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198 CHINA MISSION YEAR BOOK.vSocieties established in South China, and it is notsurprising to find that these churches are the strongestand most progressive in all South China.It is not to the credit of the Chinese Christians thatthey have been so slow in establishing philanthropicinstitutions of their own. This is due no doubt to theirgreat poverty as a race. The Christian churches aresupposed to care for their poor. Whether they doreally meet that need, or are able to do so is problematic.In our larger Christian communities a good deal ofinterest is taken in hospital work, but as this work ispaid largely out of foreign funds it cannot be calledphilanthropy of the Chinese church. We do have abeginning of philanthropic institutions in a number ofmission centres. In Canton, apart from educationalinstitutions purely under Chinese control, there is anorphanage, an asylum for the blind, and opium refuges.One mission has a large fund for the alleviation of thepoor. In the Swatow district one mission has a fundfor aiding destitute families of preachers and anothermission isundertaking the establishment of a home forold people. There are similar kinds of institutionsbeing established in the Fukieu province. The dayseems close at hand when Chinese Christians will exercisepractical Christianity upon their own initiative andwithout foreign aid.The two reasons given by the majority of correspondents to the question "What (if any) are thepresent hindrances to complete self-support of localchurches throughout your field ? have been ":First. The great poverty of the Chinese Christians.Secondly. The lack of reliable leaders, both ordained and unordained.As the church in China grows more numerous thesedifficulties will be overcome, though it will be manyyears, if ever, before the Chinese church will be able tocarry on missionary work at the pace which Europeanand American missionary societies are setting at present.