to China, commencing their work in the latter field in 1884. It is only necessary to refer to the Missionary statistics given on p. 39 to see to what proportions these small beginnings have grown.
A comparison of the statistics of the two Conferences of 1877 and 1890 show at a glance how rapid had been the progress made. The number of missionaries had increased from 473 to 1296; the converts from 13,035 to 37,287; the Chinese helpers from 660 to 1377; and the contributions of the Chinese Church from $9271 to $36,884.
As the details of recent missionary effort in China are still fresh within the memory of the majority of those who will read these pages, there is little need to do more than briefly enumerate the leading events which have either shaped or made manifest the wonderful movements of the last seventeen years, since the Conference of 1890.
Two outstanding events, however, connected with that Conference must not pass unrecorded. The first was the unexpected unanimity with which it was decided that Union versions of the Scriptures should be prepared in Mandarin, High Wen-li, and Easy Wen-li, a task so far completed that the results are ready for presentation to the Centenary Conference of 1907.
The second event was the appeal, issued by the Conference to the Protestant Churches of the world, to send out an additional thousand men within the next five years. God's answer to this prayer was the sending not of one thousand men, but of 1153 men and women.
The workers had barely returned to their stations after these notable meetings at Shanghai, when a series of anti-foreign riots commenced. All along the Yangtse there was considerable unrest, and riots at several centres—one at Wusueh resulting in the murder of one missionary connected with the Wesleyan body and of a Customs official. In the province of Fukien many of the workers also were shamefully treated, while a Presbyterian medical missionary in Manchuria was cruelly tortured. At the same time
