. PHE ---------- Sp ---- LAYMEN'S MISSION CONGRESS "Ralph Connor" Will Be One Of The Speak- ers--Bishop Thoburn, of India, and Silas McBee, of the New York Churchman, Will * Also Give Addresses. Rev. Charles W. Gordon, D.D,, of Winnipeg, best known in the cast as "Ralph Connor," is to be one of the speakers at the, Laymen's Missionary Congress in Toronto, and. will speak on "Our Duty to the English-speaking and European Settlers." [It is interesting to note that he got his nom de plume while writ- ing for a Toronto paper; the name was given him by Mr. Macdonald, of the Globe, through the misinterpretation of a telegram, The name was orig "Cannor," suggest Canadian Northwe The plan is to give Thursday even , to the intergsts of the work i alone, and the pro- gramme outlined Dr. Gordon's ad- dress is: Canada's Debt to the Missionary, Canon Tucker; Our Duty to the Indian, Hon § H. Blake; Our Duty to the Asiatic, Rev Dr. Sutherland; The Christianization of Our Civilization, J. A nald s The railroad companies have granted single fare for the round trip. Mo in five hun dred clergymen registered 'as honorary commissioners, and fifty promi men of the United States are coming visitors. . The Executive Committee ol ntreal expect to send a delegation of hundred men Hamilton, Ont. send eighty.: Ministers of - churches throughout Canada have been asked for names of men in their congregations who would be interested in the Congress. These will be communicated with by the cen- tral committee. It is expected that there will be five hundred delegates from Toronto who will each pay a registration fee of $5, and 2,000 men from outside of Toronto, their registra- tion fee being $3 cach. to April. nada besides Macd are one will L TN RIES 4) Bishop Thoburn, of India, is in the mission field great Congress in Tor upon "The Vietor- ious Progress of Missi will be seen and heard with uncommon interest. a veteran leader at the He will speak "and Silas. McBee, editor of New York Churchman, a paper of the greatest credit to religious purpose, will be one of the speakers at the Missionary Congress in Toronto. He has been a. stirring leader in the Laymen's Movement and has beer rd lately at Gener- al Synod, Ottawa, and in Toronto with great pleasure. He will speak on Sunday afternoon, April 4th, upon "Missions and Church Unity." the Not In Mingling Spirit. The editor of "The Faith and the Flock," Lon- don, tells of a little travelling incident: In the spring I was in the neighborhood of Penrith, and while walking along the h road which unites the counties: of Cumberland and Westmoreland, 1 met a large flock, of sheep, lambs. and After this flocl } 1 with its ac- companiment of had passed by, man running toward arms and shouting was followin I. He tore past me, ar of the flock, they imme y Of 1 the t and drove the whole nbs into a field. 1 sou ince, being alarmed at t} e. Now; gentle rea danger? Run-away hor r. An- other company ing in the same direc d the shep- herds were afraid that t in and walk together as ( { the jour- ney! ewes wa us noises, arrested by a d, waving his >» a wild bull my gate rave -------------- ee ------ ree JAPAN'S RELIGIOUS TREND. Never Could Be World Power Until She Was : Christianiz Twenty years ago Bismarck told a Yepahese | representative that his country never could be } rated as a great world power until she became a Christian nation. That ideal lodged in the Japanese official mind, and much of the early turning of Japan towards Christianity was purely from motives of national self-interest. Lille other western ways, the neéw religion was widely adopted because it was 'foreign style' Herein is the explanation of many lapses among the early converts; they never really knew vital religion. Now Japan has come to believe that Bis- marck was mistaken, and that. she can get along without adopting the religion of the countries from which she has learned the sec- rets of twentieth century progress. One start- ling evidence of this is that it had been until recently the intention to make the crown prince a Christian, so that the next emperor could be counted among Christian rulers. Now, significantly, that intention has been abandoned. So the church in Japan has es- caped the subtle perils of the church under Constantine. The informant expressed the be- lief that Japan would never become an avowed- ly Christian nation. She will maintain re- SECT OF EARLY CHRISTA They Are Probably the Oldest of Oriental Churches-- Principal Settlements Are Near Persia. T Bruises resulting from falls or blows should be bathed in hot water and a cloth wrung out of very hot water applied. Earache may be relieved by the application of dry heat over the ear, such as a heated hop pillow, a hot water bag or a heated flannel cloth. The 'heart of a roasted onion put in the ear, or a drop or two of warmed sweet cil and arnica may be used for a certainty of ceasing the pain. Stings of bees and other insects may be healed with a number of simple remedies, the best being a piece of raw beef, a slice of onion, a solution of ammonia, Vinegar and salt, or borax moistened with lemon juice. A cloth dipped~in turpentine and applied will relieve cramps in the limbs. One teacupful of black cherries ground or broken, put into a pint of whiskey and given a tablespoonful twice a day is a sure cure for St. Vitus' Dance. The Nestorians are descendants of a sect of ligious liberty, and there will be Christians among her people, just as there will continue to be Buddhists and Shintoists; but rational- ism rather than religion will characterize the Japan of the future. Christiariity has a recognized place in the thought of the nation. There are 70,000 native converts. Christian literature is more virile than that of any other cause. The percentage of newspaper editors avowed Christians or friendly. is extraordinary. The number of Christian editors in Tokio alone is 100. A Christian member of parliament recently won his seat in a strong Buddhist district; four- teen Christians are sitting in parliament. Numerous officers in both army and navy are outspoken Christians. Examiner's Ecclesiastical Joke. The name Cowley is cne to conjure with in Church of England circles in the Canadian West. It is borne by cleigpmen and education- alists, and comes down from Archdeacon Cow- ley, who was for fifty years a leader in mis- sionary work on the lower Red River, both among Indians and white men. In those days of laying the foundations he was the bishop's right-hand man. In particular he was the bishop's chaplain. It was his duty to examine candidates for the ministry and test their fit- ness intellectually, morally, and physically. Candidates say he never failed to put them through a rigorous examination, but when one was successful he used to wind up with an ecclesiastical joke. The doctrinal and his- torical questions would be closed with this one: "Tell me, sir, how did David like his meat cooked?" No student was cver known to answer. It took his breath away, and generally when he admitted he could not answer, he asked the examiner to tell him. "He liked it well done.' "But where are we told that?" "Why in the Psalms toes he not say that certain conduct vexes his soul as a thing that is raw?" And the way the austcre examiner enjoyed this little joke showed the nervous candidate that his examination had been satisfactory. ' Stop Negation and Construct. The Advance. : The church is too much chilled by doubt. We must get through doubting. There will be no forward movement through doubt. We have had criticism of everything that faith has ever held sacred. 1t is time to stop criticising and do constructive work. We have had ne- gations until the atmosphere of theology is like a wind from a northern prairie. We must get through with negations. The farmer plants in the faith of a south wind, a returning sun and spring showers; and so must the church. That is its God-given privilege. The church has positive rights, a positive mission, a positive message, the future. Let it refuse any longer to b held on the north side of the situation by speculative critics, doubters and destructive theorists, and let it march into the great field of the world and reap tie harvests promised it by the Lord of the harvest. Commandments In Verse. In the old days the church used memory rhymes for the days in tiie months, the kings of England, and the ten commandments. This is perhaps the best of several forms that have been preserved: "Thou no God shalt have but me; Before no idol bow the knee; Take not the name of God in vain; Nor dare the Seventh day profane; Give both thy parents honor due; Take heed that thou no murder do; Abstain from words and deeds unclean; Nor steal, though thou art poor and mean; Nor make a wilful lic, nor love it; What is thy neighbor's. do not covet." - A Public Benefactor. It is told of a Roman Catholic priest of noble family, who took a company of Italian immigrants from the stewing, moiling, life- destroying conditions of New York's slums and a malarial camp in the South, and made them over into a model American village in Arkansas. There they have preserved and em- ployed the best of the traditions and Fkill they brought from Italy, and at the same time have Americanized these. This is the type of home mission work in which every patriot must re- joice. It is good for tlie immigrant and good for the nation. The man who brought it about deserves honor at the country's hands. Had Precedence and Weight. "Move up, you Jew," said the American in the "bus rather peremptorily, but the 'man next him merely shrugged his shoulders and said: "I don't move for an American." "But one of my ancestors signed the De- claration of Independence," returned the American, loftily. . "Ohne of mine signed the Ten Cemmand- ments," was the rejoinder. Chicken in the Ministry. A country minister in dining out on cir- cuit came to a house where a roast chicken was served. He had previously encountered a series of rib corned beef dinners and the chicken looked good to him. "Well," he facetiously remarked, "here's where that chicken enters the ministry." "Hope it does better there than in lay work," and a positive promise of b when the mornings grow later the community early Christians, named after Nestorius, theologian of the fifth century. They claim also to be descended from Abraham, and sometimes call themselves Chaldeans. They are probably 'the oldest of Oriental churches. They are found in Persia, in India, East In- dies, Syria, Arabia, Asia Minor, and even in Cochin China, the principal settlements, how- ever, being in and near Persia. They believe Christ to be both divine and human--two per- sons, with only a moral and sympathetic union. They do not believe in any divine humiliation nor any exaltation of humanity in Christ. They acknowledge the supreme au- thority of the Scriptures and believe that they contain all that is essential to salvation. The main body of Nestorians is nomgnally Chris- tian, but it is a lifeless Christianity. Who framed the marriage ceremony as now used by the churches? No fixed or prescribed form existed in early Christian times, but witnesses were required and the dowry was stated in writing. Certain laws were enacted in the eighth century, prescribing ceremonial forms. Publishing banns, the exchange of pledges and a public betrothal were known as early as the twelfth century and at the wed- ding the ring was used and the bridal pair crowned with garlands while the minister or priest held a simple service. Different forms were used in Scotland, England and on the Continent. Finally, in 1757, by the passage of Lord Hardwick's Act, a regular Anglican Church ceremony was established in Britain. In 1836 this was made general among other churches. It is the basis of the modern mar- riage ceremony. The comet: which will approach the earth next year is known as Halley's, one of the fifteen known to have a periodicity. Tts orbit is parabolic, and so large as to require about seventy-six of our years to make a revolution. It doubles around our sun at one end of its orbit, and then plunges into space again at a fearful speed, to return only after more than two generations of men have gone to their dreamless sleep. The comet may at any time be lost to us, and pass from our sky into some other constellation, to return to us no more. Many of these celestial visitors have left our sky forever. Nobody knows how long after the Nativity to date the visit of the Wise Men. Unless the appearance of the star to them was consider- ably in advance of the sacred Birth, their ar- rival at Bethlehem must have been several weeks after that event. Poetry and art have portrayed that visit as to the manger, but that, obwously, is improbable. The second verse of the hymn "As with gladness," etc, must therefore be construed with poetic li- cense. The British old age pension was paid to persons over seventy years who have lived for twenty years in the United Kingdom, and whose means do not exceed £31 10s. yearly. Amounts paid are from ls. to 5s. per week, according to the means of the applicant. The pension 'is denicd to persons who have been recipients of poor relief, or have failed to work according to ability, or to a pauper or lunatic in an institution. The first recorded land transfer is queried Well, Genesis records that for 400 shek- els of silver (about $250) Ephron sold to Abraham a burial field, with the cave and trees thereupon, passers through the city gate being witnesses. The world's largest cities in which accurate censuses are taken are: London, 6,581,372; New York, about 4,000,000; Paris, 2,714,068; Berlin, 1,888,868; Vienna, 1,816,303; Chicago, 1,698,515. Laughed At, Then Adopted. Common sénse has had a triumph in Great Britain in the passage of the "daylight bill," providing that Saturday in April the clock shall be advanced twenty minutes, and cach Saturday in October put back twenty minutes people in the first day of May getting their breakfast at seven by the clock will be getting it at what would be six o'clock if the time-pieces had been left alone. In other words, they will be up earlier at a time of year en the mornings are earlier, and will be through their work or business at an hour inthe evening. In October, each Result, earlier will return at which later hours. This is a move can hurt no one nor anything, except possibly railway time-tables, and which will help a whole nation to more use of daylight. The idea was laughed at to begin with. .So have been many good things. Prohibit Sale of Revolvers. Toronto Telegram: If a man wishes to poison himself he has first to go to a drug store, sign a register and comply with other forms. If a man wishes to kill somebody else he to a hardware store, buys'a revolver, -has it loaded for him and out he goes on his errand of murder and no questions asked. Why does the law surround the sale of deadly drugs with all sorts of safeguards and impose no restraints upon the traffic in deadly weapons? The sale of revolvers ought to be prohibited, except under conditions that will permit every weapon to be traced. Guelph Herald: 'It is a reflection upon our sense of reasonableness that we allow every Tom, Dick, and Harry to purchase at his own sweet will weapons which may blot the life from some often entirely innocent person. eee goes the two built "at Probably the oldest derricks still in use are rier, in Germany, in 1413, and started less DAILY BRITISH WHIG, SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 1809. , ARRAIGNING THE TRAFFIC. The Evils Are Sadly Experienced On Every, Side, Says Rev. Mr. Troop. °° unable to meet a request to address the Do- minion Alliance , therefore expressed himself in a letter: "The evils connected with the traffic are appalling, and sadly experienced on every side. Are we to regard the traffic itself as hopelessly corrupt and self-condemned be- fore God and man, and therefore to -e des- troyed root and branch, or is it possible, by legislation or by the Gospel, or by both united, to cast out the devil from the traffic, and to bring it into the service of the Lord Jesus Christ? If the traffic cannot be saved from its abusd it is doomed, and neither a righteous God nor righteous men can rest until it is utterly abolished. Because I am not quite convinced that the traffic is absolutely beyond redemption I am not a convinced prohibition- ist--as yet. The Divine method of saving men is not the removal of temptation, but by the removal or control of desire. A man with the Spirit "of Christ lives victoriously in. spite of temptation, which only makes more manifest the triumphant power of the grace of God If all men were true Christians, the drink traffic would be robbed of its terrors and its awful abuses would forever pass away. "But, algs! all men are not true Christians. The policy of the liquor traffic, as voiced by its leader in Montreal, is bread and butter first, last and all the_ time, a policy of heart- less selfishness. Therefore, while in theory not a prohibitionist, I am nevertheless ready to work heart and soul with prohibitionists and all: other righteous men against the traffic as at present conducted. If I had the power, I should abolish the saloon and close up every drinking bar in hotels as well. Any govern- ment is the inconsiderate enemy of thc peo ple, which can, for the sake of itf accursed revenue of blood-money, license sqjoons and bars to degrade our manhood and fill our jails and refuges, our hospitals and mad houses, with the wrecks of the traffic. But, alas! 'how many there are who blindly love to have it so. Our hope lies with the young, who must be trained in the sober and unselfish prin ciples of true patriotism. "As for drunkards, of high and low degree, why should we not agitate for authority to place them under government control in in stitutions where they would be cut off from liquor, and compelled to work for the benefit of their families, and only released on cOn- dition of sobriety? The liberty of the subject is fearfully abused when drunkards are allowed to tormient their families night and day, until a death of horror or suicide closes the awful scene." PLAN FOR NEW CHURCH FOR ST. MATTHIAS PARISH, MONTREAL. The Great Labrador Mission. The annual outlay on Labrador work under Dr. Grenfell is $40,000, of which $15000 is raised by volunteer subscription in the United States, $7,000 in similar fashion in Canada, $15,000 in England, and about $3,000 in New- foundland, the Colonial government contribut- ing $5000 to each of the hospitals on its territory, and the fisher-folk the remainder. He maintains the hospitals, orphanages, work- shops and schools; operates the steamer and launches, and pays the salaries of all employ- ees. He puts all his personal earnings--his salary above his living expenses and what he earns by lecturing and writing--into the sub- sidiary ventures, such as co-operative stores, etc., bearing the losses himself and handing over the profits to the institution. Last year he raised a special fund of $15,000 and im- ported three hundred reindeer from Norway, to use them as substitutes for the dogs em- ployed as beasts of burden on the coast, and also, as the herds increase, as food. His work has attained much publicity on the outside that he is overstocked with volunteers in all his departments--doctors, nurses, engineers, etc. --and the mission's general plant is so firmly established that he has started this winter to raise $100,000 to establish a fishermen's insti- tute in St. John's, Nfld. Canada Forging Ahead Rapidly. It will be a surprise to most people to learn that $46,000,000 has already been spent on that part of the National Transcontinental line between Winnipeg and Moncton. Forty-six millions 1 lot of money and means a lot of work. The scene so far away that the spending » notice relative to the amount spent. But that so much of the work has been done already means that every effort is being made to have the undertaking completed on time, in further earnest of which is the. promise that of op of it a + Rev. J. Osborne Troop, of Montreal, was 1% It Sings the Song It Plays the Accompaniment or It Does Both HE wonderful thing about the Edison Pho- nograph is its versatility, Although apparently only one instrument, it can sing a soloior a chorus. It can play a single instrument or a whole orchestra, and give each voice and each piece its proper value. That is why an Edison Phonograph has a wider field than any other form of entertainer. The piano player, for instance, only plays piano music. The Edison Phonograph plays piano music and all other kinds of music. In every' home where there is an Edison Phono- graph there is certain to be a good time. FREE. Ask your dealer or write to us for illustrated catalogue of Edison Phonographs, also catalogue containing complete Lists of Edison Records, old and new. * We Want Good Live Dealers to sell Edison Phonographs in every town where we are not now well represented. Dealers having estab- lished stores should write at once to National Phonograph Company, 100 | akeside Avenue, Orange, N.J.,, USA. N THE world's foremost scientists have proclaimed that the heavy, black soil of the Western Canada plains is the richest in the constit- uents or qualities required to pro- duce the highest grade-of wheat in the world. Shan Operating 74 Elevators in the "Heart" of the Choicest Wheat Districts we get the First Pick of Western Crop The flour prod LOgp wheat is the finest, uced from this "choicest" most nutritious and has You the highest quality of flour in the world when you buy Mills at WINNIPEG, PURITY FLOUR amis - Western Canada Flour Mills Co. Limited. "MORE BREAD AND BETTER BREAD." the greatest stren procure the line from, Winnipeg to Fort William will be ready for use by September. The capacity of | the spout of the West will then be four times | what it was when this era of railway expansion | than ten years ago. At that ime | there was just one line of track from Winnipeg | to the lakes, that of the Canadian Pacific. . Since then the Canadian Pacific line has been double- tracked, the Canadian Northern line has been built, and now the Grand Trunk line is to be ready | for. the next harvest. Four lines for one, and | all of them reaching inland to Edmonton. The significance is not to be mistaken. ------------------ When England Shook. Throughout its long history England has | known but few earthquake shocks. In the] days of William Rufus one was felt through- | out the country; in 1274 another destroyed | Glastonbury among its other damage, while part of St. Paul's Cathedral fell in as a result of quake in the sixteenth century. The most recent general shock inflicted much damage in the Eastern counties in 1884, a Mansion House fund being opened for the sufferers. To show the importance of the vowel ¢ in writings, refer to "prsryyprictmnvrkpthspre- ptstn," an inscription over the decalogue in a The Globe says this Jonah controversy is a the one built in 1334 at Andernach, also in Ger- rejoined the small boy of the family. | many. { battle of standpoints. of pen points. Looks more like a battle * Always Drapes Evenly in Back and Front No. bulkiness, no draw strings, no lacing, no rip- ping or basting, combines eoiid comfort and ease with fine form and elegant appearance in the home. on the street, in society ; made in several styles. Send for Booklet giving full Information Turse skirts, formerly made in the United States, are now made in Canada and sold exclusively by <T. EATON Cure TORONTO CANADA "