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198 Items of Missionary InteUigence.from the heathen and Mohammedan wovld.Groups of self-sustaining and. self-governingnative churches have l)een formed to maintainand extend the tvuth. Wovk among heathenwomen in many places is rivalling in extent andsuccess the work among the men. The best ofmen at home are offering tliemsel ves for tbis work.The great nations of the world to-day are Pvotestani,having God's Wovd themselves and doublybound to carry ont Christ's dying command bysending it to others Doubts and scoffings withregard to inission wovk ave to a gveat extentsUenced. Money is being generously given.No doubt there is a dark side to the picture,liut, in contvast with fiftyyears ago, the pictureis a bright one. As I have seeu a gveat mountainlift its head out of the mist whicii bad longenveloped it, so that, while its sides were stillwvapt in the clouds, its summits vose into thebvight unclouded sky, so the Chuvch is liftingitself np, out of the mist of selfishness and what has been done, I look iorward to the nextthoughtlessness witb vegavd to this subject, into fifty years with hope. If any of ns be spared tothe light of tvuth, and love, and holy zeal. It see" 1937, I trust and hope we shaU find thatis thus the Church becomes attractive ; thus it is Africa shaU be the Dark Continent no longer;fitted to be a blessing in the midst of the world. India shall have flung off the iron yoke of old andAnd the day is fast approaching when the prophet'swords shall be fulfilled—"The mountain of to the Heavenly Father the homage which isdegrading phUosophies ; China will be seen givingthe Lord's house shall be established ou the toji lavished now on "the tablets of earthly ancestors;of the mountains, and all nations shall flow ov, as the Bible puts it, 'The knowledge of theinto it."Lord shall then cover the earth as the watersThe speaker then descvibed the interest taken covev the sea.' God help us as a chuvch to doin foveign inissions by the Ivish chuvch, fvom ouv duty move faithfuUy to the heathen during1812, when the Secession Synod vesolved to " encouva,geby their exevtions, as far as possible, past one ; to labov and to fight with evev incveas­the next half centuvy than we have done in thethose who ave engaged in the difficult yet gloviouswork of evangelizing the heathen wovld," to sliaU veign over aU the world; and in fightinging zeal and hope, as weU we may, fov Christtbe pvesent day. And aftev a bvief sketch of under the banner of the Lovd Jesus, we, in onrtheiv own special wovk, begun in 1840, when two mission entevpvise, are on the winning side."men weve set apavt as inissionavies to India, he At the Asscmhly qf the Free Cluirch ojsaid: " Suvely the seed sown in 1812 and 1840 Scotland the vepovts on inissions both at homeis heaving blessed fvuit. Tbis is the bvight side and abro.id Aveve specially intevesting and suggestive.The foveign stafi', including male andof the pictuve. 1 know it is. I am well awarethere is a dark one. Fvom anothev point of viewwe may be said to be only beginning, only layingthe foundation, only pvepaving onvselves fov thewovk that is to conic. The heathen liy natuvalgrowth ave fav move nuinevons now than fiftyyeavs ago. We bave drawn 3,000,000 of convertsfrom their midst, but 30,000,000 ave dyingin davkness every year Many of ouv own uiiinlievarc still ca,i'(h.'ss about missionavy wovk, audpevhaps some few opposed to it. It will tax ouvstvength as a Church to the utmost to do thework we have undertaken; yet I do not doubt itshall be done. The Reformation in Epgland inthe 16th century put out the tapers which forhundreds of years hadlieen burning on the tombof Henry Y. iu Wesiminstev Abbey. The taperswere extinguished, for the blessed Sun of Heavenhad begun to shine upon the land. That lighthas been shining npon us ever since. It is allaronnd ns now—the Ught of pardon, of peace,and of the hope of immortal glovy. All that wewant is to realize onr privileges, to keep in thelight, to walk in the light, to contrast tlie Ughtin which we live with the darkness which is roundus, and then it wiU grow natural and necessaryfov us to try to share that light with those whoare sitting in davkness, or trying to lighten thehpath with the tapers of their own kindling. Iknow that difiicnlties still face ns; and yet tonightas I look back on the past fiftyyears and seefemale wovkevs. noAV numbevs 634, besides 26natives who ave under special training for theministry. There weve 519 adults baptized on apvofession of theiv taith in Chvist duving the year,and theve ave at the pvesent time 5598 in the fuUcommunion of the chuvch. In schools and collegestheve ave 17,946 undev instruction, and almostevery mission sbows quickened spii'itual lifeand vesults above those of previous years. Onthe evening fixed fov the discussion of foveign