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126 MISSIONS AND CHURCHESGenera jOur Mission, although comparativelysmall, has its work iii three distinct vernaculars Amoy, Swatow and Hakka. The administration in eachof these fields is independent of the others, but the Swatowand Hakka fields unite ecclesiastically in one synod and inAmoy the Reformed Church in America and the EnglishPresbyterian Missions also unite in one Presbyterian Church.The objective of the Mission from the earliest days hasbeen to develop an autonomous Church. The faith of theearly missionaries in ordaining pastors and establishingindependent church courts when the work was in itsinfancy, has been fully justified and we of a later generation are reaping the fruits of their faith.With a few exceptions, groups of congregations formthe pastorates. Practice varies somewhat at the variouscentres. In Amoy. for instance, every congregation isattached to a pastorate and the number of congregations ina group forming a pastorate is larger than in Swatowwhere not more than three or possibly four congregationsare grouped into a pastorate; the pastoral oversight ofcongregations not included in these groups being undertakenby the foreign missionaries.The development of the Chinese Churchcontinues and it is taking more and morecontrol. The most recent development in theAmoy region is an attempt to place the appointment,payment and supervision of preachers under a committee ofsynod assisted by representatives of the missions. Thescheme came into full operation only this year, but it hasmade a most hopeful start. We follow its progress withthe deepest interest for if it fulfils its intentions it willsolve many difficulties and will be a great advance in thetask of devolving responsibility upon our Chinese brethren.Our Swatow Mission has long had a flourishing schemefor the payment of pastors and preachers and this schemeis now being developed on a wider basis.Theological education has occupied thealattention of the Mission a good deal recently.EducationThere would seem to be three grades ofstudents to be provided with training, the highest consisting