d in the manufacture of strong
drink, and while they continued to set apart large districts for the
cultivation of tobacco and opium. Hence, at first, he made entire
abstinence from all three an indispensable requisite for admission into
the Christian Church.

It was hardly to be expected, perhaps, that his colleagues in the North
China Mission would be able to see eye to eye with him on these points.
With regard to opium the opinion as to abstinence is unanimous. With
regard to the other two, the prevailing opinion was that, however
desirable entire abstinence may be, it is not authoritatively commanded,
and ought not to be made an indispensable qualification for baptism.

It seemed to some of them that there was danger of the heathen
confusing Christianity with their own Tsai li ti. In reply to such a
suggestion Gilmour wrote: 'My hearers not know the difference between
Tsai li ti and Christianity! Thanks be to God, this whole town and
neighbourhood has rung with the truths of Christianity. Children, men,
shop-boys, and, of all people in the world, a lad gathering grain stumps
in the fields a long way off--it has been my lot to hear them repeat
sayings of mine, when they saw me, and did not think I could hear them.'

Into this controversy as a mere discussion we have no desire to enter.
But to enable the reader to know Mr. Gilmour exactly as he was it
deserves more than a passing reference. The following may be taken as an
example of many letters that passed on this subject.

'I start perhaps on Tuesday. Pardon me for expressing myself on one
matter--the Chinese teetotal business. You and some of my
colleagues seem to me as if I could not move you on this question.
It is a great grief to me. I think you are not right in your ideas
about this. I suppose you can beat me in argument. I am still more
than ever convinced that teetotalism is _right_ and _needful_ for
the success of native Christian life in China. We have some painful
instances here of that among the natives--specially two--one of the
two hailing from Tientsin.

'I don't know your Tientsin Church history, but if it is anything
like ours here you would find men standing nowhere almost as to
Christian character, who but for drink and its concomitants might,
humanly speaking, have shone. And yet these are men to get whom out
of sin Christ died--brethren, for whom Christ died.

'Par