 24th ultimo criticising Sir Robert Hart's article "The Peking Legations," enumerates the causes of the Boxer movement, according to the Tnspector-General of Customs, as follows "The Chinese Government were exasporated by various commercial stipulations, aes by missionary propagandism, by the interference of Roman Catholics in litigation, ete."
Now on page 7 of the reprinted article I read, "Chinese Christians did not win the esteem or goodwill of their fellows by deserting Chinese for foreign cults and lastly... " by getting their religious teachers, more especially the Roman Ca-tholies, to interfere on their behalf in litigation."
I do not here deal with the root of the question. For many of your contributors, and perhaps also of your readers, it is a self-evident truth, a first principle, that the Catholic missionary seeks for political power, takes the place of the civil magistrate, mixes himself up in the litigation of the members of his flock, etc., ete., while the Protestant missionary, solely occupied with the spiritual care of his converts, refuses to enter into their temporal affairs. Perhaps before long I may ask a place in your columns to refute this favourite thesis of Protestant ministers of all deuominations, in accord on one point only, hostility to the Roman Church. On this occasion I will content myself with rectifying the text quoted incorrectly, though doubtless without unkind intention. Excuse my intervention, which I am sure you will understand.
Sir R. Hart thinks that all the missionaries have gone too far in protecting their converts. Such is his opinion, which he expresses with all liberty and sincerity. Following 2 common prejudice, he leaves a larger part of the responsibility in the common error to Catholics. They have long been accustomed to be thus treated by Protestant writers. They will not even call attention to the fact that, their number largely exceeding as it does that of the Protestants, it is natural that their litigntions should be more frequent also. They simply remark to-day that the writer in the "North-China Daily News' has exaggerated the statement of Sir R. Hart, in leaving to the Roman Catholics the entire responsibility which Sir Robert divides, although inequally, between the teachers of the two confessions.
As the remark may be worth making at the. end of this long letter, allow me, Sir, to quote a few lines of Dr. Sheffield in the last. number of the "Chinese Recorder:
"There is a danger of injustice when a Protestant missionary attempts to write concerning the character of the work of Roman Catholic missionaries," p. 594.
The writer of the above-mentioned ar-tide would have done well to remember such a sensible remark.
Please excuse my trespassing on your occupations. Enclosing my card, Lam, ete., A CatHonte Misstosary.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.