Although it is too soon to appraise the result of the recent gathering of the World's Sunday School Association, yet it is safe to say, so those who know best tell us, that it was the high water mark of the series which have been held in various great centres different Continents.
The mere fact that it was the fist World's Convention to be held on Missionary ground is! enough to render the meeting unique. Some doubted the propriety of holding the Convention in the Far East, but history will surely show that the messages of the Convention did much to heal the world's dissension, even in Asia. The idea of having the Convention in Tokio was not native) to the Japanese, but organized in the fertile brain of Mr. H. J. Heinz, the Pickle King, whose death' prevented his seeing the fruition of his dream.
The programme was long and strenuous, with an average of six principal. addresses daily. ° The spacious Imperial theatre was in some respects even better for the purpose than the original structure, and was crowded to capacity at every session, especially by the Japanese. This part of the audience las always and early there, and stayed to the end of every session.
Tracts ror Nox-Curisr The papers read need remarkable unanimity in their high spiritual and evangelistic note. The fundamentals of the, Faith formed the body or the background. of every speaker. In truth, we may say that every message would form a splendid tract addressed to pon-Christians. The interpre: ug was manifestly of a highly order. Besides speeches, sacred _pageants such as were never before seen in Japan were staged by two experts, aided by over 1,000 Japanese. In these, music and art joined hands to body forth to the eye and ear the great facts of the Faith. They drove home the impressions of the day The parade of Sunday School children took over an hour to pass a given point, and the sun never shone on a lovelier sight than 15,000 Japanese children in. their picturesque and many coloured dresses. A special need of praise is due to the Japanese Christians of Tokio and Yokohama for their unwearied aid in all these arrangements.
The exhibition of Sunday School material luckily was not burnt, and thousands of Japanese visited the room daily, studied the ex. hibits and took notes for future use. The absence of any exhibit from China was much deplored. A large extension programme was going on at six other principal points in Tokio, at the same time as the central meetings, while pre-Convention meetings have been held in different countries to be followed by' the post-Convention meetings to be held in Japan and China.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.