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m>, ,-""98 MISSIONS AND CHURCHES, Some progress has been made toward self-Educational ,rr ,,,^ ork support. The statistics show an increase orchurch contributions by forty per cent. Thecontribution towards educational work has decreased from$2602.15 to $2167.00. When one takes into considerationthe fact that only 595 students and pupils have been taughtin our schools, instead of 883 as in the preceding year, theabove percentage becomes still higher.The falling-oft in the number of students is, I think,due to the following reasons:1. All the boarders are expected to provide for theirown maintenance.2. The school fees for day-school pupils have beenraised considerably, and at the same time many free schoolshave been opened by 1he municipality.3- Many Chinese teachers of the old school, who werenot allowed to teach during the second and third years of theRepublic, have reopened their schools, where modern booksare excluded and only Chinese classics taught, according tothe old fashion. The country people here prefer the oldthod.*^ ^ ne war on medical workMedical Workhave been less serious than on other branches.Fees for treatment and for rent of private rooms have beenraised without difficulty; other Chinese contributions increased and an annual "Leper- asylum-Sunday offeringhas been made in all the churches for the first time withfairly good results. A short report of the work done in theasylum, sent to all the pastors and catechists, enabled themto illustrate their sermons and to arouse the congregationsto earnest prayer on behalf of the poor lepers.The evangelistic work in the medicalEvangelisticmission, introduced as a new policy inWork some other missions during the year 1914(YEAR BOOK l )15, p. 300), has been thepolicy of our Mission for many years.As another characteristic feature I may perhapsmention, as stated by Mr. Bailey, Superintendent of theMission to Lepers, that the Tungkun asylum is the only onewhich asks for entrance fees from the lepers. Between