During the afternoon, Commission I, which presented the report on "The Present State of Christianly in China" (Bishop Roots, hankow) was dealt with. The Chairman of the Commission was the first speaker. He commenced by reference to the two volumes, "The Survey Volume" and the "Report of the Educational Commission,"' which have been the main sources of information at the disposal of the Commission.
The subject of the Commission is the work which God has wrought. Some idea of the magnitude of the forces may be gained from remembering that each Chinese delegate at the Conference is the representative of 1,000 communicants and each missionary the representative of 20 missionaries. The "Survey Volume" shows that there are over 1,000 ordained ministers. The Report has sought if the Church in China now suffered more persecution than the Church in the West.
Prof. J. C. Chao, of Soochow University, spoke on the "Strength and the Weakness of the Church" It does not take much time to see how great is the work which has grown up under the care of missionaries. The matters mentioned in the Report of the Commission need not be repeated. The work of education, the state of literacy in the church and in the nation generally were commented on. more thorough educational policy was advocated. Amongst the weaknesses of the church were mentioned the low ethics of some who have been accustomed for many years to idolatry; the divisions of the church and its. foreign form.
After singing, the Rev. Chia Vu-ming, of the Nanking Theological Seminary, spoke on "The Christian's Personal Life," basing his remarks on"St. Paul's words, "For me to live is Christ."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.