UC-NRLF

151

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY

PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

MALAYSIA

By

BISHOP WM. F. OLDHAM, D. D., LL.D.

CINCINNATI : JENNINGS AND GRAHAM NEW YORK: EATON AND MAINS

COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY JENNINGS & GRAHAM

(76

His STOUT-HEARTED COMPANION AND FELLOW-LA-

BORER IN THE FOUNDING OF THE " MALAYSIA

MISSION," — THIS LITTLE VOLUME is

BY THE AUTHOR

Malaysia Mission, Founded, - - February, 1885 Malaysia Mission, Organized, - 1889

Malaysia Mission Conference, Organized, - 1893 Malaysia Annual Conference, Organized, - 1902 Philippine Islands District, Divided from Ma- laysia Annual Conference, - 1905

CONTENTS

*

CHAPTER PAGB

I. MALAYSIA — NATURE'S WONDER- LAND, - 7

II. THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS, 14

III. PEOPLES OF MALAYSIA, - 26

IV. MALAYSIA METHODIST MISSIONS, 32

V. THE SPREAD OF METHODIST MIS- SIONS, 42

VI. EVANGELISTIC MISSIONS, - 52

VII. A ROMANTIC EXPERIENCE, 56

VIII. JAVA — A PROVIDENTIAL MISSION, - 64

IX. THE JEAN HAMILTON MEMORIAL

TRAINING SCHOOL, 69

X. WOMAN'S WORK IN ASIA, - - 75

XI. THE PUBLISHING HOUSE, - 83 .

XII. CONCLUSION, - 87

iviS17186

Malaysia — Nature's Wonderland

CHAPTER I. MALAYSIA — NATURE'S WONDERLAND.

MALAYSIA is the name commonly given to the lands inhabited by the Malay speak- ing peoples of Southeastern Asia. Some British geographers prefer the term "Ma- laya," but as other British writers mean by this term only the Malay possessions under the British flag, it becomes confus- ing to apply it to all the Malay speaking lands over which many flags float. In this little book, therefore, the term Malay will connote only the British possessions in Ma- laysia, and the latter term will be applied to all the Malay speaking lands.

Malaysia consists of a peninsula which is the index finger of Asia pointing south- 7

8 Malaysia.

ward, and of that large body of islands which are found on both sides of the equa- tor from ten degrees north, to about ten degrees south. Amongst these islands, which are very numerous, are those of such areas as Borneo and Sumatra. There are also hundreds of little specks which barely raise their heads above the sea. It would not be improper to include in Malaysia the Philippine Islands, but as these have now to the American public the distinctive in- terest of being our first and only Asiatic possessions, they will be treated in a sepa- rate volume.

The Islands of Malaysia have running through them a line of volcanic activity. Beginning with Sumatra and going east and north a distinct line of fire may be traced up to Japan. Along this line is found great volcanic activity. Extinct craters and volcanoes that still threaten disturbances are to be found in a well marked order, and along part of the course the path is marked by extinct craters and layers of scoriae and slag. On both sides of this line of fire are lands as fertile and as beautiful as any the earth holds.

Nature's Wonderland. 9

If in imagination a traveler ascend one of the higher peaks of Java and look around him, there would be laid out before his delighted vision such a panorama as would be hard to parallel. In the far west are the dim outlines of the Island of Su- matra, an island as large as France, with a population of about four million people. Java itself lies all about him, with a popu- lation of over fifty million. In the east and north there is the bulk of Borneo, a conti- nental island more than eight times the size of Pennsylvania, while farther east are the beautiful islands of the Celebes, the wild lands of New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, etc.

Coming back to the near view around the observer, there lies the island of Java. Below the site on which he stands, on the lower shoulders of the mountains, are the great trees of the Malaysian forests. A little lower, where the wide clearings begin, are the coffee gardens, which in their sea- son are covered with a sheet of white bloom as beautiful as it is fragrant. A little lower are the fruit orchards in which all manner of tropical fruits abound. With many of

10 Malaysia.

these the untraveled American is already familiar, for almost everything that grows is brought to the markets of our great cities. But two of the special fruits of the Malay world are unknown to Americans. They are the mangosteen and the durian. The former is the size of an ordinary apple, and grows on a low bushy tree, amidst whose dark green leaves the deep-purpled skin mangosteen is found profusely. The meat of the mangosteen is as white as snow, and consists of pips like those of an orange, compacted together. When taken out of the shell this meat is as palatable as the very best hothouse grapes.

The durian is a fruit of another order. It grows on a very large tree, is about the size of a man's head, and is covered with thorny spikes, — hence the name ("durian," or "the thorny thing"). The shell of the durian splits open into canoe-shaped sec- tions. The meat within gathers around a few large seeds, and according to so acute an observer as Alfred Russell Wallace, "it tastes like a rich, creamy custard, with wafts of brown sherry and onion sauce." There is one serious disadvantage, how-

Nature's Wonderland. 11

ever, about the durian, and that is, the odor belies its taste, for the odor suggests de- cayed limburger cheese. And yet the peo- ple say it is the best fruit that grows.

Amongst these fruit orchards is a wide variety of the bird life of the island. Here are to be found flocks of cockatoos (Malay "kakatua," meaning "old sister"), scarlet lories, green parrots, and an occasional beautiful bird of paradise, with tail feathers fourteen inches long ; and above all perfect showers of little paroquets in incessant motion, little balls of glistening green dart- ing from branch to branch, throwing a ceaseless shuttle of color amongst the trees.

A little lower down, where water may be brought into use for irrigation, in the val- leys are to be found the great rice fields which support the population of Java, and the sugar cane, producing the sugar which for so long a time was a commodity of great profit to the Dutch Government, but which in these later days of subsidized beet-root sugar industries in other lands only makes the government revenues still more difficult. The rice fields present to the eye at the proper season one of the

12 Malaysia.

most charming spectacles that even the gorgeous East affords. The fields are sep- arated from each other by low, grass-cov- ered dykes. One stands in the midst of an endless stretch of green, and when the plant is a few inches high and a soft air breathes over it there are undulations of varying green to delight the observer.

Altogether the scenery in this Archi- pelago is beautiful beyond description. One looks in the morning upon a gray sea with the purpling outlines of the islands around you, out against the slightly flushing sky; look again at mid-day and the shallow ocean is a living green, while the islands blaze like pure amethysts in an emerald sea, flecked with white where the wind dis- turbs the waters. Look again at evening, and in the crimson light of the dying sun the islands are ablaze, and the ocean is dyed with many colors ; the trees flame like pillars of fire pointing to the skies above, and everywhere there is outpoured around you such a gorgeous scheme of color as nature nowhere reproduces.

"The Isles of Greece, the Isles of Greece, Where burning Sappho loved and sang."

Nature's Wonderland. 13

are exceedingly beautiful with the quiet beauty of the ^Egean Sea, but so gorgeous an outpouring of coloring as the Malaysian Archipelago presents is as different from any scene one may see in America or Eu- rope as the East is far removed from the West. If the traveling public was once aware of all the endless delights and at- tractions of this Malaysian Archipelago, there would be a revolution in tourists' routes, and to the delight of the Rocky Mountains and the Yosemite, the Alps and the Riviera, the Ganges and Japan, would be added the unique pleasure of seeing the unmatched panoramas of physical beauty which nature places before the wondering gaze of the travelers amongst these mid- tropical islands, which are worthy the name by which they are designated — for here surely is "Nature's Wonderland."

CHAPTER II. THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS.

THE Malay world is under many gov- ernments, chief of which are the British and the Dutch. The British possessions of Malaysia consist of the Malay Penin- sula and the Straits Settlements, which comprise the islands of Singapore and Pe- nang; the Bindings; Province Wellesley, a part of the Malay Peninsula over against Penang ; and Malacca, a part of the Penin- sula about midway between Penang and Singapore. The British also exercise suze- rain power over the king of Sarawak in Borneo, and rule some of the neighboring territory stretching along the north of that great island.

The Malay Peninsula consists chiefly of the Federated Malay States, a govern- mental unit composed of several former Malay principalities which are now admin- istered by a British resident general living 14

The British Possessions. 15

at Kuala Lumpor, the federal capital, under whom British residents living in the capital of each of the former States administer the provinces through a body of officers, some appointed from England and some se- lected from the natives themselves.

It is a matter for grateful surprise and admiration to all travelers to note the splendid development of these States under the British administration. In 1902 the exports reached $71,000,000, and the in- come of the Federation approximated $25,- 000,000. The development of a railroad system, the building of new harbors, the opening up of the whole country to the mining of tin and the growth of rice, sugar, and more recently of Brazilian rubber, tend to create a tide of prosperity un- equaled in any similar area of all the East- ern world; and $65,000,000 worth of tin bullion are yearly shipped to Europe and America, and it is safe to predict that within ten years a considerable porportion of the best rubber of the world will come from this Peninsula. And while it is some- times said that all this development is not being brought about by the native Malays,

16 Malaysia.

but by the incoming Chinese and Tamils from India, it may easily be shown that the Malay himself, in the establishment of law and order, in his freedom from petty tribal wars, and in the increasing price of his lands, has been advantaged much beyond anything that would have come to him under his own native rule. Nor are his English co-workers lacking in sympathetic deference to his wishes, and in the utmost caution against offending his prejudices. Indeed the British administrator shows a certain partiality for the Malay which may well cause the friends of the other races ground for complaint. The Malay is very much better off for the presence of tins active, energetic white man, towards whom he shows such respect and affectic as makes the contact of the two people as pleasant a sight of the strong helping the weak, and the capable teaching the back- ward, as is to be found anywhere in Asia. The real work of the Peninsula is being done by Chinese and Tamils. The former fairly monopolize the tin mining. They are physically and constitutionally harder working than any of the other peoples.

The British Possessions. 17

Over half a million of them have poured into this country, and the splendid contri- bution they are making to its economic progress is a lesson that might be worth the consideration of other governments dealing with undeveloped territories in tropical lands. These Chinese are free men. They find their own way, or are assisted by their employers to reach the mines. And when they have repaid the advance of money made to them, they work as they please and at fixed rates. They quickly learn to refuse work by the day and to take it on some kind of a percentage basis, whereby the hard-working coolies earn any- where from forty cents to sixty cents, silver, per day. When a man adds thrift to his capacity for work, he often becomes a small shareholder in the mine, and amongst the great fortunes of the Peninsula are not a few accumulated by men who began as plain mining coolies from China. Two wretched evils beset this hard-working man. They are his fondness for gambling and opium smoking, and to both of these, unhappily, the government seems not to oppose itself. Opportunities for the free 2

18 Malaysia.

use of the drug abound everywhere, and gambling houses are in all the towns. Many a poor coolie works through a labor- ious month only to end it in a debauch of two or three days, in which all his hard- earned money vanishes. What adds much to his temptations are the absence of his wife and family. But strenuous efforts are being made to induce these men to send for their people, and an increasing number of them are beginning to establish their homes in the land where they earn their living. Gradually a more stable population grows up in the Peninsula, and it is not hard to foresee that several millions of comparatively comfortable and contented Chinese will be found here in the not dis- tant future, in a country administered by Englishmen, while nominally owned by the Malays.

The Tamils are a people of South India ; noisy, exceedingly talkative, faithful, de- vout, obedient to orders, and capable of patiently bearing much hardship. To them is given much of the agricultural labor of the land. They grow the sugar cane, the cocoanut, the areca-nut, the pepper, and the

The British Possessions. 19

rubber of the Peninsula. Less enterpris- ing than the Chinese, they are usually day- laborers. Accompanied by their wives and children they quickly settle down in any home provided for them, and in a brief space of time there is reproduced in Ma- laysia an exact miniature of an Indian vil- lage. On their first coming the ties of kindred and home are so strong upon them that they have a set purpose to return as soon as they have saved some money. But usually a few months in India persuades them that no such wages and opportunities for comfort are to be had in the congested mother land as in their emigrant home, and a considerable proportion of them filters back to make their permanent home in the new land. Meanwhile the Malay for the most part cultivates his own rice fields, fishes along the shore of the sea or in the rivers, and keeps himself carefully secluded from all contact with any of these incom- ing strangers. Whether in the end he will be forced into greater activity to save him- self from being wiped out entirely remains to be seen. The old semi-savage life is gone forever. For the new order the Malay

20 Malaysia.

has mingled feelings. He likes the white man and trusts him. He is not unaware of the great improvement in his own estate and of all the development that has come to his land. But he dislikes the intruding Asiatics through whose labors these devel- opments have been made possible. If by any means he can be induced or forced to undertake labor himself, it would greatly rejoice his English friends, and his own fate ultimately would be less in question.

The commingling of these various races, the rapid development of a narrow stretch of land exceedingly rich in its mineral and agricultural resources, the changing of a rough wilderness to a land of plenty, af- fords a striking tribute to the governmental energy and capacity of the British race.

The islands of Singapore and Penang are two great emporiums of trade. Pe- nang, with a population of about one hun- dred thousand, stands over against Prov- ince Wellesley, and here are gathered for export sugar, cocoanuts, areca-nuts, tapi- oca, etc., produced on the main land; and from here are distributed things necessary to the life and comfort of the Indian and

The British Possessions. 21

Chinese coolies scattered all through the estates and mines.

Singapore is one of the islands of South- eastern Asia. In the expressive language of the Malay it is the "navel of the world." Guarding the Straits of Sumatra, which separate the Peninsula from the Island of Sumatra, it lies on the highway of the oceans where all shipping passing from East to West, or from West to East, be- tween the China Sea and the Indian Ocean must call. It is a town of two hun- dred and fifty thousand, of whom more than one-half are Chinese, less than one- half of the remainder are Tamils, and the rest are Malays. But sprinkled amongst these are representatives of all the lands of the earth. Here are to be found Eng- lishmen, Germans, Austrians, Italians, Americans, Greeks, Spaniards, etc., and here are all the tribes of Asia, from the slopes of the Himalayas to Japan in North- eastern Asia. One may stand on a street corner of the crowded thoroughfares and count forty different nationalities passing at any hour of the day. And since these carry with them their national dress and

22 Malaysia.

racial peculiarities, the view is as kaleido- scopic as it is interesting. The streets are thronged with jinrickshas drawn by men, and kritas or carriages drawn by fast mov- ing Malayan ponies. While amid all the babel of sounds and flutter of color are heard the honk of the automobile and the clang- ing of the electric street car bells. No more picturesque streets are to be seen than these where East and West meet, and where side by side may be seen the crudest forms of primitive life and rude peoples mingling with the elaborate outputs of the highest civilization. In the midst of it all one dwells in perfect security, for the strong hand of a virile people makes Singapore as safe as Boston or Pittsburg.

Singapore is the sixth port of the world, having a larger tonnage than Liverpool or Seattle, and it is the great distributing cen- ter for all the Malay world. Here are found banks of all the nations — English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Aus- trian, Greek, and American, and to this free port, unvexed by tariff restrictions, come the riches of the. Archipelago for trans-shipment to the ends of the earth.

The British Possessions. 23

The British Possessions in Borneo are inconsiderable outside the kingdom of Sarawak. This kingdom covers a large stretch of territory along the north coast of Borneo. It is governed by Rajah Brooke, a romantic figure who inherits the kingdom from an uncle, an adventurous young man who, leaving the service of the Indian Government, carved out for him- self a wide kingdom amongst the savage peoples of this great island. The present Rajah Brooke is now over seventy years of age, but he is a very vigorous man who is illustrating what profound advance can be made amongst the wildest people by a reso- lute and intelligent administration..

THE: DUTCH INDIES. — Much the widest area of these East Indies is under the flag of Holland. The greater portion of the islands of Sumatra, Java, South Borneo, the Celebes, the Molucca Islands, and West New Guinea is owned by the Dutch Gov- ernment. Here is an area of about eight hundred thousand miles, with a population of about fifty million. These Dutch Islands have been a source of great wealth to Hol- land until recently, but now increasingly

24 Malaysia.

the revenues of the island show a steady deficit, and the financial situation promises increasing embarrassment to the Dutch Government. •' ^^f

Java is the most populous and important island of the group. Thirty millions of people are packed into less than 50,000 square miles, and yet, in spite of all criti- cism of the Dutch Administration, there is a higher level of comfort and quiet satis- faction in life amongst these thirty millions than is to be found anywhere perhaps amongst any thirty millions in the East.

The capital of Java is Batavia, a city of about two hundred thousand people, and one of great interest to the traveler. Forty miles away is Buitenzerg, famous for its botanical gardens and as the residence of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies. At the opposite end of the island is the great trading port, Sourabaya. A well appointed railway connects these two ports.

Java is famous for its coffee gardens. The small, round, tight-lipped coffee ber- ries of Java are eagerly sought for in all the markets of Europe. Coffee culture is

The British Possessions. 25

a government monopoly, and the whole coffee trade of the island is removed from private enterprise.

Sumatra is an island about the size of France, with a population of four millions of people. Most of the interior is unex- plored, and the northwest end of the island occupied by the Achinese, has for many years been devastated by a continuous war with the natives, in which Holland has never been able to suppress frequent up- risings. The density of the tropical forest, the profusion of animal life, the great num- ber of snakes and swarming reptiles, make Sumatra a land for the daring hunter, rather than for the peaceful tourist.

South Borneo is held by the Dutch, and contains vast resources almost untouched. The population is sparse, and no particular effort is being made to develop what ought soon to be and must ultimately be, the hab- itat of a great and prosperous people. The German possessions in the Caroline and Solomon Islands, and a few comparatively unimportant native kingdoms, form the re- mainder of this group.

CHAPTER III.

F MALAYSIA.

CHINA is a cup full to the brim. Four hundred and forty millions of people, with their present methods of agriculture, and the comparative absence of manufactories and mining, etc., can scarcely find room to live in the over-populous Empire. On the other side is India, with over three hun- dred millions of people, at an even lower range of economic development. Where shall the overflow of India and China be- take itself? India begins to send a rill of immigration to South Africa, and the time will come when a large Indian population will be found on African soil. But another rill has started from India southeastward. Every agitation and every stir of intelli- gence tends to remove from both the China- man and Indian his fear of traveling to foreign lands. Both India and China are spilling over into these great, fertile islands 26

Peoples of Malaysia. 27

of the Malay Archipelago. It is not diffi- cult to forecast half-way between India and China, in these beautiful Southern seas, under the protection of the British and Dutch flags, the growing up of an island empire which in due time will form a third division not unworthy of comparison with its neighbors on the northeast and north- west.

Of the earlier races of Malaysia, the most marked are the Malays and the Pa- puans. The aboriginal is probably the Papuan. He is an ocean negrito, but lack- ing in martial ardor, and refusing to lend himself to the influences of civilizing life, he has been driven from the sea coast and the low lands to the less productive and more difficult regions in the mountains.

The Malay is the present man of the soil. These are divided into the sea-going Malays, the agricultural Malays, and the mountain Malays. An opium-eating Eng- lishman sketched the Malay of his opium- racked dreams years ago, but in such charming English that the English reading world has ever since believed De Quincey's opium inspired sketch to be a real char-

28 Malaysia.

acterization. The belief has therefore ob- tained that the Malay is cruel and treacher- ous, and his rating has been low. But this is not the man that lives in Malaysia. The Malay people are physically short of stature but stout of limb, the men rarely reaching over four feet five inches in height. They are stoutly built and of marked muscular development; the face is broad, the mouth protrudes, the nose is small and slightly flattened, but little hair grows on the face, and yet there is a kindly and not inex- pressive cast to the features. Amongst the Javanese there are many beautiful women, and they have sometimes been called "the jewels of Asia;" petite, with slim waists, and heads well placed on their shoulders, they compare very favorably in appear- ance with any of the women of Asia out- side of the high caste women of Aryan India.

The whole population is greatly given to life in the water, and it is no uncommon thing to see an entire Kampong, or village, swimming in the river or in the ocean, alongside of which the village stands. Babies two years old may frequently be

Peoples of Malaysia. 29

seen floating unassisted on the surface of the water, and it may almost be declared an impossibility to drown a Malay without holding him under the water.

In disposition the Malay is a cheery, but irresolute man. Exceedingly polite, with a certain reserve and proud silence, he intrudes himself upon no one, but he will receive anything like a courteous ad- vance with hospitality. He will not suffer his dignity to be affronted, and is quick to resent insult. But he is equally quick to acknowledge kindness, and is by no means the worst man in the world. His worst characteristics are a certain inexpli- cable moodiness and an indisposition for laborious toil.

The Chinese, who begin to pour into this Archipelago, are mostly from South China, but the invasion is no longer confined to the people of Canton. Increasing numbers begin to find their way south from the Coast Provinces north of Canton. And as the reports of prosperity are conveyed, in- creasing numbers are found in every im- migrant ship finding its way to this land bf promise that lies at the door of the great

30 Malaysia.

Empire. He begins to bring with him his wife and children, or to send for them as soon as he finds means for their subsist- ence. He is a patient, earnest, hard-work- ing man, and is providing the greatest of assets for the building of an Empire — will- ing and intelligent human labor.

The Tamils come from South India and from Ceylon, the working coolies from the former, and the man of comparative edu- cation, seeking clerkships and petty offices, from the latter. These are not as virile as the Chinese, nor as ambitious to strike out for themselves in unaccustomed ways. But they are a cheerful, patient people, and in their own noisy way are a very great bless- ing to the undeveloped country in which they are set to work at larger wages than they could ever hope to earn in their own congested land.

There is very little intercourse amongst these various peoples, but under the strong hands of the governments under which they live they peacefully find their way to greater comfort and often to affluence, than would be possible for them in their own lands. And so under these fair, sunny

Peoples of Malaysia. 31

skies on both sides of the equator there is growing up a new, young land composed of these various peoples, each of whom is contributing his share to the developing of great resources, and to the creation of a vast, new division of populous Asia which promises to be rich and prosperous beyond anything that has yet been developed on the main continent.

CHAPTER IV. MALAYSIA METHODIST MISSIONS.

FROM the first occupation of these lands by the Portuguese, and later by the Dutch and English, Christian missionary oper- ations have been steadily maintained. To the town of Malacca on the Malay Penin- sula came Francis Xavier, that apostolic soul who carried Christianity from India to Japan. Here are still found the ruins of a Christian church called by Xavier's name, and in this church is a tablet to his memory. A considerable Roman Cath- olic congregation remains to this day, though it is without influence or much token of Christian life. In the Dutch East Indies the Dutch missionaries have had large success. At one time there were more Christians in these islands than in all British India. But alas! a rationalistic wave spread over Holland during the mid- dle of the last century, and the result has 32

Malaysia Methodist Missions. 33

been a decaying missionary zeal, and a very large curtailment of missionary re- sults. Minnehassan in the north half of the Celebes Islands was at one time known as the "garden of the Lord," but it can scarcely any longer be thus characterized. In later years some of the German missions have begun work with more than ordinary success. Particularly in the Island of Nias, off the south of Sumatra, and on the ad- jacent coast large outcomes have been se- cured.

The first attempt made by any American mission was that of the American Board, who sent two young missionaries, Lyman and Munson, to evangelize the wild Battaks of Sumatra. Both these young men were killed by the Battaks, and it is said their bodies were eaten in a great cannibal feast. When the sad story was related to the mother of one of them, in her little New England home, she is said to have turned to the next boy of the family and to have said, "O, my son, somebody should go to try and teach these poor misguided people." There were no further attempts made to continue this mission, but the Episcopalians 3

34 Malaysia.

and Presbyterians of England have pro- jected some missions, and the Plymouth Brethren have some representatives who are, for the most part, confined to British Malaya. The most widespread of these missions is that of the Society for Propa- gation of the Gospel, of the Anglican Church. These missions are under Bishop Hose, who is styled the "Bishop of Labuan, Sarawak, and Singapore." He lives in Kucheng, the capital of Sarawak, at the court of Rajah Brooke, and superintends successful missions in the various lands where his missionaries are at work.

In 1884 Bishop John F. Hurst, while on his way to India to administer the Confer- ences there, was met by a Scotch merchant of Singapore, who asked why, with a net- work of missions in India, and correspond- ing work in China, the Americans had utterly neglected the great and promising field that lay outstretched between the two. Bishop Hurst was greatly impressed by the conversation, and on reaching Bombay he eagerly inquired of Dr. Thoburn, the fore- most Methodist missionary of India, whether it would be possible to project a

Malaysia Methodist Missions. 35

mission to the Malay Islands. Dr. Tho- burn had wished to do this for many years. India Methodism had already leaped across the north end of the Bay of Bengal and was planted in Burma, and now Singapore stood invitingly at the southern extremity of the same bay. It was decided between them that such a mission should be opened, but as it was without the authorization of the General Missionary Committee, there were no funds available for the enterprise. This, however, seemed a minor matter to men in a land where William Taylor had already carried the cry of self-supporting missions, and where station after station had been opened without any regular mis- sionary grants.

Once it was decided that there should be a mission in Singapore, earnest quest was made for the man to organize it. The en- tire list of the South India Conference was scanned, but there was no man that could be spared. Until finally Dr. Thoburn sug- gested there was a man at sea, on his way from New York, that he expected to take up work in India, whence he had gone to America to prepare for a missionary career.

36 Malaysia.

It was thought he might be spared, and accordingly the Conference appointment read, "Singapore, William F. Oldham."

On the arrival of the Oldhams they were told of the appointment, and without any hesitation prepared to continue their jour- ney through Calcutta, along the coast to Burma, and thence to Singapore. Dr. Tho- burn was somewhat anxious about the open- ing of the mission without any resources excepting those to be found on the field. He therefore accompanied the young mis- sionary, and with him went Mrs. Thoburn and Miss Julia Batty, a young missionary lady who was something of a musician. On reaching Singapore the whole party was hospitably entertained by Mr. Phillips, the warm-hearted and godly superintend- ent of the Sailors' Home. Through the in- fluence of Mr. John Polglase, the use of the Town Hall was secured for evangel- istic services, and on a Sunday morning in February, 1885, the first service was held with an audience of about one hundred and fifty persons of varying nationalities, who were all held together by the common tie of the English language. Dr.' Thoburn an-

Malaysia Methodist Missions. 37

nounced his text, the text of the first ser- mon preached in the Malaysia Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord," and as the earnest speaker made the statement that it would not be by the power of human eloquence, nor by the might of any mere human agency, but by the movement of God's Spirit upon men's hearts, that many of those present would be convicted of their sins and many converted to God, the deep silence and fixed attention of the hearers indicated that the speaker's words were not going amiss. Evening after evening the services continued, the preaching was pungent and practical. After a few even- ings the speaker called for seekers of re- ligion, and immediately the strange sight was seen of a Methodist "mourners' bench" filled with men and women seeking the Lord for the pardon of their sins, the cleansing of their lives, and for power to do God's will.

Out of this company of reclaimed and converted men and women a Church was organized, and W. F. Oldham was ap-

38 Malaysia.

pointed pastor. It was but a little com- pany, but their hearts were full of warmth and zeal, and they looked the future cour- ageously in the face and went on to pro- claim the message that was theirs to give to the people. After ten days Dr. Tho- burn and his party returned, but Missionary Oldham and his wife remained, and through the English speaking people the Church which had been gathered from amongst them began to do what it could to carry the gospel to the non-Christian population of that island. Happily the pastor did not consider himself merely a pastor to a small congregation, but rather as a herald to the people. He made it his business, therefore, in every possible way to acquaint himself with his surroundings ; he studied the Malay language and the ways of the Chinese and Tamils, and how to approach them.

In Singapore many of the Chinese are exceedingly prosperous, and are amongst the chief merchants of that great city. Mr. Oldham became the tutor of one of these gentlemen, and with Mrs. Oldham opened a morning school for the teaching

Malaysia Methodist Missions. 39

of English to the sons of other Chinese merchants. They also opened a school for the children of English residents, and soon a great many young people were brought under their influence. When the Chinese gentlemen of Singapore saw these mis- sionaries earnestly pouring out their lives for those who were around them, some of them came forward and proposed to build a schoolhouse at a cost of $6,000. In the new premises the school immediately began to enlarge, and at the end of the mission- ary's third year a self-supporting school numbering between two hundred and three hundred lads — Chinese, Tamils, Malays, English, etc. — was in full operation, while alongside of the school there stood an Eng- lish church, and at a distance of half a mile was a small building in which preach- ing in Tamil and in Malay was carried on several times a week, and the foundations were laid of what has now become the Malaysia Annual Conference, from which the Philippine Islands Mission Conference is a branch.

The whole record of those earlier days only demonstrates that with an earnest and

40 Malaysia.

active agency missions may be planted al- most anywhere without large subsidies from home; while the further history of the Mission, on the other hand, proves that if these beginnings are to be carried on to successful enlargement and to anything like a wide ministry to the needs of actual non- Christians, the Church 'at home must come generously to the relief of hard-working missionaries abroad.

This is not the place to discuss the ques- tion of "self-supporting missions," though it would not be difficult to demonstrate that missions in any community where a number of nominal European or American Protestants are to be found, may very safely be left to the resources developed on the ground ; but that missions amongst non- Christian races can not go very far with- out being obliged to look for financial help from the home land. And indeed if it were not so, how could the great body of our home membership "preach the gospel to every creature?" That high privilege would then become the monopoly of a handful of men and women who actually go forth as the messengers of God, while

Malaysia Methodist Missions. 41

the great mass of the Christian Church would have no outlet for its love to all peoples of other lands, nor any opportunity to serve them in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It ought never be forgotten that foreign missions is not merely an obligation, but a high privilege. Those who are minis- tered to are served, but those who minister are also afforded opportunity for which all true Christly hearts are thankful.

CHAPTER V. THE SPREAD OF METHODIST MISSIONS.

THE first missionaries of the Board to join the Oldhams were Mr. and Mrs. Bond, but ill-health soon removed them from the field. Then came the Munsons from Ohio, and Dr. and Mrs. B. F. West, from In- diana. Both of these began their career by teaching in the Anglo-Chinese school, and spent many useful years serving the chil- dren in the school and the families to which they belonged. It may be well to here re- late the place taken by the school work of the Mission in these lands.

The resident Chinese, some of whom are in the third and fourth generation, in the Straits Settlements and on the Malay Pen- insula, are called "babas." Living under the British flag they have become faithful and loyal British- subjects. Many of them have grown wealthy as traders, for the 42

Spread of Methodist Missions. 43

Chinaman has a commercial bent and ca- pacity which in the long run will put him amongst the chief traders of the world. The Babas have largely ceased to speak Chinese, but have taken on the Malay tongue, which however, on their lips has suffered much in its purity, and has gradu- ally come to be a distinct dialect known as the "Baba Malay," which consists of many Malay words with some Chinese and Eng- lish mixed in. The refinements of Malay colloquialisms are utterly neglected, and yet a simple but effective instrument of speech has been created. The Babas are a pro- gressive body of men, who while they retain many of these Chinese traditions, have been largely emancipated from the superstitions and ceremonies which hamper life in China. Their very dress indicates the evolution through which they are passing, for while they retain the loose Chinese silk trousers, they wear a short, Malay under-coat, with a short silk over-coat; and while retaining for the most part the queue, they cover their heads with English felt hats. They are amongst the keen and successful trad- ers, miners and planters of all this region,

44 Malaysia.

and the whole country is benefited much by their enterprise and shrewd initiative. Such men, of course, eagerly desire edu- cation for their children, while in all mat- ters religious they are hospitable beyond most Asiatics.

When Mr. Oldham projected an Anglo- Chinese school he was providing for a want which was felt, and in the supplying of which he was most nobly helped. The Gov- ernment provides some schools, the Roman Catholic Church some others, but there is considerable opportunity for still another school system in which clear ideas of duty and morals, and right relations to God and men, shall be consistently taught. Such schools have since sprung up in most of the leading stations of the Mission. The Anglo-Chinese school at Singapore, under the admirable leadership of such principals as those who followed Mr. Oldham, — Kelso, Banks, Lyons, Buchanan, and Pease, — has gone from strength to strength until now it numbers one thousand students, with a boarding department of nearly 100. And the entire institution pays its own bills without any help whatever from the Mis-

Spread of Methodist Missions. 45

sionary Society. When, some years ago, a New York Episcopalian rector visited Sin- gapore, he found this school and noted his pleasure and appreciation in an article in the Outlook, in which he very felicitously described "that school in the corner of Asia." Similar schools have since been planted by Dr. B. F. West in Penang, where now under the able leadership of J. F. Pykett, excellent work is being done in the "Wood Institute," erected by the generous gift of Capt. John Wood of Pittsburg. This school has more than seven hun- dred lads, mostly Chinese. At Ipoh, Dr. Luering, with the splendid help of Mr. Foo Choo Choon, a wealthy Chinese gentleman, has created perhaps the most beautiful se- ries of school buildings in the Mission, which are now conducted by Rudledge and Beaumont; the latter, himself a product of the Mission, enrolls over four hundred pu- pils. At Kuala Lumpor, the federal capi- tal of the Malay States, Missionary W. E. Horley, the presiding elder, has succeeded in building a school at a cost of $15,000 (Straits money) and filling it with nearly five hundred students without any expense

46 Malaysia.

to the society. All these schools pay their own bills, including the salaries of ten mis- sionary teachers. There is sometimes a dis- position to question the utility of so wide an educational agency in so small a Mis- sion. But it should be remembered that these teaching missionaries would not be in the field at all if it were not for the schools. And that every one of them is en- gaged in some work or other directly mis- sionary outside of the school-room. One of them is a presiding elder, four of them are preaching in the vernacular, and the re- mainder of them have the opportunity to learn the native languages, and always, of course, the rare chance to impress upon the minds of over three thousands youths the things that stand first in life.

When investigating in Java where to plant the new Mission which has recently been begun there, Mr. Denyes, the mission- ary, accompanied by Presiding Elder West, found groups of Anglo-Chinese school boys scattered through all the chief cities of Java, and in every case these boys received them with a warmth of welcome and a readiness to give information and help

Spread of Methodist Missions. 47

which made the Java tour a great deal more pleasant and successful than it would other- wise have been. Constantly the missionary learns of his boys, who years after they have left the school, have so profited by the teachings they have received, that they have turned to God and carried the mes- sage to people in far off parts, otherwise unreached by any missionary, while more directly from the school itself we have re- ceived some of the choicest Christians to be found in all the land. The schools have by no means impeded the Mission. They have been a distinct addition to the evan- gelizing agencies in the field, and since they pay their own bills the attitude to be as- sumed towards them should be one of cor- dial sympathy and good-will.

The school at Singapore greatly needs strengthening in the senior departments. If two professorships could be endowed Mr. Pease would be relieved from the constant anxiety to make the school pay its own way, and the beginnings of a college would be made possible. With the constant stream of young men passing through this school, many of them of the better fam-

48 Malaysia.

ilies and therefore soon to be in the direc- tion of the life around them, it may not immodestly be said that the Anglo-Chinese school at Singapore, strengthened by a small endowment, for which it waits, will as profoundly affect the life of Southeast- ern Asia as the Roberts College at Con- stantinople, or the great Presbyterian school at Beirut affects Southeastern Eu- rope and Norwestern Asia. An investment of $50,000 by some man who sees the value of education and the profound importance of putting clear, ethical thinking and spir- itual ideas »into the minds of the coming leaders of these young lands, will produce incalculable results for all time.

These schools have produced a desire in many other centers to have similar work begun, and indeed it will be seen farther on that our entry into the Island of Sumatra is the direct result of our school system. Take it all in all it is doubtful whether any Mission anywhere in all Asia has so great an educational prestige, and so effective and yet inexpensive a chain of schools as those of Malaysia, in which four thousand children are taught in a number of schools,

Spread of Methodist Missions. 49

whose combined property aggregates at a value of over $60,000 (gold).

Alongside of these boys' schools there has grown up a network of small girls' schools. There is not, as yet, any great demand for female education, but that there should be as much as there is, must be marked to the credit of the aspiring Chinese and Tamils of Malaysia. The girls' schools are necessarily not self-supporting. When the desire for the education of women grows as keen as it is for men, there will be time enough to expect the schools to pay their own way. Meanwhile it has only been by most earnest and in- telligent effort that a chain of schools has been created, in which about one thousand girls are being educated each year. Per- haps the most interesting of these is one recently founded in Malacca by Mrs. Shel- labear and Miss Pugh. What gives it pe- culiar interest is this. The children are taught to read the Romanized Baba Malay, and not the English or the Arabic writing. The consequence is that as soon as they learn a few Roman letters they are able to read a language which they speak in their 4

50 Malaysia.

own homes. The words they vocalize are, therefore, full of meaning to their ears, and they carry these reading lessons home with them to the great delight of mothers and grandmothers, who can hear the children read in their own language things they themselves have never heard before. The experiment works so well that the Mission contemplates abandoning the regular gov- ernmental code and striking out for itself a course of vernacular studies to be fol- lowed much later, if at all, by the study of English. This will mean the loss of gov- ernment help, but it promises to bring to the women what we greatly desire, the early and intelligent reading of religious literature in the language they speak in their own homes. And since it is a far cry to any time when women will be in competition for any public position in which the knowledge of English will be demanded, it seems better to give them ac- cess to the literature that is to their hand and easy to comprehend rather than to put all of them to the very difficult task of mastering the complex English lan- guage.

Spread of Methodist Missions. 51

Among those who have been most help- ful and to whom gratitude to the Mission must always be felt are the earliest friends of our schools, — Mr. Tan Keong Saik and Mr. Tan Jaik Kim, with a multitude of others whose names are preserved in the records of the schools and in the archives of the Mission.

CHAPTER VI. EVANGELISTIC MISSIONS.

WHILE) much energy has been put into the school work, the appropriations of the Missionary Society have been spent exclu- sively in evangelistic work.

. The difficulties in the way of all evan- gelistic enterprises are very marked. The land literally bristles with them. They are chiefly :

First. The difficulty of languages. The little handful of missionaries is already preaching in these islands in no less than fourteen different dialects. There are eight dialects of Chinese, and the people of any one rarely understand any other, for the Chinaman unlike the Indian, seems to have difficulty in getting other tongues than his own. Then there is the Malay, the Baba Malay (a distinct variant), the Tamil, the Javanese, the Sibu, and the Dyak.

Second. There is the migratory char- 52

Evangelistic Missions. 53

acter of the population. The Chinese come and go. The Tamils come and go. And sometimes after a year's earnest and suc- cessful work a native pastor will come to Conference and report but small addition to the membership. Said an earnest, young preacher at the last session of the Malaysia Conference : "I have worked earnestly ; I have prayed much; I have preached every day on the streets, and several times on Sunday in the homes ; I have prayed with men and wept over sinners ; and God in great mercy has given me during the year fifteen souls, of whom ten were baptized, and five went away before they were bap- tized taking letters with them to the mis- sionary in China. But, alas ! no one of the fifteen is left on my station. May God keep them wherever they are. I must go to work again this year to find more con- verts." This experience is not a singular one. At least thirty per cent of the- congre- gations move every year. It therefore means much that the Conference last year reported an advance of three hundred members, (a gain of eighteen per cent), as large an in- crease, per cent, as is to be found in any

54 Malaysia.

except two of the Asiatic Mission fields, while the total membership is only eight hundred behind West China, five hundred behind Liberia, and twice as many again as South Japan. In the native Churches the amount of self-help is far beyond the usual. Several circuits are self-sup- porting, both amongst the Chinese and the Tamils. And such strong organiza- tions as the Tamil Church in Kuala Lum- por, under Pastor Abraham, and the Chi- nese Churches in Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpore and Singapore, are almost if not altogether self-supporting.

Another difficulty in the absence of fam- ily life among the immigrants. The Ma- lays, a Mohammedan people, are exceed- ingly shy and difficult to approach. It is hoped that a missionary may soon be set apart distinctively for the Malays.

To the writer the wonder is that such results have been secured. And knowing widely as he does the Missions of most of the Church, he has no hesitation in record- ing the statement that a more earnest, in- telligent, faithful body of men than com- prise the Malaysia Conference is not to be

Evangelistic Missions. 55

found in any land. In the midst of all the feverish activities of a new land, where wages are higher and dissipation more en- ticing, where family life is scarce and mi- gratory habits are upon the men, they have forced attention by their zeal, have com- pelled a hearing by their earnestness, and have laid a detaining hand upon hundreds who would not have been affected except by the most intense and earnest effort. These men and women are engaged in most difficult work in a trying climate, where the children grow pale and anaemic, the women have difficulty in keeping their health, and the men become frail and worn to the bone. With all these disadvan- tages, they are giving a splendid account of themselves, and it is only their due that their more comfortably placed brethren, both at home and in other Missions, should afford them a tender sympathy, a large re- gard, and profound esteem. It is a gal- lant band that serves the Church at the Equator, and the Church at home should on all suitable occasions show its apprecia- tion and good will to these self-sacrificing sons and daughters.

CHAPTER VII. A ROMANTIC EXPERIMENT.

AMONGST the methods being used for the evangelization of this field is that of the importation of Chinese colonists in groups under the tutelage of the missionaries. No more romantic experiment has ever been tried than that by which, under the leader- ship of Missionary Luering, the govern- ment of Perak (one of the Federated Malay States) has imported a band of over six hundred Chinese colonists, gathered mainly from the Foochow Province in China. Dr. Luering went to China under contract with the Perak Government and put before the poor Chinese agriculturists of the Fukhien Province the offer of free land without tax for five years, with a loan to provide pas- sage for whole families. Under his direc- tion between six hundred and eight hun- dred persons, in family groups, were 56

A Romantic Experiment. 57

thus imported to Perak and, settled at Sitiawan, where the colony, after its in- itial difficulties, is succeeding beyond the largest hopes of those concerned. The colonists are engaged in growing rice and rubber, raising pigs, etc., and the State is receiving from them the beginnings of that most needed of all commodities, — settled families of thrifty habits and frugal ways. It may safely be expected that within ten years a steady stream of immigration of whole families of agriculturalists will find its way to the rich lands of the Malay Peninsula. The missionaries stand ready to help these strangers and to firmly plant the Christian Church amongst them as they come. It will easily be seen that Method- ism has here a great prospective work, towards which the governmental authorities are gracious, and by which large social benefit, as well as religious help, is ren- dered to these future makers of a new, rich land.

Still more interesting is a similar experi- ment in Borneo, under the regime of Rajah Brooke, of Sarawak. Bishop Warne one day heard of a ship-load of Chinese immi-

58 Malaysia.

grants on their way to Borneo from South China. These were nominally Methodists under the leadership of a Methodist local preacher. They were going to find a new land of promise. The bishop did not hesi- tate a moment. He purchased a ticket, went on board the steamer, and accompan- ied these strangers to their new home. He was received with tumulous welcome, and his presence greatly heartened the wander- ers on their fateful journey. This colony was planted on the banks of the noble Re jang River, about sixty miles from the mouth, on the Island of Sibu, and the neigh- boring banks. The river here is still a mile wide, with low banks, but the Island of Sibu lifts itself well out of the water and is the chief trading point on the river. The soil among the banks is heavy black loam, wonderfully rich in farming possibilities. On both sides dense forests stretch away from the river to the hills, and in these forests are found bands of wandering Dyaks, who have an evil repute as head- hunters. The strong hand of Rajah Brooke, however, keeps this broad valley in comparative peace, and so far no casu-

A Romantic Experiment. 59

alty has happened to any of our Chinese immigrants.

The early difficulties of this colony, far removed as it is from all help, were even greater than those in Malaya. But ever since there was sent them a resident mis- sionary and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Hoover, the colony has thriven, and gives promise of being a most flourishing center of Chinese immigration to the capacious lands of Borneo. Already pepper gardens, great rice fields, rubber ranches, and cocoa- nut groves begin to appear, and the future of the colony seems as bright as human hope might wish for. It is confidently pre- dicted that in this Rejang basin there will ultimately be several millions of prosperous Chinese families with all the development that comes from the labor of this thrifty and hardy race. It is the joy of the Mis- sion that from the beginning the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached and the principles of this Gospel very largely enter into the nascent life of this Bornean State.

Along side of the Chinese in Borneo are the Malays and the wilder tribes of the land, the Sibus and the Dyaks. These wild

60 Malaysia.

children of nature are already beginning to be attracted by the resident missionary. The Dyak is not as shy and difficult of approach as he has been. They live in large family groups under chiefs ; each group builds a long, narrow house raised high above the land on posts; against the house leans a dead tree notched to permit the bare-footed inhabitants to easily run up and down. The house is sub-divided into smaller rooms with an enclosed veranda running in front of all of them. On this veranda, opposite each doorway, is the fire-place, where each family's meals are cooked. Above the fire- place hangs a cradle of knotted rope, and in this net are held the heads of men taken off the shoulders of his enemies by the man who inhabits the room with his family. These heads are continually being smoked over the fire, and present a very gruesome sight to any one who, for the first time, ex- amines them. These bundles of heads grow sometimes up towards one hundred, and amongst them may be found those of little children and women. Indeed, the Dyak theory is that a child's head betokens a high order of courage on the part of the

A Romantic Experiment. 61

one who takes it, because to secure it he must have exposed himself to the attack of the family. What makes the miserable custom continue is, that the Dyak woman declines to marry a man unless he proves his prowess by the hanging of heads before the chamber to which he proposes to take his bride.

These Dyaks are exceedingly stout, well-built men of small stature, with their bodies profusely tatooed and wholly uncov- ered except for a breech-clout. They wear their hair hanging over the forehead, cut short to keep it out of the eyes, but plen- tifully greased and smoothed down to a fine surface. With all the absence of clothes, the Dyak is a great dandy, and spends much time in looking at himself in the little looking-glass which the Chinese traders have carried up into the Dyak country.

The women are clothed in bark cloth, a single stretch of which, reaching from the waist to the knee, barely meets across the front of the person. Above the waist she wears nothing but a few circles of copper wire wound around the person. She is by

62 Malaysia.

no means an attractive body to look at, though the little girls are not lacking in a certain lithe lissomeness.

Mrs. Hoover reports that these Dyaks are singularly susceptible to music, and that she often has crowds of them listening to her play a little American organ, and that the faces manifestly show a response to the character of the music played. She declares that she can get them almost into a dance by playing r^g-time music, and that on the other hand, a grave seriousness shows itself when the time of the music is changed.

The missionaries are earnestly studying the Dyak tongue, and a feeling of friend- liness begins to grow between them and their wild neighbors. They expect to see some of these children of the woods brought under regular Christian teaching and to add to the membership of the Church new trophies to the power of that Divine Lord, who is able to subdue to him- self the loftiest imaginations that lift them- selves against Him, and yet to bring to His feet these poorest and wildest of the chil- dren of men.

The work in Borneo should be strength-

A Romantic Experiment. 63

ened. Another missionary couple should be stationed at Kuching, the capital at Sara- wak, and at least two ladies should be sent to the help of the Hoovers, where the lone- liness of Mrs. Hoover (four days' steamer journey from the next white woman) ought not much longer to be continued. It is true that everywhere the appeal is for in- creased agencies to overtake the needs that abound, but so romantic a Mission as this in Borneo, and one which has so firm a hold on the future, should receive more than ordinary attention from those who direct the missionary activities of the Church. Some philanthropist who desires to bless unborn generations could scarcely do better than to erect and endow a small industrial school in the Rejang Valley, which would be the training-place for the industrial leaders of a people who are being born into a thriving community. Thirty thousand dollars invested in Borneo would provide a fountain of perennial helpfulness whose influence is beyond computation. Things here are in our hands as servants of God. Let it be proven that we can be trusted to render the most efficient service.

CHAPTER VIII. JAVA. — A PROVIDENTIAL MISSION.

IN 1904 the Mission opened a new sta- tion in Java. The story is another of those missionary romances in which the Malaysia Conference has been so prolific. J. R. Denyes returned to America on his first furlough from Singapore. He went with a deep impression upon his mind, born of a close study of the situation, that the Mis- sion should extend to Java, that populous Island, with a stable population, which is the chief pearl of the Dutch possessions. Missionary Oldham sixteen years before had visited Java with the earnest desire to send workers there, but he found things un- propitious. The missionary bodies already on the ground were not inclined to be hos- pitable, and the government wras loath to grant any permits without the consent of the existing missionary bodies. Mr. Denyes was not unaware of the former effort, but 64

Java. — A Providential Mission. 65

it was borne in upon his mind that God would have us go forward. Bishop Warne assured him that if he found anybody to undertake to finance the movement, he would appoint Denyes to Java. Cease- lessly the missionary pondered the matter and prayed with deepening intensity. In America he was thrown into the company of the young people of Pittsburg, Pa., while engaged with them in the missionary ex- hibits at various conventions. To meet Denyes was to hear about Java. The Java idea took hold of the young Pittsburgers. Presently Dr. J. F. Goucher, of Baltimore, was drawn into the Java circle, and it be- gan to be apparent to many that this was not the dream of an enthusiast, but a mes- sage from God.

To sum up briefly, the Epworth Leagues of the Pittsburg Conference became filled with the idea of planting a Mission of their own, for which they would raise moneys over and beyond the normal increase of the Conference collections. They prevailed upon Secretary Leonard to consent that this arrangement should be proposed to the General Missionary Committee. It was 5

66 Malaysia.

done. So high ran the tide of the young people's enthusiasm that they collected $4,000, and said to the Committee, through their representatives, that they would sup- ply this amount yearly if the Committee would authorize the planting of the Java Mission. The Committee consented. The Mission was begun.

With their children, Mr. and Mrs. Den- yes arrived in Singapore, and at the Annual Conference session in February, 1905, the appointment read, "to open a Mission in Java, J. R. Denyes." It was thought best that the presiding elder, Rev. B. F. West, an accomplished missionary of rare insight, should accompany Mr. Denyes, to travel through Java and locate the Mission. They entered at Sourabaya, where they were welcomed by a group of Singapore Anglo- Chinese school students. These young men besought the missionaries to settle at Sourabaya, but it was thought best to investigate the island. And so they trav- eled from point to point, and at each point their knowledge of the surroundings was promoted by the presence of former Singa-

Java. — A Providential Mission. 67

pore students, who joyfully welcomed the party wherever they went.

It was finally decided that the Mission should be planted at Batavia itself. Here there was a small English congregation which owned its own church. To these Mr. Denyes was invited to minister. Per- mission was obtained to work in and about the city. And to the Conference session of 1906 Mr. Denyes came with the extraor- dinary report that during the first year he had organized three small congregations, had seen many people converted, and had received over thirty into the fellowship of the Methodist Church. Since that time, from his home in Buitenzorg, Mr. Denyes has continued his wide range of missionary effort, and reports the most encouraging openings in all directions. Almost neces- sarily he longs for re-enforcements. And it is clear that the large fruitage of the Mission in the immediate enrollment of numbers of converts must be looked for in Java. The opportunity exceeds anything that opens to us in the immediate future in Malaysia.

68 Malaysia.

It would not be right to close this para- graph without acknowledging a debt of gratitude to the Northwestern University students who are helping Mr. Denyes to establish a school in connection with the Java Mission. If these young people would now send one of their number to help the Denyes' for an extended period of years, they would help to consolidate a young Mission in a new land which promises wider success at an earlier period than in any non-Christian land in all the world.

One can not contemplate the brief his- tory of this Mission without recognizing how strangely the providence of God some- times leads us into movements which mere human prudence would scarcely commend. And here, as in many other cases, "the foolishness of God is wiser than man; and the weakness of God is stronger than man."

CHAPTER IX.

JSAN HAMILTON: MEMORIAL TRAIN- ING SCHOOL.

THE: central want of every Mission is a training place for native preachers. No greater mistake can be made by any mis- sion that intends to root itself into the soil, than to neglect to provide for the training of the native workers. Whether this be done by each missionary attaching to himself a small band of beginners who accompany him in his work, and whom he trains in the field, much after the fashion of the first disciples, or, as is more usually the case, by primary training given in schools set apart for that purpose, what- ever the method, the training is essential. In these schools it is intended to train the men in a thorough knowledge of the Scrip- tures, the hymnody and Discipline of the Church, and in at least the main points of the religious systems they will meet, the 69

70 Malaysia.

popular objections to Christianity, the meth- ods of approach to the minds and hearts of the people, and such other various knowledge as will help to carry the gospel message into the hearts and lives of the people.

The Malaysia Mission for many years felt the necessity of such a school. But alas ! our Foreign Missionary Society has so little margin for the purchase of prop- erty and the setting aside of missionaries to such distinctive tasks as this, that it was years before such a school became possible. Dr. B. F. West, while presiding elder at Penang, so keenly felt the need of men of at least some training, that he gathered a few in his own home and gave them such attention as he could. But as he was teaching in the day school five days in the week, was preaching in Eng- lish and Chinese, besides presiding over a district, it can easily be seen how fragmen- tary would be the time he could devote to this training school.

During one of his home furloughs Dr. West began to interest people in this fea-

Jean Hamilton Training School. 71

ture of his work, and some small begin- nings were made to create a regular school. But it was left to Mr. Samuel Hamilton, of Pittsburg, Pa., to really call into exist- ence this training institution by the gift of a -suitable property in Singapore, and the endowment of a native professorship, for the Jean Hamilton Memorial Training School, so called in memory of the little maiden who, at five years of age, was laid away in the beautiful cemetery in Pitts- burg. From the beginning Dr. West has added the care and teaching of the young men in this school to his other wide and exigent labors. All that could be done under the circumstances has been done, and the results have been gratifying beyond the utmost expectations. It may be said that nearly every really effective young worker in the Mission is a product of this school. Man after man, after two or three years of such training as can be given him, has gone forth to prove by a comparatively skilled and earnest ministry that the school is already invaluable. But there are long spaces of time when the presiding elder

72 Malaysia.

must be absent from Singapore, and this in- terruption of the teaching of the school is necessarily a great drawback to thorough effectiveness. Students could be multiplied, and the training made greatly more effect- ive if a Chinese and Tamil speaking mis- sionary could be set apart exclusively to this work. The great need of Malaysia is the endowment of an American professor- ship for the headship of this school. One American with suitable native assistants, giving their whole time to the training of a native ministry, would tell mightily upon the whole situation.

When narrating such facts as these one is often interrupted by the eager statement, "Why do n't you do it ? Why not secure a suitable man and set him to work at this great educational problem ?" But alas ! the answer is so easily given, — because of the absence of means. Here is another place where a small gift of $25,000 or $30,000 would bless a wide area of missionary oper- ations for all time to come. There are already in this school, necessarily defective as is its present management, students from

Jean Hamilton Training School. 73

Borneo, Java, the Straits Settlements, and even already one from China, with two from India. More thoroughly organized and closely supervised Christian missions will soon be found in all the neighboring lands, and the school will become such a center of power and gospel influence that any man who can, might covet the oppor- tunity of strengthening and fitting it to do its whole work. At this writing a young man from Western Pennsylvania is under engagement to proceed to this school to study the languages and acquaint himself with the situation, so as to be fitted for its work. Bishop Oldham has undertaken to somehow finance the venture. But there will be an end to all difficulties connected with it when some far-seeing, godly man makes an investment to meet the situation. Meanwhile, will not the reader of these lines lay down this book and put up brief, earnest prayer for the blessing of God to rest upon this training school, that men may be taught not only the elements of re- ligious literature which every Christian preacher should know, but that above all

74 Malaysia.

they may learn the supreme art of winning the souls of men? All around this school are millions of unevangelized people to whom the way of access grows easier every year, and surely there is a call to prayer in the very circumstances of the case. May much prayer be made!

CHAPTER X. WOMAN'S WORK IN ASIA.

ANY briefest description of the Malaysia Mission would be incomplete if it neglected to describe the work of the Woman's For- eign Missionary Society in these lands. In- deed, it may everywhere be said that wo- man's work, as related to that of the Gen- eral Missionary Society, is like one of the wings of a bird, or one of the oars of a boat, — the other would be comparatively ineffective without this addition. A min- istry largely confined to males can not pene- trate the sacred fastness of the home. Everywhere woman rocks the cradle, and in spite of all disabilities, it is true in Asia as it is in America that "the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." .

On entering Singapore, Mr. Oldham soon found that while his wife was ab- sorbed in the work that came to both their hands, it would be necessary to find a 75

76 Malaysia.

woman agency to reach the women dis- tinctively. And then came another one of those providences that so mark this Mis- sion.

On a visit to India to the seat of the Conference to which he then belonged, Mr. Oldham met Miss Isabella Leonard, an evangelist from America. With her was Sophia Blackmore, a young lady from Aus- tralia, who had been greatly quickened in her religious life under Miss Leonard's ministry in Australia. She desired to be a missionary to the Chinese, but the Aus- tralian Church had no such missions. Miss Leonard suggested that she accompany her to India, and that God would somehow open the way for a missionary career. Meanwhile Missionary Oldham had writ- ten to the ladies in America most earnestly asking for help at Singapore. It happened that Dr. W. A. Spencer and Dr. M. M. Parkhurst, of Chicago, were present at the meeting and earnestly seconded this re- quest, because of their personal knowledge of Singapore gained during a recent visit. The ladies heard the pleas and were much moved by them, but the familiar situation

Woman's Work in Asia. 77

of a narrow treasury, with increasing de- mands everywhere, met them, and they sadly declined to grant the request. It was a moment of keen disappointment and deep feeling. The silence was broken by Mrs. Mary Nind, that beloved mother in Israel, who has since ascended in a chariot of flame, who sprang to her feet and said im- pressively, "The women from cold and wintry Minnesota will plant a mission at the Equator." The announcement was re- ceived with great favor. Mother Nind went home, stirred the women of her State, and redeemed her pledge. The question now was, "Whom shall we send?" While they were looking for a suitable person, a letter was received from Mr. Oldham urg- ing the appointment of Sophia Blackmore. Happily Miss Leonard was an old friend of Mother Nind, and her statement of the case added strength to the missionary's pleading. A cablegram presently bore the joyful words, "Blackmore, Singapore." And so from Australia in the far South to Singapore near the Equator, came the woman at the request of women in the far North, and so nobly and so splendidly has

78 Malaysia.

this woman served, that there can be no question that these various converging lines, that met at Singapore, were all of them drawn by the hand of Providence.

Miss Blackmore joined the Oldhams and proceeded at once to study the Malay lan- guage, and to familiarize herself with the conditions of her new field.

The steady help of the Minneapolis Branch has never wavered, and the names of Mother Nind, Mrs. Winchell, and Mrs. Bishop Joyce are household words on the lips of grateful missionaries throughout the Archipelago.

May Minnesota and Malaysia ever be mutually mindful of each other ! And as the work expands may the other Branches also find some fruitage in these promising lands !

Miss Blackmore soon found that there are two directions in which a woman's agency can be most effectively used, — house to house visitation to the women who, though they live a freer life than in most Asiatic lands, are nevertheless com- paratively secluded; and the opening of schools for girls in which opportunity is

Woman's Work in Asia. 79

given for touching the young lives to higher issues. In both these directions much help was found in the presence of a strong boys' school. The homes of these boys were wide open to the lady who came saying, "I live where your boys go to school." Mothers and grandmothers were eager to see anybody who came from the place where the children attended daily. To find favor with a woman from the school might possibly bring some added benefit to the boys of the household. A warm wel- come was therefore awaiting Miss Black- more in several hundred homes. And again, the boys themselves are eager to have their sisters given some opportunity to join them in their studies. The girls, on the other hand, seeing their brothers going and coming with books and slates, child- like, are eager to imitate them. And when a lady comes to the house saying, "Let me do for the girls what the big school is doing for the boys," the offer usually meets with favor. There is, too, a growing appreci- ation of the value, even to women, of being able to read and become intelligent. There are many Chinese and other households in

80 Malaysia.

Singapore where a thorough culture is find- ing increasing favor, and the time is not remote when the training of the girls to an intelligent life will be as sincerely under- taken by their fathers as the preparation of the boys.

Miss Blackmore began with one little maiden in the house, "Mahlee," who is now the happy mother of several little ones who are being educated to a high grade of Christian living. From house to house the missionary went and, employing assistants from the English Church of which Mr. Oldham was pastor, she opened schools at several points, and organized a regular vis- itation of many homes, and so in one way or another sought the uplift and evangeli- zation of the women and girls of the city. In this work Salome Fox and other assist- ants show marked ability. The Minnesota women have provided a Deaconess Home which, located on Mt. Sophia, crowns that beautiful little hill and looks far and wide over the city and across the Straits. Here some sixty girls find a happy home, where they are being prepared for all the avoca- tions of comparatively educated Christian

Woman's Work in Asia. 81

womanhood, while at other points in the city are day schools in which are found several hundred girls.

As in Singapore, so also in Penang where Miss Clara Martin and Miss Lilly are doing excellent work, and at Taiping, Kuala Lumpor, and Malacca most interest- ing work is being done in schools and house to house visitation. And amongst the chief pearls gathered in these Malay Islands are the converted women who in sanctity of life and in the rare grace of Christian liv- ing, bless their families and neighborhoods, and adorn the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It may not be out of place to offer the suggestion that no more fitting memorial of Mother Mary Nind, who first planted wo- man's work in Malaysia, could be erected than a girls' school in Telok Ayer, the Chinese residential suburb of Singapore, which may be looked upon as the chief Chinese center of the Straits Settlements. Mother Nind spent much of her life in Minnesota, but she belonged to all the Branches of the Woman's Society, and it would be a gracious acknowledgment of her, for all the Woman's Foreign Mission- 6

82 Malaysia.

ary Society workers to unite in blessing Mary Nind's Mission with a memorial building called by her name, to stand for all time as the visible token of that beau- tiful personality, whose faith and ardent zeal first contrived a way to send help from the women of the Methodist Church to the less privileged, needy lives in Malaysia.

CHAPTER XL PUBLISHING HOUSE).

IT was early seen that at such a meeting place of the nations as Singapore, there would be a great demand for religious liter- ature to be distributed amongst the people. There are thousands of immigrants who land every year and are scattered all over the islands. Thousands of Malay pilgrims also proceed to Mecca each year calling at Singapore for trans-shipment. A printing- press and publishing house became at once an imperative necessity. God has a way of meeting the needs of a situation by provid- ing the man first. When the suitable man is found, means for the undertaking soon follow. The man in this case was an officer of the Royal Engineers of the British army. Young Lieutenant Shellabear was ap- pointed to Singapore as an army officer to help in the torpedo defenses of the island. He had been converted in Alexandria, and 83

84 Malaysia.

on coming to Singapore was greatly quick- ened by the ministry of the little Methodist Church. He found that his work required the study of Malay, and in this language he attained high proficiency. The spirit of the man was stirred by the spiritual desti- tution all about him, and he felt he could no longer continue an army officer. He must preach. He soon became known as the preaching "Kapitan," for such his Malay hearers called him. The conviction deepened upon him that he must give all his time to this work, and upon the advice of Mr. Oldham, then missionary in charge, he went to England to confer with his peo- ple. Spite of all difficulties and remon- strances he resigned his commission, and by Mr. Oldham's advice, gave himself to learn the art of printing. Meanwhile Mr. Oldham found in America the beginnings of a fund for the purchase of a printing plant. The first large donation was made by Miss Amelia Bishop, of Toledo, Ohio, and Mr. Shellabear, who had learned his business in London and Beirut, Syria, where he learned to make the matrices of the Arabic letters, which the Malay closely

The Publishing House. 85

resembles, began his work in Singapore as a printing missionary. The press was first called the "Amelia Bishop Press." It has since grown to large proportions, and now employs from thirty to forty men.

Mr. Shellabear produced much of the literature which he printed. Some of his dictionaries, vocabularies, text-books, and religious works are amongst the most widely used in all this country. Amongst other products he has translated some hymns with exquisite grace and delicacy. His translation of "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," is as fine a Malay hymn as has ever been written. He has for several years been engaged by the British and Foreign Bible Society in revising the New Testa- ment Scriptures, and is now engaged upon the Old Testament. His latest work, "The Pilgrim's Progress," in Baba Malay, is per- haps the most notable recent addition to the Christian literature of this community.

The Singapore Press is now managed by the Rev. W. T. Cherry, a painstaking and faithful missionary, who is so progress- ive as to have actually imported a lino- type ' machine, and has begun to illustrate

86 Malaysia.

as well as print and bind, and help circu- late a large variety of Christian books and tracts.

It is too much, however, to expect a mission pr§ss to pay for itself. For it should be remembered that much of its literature is being prepared for people who are not eager to pay for books that hold teaching with which they are unfamiliar. There is only a small Christian clientage, — all the rest of the community is non-Chris- tian. And under such circumstances, that the Mission should have been able to create a press now worth perhaps $40,000 with less than $5,000 received in all, as gifts towards it, reflects no small credit upon the ability and business sense of the mission- aries in charge. The Press needs a build- ing of its own. And for $25,000 or $30,060 it could be so housed and equipped as to make it easily self-supporting and extraor- dinarily useful.

CHAPTER XII. CONCLUSION.

IT has been briefly told how in the course of twenty-one years a Mission which began with but one couple, without any money from the home Church, has gathered strength and grown with the years. Now it is an Annual Conference of three dis- tricts, with work in eighteen centers; six- teen male missionaries, most of them mar- ried, and eight Woman's Foreign Mission- ary Society missionaries ; three native or- dained preachers, and forty-five unordained preachers ; fifteen foreign teachers ; and over one hundred and fifty other native helpers; a membership of over two thou- sand, and a Christian community of four thousand, with about five thousand chil- dren in schools; it raises over $60,000 a year towards current expenses, and 87

88 Malaysia.

with but little help from America has accumulated property to the value of $200,- ooo. But no mere figures can adequately convey the stir of life and the restraint upon conduct that this Mission has brought to these scattered island communities. In over a dozen languages the silent pages from the press, and the living voices of earnest preachers are heard everywhere calling the people to repentance, and show- ing them a more excellent way to life here and hereafter. With increasing force the Gospel movement runs everywhere, and thousands are being awakened to new views of life and new hopes of eternity. While the difficulties have been many, the successes have not been few, and there is a deepening sense throughout the whole Mission that with some strengthening of our agencies, the better management of our Theological Training School, and some added help to the press, such a future awaits the Mission in this Island Empire as will make it second to none in either of the continental areas of India or China which lie on either side. In a peculiar way

Conclusion. 89

Malaysia represents all Asia. Here India and China meet in a Malay world, and the whole amalgam prospectively more pros- perous than either of the stationary em- pires, must be won for Christ and the Christian Church in the early days of its development. A great opportunity is be- fore us, and one in which a large propor- tion of the expense will always be borne by the people themselves. At this juncture what Malaysia urgently needs is the ad- dition of a dozen men and women and the material strengthening which has already been indicated. It would be no impossible undertaking for a single man of means, or a small group of such, to place this Mission where its effectiveness would be immedi- ately increased beyond measure. But be- yond all money questions, or even the pres- ence of additional missionaries, the men and women on the field crave for their work the prayers of the Church, and desire as their chief re-enforcement that unceas- ing petition be made for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the work in hand, that throughout these fair lands a shout

90 Malaysia.

may begin to ascend, and that from island to island there may ring out the words of that joyous consummation God's Word foretells, "Alleluia, for the Lord God Om- nipotent reigneth."

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