To the Editor of the ""Norri-CHiNa Daly News."
Sin—It is evident to all who know anything about educational developments in China that Protestant Christian missionaries have been the pioneers in modern education.
To illustrate, for 1 know that} these are but samples of what has been the ease in every part of China, take some out-standing facts in this locality. The writer lives an interior district. He does not care to give names and places.
When the missionaries first, be-their evangelistic efforts here thirty odd years ago, it was felt absolutely necessary for the development of the Chinese Christian Church that there should be for the Christian constituency schools per-newted with Christian influences and idea Church control. It being quite impossible to find any but the old style type of teachers, they took these, opened one or two small day schools of the ancient kind, and went to work gradually to improve the teaching.
Not to speak of other modern "western" subjects, thirty years azo we could not find 'a single Chinese anywhere in these parts who could teach arithmetic, so the busy foreign evangelist "(for we had special educational missionary here then) had to put time on these things that he felt he did not come out here to do.
Everyone conversant with the cts "knows that from these igre beginnings all over this and. the Chinese have in x very wonderful way forged ahead along educational lines and are modernize Inge and to a remarkable degree perfecting educational methods and are {not changing the written language. But note that the first, and for ong time the only, extensi Heutions of literature in the tional Language," or language of the people, have boon the broadcast, publications of the Bible and Tract Societies.
About twenty-six. tried to open a girls!
Ware tu ie ety f tory roma people. "Wa tale, bee cause we could not find. at that time ay many as seven girls whose Familics would wend them to such reheel, "And there was then no other girls! schoo! in this city or all this part of the province, A. fow years later we opened a. small hoarding schoo! for girls, beginning with about eight oF nine pupils, Inoslly from the country and from Christian homes. For years ours swas the only girls? schoo! in all these "The graduates from our Gicls! igh School are now in demand the Government. public very naturally, for there fare no other local schools that have Dut, out any graduates.
Now the new Government School Regulations, coming from Nanking, aim. at closing down not only. all Christian boarding schools of high school standing but also all grade fand_ primary: schools. that are definitely Christian, and in the future choos ate to be permitted that tare under foreign control, public affairs, a number of our Christian boys and girls were in-ited last spring to be teachers in the public junior High Schools of the city. The Principal of the: Boys' School is one of our own men, recent graduate of a Christian University and a man of splendid reputation. T had been looking! upon these schools with great hope. thinking that, in ease our own high schools cannot open for some time, this would be a good place to advi our Chrattan boys and girls to go.
Tedgment that the best characters in the land come out of the Christian schools,—but these schools must all be closed unless they throw out all Christian requirements!
One can somewhat understand the Jealousy caused by the big university plants, splendidly equipped and largely under foreign control. (I, for one, feel that many of us jon aries have made mistakes the emphasis put on education, ily higher education, and ig plants put up). Is it Jealousy or some nther evil spirit that would throw out that whiely has started the whole modern movement in China and would shut up all those smaller Christian schools which are the only educational hope at present for a great number of the poor?
To one like the writer, who has: been thirty odd years in this land, who has given his life for China and who loves the people, it is i expressibly distressing: to see those sitting in the high sents of authority and influence failing so utterly to recognize the best things and their best friends.
Tam, ete.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.