Aug. 20.
Ocr attention has been drawn to the pamphlet which a mis-jon ary, well-known in South China, has written, the main purpose of which is to advocate the industrial development of China. Tt represents the views of one who has travelled many thousands of miles in the interior, for the writer, Dr. Edmunds of the Canton Christian College, has spent a great deal of time and energy on magnetic observations in different parts of the country. Tt has been notorious that, in the ust, missionaries and men of commerce in China have often not been very good friends. Probably there were faults on both sides. But the missionaries sometimes allowed their zeal for reform to outrun their discretion, and the men of commerce expressed resentment at what they thought were unjust accusations at times, in very forciple language. We prefer to remember that many commercial men have generously supported philanthropic work in China. The latest cooperation is in the matter of education in which not only missionaries are interested but also Chambers of Commerce in China.
It has often been urged that by training as well as _temperament missionaries are not practical. That may have been true in the past, but the great extension of medical and other scientific work has quite altered things in these da; We like to think of the story we hear of a certain Dr. Bradley who is, we believe, in Yunnan. He introduced, for his own work, such modern ideas as an ice-making machine, a small electric light plant and a_ tiny sewage system which made possible the sanitary arrangements usual in Great Britain. They provided practical demonstrations of the great advantage of modern appliances in China. Dr. Edmunds seems to be equally prac-He worked in Canton, where Dr. Morrison did his pioneer work on the Chinese language. But it is doubtful when ther the narrow-minded Morn 5 would have approved of the following sentence found in the pamphlet written by Dr. Edmunds "<The intellectual and|to even ethical results of a thorough investigation of the natural resources of their land, even though inspired primarily by economic considerations, would, if carried out on broad and sound lines, be greater even than the industrial and commercial results." That sounds as if Dr. Edmunds had made 2 definite reply to Dean Inge's recent question: ''What is progress?" He urges the Chinese to study scientific subjects in order to progress.
It was Lord Rosebery who made popular the word' " efficiency,'' and no doubt our readers at times weary at what the late Lord Fisher, concerning his own arguments, called damnable reiteration. Lord Fisher explained that ''Reiteration is the secret of conviction."' _Sometimes, however, even in this era of wireless and aeroplanes, people forget all about efficiency. Dr. Edmunds and other missionaries have evidently had the word in mind. They see that there is no real antagonism between science and religion, but that cooperation with commercial men will assist both mission work and business in. China, In this matter of communications in China, for example, both types of workers will benefit. We believe that many missionaries have great influence with their Chinese friends. We are sanguine that they will use that influence to hasten the industrial development of China. In any case we welcome the views set forth by Dr. Edmunds, and we sincerely hope that they will meet with the approval of many of his ce-workers in the mission field.
We should add, perhaps, that Dr. Edmunds is an American. It may happen that the changed conditions brought about by the war will result in an extended use of Labour-saving devices in the old country such as have been in the past more common in the United States. The British young lady as a type had a great deal of practical experience on the land and in the workshops during the war. The effect of this is likely to be apparent throughout the country and among those coming to China. There is evidence that, while the main objects of all christian missionaries remain the same, the methods which they employ to secure their ends are changing. We welcome the new outlook which will certainly benefit China. We hope that all missionaries will urge the Chinese develop the natural resources of their own country; but they cannot possibly do that without cooperation with foreigners,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.