ut--but--well, I prefer
to work alone.'

"2. It will injure the efficiency of the Church at Amoy. Besides the
objection furnished by the increase of denominations, which the heathen
will thus, as readily as the irreligious in this country, be able to urge
against Christianity, it will deprive the churches of the benefit of the
united wisdom and strength of the whole of them for self-cultivation and
for Christian enterprise, and will introduce a spirit of jealous rivalry
among them. We know it is said that there need be no such result, and that
the native churches may remain just as united in spirit after the
organization of two denominations as before. Such a sentiment takes for
granted, either that ecclesiastical organization has in fact no efficiency,
or that the Chinese churches have arrived at a far higher state of
sanctification than the churches have attained to in this land. Do not
different denominations exhibit jealous rivalry in this land? Is Chinese
human nature different from American?

"In consequence of such division the native Churches will not be so able to
support the Gospel among themselves. Look at the condition of our Western
towns in this respect. Why strive to entail like evils on our missionary
churches? ....

"But may not the Church change or improve her decisions? Here is one of
the good things we hope to see come out of this mistake of the Church.
Jesus rules, and He is ordering all things for the welfare of His Church
and the advancement of His cause. Sometimes, the better to accomplish this
end, He permits the Church to make mistakes. When we failed in former days
to get our views made public, it gave us no anxiety, for we believed the
doctrine that Jesus reigns. So we now feel, notwithstanding this mistake.
The Master will overrule it for good. We do not certainly know how, but we
can imagine one way. By means of this mistake the matter may be brought
before our Church, and before other Churches, more clearly than it would
otherwise have been for many years to come, and in consequence of this we
expect, in due time, that our Church, instead of coming up merely to the
standard of liberality for which we have been contending, will rise far
above anything we have asked for or even imagined, and other Churches will
also raise their standard higher. Hereafter we expect to contend for still
higher principles. This is the doctrine. Let all the branches of the
great Presbyterian family in the same