Page:The World's Parliament of Religions Vol 1.djvu/165

THE CHRONICLE OF THE PARLIAMENT. 137 At the close of the address of General Fielding (who took the platform in the absence of Commander Ballington Booth), a Brahman, a member of the School of Philosophy at Mad- ras, Mr. Nara Sima Satsumchyra, was introduced, and began his brief address by referring with high respect to the work of the Salvation Army in India as more effective than that of any of the churches. He concluded thus : Our friends of the Brahmo-Somaj have been picturing to you Chris- tianity standing with the Bible in one hand and the wizard's wand of civili^ zation in the other. But there is another side, and that is the goddess oi civilization with a bottle of rum in her hand. O that the English had never set foot in India ! O that we had never seen a single European face ! O that we had never tasted the bitter sweets of your civilization, rather than it should make us a nation of drunkards and brutes ! The Twelfth Day. — Friday, September 22. On this day the crowds in the Hall of Columbus were, if pos- sible, more dense than on any previous day. If the public had got the impression that the proceedings were to be of very great interest and practical value, they were not destined to be disappointed. The comparison of views between Christian missionaries and the representatives of the systems of heathen- ism, in the forum of a Christian public, was a thing without precedent in the history of missions, and a thing of inestima- ble value. One incident was antecedent to the beginning of the ses- sion. The Rev. Jenkin Lloyd-Jones introduced a personage already familiar on the platform by the strangeness of his cos- tume, and the grave dignity of his bearing. Mr. Jones said : His name is Christophore Jibara. He comes to us from the far-off Church of Damascus. He is the Archimandrite of the Apostolic and Patri- archal throne of the Orthodox Church in Syria and the whole East. He comes to us with a pamphlet done into English out of its original Arabic, bearing as its title, " Unity in Faith and Harmony in Religion" — a title that must justify your enthusiasm and respect. Without passing any judg- ment on its contents, I have looked into it enough to be surprised and delighted that away out there on the classic grounds of Damascus there is a working of the same spirit, a groping for the same result, as that which lies