or at most two institutions there would be a large number of students and the equipment could be made first-class. An effort has been made on several occasions to unite these various Methodist bodies, and most of them desire a union, but as yet it has failed of accomplishment. The responsibility for this failure lies much more with the home boards than with the missionaries. The latter generally desire more coöperation, and could bring it about were it not for the restrictions placed upon them. This is a problem to the solution of which the various missionary societies should set themselves in earnest. If the advance of the kingdom is partly hindered by a lack of this coöperation, then the mission boards are responsible before God. The above are but some of the problems which present themselves to-day in Japan. If I have succeeded in impressing the reader with their number, complexity, and difficulty of solution, my purpose is accomplished. {306} XVI THE OUTLOOK It is exceedingly difficult to form a reliable conjecture concerning the future state of Christianity in Japan. In this land the unexpected always happens. It has been called a land of surprises. Instability, vacillation, and change are its characteristics. What is in favor to-day may be out to-morrow; what is out of favor to-day may be in to-morrow. The signs of the times may clearly indicate a certain trend of events for the next year, but ere that year has come all may change and the happenings be quite different from what was expected. The fact is, Japan is undergoing a peaceable social and political revolution, and it is hard to tell what a day may bring forth. But there are certain factors which, if left to their natural development, will tend to bring about a certain condition, and by considering {307} those factors we can tell something about what that condition ought to be. We will attempt, then, to take a bird's-eye view of the influences in operation on this mission field, and will make a surmise as to their probable outcome in the future. There are three factors which must be considered in attempting to form an opinion as to the outlook: _the working forces; the opposition to their work; and the natural adaptability or inadaptability of the people_. We will endeavor to look right closely into these. Humanly speaking, the forces engaged in any work will determine, to some extent, the future condition of that work. The future of Christianity in Japan will depend in part upon the present working Christian forces. These forces are the native church, the body of missionaries, and the whole mass of mission machinery.