Life and work in India; an account of the conditions, methods, difficulties, results, future prospects and reflex influence of missionary labor in India, especially in the Punjab mission of the United Presbyterian Church of North America . poor one. Occasionally, however, aHindu or a Muhammadan family comes out as a whole from its formerreligious connections, attaches itself to the people of God, and bringsits property witli it.* And in the future we may hope that such caseswill be more frequent than they have been in the past. And whenthey become common, and congregations contain a sufficient
Life and work in India; an account of the conditions, methods, difficulties, results, future prospects and reflex influence of missionary labor in India, especially in the Punjab mission of the United Presbyterian Church of North America . poor one. Occasionally, however, aHindu or a Muhammadan family comes out as a whole from its formerreligious connections, attaches itself to the people of God, and bringsits property witli it.* And in the future we may hope that such caseswill be more frequent than they have been in the past. And whenthey become common, and congregations contain a sufficient numberof this class, of course these congregations will become self-sustaining,and the problem of ecclesiastical self-support will be solved. But atpresent this state of things seems to be far distant. What then ought to be done to hasten pecuniary self-support asrapidly as possible ? Wliat are the practical conclusions forced uponus by such a review of the whole situation as we have heretoforegiven? Evidently first we ought to develop as fast as we can the liberalityof the Christians already attached to our cause. Such plans should beadopted as will everywhere secure regular, systematic, hearty, prayer- *See pp. 224, 225. iSmiml. (329) 330 LIFE AND WORK IN INDIA ful, intelligent and generous giving. Instruction, exhortation, ex-ample, co-operation, subscription lists, assessment, rewards, discipline—all the usual means of stimulus—should be employed as occasionoffers. But, of course, they ought to be used wisely. It will not doto press the assessment plan, or disciplinary measures too far ; norshould the sliding scale system of giving grants-in-aid from missionfunds on certain pecuniary conditions be made so inflexible in its ap-plication in any instance as to be unjust, or to injure the general causeof evangelism. And, as a help to this development, every reasonable effort shouldbe made to secure the hearty co-operation of foreign and native laborersin every department o
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