CONFERENCE, CHENGTU, We have been asked to publish the following account of the West (hina Missionary Conference, held at Chéngta Tanuary 25 to February 2.
This, the second conference of missionary workers in West China (the first being held in Chungking in 1899), has just concluded. It was attended by 161 delegates representing the twelve societies at work in the three provinces. There were also twenty-one visitors, including H. B. M. Consul-General Fox, Bishop J. W. Bashford, Mr. D. E. Hoste, Dr. Arthar H. Smith, Mr. W. B. Sloan representing the Keswick Movement, and the Rev. G. J. Bond of Toronto. At ite firet session the conference passed a resolution inviting the English-speaking non-1 the city to attend its meetin was extended to English-speaking Christian Chinese, and a number availed themselves of the' privilege and, in one case at least, took part in the deliberations.
The officers of the conference, elected at the first session, were, Chairmen, Bishop Cassels and the Rev. J. Taylor Vice-Chairman, the Rev. 0. L. Kilborn; Secretaries, Dr. H. T. Hodgkin and the Rev. J. L. Stewart.
The headquarters of the confer: were the new hospital of the Me ist, Episcopal Mission, while the chapels of all the societ in Chéngta sere used for other meetings, Each day began with " devotional hour, led by Mr. Sloan, and these quiet meetings were greatly appreciated. The morning and afternoon were devoted to business, while the evenings were mainly left free for committee meetings. On er, there was held a Dr. Arthur Smith In reply to a visit from representa tives of the conference, His Excellency the Viceroy of Szechuan paid personal visit to the conference, and delivered a short speech, which he said that "of course Chinese Christian should be subject to Chinese civil authority," and intimated that the church would be known by its fruits, an evident suggestion as to the necessity for careful oversight on the part of church authorities of all their members.
The first day was devoted to s discussion of "the changing conditions in China and their effect on our work as a whole.". The subject was admirably opened by Dr. Arthur Smith. He sketched in his inimitable way some of the forces at work in modern China, and theo turning to the Christian Church, declared that what it must do in China was to win recognition, respect, approval and acceptance, This, and this only, izing © country. In China we have so far got only the first, We must yet gain the intellectual respect of the people as a whole. Hence the value of educational work, for we must capture the intellect of the Chinese before we can capture their heart." As yet the church has not done one thousandth part of one per cent toward the Christianizing of China. For this reason he emphasized' the necessity for cooperation in missionary work, and pled for one united effort to Christianize the country. After two admirable papers ands lengthy discussion on how best to increase the efficiency of the work, resolutions were passed recommending to the Advisory Board of Weet China that it take steps for the opening up of schools for the blind and for the deaf and dumb, an asylum for the insane, museums, a translation bureau, a language school for new mission: and a school for miesionaries' children, and the use of specially qualified men for evangelistic effort in the churches. A committee was appointed to prepare an appeal to the home churches for reinforcements, and later on they presented to the conference an appeal which asks for twelve hundred new missionaries for the three western provinces.
The second day was set apart for the consideration of evangel liste work and a number of excellent papers were read. The discussion that followed centred largely around a paper by the Rev. M. Besuchamp on "The Need of a Revival
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.