e stations, the converts, the Church; it is a review of the position,
the progress made compared with the work to be done. But the state
varies, the position changes, and action must be taken continually.

The survey, therefore, should be not simply a single act but a continual
process. Mission work is not a task which can be undertaken and finished
on a predetermined plan, like the construction of a railway. It is a
task the conditions of which vary from time to time, and consequently
plans and policies and methods must vary, and this variation can only
be rational if it is determined by recognition of the changing
circumstances, and the change of circumstances can only be understood
and appreciated if the survey of missions is a continuous process kept
constantly up to date. It is a form of mission history in which the
omission of a few years may break the connection of the whole narrative.

7. (i) It may perhaps cause surprise to some that the information for
which we ask is mainly such as can be expressed in a statistical form.
But the fact remains that all statesmanship (and foreign missions
involve large elements of statesmanship), and all organised effort (and
foreign missions are highly organised), is in the world always based
either upon carefully compiled statistics, or upon guess work; and that
the business which is directed by guess work does not enjoy the same
confidence as the business which is directed by knowledge derived from
carefully compiled statistics.

Take, for example, this extract from a letter written by a firm in the
United States of America which deals with candy securities:--

The candy business, the history of which shows a remarkable record of
freedom from failure, is to-day enjoying unparalleled prosperity, and
there is every reason to believe that the present high earnings of all
the large candy concerns in the United States will continue
indefinitely. Those fortunate enough to hold shares in well-established
candy manufacturing concerns may expect, therefore, to enjoy larger
earnings than could reasonably be expected from funds placed in most
other enterprises. _Prohibition is proving a tremendous factor in
increasing candy sales. Best estimates show that the American public is
now spending between $800,000,000 and $1,000,000,000 annually for
candy_. ---- & Co. are specialists in the candy and sugar securities. We
maintain a statistical department, and endeavour to furnish information