In the absence of Mr. Fuller this work has been in the hands, first of Mr. Stait and later of Dr. Clough of Ongole. Mr. Stait's letter from Udayagiri speaks hopefully of the work.

DARSI 1894

This field is still without a missionary, and the work is under the care of Dr. Clough of Ongole.

SATTANAPALLI - 1894

Mr. W. E. Boggs and Mrs. Boggs (in America), Rev. W. E. Hopkins, Mrs. Hopkins. Mr. Hopkins writes of his work first at Gudwal and afterward at Sattanapalli. GUDWAL. Another year of changes. After three years at Palmur, we were relieved in October last by the return of Rev. E. Chute from furlough, and transferred to Gudwal with instructions to first take a thorough rest at some hill station. We chose Ootacamund, where I remained with my family until the holidays and then returned to my work.

Gudwal is the capital of an old state ruled by a petty rajah (king) now tributary to the Nizam's Government of Hyderabad. It is the southern portion of the Palmur field and has hitherto been worked from Palmur. The Gudwal field alone covers 1,500 square miles and has a population of more than a quarter of a million with about three hundred Christians. The Palmur field is one hundred miles square, contains ten taluks (or subdistricts) and had at the census of 1892 a population of above half a million souls. The nearest point of the Gudwal field is fifty miles from Palmur and separated from the latter field by the Kistna river, which is impassable for three or four months in the year.

My work on the field during the six months is scarcely worth mentioning, and yet I have experienced enough wear and tear to satisfy the most zealous. My helpers — evangelists and teachers have worked well. I regard their persevering labors during my absence and amid the uncertainties and changes of the time as deserving of high appreciation. I have no statistics to offer, but perhaps it is not too much to hope that when the reckoning time comes they will be credited with some of the sheaves harvested by others who follow them. We are all rejoiced at the tokens of blessing which Brother Chute reports. God bless and encourage both sowers and reapers.

SATTANAPALLI.— I have entered a portion of the old Ongole territory. Already I find Christians who were baptized by Dr. Clough. I hear successively the names of Clough, Powell, Maplesden, Burditt, Boggs. This is my first contact with the early work of our mission, the first fruits from the seed-sowing of Dr. Day and Dr. Jewett, and it is with peculiar interest that I enter upon the service. How shall I find these Christians? Many of the 1,100 members are of the great in-gathering of twenty years ago. Where do they stand? God grant me a discerning spirit that I may really minister !

Mr. Boggs left the field in the end of March, himself worn and ill; his family no better. I spent but three days on the field with him and that six weeks before he left. Perhaps this may not appear a sufficient reason for my failure to secure data for complete statistics; nevertheless, I have not the facts required, consequently cannot furnish them. There are, however, abundant tokens of blessing. I baptized an interesting company of converts for Mr. Boggs when here in February. The work appears to be in good condition.

A large number of our Christians suffered from hunger during the hot season and up to November even. The rains came late. But the drought at last gave way to floods, idleness and hunger were relieved by work, and the year closed amid abundant harvest scenes. I never saw a more wonderful transformation of any section of country. From parched brown to delicious richness of green; from barrenness to abundant and fruitful crops; from drought to pools of water. I was enabled to relieve some poor here by the use of 256 rupees. Many are still burdened with debt contracted for actual food during famine.

I spent a Sunday at Panidem one of our largest villages. soon after my arrival here. The Christians there are comparatively well to do. They are abundantly able to support a pastor and teacher and their families. I pointed out to them the following plan, by which I am sure they could easily do it: that each family keep in their house a grain pot or box, set apart as God's box, and when the grain for each day's food is measured out one measure be cast into God's box for his work. At the end of each month let the contents of these boxes be brought out, sold, and the money be placed in the church treasury for the support of the work.

It was my privilege during the year to visit North India. to view the land from Bombay to Calcutta, from Madras to Peshawar, the gateway through which mighty armies have marched to conquer this land; the door, too, through which ancient kings passed to the land of the Christ and returned, bringing with them fragments of truthfaint gleams of light. I have stood beside the crumbling temples upon the banks of the sacred Ganges and marked the towering churches of Christ which overshadow that stream; have witnessed the abominations of heathen priests from whom its deluded victims are now turning by thousands to the Holy One of Israel and the purity of his worship; I have stood within the mountain fastnesses of the Himalayas and there* beneath the shadow of the eternal snows, have turned my gaze from the blinded Buddhist at his prayer-wheel to snow-capped Kunchinginga, God's "tabernacle for the sun," all glorious with the morning light, and as the golden floods poured in through this door to four kingdoms,† gratefully acknowledged my hope in the Sun of Righteousness, whose tabernacle God hath already set in India and whose light has illumined and warmed into life myriads of darkened souls. Saints of God, hope in Jesus Christ! His gospel is transforming India. It is conquering the land. These kingdoms will soon be the Christ's. Now is the day of conquest― today! Give your loyal support — yourselves and your substance to the service of the Lord of Hosts for victory today!

OOTACAMUND - 1895

Rev. John McLaurin, Mrs. McLaurin, Mrs. Lavinia P. Pearce.

Dr. McLaurin reports:

With the leave of the Executive Committee we moved early in the year from Bangalore to Ootacamund, and early in November, with the consent of the trustees, we took up our abode in Holmwood, Coonoor. The change has very materially improved my health. The larger part of this year has been spent upon the Commentary, and the Acts of the Apostles and part of John's gospel have been done; and except for the change of plan proposed in Dr. Duncan's letter of July 29, 1898, John's gospel would have been completed.

The work in connection with The Telugu Baptist Publication Society has been carried on as usual and requires a good deal of time and labor. The Telugu Baptist has been changed from the magazine to the newspaper form. This change increases the reading

space while slightly reducing the expense of printing. The editorial staff has done unusually well this year. We have also enlarged the scope of the paper; we give worldwide news, both secular and religious.

During December I visited Kanigiri, Markapur, Vinukonda, Gurzala, Sattanapalli, Bapatla and Narasaraopet. My purpose was to see the new stations, the buildings, the fields; to have fellowship with the missionary; to talk with him about his needs, his people, the state of feeling among the heathen, etc. I wanted to get near him and his workers and Christians. The whole tour was a great joy. The missionaries I found all alive and in love with their work and their people. The workers I found in many cases intelligent, alert, and thirsting for God's Word. The most hopeful feature was the way in which the majority of the workers responded to the demands of God's Word, even when contrary to their most cherished traditions. I traveled 280 miles by cart, or ricksha, 20 by boat and 1,350 by rail. I conducted 31 services in 23 days, secured 120 subscriptions to The Telugu Baptist, and attended the Telugu Convention at Narasaraopet and the Missionary Conference at Ramapatam. The Telugu Convention was altogether in the hands of representatives from the Telugu churches. It was orderly, masterly and brimful of inspiration and hope. In visiting the stations I gave Bible readings on selfexamination, God's purposes in conversion, the sources of Christian life and equipment, and Christian giving and self-support. The last I only gave when specially requested by the missionary. These subjects were searching and were brought close home, and the majority responded heartily. The Holy Spirit is evidently working in the hearts of very many. Compared with some years, baptisms are few, and some are apostatizing; but the workers are growing in wisdom and grace and are beginning to realize that India must be evangelized by her own children. I saw but few of the people, but they too are feeling the pulsating life which will awaken India. The seething cauldron of India is much agitated these days and much froth is on the surface, but it is the Lord Jesus who is tending the fires and "He shall be satisfied" with the result.

I wish also to acknowledge the invaluable assistance rendered during the year by Mr. A. P. Veeraswanny, my worthy and faithful assistant.

Mrs. Pearce writes:

There has been progress made in the work at this station during the year 1898. We have had six baptisms, and there has been a marked spiritual growth among some of the members of our church.

Two more of our boys are learning trades, and we have still two others who are ready to be "apprenticed" as soon as funds will allow. These eight boys will, I trust, in due time, be able to refund to the mission some of the money spent on their education; this is my "expectation and my hope."

Miss Reed left us early in the year intending to go to England to spend a few years in Doctor Guinness' school in London.

Mrs. Bustard, who has taken over the boarding-school, has done faithful work among the children. She has also, so far as she has been able, visited some of the villages, and has been called several times to the houses to attend to the sick.

Latterly the village people have been asking us to reopen the schools that were closed some time ago, but we find them still unwilling to help support a teacher, and so we have declined to comply with their request.

Several of the members of our. church have during the year moved to Coonoor, and this has led us to take into consideration the matter of organizing a church at Coonoor, as

it is not always convenient for the members to attend the communion service in Ootacamund once a month.

The whole number of church members is forty-five, about ten of whom have moved to Coonoor.

Three years of semi-famine have sadly disorganized our work in some departments, and it will take some time to put it in anything like satisfactory order again.

Most of the schools have been closed because the Christians have not been able to give food to the teachers, and it may take two or three years to get them all re-opened. It is not very encouraging to note that Markapur is visited by famine about once in five years, there having been two during this decade, so that the people are always poor. This makes it exceedingly difficult to make any substantial progress toward self-support. The figures given below convey more forcibly than words an idea of the comparative poverty of the Christians on this field. It must be kept in mind that, while very few of them own land, they directly or indirectly live by the cultivation of the soil, for their work in leather is largely connected with agriculture, the making of the large leather buckets used in irrigation wells being an important source of income to them.

During the latter part of the cold season we were able to visit the important villages of the southern and western sections of the field. Scarcity of fodder and the consequent difficulty experienced by the cart-man finally forced us to return to the station. The people were unwilling to sell any of their scant store of fodder even for a good price, and it did not seem wise to risk prejudicing the people against missionaries by allowing the village officials to compel the people to sell to us. Having in December, 1897, toured over the eastern part of the field it was a disappointment to be obliged to stop before covering all the field. While we were on tour several asked for baptism, but it seemed advisable to have them wait till the famine was over.

In December we had all the preachers and teachers with their wives and the Biblewomen come in to the station for three weeks of Bible study. Mrs. Marsh formed a class of the women and studied Luke's Gospel with them. She also drilled them on the "Child's Catechism." I went through I. and II. Corinthians with the preachers and teachers, directing their attention especially to what is of practical significance to our people as a guide to a right Christian life and orderly walk. I also emphasized the teaching of these epistles concerning church organization and discipline and the support of the Christian ministry. Throughout the study was largely practical as so much of these epistles seems peculiarly suited to the needs of our Telugu Christians. Each day's work began with a prayer and devotional meeting. Dr. McLaurin was with us for three days during the Bible class and by his presence as well as by his suggestive Bible readings encouraged and helped us all. When Dr. McLaurin was in charge of Ongole, Markapur formed part of his field; and it seemed as if the past and the present met when he returned to what was once but a comparatively small part of a vast field.

Especially encouraging is the attitude of the Sudras toward Christianity. They hear the gospel gladly, listening respectfully to our preachers even though they know they are from the despised outcastes; and sometimes even the village magistrate will invite the

Personal illness hindered me from touring as much as I hoped and wished.

The time we were permitted to be on tour was one of rich experience. We found services regularly sustained in nearly every village, and our Christians have a greater desire to learn, while many seem to be awaking to the fact that they have an individual share in the work.

The most delightful work on tour is preaching to the Sudras. They give us a good hearing and in some places seem to be "almost persuaded."

Collections were more generally given than in previous years, although we did not realize so much as last year owing to the hard times.

Our cash contributions amounted to Rs. 105-12-1; the support given to the workers amounts to much more but is rather difficult to estimate.

When at the station Mrs. Dussman regularly conducts a woman's meeting on Sunday afternoons which has been attended with good results, as we have reason to believe.

Self-support has received a good deal of attention both on tour and at our quarterly meetings, and while we cannot report, as yet, self-supporting organized churches, yet we notice that our people are beginning to exercise their power in church discipline, and this seems to me a step in the right direction toward self-support.

We have, however, organized one self-supporting church composed of the Gurzalla members and those of three adjoining villages, comprising a membership of 130. We have preached self-support in Gurzalla ever since we came here and rejoice that it has borne fruit at last, and if we have succeeded in organizing only one church we feel that our efforts have not been in vain.

CHINA

The chapter in China's history which is just now being written is of even intenser interest than that which preceded it. The year opened most auspiciously. The advanced character of the imperial edicts was not more wonderful than the welcome widely accorded them. The sudden dethronement of the Emperor and the reversal of his decrees were a keen disappointment. But signs multiply that the task undertaken by the Empress Dowager is quite beyond her strength. It is one thing to turn back the hands of the clock, another thing to alter the hour of the day. China awakening will not again be forced back into sleep. Western ideas have won a place in the confidence and hopes of strong leaders in the nation from which they cannot be dislodged. This eager desire for the best from the world's life is a force with which any nation attempting to repress free inquiry in China will find itself compelled to reckon. It is interesting, too, to note in this connection that in the reported division of China between Great Britain and Russia, the entire territory identified with our mission work would fall under the "influence" of England.

The letters given below offer inspiration in well-nigh every line. Accessions to the churches have been many. Eager curiosity and respectful attention are everywhere found. Congregations have formed of their own impulse and sought the missionary's help. The old-time opposition is almost unknown. Only in