Missions Are

Hard Hit

Reduced Revenues Cripple Their Activities

ONE of the minor tragedies of the pre sent war has been its effect upon missionary activities in the Pacific.

The Melanesian Mission, which has operated so long and successfully in the Solomon Islands, New Hebrides and New Britain (New Guinea"), is faced with a serious curtailment of financial support from Great Britain. As a result, it has had to effect much retrenchment; a number of mission stations have been closed, and others are about to be closed.

In the New Hebrides, medical work is being maintained on a reduced scale, as is mission work at Kumbun, New Britain; and all hospitals are being controlled by New Zealand members of the mission’s staff. The present strength of the leper station at Fuaubu, 8.5.1., is being main tained but any extensions are out of the question.

Although English subscriptions have fallen off, both the New Zealand and Australian churches met their full quota in the financial year recently closed. It is obvious that native support in the Is lands must necessarily suffer a reduction owing to the state of the copra market.

The numerous mission stations through out the Pacific Groups, which are wholly or nartly self-supporting through copra production, are facing their blackest year. This especially has affected some Roman Catholic Missions and many of the Methodist Missionary Society stations.

Wherever possible, a hurried reorgani sation is being made, so that mission stations may grow their own foodstuffs and become as far as practicable self supporting.

These conditions, if they continue for long, will have a serious reaction, insofar that most of the missions, apart from moral teachings, carry out important edu cational and medical work.