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CHAPTER XVII,FEDERATION AND UNION.fact that in China Protestant mission work wasbegun by an interdenominational society and that thefirst missionaries to the Empire were commissionedby a union movement on the part of the evangelicalchurches of Britain and that their instructions were toform Christian churches without ecclesiastical distinction,has had a greater influence on the promotion of a spirit ofChristian unity in this land than is generally recognized.The historic words of Morrison in this regard We are:of no party. Grace be with all who love the Lord Jesusin sincerity and truth, and the practical measures ofunity which marked the first steps of the work gave afine lead to a movement which has always been a markedfeature of the China missions.As is the case in most mission lands there iseffective union in the work of the translation and thedistribution of the Scriptures, and also in the tract agencies.The work of literature has always been a field for complete union effort. Very little denominational literaturehas been prepared and published in China, a fact whichis significant of the spirit of the workers as well as ofthe temperament of the Chinese, and which promisesmuch for the coming days. A step towards the moreeffective union of the various tract committees throughoutChina has been taken during 1909 by the appointmenthere of a central agent for the work of the R. T. S. ofLondon, whose business it is to correlate the activities ofthese bodies. A kindred union work of much promise hasmade much progress during the year, namely thatrepresented by the recently formed China Sunday SchoolCommittee. This committee is interdenominational andinternational, and its work is on behalf of all the missions existing in China.