THE ASSEMBLY HERALD PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY ORDER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. A. W. HALSEY, D. D., JOHN DIXON, D. D., WILLIAM H. SCOTT, Committee. CONTENTS FOR APRIL, 1912 THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. India Christian Literature in India. Rev. E. M. Wherry, D.D. The New Miracle-Working Tomb at Baranhara. Rev. E. E. Fife. Obituary Monthly Concert THE BOARD OF HOME MISSIONS The Panama Canal and the Pacific Coast The Conference of Chairmen of Home Mission Committees Religious Conditions in the Bay Cities. Rev. Edward L. Parsons European Immigration. William Shriver The Presbyterian Church and the San Francisco Bay Region 175 175 177 178 180 181 183 185 186 187 188 188 192 194 197 200 202 205 A PROGRAM-A Visit with The Assembly Herald to Mission Fields Near and Far. 207 209 210 212 214 THE BOARD OF PUBLICATION AND SABBATH SCHOOL WORK. Alexander Henry, D.D., 216 THE BOARD OF CHURCH ERECTION. Duncan J. McMillan, D.D., Secretary 218 220 THE PERMANENT COMMITTEE ON TEMPERANCE. John F. Hill, D.D., Cor. Secretary.. 222 OUR CHURCH, ITS BOARDS AND OFFICERS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. Office, Room 515, Witherspoon Bldg., 1319 Walnut Alexander Henry, D.D. Bus. Sup., and Treas., Frank M. Braselmann. The Board of Church Erection. Office, 156 Fifth Ave. N. Y. Secretary, Duncan J. McMillan, D.D. Treasurer, Mr. Adam Campbell. The Board of Ministerial Relief.-Office, 1319 Walnut Street, Phila., Pa. Secretary, Rev. Benjamin L. Agnew, D.D., LL.D. Treasurer, William W. Heberton, D.D. The Board for Freedmen.-Office, 513 Bessemer Bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa. Secretary and Treasurer, Rev. Edward P. Cowan, D.D. Associate, Rev. John M. Gaston. The College Board.-Office, 156 Fifth Ave., N. Y., N. Y. Sec. Robert Mackenzie, D.D., LL.D. Office Sec. and Ass. Treas. Rev. G. R. Brauer, to whom all remittances should be sent. Permanent Committee on Temperance.-Office, 72 Conestoga Bldg., Fittsburgh, Pa. Secretary and Treasurer, John F. Hill, D.D. THE ASSEMBLY HERALD is the Official Magazine of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., published for the HORACE P. CAMDEN, Bus. Mgr. Tenth and Scull Sts., Lebanon, Pa. 1328 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. Entered at the Lebanon, Pa., Post-office as second-class matter. ROYAL Baking Powder Used and praised by the most competent The only Baking Powder made from Royal THE ASSEMBLY HERALD The Magazine of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. APRIL, 1912 India The Board of Foreign Missions has at the present time in India 163 American missionaries, 59 ordained native preachers, 315 other helpers, 55 organized churches, nine of which are self-supporting; a communicant membership of 6,941, of whom 801 were added during the year; 439 Sunday schools with 11,707 members, and 266 schools from kindergarten to college and seminary with 10,962 pupils. There was raised on the field the past year from native sources, $70,902.99. T Christian Literature in India REV. E. M. WHERRY, D.D. HE work of creating and publishing a Christian literature for the Evangelistic and Church work in India never assumed such proportions as at the present time. India has been undergoing a moral and religious change, so radical as to render it necessary to address a new constituency and to consider the problem of evangelization from a new standpoint. The influence of education in both Government and Mission Schools has been sufficient to sweep away from the minds of an ever increasing multitude the cobwebs of superstition and oldfashioned idolatry and traditional belief. The mass of these young men have, alas, lost the old faith without finding another, or when they have accepted another, it has been some cult unsatisfying to the heart and conscience of serious-minded young men. A multitude has been carried away by theosophical and agnostic teachings. Some have been influenced by the reform of the old faith as voiced in the teachings of the Arya Samaj or the rationalism of the Ahmadiya movement. The unrest in India is largely a spiritual unrest. The old literature published by the Tract and Book Societies is entirely unsuited to the needs of the educated classes. Not only so, but much of it is useless among the ordinary readers of vernacular books, because the vernacular papers, which now flood the country, are busy telling their readers of the things exploited in the English press. It was because of these conditions that we began as long ago as 1899 to prepare a new literature, which has been published largely by the aid of the American Tract Society. Last year, 60,000 leaflets were published for free distribution. They were printed in Urdu and Panjabi. They will have to be reprinted during the coming year. The rapid extension of the Christian faith has opened the way for catechetical teaching. To provide for this a catechism for village and primary schools has been published in Urdu (both in Persian and Roman characters) and Punjabi (both in Persian and Gurmukhi characters). This year a new booklet, "Questions in Matthews' Gospel" in Punjabi, has been prepared by Rev. E. P. Newton, and published for the American Tract Society. It is proposed to add to this questions on the remaining Gospels and the Book of Acts. Another booklet has been prepared by Miss Reuther of Ludhiana, especially for use among Panjabi women, but suitable for all classes of village folk. It is doctrinal in its teachings and will be especially useful for those who have completed the smaller catechism above described. This booklet will be published for the American Tract Society. A few text-books for the use of theological students and Indian evangelists have been published. These are the Ganjina-i-Islam (a handbook on Muhammadamism); the Satyarat Parkash Darpan (Exposure of the Satyarat Parkash teachings of Sqami Dayanand, the founder of the Arya Samaj); and the Muwazina-i-Mazahib (Kellogg on Comparative Religion). Other more popular booklets are The Bible and Science, Christ and Christianity, Griswold's exposure of the Mehdi Messiah of Qadian, Thakur Dass' Refutation of the "Greatest Discovery" or Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's claim to have discovered the grave of Jesus in Srinagar Kashmir. The Religion of Islam, Was Muhammad a Sinner and Who was Jesus Christ? This mention of the titles of these publications is sufficient to show that a sincere effort has been made to meet the present wants of Indian enquirers and their teachers. The re The work done for the Christian Literature Society has been conducted along similar lines. Twenty tracts on Islam, translated from the English, are the best publications to be placed in Muslim hands, excepting the Gospels alone. Seven stories written by Miss Louise Marston are suited for young people both Christian and non-Christian. form series of booklets in Urdu meet present conditions in the progress of India. Mr. Roy's booklets on Vedic subjects, Mr. N. Prem Dass' tracts against Arya Claims, the late G. L. Thakur Dass' Bible or Quran, and Mr. Goldsack's books on Quranic teachings as to God and Christ and the sources of Quran, Dr. J. W. Robertson's Our Lord's Teaching, translated by Dr. Huntly, Home Duties, Stories of Japan, Chandra Leela, His tory of the Plague, Pictorial Tour Around India, etc., etc. All these are new and up to date, furnishing a useful series of books suited alike for the library and the home. A number of these have been approved by the Punjab Text Book Committee. The publication which exercises the widest influence of all our publications is the weekly newspaper, The Nur Afshan-now about to pass its 39th milestone. The Nur Afshan has now practically abandoned religious controversy, being content to give such discourses on moral and religious subjects as will be edifying to the Christian Church. One of the great wants of the Church is met by the Nur Afshan in its reliable news items and in such spiritual teaching as will help the lowly Christian, especially the pastorless groups of village Christians. The Mission Reading Rooms all over India find this paper a medium of approach to non-Christians. The preparation of a Christian literature is however second only to the dissemination of the same by sale and gift. Our book store continues to be a source of supply to our missionaries and workers. Through the advertisement in the Nur Afshan we have been able to send our books by post or by the railway to all parts of India. Orders have been filled and sent to missionaries in the Fiji Islands, West Indies, British Guiana, the Soudan and this year two consignments were sent to Brussels. This fact illustrates the value of the weekly newspaper as an advertising medium. The sales from our book store during the last year were 22,644 volumes, realizing Rs. 1672. Tracts numbered 10,024. There is need for more regular colporteurs. We should have a man who could spend a large part of his time at the railway station, which is now a junction station. We also need to establish a shop at the Kotwali Chapel. The station has already taken steps looking to the accomplishment of the object. There is a substantial interest in the establishment of reading rooms and the practical work of book selling. Many more of the Indian workers are now willing to sell Christian books as a part of their regular duty. Sabbath School teachers' meeting, Kodoli-Man at left end of back row, pastor of Kodoli Church. within a radius of about five miles, were visited. Many cases came to the tent for medicine. The number visited varied from one to nine daily. On entering a village we always went to the Christians and after a short service saw the sick and gave the necessary medicines. Nothing but the most minor surgery was attempted. Directions for the future care of the patient were probably as often forgotten as remembered. One surgical dressing according to approved methods would likely leave some new idea. Anything that will dispel the idea, that it is good treatment to plaster a burn over with cow dung, etc., and then leave it a month or so, is a |