A VETERAN MISSIONARY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 227, 4 March 1915, Page 6

A VETERAN MISSIONARY.

WELCOMED BY METHODIST CONFERENCE. A suspension of the ordinary business of the Methodist Conference at Christchurch took place on Monday morning, in order that the conference might suitably welcome. Dr Brown, the veteran missionary and president of the Australasian General Conference. The welcome was characterised by a spontaneity and enthusiasm which completely obscured its formal character, says the' Sun. The conference was largely attended, and the galleries were occupied by an interested audience.

The president said that it. was his privilege and great joy to welcome Dr Broivn. The New Zealand church had married and settled dow„ in its own home since its separation from Australia. The conference welcomed Dr Brown most heartily for what he was himself. They had" been keenly interested in his work, and no one was more heartily interested in him than those who had formerly been Primitive Methodists. They also welcomed him as Australasian president. The Australian Church could not have sent them a representative whom they could have more heartily; appreciated. The veteran missionary got a great reception, the conference rising and applauding for some little time. Dr Brown said that lie felt incapable of saving very much. It was a great jov to him to he at the conference Vt convey the greetings of the Australian Church. It was entirely a. work of supererogation, as New Zealand did not need to b ( . assured of the. goodwill of Australia. It was, however, one of those courtesies which bound them together. •The president had said that the New Zealand Church had married and settled down, and it certainly seemed to have aerjnirwl a big family ia a hurry—■ /Laughter) and a very promising looking family. At their" last Australian Conference thev missed their New Zenland bretherr.. 'There was a feeling that it was not complete—that there wa. j a break in the family circle. Thev would remember that at the time of the separation the nrincipal difficulty wan in connection with foreign mission work. The Church would not he a complete Church unless it was a foreign and home missionary - .iirc'h. He would be very leased to give his advice in the designation of a field of foreign missions for the New Zealand Church. There wa-< a strong desire o n the Mission Board that the New Zealand Church should get what would satisfy it, not only tilts capacity, but even beyond it. (Heaw hear.) Sneaking in regard to the Centenary at Home, Dr Brown said that Now Zea-

land was very well represented indeed by the Rev A. C. Lawrv—the Conference had every reason to be proud of him. He (the speaker) had had the honor to preside at a meeting of the English Missions Committee on that occasion, and he had take,, the opportunity of strongly advocating the importance of selrsinporting independent native mission districts. They should fill the natives up with the idea of self-government. Dr Brown said i*"vt there were foulgreat trunk roads o n which missionary work of the future was to be conducted. He was not attempting to criticise th.> methods of the past. Thev Were very valuable in their time, but conditions had changed. The first great trunk ro-id was the education and training of a native ministry. That would be the soury? of the strength of their mission work the training of their native converts, to work in their own districts and beyond They had no right to deny their native ministers and preachers the right j and privilege to teach . the Gospel to their own people. The second trunk road was the preparation of a greater literature for the native people" They must do for the natives what they could not do for themselves. The third grc-it trunk road was medical missions—(applause)—which would be the great future of modern aggressive mission work. He disagreed with John Wesley when lie said: "Your only business is to save souls." He believed that they had to save bodies as well as souls. "We have to do medical work ourselves," Dr Brown continued. "I myself have done snlendid medical work among the natives, when Epsom's salts were available." (Loud laughter). The grandest work in life was that of ministering io the bodies and souls of the people. No qualified man could devote his services in a higher direction than by consecrating his gifts to the knowledge God had given him to that great work of th? mission field. The four great trunk road was women's work for women. It was of particular vaulo in zenana work. and among the women of all nations.

Dr Brow n dwelt eloquently on the work of the British nation in India and Egypt. It had show n the people who were their friends. Natives were not fools—they could reason, especially when their own welfare was concerned. The loyalty of Egypt and India to-day was due to the strong sense of justice which the British Government had impressed them with. With all her faults, Britain was the only nation in the world that treated native races with anything like justice. An amusing reminiscence of his own entry into the Church was recalled by Dr Brown. He said that' he was gla'.l to come back to New Zealand, though New Zealand, long ago, had not ben anxious to receive him into the ministry. At a quarterly meeting at which lie presented himself he gathered that tin ye was no objection to his preaching c.i moral character. The real objection was that he was such a mock, milk quiet, young ladylike person. (Laughter.) On that ground they nearly shoved hini\ out, but he got i n by one vote. (Laughter.) He intended to pay a visit to Tonga, and it was the dearest wifh of his heart that Tonga would be united to New Zealand.

"You have given an old man a great joy to-day," Dr Brown continued, "and one that he will feel for the rest of Ins life," hg concluded, amid a moving demonstration of applause.