FLOR I A NO POLIS

[s. 256] : A town and capital of the Province of Santa Cat her in a, Brazil, South America; situated on the west side of the island of S. Cat her in a, 240 miles N. E. of Porto Alegre. Population (1890), 15,000, but rapidly increasing by immigration of Germans, Italians and Syrians. Station of the PN (1900), with (1901) 2 mi ion their wives, 3 outstations, 1 Young Society and 35 profe ing Christians. Formerly called Desterro. aries and People’s FOOCHOW. See Fu-chau-fu (Fo-kien). FOREIGN CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY (Disciples of Christ 1875) As early as 1849;: foreign mi ion work was carried on by the Disciples of Christ, but the mi ionary society was not formally organized until 1875. According to the constitution the society is composed of life directors, life members, annual members, and representatives of churches, Sunday schools, Sunday school cla es and mi ionary a ociations. Its officers are a President, five Vice Presidents, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary and a Treasurer, elected annually. These officers constitute an executive committee, and, with the life directors, a board of managers. The mi ions of the Society are as follows 1. Scand in a via: The first intention of the new Society was to work only in distinctively heathen lands, but in 1876, a young Dane who had been converted in this country was, at his own request, sent to Denmark as a mi ionary. As he had 23S opportunity he visited Norway and Sweden. From this beginning the work has grown till now there are (1903) 13 stations, 5 ordained mi ionaries and 11 churches, with 659_communicants. 2. Turkey: In 1879 a young Armenian convert in America was sent to Turkey at his own request, In 1901 there were locating at Constantinople. 17 stations and outstations, 4 mi ionaries and 23 native helpers, 18 churches, with 603 communicants. “These results after twenty-one years of labor seemed to the Society”very meager and disappointing, and believing that Turkey as a foreign mi ion field is both limited and preoccupied,” the executive committee recommended the Society to withdraw from the field as soon as practicable. 3. India: In 1882 work was begun in the Central Provinces of India with a station at Harda. In 1885 Bilaspur was occupied, Mungeli in 1887 and Damoh in 1895. Evangelistic tours are made through the outlying districts and educational, industrial and medical work is carried on. Much time has been devoted to famine relief. A boys’ orphanage has been established at Damoh, where the inmates are trained to be self-supporting; boy carpenters, weavers, shoe makers, farmers, blacksmiths, etc., are doing much work for the mi ion. A leper asylum is carried on, the finances coming from the Mi ion to Lepers in India and the East. There are (1901) 4 stations and 6 outstations, 22 American mi ionaries and 64 native workers, 5 churches, with 411 comm unci ants, 9 day schools, 1 orphanage; total under instruction, 1,542; 4 hospitals and dispensaries native contributions, $127.68. 3. Japan: A mi ion in Japan was established The first station was in the district of in 1883. The work is chiefly evangelistic, tho a Akita. beginning has been made in educational work. There are (1901) 7 stations, 23 outstations, 13 American mi ionaries, 21 native workers, 13 churches, with 832 communicants, and 2 day; schools. 4. China: Work was begun in China in 1884, and gradually extended until there are 5 principal stations where educational and medical work is carried on. Much evangelistic work is succe fully done in the outlying districts. An important feature of the work is the distribution of Christian literature. There are (1901) 5 stations and 11 outstations, 28 American mi ionaries and 51 trained Christian native helpers, 8 churches, with 576 communicants; 2 boarding schools, 5 theological cla es, 7 day schools, 4 hospitals and dispensaries. 5. Africa: A station has been established at There are 7 mi ionBolengi, on the Congo. aries (two of whom are physicians), and a very promising beginning has been made in medical, educational and industrial work, while evangelistic tours are made into the surrounding country. 6. Philippine Islands: In 1900 work was begun in the Philippines, special grants being made for this purpose, and a station was established at Manila. In Cuba a station has been established at Havana, where preaching services are held in English and Spanish, and Sunday schools and day schools have been established. Hawaii: In the Hawaiian Islands work has 7. been begun at Honolulu, in a district peopled by Hawaii ans, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese. Flake Forsytb S39 The purpose is to work through the local church rather than build up a separate work. Two new mi ions have been begun; Sunday schools and day and evening schools established. This Society also conducts mi ionary work in England and has mi ionaries in readine to pre into Tibet when the way shall be open. Organ Mi ionary InteUicencer, monthly Cincinnati. O.: FOR MAN, Charles William: Died at Ka auli, August 27, 1894. Dr. For man was a native of Kentucky, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, and at the time of his appointment as a mi ionary a member of the India, Ebenezer Presbytery. He sailed for India, August 11, 1847, as a mi ionary of the American Presbyterian Board (N), while its mi ion work in that vast empire was still in its infancy. In 1846, at the close of the first Sikh war, the mi ion had cro ed the Sutlej and planted a station at Jalandhar, within the Punjab. Soon after Dr. For man’s arrival in India, the annexation of the Punjab by the British Government, and the favor of the Board of Administration, which included the two Lawrences, Henry and John, opened the way for the occupation of Lahore, the capital of the new province, and the late Rev. John Newton and Mr. For man were appointed to the station. It was in and from this center of influence that Dr. For man did his That work was varied as mi ionary work. nece ity or opportunity required. It consisted mainly, perhaps, in the organizing and superintending of a system of schools under mi ion control where the Word of God was habitually taught and from which you sands of young men have gone forth with at least an intellectual conviction as to the truth of Christianity, while it is believed that not a few have felt its regenerating power. The Dr. For man was universally beloved. devoutne of his spirit, the simplicity of his life, the strength of his character, the broadne of his views and sympathies, his indefatigable zeal, his grasp of the situation in India, and, above all, his interest in and affection for the native population of all cla es won for him universal esteem. During the early part of his illne , when a rumor of his death was circulated, a notoriously antichristian newspaper published in Lahore devoted an editorial to the commendation of his life and work, stating that no foreigner had ever entered the Punjab who had done so much for the Punjab as “Padri For man Sahib.” FORMOSA: An island lying between latitude 21° 53’ 30” north and latitude 25’ 33” north, about 90 miles from the mainland of China, from which it is separated by the Straits of Formosa. Its total length from north to south is 235 miles, and its greatest width is about 80 miles. Through the island from N. to S., but nearer the eastern than the western coast, runs a chain of mountains. The coasts are rocky and uninviting, with few good harbors. The climate is in general more salubrious than that of the opposite mainland. — The inhabitants are of three cla es the Japanese and the Chinese immigrants, the civilized aborigines, and the uncivilized ones. Some of the Chinese are from the Amoy district and some are Hakkas from Swatow. Those of the aborigines who have adopted in part the customs of the Chinese are called Pe-pa-hwan, while the untamed savages are called Che-hwan. These aborigines are partly of the Malay stock, and are broken up into many tribes and clans. Physically they are of middle height, muscular and broad-chested, large eyes, round forehead, broad nose, and large mouth. Their language po e es no written characters, and there are many dialects. In the district of Posia alone, eight entirely different dialects have been recognized. The social condition of the natives is very low. The entire population of the island, according to the census of 1898, is 2,705,905. The island of Formosa was known to the Chinese at an early date. In 1480 emigration to it was recorded. In 1624 the Dutch built a fort, Zealand i a, at the place where now stands Taiwan, and their power was maintained for thirty-seven years. In 1682 the power of the Emperor Kang Hi was recognized, and Formosa formed a part of the Chinese Empire, tho outbreaks on the part of the aborigines were common until The treaty 1895, when it was ceded to Japan. of Tientsin, 1860, opened the island to European commerce, and Formosa tea is now found the world over. With the ce ion of Formosa to Japan, the Japanese came to the island in large numbers. The officials show a sincere desire to maintain righteous administration, and mi ionaries are now subject to the Japanese regulations. a The Presbyterians of Canada, under the consecrated labors of Mackay, accomplished much for the northern third of the island, and the Presbyterians of England have brought great bles.^ings to the southwestern and central sections. Mr. Mackay, aided by a single foreign colleague and about 80 native a istants, gathered in his churches nearly 2,000 communicants, while his schools had in training 1,314 pupils, and Oxford College 43 students. An interesting feature of the situation is the presence of a number of evangelists sent by the Christian churches in Japan, and supported by them, to labor among Japanese in Formosa. No mi ionary work has as yet been attempted among the wild savages of the eastern part of the island. 257