REV. Dr. Macdonald, methodist missionary, of Japan,
and Mr. Hiraiwai, a convert from that country, addressed a large meeting
at the taberacle on Monday night. The Jap. is not at all a fluent
speaker, but can readily make one understand what he is driving at,
while there is something in his calm, dignified manner which tells us
that he has been accustomed to being a leader in his own country.
In his speeches and private conversation he relates a singular
history of his conversion to christianity. He spent nearly a year in
studying christianity from a skeptical standpoint, going to the churches,
reading and debating, but was finally overcome, and turned his whole
heart in with the missionaries. His conversion and that of some other
leading men of Japan seems to have marked the commencement of an era of
great prosperity in christian missionary work in Japan.
Dr. Macdonalds address was of a very interesting character to
those who listened to it, and his wonderful success as a missionary gives
great heart to those of our people who are being engaged in that work
in Japan. Large sums are being subscribed for the work by Canadians.
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Any one who wishes to enlarge his knowledge of history and improve
his knowledge of the Japanese language at the same time may consult a
Japanese book lately presented to the Reading Room of the Collegiate
Institute by John Dryden, Esq. M.P.P. Mr. Hiraiwa pronounces the book
to be a volume of a Japanese history, which is published in twenty-one
volumes.
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