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CHAPTERXVIILTHE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY.(T7THE Christian Literature Society, which was foundedNJ" in 1887 under the name of the Society for theDiffusion of Christian and General Knowledgeamong the Chinese, adopted its present name in 1906,without, however, in the least changing its object andprogramme. Our motto is the famous dictum of ourgeneral secretary at the Ecumenical Conference in NewYork in 1900, namely: "Christian literature should beco-extensive with the work of God and commensuratewith the needs of man." Accordingly, the C. L- S.publishes and circulates all classes of literature based onChristian principles or expounding Christian faith. Infact, there is nothing in sound and clean reading whichit may not put before Chinese readers. Hence all missionaries and laymen in sympathy with these principlesmay become members on being duly elected by the Boardof Directors. A sister society at home supplies the majorpart of the financial backing.In the chapter which follows the present one Dr.Darroch describes the operations of numerous tractsocieties. It may have seemed to some that with somany excellent societies in existence already still anotherwas uncalled for, but Dr. Williamson and his supportersperceived that these societies were limited in their resources, and hence of necessity, narrow in their programme, inasmuch as they were compelled to confinethemselves to the circulation of the primary tract essentials of the missionary work. Hence it occurred to him,to Dr. Wm. Muirhead, and to Dr. John Murdoch, ofIndia, and others that a society ought to be formed withconstitution and resources broad enough to embrace thepublication of all good literature, such as issues from the