Converts Added to the Church—Death of Mrs. Dr. James.
The church-work is progressing very well. At our last communion, the first Sabbath in May, eleven natives united with the church, all hopefully converted. It was a great day with us. One of the old sisters, who had been here from the beginning, cried out, “Thank God! I’ve never seen it so before,” with many other expressions of joy. This is the result of steady work. Others are seeking admission; but it was thought best that they should wait until another opportunity. One child was baptized. Pray that the Lord may bless us.
With painful regret I must inform you that Death has entered our ranks, and has taken away one of our missionaries—our sister, Mrs. James. I wrote you in my last that she and her little daughter were unwell. I learned by a letter May 20th from Dr. James (who is stationed at Avery), that his wife was seized with a convulsion on the morning of Sunday, the 19th, while engaged in her domestic business, was taken to her room, and that one convulsion succeeded another rapidly, and with such violence that she could not speak, until two o’clock in the night, when she died.
Brother Jackson is well again, and he and his wife have returned to Avery Station, to resume their work. All are now comparatively well, and the work is going on. We feel its importance more and more, and we are not discouraged by the fact that one has fallen, but will close up our ranks and march forward, hoping to be reinforced from time to time, until the victory is won.
Auxiliary to the American Missionary Association.
PRESIDENT: Rev. J. K. McLean, D. D. VICE-PRESIDENTS: Rev. A. L. Stone, D. D., Thomas C. Wedderspoon, Esq., Rev. T. K. Noble, Hon. F. F. Low, Rev. I. E. Dwinell, D. D., Hon. Samuel Cross, Rev. S. H. Willey, D. D., Edward P. Flint, Esq., Rev. J. W. Hough, D. D., Jacob S. Taber, Esq.
DIRECTORS: Rev. George Moor, D. D., Hon. E. D. Sawyer, Rev. W. E. Ijams, James M. Haven, Esq., Rev. Joseph Rowell, E. P. Sanford, Esq., H. W. Severance, Esq.
SECRETARY: Rev. W. C. Pond. TREASURER: E. Palache, Esq.
STATISTICS.—Our schools have not yet recovered, so far as attendance is concerned, from the shock they received through the riots of last July. But they are gaining, and should no untoward event occur, I hope that before this summer is ended they will be as large as ever before—as large, that is, as we can possibly sustain without an increase of means. Ten schools are now in operation, and seventeen teachers are employed. The aggregate number of pupils enrolled May 31st was 467, and the average attendance was 242. This is a gain over months preceding, and June promises something better still. The total number of Chinese who had attended the schools, for a longer or shorter period, from September 1st (the commencement of our fiscal year) to May 31st, was 1,178. Seventy-eight of these pupils give evidence of conversion. The whole number whom we have reason to believe have been born of God, during the last five years of our work, cannot be much less than two hundred.