e new life upon
which he has entered and continue loyal to the new faith which he has
embraced.

It must be admitted that such rigours of persecution are not carried out
in all cases at present. Though this is the spirit and method of caste,
yet the influence of home ties and family affection and the social
position and influence of a new convert may be such as to mitigate this
public opposition to his Christian decision. But the engine of persecution
is there, always ready for use.

The question has often been asked as to the motives which animated those
of our Christian community who denied their ancestral faith in order to
become Christians. In this land many have an idea, in some cases expressed
but in many unexpressed, that most of the Christian converts in India are
what are denominated "rice Christians." This charge against the adherents
of our faith in that land is as unworthy as it is untrue. That some
embrace our religion and take upon them the name of Christ from unworthy
motives we know--perhaps this is a thing not confined to India. But it has
always been a surprise to me, not that so many, but that so few, join our
missions from worldly or unworthy motives. For they soon learn that the
missionary of their district is a friend of the poor and the oppressed;
and they are constantly suffering from the injustice and the rapacity of
Brahmans and of other members of their own faith who are above them.
Outside of slavery there are few people who are subject to grosser
injustice at the hand of men of wealth and of power than are the poor,
down-trodden people of India.

Most of them are also groaning in the deepest pit of poverty. Poverty is a
relative term. As compared with India, America knows absolutely no
poverty. The poverty of India is crushing, over-whelming. When we remember
that according to government statistics, the average income of a man for
the support of his family in India is less than $1.50 a month we get a
glimpse of what abject poverty means.

And when we further remember that, during many months and seasons of his
life, even this is partly denied him, owing to frequent droughts and other
unpreventable evils, we know in part how an unsatisfied craving, and
pinching distress overwhelm a large proportion of that population.
Government statistics show that one-fifth of the population are in a
chronic state of hunger.

And yet I heartily bear testimony that comparatively few of our people
have