No. 739.
Mr. Hubbard to Mr. Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Tokio
,
October 25, 1888.
(Received November 16.)
No. 513.]
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith a
communication written by the Rev. Dr. C. S. Eby, a missionary of the
Methodist Episcopal Church (Canadian mission), and of deservedly high
standing in his own church as well as among Christians of all denominations
in the Empire, on the subject of religious liberty in Japan.
The immediate cause of the letter inclosed, which was written to the Japan
Mail, was a communication which had been published by a few native
Christians, complaining that the Imperial Government had failed up to the
present time to officially recognize the Christian
religion.
The subject discussed by Dr. Eby and the facts recited by him will doubtless
prove of interest to the Department of State, as well as to the American
Christian public at large, especially in view of the tact that some months
ago statements charging the Japanese Government with illiberality towards
Christianity were published in certain American religious and news
journals.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure in No. 513.]
christians in japan.
To the Editor of the Japan
Mail:
Sir: When the letter of complaint appeared,
written by several well-known Japanese Christians, charging the
Government with discriminating against Christians, or at least not
properly protecting their rights, and asking you to champion their
cause, I was—and I find that all to whom I have spoken were—filled with
amazement. I have waited, thinking that perhaps some facts would be
forthcoming to show some reason for the appeal, facts that had thus far
escaped my knowledge. But as yet none have reached me. My experience as
a Christian missionary for twelve years Leads me to admire the steady
and steadily growing friendliness of the Government towards
Christianity, coupled with a wonderful tact in gradually introducing
into the country perfect religious liberty without arousing the active
opposition of the old religions and of the masses who still cling to
them, as certainly would have been done by a sudden and theatrical
proclamation of the legality of the Christian faith. The Government, to
my mind—and I believe the missionaries as a whole agree with me—has
pursued, and is pursuing, the wisest possible course. Practically
Christianity is free, as free in Japan as in any land on the face of the
earth; for formal privilege the church can afford to wait a little.
I think most of the inconvenience to be found to-day arises either from
purely local causes or from ignorance on the part of Christians of
actual regulations to which they could appeal, or their want of applying
to the proper authorities in case of hardship. For instance, in the
matter of burying, some years ago a regulation was officially published
giving relatives the right to bury with whatever service they chose.
Almost the day after the regulation appeared I was in a country town
when one of the members of the native church was to be buried. The
official insisted on the old forms; the Buddhist priests claimed their
time-honored rights; but the pastor pulled out or his pocket the paper
in which the new regulations were published, and insisted on his
newly-given right. The authorities and the priests had to give way to
the published voice of the Central Government, and the funeral took
place not only with Christian rites, but under the leadership of a
foreigner. Ever since that time there has not been any difficulty
whatever on that score within the bounds of our work.
There are certainly some disabilities under which the Christian Church as
a corporation rests, but none that affect the practical working of any
and every evangelistic [Page 1079]
agency; and, so far as I can see, the trend of the Government is towards
a complete removal of every remnant of discrimination. It is clearly the
duty of Christians to do their utmost to fit the people for this larger
liberty rather than agitate for premature proclamations. My chief regret
in this matter is that the letter of complaint should have gone to the
West without a strong statement on the other side, for I fear it will
give another pretext to the persecution-hunters, still too common there;
for “here is the plain unvarnished truth,” they will say, “and over the
signatures of well-known Japanese, who appeal to the foreigner for
help.” Shall we have a new tirade from the New York Nation?
Yours, truly,
