The Southern Spectator Author:Richard Fletcher Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: MISSIONS, CHINESE MISSION. The important and perplexing question as to the amount of restriction that should be put upon the immigration of the Chinese int... more »o Australia, is now engaging the serious attention "f the Colonial Governments. Without assuming to give an opinion upon this point, Christians hare to do with a great and momentous fact, the actual presence in the colony of Victoria of nearly 40,OUO of these heathen strangers. While they are in the midst of us, they hare a claim upon our sympathies to do them all the good we can: and it may turn out that the Providence of God has permitted their coming hither, that they might learn the way of truth. The great barrier to intercourse witn them, especially on the subject of religion, is their pecu iar language. Possibly this may be more easily overcome in the course of time, as communications with them increase. In the meantime, little or nothing can be done for them by the personal efforts of British Christians. In June, 1856, the arrival in Melbourne of two Chinese young men, who were brought up in the Mission schools at Hong Kong, and who were members of the Christian Church there, seemed to furnish the agency adapted to work upon their countrymen in Australia. Much interest was manifested in them; several meetings were held, and a Chinese mission on a Catholic basis was formed. One of these young men has since become Chinese interpreter at the Ovens gold-fields; but two others have since arrived, so that there are at present three of these agents engaged in the work. Two are labouring in the neighbourhood of 'astlcmaine, and one at Ballaarat. The Rev. W. Young, thirty years a Missionary of the London Missionary Society, to the Chinese in China, Java, ic,, happening to be in Sydney, where his wife's illness had compelled...« less