with their moral obligations to close each fiscal year without a deficit.

Third, that the officers and executive committees of Missionary Societies and Boards are the legitimately constituted leaders to keep before the Church the needs and opportunities that are appearing abroad, and to educate their rightful constituency to see and appreciate the need, and to become loyal and liberal supporters of that work.

Fourth, that Missionary Societies should possess such faith in the God of missions, and so live their faith in the presence of their constituency and inspire it in the missionary body and in the hearts of the native Christians, that a new life of faith shall be begotten in the Church and in all who come into contact with the work, until, with irresistible power, it shall seize upon all who bear the name of Christ, and, sweeping away every obstacle, become itself the dominant life of the Church.

CHAPTER XIII

PROBLEMS OF ADMINISTRATION

RELATION OF WOMEN'S BOARDS TO GENERAL CHURCH SOCIETIES

In view of the importance of the large number of Women's Missionary Boards and Societies existing in all the great Christian countries, it is essential that we should give brief attention to the questions of their organisation, work, and present place in the effective prosecution of the work at home. It is not within the province of this Commission to give special attention to the work of these Societies in the foreign field. It is, however, imperative that we should give a place to the consideration of the relation of these Societies to the parent or general Societies of each denomination.

It seems to have been the early thought that the foreign missionary must necessarily be a celibate. While many, if not most, of the first male missionaries married sooner or later, there was little effort made to extend interest among women at home, and as little indication that the conditions and needs of pagan women abroad were to have any special consideration. It is not strange that this was the case, since the entire work of missionaries abroad was in an uncertain state, practically without definite policy. Married men were sent to the great mission fields; but almost no single women were commissioned, and no systematically organised efforts were made to reach the women of the East.

Nearly two generations of missionaries passed away

before women of Europe and America became aroused to the great need, as well as to the overwhelming opportunity of work among women in non-Christian lands. In the meantime, much effective work had been done by women in collecting funds through local Societies, and in promoting missionary interest in the Church as a whole.

Within the last half-century denominational and interdenominational Women's Societies or Boards have rapidly multiplied, both in the United States and in Europe, some of them wholly independent, while others are more or less organically related to the general denominational Society or Board, until at the present time there are over sixty Women's Societies in active operation.

Foreign missions received a great impulse at home and abroad through the formation of these Women's Societies, and the bringing into this work of a great number of devoted, able, and energetic women, who had hitherto hardly been aware of the fact that among their sisters of the East there was a specific work for them. By far the larger part of the officers and secretaries of these Societies were, and continue to be, voluntary workers. The watchword, "Women's Work for Women," proved to be of mighty potency in arousing the Christian women of Europe and America to effective effort. They were able, as only women can, to arouse other women to a new conception of their privilege, and, in multitudes of cases, to awaken a new interest in men who had been unmoved by the appeals of existing Missionary Societies. To the number of married missionaries at the front there were gradually added, in some instances, half as many more single women whose work lay among the women, girls, and children, for whom the missionaries hitherto had been able to accomplish but little.

The organisation of Women's Missionary Societies, both in Europe and in America, is too varied to admit of any kind of satisfactory classification here. In a few instances the Women's Societies are wholly independent of the general denominational Society, raising their own money, appointing and directing their own missionaries,

and managing their own affairs. Others have an auxiliary relation to the parent Society although they themselves have a complete and separate legal existence. In these cases there is a close co-operation in the selection and appointment of missionaries, the placing of appropriations, and in the direction of the work in the field. While upon their committees men are seldom found, yet there is constant conference with the officers of the parent Society, and a regular reference, by that Society, of questions relating to the special needs of women's work to the women's organisation, while, on the other hand, important action taken by the women's committee comes for approval also before the committee of the general Society. Connected with practically all the regular denominational Missionary Societies in America there are corresponding Women's Missionary Societies, for the most part working more or less in co-operation with them and raising money for the support of single women missionaries. In almost every case the work abroad is regarded as practically one with that of the general Society, and is so directed. While there is considerable difference in the details of the working, both at home and abroad, of the different Women's Societies in America, this may be taken as a fair general statement.

In Great Britain there is far greater divergence of method than in America. The practice of the various Societies is so different that the more important instances must be described separately.

The Church Missionary Society had, in 1886, only twenty single women on its staff, and it has now four hundred and forty. The work of these women, so far as headquarters is concerned, is administered entirely by the committees which have charge of the men's work, and there are no women on these committees. There is, however, a women's department at the headquarters of the Society, with a lady assistant-secretary in charge. She acts as a consultant to the other secretaries with regard to women's work abroad, and with a staff of workers, several of whom are honorary, she strives to stimulate the work of women

throughout the country. The women supporters of this Society work for its general funds and not for any special fund for women's work. The women missionaries in the mission field meet together in their own conferences, and make their opinion known to the parent committee through the men's or general conference. There is also, in connection with the Church of England, an independent Zenana Society, the work of which at home is quite separate from that of the Church Missionary Society, although both Societies work in close co-operation abroad. The constituency represented by the London Missionary Society is alone among the leading Societies in Great Britain in having no independent or partially independent Society for missionary work among women. by women. On the Board of Directors women have an equal place with men, and are equally eligible to serve upon every committee, except that of finance. While there is some discussion as to whether more funds would not be secured were there a separate women's organisation, there is a strong feeling that the present arrangement is of real value to the work of the Board, and that the plan of the closest organic union is the wisest one.

Although several unmarried women are on the staff of the Baptist Missionary Society, the work of single women is, for the most part, directed by the Baptist Zenana Mission, which is managed by a committee composed wholly of women. The officers of each Society are members of the committee of the other, and thus a knowledge of the policy and procedure of the two committees is gained by each. In the opinion of the officers of the Baptist Zenana Mission a greater amount of work is done at less cost, and a larger amount of money is raised by this separate management than would be the case under one Board. The need for closer co-operation between the two Societies has been felt from time to time, and plans for bringing this about are at present under consideration.

The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society has a Women's Auxiliary managed entirely by women. This COM. VI.-15