Christ or Confucius, Which? By the Rev. John Macgowan. (London
Missionary Society.)—This book is best described by its
sub-title, "The Story of the Amoy Mission," though it certainly supplies materials for the answering of the question which it suggests Amoy, an island about three hundred miles north-east of Hong Kong, was first occupied by London Society missionaries in 1844. For four years their preaching seemed to have no effect, though crowds came to hear it. In 1848 two Chinese, a father (more than sixty years of age) and a son, were baptised. The third convert was a military officer who had received relief at the hospital for an injured eye. In 1861 the work was extended to Chiang-Chu, and it has gone on spreading since. Self-supporting churches—and nothing could be a more conclusive proof of really successful work than this—have been founded. The story of Amoy alone supplies an answer to those who tell us that mission work is a failure. Twenty-four churches have been founded, and twenty-one out of these are financially independent.
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