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38 HISTORY OF THE PARLIAMENT. Dr. Gordon, in a recent book, "An American Missionary in Japan," says: As is well known, the word " heathen " is practically dropped from the revised version of the New Testament. Un-Christian peoples justly object to it as a degrading term, and the writer joins with nearly all his colleagues in studiously avoiding its use. The Rev. Gilbert Reid, M.A., a Presbyterian missionary in China, in a pamphlet on the duty of Christian missions to the upper Chinese classes, quotes with approval the words which good Isaac Watts was wont to sing: "Seize upon truth where'er it is found, Among your friends, among your foes, On Christian or on heathen ground, The flower's divine where'er it grows , Neglect the prickles, and assume the rose," A Woman's Committee on Religious Congresses, under the leadership of Rev. Augusta J. Chapin, D.D., and assisted by such helpers as Lady Henry Somerset and Miss Frances E. Willard, cordially cooperated with the Parliament of Religions and secured the presence and participation of some of the most distinguished women of our time. Rev. Wm. C. Gannett, of Rochester, New York, wrote : Your plan will summon the most truly Ecumenical Council of Religion that the world has ever seen or dreamed of. Whoever cares for freedom, fellowship and character in Religion must needs wish the beautiful hope success, and be glad to do anything he can to further it. Bishop John H. Vincent, D.D., of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in accepting a position on the Advisory Council, wrote : I wish that there might be a great Christian Union in a great hall, with every denomination that names Christ present, holding for two hours a regular division meeting, and then all getting together lo recognize the relation of all to the Republic and the race. It will be the most magnificent spectacle the Christian world has ever seen. Suppose that there were fifty classes of people who accepted or recognized Jesus : the Unitarians, who recognize him as a man ; the Mohammedans, who recognize him as a prophet ; the Jews, who recognize him as one of their teachers ; and then all the classes of Christians who recognize his divinity. The Rev. Richard S. Storrs, D.D., LL.D., of Brooklyn, President of the American Board of Foreign Missions, wrote :