Short History of Christian Missions. By the Rev. G. Smith,
LL.D. (T. and T. Clark.)—This is a second edition, brought up to date, of a most useful handbook of missions drawn up by Dr. G. Smith, the present Secretary to the Free Church Mission orgauiaatiou. Besides a carefully written history of Protestant mission enterprise and accounts of many missionaries, it contains some remarkable com- parative statistics of missionary effort. The whole Protestant world is now engaged in this work, the United States rivalling Great Britain, while Germany spends nearly £130,000 a year on the object, and even Finland has a mission of her own, we presume among the Esquimau:E. The Societies have established native Churches all over the world, which now number 700,000 com- municants, and, of coarse, a vast multitude of children who will be brought up in the Christian faith. The result is not large in comparison with the effort ; but the day for the conversion of whole races at once has apparently passed away, and the native apostles so ardently desired and expected by all the Churches, have not yet appeared. Dr. Smith records a singular fact in the history of missions. There are no less than twenty-three supported by individuals or groups of individuals,—three of them, called Bishop Taylor's Missions, expending no less than 220,000 a year. They have 8,529 communicants ; but we should think in a few instances the energy and self-denial displayed were a little thrown away. A single missionary, unless really working in concert with a large organisation, mast constantly have his work impaired by absences, ill-health, and personal failure.
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