4. Australia and Oceania

Oceania:. (1) The Roman mission is Australia among aborigines is of slight moment. In New Nursia, in West Australia, four priests (Spanish Benedictines) and 43 lay brothers, with 2 sisters, care for the 100 (according to Die Katholische Kirche,140) surviving aborigines. In the north, on Beagle Bay, the Tmppists labor with 8 priests and 10 lay brothers, since 1890, among 350 natives. They had 60 converts, but abandoned their task, which was then taken up by the Pallottiniane (see Pallotti, Vincenzo, Pallottinians). In the diocese of Victoria and Palmerston several thousand natives are known, but nothing is said of a mission among them. In Queensland a vicariate was erected in 1887 for the aborigines; but there is no report of missionary work there (the Evangelical mission has 23 stations with 1,100 native Christians, 11 stations for Chinese with 700 Christians, and 8 stations for natives who have been brought in from the islands, with 2,000 converts. (2) In New Zealand the Roman Catholic missionaries established themselves in 1838, when the Evangelical mission was already flourishing. They succeeded in gathering 5,000 Maoris. During the insurrections which followed, these were scattered and in, 1870 the complaint was made that there was no longer a Maori mission. In the archdiocese of Wellington are 4 stations with 1,500 Roman Catholies; for the diocm of Auckland 5,000 are given (according to Die Katholische Kirche, 5,700), in charge of eight priests of Mill Hill. (3) In New Caledonia, where the first efforts of the London Mission were rendered vain by the Marists, the Roman mission was soon very successful; It was, however, destroyed by a revolt of the natives, but was resumed under the protection of the French. Since the founding of the colony, the aborigines have rapidly died out; of 100,000 but 25,000 remain. The neighboring Loyalty Islands, whose inhabitants at the time of the seizure of these islands were for the most part evangelized, are incorporated in the vicariate of New Caledonia. The London Mission which was working there was forced out and the remaining heathen islanders were easily won for the Roman Catholic mission; the remainder continued true to their faith in spite of oppression. The vicariate, which includes also the northern New Hebrides, has 36 stations and 11,500 Roman Catholics. Of this number, 18 stations are on the mainland, but the number of converts there is not given; in any case, the majority of the aborigines have not yet been won for the Roman Catholic Church. Native Evangelical teachers from the Loyalty Islands have undertaken independent missionary work in New Caledonia; recently the Paris Evangelical Mission has entered this field as well as the Loyalty Islands.

The Missroones Catholieas gives the following figures: 83 Priests. 23 schools (19 boarding-schools with 1,500 scholars), 52 lay brothers and 84 sisters (Evangelical mission in the Loyalty Islands: 3 stations, 2 missionaries, 34 native pastors, 10,195 Christians), (4) Prefecture of the New Heb. rides. This was separated from the above-mentioned vicariate m 1901. Here too the Mariate entered the field of the Evangelical mission, worthily founded here by the blood of the martyrs which was freely shed in Erromanga. There are 18 Priests. 7 schools, and, according to Die kaUwiische Rirchs, 1,200 converts. (Evangelical mission: 9 stations, 37 missionaries, 1 ordained native, 8,995 Christians, and 234 schools with 4,000,5,000 scholars.) (b) Vicariate of Central Oceania: Futuna and Wallis Islands form the chief seat of the Marists who, starting from here, placed missions in the Evangelical missionary fields on the neighboring islandgroups. They were brought into Tonga, by the military occupation of the French, but have won only 1,890 of the 22,000 islanders. The entire vicariate counts lb stations, 18 priests, 2 lay brothers, 59 sisters, 9,450 converts, 44 schools and 2,000 scholars. (8) Vicariate of the Samoan Islands. Here too the Meriate have established work in a field already evangelised. As a result of the confessional divisions old tribal feuds broke out anew in bloody conflicts. The Roman -Catholic mission makes every effort to profit by the new political situation. There are lb stations (25), 18 priests (10 missionaries), 1 native priest (181), 3 lay brothers, 10 sisters, 8,000 converts (33,310), 87 schools (281), 758 schoars (8,783). (7) The vicariate of the Qiti Islands was detached from the prefecture of Central Oceania in 1844. At first the efforts of the Marists had but little euotees in comparison with the earlier work of the English Methodists. Only when the colonisation from Australia increased did larger Roman Catholic communities arise among the natives. There are 17 stations (10), 32 priests (11), 11 lay brothers, 28 sisters, 9,848 converts (97,254), 31 schools, 2,471 scholrs (34,988). The statistics relating to Rotuma are here included. (8) The vicariate of New Guinea embraces the English part of the island besides the Louisiade and Tomes Islands, and was in 1887 assigned to the Congregation of the Sacred Heart at Tseoudun. The London Mission had already opened up this field after overcoming great difficulties: 8 stations (10), 18 priests (10 missionaries and 104 native pastors), 22 lay brothers, 37 eiaters, 4,000 converts (8,492), 29 schools (45), 1,084 scholars (2,011). (9) The vicariate of New Pomerania was assigned in 1889 to tha same congregation. It embraces the whole Bismarck Archipelago. The Roman mission came here also into a successful Evangelical missionary field, that of the Australian Methodists, from whose communities the greater number of Roman Catholics were won. There are 11 stations (3), 20 priests (3, besides 4 ordained natives and 98 assistants), 29 lay brothers, 17 sisters 13 schools (101), 800 scholars (3,000), 8,800 converts (7,982). In the Prefecture of Kaiser Wilhelmelaad are 3 Roman Catholic stations of the Steyl Society of the Div9ie word, situated in the western part of the German protectorate (7 Evangelical in the East), 7 priests (13), 9 lay brothers, 4 schools. (4) Die katholiacha Kirche reports 400 converts. (11) and (12) The prefectures of the Solomon Islands were founded in 1897 and 1898, and entrusted to the Mariste. In the two 7 priests are active. (13) In the vicariate of the Caroline Islands, after the group was awarded to Spain, the Carmelites in Ponape sought with the aid of the military power to suppress the Evangelical mission. In spite of their bloody dofeats they finally succeeded in drawing over to their church the Christians, who were at last intimidated. The same congregation had already worked at an earlier period in the bleat Carolines. They report 4 stations (3, with the Marshall Islands), 12 priests (7 missionaries, besides 22 native pastors), 14 lay brothers 18 schools (120), 900 scholars (5,587), 1,400 converts (18,115). (14) The vicariate of the Gilbert Islands includes the Ellice Islands. Here the missionaries from Iseoudun compete with the English and American Mis sions. There are 11 stations 11 priests (27 native pastors, including the Tokelon Islands), 12 lay brothers, 9 sisters, 87 schools (27), 1 220 scholars (3,357), 11 000 converts (10,734, including the Tokelon Islands). (15) The vicariate of Tahiti has existed since 1844, when the Evangelical mission was forced out by French arms. On the principal island, the Roman mission carried on by the congregation of Picpus, has had but little success. The natives have remained true to their confession. The same holds good of the western islands of the group The Roman Catholics had greater success with the still heathen population of the Pammotu Islands and recently they have won converts in great numbers in the Harvey Islands also, which belong to the same apostolic vicariate. Of the 32,00 inhabitants of the regions here noticed 7,230 are Roman Catholics (18,470); there are 28 stations (7), 18 priests (8), 12 lay brothers, 24 sisters, 52 'schools (48P) and 1,800 scholars (3,389). (18) Tn the vicariate of the 1$arqnesae Islands, among the savage and rapidly diminishing population, the Congregation of Picpus has after long-continued efforts at last succeeded in winning

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the greater number. Of 4,000 natives 3,150 are Roman Catholics; there are 8 stations, 7 priests, 10lay brothers, 10 sisters, 880 scholars. (17) The vicariate of Hawaii is also in the hands of the Picpus Society. Nearly half of the islanders, who were long before evangelized, have been converted, resulting in 14,000 Roman Catholics (14,922). Almost ae many have been won among the Chinese and Japanese immigrants, with whom the Roman Catholic Portuguese are counted. There are reported 15 stations (1), 24 priests (3), 33 lay brothers, 48 sisters, 17 schools (50t), 1,943 scholars (5,599).

Die katholische Kirche gives the following statistics in regard to the whole Catholic mission in the Pacific: 205 stations (207), 288 priests (122), 219 lay brothers, 452 sisters, 128,032 converts (278,000), 428 schools (2,917), 19 927 scholars (71,437). The corresponding figures in regard to the aborigines on the mainlands could not be obtained. The whole Roman Catholic mission to the heathen can be summarized as follows: 2,870 stations (3,790), 4,009 priests (4,485), 1,954 lay brothers, 4,937 sisters (3,119 unmarried female missionaries, according to J. 8. Dennis, Centennial Survey of Foreign Missions, New York, 1902), 10,494 schools (18,921), 700,000 scholars (887,370), 3,878,712 converts (3,371,588 excluding the Negroes in the United States).

R. GHUNDEMANN. B. Protestant Missions.

L Introduction: Christianity being the one world religion, it alone has the vocation for a world mission. It is the world religion, because it is both universal and absolute. It is the uni t. The versal religion; for it offers to all hu

Basis of manity, without difference of sex, age,

Christian education, rank, civilization, nation

Missions. ality, color, or race, that assured salvation which is needed by all, and im poses a condition of salvation which can be realized by all. It is the absolute religion; for it differs from all other religions through the assurance of the objective truth of its faith, warranted by the sacred person of Jesus Christ. It therefore differs not only in degree but in kind in that it substitutes

(1) an objective true knowledge of God for purely subjective human conceptions of him, and (2) the divine act of deliverance for human attempts at self-deliverance. As God has prepared in Christ the salvation of the world, so he wills that this sal vation should be offered to all men, at all times, and in all places; and since this can be accomplished only by the orderly sending forth of messengers of salvation, so God wills the world mission. The whole history and doctrine of Christian salvation is so penetrated by thought of universal salvation that the world mission is a simple and natural con sequence. But, outside this logical obligation, there is a direct mission command which, like a categorical imperative, compels obedience from every one who wishes to be a disciple of Jesus.

Tradition declares that the risen Christ gave the command to his apostles to go forth and, by pro claiming his Gospel to the whole world, to bring all nations to him. The mission command is as much the logical result of the human personality of Jesus and of the universalistic quality of his teachings as the fruit of his death. Altogether the instrument of God, Jesus made salvation a reality at first in the most modest sphere; from the holy seed in Israel he raised his instruments, and only when everything was accomplished he gave them the royal command to conquer the world.

He first familiarized them with the great idea of the universality of his kingdom, and then drew the practical consequences; he sowed one missionary seed after the other, until, with the growing understanding of his life-work, the understanding of the missionary task was ripened. And only after he had fulfilled everything, and as the Crucified and Risen One went unto his Father, he promised to his disciples strength from above enabling them to do greater works than he had done. To these great works especially belongs the preaching of the kingdom beyond the bounds of Israel over the whole world.

A great world movement was produced by the marching order of Jesus, so majestic in its simplicity: "Go forth." Innumerable armies of messen-_ gers have " gone forth"-first to the s. General Greco-Roman world, then to the Ger

Results. man-Slavonic world, and lastly over all parts of the earth since the age of great discoveries, the fifteenth and nineteenth cen turies. The whole history of the Christian Church has become mission history, and if now and then there have been periods of quiescence, that marching order has nevertheless-always produced a re newal of missionary work. Nineteen hundred years after its issuance, it has become again so vital that Christian nations and churches have started a missionary movement which has no paral lel in either of the two former periods. The words of Jesus demonstrate their truth by their effect. The mission command of Jesus has revolutionized the history of the world. Of the about 1,540 mil lions of human beings who inhabit the earth to day, 550 millions are Christians at least in name. This status of Christendom is the fruit of missions, for to each of the Christian peoples of the present era the Gospel has been brought by missionaries. This great Christianity gathered in by missions is composed both of peoples who already possessed a civilization before they were Christianized, and of those who lacked this possession; and it is stri king that the barbarian nations since their conver sion to Christianity have become the standard bearers of civilization and the leaders in history. So the mission history of the past has proved that neither race nor civilization constitutes a difference; salvation in Christ is for all men, all are in need of it, all may gain it, and in all it has proved its strength. This fact of missionary history is a proof of so much greater force for the vocation of Christianity as a world religion and a world mission in that it is not confined to the closed missionary periods of the past. There is a modern missionary period in which this fact is being repeated, and this phase is the subject of this article. Unfortunately- it is not a united Christianity which carries on the mission of the present day-a circumstance which constitutes one of its dark sides and causes many impediments and disagreements.

This section will treat of Protestant missions in two principal divisions: (1) a general view of the history of colonial missions, by which is meant Christian work carried on by different nations within the limits of Christendom or of the territories acquired by them; and (2) of the separate fields of foreign missions.

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