LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOSEPH HARDY NEESIMA

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LETTER TO PRUDENTIAL COMMITTEE. 279 preaching we may meet much opposition, but to this indirect effort none will object. It will be like a mo­ther's gentle influence over her children, too dear to be refused and too impressive to be forgotten. How~ ever, it is not our aim simply to make them friends of Christianity, but also to win them to Christ so that they may have life. ·why can we not endeavor to reach our future leaders? Why can we not be fish­ers for men of all grades? As the guns of our enemy are of modern improvement, we ought also to have the best possible guns to discharge the power given from on high. Who can subdue God's elect? We must fight under his banner; we must win the whole Japan­ese empire for Christ. At present the matter seems to us but a vague dream, but we look to God to help us to realize this dream. I know too well that you cannot undertake the second and third schemes with~ out .some special donation for those purposes, because your chief aim is the spread of the gospel. So, lay­ing those aside for the moment, I beg permission to dwell upon the first scheme. This is the dearest to us and is not new to you. You have already carried out the plan at Kyoto and have successfully sent out a number of efficient native workers; and we gratefully acknowledge the boldness of the step you have taken. The establishment of theological schools by our Pres­byterian, Methodist, and English brethren makes the education of the native ministry a prevalent topic among missionaries in Japan. The success your mis­sionaries have had is largely due to their readiness to accept our participation in the work. Though they are Americans in citizenship, they are Japanese in heart. They stand affectionately by us and with us, and most of us appreciate this more and more. (Mr.

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