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power, where the lesson is driven home. And the scholars all like it and drink in the earnest lesson.

lessons.

Besides this, we have a Sabbath School of the high school boys, Repeat the and there is another for some caste girls. Then we learn one most important lesson, that lesson is, we must many times and in many ways repeat a Scripture lesson that it may do good. I like this work among children. The Sunday School is the Archimedes lever to raise the children from earth to heaven.

Sunday
School

And as I see the works of men and the fruit of those works, as I remember college mates and their aspirations, and as I think of men and their successes, the words of the Apostle fill my soul with rejoicing, "Here am I and the children thou hast given me." In answer to questions Mr. Uhl, added we have all our children, nearly, in Sunday Schools. Whether the result be due to these schools or not this I can say, all the young people of our nursery of the church of Christian parentage have joined the church out of the Sunday Schools. And as to making it obligatory on High School pupils to attend on the Sabbath, I would make this the rule for all Schools under my charge.

Church.

to attend.

REV. W. D. ETHERINTON, B. M. S., Benares, asked whether to the 15,000 scholars in the American Methodist Sunday Schools other inducements were offered than verses and pictures: Inducements and whether only Christian teachers teach in these Schools. Answer: No other inducements than these, except an annual treat. From our 6,000 Christians we can get sufficient teachers for our Sunday Schools.

REV. G. H. MCGREW, M. E. J., Cawnpore, said :-We have more Sunday Schools than day-schools in Cawnpore. We have nine Sunday Schools in which there are about 1,000 pupils of whom about 875 are non-Christians of all castes and classes; and 25 teachers, of which 17 are from the English congregation of which I am pastor. The expense of this work is defrayed by one gentleman who put Rs. 500 in my hand for this purpose. Money for this work can be secured everywhere. We have a Teachers' meeting on Friday. As most of our pupils cannot read, we use a small historical catechism which the boys easily learn. At the annual examination of a Sunday School, which was opened a year ago five out of thirty-five boys could repeat the whole catechism. Some of our Sunday Schools are held on the open road, and the people passing by are always interested. But the circumstances at Cawnpore may be more favourable than elsewhere.

REV. M. BAUBOO, F. C. S., Madras, said :—Our Sunday School work in Madras was begun by Rev. John Anderson more than 30 years ago, in connection with day schools. The Professors of our College teach the Bible an hour a day on week-days and spend much time on Sundays in Sunday Schools. I am connected with four Sunday Schools attended by 150 high caste Hindu girls, which are taught by 8 day school teachers and 4 zenana teachers. In these Sunday Schools we first have class exercises,

Work in

Cawnpore.

Work in

Madras.

Work in
Budaon.

Work in
Bombay.

Get the

work.

then general exercises, and then when the children go home, they write out an outline of the lesson, which their relatives at home often like to hear. Our Christian Sunday School maintains a zenana teacher to whom Rs. 15 are paid monthly, and besides the school, sometimes gives as much as Rs 10 a month for the poor. One very stormy Sunday when no teacher dared to go to school three little girls went. As no teacher had appeared they prepared to sing and pray, when one teacher appeared, who embraced these faithful Hindu girls.

REV. R. HOSKINS, M. E. C., Budaon, said:-In Sunday Schools in my district there are 1,000 children, half boys and half girls, who do not attend our day schools. For 15 years I had had this work in mind, and for ten years we utterly failed. But five years ago in less than three months the difficulties cleared away. This is the way we do. We go to a part of a town and offer a boy four annas a Sunday for every 100 boys whom he will collect. Many persons are ready to collect boys for small sums. At first our Sunday Schools were broken up by Mahomedans, but now high caste people ask us to open Sunday Schools, because they see that these schools do the children good. It is part of our mission creed to have every Christian work, and especially to do something in Sunday Schools, at least to collect children.

As inducements to the children we give tickets, pictures, guavas &c., and presents to the boys who collect most pupils, and an entertainment for all once a year. English friends give the needed funds. This work may be indefinitely expanded.

REV. BUCHANAN BLAKE, F. C. S., Bombay, said, that no work had given him more encouragement than that in Sunday Schools. In order to have success, enthusiasm is needed in the Superintendent and teacher and scholar. Voluntary work can be secured from Christians in Sunday Schools. Singing should receive much attention. Those who object to treats for Sunday Schools, must have forgotten that they once were children who enjoyed such things.

REV. E. P. NEWTON, A. P. M., Lodiana, Punjab, said:-I Christians to think if we are energetic in pushing forward the Sunday work in our Christian congregations, there will be no serious difficulty in getting teachers for similar schools amongst the heathen.

As our Christian pupils advance in knowledge, they can be drafted off from year to year to take their place as teachers in city Sunday Schools. Thus a double purpose is served. Not only is there the possibility of opening up in this way a large and important work amongst Hindu and Mahomedan children and youth, but it furnishes an excellent opportunity for the young men and women of our churches to gain valuable experience in practical Christian work. We have tried this in Lodiana, and though the work is quite in its infancy with us, having been begun only four years ago, yet we are each year better and better satisfied with the results. Already one large school has been

begun in the city and carried on for several months. It is superintended by one of the missionaries at the Station, and the staff of teachers consists of what was formerly the senior male class in our congregational Sunday School. It is my intention, soon after my return from this Conference, to organize another in the

same way.

Plans in

REV. R. A. HUME, A. B. F. M., Ahmednagar, said :—A few words on how we open up and carry on Sunday Schools when Ahmednagar. there are no week-day schools as a basis. The missionary goes to a rest house or dharmashala, and when a company is collected he says that there will be a school there every Sunday at a certain hour, and asks all children to come and asks the parents to send their children. He also shows pictures and says that each child who can repeat on any Sunday the lesson taught a week before will receive such a picture. If a rest house is not available, the shade of a tree, or the house or verandah of a friendly person serves for a school-house. The subjects taught are Bible stories and Christian hymns. Every Sunday first the review lesson is heard. If a child can repeat a Bible incident or parable seven days after having heard it, there is hope that he will remember it much longer. And repeating the story will fix it more firmly in the mind of the child himself and of others. Such a child receives a small picture and two pins to fasten it to the wall of his house. The desire for getting a picture the following Sunday secures good attention to the new lesson. Occasionally there is a united service for all such Sunday Schools, when addresses are made and fruit and sweetmeats are given to some, and small tracts to those whose parents would not like to have them eat what we give. If any older person seeks to get up a discussion, we say, "You must not interrupt our school. If you want to discuss, please come to our house." These Sunday Schools are one of the best evangelistic agencies. They are inexpensive, they reach the young, reach them regularly, fill their minds with the most impressive form of truth, lead the Christians to work without pay; and they can be indefinitely multiplied.

Americans

work.

REV. J. E. PAYNE, L. M. S., Calcutta, remarked :—It is as an Englishman and as a Bengal Missionary that I rise to speak. lead in this Nearly all the speakers on this subject have been Americans; with the exception of my friend Mr. Etherington who asked a question and did not make a speech, no Englishman has said a word. The large Map of India suspended near the Chairman, has different colours showing the American and the European missions, and none can look at it without being struck with the holy rivalry that prevails in this Missionary field. In this matter of Sunday Schools as the Americans have been most numerous among the speakers, so it will be found that in their Missions they have given the largest attention to Sunday Schools. The American Missions have certainly taken the lead of the English Missions in this branch of work. Still, it must not be supposed that the English Missions have

engage in it

also.

Yet the done nothing. The Mission station at which I reside has had English some good Sunday School work. For ten or a dozen years, there has been a Sunday School connected with the Anglo-Vernacular Institution at Bhowanipore. Of the seven or eight hundred pupils who attend the day school, from eighty to two hundred and fifty have attended the Sunday School. Then the Native Christian church has had a Sunday School for many years. Then again, about three years ago a successful " ragged-school" on a Sunday afternoon was established, which has had, from fifty to a hundred and fifty pupils in it. There are other Missions in Bengal that have their Sunday Schools, though probably no Bengal Mission has equalled the Sunday School work done by some of the American Missions of the North West.

NonChristian teachers.

Conversions.

Train Native

REV. J. NEWTON, A. P. M., Lahore, asked whether there should be Sunday Schools, when only non-Christian teachers can be got? Or when hard-worked Missionaries are the only Christian teachers available, should such schools be held?

REV. B. H BADLEY, M. E. C, Lucknow, said, in reply to a question that the reason why the Bible is not satisfactorily taught in many day schools is that sufficient Christian teachers are not available there But on Sundays Christians are disengaged from their offices and trades and can teach in Sunday Schools

REV. E W. PARKER, M. E. C., Moradabad, said, in reply to a question that Sunday Schools did result in conversions, though it is difficult to say that Sunday Schools are the only cause of the conversion of Sunday School scholars.

REV. L L. UHL. A. L. M., Guntur, urged that the pupils in week-day schools should be required to attend Sunday Schools. REV. J. E. SCOTT, M. E. C., Sitapur Oudh, said:-We cannot Christians. preach successfully to the masses about us without employing native agents. We must have catechists, Bible-women, colporteurs, teachers, &c. in large numbers before we can have large results. What can seven hundred foreign Missionaries do against two hundred and fifty million non-Christians fast bound in the meshes of their own false systems?

Develop

We must raise up these needed workers from our midst. They must be natives of this country. As foreigners we are at a serious disadvantage on account of climate, lack of fluency in the vernacular, ignorance of many things that pertain to native life and thought.

Every Missionary should be a training school in himself. I have a chaprasi who teaches in the Sunday School, and a man who was formerly my cook who is a grand good preacher. In my bazar preaching, I take with me a number of native Christians who help in singing &c and thus acquire efficiency.

In this work we should endeavour to impart an enthusiasm and enthusiasm, develop in the helpers a love of souls. I have a worker who takes part in five Sunday Schools every Sunday and proves most valuable in carrying on Sunday School work. He is filled with en

thusiasm and his great influence over youths and adults. He makes use of musical instruments like the Salvation Army.

Then Missionaries can do much toward training workers by teaching them cleanliness, humility, self-reliance, manliness of character &c. What we bave may be imparted to them. We are to bring them up to our own standard, and this involves the possession by us of ripe Christian experience and likeness to the Master.

SECOND DAY.

FRIDAY, December 29th, 1882.

Morning Session.

Devotional services were conducted by the Rev. H. Stern, C. M. S, Gorukpur.

A letter from the Bishop of Calcutta was read stating his reasons why he did not feel at liberty to take part in the Conference.

A letter was read from the Rev. Dr. Happer, American Presbyterian Missionary of Canton, urging the Conference to take measures to bring before the Christians of Europe and America the Missionary needs of India.

A letter from the Rev. J. E. Clough, Baptist Missionary at Ongole was read stating that he regretted his inability to attend Conference, owing to the immense injury done in his district by floods, by which 5,000 Native Christians had become homeless and had lost everything.

Native Agency.

FIRST PAPER BY REV. E. RIGG, W. M. S., Jaffna, Ceylon. THE SELECTION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF NATIVE

AGENCY IN THE NORTH CEYLON DISTRICT.

There are certain principles in connexion with the evangelisation of India which have been so fully discussed and so frequently insisted upon that their acceptance has become general and axiomatic. Among these

Need of
Native

Agency

assumed.

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