controversies. It has too much on its hands in its controversy with heathenism and Islam to spend its strength in quarrelling with fellow-Christians. One of the great principles with which the Society began, and on which it still works, is that ‘spiritual work must be done by spiritual men.’ Another, ‘Don't be afraid of little beginnings.’ Still another, which we have tried to work on in later years, ‘Do God's work in God's way and He will find you the men and the means for doing it.’
“Yes; we are great believers in the efficacy of prayer. If you ask for specific instances, I should not know where to begin and where to leave off. They are daily, even hourly, occurring. There is one broad fact, however, which is worthy of notice. The marked increase of public interest in missions may be distinctly traced to the observance of the Annual Day of Intercession, which commenced in 1872, and was due to the happy inspiration of the S.P.G. It is a curious illustration of the change of public feeling towards missions, that even the Times in a leading article on the day could express surprise that so many people could be so foolish as to join in its observance, and remarked that while ‘an ordinary Englishman has seen almost every human being or brute native of foreign climes, but few can say that they have seen a missionary or a Christian convert.’ Such an article would be impossible even in the least reputable of daily papers in this century.”
