The troubles of the Uigashi Hongwanji, a Buddhist sect, are affording abundant "copy" at the "present mone t to the newspapers. and no suwall satisfaction to Christian missionaries. Money is at the root of the trouble, adeltof three million yen which the sect or "temp'e"—to use the Japan se expre-son—owes. Tt seems that funds for the burp ses of the head temple are not obtaine by direct ap, ea's to believers.
The Hongwanji," observes one acute critic, "follows the methods of the Chinese Government in some respects. It divides its needs among th" principal temples ch of these, in turn, ion among the minor lotion, and the latter, in fine, approach the parishioners. One result is thit as every collecting temple enriches itself in the process of collection, the sum that reaches the Hongwan-ji is only a fraction of the amount actually paid by the parishioners, That, of course, not the reason of the debt; though it is perhaps an explanation 6f, the fact, that ands are nut fe thooming to discharge it. There ix evidently a want of vigorous and clean-handed ma agement, and there is also an absence of genuin+ cooperation mong the managers of the great temp'e's finances. Two parties—he Ishitawa and the Atvumi—have a monopoly of the administration. When one gos out of office, the other comes in, aut neither seems to command sufficient support to be able to adopt drastic mewures. Thus things have duffed from bad to Recently there has been much talk of se ing Count Inouse's in-eryon ion, but Count Tnouye's measures would be much too thorou: h and too far-reaching to please all the leaders of the sect. Wha" is now propose! isa grand general meeting of all the Shinshu believe: s from every put of ire. Fifteen hundred have al-id, announc-d Useir intention of bein
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.