THE CHINESE REVOLUTION

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1581, 26 October 1912, Page 14

THE CHINESE REVOLUTION

AS SEEN BY A MISSIONAET

Dr. John lurk, a missionary representing tho Presbyterian Church of New Zealand at Canton, arrived dn Wellington by the Maitai on Wednesday, on furlough. Ho was accompanied by Mrs. Kirk. Interviewed by a representative of IThe Dominion, Dt. Kirk spoko interestingly of the recent political upheaval in China and its inlluence on the Chinese Christian missions.

He said the creation of tha Chinese Republic had been to the advantage of the missions, for one of tho articles of the new constitution was tho granting of religious liberty. Before the revolution converts and supporters of tho Christian missions wero not considered eligible for appointment to positions in the public service. The granting of religious freedom carried with it tho recognition of the Christian Church in China as a distinct entity, with authority to purchase land for Church purposes. Hitherto the missions had worked under the protection of a treaty between the Powers, and tho new status now granted them would be of very great assistance, to the missioners in China.

Speaking for his own district (Canton), Dr. lurk said that the revolution had not at any time been a menace to the lives and property of the missionaries. When the revolution commenced, edicts were posted everywhere warning peasants and others to respect the citizens of foreign countries. By and by, as the revolution spread, bandits and robbers joined the revolutionary army for the sheer purpose of obtaining loot. /

Has the new regime come- to stay f asked the reporter. "Undoubtedly," said Dr. Kirk. "Of course, it will be a tremendous change, for China is a country with a population of four hundred million, with- differences in language, and so on, existing within its own borders." Mission work was very trying, by reason of the risks to health, added Dr. Kirk. In Canton, for example, there was no sanitation, and cholera and plague broke out every year. A-begin-' ninj had been made by the Republican Government to institute reforms in this connection, and a Chinese medical man, a graduate of Edinburgh University, was appointed Health Officer. . Owing to the attenuated condition of tho administration's funds, however, the appointment was abolished at the end of six months.

Dr. Kirk goes south, by the Mnitai this evening.