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  VOL. XXXII.                                           No. 11.

                                THE

                       AMERICAN MISSIONARY.

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               “To the Poor the Gospel is Preached.”

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                          NOVEMBER, 1878.




                            _CONTENTS_:


  EDITORIAL.

    THE ANNUAL MEETING                                           321
    PARAGRAPHS                                              321, 322
    MR. STANLEY’S INTEREST IN CHRISTIAN MISSIONS                 322
    THE INDIAN AGENTS WE NEED                                    325
    “HAMPTON TRACTS.”—CONGREGATIONALISM IN THE SOUTH             327
    SUNDRIES.—GENERAL NOTES                                      328


  THE FREEDMEN.

    ALABAMA—Florence: Rev. L. C. Anderson.—A
    Memphis Letter.—A New Orleans Letter.—Scholarship
      Letters                                                331–334


  AFRICA.

    THE MENDI MISSION: Rev. A. P. Miller                         334


  THE INDIANS.

    FORT BERTHOLD, D. T.: Rev. C. L. HALL                        337
    LAKE SUPERIOR AGENCY: I. L. Mahan                            339
    RED LAKE AGENCY, MINN: C. P. Allen, M. D.                    341


  THE CHINESE.

    CHINAPHOBIA: Dr. M. C. Briggs                                342


  THE CHILDREN’S PAGE                                            343


  RECEIPTS                                                       344

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                             NEW YORK:

         Published by the American Missionary Association,

                      ROOMS, 56 READE STREET.

                 *       *       *       *       *

                Price, 50 Cents a Year, in advance.

                 *       *       *       *       *

           A. Anderson, Printer, 23 to 27 Vandewater St.




                _American Missionary Association_,

                      56 READE STREET, N. Y.

                 *       *       *       *       *


  PRESIDENT.

    HON. E. S. TOBEY, Boston.


  VICE PRESIDENTS.

    Hon. F. D. PARISH, Ohio.
    Rev. JONATHAN BLANCHARD, Ill.
    Hon. E. D. HOLTON, Wis.
    Hon. WILLIAM CLAFLIN, Mass.
    Rev. STEPHEN THURSTON, D. D., Me.
    Rev. SAMUEL HARRIS, D. D., Ct.
    Rev. SILAS MCKEEN, D. D., Vt.
    WM. C. CHAPIN, Esq., R. I.
    Rev. W. T. EUSTIS, Mass.
    Hon. A. G. BARSTOW, R. I.
    Rev. THATCHER THAYER, D. D., R. I.
    Rev. RAY PALMER, D. D., N. Y.
    Rev. J. M. STURTEVANT, D. D., Ill.
    Rev. W. W. PATTON, D. D., D. C.
    Hon. SEYMOUR STRAIGHT, La.
    Rev. D. M. GRAHAM, D. D., Mich.
    HORACE HALLOCK, Esq., Mich.
    Rev. CYRUS W. WALLACE, D. D., N. H.
    Rev. EDWARD HAWES, Ct.
    DOUGLAS PUTNAM, Esq., Ohio.
    Hon. THADDEUS FAIRBANKS, Vt.
    SAMUEL D. PORTER, Esq., N. Y.
    Rev. M. M. G. DANA, D. D., Ct.
    Rev. H. W. BEECHER, N. Y.
    Gen. O. O. HOWARD, Oregon.
    Rev. EDWARD L. CLARK, N. Y.
    Rev. G. F. MAGOUN, D. D., Iowa
    Col. C. G. HAMMOND, Ill.
    EDWARD SPAULDING, M. D., N. H.
    DAVID RIPLEY, Esq., N. J.
    Rev. WM. M. BARBOUR, D. D., Ct.
    Rev. W. L. GAGE, Ct.
    A. S. HATCH, Esq., N. Y.
    Rev. J. H. FAIRCHILD, D. D., Ohio.
    Rev. H. A. STIMSON, Minn.
    Rev. J. W. STRONG, D. D., Minn.
    Rev. GEORGE THACHER, LL. D., Iowa.
    Rev. A. L. STONE, D. D., California.
    Rev. G. H. ATKINSON, D. D., Oregon.
    Rev. J. E. RANKIN, D. D., D. C.
    Rev. A. L. CHAPIN, D. D., Wis.
    S. D. SMITH, Esq., Mass.
    Rev. H. M. PARSONS, N. Y.
    PETER SMITH, Esq., Mass.
    Dea. JOHN WHITING, Mass.
    Rev. WM. PATTON, D. D., Ct.
    Hon. J. B. GRINNELL, Iowa.
    Rev. WM. T. CARR, Ct.
    Rev. HORACE WINSLOW, Ct.
    Sir PETER COATS, Scotland.
    Rev. HENRY ALLON, D. D., London, Eng.
    WM. E. WHITING, Esq., N. Y.
    J. M. PINKERTON, Esq., Mass.


  CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.

    REV. M. E. STRIEBY, _56 Reade Street, N. Y._


  DISTRICT SECRETARIES.

    REV. C. L. WOODWORTH, _Boston_.
    REV. G. D. PIKE, _New York_.
    REV. JAS. POWELL, _Chicago, Ill._

    EDGAR KETCHUM, ESQ., _Treasurer, N. Y._
    H. W. HUBBARD, ESQ., _Assistant Treasurer, N. Y._
    REV. M. E. STRIEBY, _Recording Secretary_.


  EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

    ALONZO S. BALL,
    A. S. BARNES,
    EDWARD BEECHER,
    GEO. M. BOYNTON,
    WM. B. BROWN,
    CLINTON B. FISK,
    A. P. FOSTER,
    E. A. GRAVES,
    S. B. HALLIDAY,
    SAM’L HOLMES,
    S. S. JOCELYN,
    ANDREW LESTER,
    CHAS. L. MEAD,
    JOHN H. WASHBURN,
    G. B. WILLCOX.


COMMUNICATIONS

relating to the business of the Association may be addressed to
either of the Secretaries as above.


DONATIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

may be sent to H. W. Hubbard, 56 Reade Street, New York, or, when
more convenient, to either of the branch offices, 21 Congregational
House, Boston, Mass., 112 West Washington Street, Chicago, Ill.
Drafts or checks sent to Mr. Hubbard should be made payable to his
order as _Assistant Treasurer_.

A payment of thirty dollars at one time constitutes a Life Member.

Correspondents are specially requested to place at the head of each
letter the name of their Post Office, and the County and State in
which it is located.

                 *       *       *       *       *




                                THE

                       AMERICAN MISSIONARY.

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           VOL. XXXII.      NOVEMBER, 1878.      No. 11.

                 *       *       *       *       *




_American Missionary Association._

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THE ANNUAL MEETING.

We take this last opportunity to invite our friends to meet us
in Taunton, Mass., October 29–31. We shall hope to see a goodly
number of the old teachers and early friends of the work. Wednesday
evening will be mainly in their hands. Among the speakers will be
Revs. George R. Merrill, Martin L. Williston, C. M. Southgate,
Svlvanus Haywood, W. S. Alexander, and O. W. Demick, Esq.

The speakers for the closing meeting on Thursday evening will be
Rev. J. L. Withrow, D. D., Rev. C. D. Hartranft, D. D., and others.

Among those who will read papers on Wednesday will be Rev. M. E.
Strieby, D. D., Rev. George Leon Walker, D. D., Rev. Ebenezer
Cutler, D. D.

As we go to press, everything promises well for a meeting of
unusual interest and power. The people of Taunton are large
hearted, and will be glad to have their hospitality taxed to the
utmost.

       *       *       *       *       *

—The new Chinese Ambassadors are men from whose intelligence,
experience and wisdom we have much to hope. Chin Lan Pin, first
ambassador, is a man of deep learning, being a graduate of the Han
Lin College, of the highest class, and a man of extensive travel
and observation as well. In 1872, he visited this country as Chief
Commissioner in charge of the Chinese students sent to be educated
in the Connecticut colleges, and he subsequently visited England
and Spain on similar missions. In 1874, he was one of the three
Commissioners who were sent by the Chinese Government to Cuba, to
investigate the condition of the Chinese laborers there. After
locating the several consulates appointed for the United States, he
will visit Spain and procure the recognition of a Consul for Cuba,
and thence proceed to Peru for a similar purpose. He will then
return to Washington and take up his abode as resident Minister.

The Vice-Minister, Yung Wing, is even better known in this country.
He was graduated at Yale College with high scholastic and literary
honor, receiving the degree of LL.D. He subsequently devoted
himself to awakening his countrymen to the needs of reform in
education, and his efforts gained official recognition. He has been
Commissioner of Education and in charge of the Chinese Educational
Mission in Hartford, Conn., and of the 112 Chinese students
connected with it.

We have been glad to read a very clear report published in the
Inverness _Courier_ of an address made by Prof. Spence, of Fisk
University in that city, in Scotland. The many friends of the
University and of Prof. and Mrs. Spence will be interested to know
of the work they are doing in Great Britain, and that they are
so fully recognized in the Scottish press. We learn from private
advices, that they have been very warmly received and cordially
heard, and from the places in which they have presented their
cause, have reaped fair, if not large, results. What effect the
recent failure of the Bank of Glasgow may have upon their future
success we cannot tell, but we fear it may dry up many of the
streams from which they had hoped to draw.

       *       *       *       *       *


MR. STANLEY’S INTEREST IN CHRISTIAN MISSIONS.

It was a remark of Dr. Livingstone’s, that “the end of the
geographical feat is the beginning of the missionary endeavor.”
And, although all African explorers are not animated with the
missionary idea, yet it is easy to believe that an over-ruling
Providence uses their efforts for missionary ends.

Mr. Stanley asserts, that the object of his desperate journey was,
“To flash a torch of light across the western half of the Dark
Continent.” “If the natives allow us a peaceful passage, so much
the better; if not, our duty says, go on.” “We are always under
the eye of God.” “The one God has written that this year the river
[Lualaba] shall be known throughout its length. ‘Think,’ he says,
to Frank Pocock, ‘what a benefit our journey will be to Africa.’”

From these different quotations, taken from Mr. Stanley’s recent
book, we have a right to infer, that the interests of missions were
prominent in his mind throughout his journey. Indeed, his book
indicates that he was not only governed by a desire to complete
the explorations commenced by Dr. Livingstone, but also to further
the missionary endeavors of that godly man. This was evidenced
first on his arrival at Uganda on the shores of the Victoria
Nyanza, where he wrote the following: “A barbarous man is a pure
materialist, he is full of cravings for possessing something that
he cannot describe. My experience and study of the pagan, prove
to me, that if a missionary can show the poor materialist that
religion is allied with substantial benefits and improvement of
his degraded condition, the task will be rendered comparatively
easy. The African, once brought in contact with the European,
becomes docile and imbued with a vague hope that he may also rise
in time to the level of this superior being who has challenged his
admiration. He comes to him with a desire to be taught, and, seized
with an ambition to aspire to a higher life, becomes docile and
tractable.” “I find them,” he says, elsewhere, “capable of great
love and affection, and possessed of gratitude and other traits of
human nature. I know, too, that they can be made good, obedient,
industrious, enterprising, true and moral—that they are in short,
equal to any other race or color on the face of the globe in all
the attributes of manhood.”

King Mtesa, the despotic ruler over 2,000,000 of people, appeared
to Mr. Stanley the most desirable object for his first efforts.
“Mtesa has impressed me,” he says, “as being an intelligent and
distinguished prince, who, if aided by philanthropists, will do
more for Central Africa than fifty years of gospel teaching,
unaided by such authority, can do. I think I see in him the light
that shall lighten the darkness of this benighted region. In this
man I see the possible fruition of Livingstone’s hopes, for with
his aid the civilization of equatorial Africa becomes feasible.”
Mr. Stanley further informs us how he followed up his convictions:
“Since the 5th of April, I had enjoyed ten interviews with Mtesa,
and during all, I had taken occasion to introduce topics which
would lead up to the subject of Christianity. Nothing occurred in
my presence, but I contrived to turn it towards effecting that
which had become an object to me, viz., his conversion. There was
no attempt made to confuse him with the details of any particular
doctrine. I simply drew for him the image of the Son of God
humbling himself for the good of all mankind, white and black,
and told him how, while He was in man’s disguise, He was seized
and crucified by wicked people who scorned his divinity, and yet,
out of His great love for them, while yet suffering on the cross,
He asked His great Father to forgive them. I had also begun to
translate to him the Ten Commandments, and Idi, the Emperor’s
writer, transcribed in Kiganda the words of the Law, as given to
him in choice Swahili by Robert Feruzi, one of my boat’s crew, and
a pupil of the Universities’ Mission at Zanzibar.”

“The religious conversations which I had begun with Mtesa, were
maintained in the presence of M. Linant de Bellefonds, who,
fortunately for the cause I had in view, was a Protestant. For,
when questioned by Mtesa, about the facts which I had uttered,
and which had been faithfully transcribed, M. Linant, to Mtesa’s
astonishment, employed nearly the same words, and delivered the
same responses. The remarkable fact that two white men, who had
never met before, one having arrived from the south-east, the other
having emerged from the north, should nevertheless both know the
same things, and respond in the same words, charmed the popular
mind without the burzah as a wonder, and was treasured in Mtesa’s
memory as being miraculous. As the result of these conversations,
Mtesa, who can read Arabic, caused the Ten Commandments of Moses
to be written on a board for his daily perusal, as well as the
Lord’s Prayer and the command of the Saviour, ‘Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself.’”

The encouragement given to Mr. Stanley by his success with
Mtesa, caused him to send forth his famous appeal, resulting in
the establishment of a mission station at Uganda by the Church
Missionary Society of London. He seems, also, to have pursued his
work during his stay of several months with Mtesa. Meanwhile, an
opportunity was afforded him of testing the genuineness of Mtesa’s
conversion. The Wavuma were waging fearful warfare upon Mtesa,
during which, his scouts succeeded in capturing one of their
principal chiefs. Mtesa was in high glee, and caused to be gathered
a large quantity of fagots with which to burn his prisoner. “Now,
Stamlee,” he said, “you shall see how a chief of Uvuma dies. He
is about to be burnt. The Wavuma will tremble when they hear the
manner of his death.” “Ah! Mtesa,” I said, “have you forgotten the
words of the good Book, which I have read to you so often—If thy
brother offend thee, thou shalt forgive him many times,—Love thy
enemies,—Do good to them that hate you?” “Shall this man not die,
Stamlee? Shall I not have blood for him, Stamlee?”—“No, Mtesa, no
more blood; you must stop this pagan way of thinking. It is not
Mtesa the good. It is not Mtesa the Christian. It is the savage;
I know you now.” “Stamlee, Stamlee, wait a short time and you
shall see.” “An hour afterward, I was summoned by a page to his
presence, and Mtesa said: ‘Stamlee will not say Mtesa is bad now,
for he has forgiven the Mvuma Chief, and will not hurt him.’”

Mr. Stanley, however, though he had translated for Mtesa the Gospel
of St. Luke entire, prepared for him an abridged Bible, selected a
site for a church, and detailed the boy Dallington—a pupil of the
Universities’ Mission at Zanzibar—to remain at Uganda and serve as
a missionary, did not feel that he had provided sufficiently for
the spiritual wants of his convert. “A few months’ talk,” he says,
“about Christ and His blessed work on earth, though sufficiently
attractive to Mtesa, is not enough to eradicate the evils which
thirty-five years of brutal, sensuous indulgence have stamped on
the mind. This, only the unflagging zeal, the untiring devotion to
duty, and the paternal watchfulness of a sincerely pious pastor,
can effect. And it is because I am conscious of the insufficiency
of my work, and his strong evil propensities, that I have not
hesitated to describe the real character of my ‘convert.’ The grand
redeeming feature of Mtesa, though founded only on self-interest,
is his admiration for white men. By his remarks, he proved he had
a very retentive memory, and was tolerably well posted in his
articles of belief. At night I left him, with an earnest adjuration
to hold fast to the new faith, and to have recourse to prayer to
God, to give him strength to withstand all temptations that should
tend to violate the Commandments written in the Bible.”

Mr. Stanley’s long intercourse with the tribes of the interior
enabled him to discover many traits of character that indicate
the aptitude of the <DW64> to receive religious truth. On one
occasion, he had dwelt a long while in giving account of great
works of art and science, commerce, agriculture, and material
wealth; when he turned to the discussion of the grand themes of
Scripture and Divinity, the interest in the latter subject was so
intense that Mr. Stanley determined to devote himself, with renewed
energy, to the promulgation of the doctrines of the Christian
faith, discovering—what others had learned before—that the <DW64>
has a remarkable appreciation of the things of religion. He gives
an incident, which occurred at Mowa Falls, on the Livingstone
River, that displayed a quality of heart very suggestive to those
interested in the salvation of the pagan.

Uledi, the faithful coxswain who had dared every danger, and
proved dutiful and faithful for years and months, having robbed
the Expedition of a quantity of beads, a council of chiefs was
called, and the question was submitted as to what his punishment
should be. One of the most reliable and steady men replied, “Well,
master, it is a hard question. Uledi is like our elder brother,
and to give our voice for punishing him, would be like asking you
to punish ourselves; yet, master, for our sakes beat him only just
a little.” Mr. Stanley then inquired of Shumari, who was Uledi’s
brother, what punishment he should meet to the thief. “Ah, dear
master,” Shumari said, “it is true Uledi has stolen, and I have
scolded him often for it. I have never stolen. I am but a boy.
Uledi is my elder. But please, master, as the chiefs say he must be
flogged, give me half of it, and, knowing it is for Uledi’s sake,
I shall not feel it.” “Now, Saywa, you are his cousin. What do
you say?” Young Saywa advanced and said, “The master is wise. All
things that happen he writes in a book. Perhaps, if the master will
look in his book, he may see something in it about Uledi—how he
has saved many men, whose names I cannot remember, from the river;
how he worked harder on the canoes than any three men; how he has
been the first to listen to your voice always. Uledi is my cousin.
If, as the chiefs say, Uledi should be punished, Shumari says he
will take half of the punishment; then, give Saywa the other half,
and set Uledi free. Saywa has spoken.” It would seem that persons
with such instincts as these indicated above, would readily come to
appreciate and accept the sacrifice of Him by whose stripes we are
healed.

A thorough perusal of Mr. Stanley’s “Through the Dark Continent”
can hardly fail to arouse in the hearts of those yearning to heal
“that open sore of the world,” sympathy and fellowship with him.
He had his imperfections, and met with obstacles which brought
them sharply into view; but the good he accomplished will be the
longest remembered. His noble self-denial, after reaching the West
Coast, as seen in his fidelity to his pagan followers, indicates
characteristics worthy of profound admiration. Instead of leaving
their conduct round the Cape of Good Hope to Zanzibar to the charge
of others, and rushing on himself, to receive the plaudits of the
proudest courts of the civilized world, he quietly and patiently
cared for all their wants, for weary months, returning them to
their homes and friends, and rewarding them with the liberality
of a father’s affection, which will be lovingly remembered among
the tribes from whence his servants came, long after his rich and
costly gifts of material things have perished.

All this will be worth something yet to the cause of missions.
“When we were gliding,” he says, “through the broad portals [of the
Congo] into the ocean, turning to take a farewell glance at the
mighty river, I felt my heart suffused with the purest gratitude to
Him whose hand had protected us, and who had enabled us to pierce
the Dark Continent from east to west, and to trace its mightiest
river to its ocean bourn.” That gratitude, we believe, is shared by
a mighty host of the followers of Him who shall have dominion from
sea to sea—who are already echoing the last words of Mr. Stanley’s
book—_Laus Deo, Laus Deo_.

       *       *       *       *       *


THE INDIAN AGENTS WE NEED.

The vacancy in the Indian Agency, referred to in the last number of
the MISSIONARY, has been filled; but, as other vacancies are likely
to occur from time to time, applications, with proper credentials,
may be forwarded to this office.

As to the qualifications necessary, we can state nothing more
clearly than we find it given in an article, which we republish
below, from the Springfield _Republican_, written by a gentleman
who seems thoroughly familiar with Indian affairs. We will
only repeat that an Indian Agency is no sinecure, and should
be undertaken by no man who is not thoroughly competent and
self-sacrificing:

  A residence of two years at an agency in Dakota gave the writer
  unusual opportunities for observation of the requirements of this
  service. The popular impression seems to be that this office is
  a sinecure, affording retirement for decayed politicians and
  inefficient goodies, whereas the service is, when faithfully
  performed, an arduous one, requiring exceptional and diversified
  ability.

  The agent must have executive capacity, together with that rare
  selective faculty that recognizes at sight a competent man for a
  given place. The character of the agency force of employés, and
  the quality of their work, reflects the personality of the agent.
  The progress of the Indians in the schools, and in learning to
  work for their own support, is in proportion to the efficiency of
  the agent as an executive. A vigorous, capable man infuses his
  spirit into his subordinates, and, in a more limited degree, into
  the natives.

  The agent needs judicial knowledge. No laws are in force on
  Indian reservations, with a few exceptions, but the treaties with
  the Government. The administration of justice and the punishment
  of crime are left to the agent, with such coöperation as he
  can secure from the Indian chiefs. He settles family quarrels,
  neighborhood disputes, complaints against Indians by neighboring
  whites, questions of the boundary of lands and the ownership
  of property. He receives acknowledgments of deeds, executes
  contracts, administers estates and takes depositions. Crimes of
  all degrees, from petty theft to murder or arson, come under his
  jurisdiction, and he is often compelled to administer punishment
  almost as arbitrarily as the captain of a man-of-war. He is even
  called upon sometimes to prepare a code of laws for a tribe in an
  advanced state of civilization.

  Business ability and experience are indispensable qualifications.
  The agent has to purchase miscellaneous supplies amounting to
  from $5,000 to $50,000 annually, on contract or in open market.
  The opening of bids and awarding contracts on sample requires
  actual acquaintance with the market, and experience in judging of
  the quality of goods of every variety. He needs the experience
  and judgment of a first-class country merchant. If the agent is
  an incompetent buyer, contractors and merchants are quick to
  discover the fact and profit by it. A knowledge of accounts is
  essential. Accurate returns of every item of cash and property
  received and expended, are required by law, and are subjected to
  most rigid scrutiny. Absolute correctness, in both matter and
  form, is required, and ignorance of methods is not admitted as an
  excuse for errors.

  The diplomatic qualifications of the position are by no means
  inconsiderable. A copious official correspondence is required
  with the Indian office at Washington, and must be conducted
  with due formality and dignity. All matters of importance are
  submitted to the Indian Office for action, and it often requires
  skilful presentation of a subject to make a clerk at Washington
  take a view that seems self-evident to the agent on the frontier.
  Great tact and patience are requisite in dealing with the various
  outside influences that embarrass the agent, and often bring him
  to grief. Frontier settlers are continually having difficulties
  with the Indians that require attention. Liquor-sellers,
  claim-agents and swindlers lie in wait for the Indian, who
  must be protected. Scheming half-breeds and “squaw-men” create
  dissension among the natives. Then there are the contractor
  and sub-contractor; the man who failed to get the contract he
  wanted, and the man who is planning to get the next contract.
  There is the ex-agent, who corresponds with the employés and
  Indians, and criticises his successor, and the man who wants to
  be agent, and watches for a lever to oust the incumbent. (There
  are always twenty of them!) There is the dissatisfied employé,
  who corresponds with outsiders about agency affairs, and the
  meddlesome clerk at Washington, who gives him private assistance.
  The agents are few who meet all these difficulties without
  serious trouble.

  Especially, high moral character is a prime requisite, not only
  on account of the agent’s influence upon a people just rising
  from barbarism, but to enable a man to maintain his integrity
  under the extraordinary temptations that surround the place. Said
  an ex-agent of unimpeachable integrity: “I know of no service
  that tries a man’s principles so severely as the Indian service.”
  In spite of all precautions, opportunities for peculation, direct
  and indirect, are frequent, and present themselves in the most
  seducing forms possible.

  Having shown the requirements of the position, we may consider
  some of the obstacles in the way of securing agents who are
  thoroughly competent for the work. First comes hard work. No
  branch of our civil service draws more heavily on a man’s time
  and strength. The agent is involved in a constant round of
  wearisome details, varied only by frequent hard journeys by wagon
  or stage, or worse, by frontier railroads.

  The responsibilities of the place are onerous. The agent is held
  accountable, under a heavy bond, for all funds and property that
  come into his hands, as well as for all the acts and failures of
  his subordinates. He may be ordered away for months at a time, on
  public business, and in the meantime he must depend entirely upon
  the fidelity of the agency clerk, who is not a bonded officer, to
  discharge his duties and care for agency property. Release from
  bonded accountability can only be had after complying with all
  the forms of law and going through a long and tedious process
  of examination of accounts. Two years after closing his term of
  service, an agent was required to account for one iron wagon-bolt
  (purchased by a subordinate, three years before), in order to
  secure release from his bond, and five hundred dollars arrears of
  salary. The agent’s family must endure practical exile, separated
  from society, schools and churches.

  Every agent, honest or dishonest, suffers in reputation. If a
  man is thoroughly honest, dishonest contractors and jobbers
  invariably slander him, to get rid of him. This consideration
  keeps many competent men out of the service. The salary paid is
  entirely inadequate. It is that of a country postmaster, an army
  lieutenant, a school-teacher