the Compliments of the
Secretaries of the
Church Missionary Society.
SALISBURY SQUARE,
LONDON.
The Right Hon the EARL OF CHiCHESTER
Piesulent of the Church Missionary Society, 18314886.
THE
HISTOKY
OF THE
CHUECH MISSIONARY SOCIETY
ITS ENVIRONMENT, ITS MEN
AND ITS WORK
EUGENE STOGIC.
KIHTOKIAL SBOUKT VRY"
IN
VOL, I
thy hogianiiipf was ^^jftir^jwre thy lattor end should greatly
increases. For oiufiurc, T pray thoo, of Iho f owner a#o, o-ntl prapara thyttolf to
tho search oC thy fathers. . , , Hhall not they touoh thoo, and toll Ihoo, and
utter words out) of their heart ? "— JOB viii. 7, 8, 10,
" That they might sot fchoir Iiopo in, (Soil, mil not. forgot tho works of 0*01^
but koop His commatiduionts. "—!*». Ixxviii, 7*
LONDON
CHUECH MISSIONAIiy SOCIETY
SALISBURY SQXJARB, B.C.
1800
[All rights rmrwti]
LONDON
. BT_GILBEET AND KIVINGTON, T.D.,
Gj$N'% HWUSE, CLEKKtHWELT*, V C,
THE MOST REVEREND
FREDERICK
LORD ARCHBISHOP OP CANTERBURY
PRIMATE OP ALL ENGLAND
AND METROPOLITAN
THIS WORK IS, BY HIS GRACE'S PERMISSION,
DEDICATED
PBEFACE.
MY friend and fellow-worker gives me the privilege of writing
a few words of preface for his interesting and valuable contribu-
tion to the due celebration of our Centenary, of which I gladly
avail myseli.
If, as we earnestly hope, the completion of one hundred
years of effort and of blessing is but the introduction to and
the starting-point of the greater efforts and fuller blessings
which our Heavenly Father has in store for us, it is surely
right that we should be reminded of the faith and perseverance
of the early founders of our Society, which enabled them to
surmount obstacles from which our path is free, and overcome
difficulties of which we have little conception.
The expansion of England, the stages of its development
from the little kingdom of Alfred to the Empire within whose
bounds nearly a third of the human race own. allegiance to
Queen Victoria, has for us all an absorbing interest. Little
less marvellous, even more absorbing, is the record of the stops
by which God has led us on our way. What joy it is to toll
how there has been given to us day by day and year by your
that of which we have had need : how door after door hun
been opened, and one after another has been raised up to enter
in or to go out and tako up the work that lay to our hand to do.
Side by side with the story of the C.M.S., nay, closely inter-
woven with it throughout, is the story of the awakening of the
Church of England from a state of torpor and deatlness to an
increasing sense of its high vocation, its great responsibility. Wti
read of the efforts made to remedy the results of past neglect,
and to seize the glorious and ever-widening opportunities of to-
day. Light will be thrown by these pages on the methods of tha
revival, and on the men who were the chief actors in it, I do
vi PREFACE
not think that more honour has been given to the Evangelicals
than may be fairly claimed for them ; nor has it been sought
to depreciate the efforts of those who in all loyalty have
sought to bring into greater prominence the teaching of the
Prayer-book and to add beauty and dignity to the worship of
Almighty G-od.
It is often assumed that the Evangelical movement lias spent
its force, and that it is no longer to be accounted as a power in
the Church. To statements of this character the histoiy as
recorded here,, not of thirty or forty, but of a hundred years of
missionary work conducted on Evangelical lines, affords a full
and adequate answer.
From the beginning to the end of the period under review,
and even to this hour, we may claim for it an inspiring and
continuing power which has made and is making its influence
felt far outside the limits of its own party, and indeed of any
particular school of religious thought. That this influence may
be continued and extended to the end, even through the perilous
times of the latter days upon which even now we may be entering,
should be our earnest prayer.
May it be that when we shall have passed away, and the
history of our time comes to be written, it shall be possible
to say of us that we have not been unworthy of the groat men
who have gone before us, nor unfaithful to the great principles
which they handed down to us. May ours be the honour to
strive to keep alight the missionary torch which they placed in
our hands — nay, more, so to feed and fan the flame that the
dark places of the earth may be illuminated with increasing
force and with brighter and clearer light.
JOHN H. KKNNAWAY.
ESCOT, January, 1899.
AUTHOR'S PBEFACE.
THE History of the Church Missionary Society was first planned,
in view of the coming Centenary, in 1891. The work was
entrusted to the liev. Chailes Hole, Lecturer on Ecclesiastical
History at King's College, London. Mr. Hole's intimate know-
ledge of the Church history of the century, and particularly of
the period at which the Society was founded, marked him out
as pre-eminently the man for such a task. The plan was that
he should compile what might be called the Library History
of the Society, probably in four or five substantial volumes.
But the thoroughness with which he executed the earlier part
of his work became an insuperable obstacle to the accomplish-
ment of this scheme. The time available was nearly half gone
before he could complete the first volume, and that volume
only brought the narrative to the year 1814. Moreover Mr,
Hole's other engagements stood in the way of his continuing so
large a work. What lie had actually done was therefore pub-
lished under the title of The Early History of the Church
Missionary Society ; and that book remains a monument of
industrious research and skilful arrangement of materials, and
must always be of the deepest interest to students of tho period
covered, as well as to all who love to tract) out the providence
of God in the beginnings of great enterprises.
It was then proposed to continue the J fistory in much the namo
form, though on a smaller scale ; and for thin purpose the Com-
mittee engaged Dr. W. P. Moars, late of the South China Mission.
He began admirably; but lie was presently compelled by tho
state of his health to abandon the task.
Then it was found necessary to commit tho work to mo, and,
for that purpose, to relieve me of my ordinary editorial duties*
The time still available, however, did not allow of a compilation
being prepared which should be a continuation of Mr. Hole's
book, upon the same scale. A new History, therefore, had to
be written independently from the beginning ; although it could
not but be largely indebted — as it is — to Mr. Hole's able and
comprehensive account of the Society's earlier years.
viii AUTHORS PREFACE
The candid critic will probably complain of the size of the work.
It may perhaps be pleaded that if biographies of individual men
of the century required three and four volumes — Bishop Wilber-
force three, Lord Shaftqsbury three, Dr. Pusey four, — a History
which contains in a condensed form materials for a hundred
individual biographies is not unduly exacting in demanding
three.
This consideration may be more fully appreciated if the scope
and design of the History are explained. Let it be noticed that
they are expressed in its title, THE HISTOBY or THE G.M.S. :
ITS ENVIRONMENT, ITS MEN, AND ITS WOKK. I have de-
liberately set myself to try and describe the Society's environ-
ment at home and abroad ; and a very large part of the book is
devoted to that attempt.
II.
There are the Environment abroad and the Environment at
home. The treatment of the former has involved the inclusion
of much collateral matter. Men are necessarily, and naturally,
introduced who were not O.M.S. workers, and events that belong
rather to general than to missionary history. For instance,
Bishop Selwyn is a prominent character in some chapters ; and
both his struggle for what he regarded as the liberties of the
Colonial Churches, and the sad story of the Maori war, are
noticed more fully than the mere history of the New Zealand
Mission would itself require. Again, the West Indies Mission
was but short-lived; but the painful narrative of the oppression
of the slaves is not omitted, nor the strenuous labours of Fowell
Buxton in obtaining their freedom. Again, a good deal more is
told of the origin and extension of the Colonial and Missionary
Episcopate than is absolutely necessary to the story of the
C.M.S. Missions. In the Africa chapters, also, and in those
oh China and North-West Canada, there is a good deal that
is collateral. But naturally this feature of the work is most
conspicuous in the India chapters. Eulers like Bentmck,
Dalhousie, Canning, the Lawrences, Montgomery, Frere, and
many others, are prominent figures. So are Bishops Heber,
Wilson, Cotton, Milman, Dealtry, Gell, &c. The reforms under
Bentinck, the developments under Dalhousie, the struggle with
Caste, the Sepoy Mutiny, the Neutrality Controversy, the bold
Christian Policy of the Punjab men, the Brahmo Sainaj and
similar movements, pass before us in succession.
On the same principle, the operations of other Societies, both
within and without the Church of England, are frequently
noticed. It has been my special desire to do justice to the
AUTHORS PREFACE ix
Society for the Propagation of tlie Gospel, — tlie elder sister
of the C.M.S., as the founders and early leaders of the C.M.S.
always called it. A careful study, indeed, of the missionary
history of the century shows how much the C.M.S. owes to other
organizations, of which its supporters are for the most part
unconscious, — while on the other hand there can be no doubt
that others are more indebted to the C.M.S. than is commonly
acknowledged. What do not all Missions in India owe to the
educational work of Duff and other missionaries of the Presby-
terian Churches of Scotland ? What do not Missions in China
owe to the China Inland Mission? What do not Missions in
East Africa owe to the influence of Livingstone and to the
linguistic labours of Bishop Steere ?
Eoman Catholic Missions also find frequent mention ; gene-
rally, it is to be regretted, in regard to their aggressions on the
work of Protestant Societies, of the S.P.G. and others as well
as of the C.M.S.; particularly in India and New Zealand, and
more recently in Uganda,
III.
The treatment of the Environment at homo involves the study
of the history of the Evangelical School or Party (or whatever
it may be called) in the Church of England. It is usually
said that the Church Missionary Society is the most impor-
tant Evangelical achievement. I do not at all agree with this
common opinion ; but the fact that it prevails certainly shows
that the Society's position at home, and its relations with the
Church and with other Church organizations, call for special
attention in such a book as the present. IB short, the history
of the Society is quite a different thing from the history of the
Society's Missions. Accepting this fact as a guiding principle,
I have devoted probably one-third of the whole work to the
affairs of the Church and the Society at homo.
But I have had another motive in doing this. The Evan-
gelical body in the Church of England is constantly spoken of
as dying or dead ; and this view is fostored by the Church
Histories of the period. They unanimously praise the men of
the Evangelical Eevival at the end of the last century — the men
who in their own day were utterly despised, and" altogether
excluded from the counsels of the Church; and they affirm,
with the most extraordinary inaccuracy, that the Evangelical
School was dominant in the Church during the first forty
years of the nineteenth century. But then they absolutely
ignore all it has done in the past half-century — with possibly a
passing acknowledgment that the O.M.S., after all, is alive,
x AUTHOR'S PREFACE
and doing something. In fact, they treat the Evangelicals, in
regard to the practical work of the Church, as' " a negligeable
quantity." My hope is that this History may do something to
correct this curious misconception.
The chapters now referred to are, however, not merely a sketch
of the history of the Evangelical School. They aim at being a
sketch — very inadequate and imperfect, indeed, but still a sketch
— of the history of the Church of England as a whole, from the
Evangelical point of view. The growth of what may be called
"Church feeling," as witnessed by the revival of Convocation,
the establishment of the Church Congress, Diocesan Conferences,
the Lambeth Conference, &c,, &c., and the extension of the
S.P.GK, is traced out— and traced out, it is hoped, in an
appreciative spirit.
In these chapters, I have not attempted to conceal what soein
to me to have been the mistakes and the weaknesses of the
Evangelical body. Although a writer who essays to be a his-
torian cannot be neutral, he ought to strive to be fair and
honest. That has been my unreserved desire and aim ; and
honesty and fairness are never manifested where a writer has
only good words for his own "party," and only hard words
for other " parties." But whatever mistakes may be admitted,
it is nevertheless true that a large part of the immense
development of the Church's practical work is due to Evan-
gelical Churchmen. This, of course, is not the common
opinion; but I think I have presented a good deal of in-
disputable evidence that it is the correct one. The general
failure to perceive the fact is probably owing in part to the
circumstance that some of the movements and agencies which
have given warmer life to the Church of England during the
last ^ forty years have had a "non-denominational" origin;
and it is true that a considerable section of the Evangelical
clergy ^ have held aloof from them on that account. But
their influence has been great nevertheless : great for Evan-
gelical religion; great for the progress of spiritual life in
the Church of England. They have, in fact, corresponded in
many respects to the revival movements of the eighteenth
century : mainly, as then, carried on by Churchmen ; though
mainly, as then, not definitely " on Church lines." It is not
wise to prophesy; but my expectation is that, although so
ignored ^ now, they will be recognized fifty years hence, just as
the revival movements of the eighteenth century, not less
ignored at the time, came to be recognized long afterwards.
For these reasons, the Home Chapters are not limited to an
account of C.M.S. personnel and of the growth of its organiza-
AUTHORS PREFACE xi
tion. Among prominent characters in these pages appear such
personages as Bishops Blomfield and S. Wilbeiibrco and Aieli-
bishops Tait and Benson, as well as Canon Hoare, Mr. Penne-
father, and Sir Arthur Blackwood — to say nothing of living men.
But of course the officers of the Society naturally occupy
the most conspicuous place. Henry Venn is without doubt the
leading figure in the whole book. Josiah Pratt and Edward
Bickersteth are also in the front, and Henry Wright and
F. E. Wigram ; and Lord Chichester, the President for more
than half a century; and Principals Childe and Green; and
the editors of the Intelligencer, Kidgeway and Knox. Ridge-
way's utterances on important questions are more often quoted
than those of any other person except Venn and Pratt.
IV.
But undoubtedly the larger part of the work consists of the
history of the Missions , and the student will bo able to trace
out the story of any particular Mission in which he is interested.
Sierra Leone, for instance, or New Zealand, or Tinnovelly, or
the Punjab, or China, or North-West Canada, or Uganda, can
be studied period by period.
The missionaries themselves are naturally among the most
important characters; and it is hoped that speakers at mis-
sionary meetings, and others, will find abundant material for
sketches of the lives of men like W. A. B. Johnson, W. Jowett,
S. Gobat, Henry and William Williams, H. W. Fox and
B, Noble, T. G. Eagiand, J. Thomas, J. Peet, C. G. Pfander,
C. B. Leupolt, E. Sargent, G. M. Gordon, H. Tuwnsend, Krapf
and Eebmann, Bishop Hordcn, Bishops G. Smith and Bussell,
Bishop French and J, W. Enott, Bishop Hannington and
Alexander Mackay. Or of living men like Robert Clark and
W. S. Price,, Bishop Monlo and J. B. Wolfe, Bishop Ridley and
Bishop Tucker. Or of Native clergymen and other coiivorts,
such as Abdul Masih, John Devasaguyum, Paul Daniel, W. T.
Satthiauadhan, V, Smulosham, Nohomiah Goreh, Jani Alii,
Imad-ud-dm and Bafdar AH, Dilawar Khan and Fazl-i-Haqq,
Manchala Ratnaru and Aiuala Bhushaiuuu, Samuel Crovythur
and other Africans, Legaic the Tsimshcan, Dzing Ta-ning,
Tamihana Te llauparaha and John Williams Hipango.
Many great questions of missionary policy are touched upon
in these pages, not, indeed, in the way of formal discussion, "but
rather of historical record. Tho relations of a voluntary aociety
of Churchmen to the official authorities of the Ohurch come
into view in many chapters; and so do its relations to the
bishops of the dioceses in which it works, particularly in con-
xii AUTHOR'S PREFACE
nexion with Bishops Wilson, Selwyn, Alford, and Copleston.1
The great problem of Church organization in the Mission-field
has two chapters to itself, one on Colonial Churches 3 and one
on Native Churches.8 The varied methods in Missions, evan-
gelistic, pastoral, educational, literary, medical, industrial, all
receive more or less notice in various parts of the work. The
political relations of Missions present important questions which
are illustrated in many of the episodes recorded : particularly
in India,4 but also in Turkey,5 in China/ in New Zealand,7 in
the West Indies,8 and in the Yoruba Mission.9 The duty ^ of
missionaries in times of danger is a question that may arise
suddenly at any moment ; and the utterances on it of Henry
Venn in the name of the Society10 deserve special attention.
In the home organization and conduct of societies, the C.M.S.
has initiated most of the methods which -have come to be
generally adopted, such as Public Meetings, Provincial Asso-
ciations, Association Secretaries, Unions of different kinds,
Missionary Boxes and Sunday-school Collections, Sales of
Work and Exhibitions, Missionary Training Colleges, Finance
Committees, a Working Capital, &c , &c , the origin and growth
of which appear in these pages 11 Some developments supposed
to be quite modern are found to have been thought of, and some
of them acted on, in bygone days. The plan of a family or a
parish supporting its " own missionary " turns out to have
been formulated in Annual Sermons preached sixty years ago.13
What is now called the Policy of Faith — the sending out
of all missionaries who appear to be chosen of God for the
work in faith that He will also supply the means necessary —
is found solemnly set forth by the C.M.S. Committee in 1853 ; 1;*
while evidence is afforded by the experience of the years
1 865-72 u that if the contrary principle of Eetrenchment is
acted upon, and men are kept back, the result may only be
heavier deficits than before, while the total number of labourers
actually shows retrogression.
v.
The history contained in these volumes cannot be regarded
merely as the history of a Society, or of a School of Eeligious
Thought, or of a Church ; nor does it merely illustrate lines of
policy, methods of work, systems of organization ; nor does it
I Chaps, vn , x , XL, xxvi., XXVIL, xxxm,, xxxvm., LXIV., LXIX,, LXXX.,
LXXXIY., LXXXYIL, &C.
3 XXXVIII. 3 LV. 4 XUV,, XLV», XLVI., LIX., &C.
5 XII., LXXV. 6 XLIX., LXIV., LXXXI. 7 XXVIII., LXVII.
8 xxin. 9 LVI. 10 XLV., LYI., j see also xvi.
II X.J.XI., XIX., XXXI,, XXXV., LIII,, LIV., IiXXI , LXXII., LXXXV,, LXXXVI., &0,
13 XIX. » XXXY M LI., III., LIII., LIV., LXXL
AUTHOR'S PREFACE xiii
merely commemorate the lives of men, however good and noble.
It is concerned with something much greater and higher than
these. The true idea of Missions is not grasped unless we
have eyes to see, on the one hand, a human race needing a
Saviour; on the other hand, a Divine Saviour for all; and,
between the two, the men who know Him, commissioned by
Him to proclaim His Message to those who know Him not. The
history of a missionary society is the history of an association
of some of His servants for the purpose of fulfilling that Com-
mission ; which Commission, therefore, is the subject of the
First Chapter of the present work. Bealizing this, we are at
once lifted on to a level far higher than that of a rallying-point
for a religious party, or of an instrument for the propagation of
particular views. It is right and wise, indeed, remembering
the wide diversity of opinion among Christian men upon all
sorts of theological and ecclesiastical questions, for those who.
are substantially of one mind upon these questions to combine
and work together. In so imperfect a state as the present, this
method of doing God's work is the most practically successful.
But while each association may rightly claim this liberty, and
allow it to others, let its members rise in motive and aim to'the
height of their calling. If they are Churchmen, indeed, let them
say so, and not be ashamed of it. If they are Evangelical Church-
men, let them say so, and not be ashamed of it. But let them,
first of all and above all, be Christians, humbly rejoicing that
they know Christ as their God and King, and working their
association, consciously and purposely, for no object whatever —
however good in itself — lower than the object of bringing their
fellow-men to the knowledge of the same Christ.
The history of the Church Missionary Society, then, is the
history of an attempt, through the medium of such an associa-
tion, to take a definite part in the work of God in the wojjd,'
the work of calling men back to their allegiance to their One
Eightful Sovereign, and of proclaiming His gracious offer of
pardon and restoration, through His Incarnate, Crucified, and
Exalted Son, for all who return to Him.
This is the greatest of all " the principles of the Society,"
Three others naturally follow. The first is that those only are
qualified to call men back to God's allegiance who are His true
servants themselves. Perhaps we are too ready to bjast of
what is called " the C.M.S. principle, Spiritual men for spiritual
work," considering our own spiritual failures and unworfhiness ;
but the principle, nevertheless, is obviously and indisputably,
right. The second is that we are to be content, in actual
missionary work, with nothing short of the real return to God
of those who by nature are alienated from Him, that is,
xiv AUTHOR'S PREFACE
real conversion in heart and life. The third is that the
qualifying of men for such a service, and the success of their
efforts, are the work of the Holy G-host alone.
The indirect and collateral influence of Missions is not to
be despised, and is now generally acknowledged. They have
promoted civilization ; they have facilitated colonization ; they
have furthered geographical discovery ; they have opened doors
for commerce , they have done service to science ; they have
corrected national and social evils ; they have sweetened family
life. Many Christian communities in the Mission-field are very
imperfect , but at least they are better than the Heathen. The
shipwrecked sailor loses his fear of being robbed and murdered
when he spies a Bible in a native hut. The Bible may belong
to *one who never reads it, and by whom its precepts are
neglected ; but its very presence is an indication of better
things. Nevertheless, all these indirect and collateral results
are not the primary aim of a Christian missionary society. That
aim is the salvation of men.
There are also results of missionary work which, unlike those
of a scientific or material character, cannot be called indirect.
Missions extend the visible and organized Christian Church, or
Churches ; and, in due time, they make Christian nations.
Such results as these are to be aimed at, and prayed for.
Viewed, however, in the light of eternity, they are not the end,
but the means to an end ; they are chiefly valuable in so far as
they promote the salvation of men. The grand aim of Missions
is (1) to fulfil the Lord's command to preach the Gospel as
a witness to all nations, which affects eternity because His
Coming depends upon it ; and (2) to gather out of the world
the spiritual Church which is the true Body of Christ, and
which will live on into a future when all earthly Church
organization is forgotten.
While, therefore, the pages of this History which deal with
ecclesiastical controversies, problems of organization, social
reforms, and the like, may seem to be specially important, the
reader who thinks of the salvation of men will turn with even
m*ore interest to those which sketch the story of the individual
servant of the Lord who goes forth in His Name, or of the
convert whose life and whose death illustrate the power of
Divine Grace. Many pages that are thus occupied will, it is
hoped, evoke songs of praise and thanksgiving,, deepen the
reader's faith in his Saviour and Lord, and send him to his
knees in fresh and humble dedication of himself to the pro-
motion of a cause so sacred, so blessed, so certain of ultimate
triumph. He will learn that missionary advance abroad
depends upon spiritual advance at home ; that the increase of
AUTHORS PREFACE xv
men and the increase of means follow upon seasons of revival,
of the reading of the "Word of God, of united and believing
prayer, of personal consecration to the Lord's service. He will
— God grant it! — yield himself more wholly to his "glorious
Victor," his u Prince Divine," and realize that even he, sinful
and unworthy as he is, may, through the gracious condescension
of his Heavenly Master, have a small share in the work of
" bringing the King back."
VI.
It is right to say something touching the sources oi this
History. For the first fifteen years of the Society's existence,
I am chiefly indebted to Mr. Hole's previous researches, em-
bodied in the important volume before mentioned. The
Eleventh Chapter in particular, on the first Associations and
Deputations, is almost entirely based upon his work. The
Society's Beports from the first, and its principal Periodicals,
have of course been studied page by page. The forty-two
volumes of the old Missionary Register, 1813 to 1854, are of
extraordinary value to the student of the period, as containing
the current history, not of the CM.S. only, but of every other
Society. I have described that wonderful periodical at the
end of my Tenth Chapter. For the second half-century, the
Church Missionary Intelligence is the best source of informa-
tion on C.M.S. affairs; but the Miftwonary Register has had no
successor, and my notices of the work of other Societies become
fewer and fewer in later years, because an examination of their
several Beports would have been an utter impossibility in the
time at my disposal. I have, however, made frequent use of the
valuable S.P.G. Digest, and of several books of recent date
describing the work of the London Missionary Society, the Uni-
versities' Mission, the China Inland Mission, &c. The Minute
Books of the C.M.S. have of course been carefully examined,
and also a host of documents, written and printed, on all sorts
of subjects ; but I have not followed Mr. Hole's good example
of industry in reading the thousands and thousands of MS,
letters among the Society's archives. He did search out those
of the first fifteen years. To do so for a hundred years would
be a task quite beyond my power consistently with other duties.
Mr. Venn's Private Journals, and many of his letters, however,
have been kindly placed at my disposal by his son and daughter,
and have naturally supplied important information. The cream
of them, however, had already been published in Mr. Knight's
Biography, which book has in other wayn also been a help to me.
BiograpliieR, in fact, have been my best and most interesting
authorities next to the current Beports and Magazines. They
xvi AUTHOR'S PREFACE
have continually thrown side-lights on the history, and furnish
the personal touches which, it is hoped, will be found to add
much to its interest. No historian of a century could in two
years examine the letters, &c.3 of a host of the leading men of
the century, even if they were accessible to him ; but when this
has been done by their biographers severally, and the results
published, the historian may rightly make good use of them,
and is wise to do so. I certainly owe much to biographies
such as those of Wilberforce and Buxton, Scott and Pratt and
Bickersteth and Simeon, Martyn and Heber and Daniel Wilson,
Marsden and Henry Williams and Selwyn, Carey and Duff and
John Wilson, Cotton and Milman and French, the Lawrences
and Herbert Edwardes and Bartle Frere, Fox and Noble and
Eagland, Gobat and Bowen, Q-. M. Q-ordon and Hanniagton and
Mackay — to name only a few of the more prominent. Upon
Church affairs at home, besides some of those just mentioned,
there have been the Lives of Bishops Blonrfield and S. Wilber-
force, Archbishop Tait and Lord Shaftesbury and Dr. Pusey,
and many others.
A host of miscellaneous books might be mentioned, particu-
larly those on Indian affairs by Sir John Kaye, Sir E. Temple,
Dr. G. Smith, &c. ; but a complete bibliography would occupy
many pages, and most of the books are tolerably well known
and easily accessible. I ought, however, to refer to the value of
the old volumes of the Christian Observer, a leading Evangelical
organ for more than seventy years. Nowhere else can one gather
a more accurate impression of the actual contemporary opinions of
Evangelical Churchmen. Through the kindness of the Editors
of the Record and the Guardian, I have also been able to examine
all the files of the former paper, and many of those of the latter,
For the past half-century. Of the Record, I have turned over
every single page for the past twenty years, and made careful
notes, before writing the brief chapters on recent Church history.
References are everywhere given at the foot of the page to
the various collateral sources of information. But I have not
ordinarily given references to the Society's Eeports and Maga-
zines, except in some specially important and interesting cases.
They are more frequently given in Yol. III., because the history
of later years, especially of older fields like India, is so con-
densed that the reader is necessarily referred to the Eeports,
&c.? and these later Eeports are generally accessible. It should
be explained that the Annual Eeport is always referred to by
the year of its issue; thus " Eeport of 1895 " means the Eeport
for 1894-95. It should also be mentioned that the Memoir of
Henry Venn used is the "revised and compressed edition " of 1882.
AUTHORS PREFACE xvii
Here and there I have not hesitated to insert, without definite
indication of the fact, particularly in two or three of the
earlier chapters on Africa and Japan, extracts from my own
writings in the G.M. Intelligencer, the C.M. Atlas, and else-
where. The whole amount of matter thus borrowed is probably
less than half a dozen pages ; but it is right to acknowledge the
fact. It must be further explained that in the small book
entitled One Hundred Years of the C.M.S., which was written
after the first two volumes of the History, but before the third
volume, paiagraphs and sentences are frequently taken from the
present work.
VII.
I have not thought it well to interrupt the narrative with
the insertion of official documents and tables of statistics.
There ought properly to be a fourth volume, for appendices
containing lists of missionaries, of institutions, of Bible trans-
lations ; important Minutes of the Committee and other docu-
ments; comparative statistical tables, &c. To prepare this,
however, for the Centenary Year, has been impossible. But
many extracts from official statements and reports occur in
these pages, when they are necessary to make the story com-
plete and are in themselves interesting.
No attempt has been made to secure scientific correctness, or
even absolute uniformity, in the spelling of foreign names.
The orthography usually to be found in the C.M. 8. publications
of recent years has been adopted. For example, the sacred book
of Islam is written Koran, not, with some high authorities,
Goran or Quran. The Province of the Five Eivers is called the
Punjab, not Punjaub as formerly or Panjtil as more scientifi-
cally correct. When, of two missionaries who know a certain
town in China well, one spells it Z-ky'i and the other T#l-ckeet
an Englishman unlearned in the Chinese language may be
pardoned for abandoning the attempt to make his spelling of
foreign names acceptable to all experts alike.
This History is not, in the ordinary sense of the word,
" illustrated/7 But portraits are given of many of the loading
men who appear in its pages \ and a very few small illustrations
are placed at the end of certain chapters. There are also repro-
ductions of three old maps of special interest ; one, from the
Missionary Register of 1816, showing the mission stations of the
world at that time ; the second, from the CMf. Intelligencer of
1850, Rebrnann's first attempt at delineating Bast Afriaa ; and
the third, also from the Intelligencer, Erhardt's famous map of
1856, showing the " monster slug " (as it was called), the sup-
a
xviii AUTHOR'S PREFACE
posed vast inland sea, which led to the first exploring journey
of Burton and Speke. Many modern maps would be needed to
make the work complete ; but it is hoped that every reader will
have the Church Missionary Atlas open at his side. That
Atlas contains maps of all the Society's Mission-fields, and
information concerning the countries and the people which may
be regarded as preliminary to the study of the History.
I have, in conclusion, to thank very warmly several friends
who have most kindly read the proofs of the work. In the
earlier chapters, the Eev. 0, Hole made important suggestions.
The Eev. H. E Perkins has done so throughout, particularly in
the India chapters. The China chapters have been read by
Archdeacon A. B. Moule; the New Zealand chapters by the
Bishop of Waiapu; the North-West Canada chapters by the
Archbishop of Rupert's Land. A large part of the work has
been read by the Rev. Henry Venn (son of the Hon. Secretary)
and the Eev. John Barton ; some chapters by Archdeacon Long,
who was a co-secretary with Mr. Venn ; and others by the Eev,
T. W. Drury and the Eev. Dr. S. Dyson, Principal and Vice-
Principal of Islington College. The chapters on the Church
history at home of the last forty years have been read by the
Rev. Prebendary Barlow, the Eev. Prebendary Webb-Peploe,
and the Rev. Dr. Moule. Although none of these friends, nor
my fellow-secretaries who have also read the proofs, nor the
C.M.S. Committee as a body, are to be held responsible for
the views here and there expressed in these pages, it will be
acknowledged that I have taken the best pains to secure the
general approval of the most competent judges, as well as the
substantial correctness of my statements. I must also thank the
members of the staff of the Editorial Department in the Church
Missionary House for important help cheerfully rendered
in various ways , and, in particular, Mr. John Alt Porter, for
many valuable corrections and emendations, and for the very
complete Index at the end of the Third Volume.
I respectfully thank his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury
1 — to whose ardent advocacy the cause of the Evangelization of
the World is so .deeply indebted — for permission, cordially
given, to dedicate the work to him ; and also the President of
the Society, Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart., M.P., for the Preface
he has kindly written.
Finally, I commit the book to Him who alone can make it
helpful and useful in the promotion of His holy cause.
E. S,
CHUBCH MISSIONARY
February Isi, 1899.
OUTLINE OF THE WORK.
THE History is divided into Ten Parts, Five of these are in Vol. t,
two in Vol. II , and three in Vol. III. The Nine Parts after the first
cover Nine Peiiods of unequal length. In each Part after the first throe,
the Society's environment and history at home are reviewed in the
earlier chapters, and then the Mission-fields in turn, concluding in some
cases with a windmg-up chapter.
VOL, I.
Part I. is preliminary. First, the Lord's Great Commission to His
Church is recalled, Then in Chaps, n, and in, a rapid sketch is given
of the work of the Church in executing that Commission during eighteen
centuries Primitive Missions, Mediaeval Missions, Kornan Missions,
and Modern Protestant Missions, are glanced at. In particular, the
establishment and early enterprises of the S,P,C,K, and S.P.Gr, are
briefly noticed. We are thus brought on towards tho close of the
Eighteenth Century, the period which saw the foundation of the C.M.S,
and several other missionary organizations,
Part II, is entitled "One Hundred Years Ago1'; but it looks back
over sixty years of the Eighteenth Century, and brings us clown to the
thirteenth year of the Nineteenth Century. It is essential to a right under-
standing of the origin and early years of the Church Missionary Society
that the condition of the Church of England in tho Eighteenth Century
should be realized. Chap, iv,, therefore, sketches its leading features,
and notices both the earlier Methodist Revival and the later Evangelical
Circle within the Church ; distinguishing, as it is important to do, the
first generation of Evangelicals, among whom Henry Venn of Huddcrs-
field was a leading figure, and the second generation of Evangelicals, of
whom his son John Venn of Clapham was a leader. Thon in Chap, v,
we turn aside to view the condition of "Africa and the East" when the
Society was founded, bringing the narrative of Wilborforce's efforts
down to the year 1800* Chap, vi. concentrates our attention on tho
events, especially in 1786, which led to the Missionary Awakening, and
introduces us to the Eclectic Society and its discussions Chaps. VIL
and vin. tell the story of the actual establishment of the Society and
the going forth of the first missionaries, In Chap, ix* wo resume the
review of African and Indian affairs, and rejoice with Wilborforca uver
both the Abolition of the Slave Trade and the Opening of India to the
Gospel under the Charter of 1813.
a 2
XX OUTLItfk OF THE WORK
Part HL is entitled "A Period of Development." The Society emerges
from its feeble infancy and moves forward with the vigour of youth.
Chap. x. describes a host of " forward steps " that marked the years
1812-18 Chap. xi. tells the story of the first Provincial Associations
and Deputations. In Chap. xn. we turn aside to notice other Societies,
both their work and progress and their relations with the C.M.S. In
particular we see the very curious circumstances of the revival and
expansion of the S.P.G. in 1818. The next five chapters take us into
the Mission-field, and we read of the early trials and successes in West
Africa (xm.)7 the deaths of faithful labourers there (xni., xiv.); the
commencement of work in North and South India (xv.), and in New
Zealand, Ceylon, &c. (xvi.); the Society's plans and efforts for the
revival of the ancient Eastern Churches (xvn ), both m the Turkish
Empire (as it was then) and in Travancore. Chap, xvui , from the
standpoint of 1824, the date of Josiah Pratt's retirement from the
Secretaryship, surveys the position and prospects of the work at home
and abroad, and shows how hard experience had moderated the sanguine
expectations of the early leaders of Missions.
Part IV. only contains six chapters, but they are long and important
ones. The first two are devoted to home affairs. Chap xix. introduces
to us the Personnel of the Society, the Secretaries and Committee-men,
the Preachers and Speakers at the Anniversaries, the Candidates and
Missionaries, and those friends and fellow-workers who died in the
period. Chap. xx. shows us the Society's Environment during the
Period, particularly dwelling on the state and progress of the Church
of England, with especial reference to the relations of the Evangelical
school or party to other schools and parties. In this chapter we see
something of the condition of England when Queen Victoria ascended
the throne, the great improvements within the Church, certain internal
differences among Evangelicals, and the rise of the Tractarian or Oxford
Movement. The other four chapters take us again to the Mission-field
India absorbs two of them. Chap, xxi. is an important chapter, parallel
to the " Environment " chapters at home. It notices the changes and
developments in India in the period of the 'thirties, particularly the
reforms of Lord W. Bentmck; also the episcopate of Daniel Wilsoi>,
and his struggle with Caste ; also the advent of Alexander Duff and
the commencement of Educational Missions under his auspices. Then
Chap. xxii. turns our attention to the C.M.S. Missions, and takes a
survey of them all round India, with a glance at the work of other
Societies, and at Ceylon. Chap, xxin, carries us back to Sierra Leone,
and then across the Atlantic to the West Indies, telling the painful
story of Slavery there and of Buxton's successful attack upon it. All
the other Missions are grouped together in Chap xxiv., — Mediterranean,
Naw Zealand, and Rupert's Land, and the short-lived attempts at work
in Abyssinia, and m Zululand, and among the Australian Blacks*
Part V. is the shortest in regard to the length of time covered,
comprising barely eight years, from the spring of 1841 to the Jubilee
Commemoration, November, 1848, though in one or two chapters the
OUTLINE OF THE WORK xxi
narrative is necessarily continued a little beyond that epoch, The first
chapter, xxv., combines the Personnel and the Environment, introducing
us to the new Secretary, Henry Venn, and his fellow-workers, and also
noticing various controversies at home, and Missions, Protestant and
Roman, abroad. It is supplemented by two chapters which take up definite
subjects, and in doing so show us more of both the Personnel and the
Environment. Chap, xxvi describes the relations at the time between
the C M.S. and the Church, and relates the adhesion to the Society of
the Archbishops and Bishops, the attitude towards it of men like Blom-
field and S. Wilberforce, and its attitude towards the rising Tractarianism.
Chap, xxvii, tells the story of the Colonial and Missionary Episcopate,
and, in particular, of the establishment of the Colonial Bishoprics Fund,
of the New Zealand Bishopric, and of the Anglican Bishopric in Jeru-
salem ; also of the Society's controversy with Bishop D. Wilson, Then
follow three chapters on the Missions, India is omitted in this Part, the
history of the work there m the 'forties having been practically covered
in the preceding Part. Chap, xxvm gives a full narrative of the events
and controversies of the period in New Zealand, with special reference to
Bishop Selwyn and Sir G-. Grey, Chap. xxix. comprises several interest-
ing episodes in the history of Missions in Africa, the story of Crowther,
the first Niger Expedition, the origin of the Yoruba Mission, and Krapf's
commencement on the East Coast. Chap. xxx. takes us for the first time
to China, and summarizes the events before and after the first Chinese
War. The last two chapters are special ones. Chap. xxxi. reviews the
Finances of the Society, the Contributions and the Expenditure, during
the half-century. Chap. xxxn. describes the Jubilee Commemoration.
VOL. II.
The two Parts comprised in Vol. II, cover twenty-four years, 1849 to
1872. It would have been better to divide this period into throe Parts,
of about eight years each. As it is, the Parts are too long and full, and
the chapters overlap more than is desirable. For example, the reader
will find himself in the Revival period of 1860 at homo before ho comes
to events abroad ten years older; and Dr. Pfander's later work at
Constantinople has to be taken before his earlier work in India, But
there need be no confusion if the dates are carefully noted.
The first two chapters of Part VI. deal with the Environment, Many
of the events recorded in Chap, XXXIIL, the Gorham Judgment, the
Revival of Convocation, <fec., aro the commonplaces of modern Church
Histories ; but those of Chap, xxxiv., the new Evangelical Movements
and their effect upon the Church, although equally important, ^re
generally ignored. Chap. xxxv. introduces the Personnel, as in previous
Parts. Chaps, xxxvi. and xxxvn. also introduce persons— the candidates
from the Universities, and the Islington mon— with many biographical
details. Then, in turning to the Missions, we take New Zealand first
i.), because we have to review Bishop Selwyn's plans for Church
xxii OUTLINE OF THE WORK
organization and the resulting controversies, thus continuing certain
discussions in Chap. xxxm., the first in this Part.
The rest of the Part, comprising twelve chapters, is devoted to the
Mission-field, Chap, xxxix,, on West Africa, touches such matters as
the interest taken by the Queen and Lord Palmerston in African affairs,
the efforts of H. Venn to promote industry and commerce, and the brief
episcopates and deaths of the first three Bishops of Sierra Leone.
Chap. XL. introduces the story of Bast African exploration; and
Chap. XLI, the " proselytism " controversy regarding Bishop Gobat, and
the British relations with Turkey after the Crimean War. Chap. XLIX.
also touches political matters, in reference to China, the T'aip'ing
Rebellion, and the Opium Controversy ; but Chaps XLVIII. and L., on
Ceylon and North-West America, are purely missionary.
But the six chapters on India, taken together, form one of the most
important sections of the whole History, including the great epoch of
Dalhousie's Governor-Generalship (XLII.), the conquest of the Punjab
(XLIV.), the Mutiny (XLV.), the Neutrality Controversy in both India
and England (XLV., xivi.) ; with the remarkable development of Missions
during the period, both in the North and in the South, especially in
Tinnevelly and Travancore (XLIII.) ; the work of Pfander and French at
Agra (XLII.), of Noble at Masulipatam (XLIII.), of Leupolt and Long in
the North (XLYII.) ; and above all, the thrilling story of the commence-
ment in the Punjab and on the Afghan Frontier (XLIV.) under the auspices
of the Lawrences, Edwardes, Montgomery, and others.
Part VII., like Part VI., would have been better if a somewhat shorter
period had been included in it. The fact, little known but very im-
portant, that the years 1865-72 were a time, not only of depression, but
actually of retrogression, would have come out more clearly. Let it be
emphasized here, however, that in 1872 the Society had actually twelve
men less on the roll than in 1865. The careful reader will find why it
was so.
The first two chapters of this Part also are devoted to the Environ-
ment. The " High" and " Low " movements are not taken separately,
however, as they were in Part VI. One chapter is occupied with the
controversies of the period, and the other with Church affairs and some
Home Mission developments. Then Chaps. LIII and LIV. give us, as in
previous parts, the personnel and inner history of the Society ; the account
of the candidates in Chap. LIV. leading up to the establishment of the
Day of Intercession.
Chap LV., on Native Church Organization, is complementary to
Chap, xxxviii. in the preceding Part The next twelve chapters again
take us round the Mission-field, First, West Africa, telling, on the one
hand, of the discouragements and repulses everywhere (LVI.), and, on
the other hand, of Bishop Crowther7s work on the Niger (LVII.) ; then
Mauritius, and the short-lived Mission in Madagascar (LVIII.); then
five chapters on India. Of these five, four are arranged neither geo-
graphically nor chronologically, but topically, introducing us to the great
Anglo-Indians of the period (LIX.), to the Brahmo Samaj and similar
OUTLINE OF THE WORK xxiii
movements (LX.), to the varied missionary methods and agencies (LXI.),
and commemorating the noble missionaries who died in the period
(LXII.) ; while the fifth (LXIII.), on the Punjab, is notable for its narra-
tives of converts from Islam. Advances and trials in China (LXIV.), the
opening of Japan (LXV.), the establishment of Metlakahtla (LXVI.), follow
in succession; and, lastly, comes a full account (LXVII.) of the dark
period of war in New Zealand
The last chapter of the Part, LXVIII , winds up the history of the
period with a sketch of Henry Venn's latter days, closing with his death,
VOL. III.
Part VIII. covers the eight years of Henry Wright's Secretaryship, but
carries on the history two years after his death, partly that the great
epoch of change in Salisbury Square, 1880-82, may clearly appear, and
partly to mark the epoch in English Church history of Archbishop Tait's
death at the end of 1882.
We begin, as before, by surveying the Environment, first the Church
Movements and leading men of the period (LXIX.), and then (LXX.)
the Evangelistic and Spiritual Movements associated with the names of
Aitken, Moody, Pennefather, Battersby, &c. Then we come to the
Society itself, and note the men and work of these energetic years
(LXXI.)J stopping, however, just before Mr. Wright's death, and
leaving that event and its issues to come at the end of the Pnrt. A
supplementary chapter (LXXIL) describes the Society's homo organisa-
tion.
The chapters on the Missions are eleven in number. First wo see
the revival of vigorous efforts in and for Africa (LXXIII.), mostly con-
sequent on the death of Livingstone; and, in particular (LXXIV.), the
commencement in Uganda. Then we take up Missions to Moham-
medans (LXXV.) in Palestine, Persia, <fcc. India absorbs four chapters
this time, three of them reviewing the work by dioceses. First, Calcutta
and Bombay (LXXVL), introducing the Prince of Wales's visit, Vaugbm's
struggle with Caste in Krishnagar, and some educational questions;
then Lahore (LXXYIL), and the work of French, Clark, Bateman, and
Gordon ; and then Madras (ixxvm.)> with Bishops Sargont and Cald-
well in Tinnevelly, the. Great Famine, the Travancore Kevival and
Schism, <fec. The fourth Indian chapter (LXXIX.) narrates the efforts to
influence the non-Aryan Hill Tribes, Santals, Gonds, <&c. Chap. LXXX,
discusses the ecclesiastical questions that arose in both India and Ceylon
at this time, and, in particular, tells tho story of the famous Ceylon Con-
troversy. The China chapter (LXXXT.) tolls of development and advance
amid many difficulties ; and a short section at the end of it summarises
the few yet important incidents of the period in Japan. Chap. LXXXII,
takes us back to North America, reviews the work by dioceses, and, at
the end, begins the story of Bishop Ridley's episcopate on the North
Pacific coast.
The closing chapter of the Part (LXXXIII.), as above indicated, relates
xxiv OUTLINE OF THE WORK
the important events of 1880-82, Mr, Wright's death, the changes in the
Church Missionary House that followed, and the emergence of the
Society from the Period of Retrenchment into the Period of Expansion.
Part IX, is devoted to the period of Mr. Wigram's Secretaryship,
except that the events of his first two years, 1881-2, have been mostly
included in Part VIIL The Home Chapters are relatively fuller in this
Part than in any other, the Period having been marked by so many new
developments. Commencing with the Environment as usual, Chapter
LXXXIV, introduces us to Archbishop Benson's Primacy and many of
the events that occurred in its earlier years ; also to the rise of the
modern missionary movements at Cambridge and in connexion with the
Keswick Convention. In Chap. LXXXV, the Personnel d the Society during
the period is described, and the incidents are noticed which made 18834
the commencement of a new era of progress, Chap, LXXXVL is entirely
devoted to the " three memorable years" that followed, 1885-7, dwelling
on their encouraging features, while Chap. L xxxvii.notices various con-
troversies of the period, touching the Jerusalem bishopric, &c, In
Chap. LXXXVIIL the numerous missionary recruits of the period are
introduced.
Then, turning to the foreign field, we have three long and full chapters
on African affairs. The first two are entitled " High Hopes and Sore
Sorrows": Chap. LXXXIX. relating the developments, difficulties, and
deaths in the West Africa Missions, particularly on the Niger; and
Chap, xc, the advances and the trials of the period in East Africa and
Uganda Chap xci. continues the latter story, with especial reference
to the steps which led to the establishment of the Uganda Protectorate,
The following seven chapters, XCIL to XCVIIL, take us in succession to
India, Ceylon, and Mauritius ; to Persia, Palestine, and Egypt ; to China
and Japan ; to New Zealand and the Dominion of Canada.
Finally, Chaps, xcix. and o, resume the Home narrative, showing us,
more especially, the results of " seven years of the Policy of Faith," and
reviewing the proceedings of various Conferences and Congresses held
during the period,
Parf X., in a few closing chapters, reviews the events of the past four
years, and seeks to draw from the whole history lessons for our guidance
and encouragement in the time to come,
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
PA.0K
OUTLINE OF THE WOSK xix
fart 1
PRELIMINARY CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER I.
THE GREAT COMMISSION ,
CHAPTER IL
MISSIONS BEFOftE THE REFORMATION,
The Apostolic Age— Conversion of the Roman Empire—of the
Northern Nations— Patrick, Anschar, Kaymund Lull, &c.—
Nestorian Missions in Asia— Mohammedanism .... 6
CHAPTER III.
MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION.
Roman Missions— Francis Xavier— Early Protestant Efforts— Eliot
and the Red Indians— Cromwell, Robert Boyle, Dr. Bray—
SP.C.K. and S.P.G.— Bishop Berkeley — Ziegcnbalg and
Schwartz— Hans Egede— The Moravians— Brainerd 16
H.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO,
CHAPTER IV,
THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AND THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL.
The Church under the Georges — Butlor and Wesley — The
Methodist Movement— Wesleyans, Calvinists, Evangelicals—
The Last Decade— Second Generation of Evangelicals— The
ClaphamSect , 81
CHAPTER V,
AFRICA AND THE EAST— WAITING,
The Dark Continent— England and the Slave Trade— Granville
Sharp, Clarkson, Wilberforce— The Struggle for Abolition-—
The East India Company— Religion in British India in the
Eighteenth Century— Charles Grant and Wilberforce— The
Dark Period in India— Other Eastern Lands, Waitiag . . 45
xxvi CONTENTS
CHAPTER YI.
THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, PAG
The Twelve Events of 1786 — Charles Simeon — - Carey;— The
Baptist and London Missionary Societies — The Eclectic Dis-
cussions— Botany Bay — Simeon in earnest — Josiah Pratt and
John Venn — Why form a new Society ? — L M S. not desirable,
S.P.G. not possible 57
CHAPTER VII.
THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES.
April 12th, 1799— The Men and their Plans— Waiting for the
Archbishop— Men, Money, and Openings wanted— The First
Five Sermons— Thomas Scott and Josiah Pratt ... 68
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FIRST MISSIONARIES.
Henry Martyn's Offer— The Men from Berlin— Their Training—
The First Valedictory Meetings— The First Voyages Out— The
First Englishmen accepted— Ordination Difficulties ... 81
CHAPTER IX.
AFRICA AND INDIA: STRUGGLE AND VICTORY.
Renewed Anti-Slave-Trade Campaign — Wilberforce's Triumph —
Sierra Leone — India in the Dark Period — Carey and Seram-
pore — Claudius Buchanan— The Vellore Mutiny— Controversy
at Home — The Charter Debates — Another Victory — India
Open 92
A PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT: 1812-1824.
CHAPTER X.
FORWARD STEPS.
Signs and Causes of Coming Development— The President— New
Rules — Salisbury Square — Annual Meetings and Sermons —
Valedictory Meetings — Public Affairs : Fall of Napoleon :
State of the Country — More Openings for Work — Transla-
tional Undertakings — Samuel Lee — Offers of Service— Special
Funds — The Missionary Register 107
CHAPTER XI.
ROUSING THE COUNTRY : THE ASSOCIATIONS.
Growing Needs — Plans for Associations— The Start at Bristol-
Basil Woodd's Yorkshire Journey— Features of the Campaign :
Obstacles, Opposition within and without the Church, Suc-
cesses, Spiritual Influence, Hymns — Norwich, Cambridge,
Liverpool, Ireland— Grandfathers of the Present Generation . 129
CHAPTER XII.
C.M.S. AND OTHER SOCIETIES.
The S.P.C.K. and S.P.G. at this Period— The Archdeacon of Bath's
Attack on C.M.S.— Awakening in S.P.G. : the Royal Letter
— Pratt's Propaganda — Heber proposes union of S.P.G. and
CONTENTS xxvii
PAGE
O.M.S.— The Bible Society, Jews' Society, Prayer Book and
Homily Society, Religious Tract Society, Nonconfoimist
Missionary Societies— Foundation of the American Church
Missions ........... 144
CHAPTER XIII.
SIEBRA LEONE : THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE ; THE BLACK MAN'S LIFE,
Early Efforts— The Susu Mission— Edward Bickersteth's Visit-
Work among the Liberated Slaves— W. A. B Johnson and
H. During— The Revival at Regent— The Fever and its Victims
—West Africa not a Debtor but a Creditor .... 156
CHAPTER XIV.
THE FINISHED COURSE.
Miss Childe's Book — Some Martyrs for Christ in West Africa —
Rev. W. Garnon — Gates — A Negro's Wail — Mr. arid Mrs,
Palmer — C. Knight and H, Brooks — Nylander's Daughters —
Kissy Churchyard 173
CHAPTER XV.
INDIA: ENTERING THE OPENED DOOR.
C M.S. Work begun before the Opening — The Calcutta Corre-
sponding Committee— Corne and Abdul Masih — The First
Missionaries — The Bishopric of Calcutta — Bishop Middloton
— Bishop's College — Bishop Heber — Burdwan and its Schools
—Miss Cooke's Girls' School—Benares, Agra, Moi'rut— The
Sepoy Convert— Madras and Tmnevelly — Hough and Rhenius 182
CHAPTER XVI.
INSULAR MISSIONS : NEW ZEALAND, CEYLON, WEST INDIES, MALTA.
Samuel Marsden and the Maoris — The New Zealand Mission —
Christmas Day, 1814 — The Lay Settlers — Trials and Dis-
appointments—Henry and William Williams — Tho Openings
in Ceylon and the First Missionaries — Antigua, Barbacloes,
Honduras — Malta as a Centre of Influence . 203
CHAPTER XVII.
THE EASTERN CHURCHES : EFFORTS FOR THEIR REVIVAL,
The Committee's Eyes upon the East— An Appeal from Malta-
William Jowett— C.M.S. Policy with the Eastern Churches —
The Bible for the Eastern Churches— Promising Beginnings
—Turkish Atrocities — The Syrian Church of Travancore —
Buchanan and Colonel Munro— C.M.S, Designs— Fexm. Bailey.
Baker . . . ! 221
CHAPTER XVIII,
THE OUTLOOK AFTER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS,
Josiah Pratt retires — Sombre Tone of his Last Report— Cunning-
ham on the Great Enemy — Discouragement and Repulse in
the Mission Field — Deaths — New Friends— The Anniversaries
— Men and Means — Ordinations— New N.-W. America Mission
—The S.V.M.U. Motto anticipated— -The One Hope, an Out-
pouring of the Spirit 2
xxviii CONTENTS
Sart W.
FROM PRATT'S RETIREMENT TO VENN'S ACCESSION:
1824—1841.
CHAPTER XIX,
THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD. PAGE
Dandeson Coates — Edward Bickersteth— The Committee— Lord
Chicliester President — The two Bishops Sumner — The
Preachers and Speakers — B. Noel and Dale suggest "Own
Missionaries" — The Missionaries— The C.M. College— Deaths
— Simeon and Wilberforce 251
CHAPTER XX.
THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD.
Public Affairs— The Reform Bill and the Bishops — Accession of
Queen Victoria — Church Reform — Evangelical Improvements
—The C.P A S.— Growth of S.P.Gk— Bishop Blomneld— Open-
ing of Exeter Hall — Bible Society Controversies — Prayer at
Public Meetings — Calvinistic Disputes — Edward Irving —
Plymouth Brethren — Prophetical Studies — Pratt warns
against Disunion — The Tractarian Movement: Keble and
Newman— Attitude of the Evangelicals ; and of C.M.S. . 270
CHAPTER XXI.
INDIA: CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS.
The Bishops — Daniel "Wilson — Lord W. Bentmck — Social Reforms
— Abolition of Suttee — Government Patronage of Idolatry —
Charles Grant the Younger and the Company— Resignation
of Sir P. Maitland— Work and Influence of R. M. Bird-
Steam Communication — New Bishoprics — Bishop Corne —
Bishop Wilson and the Caste Question — Education — Alexander
Duff ; his Father and C. Simeon— Duff 's Plan— Ram Mohun
Roy — Duff's College — The Early Converts — Duff and Macaulay
— The Friend of India and Calcutta Review — Duff at home —
His C.M.S. Speech 290
CHAPTER XXII.
INDIA. PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS.
The North India Stations — The Awakening in Krishnagar— Bishop
Wilson's Hopes — Why they failed — Bishop Wilson declines
Ladies — Mrs, Wilson — Bombay — Tmnevelly — Rhenius : his
Work, his Disconnexion— Progress under Pettitt— The Tinne-
velly Christians : Nominal Christianity ; Persecution ; C.M.S.
and S P.G-. — Travancore : Syrians and Heathen ; Changed
Policy of the Mission— Madras Seminary — Telugu Mission :
Fox and Noble— John Tucker — Controversies with the Corre-
sponding Committees — Bishop's College — Other Missions in
India— Ceylon 312
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE NEGRO ON BOTH SIDES THE ATLANTIC, ENSLAVED AND FREE.
Continued Slave Trade in West Africa — Sickness and Sorrow at
Sierra Leone— Progress notwithstanding— Can the Negro be
CONTENTS xxix
elevated ?— West Indian Slavery — Wilberforce and Buxton —
The Parliamentary Campaign — "West Indian Cruelties — Perse-
cution of Missionaries — Trial and Death of John Smith —
Oppression of Negroes in Jamaica — An Amendment at
Exeter Hall — Abolition of Slavery — Death of Wilberforce —
'' Compensation for the Slave " — The Day of Emancipation —
Missionary Plans for the Negroes — C M.S. in Jamaica —
British Guiana Mission — Zachary Macaulay , . 333
CHAPTER XXIV.
GREEK, COPT, ABYSSINIAN, ZULU, MAORI, AUSTRALIAN, CREE.
Malta, Syra, Smyrna — Egypt and Abyssinia • S. Gobat , Liecler ;
Isenberg and Krapf — The Zulu Mission . Francis Owen — New
Zealand : First Baptisms ; New Missionaries ; Extension ;
Charles Darwin ; Bishop Broughton ; Marsden's Last Visit
and Death — New Holland Mission- the Australian Blacks —
Rupert's Land : the Cree and the Soto , Cockiau and Cowley ;
Bishop Mountain's Visit 349
FROM VENN'S ACCESSION TO THE JUBILEE: 1841-1848.
CHAPTER XXV.
HENRY VENN; AND SURVEY OF MEN AND THINGS.
The Year 1841 an Epoch in Church, in State, in C.M.S.— Henry
Venn— Deaths of Pratt and Coates — The Committee, Vice-
Presidents, Preachers and Speakers — C.M.S. Missions and
Missionaries — Missions of Other Societies— Roman Missions
— Controversies at Home , Maynooth, Irish Church Missions,
Evangelical Alliance —Scotch Disruption— -O.M.S and Scotch
Episcopal Church 367
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE SOCIETY AND THE CHUBCH.
Improved Condition of the Church — Church Unions — H, Venn's
Defence of 0 M.S.—" Sanction of Convocation "— F. Close's
Sermon— Bishop Blomfield's Proposals for C.M.S, and S.P G,
— F. Close and Lord Chichoster on the Proposals — Revision
of C.M.S. Laws — Archbishops and Bishops join C.M.S. — Hugh
StowelTs Sermon, and Bishop Blotnfiold's— Results, Expected
and Actual— S.P.G. and C.M S.— Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop
of Oxford: his Career and Influence — J. B. Sunnier, Arch-
bishop of Canterbury — Tractarian Controversies and Seces*
^sions— Attitude of C.M.S 382
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE.
S.P.G. Appeals in Eighteenth Century — First Bishops for America
and Canada — The Colonial Episcopate at Queen Victoria's
Accession— Growth of S.P.G, — The Colonial Church Society—
The Colonial Bishoprics Fund, 1841— Attitude of G.M.S.-*-
New Zealand Bishopric— C.M.S. Relation thereto — Bishop
Selwyn— StowelFs Sermon— Other new Bishoprics—Jerusalem
xxx CONTENTS
i4*. cue
Bishopric — Bunsen, Lord Ashley, Gladstone— The first Bishop
consecrated— C M S. Controversy with Bishop Daniel Wilson
The Concordat and H. Venn — Case of Mr. Humphrey—
shop D. Wilson's Visit to England— His C.M.S. Sermon . 404
CHAPTER XXVIII
NEW ZEALAND: THE BISHOP, THE COLONY, AND THE MISSION.
Advent of Colonists— Annexation of New Zealand — Arrival of
Bishop Selwyn: his Testimony, Travels, and Trials — His
Difficulties with C.M.S — His Tardy Ordinations— Colonial
Encroachment and Maori Discontent— Governors Fitzroy and
Grey— The Missionary Lands Question— Grey's Secret Des-
patch— Archdeacon H. Williams disconnected and reinstated
— The Maori Bible — Komanist Mission — Extension and Suc-
cesses of C.M S. Mission — Sir G Grey's Testimony — The
Melanesian Mission 427
CHAPTER XXIX.
NEW ENTEKPRISES IN AFBICA NIGER EXPEDITION, YOBUBA MISSION
EAST COAST.
Story of Adjai the Slave-boy — Fowell Buxton's New Plans — The
River Niger— Prince Albert's First Speech — The Expedition
of 1841 — Its Failure and Fruits — Buxton's Death— The
returning Egba Exiles — S. Crowther's Ordination — Townsend
and Crowther to Abeokuta— Krapf in Shoa — His Voyage
to Zanzibar— Mombasa— Death of Mrs. Krapf— The Appeal
of her Grave 449
CHAPTER XXX.
THE OPENING OP CHINA.
Nestorian and Roman Missions in China — China in the First
Report of C.M.S —Morrison, Milne, Gutzlaff— E. B. Squire's
Attempt — The Chinese War — Lord Ashley and the Opium
Trade— New Moves Forward— Vincent Stanton— The C M.S.
Mission — The First Missionaries — Bishop George Smith . . 463
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE SOCIETY'S FINANCES.
Earliest Contributions — The Associations in 1820 — London and
the Provinces in 1848— Comparison with the Present Time—
A Missionary-box at Sea — The Expenditure of the Half-
Century— The Financial Crisis of 1841— Plans of the Special
Committee— What are the "Talents" given to a Society?
— An Income Tax for C.M.S. — An Appeal on Protestant
Principles — Its Results 475
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE JUBILEE*
Europe and England in 1848— Survey of the Half-Century's
Work — Jubilee Tracts — Jubilee Services and Gather
The Great Meeting : Lord Chichester, Sir R, Inglis, Bishop
Wilberforce, Cunningham, Bickersteth, Hoare — Observances
in the Provinces and m the Mission Field — Death of H. W.
Fox — The Fox Sermon at Rugby— The Jubilee Fund — The
Queen becomes a Life Governor— Fox's Jubilee Hymn .
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOL. I.
PORTRAITS •— TA.GE
The Right Honourable the Earl of Chichestcr . . Frontispiece
Thomas Clarkson, Zachary Macaulay, Willicim Wilber-
force, John Bacon, Henry Thornton . . . Facing 31
The Revs John Venn, Thomas Scott, Charles Simeon,
John Newton, Richard Cecil ,,57
Charles Grant, the Revs. Henry Martyn, Abdul Masili,
Claudius Buchanan, Daniel Come . ,,92
Lord Gambier, tho Revs. Basil "Woodd, Josiah Pratt,
William Goocle, T. T. Bicldulph .... ,,107
The Revs, John W. Cunningham, "William Jovyett,
and Edward Bickersteth ; Bishop Ryder ; Sir T.
Fowell Buxton ,,251
Bishop Heber, Dr. Alexander Duff, Bishop Daniel
Wilson, Bishop Cotton, the Revs, J. J. Weitbrecht
and Benjamin Bailey „ 290
Tho Revs Hugh McNcile and Hugh Stowell, Arch-
bishop Sumner, Dean Close, Bishop Samuel Wil-
berforce „ 382
Archdeacon Henry Williams, the Rev. Samuel
Marsden, Bishop G. A. Selwyn, Bishop W,
Williams, Mrs. W. Williams „ 427
Facsimile of Map and accompanying Notes as* inserted
in tho Missionary Roister for 1816 ... „ 128
The First Picture in a Missionary Magazine, the Mis-
sionary Register of April, 1816, representing a
Scone in West Africa 128
Many of the portraits m the History aro from oil-paintings or engravings
presented to tho Society , others from photographs or prints kindly lent
by friends, for which the Author here makes gratoi'ul acknowledgment.
|)art J*
PRELIMINARY CHAPTEES.
VOL. I,
NOTE ON PAET I.
THE Three Chapters in this Part are preliminary. First, the Lord's
Great Commission to His Church is recalled Then in Chaps. IT. and III
a rapid sketch is given of the work of the Church in executing that
Commission during eighteen centuries. Primitive Missions, Mediaeval
Missions, Roman Missions, and Modern Protestant Missions, are glanced
at. In particular, the establishment and early enterprises of the S.P.C K.
and S.P.G. are briefly noticed. We are thus brought on towards the
close of the Eighteenth Century, the period which saw the foundation
of the C.M.S. and several other missionary organizations.
CHAPTER I.
THE GREAT COMMISSION.
" Remember the words of the Lord Jesus." — Acts xx 35
|HE History of Missions begins with the Day of Pente- PART I.
I cost Our familiar Cieed, after affirming the facts of ChfliP- 1-
the Incarnation, Sufferings, Death, Burial, and Besur- '
rection of the Son of God, continues, "He ascended The Vcucs
into heaven ; And sitteth on the right hand of God creed,
the Father Almighty : From thence He shall come to judge the
quick and the dead." The Past— "He ascended into heaven."
The Future— " From thence He shall come." Between the Past
and the Future is the Present— " He sitteth at the right hand of
God." But what of the Present on earth ? The Creed goes on,
"I Relieve in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church."'
While the Son of God is sitting on the Father's right hand, it is
the dispensation of the Holy Ghost ; and the work He is doing is
the calling out of the Ecclesia, the "Holy Catholic Church."
That is the purpose of Missions ; and so tho History of Missions
begins with the Day of Pentecost.
One of the first parts of the work of the Holy Ghost was to The Voic«
inspire the writers of the New Testament. The Four Evangelists TeSiSnT
were guided by Him to write their records of the Life of tho Sou
of God on earth. When we examine these precious records,
nothing is more significant than the brevity of the accounts of
His visits to His disciples after the Besurrec'tion. The narratives
of the Sufferings and Death are full and detailed. The narratives
of the Kesurrection and the Forty Days are short and slight, St.
Luke tells us in his second work, the Acts of the Apostles, that
Christ, during those Forty Days, " gave commandments unto the
apostles whom He had chosen," and that He spoke to them "of
the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." Tho same evange-
list^ in his Gospel, shows us tho Lord expounding to them the
ancient Scriptures, the things "written m the Law of Moses, and
in the Prophets, and m the Psalms." Now the interesting
question is, Out of all these instructions and exhortations and
expositions, what were the Evangelists guided by the Holy Ghost
bo record? The answer is most significant.
St. Matthew gives us only one fragment. It is this :— " All in St.
power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, M*tth<!W'
B 2
4 THE GREAT COMMISSION
PAST I. and teach [disciple] all nations, baptizing them in the name of
GhaP L the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost- teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you *
and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world/'
st. Mark. St. Mark — i.e the postscript to His Gospel . into the textual
question we need not enter — gives us only one fragment. It is
this : — " Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature," with the appended promise to him that believes and
warning to him that believes not, and the reiterated insistence
upon baptism as the public confession of Christ and sign of
separation unto Him.
st Luke. St. Luke gives us the episode of the Walk to Emmaus ; but in
the narrative of the Lord's interview with His disciples as a body,
there is again only one fragment of His instructions. In that
fragment He lays definite stress upon three things. " Thus it is
written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the
dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem." Three things put on a level, as apparently of equal
importance in the work of redemption, viz., (1) the Death of
Christ, (2) His Resurrection, (3) the preaching of repentance and
remission of sins among all nations.
st. John. gk John records the Lord's first appearance to the disciples on
that first Easter-Day evening, when, after the word of salutation,
" Peace," He instantly gives them, as the one thing of transcen-
dent importance, their commission, " As My Father hath sent Me,
even so send I you." It is interesting to notice further that, in
the last and supplementary chapter of the Gospel, we have their
work represented under two figures. First, we see them as
fishers . " Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall
find " Secondly, as shepherds (for the injunctions to Peter
cannot be regarded as merely personal to himself)* "Feed My
lambs," "Tend My sheep/' "Feed My sheep." Here we have
the two grand divisions of all work for Christ, at home and abroad,
(1) the evangelistic, (2) the pastoral.
So we find that whatever the instructions and exhortations and
expositions of those Forty Days were, and however numerous,
the Evangelists were divinely inspired to record only one Great
Commission, and that this is recorded by them all. There are
but few things in the life and teaching, of Christ that have a four-
fold record, "We have it of His Sufferings and Death ; we have it
of His Eesurrection ; we have it of one Miracle, and one only, the
Feeding of the Five Thousand. We have it not of His Birth, nor
of His Circumcision, nor of His Baptism, nor of His Temptation,
nor of His Transfiguration, nor of His Ascension. The Great
Commission, therefore, occupies an exceptional position in having
a fourfold record.
And hot an exceptional position merely. Its position is unique.
For it actually has a fivefold record. We turn to the first chapter of
THE GREAT COMMISSION 5
the Acts. We are there back again in the Forty Days. But there, PART I
too, only one thing is definitely mentioned. The disciples come GlmP *
to the Lord with a speculative question. Instantly, " It is not for TheTcts
you to know . . . but — " But what? He would not give them
the knowledge they asked for, but He would give them power.
Power for what? " Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me ...
unto the uttermost part of the earth" "And when He had
spoken these things, as they beheld, He was taken up, and a
cloud received Him, out of their sight," Tho very last words of
Jesus : " uttermost part of the earth " !
How could the Holy Ghost have emphasized more strongly
what work was to be done upon earth during the period between
the Ascension and the Second Advent, while the Son of God
" sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty " ?
In a word, that work is the Evangelization of the "World. Tho Th
Evangelization — whatever that word may include ; not necessarily gdued
the Conversion. Without entering into the difficult questions
clustering round the Promise of the Second Coming, there seem
to be two passages in the Now Testament which indicate the two
purposes of the present work of Evangelization. The first is
Matt. xxiv. 14, " This Gospel of the kingdom shall bo preached
in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the
end come," The second is Acts xv. 14, " God did visit tho
Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name," The first
announces the universal proclamation of the Gospel ; the second
announces the gathering out of tho Ecclosia, "tho Holy Catholic
Church."
It is the Divine plan that the Church is to do this work, guided, B£ the
administered, empowered, by the Holy Ghost, The Church is to h'
evangelize the World. The Church is to gather out the Church.
She is to be self-extending, self-propagating.
It is a humiliating thought that this one great Commission
which the Church's Bison Lord gavo her to execute is the very
thing she has not done. She has accomplished nwgmficeut work.
She has covered Christendom with splendid buildings for the
worship of God. She has cared for the poor, tho sick, tho in-
firm, the aged, the young. She has taught tho world to build
hospitals and schools. But her Lord's one grand Commission
she has almost entirely neglected. It should have had the first
place in her thoughts, sympathies, and prayers. It has had tho
last place, if indeed it can be said to have had a place at all And
all the while, her Lord and Saviour " sitteth on the right hand of
God the Father Almighty/' " cf^eclmg" as the Epistle to tho
Hebrews expresses it.
But a few of tho Church's members, sometimes as individuals,
sometimes in bands and associations, have remembered their
Lord's command and tried to do something The story of one of
these associations is the subject of the present volume,
CHAPTER II,
MISSIONS BEFOM TEE REFORMATION,
The Apostolic Age—Conversion of the Roman Empire-Of the Northern
Nations — Patrick — lona — Augustm of Canterbury — Boniface —
Anschar— Dark Ages — Crusades — Raymund Lull — Nestonan
Missions in Asia— Islam and Christianity,
u Je M rm well ; wlio &i& Un&er you ? "— Gal, v, 7,
iwjKjP||BFOEE inquiring into the origin of the Society whose
Chap 2 p P^J S*i01iy ^s k°°k *s *° *e^' an^ m*° ^ie circumstances
80-1584! W £K| am^ ^ida it was established, let us take a brief
— IfeyilsJI survey of the Church's evangelistic work during the
preceding eighteen centuries
The Acts The Acts of the Apostles is the Book of Evangelization. There
Missions! we see the Church commencing the work given her to do, directed
at every step by the Divine Administrator of her Missions, the
Holy Ghost. That book is but a fragment, It gives us only a
few illustrations of what the Apostles and their companions and
followers did towards executing the great Commission. Yet its
value is supreme, and its teachings regarding the conduct of
Missions are most important. Into these we cannot now enter j
but there is one fact revealed to us m the Acts which throws
much light upon the history of the Church ever since
Work of It is this, Prom the very beginning, the work of evangelization
Christians, was but partially— we might say feebly— taken up by the Church
as a whole, The pictures sometimes drawn of the early Christians
going forth by thousands in all directions as missionaries arc
entirely imaginary, Only once in the Acts is there anything in
the least like this. They that were "scattered abroad" by the
persecution which arose at Jenisalena after the murder of Stephen,
and in which Saul of Tarsus took so leading a part, " went every-
where preaching the word," But they were fugitives, not mis-
sionaries, They were "all" scattered, men and women and
children ; the scattering was, for the most part, " throughout the
regions of Judaea and Samaria," not even so far as Galilee, and
apparently the majority returned to the capital when the perse-
cution was over, and formed a large part of the " thousands of
Jews that believed" whom we meet with later, and of "the
poor saints which were at Jerusalem." There were some, how-
MISSIONS BEFORE THE REFORMATION- 7
ever, who went further, who "travelled as far as Phenice and PART I.
Cyprus and Antioch"; but they also were fugitives, and not S^Sg?'
missionaries, and the Church of Antioch is the great typical ex- " °'_ '
ample of God's blessing upon the personal and unofficial efforts of
private Christians.
When the Church of Antioch itself, under the direction of the
Holy Ghost, sent forth a Mission to the Heathen, it consisted of
two missionaries and one " minister " or assistant ; and the latter
soon returned home. As this is the only recorded case, we have
no other direct evidence ; but to all appearance the Gospel was
earned to Borne by converted Jews having business or other con-
nexions there, of the type of Aquila and Priscilla. Of the foreign
missionary work of the original Apostles no account is given.
We may accept the traditions that they went in different directions
preaching Christ ; but of extensive evangelization by members of
the Church generally there is little or no trace.
St. Paul's words in the Epistle to the Colossians, " The gospel its results,
which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature [JJ^1? b*
which is under heaven " (kv -jracn? rfj /mo-a -H} foro TOV ovpavov), have stated,
been much misunderstood. It is obvious that they cannot, as they
stand in our Authorized Version, be taken literally. No one
supposes that, at the time of St. Paul's first imprisonment at
Eome, every Pict and Scot in North Britain, every Teuton in the
German forests, every Scythian and Parthian and Chinaman, had
heard the Gospel. The Revised Version is, "Preached in all
creation under heaven"; and Bishop Barry, in his note on the
passage,* well says, " In idea and capacity the Gospel is universal ;
although in actual reality such universality can only be claimed
by a natural hyperbole," If we put aside the literal English ex-
pression, "every creature," there is no difficulty in understanding
the passage. Christian writers in all ages have quite rightly
pointed to the rapid spread of Christianity in the first century as
one of the evidences of its truth and power ; but the tendency of
the ordinary reader has been to over-estimate the results. Bishop
Lightfoot, in his admirable survey of the question, t shows that
the evidence of the early Christian Fathers testifies " rather to the
wide diffusion than to the overflowing numbers of the Christians."
His conclusion is that two centuries after Christ they were
probably one-twentieth of the subjects of the Roman Empire, and
one hundred and fiftieth of the whole human race, That they
were mainly confined to the towns is evident from the curious
fact that the word pagani, villagers, became a synonym for non-
Christians, and is preserved to us in our familiar " Pagans,"
But while we guard ourselves against an exaggerated view of Nor under,
the missionary zeal of the early Church, we must not ignore what stated-
was actually done. Antioch sent out other missionaries besides
St. Barnabas and St. Paul ; and to this day the ancient Syrian
* Ellicott's Commentary, in loco.
f Comparative Pi ogress of Ancient and Modem Mmionn* S.P.GK
8 MISSIONS BEFORE THE REFORMATION
PART I. Church of Southern India looks to Antioch as its ecclesiastical
Chap 2, centre. In Alexandria, Pantsenus presided over what we may call
30-1534. ^e £rgjj ]\£lsslonaiy College, and then went forth himself to
" India," though it has been doubted by some whether Ethiopia
or Arabia is not really meant by the term in this case. The
British Church of that day was m itself a brilliant result of mis-
sionary enterprise. An excellent summary of early Missions
occurs in a remarkable Essay on the Progress of the Gospel,
written by the Rev. Hugh Pearson (afterwards Dean of Salisbury)
in 1812, to which was adjudged by the University of Oxford the
Buchanan Prize of £500. An article by him, embodying much
of the Essay, was printed in the second and third numbers of
the first English missionary periodical, the Missionary Register. lc
It pointedly refers to Justin Martyr's well-known statement t
that (about the middle of the second century) " there was not a
nation, either of Greek or Barbarian or any other name, even
of those who wander m tribes or live in tents, amongst whom
prayers and thanksgivings were not offered to the Father and
Creator of the Universe by the name of the crucified Jesus";
but Pearson remarks, " These expressions may be admitted to be
somewhat general and declamatory."
E^nai The great external triumph of Christianity came when Con-
o?chns- stantine, in A D. 312, accepted the message, In hoc signo vinces, and
tiamty. established the new religion upon the ruins of the old Paganism
died hard ; if indeed it can truly be said to have died at all. Is
not the ancient bronze image of Jupiter m St Peter's at Eome,
which for centuries, as the supposed statue of the apostle, has
been adored by countless multitudes until their kisses have worn
away the foot, a sign and token of the practical paganization of
a large part of Christendom ? And the establishment of Chris-
tianity under Constantme and Theodosius was by no means "of
unmixed benefit to the cause of true religion. Prosperity and
pomp succeeded to crucifixion and the lions ; and Dr. George
Smith scarcely uses too strong language when he says,]. " From a
purely missionary point of view, it began the system of com-
promise with error, of nationalism instead of individualism in
conversion, which in the East made the Church an easy prey to
Mohammedanism, and in the West produced Jesuit Missions."
Nevertheless the fact remains, and it is a great and glorious fact,
that for many centuries there has not been a nation — perhaps
not one single person — on the face of the earth worshipping the
gods of Greece and Eome. Jupiter and Juno, Mars and Minerva,
Venus and Apollo, are names familiar to every schoolboy ; but they
are gods no longer. The Jericho of classic Paganism reared its
* The first number of the Missionary Register, edited by the Eev Josiah
Pratt, then Secretary of C M.S., was published in January, 1813. (See p. 126 )
Kr. Pearson's article appears in the February and March numbers.
f Dial, cum Tryph., Ill fin
J Short History of Christian Missions, chap. v.
MISSIONS BEFORE THE REFORMATION 9
mighty walls before the apostolic Israel ; yet, like Joshua eighteen PART 1,
centuries before, the despised little Christian army " took the city." Chap ^ 2.
Then came the overthrow of the Roman Empire by the Northern 3Q~l034-
Barbarians ; but this did not involve the overthrow of the Church, conversion
Some of the Gothic tribes already professed Christianity In their °^d °ths
earliest raids, they had carried off many Christian captives, parti cu- Vandals,
laiiy from Cappadocia ; and these captives proved true mission-
aries of the cross, winning their savage masters to Christ, and
then sending for more teachers to carry on the work, Ulfilas, the
Apostle of the Goths, was the chief instrument in the enterprise ;
and his name will always be honoured as the translator of the
Bible into the Gothic tongue ; an achievement of which Professor
Max Muller thus speaks . — " At this time there existed in Europe
but two languages which a Christian bishop would have thought
himself justified in employing — Greek and Latin. All other
tongues were considered barbarous. It required a prophetic
sight, and a faith in the destinies of those half -savage tribes, and
a conviction also of the effeteness of the Roman and Byzantine
empires, before a bishop could have brought himself to translate
the Bible into the vulgar dialect of Ins barbarous countrymen." ;:
Others of the invaders of the Empire, though they came in as
Pagans, quickly embraced the religion of the conquered peoples ;
and Jerome wrote from his cell at Bethlehem, " Lo, the Armenian
lays down his quiver; the Hims arc loam ing the Psalter; the
frosts of Scythia glow with the warmth of faith ; the ruddy armies
of the Goths bear about with them the tabeinacles of the Church ;
and therefore, perhaps, do they fight with equal fortune against us,
because they trust in the religion of Christ equally with us," I
The history, however, is a sadly chequered one. Gothic Chris-
tianity was Arian, and the heresies which the Council of Nicsea
had condemned again overspread Europe and North Africa.
Religious wars ensued, and the " Christian " Vandals persecuted
the orthodox believers as cruelly as Pagan Rome had done. But
they destroyed the old heathen temples with still greater ferocity ;
and it cannot be denied that in the fourth and fifth centuries the
religion of the Prince of Peace, like the religion of the False
Prophet afterwards, was propagated by the sword. In the sack
of Rome by Alaric, the churches were spared while the temples
were razed to the ground ; but there was little of the spirit of the
Gospel in the Christendom of the Dark Ages that followed.
Except m our own country, While Arians and Pelagians waged British
war against the truth in East and West, while ecclesiastical pomp JSwt.
and pride were superseding the simplicity and devotion of earlier
centuries, while the bishops of Rome wore laying the foundations
of Papal supremacy, England, Ireland, and Scotland presented
scenes and illustrations of true missionary enterprise, Patrick, Patrick*
the Apostle of Ireland, deserves to rank with the greatest of
* Lectures on the Science of Langmge, Edn. 1861, p. 175-
f Epist, 107, 2.
10 MISSIONS BEFORE THE REFORMATION
PART L missionaries. In his preaching from the Scriptures, in his schools
Chap 2. for the children, in his training of evangelists, in his employment
30"1534 of women, he anticipated our modern methods ; while his spirit is
revealed by his celebrated hymn, one verse of which, translated
from the Keltic, runs thus : —
Christ, as a light,
Illumine and guide me !
Christ, as a shield, o'ershadow and cover me '
Christ, be under me ! Ohnst, be over me !
Christ, be beside me
On left hand and right !
Christ, be before me, behind me, abont me '
Christ, this day, be within and without me '
The result of his labours was wonderful. Ireland became known
as "the Island of Saints," and the European scholars who fled
from the turmoil and bloodshed of the Continent to its peaceful
shores called it " the University of the West." Then, as Scotland
had in the fifth century sent Patrick to Ireland, so Ireland in the
onat sixth sent Columba to Scotland; and on the little island of lona
arose the abbey and monastery whence missionaries evangelized
all North Britain, and afterwards spread themselves over Europe.
From Lindisfarne m Northumberland to Bobbio in the Appenmes
missionary centres were established; and a purer Gospel was
diffused from them by Aidan and Cuthbert and Columbanus and
Gallus and Fndolin and WiUibrord than was by that time preached
at Alexandria or at Rome, " The libraries of Milan preserve to this
day the copies of Holy Scripture which belonged to those early
evangelists, and which bear witness to their love of Scripture study
by the numerous interlineations and comments which they exhibit
in the Irish tongue." *
Augustin. Meanwhile Augustin the monk had been sent by Gregory the
Great to transform the Angh into angek. The ancient British
Church had been overwhelmed by the Saxons, and survived only
in Wales and Cornwall, as well as in Scotland and Ireland ; and
while the evangelists of lona brought the Gospel from the North
into what had become a heathen country, Augustin from the
South introduced the Papal system, so far as it had then been
developed, and, with it, concessions to heathen customs which
marred not a little the purity of the faith. The mission of
Augustin was a great event in the ecclesiastical history of England,
and its thirteenth centenary was rightly celebrated m 1897 by
the gathering of Anglican bishops at Canterbury from all parts
of the world ; but the purer British Christianity of the North and
the West, which prevailed before Augustin came, must never be
forgotten,' The Anglo-Roman Church thus founded also sent
forth its missionaries to the Continent, who not only planted the
Church among many of the Teutonic tribes, but were the chief
promoters of civilization, by means of the industrial and agricul-
* Bp. Pakenham Walsh, H&oe* of the Mission Field, chap iii.
MISSIONS BEFORE THE REFORMATION
tural settlements that sprang up around the mission stations;
while the monasteries, then in the earlier and purer stage of their GliaP-
history, were the centres of Scripture study and teaching. Of the 30"1534
agents of this important work, Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, Bomface
was the greatest ; but although he was in some respects a true
missionary, he was undoubtedly the chief instrument of bringing
German Christianity into union with the Papacy. Neander thus
sums up the character and results of the rival Missions : — " The
British and Irish missionaries certainly surpassed Boniface in
freedom of spirit and purity of Christian knowledge ; but Kome,
by its superior organization, triumphed in the end, and though it
introduced new and unscriptural elements into the Church, it
helped at the same time to consolidate its outward framework
against the assaults of Paganism."
The epoch of Charlemagne was an epoch of progress, but of
progress achieved mainly by the sword. The great emperor
imposed the profession of Christianity upon the nations he
subdued, despite the protests of his learned English friend Alcuin,
who, trained m the purer religion of Northumbria, urged that the
baptism of pagans was useless without faith, and that faith came,
not by compulsion, but by the grace of God. Our own King
Alfred was the one example of a monarch in those ages who seems
to have understood spiritual religion.
The next great missionary was Anschar, the Apostle of the Anschar.
North. His whole history is deeply interesting. Neander com-
pares Bomface to St. Peter and Anschar to St. John. Prom a
child he was the subject of divine grace, While still a boy he,
in a dream, saw the Saviour in His glory, fell, like John in
Patmos, "at his feet as dead," and received His forgiveness, —
awaking from the dream with an assurance of salvation that
lasted all his life. He became the evangelist of Denmark and
Sweden, and did a mighty work amid penis and persecutions as
great as have been encountered by any missionary in any age. If
his divinity school in Schleswig does not entitle him to be called
the first educational missionary, seeing that the training of native
teachers was an accepted method before his time, it may be truly
said that he was the first medical missionary, the cures wrought
at his hospital at Bremen giving rise to a belief among the ignorant
people that he wrought miracles— a power which he always dis-
claimed. It is noteworthy also that he anticipated Wilberforce by
nearly ten centuries m his denunciation of the slave trade. For
thirty-four years he laboured among the very Norsemen who were
about to descend upon Europe ; and it has been well observed
that the harvest from the seed he sowed appeared long after, when
the Dane Canute, having become King of1 England, suppressed the
remnants of heathenism and sent missionaries back to the North
to complete the evangelization of Scandinavia. *
* Dr. G. Smith, Short History of Christian Msftions, chap. viii.
11 MISSIONS &&FOR& THE REFORMATION
PAET I. Goths and Vandals, Huns and Franks, Celts and Saxons and
Chap. 2. Norsemen had now been brought within the pale of Christendom.
3Q~loa4' In Europe there still remained the Slavs. Cyril and Methodius,
Cyni and Greeks of Thessalonica, did a noble work in the ninth century by
Methodius, translating portions of Scripture into the old Sclavonic tongue ,
Adalbert of Prague preached the Gospel in Bohemia and Eastern
Prussia ; and the baptism of Vladimir established Christianity in
Russia, as that of Clovis had established it m France,
the Dark One thousand years of the Christian era had now run their
Ages* course, and Christendom, in respect of spiritual tone and practical
morality, was at the lowest point it has ever touched. Ignorance
and superstition everywhere prevailed, and it might be said of
Christian Europe what has often been said of Heathen Asia and
Africa, that " the dark places of the earth were full of the habita-
tions of cruelty." Eehance on the virtue of supposed relics of
saints had practically superseded the believer's humble access to
the Father through the Son. The clergy, debased as a body
as they have never been before or since, traded upon all kinds
of imposture, and descended to "unspeakable abominations."*
Borne was governed by abandoned women, who put their lovers in
the papal^ chair; and the principal dignitaries of the Church,
being " past feeling," had " given themselves over unto lascivious-
ness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." Suddenly, in the
year 1000 A.D , a cry arose that the end of the world was at hand, the
" thousand years " of Revelation being completed ; and an extra-
ordinary account of the panic that ensued is given by Mosheim,
the ecclesiastical historian. But, like other panics, it soon sub-
sided, and Christian Europe went upon its wicked way.
No wonder that the Lord's great Command was forgotten, and
that even when Missions were carried on, they bore little re-
semblance indeed to the Acts of the Apostles. Meanwhile, the
Mohammedan power had for four centuries wrought havoc in the
lands of the Bible and of the Early Church. It had robbed the
Eastern Empire and Church of some of its fairest domains ; it
had overrun a great part of Western Asia , it had totally destroyed
the North African ChurcH ; it reigned supreme in Spain. Chris-
tendom in its decadence stood face to face with the Saracen and
The the Moor in the fulness of their vigour. Then arose Peter the
rusa es' Hermit; and the cry "Dieu le veut," rang through Europe,
summoning Christians to a holy war. But the weapons of this
warfare were carnal, and the purpose of the Crusades was not the
evangelization of the Mohammedans, but their expulsion from the
Holy Land. The purpose was not fulfilled ; the Holy Sepulchre,
rescued for a time, once more fell into the hands of the Saracens ;
and in Moslem hands it has remained ever since. But just as
the Crusades were coming to a disastrous close, there was born in
the island of Majorca, in 1236, the man who was to" proclaim a
* Canon George Trevor's .Rome, (1868), p, 159 Canon Trevor was m his
day a prominent High Churchman.
MISSIONS BEFORE THE REFORMATION 13
truer method of warring the Lord's war, and to become the first, PART I.
and perhaps the greatest, missionary to Mohammedans. C^P- 2-
There is no more heroic figure in the history of Christendom ;_
than that of Eaymund Lull. Though much less generally known, Raymund
he deserves to be ranked with Francis of Assisi, who preceded Lull,
him by a few years, who anticipated him in his desire to preach
Christ to the Moslems, but who, in view of the revival work done
in Europe by his preaching friars, may rather be regarded as the
father of itinerant home missions, Baymund Lull, like St.
Augustine, spent his earlier years in a life of sensuality, and like
St. Augustine in his Confessions, recorded his spiritual experiences
in a book, On Dimne Contemplation. Converted to Christ at
the age of thirty, the young noble thenceforward gave himself
and all he possessed to the service of His Saviour. He soon saw
what a true crusade ought to be. " The Holy Land," he said,
" can be won in no other way than as Thou, 0 Lord Christ, and
Thy Apostles won it, by love, by prayer, by shedding of tears and
blood." He began, however, by writing a philosophical book,
which was to convince all men, the Moors included, that Chris-
tianity was the only true religion ; and then he persuaded the
Council of Vienne to order the establishment of professorships of
Arabic and other Oriental languages at the universities, Oxford
included. Europe admired his philosophy, and the "Lullian
Art " was famous for two centuries ; but his appeals for missions
and missionaries fell unheeded. At last, having learned Arabic
from a Moorish slave, he resolved to go forth himself ; and in
North Africa, and Cyprus, and even Armenia, ho patiently toiled
among the Mohammedans. Thus he himself reviews his life : — HIS sdf-
" Once I was rich ; I had a wife and children ; I led a worldly Mo. denial
All these I cheerfully resigned for the sake of promoting the
common good and diffusing abroad the holy faith. I learned
Arabic ; I have gone abroad several times to preach the Gospel to
the Saracens , I have, for the sake of the faith, been cast into
prison ; I have been scourged ; I have laboured during forty-five
years to win over the shepherds of the Church and the princes of
Europe to the common good of Christendom. Now I am old and
poor ; but still I am intent on the same object, and I will perse-
vere in it until death, if the Lord permit " Persevere he did,
"until death." When nearly eighty years old, he once more
crossed the Mediterranean and ministered to a little fiock of
converts. Then, in his unconquerable courage, he stood forth
and called on the Moors who had imprisoned and banished him
before to embiace the Gospel. Their response was to drag him
out of the city and stone him to death. The motto of his great tyrdom
book, despite its elaborate system of philosophy, was "He* who
loves not lives not ; he who lives by the Life cannot die," Eay-
mund Lull loved, and lived ; and while he now lives for ever in
the presence of the Lord he loved, his example lives on earth for
missionaries in every age,
14 MISSIONS BEFORE THE REFORMATION
PART I. All through the centuries comprised in this brief sketch of
Chap.^2. Missions in Europe, the Churches of the East were also at work
30-1534 -m ^^ Corrupt as they became, and sorely as they afterwards
Missions suffered from Mohammedan oppression, the evangelization of the
in Asia. Heathen was not wholly forgotten. Persia received the Gospel as
early as the second century, and the terrible persecutions endured
by the Church there under the Sassanian kings furnishes one of
the most appalling chapters of Christian rnartyrology, The
tradition that the Syrian Church of Malabar, in South India,—
whose members call themselves "Christians of St Thomas," —
was founded by the Apostle Thomas himself is not accepted by
the best authorities ; and it is more likely that the saint buried at
the now familiar "St. Thomas's Mount," near Madras, was a
monk of the eighth century. But it is certain that this interesting
Church is very ancient. At the Council of Nicsea, A.D. 325, one of
the assembled bishops was " Johannes, Metropolitan of Persia and
the Great India." Two hundred years later, Cosmas, a merchant
of Alexandria, who had made several voyages to the Far East,
published a book called The Christian Topography of the Whole
World, to prove from his travels that the earth was flat and not
globular. This work Dr. G. Smith calls the first Indian Missionary
Beport, and he quotes an interesting passage from it.* "Even
in Taprobane" [Ceylon], says Cosmas, "there is a Church of
Christians with clergy and a congregation of beheveis. ... So
likewise among the Bactrians, and Huns, and Persians, and the
est of the Indians. . . . there is an infinite number of churches
yith bishops and a vast multitude of Christian people. ... So
also in Ethiopia, . . . and all through Arabia."
Nestorian The Nestorian Church is honourably distinguished by its
Missions, missionary zeai jn Asia. At the very time that Mohammedanism
was beginning its destructive course in Western Asia, Nestorian
Christianity was spreading even to China and Tartary ; and while
Europe was in its darkest period of superstition, the tenth and
eleventh centuries, Christian bishops were presiding over dioceses
in Turkestan, Kashgar, and other parts of Central Asia where
now, and for long ages past, Islam and Buddhism have divided
the land. Although Zingis Khan, the Mongol conqueror and
scourge of Asia, persecuted the Christians, his grandson Kublai "
Khan, in the thirteenth century, favoured them, and Marco Polo
the Venetian traveller gives a deeply interesting account of
Asiatic Christendom under his tolerant sway. By this time
Eome was competing with the Nestorians for the spiritual
dominion of Asia, and Kublai Khan sent from Peking to the Pope
for wise and earnest Christian teachers to be posted all over the
A iost empire. The Church failed to respond, and to this day has never
kad a second chance of evangelizing Central Asia. |- In the
* Conversion of India, p 29
f Dr. G. Smith mentions as a sad illustration the Island of Soootra, whose
rocky eminence is now familiar to thousands of English travellers across the
MISSIONS BEFORE THE REFORMATION" 1$
fourteenth century, the Turks and the Tartars destroyed the PAET I
churches and put thousands of Christians to death with horrible
tortures, while many others saved their lives by apostasy, The
only remaining evidence to-day of the great Nestorian Missions is
the celebrated monument at Si-ngan-fu in North-Western China,
which records the fact that in the seventh century " the illustrious
religion had spread itself in every direction, and Christian temples
were in a hundred cities." *
Thus in the fifteenth century the tide of evangelization had christi-
actually ebbed, and Christendom occupied a smaller area than it
had done two centuries before. In the eloquent words of Dr.
Fleming Stevenson,—" Christianity had overrun Europe, but it
had almost disappeared from Asia, where it was born. The very
Palestine of Christ was in possession of the infidel. Antioch,
that had stretched its patriarchate over the East, and fostered
churches as far as the wall of China, was trodden by the feet of
Moslem conquerors. The schools of Alexandria were silenced by
the sword of Mohammed. Every sacred spot of the African
Church, the memories of Augustine, of Alypius, of Cyprian and
Terbullian, of Monica and Perpetua, the regions that had been
hallowed by innumerable martyrs, were all overrun by Moham-
medanism. Christianity was assailed even in Europe itself. The
cry of the muezzin was heard from a hundred minarets in the
city where Chrysostom preached to Christian emperors. The
fierce, strong faith of the Arab not only held Constantinople but
almost reached to Rome. Nothing but the narrow waters of the
Adriatic lay between the centre of Latin Christendom and the
eager outposts of the Turk Hundreds of years before this, there
had been a chain of mission churches from the Caspian almost to
the Yellow Sea; the little Christian Kingdom of the Tartars,
ruled by its Prester Johns, may not have stood alone ; but now,
the Nestorian occupation of Western China had shrunk down to
a tablet with an inscription, and Tamerlane had swept every
trace of Christianity off the face of Central Asia. Ground had
been lost, century by century ; and for half a millennium no
.ground had been won." t
Indian Ocean So far back as the second century, Panteonus found Christians
there. Marco Polo tells of bishop, clergy, and people. lu the seventeenth
century the inhabitants called themselves Christians, but mingled Moslem
and Pagan rites with their corrupt worship Now Islam reigns there
undisturbed. Socotra, he observes, is "a living example of the failure of a
false or imperfect Christianity to regenerate a people."
* A picture and full account of this remarkable monument are given in
Dr, G. Smith's Conversion of India, p. 20.
t Dawn of the Modern Mm ion, p. 6. Edinburgh, 1887,
CHAPTER HI.
AFTER TRE REFORMATION.
Roman Missions— Xavier — Erasmus — Early Protestant Efforts — Eliot
and the Red Indians— Cromwell, Boyle, Dr. Bray— S.P.C K. and
S P G.— Bishop Berkeley— Lutheran Mission in India : Ziegenbalg
and Schwartz— Hans Egede— Moravians— Brainerd.
"Bow lo,ig aie ye slacl to go to possess the land?" — Josh, xvin 3
:( While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tones," — Matt xm 25
lEBWBSF *s a remarkable an^- a humbling thing that the great
PART I. vjjm p|9 movement which delivered Northern Europe from the
Chap 3. MS ||d| Papacy, and restored to the individual Christian the
1534-1786. KJ^ggl freedom of direct access to God through Christ, did
why were little or nothing for the evangelization of the world.
post-Re- It did lead to Foreign Missions on a more extensive scale than
fiSsioSf the world had yet seen ; but these Missions were organized, not
andhwt ^ ^e Churches that were rejoicing in their light and liberty, but
Pro-n° by the old corrupt Church whose yoke they had shaken off.
testant? ;ftome IQS^ faQ nations that were destined to be in the van of
progress in the following centuries ; but she responded by sending
her emissaries to the newly discovered America, and the East and
"West Coasts of Africa, and by the new sea-route to the mysterious
East of Asia. To use Canning's famous phrase, she called a new
world into existence to redress the balance of the old.
The question may fairly be asked, How came it that the
Eeformed Churches were so slack while the unreformed Church
was so vigorous ? Various answers have been suggested to this
question : for example, that the Reformers were too much occu-
pied in making good their position at home to think of the
Heathen abroad,* or that the Erastianism which subjected them
to the secular power dulled their zeal. It does not, however,
seem necessary to find reasons of this kind. A simple and suffi-
cient cause is supplied by the fact that the navigating and
exploring nations of the day were Spam and Portugal. As a
Spanish Admiral (though himself a Genoese), Columbus discovered
America ; the Portuguese Yasco da Gama circumnavigated Africa
* <c A victim escaping from the folds of a boa-constrictor is presumably
not in the condition of a vigorous athlete " Dr. A. C Thompson, Protestant
Their Rise and Early Progress, New York, 1891
MISSIONS AtTER THE REFORMATION 1 7
and opened up the new route to India and China. It was natural PAST L
that the first missionaries to the yast territories thus rendered 9^ aP3
accessible should be Spaniards and Portuguese , and being so, they ° _/
were of course Eomanists It is the same principle that was em-
bodied long afterwards in Livingstone's pregnant words, "The end of
the geographical feat is the beginning of the missionary enterprise "
Still, if the opportunity was to be used, the agent was required.
The hour had come for the extension of Eoman Christianity ; but
with the hour there must be the man. In this case there were
two men, Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier Loyola founded
the Order of the Jesuits, the most potent instrument Eome has
had for extending her influence. Xavier was one of the seven Francis
men who, in the crypt of St. Denis on the heights of Mont- Xavier*
martre, banded themselves together to form that Order, in
the very year, 1534, m which the Act of Supremacy severed
England from the Papacy ; and he became the one missionary of
the Boman Church whom all Christendom honours. He led the
way to India and to Japan, and he died in the attempt to knock at
the closed door of China. But much undeserved glamour attaches
to Xavier 's work. The marvellous results attributed to his labours
exist only in the imagination of those whom a Eoman Catholic
historian, Mr. Stewart Eose, calls his "unwise biographers."
He never learned an Oriental language Although he ' ' made
Christians " (feci Ghristianos is his expression) rapidly in India
by baptizing Heathen infants and the most ignorant of the Tamil
fishermen, yet the Abbd Dubois, a Jesuit writer, says of him that
he was "entirely disheartened by the invincible obstacles he
everywhere met," and ultimately "left India in disgust", and
this is confirmed by his own letters to Loyola. Indeed, so hope-
less did he regard any attempt to win the Heathen by preaching,
that Jbe called on King John of Portugal to lay upon the governors
of his possessions in India the duty of forcing the Church upon
the Natives, and to punish severely any governor whose " con-
verts" were few. Bishop Cotton, most tolerant of Anglican pre-
lates, considered Xavier's methods " utterly wrong, and the results
in India and Ceylon most deplorable." Nevertheless, his zeal and
devotion call for unstinted admiration. He did love his Divine
Master ; he did love the souls for whom his Master died. His toils
and privations were heroically borne, and he never descended
to the fraud and falsehood by which some of his successors
sought to spread the religion of Christ as they understood it. Somo
great men are patterns ; some are beacons. Xavier was both,*
But most of his comrades and successors were beacons, and
not patterns, The history of Jesuit Missions, as told by theJeswt
Jesuits themselves, is one of the saddest portions of the Church's I5sions'
annals, Their identification with the aggrandizement of the
*. The most instructive, and perfectly fair, Life of Xavier, is that by Henry
Yenn, Hqn Sec. of the O.M.S. (London, 1862 ) See Chapter LXTIII.
VOL. I. 0
iS MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION
PAET I nations that sent them forth, their use of the secular arm, their
Chap 3 establishment of the Inquisition in Malabar, in Japan, in the
1534J786. ph^ppine islands, in Mexico and South America ; the frightful
tortures inflicted by them on both Heathen and heretics (e.g the
burning alive at Goa of the Metropolitan of the Syrian Church in
1654); their ''unholy accommodation of Christian truth and
observances to heathenish superstitions and customs," as Mr.
Eowley of the S.P.G. expresses it ; the impostures practised by
Eobert de Nobili in the hope by their means of winning the
Brahmans ; — these are only some of then* principal features. And
what were the results ? On both sides of Africa, on the Congo
and in Mozambique, countries once nominally Christian are now
Heathen, though some of the cities (like San Salvador) still bear
Christian names. The really shocking story of the Congo Mission
is told by a sympathizer, the Italian Pigafetta, Chamberlain to
Pope Innocent IX. In India the adherents of Eome are numerous,
but Bishop Caldwell of Tmnevelly was only one of the many
witnesses to the same fact when he wrote, " The Roman Catholic
Hindus, in intellect, habits, and morals, do not differ from the
Heathen in the smallest degree." * Similar testimony comes from
China, t
Men While, therefore, we are bound to acknowledge the self-denial
methods an<^ devotion of many of the Roman missionaries, and not to
wrong. doubt that there have been among them not a few who, knowing
Christ as their own Saviour, have earnestly preached Him to the
Heathen, it is impossible to shut our eyes to the plain facts of
history as recorded by themselves ; and these facts of history
exhibit a work which, upon the whole, however zealously done, no
well-instructed Christian can suppose to have commanded the
Divine blessing. The methods of the Jesuit missionaries, indeed,
were repeatedly condemned by the Popes themselves ; and it is
right to say that the Dominicans and Franciscans have been less
open to the same censure. The societies, orders, and other mis-
sionary bodies within the Roman Church are almost as numerous
as those of Reformed Christendom, although to some extent they
have been generally supervised by the College De Propaganda
Fide, established at Rome in 1622.
We now turn to the beginnings of Protestant Missions. In the
Erasmus very year in which the Jesuit Order was founded, Erasmus wrote
Missions, his famous Treatise on Preaching. He was only in a partial
sense a Reformer, but his brilliant mind realized, as neither Luther
nor Calvin nor Oranmer did, the duty of the Church to evangelize
the world.
" Everlasting God ! " he wrote ; " how much ground there is in the
•world where the seed of the Gospel has never yet been sown, or where
there is a greater crop of tares than of wheat ! Europe is the smallest
Digest, p 54,1.
f Further evidence is given in a paper read hy the Author of this Hiifcory
at tlio Anglican Missionary Conference of 1894. Report, p 171.
MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION* 19
quarter of the globe. , . . What, I ask, do wo now possess in Asia, PART I
which is the largest continent ? In Africa what luve we ? There are Chap 3.
surely in these vast tracts barbarous and simple tribes who could easily 1534-1786.
be attracted to Christ if we sent men among them to sow the good seed.
Regions hitherto unknown are being daily discovered, and more there
are, as we are told, into which the Gospel has never yet been carried.
. . . Travellers bring home from distant lands gold and geins , but it is
worthier to carry hence the wisdom of Christ, more precious than gold,
and the pearl of the Gospel, which would put to shame all earthly riches.
Christ orders us to pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers,
because the harvest is plenteous and the labourers are few. Must we
not then pray God to thrust forth labourers into such vast tracts P . . .
Bestir yourselves, then, ye heroic and illustrious leaders of the army of
Christ. . . . Address yourselves with fearless minds to such a glorious
work ... It is a hard work I call you to, but it is the noblest and
highest of all. Would that God had accounted me worthy to die m so
holy a work ! " *
But the Eef ormed Churches were slow to respond to this stirring
appeal. For a century and a half Missions were mainly the work
of isolated individuals. Apparently the very first attempt was First
that of the noble Huguenot, Admiral Coligny, in 1556.
obtained a band of men from Calvin at Geneva and sent them to
Brazil, in connexion with a projected French colony there ; but
they were cruelly treated, and some of them killed, by a treacherous
governor; and the enterprise came to naught. The second
Protestant Mission was sent from Sweden to the Laplanders, Swedish,
under the patronage of Gustavus Yasa, in 1559. Early in the
next century, the Dutch, now freed from the tyranny of Spain, Dutch,
began to engage in colonial enterprise, and, as in the case of
Spain and Portugal, this led to Missions being planned also. In
1612, ten years before the establishment of the Propaganda at
Eome, a missionary college was founded at Ley den by Anthony
Walssus. Men were sent to the new colonies in the East Indies ;
and Grotius wrote for their use his great work on the Truth of
Christianity. But the methods adopted cannot be commended.
What Xavier had asked tho King of Portugal to do, the Dutch
governors did. They made the profession of Christianity a con-
dition of civil rights, and the Natives were baptized by the thousand
with the smallest modicum of instruction. The immediate external
success, of course, was immense ; but it did not last. Wherever
the Dutch rule ceased, by British conquest or otherwise, thene
multitudes of nominal Christians reverted to Heathenism.
It was in Germany that the truer missionary spirit began to German,
show itself here and there. Peter Hoyling of Lubeck went to
Abyssinia in 1632, and there translated tho New Testament into
Amhanc. Von Welz, an Austrian baron, appealed to the German
nobility in 1664 to send the Gospel to the Heathen, and projected
for the purpose a Society of the Love of Jesus ; but Lutheranism
* The whole passage, a long and most eloquent one, is given by Dr. G-.
Smith., Short History of Christian Missions, chap. x.
o 2
20 MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION
PART I. had then become almost dead and cold, and a leading theological
Obap 3. professor protested against casting such pearls as " the holy things
_ of God " before " dogs and swine " like Tartars and Greenlanders.
" As for the Society of the Love of Jesus," he added, " God save
us from it I " But the Pietist movement was commencing, which
was destined to be in Germany what the Methodist movement
was in England ; and under devoted leaders like Francke at Halle
and Spener at Berlin, the evangelistic spirit gradually spread
which afterwards provided the English Church Societies with
many of their earliest missionaries, This, however, would bring
us into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Before leaving
the seventeenth, we must come to England and America,
jp ngiish. English Missions also grew out of colonial enterprise The very
first missionary contribution in England was Sir "Walter Ealeigh's
gift of £100 to the company which founded the Elizabethan colony
of Virginia, " for the propagation of the Christian religion in that
settlement." In the charter given by James I. to the same com-
pany, it was provided that " the word and service of God be
preached, planted, and used, not only in the said colony, but, as
much as may be, among the savages bordering among them ";
and on November 13th, 1622, Dr. John Donne, Dean of St Paul's,
delivered before this company what may fairly be regarded as the
first missionary sermon preached in England. But the Pilgrim
Fathers who colonized New England were the first to produce a
John Ehot, genuine missionary, in the person of John Eliot. He was for
sixty years the minister of the- village of Boxbury, now a suburb
of Boston ; but the Bed men of the Iroquois and other tribes,
familiarized to a later generation by the picturesque tales of
Fenimore Cooper, then peopled the forests covering what is now
the prosperous state of Massachusetts ; and among them Eliot
laboured with a devotion and success that earned for him the title
of Apostle of the Indians. It is a pathetic feature of his work
that, inspired by his own motto, " Prayer and pains, through faith
in Jesus Christ, will do anything," he mastered and reduced to
writing the Mohican language, ^ and translated into it the whole
Bible ; which translation is still extant as a curiosity, but there is
now not a single person on earth who can read it. Many of the
Bed Indian tribes utterly disappeared before the advance of the
white settler. All the moie must we honour the man who " served
his own generation by the will of God" and evangelized them
while there was time.
But who paid for the printing of the book, and otherwise Blip-
ported Eliot's work ? Shortly after he began his labours, England
as a nation very nearly became a great missionary society. The
Cromwell House of Commons, under Cromwell's auspices, took up the ques-
tSSiret tion. Its journals record that, in 1648, " the Commons of England
"S,P,G."
* What the tn&k \\as may be guessed if we pnut here one ^oj
meaning " catechism'1 .—Kummogolcdonattoottammoctiteaoti(jahnunwinaiiht
MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION 21
assembled in Parliament, having received intelligence that the PART I.
heathens in New England are beginning to call upon the name of
the Lord, feel bound to assist in the woik." A " Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in New England " was established, the
first of three distinct organizations which have borne the initials
S.P G. A collection was made for it throughout England, which,
invested in land, produced an income of £600 a year ; and from
this fund grants were made to John Eliot Cromwell had also a
project for converting the old Chelsea College into a great mis-
sionary institution, dividing the world into four great Mission-
fields, and directing the work in them by four secretaries paid by
the State ; but his death, and the Restoration, put an end to these
plans. Under Charles II the Society was leorganized by the
energy of the Hon Robert Boyle, and may be said to have become
a second SPG. It still exists under the name of the New Second
England Company, and disburses its funds in Nova Scotia and s'p G'
New Brunswick. :: Robeit Boyle was a man of true missionary
ardour, The Lectureship he endowed, and which bears his name,
was designed for missionary appeals. He paid for a translation
into Arabic of the treatise by Grotius before mentioned, and also
for a translation of part of the New Testament into Malay,
evidently foi the use of the Dutch missionaries. He bequeathed
a large sum to found a " Christian Faith Society " for the
evangelization of Virginia ; which society also still exists, apply-
ing its funds, since the secession of the United States, to the
benefit of the British West Indies and Mauritius. About the
same time, Dean Pndeaux set forth a scheme for Missions in
India ; the result of which was that at the next revision of the
East India Company's charter, in 1698, Parliament enacted that
the ministers sent to India for the English traders {< should apply
themselves to learn the language of the country, the better to
enable them to instruct the Gentoos [Gentiles or Heathen] who
should be the servants of the Company in the Protestant religion."
This enactment, however, was not obeyed until the days of Henry
Martyn, more than a century afterwards.
We now come to a great epoch in the history of English
Missions. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was The
founded m 1698, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Ld's'p b
in 1701. epoch.' '
These two great societies owed their origin to the zeal and energy
of one man, Dr. Thomas Bray, Rector of Sheldon, Warwickshire. Dr. Bvay»*
He was one of a little group of men to whom the Church of Eng- rts'
land at that day owed much, The most striking figure among them
was that of Robert Nelson, the typical High Church layman, as
the term "High Church" was then understood | The group
* See CM Intelligencer, May, 1886.
f See the extremely interesting essay by 0. J, Abbey, in Abbey anfl
Overton's English Church in the Eighteenth Century, on " Kobert Nelson' and
his Friends,"
22 MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION
PART I. included both Jurors and Non-jurors, that is, those who did and
Chap.3 those who did not take the oath of allegiance to William III.
_ Dr. Bray was a supporter of the new regime ; Nelson was not ,
but they worked together with exemplary cordiality in various
schemes of moral and social reform. Bray's thoughtful energy
took two directions : he devised plans for establishing libraries for
poor clergy at home and abroad, and his interest in the Colonies
took him across the Atlantic to Maryland under a special commis-
sion from the Bishop of London. In these two enterprises we see
the germs of the S P.C K. and SPG. respectively.
The S P O.K. was founded m 1698, as a voluntary and, one may
almost say, private society, by Dr Bray and four lay friends, who
signed their names to the following statement •—" Whereas the
growth of vice and immorality is greatly owing to gross ignorance
of the principles of the Christian religion, we whose names are
underwritten do agree to meet together as often as we can con-
veniently to consult (under the conduct of the Divine Providence
and assistance) how we may be able by due and lawful methods to
promote Christian knowledge." But Dr. Bray wanted more than
this. The new society was to provide schools and literature, and
to subsidize other institutions with the same object. It was not
proposed to employ living agents, and it was living agents that the
Colonies required. The good doctor therefore planned another
organization for that purpose, and drew up a petition to the King
for the incorporation of a new society, which was backed by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Simultaneously with this, the atten-
tion of Convocation was called to the needs of the Colonies, and a
Committee was appointed to consider them. The two movements
appear to have been quite independent, and possibly both may
have had influence ; but the charter granted by the Crown was
certainly in response to Dr. Bray's petition.* The name of the
Third n&w body thus established was The Society for the Propagation of
S.P.G. the Gospel in Foreign Parts, the same title as had been borne by
the two associations before mentioned, but with the words " in
Foreign Parts" added. This was therefore the third "S.P.G.,"
and the permanent one.
The S.P C K and the S.P.G. differed, not only in object, but
also in constitution. The former was a private society, to the
membership of which, at first, even bishops were only elected
" after inquiries " ; and for many years it published no historical
its con. account of itself and held no anniversary. The SPG, though
station. aigo a yoiuntary society, in that it was not established by the
Church as such, and even the President was not the Archbishop
of Canterbury ex officio, but was elected annually ,f yet was a
great public organization, with eleven bishops among its incor-
* See S P.Gr. Digest, pp 4-7 ; also Hole, Early History of O.M S , p. xxvii.
f This continued to be the case until recently, under the original Charter.
The new Charter, granted in 1882, provides that the Archbishop of Canter-
bury for the time being shall be President.
MISSIONS AF'iER THE REFORMATION 23
porated members, an anniversary sermon and meeting, and a PART 1.
printed annual report. IKO??^
By " Foreign Parts " in the title of S P.G. was understood the 1M* im
colonies and dependencies of Great Britain , and the purpose of its scope,
the society, as denned in the charter, was the spiritual benefit of
" our loving subjects " who were in danger of falling into " atheism,
infidelity, popish superstition, and idolatry." In the very first
annual sermon, however, Dr. Willis, Dean of Lincoln, announced
that the design was " first, to settle the state of religion, as well as
may be, among our own people there, . . . and then to proceed in
the best methods . . . toward the conversion of the Natives " ;
and, from the first, the Society took measures to reach both the
Bed Indians and the Negro slaves in the American Colonies. But
Heathen and Mohammedan nations outside the limits of the
British Empire were not included m the range of the Society's
direct work until it had been in existence a century and a half.
It was owing to this limitation that the Danish Mission to India,
presently to be noticed, was not taken up by the S. P.G , but by the
S.P.C K. ; for it was in territory not then belonging to England.
The S P.G. did indeed, when only eight years old, show its
sympathy with that Mission by a gift of £20 from some of its
members ; a gift memorable as the first English contribution to the
evangelization of India. But after that, for a whole century, the s P.C,K.
India Mission was supported in England only by the S.P.C. K. ; in India'
and not only supported, but virtually directed. The missionaries
were all Germans or Danes, of the Lutheran Church, trained in
their own country and ordained according to their own rite.
But they came to England for instructions before sailing ; and
excellent " Charges" were delivered to them by clergymen
of reputation. ':: It is interesting to notice that when the most
eminent of them, Schwartz, ordained, according to the Lutheran
use, a catechist named Satyanadhan, to be what was called a
" country priest," the S.P.C. K. recorded this ordination, not by
a bishop, but by a Lutheran minister, with special pleasure. " If
we wish," said the venerable Society in its next Eeport, " to
establish the Gospel in India, we ought in time to give the
Natives a Church of their own, independent of our support . . .
and secure a regular succession of truly apostolical pastors, even
if all communication with their parent Church should be annihi-
lated," The Mission was transferred to the S.P.G. in 1824, after
just one hundred years' labour.
The most important British Colonies being those on the
American Continent, viz,, what are now the United States, the
* A volume of these " Charges" was published by tho S.P.C. K. in 1822.
One, by Archdeacon Middleton, afterwards first Bishop of Calcutta, delivered
to a German missionary, Jacobi, in 181.3, is very able and interesting, and is
particularly notable for its fearless condemnation of Roman Missions, and
its warm recognition of tho work of tho Lutherans and of the Natives they
had ordained.
24 MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION
PART 1. West Indies, and also Canada after its conquest from the French,
Chapes the S P.G. operations were for a long period chiefly concentrated
153t^86 tnere > an<^ a no^e wor^ was ^one» both among the settlers and
S.P G. m among the Indians and Negroes. It is a memorable fact that
and6Afrfca w^en ^"°^n Wesley went to Georgia in 1736, it was as an S.P.G.
' clergyman. The most interesting of the Society's other enter-
prises in the eighteenth century was in "West Africa. One of its
clergy in America, a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, the
Eev. T. Thompson, offered to go to the Gold Coast, and actually
laboured there for three or four years from 1752 An African
boy whom he sent to England to be educated, Philip Quaque,
was ultimately ordained as his successor, " the first of any non-
European race since the Reformation to receive Anglican orders," ^
and for fifty years laboured amid painfully difficult surroundings.
One other Church movement m this century must be noticed.
Bishop In 1725, Bishop Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne in Ireland, set forth
Berke ey ft pr0pOSai for establishing a college at Bermuda, and making that
island a modem lona, as a base for Missions to the Bed Indians
and the Negro slaves. Having, by dint of indomitable perse-
verance, obtained a royal charter and a parliamentary grant of
£20,000 for the endowment of the college, he actually himself
sailed for America, intending to purchase land as an investment
for its support. But every obstacle was thrown in his way by
the Colonial Office ; the money promised was never paid ; and
Berkeley had ultimately to abandon the scheme. t "A glaring
instance," says Dr. Overton, "of the blighting effects of the
Walpole Ministry upon the Church." J "Betrayed by Walpole,"
is the comment of Dr. G Smith §
We now revert to the Pietist movement in Germany, to find
the origin of that India Mission which the S P.C.K. adopted.
True missionary zeal is ever preceded by a quickening of spiritual
life ; and it was the revival of spiritual religion in the midst of the
cold latitudinarianism into which the Lutheran Church had fallen
that led to the most effective missionary work of the eighteenth
Danish century. But it was a king of Denmark (Frederick IV ) to whom
^0(^'s messa€e ^rst came m 1705, through a petition from a poor
widow whose husband had been murdered by natives in the
Danish settlement at Tranquebar, on the south-east coast of
India. The king reflected that " for ninety years there had been
a Danish East India Company ; for ninety years Danish ships had
sailed to Tranquebar , Danish merchants had traded and grown
rich in the settlement, Danish governors had ruled it, Danish
soldiers had protected it ; but no ship had ever carried a Danish
missionary to preach the Gospel." || He appealed to his chaplain
* S P a. Digest, p, 256.
t Bishop S. Wilberforoe, History of the American Church, p. 155.
t English Church in the Eighteenth Century, chap. viii.
§ Life of Bishop Heler, p. 5
| W. Fleming Stevenson, Dawn, of the Modern Mission, p 56,
MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION 25
for men ; the chaplain wrote to the Pietist leaders, Francke and PART I.
Lange, they sent him a young Saxon, Bartholomew Ziegenbalg, ,pkaP 3
and a fellow-student of his, Henry Plutscho ; and these two were 7
sent to India at the king's own expense. The story of the arrival
and landing of these two pioneers, of the opposition of the Danish
governor and their consequent trials, of their extraordinary industry
and patience and devotion, is one of the most thrilling in the whole
history of Missions. ;: No truer missionary than Ziegenbalg ever
went to Heathendom. His greatest work was the translation of
the New Testament and pait of the Old into Tamil, the first
Indian version of the Scriptures. He visited Europe in 1715, and
came to England; and here he was warmly received by King
George I. and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Beturning to India,
he died in 1719 at the age of thirty-six, leaving behind him three
hundred and fifty Tamil converts, some schools, the Tamil
Scriptures just mentioned, and a Tamil dictionary and grammar.
The greatest of Ziegenbalg's immediate successors was Schulze,
a learned scholar and capable organizer. In later years the names
of Fabncms, Kohlhoff, Gericke, and Js&nicke appear. But as an
historic character, the first name of all in importance is that of
Christian Frederick Schwartz, who must always be regarded as Schwartz,
standing in the front rank of Indian missionaries. Like most of
the others, he was a fruit of the Pietist movement ; and he
was enlisted in missionary service by Schulze, who had retired to
Germany. He went out in 1749, the very year in which Von
Bogatsky composed the first German missionary hymn, with the
title, " A Prayer to the Lord to send faithful labourers into His
harvest, that His Word may be spread over all the world." It
begins thus : —
Wcidi aw/, du deist der ersten Zeugen
Awake, Thou Spirit, Who of old
Didst fire the watchmen of the Church's youth,
Who faced the foe, unshrinking, bold,
Who witnessed day and night the eternal truth ;
Whose voices through the world are ringing still,
And bringing hosts to know and do Thy will !
Under Schwartz the Mission was extended far beyond the little
Danish settlement of Tranquebar. From Madras to Tinnevelly,
over the whole Tamil country, — in particular in what was then
the independent kingdom of Tan] ore, — its influence spread, and
numerous congregations were gathered. These Missions, unlike
Tranquebar itself, were not under the Danish administration, but
were more directly the work of the S.P.C E., though the mis-
sionaries came from the same German sources. The external
results were considerable. At least fifty thousand Tamils were
baptized before the close of the century. Schwartz himself gained
* It is picturesquely told by Dr. Fleming Stevenson la The Dawn of t'he
Modern, Mission (Edinburgh, 1887), and by Dr. A, 0. Thompson in Protestant
Missions (New York, 1894),
26 MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION
PART I extraordinary influence over both Europeans and Indians. No
Chap. 3 other missionary has ever wielded such political authority. What
lo3^86 would be dangerous, and compromising to a Mission, in almost
any one else, became in Schwartz a power for good Hyder Ali,
the farnousBajah of Mysore, certainly the most formidable Native
ruler with whom England has had to cope, on one occasion
declined to receive any emissary from the British authorities
except Schwartz. "Send me the Christian," he exclaimed; "I
can trust him I " When Schwartz died in 1798, after almost half
a century's unbroken labouis — for he never returned to Europe, —
the Kajah of Tanjore gave a commission, which Flaxman the
sculptor executed, for a monument to be put up in the garrison
church at Tan j ore; and there this monument, representing the
Bajah himself receiving the benediction of the dying missionary,
may be seen to this day.
Decay i But while Schwartz and his comrades are to be admired and
Mission. ^eir memoiT cherished, their missionary policy was not one that
can be altogether approved. They baptized inqun*ers far too
readily; they tolerated many heathen customs; they chose, as
Mr. Sherrmg expresses it/ to make caste a friend rather than an
enemy, and thereby admitted a traitor within the citadel and
prepared" the way for the rum of the work. After Schwartz's
death the professing Christians relapsed by thousands into
Heathenism ; and when the eighteenth century closed, there was
comparatively little to show as the result of its labours A few
Lutheran missionaries were still at woik; but the funds of the
SP.C.K. were slack at the time, and the whole enterprise
languished for many years. Slower progress, we can now see,
would have been surer ; and if a more solid foundation had been
laid, the edifice would not have fallen into ruin. How the Mission
revived under the S.P G , in the present century, will appear
hereafter.
To go back to King Frederick IV of Denmark. It was not
only India that owed its first Protestant Mission to him. Under
Hans his royal and godly auspices, too, Hans Egede, the Norwegian
pastor, went with his noble wife to Greenland The story of
their sufferings is most touching, Egede returned, a solitary
widower, after fourteen years' indescribable privations and
bitter disappointments, and after preaching on these words in
Isaiah xlix. :— " I said, . . , I have spent my strength for nought,
and in vain : yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my
work with my God." His own labours had indeed seemed
almost fruitless; but their fruits appeared afterwards, and in-
directly they led to one of the grandest missionary enterprises of
modern times.
For it was in the same year, 1722, in which Egede sailed for
Greenland, that a band of those old Moravian Christians who had,
* JTwfory of Protestant Missions in India, edition of 1884., p 50.
MISSIONS AFTER THE REFORMATION 2J
since the fifteenth century, borne the name of Unitas Fratrum, PART I.
migrated into Saxon Silesia to escape persecution. There, welcomed 19]?P,A
by that devoted servant of the Loid, Count Zmzendorf, they _86'
established their famous settlement of Heraihut Eleven years Moravian
later, Count Zinzendorf was at Copenhagen representing Saxony Mlsslons-
at the coronation of a new king of Denmark. This new king had
commanded Egede's Mission in Greenland to be given up — that is,
that no more supplies be sent to it ; and the Count, stirred by the
sight of two Eskimo boys whom Egede had baptized and sent to
Europe, went back to Herrnhut, and told the Brethren of the
crisis. Just at the same time, they heard of the sufferings of the
Negro slaves in the West Indies. These two pieces of intelligence
were God's message to the Unitas Fratrum. Two men volunteered
for Greenland, and two for the island of St. Thomas ; and the
Moravian Missions began. No Church has obeyed the Lord's
command with the same devotion and self-forgetfulness that have
been manifested by the Church of the United Brethren. In
Greenland and Labrador, in Central and South America, in West
and South Africa, on the borders of Thibet, and among the
Australian aborigines, they have fearlessly preached the Gospel of
Christ. This little community, never exceeding 70,000 souls, has
sent forth two thousand missionaries.
In the meantime, besides the Missions among the American
Indians and Negroes carried on by the S P.G., the Christian com-
munities of New England, Pennsylvania, and other colonies were
engaged in the same work. Of the many faithful men who gave
their lives to it in the eighteenth century, the most celebrated was
David Brainerd. In 1709 a " Society for Piopagating Christian Brainerd.
Knowledge " had been founded in Scotland. Its primary object
was home missions in the Highlands ; but for a time it gave the
Presbyterian colonists of New York and New Jersey a grant to
maintain two missionaries to the Indians, In 1744 Braiuerd was
chosen as one of these two. He laboured among the Delaware
tribe less than three years, and died of consumption at the age of
twenty-nine ; but in that short time a wonderful workof the Spirit
of God was done. But Brainerd did less in his lifetime than his
biography, by President Edwards, did after he was gone. In its
pages is presented the picture of a man of God such as is rarely
seen. No book has, directly or indirectly, borne richer fruit. It exer-
cised a definite spiritual influence upon William Carey and Samuel
Marsden and Henry Martyn and Thomas Chalmers, and, through
them, indirectly, upon countless multitudes. Sometimes God
ordains for His servants a long life of blessing. Sometimes He
calls them away after a few brief years' service, but then makes
their names and memories an inspiration to others. Such have
been David Brainerd, Henry Martyn, and James Hannington.
Being dead, they yet speak.
This long and yet brief sketch of the , Missions of eighteen
centuries will show that the Lord has never suffered His great
28 MISSIONS AFTER 'THE REFORMATION
I Command to be wholly forgotten, In every age the Gospel has
134^86 ')een Preacne(^ as a W1toess somewhere among the Heathen
}'_i nations The eighteenth century itself, with all its spiritual
deadness, was, as we have seen, a period whose Missions are not
to be despised Nevertheless, one can find in the England of this
period scarcely any trace of the true missionary spirit which seeks
Missionary the evangelization of the world. Our hymn-writers, indeed, had
Hymns already caught the inspiration, Watts rendered the great mis-
sionary Psalm into English verse, in his " Jesus shall reign
where'er the sun," as far back as 1719 ; and within the next three
or four years Wilhams's " O'er the gloomy hills of darkness " and
Shrubsole's " Arm of the Lord, awake, awake ' " were written,
But they failed to suggest to Christians who sang them their
personal duty in the matter The great awakening only came in
the closing years of the century,
From Cohmbu^ by C, E, Markliam (G, Philip & Son).
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO:
1786-1811.
THIS Part is entitled " One Hundred Years Ago '' ; but it looks back
over sixty years of the Eighteenth Century, and brings us down to the
thirteenth year of the Nineteenth Century. It is essential to a right
understanding of the origin and early years of the Church Missionary
Society that the condition of the Church of England m the Eighteenth
Century is realized Chap. IV., therefore, sketches its leading features,
and notices both the earlier Methodist Kevival and the later Evangelical
Movement within the Church ; distinguishing, as it is important to do, the
first generation of Evangelicals, among whom Henry Venn of Hudclers-
field was a leading figure, and- the second generation of Evangelicals, of
whom his son John Venn of Clapham was a leader. Then in Chap. V.
we turn aside to view the condition of " Africa and the East " when the
Society was founded, bringing the narrative of Wilberforce's efforts
down to the year 1800, Chap. VI, concentrates our attention on the
events, especially in 1786, which led to the Missionary Awakening, and
introduces us to the Eclectic Society and its discussions. Chaps. VII.
and VIII tell the story of the actual establishment of the Society and
the going forth of the first missionaries. In Chap. IX. we resume the
review of African and Indian affairs, and rejoice with Wilberforce over
both the Abolition of the Slave Trade and the Opening of India to the
Gospel under the Charter of 1813.
THOMAS CLARKSOM
2ACHARY MACAU LAY
WILLIAM JWMLBER FORCE
JOHN BACON
HENRY THORNTON.
Thomas Claikson, Leader in Anti-Slave Trade Campaign. (Photograph ]jy
Walker & Boutall, (Jliiloul's Lim )
Zachary Macaulay, Leadci m Auti-Slavo Tiade Campaign
William Wilberiorco, M P , Loadei an Auti- Slave Tiade (1uni])ugu
John Bacon, Sculptor, Meiiibet ot On^uial CMS Committee
Henry Tliorntori, Baiikei and Philanthic)piht
CHAPTER IV.
Jte EIGHTEENTH CMTURY AND TEE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL
The Church under the Georges— Butler and Wesley— The Methodist
Movement— Wesleyans, Calvinists, Evangelicals— The Last Decade
—Second Generation of Evangelicals— The Clapham Sect.
" Owrfttfliers understood not Thy wonders . . . they remembered not tlicmidti'
tude of Thy mercies ; . . Nevertheless Ee saved them for His name's safee, that
He m^ht male Bs mghty power to le Inown "— Ps cvi. 7, 8,
||BT us take our stand in England one hundred years PART II.
ago, and survey the world—the world which God1^-1811-
loved, the world for which the Son of God became p
incarnate, and died, and rose again— the world A survey
which He gave in charge to His Church, that
might proclaim to every creature the good tidings of His redemp-
tion. Nearly eighteen centuries have run their course since He
went up from Olivet to the right hand of the Father . what
has the Church done ?
Europe— but for the ruling race in Turkey— is Christian, that
is, Christian by profession, Christian according to statistical tables.
Asia is Mohammedan or Heathen. In India the English con-
querors have done almost nothing to pass on the great Message to
the multitudes lately come under their sway, A handful of
Germans have laboured in the south, and gathered a good many
small congregations of converts; and a self-educated English
cobbler has just settled in Bengal with a like object in view ;
and that is all. In Ceylon, the Dutch rfrjitne has compelled
thousands to call themselves Christians, who, at the first con-
venient opportunity, will slip back into Buddhism, China is
closed, though within her gates there are scattered bands of men
acknowledging " the Lord of heaven " and owning allegiance to
the Pope of Borne, Japan is hermetically sealed ; the Jesuit
tyranny of the sixteenth century is one of the most hateful of
national memories, and no Christian has been allowed to land for
nearly two hundred years. Africa is only a coast-line: the
interior is unknown ; and the principal link between Christendom
and the Dark Continent is the slave-trade. South America, for
the most part nominally Christian, is sunk in superstition ; North
America is Christian in a more enlightened sense ; but neither in
the South nor in the North are there any serious efforts to
32 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AND
PART II. evangelize the Red men of the far interior, still less those towards
1fSf"18i1' tne Arctic Circle or Cape Horn— though Europe has sent devoted
ap" -' Moravians to Greenland. The countless islands of the Southern
Seas are not yet touched, though a band of artizan missionaries
has lately sailed in that direction. Such, in the closing years of
the eighteenth century, is the condition of God's earth, and,
standing in thought in England at that date, we may add, Who
cares ?
The We have looked around l let us look hack "What has been the
underthe conchtion of our Church and nation during this eighteenth
Georges, century ?
The century opened with some little promise. Notwithstanding
the virulent hostility of rival ecclesiastical parties at the time, the
Church was certainly not asleep. The two newly-formed Societies,
for Promoting Christian Knowledge and for the Propagation of
the Gospel in Foreign Parts, were just starting on their beneficent
career , and, as we have already seen in our Third Chapter,
did, during the whole century, practically all that was done by
Englishmen for the evangelization of the world. But after the
death of Queen Anne, and the advent of the Hanoverian kings,
there came a time of decadence and depression ; one may almost say
of despair, remembering that the great Bishop Butler refused the
Lament ^>rimacy because he thought it too late to save a falling Church,
m ' and penned that sad sentence in the Preface to his Analogy, " It
is come, I know not how, to be taken for granted by many persons
that Christianity is not so much as a subject for inquiry, but that it
is now at length discovered to be fictitious. And accordingly they
treat it as if, in the present age, this were an agreed point among
all people of discernment." The sneering attacks of the Deists
were indeed among the most formidable that the Christian religion
had encountered ; and although they were successfully resisted by
Butler himself, and Paley, and Warburton, and other doughty
champions of the faith, it must be acknowledged that the majority
of tho clergy were led by the assumed necessity of arguing
against them to neglect the preaching of the Gospel altogether ; —
" Men were pondering over abstract questions of faith and morality
"who else might have been engaged in planning or carrying out plans for
the more active propagation of the faith, or a more general improvement
in popular morals. The defenders of Christianity were searching out
evidences, and battling with deistical objections, while they slackened in
their fight against the more palpable assaults of the world and the flesh,
Pulpits resounded with theological arguments where admonitions were
urgently needed. Above all, reason was called to decide upon questions
before which man's reason stands impotent; and imagination and
emotion, those great auxiliaries to all deep religious feeling, were bid to
stand rebuked in her presence, as hinclerers of the rational faculty, and
upstart pretenders to rights which were not theirs, ' Enthusiasm' was
frowned down, and no small part of the light cind firo of religion fell
with it." *
* C. 3 Abbey, tinglnh Church in the Eighteenth Century, 2nd Edn , p. 4.
THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL 33
Indeed, many of the clergy, following Bishop Hoadly's Lati- PAST II.
tudmarian views and even Dr. Samuel Clarke's openly-avowed 1786-1811.
Anan opinions, wrote pamphlets to justify their nevertheless ctiap< 4<
subscribing to what they acknowledged to be Trinitarian Articles condition
and formularies, And meanwhile, numbers of thoughtful men jj*e
were led astray by Hume, Gibbon, and Voltaire.
Blackstone's oft-quoted remaik, that he had gone from church
to church in London, and that " it would have been impossible for
him to discover, from what he heard, whether the preacher were a
follower of Confucius, of Mahomet, or of Christ," though it may
give a somewhat exaggerated view of the actual fact, yet is most
significant of what the actual fact must have been. Nor were the
Nonconformists of the period any better One of them, Dr. Guyse,
wrote, " The religion of Nature is the darling topic of our age ; and
the religion of Jesus is valued only for the sake of that ... All
that is distinctively Christian ... is waived and banished and
despised." ;: Of the clergy themselves Bishop Eylo writes . —
" The vast majority of them wore sunk m woildliness, and neither knew
nor cared anything about their profession They neither did good
themselves, nor liked any one else to do it for them. They hunted, they
shot, they farmed , they swore, they drank, they gambled. When they
assembled, it was generally to toast * Church arid King/ and to build one
another up in earthly-nnndedness, prejudice, ignorance, and formality.
When they retired to their own homes, it was to clo as little and preach
as seldom as possible And when they did preach, their sermons were so
unspeakably bad, that it is comforting to reflect that they were generally
preached to empty benches " f
This is severe, and perhaps it generalises too much, and fails
to allow for numerous exceptions ; but what shall we say of
BoswelTs statement to Wilberforce that Dr. Johnson, strong
Churchman as he was, had affirmed that he had never been
acquainted with one "religious clergyman"?! Dr. Overton,
though he balances the favourable and unfavourable evidence in
more neutral fashion than Bishop Eyle/yet gives actual facts
which go far to justify Bishop Eyle's strictures. § Plurality and
non-residence, in particular, were colossal evils. Bishop Watson And the
of Llandaff held sixteen livings in different parts of England, Bish°Ps*
taking the tithes from them all, and employing a curate in each —
probably one of those who were <£ passing rich on forty pounds
a year"; and living, not in his diocese, but at Windermere, he
occupied most of his own time " as an improver of land and planter
of trees," thinking, as he himself said, " the improvement of a
man's fortune by cultivating the earth was the most useful and
honourable way of providing for a family." When only twenty-
* Quoted by Eyle, Christian Leaders of the Last Century, p. 16.
| Christian Leaders of the Last Century, p. 17.
j Life of Witter/or ce, p 423.
§ The English Church in the Eiyhteenth Century, chap, viii,, "Church
Abases."
VOL. I. T)
34 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AVZ>
PART II. seven years of age, he had been appointed Professor of Chemistry
1786-1811. at Cambridge, though he says himself that he "had never read
Chap 4 a syllable on the subject, nor seen a single experiment in it "; and
seven years later he was appointed Eegms Professor of Divinity,
whereupon, he writes, " I immediately applied myself with great
eagerness to the study of divinity." -:" This is the Bishop Watson
who wrote an Apoloyy for the Able, which led to George III.'s
remark that he did not know the Bible needed any apology ! One
example is perhaps sufficient. Dr Overton gives many more.
Green's Naturally the general condition of the people corresponded. Let
Future, ug qUote Mr. Green's striking description of it : —
" In the higher circles ' everyone laughs,' said Montesquieu on his visit
to England, if one talks of lehgion.' Of the prominent statesmen of
the time the greater part were unbelievers in any form of Christianity, and
distinguished for the grossness and immorality of their lives. Drunken-
ness and foul talk were thought no discredit toWalpole. . . . Purity and
fidelity to the marriage vow were sneered out of fashion. ... At the
other end of the social scale lay the masses of the poor. They were
ignorant and brutal to a degree which it is hard to conceive, for the vast
increase of population which followed on the growth of towns and the
development of manufactures had been met by no effort for their religious
or educational improvement. Not a new parish had been created. Hardly
a single new church had been built Schools there were none, save the
grammar-schools of Edward and Elizabeth The rural peasantry, who
were fast being reduced to pauperism by the abuse of the poor-laws, were
left without moral or religious training of any sort. l We saw but one
Bible in the parish of Cheddar/ said Hannah More at a far later time,
' and that was used to prop a flower-pot. ' Within the towns they were
worse. There was no effective police; and in great outbreaks the mob
of London or Birmingham burnt houses, flung open prisons, and sacked
and pillaged at their will The introduction of gin gave a new
impetus to drunkenness. In the streets of London gin-shops invited
every passer-by to get drunk for a penny or dead drunk for twopence." f
The great victory, therefore, which, by the instrumentality of
Butler, "Warburton, and many others, the Church had gained over
the assailants of Christianity as a system, left her still helpless
before the more dangerous assailants of Christianity as a life, the
world, the flesh, and the devil, " Intellectually," remarks Dr.
Overton, " her work was a great triumph, morally and spiritually
it was a great failure."
Then came the Evangelical Movement, the leaders of which
flung themselves into the harder battle with sin and Satan. But
TWO both divisions of the army of the Lord were needed. To quote
of?he°ns Overton again, — " Neither could have done the other's part of the
arm*'8 work. Warburton could no more have moved the heaits of living
* One is not surprised to find the sister University of Oxford expelling
six students for praying and reading* the Scriptures in private houses, which
led to the remark that though extempore swearing \ias permitted at Oxford,
extempore praying could not be borne.
f Short History of the English People, cnap x , sect 1,
Church in the Eighteenth Century, chap. ix.
THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL 35
masses to their inmost depths, as Whitefield did, than Whitefield PART U.
could have ^utten the Divine Legation Butler could no more 1V86-1813.
have earned on the gieat crusade which Wesley did, than Wesley p>
could have written the Analogy. But without such work as
Whitefield or Wesley did, Butlei's and Warburton's would have
been comparatively inefficacious ; and without such work as Butler
and Warburton did, Wesley's and Whitefield 's work would have
been, humanly speaking, impossible." -1
In one short paragraph, Green thus describes the revolution
that ensued • —
" In the middle-class the old piety lived on unchanged, and it was
from this class that a religious revival burst foith, which changed in a
few years the whole temper of English society. The Church was restored
to life and activity Religion carried to the hearts of the poor a fresh
spirit of moral zeal, while it purified our literature and our manners A
new philantlnopy reformed our prisons, infused clemency and wisdom
into our penal laws, abolished the slavo-trado, and gave the first impulse
to popular education."
This, however, is a compendious statement, which leaps over
long years of struggle. Bishop Butler wrote the sad sentence
before quoted in 1736 As \\ e stand surveying the century in its
last decade, most of the triumphs of moral reform enumerated by
Green are, after sixty years, still in the future. Yet over those
sixty years we can look back with profound thankfulness. Seven
years prior to 1736, John Wesley had formed his little society of ^esiey
praying friends at Oxford ; when that year opened he was on his Whitefield,
voyage across the Atlantic to Georgia, whence he returned with &c*. enn>
new light as to his own sinfulness and inability to save himself,-
and as to the all-sufficiency of Christ , and two years later he began
that wonderful career of preaching and organizing which continued
uninterrupted for more than half a century. On Trinity Sunday
in that same year, 1736, George Whitefield was ordained at
Gloucester, and preached his first sermon in St. Mary-le-Crypt,
which, as was complained to the Bishop, " drove fifteen persons
mad 1 " To these two great names, we must add those of Grim-
shaw, Berridge, the first Henry Venn, Eowlands, Eomaine, Hervey,
Toplady, and Fletcher of Madeley ; every one of them, be it re-
membered, a clergyman of the Church of England. To them, in
the main, was due, under God, the Evangelical EevivaL
How was their work done ? Let Bishop Eyle reply :— -
"The men who wrought deliver ance for us wore a few individuals,
most of them clergymen, whoso hearts G-od touched about the same
time in various parts of the country. They were not wealthy or highly
connected. They were not put forward by any Church, party, society,
or institution. They were simply men whom G-otl stirred up and
brought out to do His work, without previous concert, scheme, or plan,
They did His work in the old apostolic way, by becoming evangelists.
They taught one set of truths. They taught them m the same way,
* English Church in the Eighteenth Century, chap, ix.
D 2
36 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AND
PAST II, with fire, reality, earnestness, as men fully convinced of what they
1786-1811 taught They taught them in the same spirit, always loving, corn-
Chap. 4. passionate, and, like Paul, even weeping, but always bold, unflinching,
and not fearing the face of man. And they taught them on the same
plan, always acting on the aggressive ; not waiting for sinners to come
to them, but going after and seeking sinners , not sitting idle till sinners
offered to repent, but assaulting the high places of ungodliness like men
storming a breach, and giving sinners no rest so long as they stuck to
their sins,"
These striking words accurately sum up the features of the
movement, as revealed m biographies, memoirs, journals, letters,
and sermons innumerable. Bishop Eyle goes on to describe both
the methods of the evangelists and the substance of their preach-
ing They preached everywhere : * in parish churches when
permitted ; " in the field or by the road-side, on the village-green
or in the market-place, in lanes or in alleys, in cellars or in
garrets, on a tub or on a table, on a bench or on a horse-block ;
no place came amiss to them." They preached simply, following
Augustine's maxim, " A wooden key is not so beautiful as a golden
one, but if it can open the door when the golden one cannot, it is
far more useful." They preached fervently and directly. " They
believed that you must speak from the heart if you wish to speak
what they to the heart." Then as to the substance of their preaching : it
preached. wag a^ove ajj things doctrinal, one may say dogmatical. They
believed they had definite truths to set forth, and they set
them forth definitely. They taught that men were dead in sins
and guilty before God ; that Christ died to save men from sin's
penalty, and lives to save them from sin's power; that only faith
in Him could give them His salvation ; that absolute conversion
of heart and life was needed by all, and that the Holy Ghost alone
could convert and sanctify them. Standing in thought in the
closing decade of the eighteenth century, we find that the procla-
mation of these essential and fundamental truths has, by the
power of the Spirit, directly revolutionized thousands of lives,
and is indirectly and gradually revolutionizing the Church of
England.
But the revolution, we observe, is very gradual. Its force has
been minimized by its divisions. EVorn the beginning of the
The three movement there were lines of cleavage. Three distinct sections
parties, among the men of the Eevival are easily traced. There were,
first, the Methodists proper, under John Wesley. They were
(a) The gathered into communities called the "Methodist Societies,"
Wesieyans although as long as Wesley lived they continued in at least a
loose connexion with the Church of England, and certainly
repudiated the term " Dissenter," But notwithstanding Wesley's
* But to this there were exceptions among those whose names are giveu
above. Some of them worked only within parochial limits; Bomaine, for
instance. Bishop Kyle's words apply rather to Wesley and Whitefield and the'r
followers.
THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL 37
repeated declaration that " if the Methodists left the Church he PART II
would leave them," separation was really inevitable. Many of 1786-1811.
the bishops were personally kind to Wesley, but the clergy GhaP- 4-
generally could not abide either the teaching or the ways of the
Methodists. Itinerant preaching was of the essence of their
method, and itinerant preaching was regarded as utterly sub-
versive of the parochial system. In the last decade of the century,
in which we are in imagination standing, the Wesley an Methodists
(John Wesley having died in 1791) have practically become a
distinct religious body.
The second section were the Calvinistic Methodists, under {Jjj^JJ
Whitefield, with the Countess of Huntingdon as their great
patroness and in some respects virtual leader, who succeeded in
bringing many of the aristocracy under the sound of the Gospel.
A duchess '! might complain of Methodist preaching as " tinctured
with impertinence and disrespect towards . . . superiors," and
consider it " monstrous to be told she had a heart as sinful as the
common wretches " of the lower orders ; but still she did not
refuse Lady Huntingdon's invitations, nor did scores of the most
distinguished denizens of the political and fashionable world. It
was the poor, however, who were chiefly reached by the preaching
of Whitefield and his associates ; and it was chiefly in their interest
that Lady Huntingdon built chapel after chapel for what m time
came to be called " The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion."
She was, indeed, as reluctant as Wesley to be a "Dissenter";
but undenominational preaching-halls were then illegal, and a
building could only be used for worship if properly registered ;
and as her chapels were not churches, they had, to her vexation,
to be registered as " dissenting." Her preachers, however, were
all known as Methodists, which was a generic term and by no
means confined to Wesley's followers ; but the Calvinistio con-
troversy, which was conducted for many years with a bitterness
and rancour quite inconceivable even in these latter polemical
days, clave a great gulf between the two sections.
Then, thirdly, there was a section that clung steadfastly to the («•) The
Church, and submitted to the limitations involved in so doing. c
To this section belonged Eomame, Venn, Toplady, Walker of
Truro, and many others. They were allied with Whitefield and
Lady Huntingdon in the Calvinistic controversy, against Wesley
and Fletcher. Indeed Toplady was the principal antagonist of
Arminian views, and, it must be regretfully added of the author of
' ' Eock of Ages," one of the most bitter. The extreme predestinarian
views, however, of Toplady and Eomame were not held by Venn
and many others of the clergy of this section. But while they
were supporters of the Methodist movement generally, they disap-
proved of the itinerant preaching which ignored the parochial
system and intruded even into parishes where, as in Venn's,
* The Duchess of Buokinglmu.
38 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AND
PA.UT II. Evangelical teaching prevailed ; and though for a time they were
1786-1811. enrolled as members of Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, while it
Chap^4. wag a gocle£v TOthm the Church, they withdrew from it when her
chapels were registered as " Dissenting places of worship."
As, therefore, we survey England in the last decade of the
century, we see that the Bevival movement, while it has done
God's work nobly in saving multitudes of individual souls, has
yet not leavened the Church at large; and still less has it
leavened the regular Nonconformist denominations, the Inde-
pendents and the Baptists. There have been honoured names in
those denominations during the century, notably those of Isaac
Watts and Philip Doddndge ; but the great revival movement has
only influenced them indirectly. The Wesleyan Methodists are
organized on their own lines ; the Calvinistic Methodists—except
in Wales, where they already form a distinct community —
correspond roughly with the numerous but unorganized non-
denommationalists of a century later. The Evangelicals, properly
so called, are but a small body, within the Church; distinct
from either section of Methodists, though often called by that
despised name ; and totally distinct from the old Puritans of the
seventeenth century, though even that title is sometimes applied
to them. For, to quote Overton again,
"The typical Puritan was gloomy and austere; the typical Evan-
gelical was bright and genial. The Puritan would not be kept within
the pale of the National Church ; the Evangelical would not be kept out
of it. The Puritan was dissatisfied with our liturgy, our ceremonies, our
vestments, and our hierarchy , the Evangelical was perfectly contented
with them. If Puritanism was the moi e fruitful m theological literature,
Evangelicalism was infinitely more fruitful in works of piety and benevo-
lence ; there was hardly a single missionary or philanthropic scheme of
the day which was not either originated or warmly taken up by the
Evangelical party The Puritans were frequently in antagonism with
' the powers that be,' the Evangelicals never : no amount of ill-treatment
could put them out of love with our constitution in both Church and
State."*
What, then, was really the condition of the Church in that
Were closing decade? Was Evangelicalism dominant, as is so often
geiicais11" carelessly affirmed ? That it was growing in influence, and was
dominant ? indisputably the strongest spiritual force in the country, is true.
But it still represented only a small minority ; it was either
NO. hated despised or hated by most Churchmen; one bishop wrote,
despised. " Church-Methodism is the disease of my diocese ; it shall be the
business of my life to extirpate it." t The report that one of
"the serious clergy" (as they were called) was appointed to a
parish was in many cases the signal for an outcry as great as if a
pestilence were coming ; | Trinity College, Cambridge, declined
* English Church in the Eighteenth Century, chap ix.
f See Hole's Eaily History of C.M.8 , p. 53
} See The English Church in the Nineteenth Century , chap, hi,
THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL 39
to receive their sons as undergraduates ; * Hugh Pearson, after- PART II
wards Dean of Salisbury, narrowly escaped rejection by his 1786-181L
ordaining bishop because he spoke favourably of Wilberforce's ^J^
Practiced View of Christianity^ if the Bishop of London's
carnage conveyed a visitor from his house to that of a leading
Evangelical rector, it must put her down at a neighbouring
public-house, to avoid being seen to stop at such a clergyman's
door , f and when Henry Martyn visited his native Cornwall after
his ordination, he, though Senior Wrangler and Fellow of his
College, was not allowed to preach in any church in the county
except his brother-in-law's § The Bishops were continually
uttering warnings against "Methodists" in their charges, and
were careful to explain that they included under that name
the "serious clergy" within the Church. Not a* few even
doubted their loyalty to the Government and the Constitution.
William Wilberlorce relates the difficulty he had in re-assuring
Pitt on this point From their great opponent, Tomlino, Bishop
of Lincoln, Pitt had learned to think them "great rascals,"
and even to question their moral character. || On the other
hand, High Churchmen, as the phrase would now be under-
stood—i e men of what are colloquially, however inaccurately,
termed "Catholic" principles, — had been few and far between
ever since the days of the N on -jurors , but there was a small
body of them afterwaids known as the " Clapton Sect," in contra-
distinction to the Evangelical " Clapham Sect," and because
some of its leaders lived at Clapton or Hackney, notably Joshua
Watson, the typical Church layman of those days. The vast Who were
majority of the bishops and clergy would perhaps be best de- doimnant ?
scribed, as to their teaching and general attitude, by the Scotch
term "Moderate." They were equally opposed to Borne and to
Dissent, and they hated " enthusiasm " of any kind. The union
of Church and State, with the State practically ruling the Church,
was their ideal, one may say their idol. " Our happy Establish-
ment " was their favourite phrase.
Had the religious condition of the clergy and people improved cJjfirch at
in the preceding half-century ? No doubt it had ; but abuses and the end
scandals were still sadly rife. In the country districts few Sen
* John Venn was so refused, "not that he was either dissolute or ignorant,
but because he was the son of Henry Venn." Moule, diaries iSiweon, p. 65.
f Private Journal of H Vomi the younger, December, 3852
J " A near relative of the Bishop, after being a guest at Fulham Palace,
was to visit Mr. Yonn at Clapham Wo wore ourselves sent to wait at tho
Bull's Head, 300 yards from the Koctory, and to bring the visitor round The
Bishop could not'let his carriage bo scon to draw up at Mr Venn's Rectory,
though it might bo seen to sot down a lady at a small public-house." Chris-
tian Observer, January, 3870. The writer is evidently Henry Venn tho
younger (the CMS Secretary), who in 1870 was editing the Christian
Observer
:Dr. G-, Smith, Henry Ifcwf i/n, p. 41,
Life of Willer/orce, chap, MI.
46 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURA AND
PART II attended church, and too many of the clergy were glad enough
1786-1811. when none appeared at all, and they were relieved from the
^kap 4 necessity of holding a service. They were pluralists; they
were keen sportsmen ; some of them drank heavily ; not a few
were openly vicious * Few of the bishops set a good example.
" We hear," says Dr. Overton, " strange tales of one bishop
examining his candidates for ordination in a tent on a cricket-
field, he himself being one of the players; of another sending
a message, by his butler, to the candidate, to write an essay;
of another examining a man while shaving, and, not unnaturally,
stopping the examination when the examinee had construed
two words " j The sermons of the day called forth the sarcasm
of Sydney Smith. " We have," he says, " persevered in dignified
tameness so long, that while we are freezing common sense
for large salaries in stately churches, amid whole acres and
furlongs of empty pews, the crowd are feasting on ungrammatical
fervour and illiterate animation in the crumbling hovels of
Methodists." Any "semi-delirious sectary," he complains, could
"gesticulate away the congregation of the most profound and
learned divine of the Established Church, and in two Sundays preach
him bare to the very sexton/' { Few new churches were built —
only six in all London during the fifty-nine years of George III.'s
reign , and great parishes like Marylebone and St. Pancras, with
populations even then of 50,000 and 60,000, had only one church
Evan- apiece. Meanwhile the despised handful of Evangelicals were
geiicai crowding their proprietary " episcopal chapels," multiplying
improve- ,, °. r r J r r t r » rj&
ments. Communions and communicants, introducing week-day services
and even the dreaded innovation of evening services, and lending
brightness to their worship by the use of hymns, to the horror of
the clergy generally, and even of so able a prelate as Bishop
Marsh, who strongly condemned them in one of his charges. And
William Wilberforce, solemnly called of God, as he believed, to
work for " the reformation of manners," was pushing the Society
he had formed for that purpose, despite the warning he had
received from a nobleman he called upon, who pointed to a picture
of the crucifixion, saying, "See there the end of reformers";
and followed this up by his great work, A Practical View of
Christiamty, which immediately sold by thousands, and has since
gone through fifty editions.
The decade in which we are surveying the country was in other
* English Ohwch in the Nineteenth Century, chap i. Even at a much
later period, the daily service m Chester Cathedral changed its hour in the
race-week, to enable the clergy and congregation to attend the races ! (Ohm*
tian Observer, July, 1863, p, 540 )
f Ibid. The particulars of these cases are given in the Memoir of Bishop
Slomfield, vol. i. p. 59. Ifc there appears that the cricketer was not the
bishop himself, but his examining chaplain.
t Quoted in The English Chw ch m the Nineteenth Century, chap v Of
course there were exceptions to Sydney Smith's sweeping statements Bishop
Porteus, for instance, had immense congregations at St James's, Piccadilly.
THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL 41
respects a dark and discouraging period The French Bevolution PART II.
filled the British mind with terror and dismay, and all the more 1Sf"18ilt
because sympathy with it on the part of some who called them- a^' '
selves " patriots " led to open disaffection, the king being violently The
mobbed on his way to open Parliament, and the most inflammatory "dark7 :
publications being actively distributed/1' Tom Pame's Eights o/penod.
Man leaped into popularity, while it was regarded by the majority
of sober citizens as subversive of the constitution, To subsidize
the Continental Powers that were fighting France, taxes were
heaped upon taxes, and the national debt rose by leaps and bounds.
In 1797 the Bank of England stopped payment, \ and a mutiny on
board the fleet that was guarding our- shores brought the country
into more imminent peril than it had incurred for centuries. All
this affected the Church seriously. On the one hand, her position
was strengthened by the general desire to stand by all that was
stable and respectable in the national institutions. On the other
hand, the dread of any and every innovation, which was the
natural result of the alarm excited by the revolutionary excesses in
France, was a great obstacle to any new plans for the religious
improvement of the people.
It was at such a time as this that the little band of Evangelical
Churchmen began to consider their responsibilities regarding the
evangelization of the world. Let us now take our stand again in
the year 1796, and see who these men are and what they are
doing.
It is the second generation of Evangelicals with whom we have Second
now to do All the leaders of the great revival movement are If Evan1 -°n
dead. Henry Venn was the last to be taken, He is succeeded sellcals-
in the counsels of the brethren by his son John, Rector of
Clapharn, a man of culture, judgment, and sanctified common
sense, well fitted to be the leader of the coterie of friends living m
his parish to whom by-and-by is to be given the nickname of the
" Clapham Sect." A nickname indeed, but one that will be held ciapham
in honour in years to come by many who have had no connexion Sect'
with the " Sect " ; for the men to whom it is given are the salt of
the earth among the laity of the period William Wilberforce,
the brilliant and fascinating M,P. for Yorkshire, ranking in Parlia-
ment with Pitt and Fox and Burke, and, through his intimate
friendship with Pitt, exercising no small influence on public affairs ;
Henry Thornton, the excellent and munificent son of an excellent
and munificent father, spending, like his father, an ample fortune
in doing good ; Charles Grant, of the East India Company, one of
the chief instruments in opening up India to the Gospel ; James
Stephen, the legal adviser of the Evangelicals, father and grand-
father of still better known men , Zachary Macaulay, the devoted
* See Life of Willerforce, chap, x,
f A national subscription of two millions sterling was raised to assist the
Treasury to pay the expenses of the war. Wilberforoo subscribed an eighth
of his income.
42 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AND
PART II. friend of Africa, who is presently to become editor of the Bvan-
1^nf "18i1' ^lca^ organ> — fatter, too, of a more famous son ; Lord Teign-
^ ap mouth, returned from the Governor-Generalship of India; — all
these belong to the " Sect "
A brilliant picture is drawn of this coterie of friends and fellow-
workers in Sir James Stephen's famous Essay on " The Clapham
Sect " -;: But still more graphic and hfe-like are the pictures of
Sends at ^r ^' ®* Colquhoun, in his delightful volume, Wilberforce and His
ciapham, Friends.] Henry Thornton, in 1792, bought a house and grounds
on Battersea Eise, at the west end of Clapham Common. On the
estate he built two other houses, one of which was presently
occupied by Charles Grant, and the other by William Wilberforce ;
and these three friends, with Zachary Macaulay and James
Stephen, formed the inner Cabinet whence so- many philanthropic
and Christian enterprises emanated. Let us read a few brief
fragments of Colquhoun' s vivid description of a summer evening
in Thornton's demesne : — [
"The sheltered garden behind, with its aibeil-trees and elms and
Scotch firs, as it lay so still, with its close-shaven lawn, looked gay on a
May afternoon, when groups of young and old seated themselves under
the shade of the trees, or were'scattered over the grounds Matrons of
households were there, who had strolled in to en] oy a social meeting;
and their children busied themselves in sports with a youthful glee
which was cheered, not checked, by the presence of their elders. For
neighbourly hospitality and easy friendship were features of that family
life.
" Presently, streaming from adjoining villas or crossing the common,
appeared others who, like Henry Thornton, had spent an occupied day
in town, and now resorted to this well-known garden to gather up their
families and enjoy a pleasant hour. Hannah More is there, with her
sparkling talk ; and the benevolent Patty, the delight of young and
old ; and the long-faced, blue-eyed Scotchman, § with his fixed, calm
look, unchanged as an aloe-tree, known as the Indian Director, one of
the kings of Leadenliall Street ; and the gentle Thane, Lord Teignmouth,
whose easy talk flowed on, like a southern brook, with a sort of drowsy
murmur ; and Macaulay stands by listening, silent, with hanging eye-
brows , and Babmgton, in blue coat, dropping weighty words with husky
voice; and young listeners, starting into life, who draw round the
thoughtful host, and gather up his words — the young Grants, and young
Stephen, and Copley J| a ' very clever young lawyer.' . . .
" But whilst these things are talked of in the shade, and the knot of
wise men draw close together, in darts the member for Yorkshire f
from the green fields to the south, like a sunbeam into a shady
room, and the faces of the old brighten, and the children clap their
hands with joy. He joins the group of the elders, catches up a thread
of their talk, dashes off a bright remark, pours a ray of happy illumina-
* In Ms Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography. But the term " Clapham Sect"
seems to have originated with Sydney Smith.
t Longmans, 1867.
t J. C. Colquhoun, Wilberforce and Jus Friends, pp. 306-308.
§ Charles Grant. |] Afterwards Lord Lyndhurst.
f Wilberforce.
THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL 43
tion, and for a few moments seems as wise, as thoughtful, and as constant PART II.
as themselves, But this dream will not last, and" these watchful young 1786-1811.
eyes know it. They remember that he is as restless as they are, as fond Chap 4.
of fun and movement, So, on the first youthful challenge, away flies the
volatile statesman A bunch of flowers, a ball, is thrown in sport, and
away clash, in joyous rivalry, the children and the philanthropist. Law
and statesmanship forgotten, he is the gayest child of them all.
" But presently when the group is bioken up, and the friends have
gone to their homes, the circle under Henry Thornton's roof gatheis for
its evening talk In the Oval Library, which Pitt planned, niched, and
fringed all round with books, looking out on the pleasant lawn, they
meet for their more sustained conversation. In this easy intercourse
even the shy G-isborne * opens himself. . .
" Or they vary their summer evenings by strolling through the fresh
green fields into the wilder shrubbeiy which encloses Mr. mlberforce's
demesne, Bioomfield, not like Battersea Rise, with trim parterres and
close-mown lawn, but unkempt,— a, picture of stray genius and irregular
thoughts As they pass near the windows that look out on the north, and
admire the old elms that shade the slopes to the stream, the kindly host
hoais then voices, and runs out with his welcome. So they aie led
into that charmed circle, and find there the poitly Dean,t with Ins
stentorian voice, and the eager Stephen, Admnal Gambler and his wife,
and the good Bishop Poiteus, who has come from Fulham to sec his old
friends, the Mores
"Another evening the party cross the common, and drop into the villa
of the Teigmnouths, or spend a pleasant hour in Robert Thornton's
decorated grounds, to look into his conservatory full of rare plants, and
his library with its costly volumes. On Sunday they take their seats in
the old church, with the Wilberforces' and Macaulays' and Stephens'
pews close to their own, and in the front gallery the Teigmnouths' ; and
they listen to the wise discourses of Venn. Another Sunday they sit
enchanted under the preaching of Gisborne."
Let us now leave Clapham, and come into the great metropolis Evan-
itself, At St. Mary Woolnoth, at the corner of Lombard Street, £ondon,m
is old John Newton, once a slave-dealer and immersed in the
grossest vices, now tho venerated Nestor of the Evangelical
body, to whom Wilberforce, Thomas Scott, Cowper the poet,
Milner the Church historian, Claudius Buchanan, and Hannah
More, owe much of their spiritual enlightenment, and who (in
the language of his own hymn) has taught hundreds of less-known
souls " How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's
ear." f At St. Anne's, Blackfriars, there is William Goode, wise
and patient counsellor and committee-man. Only two or three
other London parishes are in Evangelical hands ; but there
are licensed proprietary " episcopal chapels" with able pastors,
exercising a wide influence . such as St. John's, Bedford Bow,
where Richard Cecil is still ministering, scholarly, refined,
brilliant,— -" the one clerical genius of his party," Bishop S.
"Wilberforce calls him ; or Bentmek Chapel, Marylebone, where
* Key, Thomas Q-isborne, of Yoxall Lodge, Needwood Forest.
f Isaac Milner, Dean of Carlisle.
J Mr. Lecky calls Newton " one of the most devoted and single-hearted of
Christian ministers "
44 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, &c.
PAET II. Basil Woodd is surrounded by an influential and liberal congrega-
1786-1811. tion ; or the Lock Chapel (then near Hyde Park Corner), where
GhaP- 4 Thomas Scott is manfully preaching righteousness to an ultra-
Calvinistic people whose Hves differ widely from their high
professions, eking out his miserable income by walking fourteen
miles every Sunday to give " lectures " in two other churches at
7s. 6d. apiece, and writing the great Commentary which crushes
him by the expense of its production, though its sale in the next
half-century is to produce half a million of pounds sterling.
And m the In the provinces there are by this time not a few faithful and
Provinces. success|uj Evangelical clergymen, such as Eobmson of Leicester
and Eichardson of York ; above all there is Charles Simeon at
Cambridge, still "boycotted" (to use a word not yet in the
English language) by both "town " and " gown," but " increasing
the more in strength," and laying the foundation of that unique
influence which will make him for forty years the most con-
spicuous figure in Cambridge.
These are some of the men of light and leading in the sparse
and scattered ranks of the Evangelical clergy and laity as the
eighteenth century draws to its close. Not a single bishop gives
them the slightest recognition beyond what he is officially obliged
to give/;: Only one dignitary — Isaac Milner, Dean of Carlisle — is
counted among them. But the power of the Lord is with them.
They are not only, by His grace, bringing thousands of individual
souls out of darkness into light, but they are gradually leavening
the teaching of the Church, to such an extent that the doctrines
which they alone in 1796 are setting forth in Scriptural fulness
will, fifty and a hundred years later, although still hated by some
and ridiculed by others, be admitted, even in derision, to be " the
popular theology," that is, the theology which ib in fact the
religion of the English people.
* It is usually said that Bishop Porteus of London was, if not an Evan-
gelical himself, favourably disposed towards them He certainly joined them
in philanthropic enterprises like Wilberforce'a against the slave-trade , and
he manifested some religious sympathy with them. Probably he felt obliged
to be cautious.
CHAPTER V,
AmiGA AND THE EAST— WAITING.
The Dark Continent— England and the Slave Trade— Granville Sharp,
Clarkson, Wilberforce— The Struggle for Abolition—The East
India Company— Religion in British India in the Eighteenth
Century— Charles Grant and Wilberforce— The Dark Period in
India— Other Eastern Lands, Waiting,
" Thou wicked and slothful servant "— Matt xxv 26.
" The name of God IB blasphemed among the Gentiles through i/oit,"— Bom. ii 24
j|HEN the Evangelical Eevival had reached the point to PART II,
which our last chapter brought it, Africa and India W86-181L
had waited two hundred years for Christian England p '
to give them the Gospel. English intercourse and
traffic with both the Dark Continent and the East
Indies had begun in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In West
Africa, as we have before seen, the S.P.G. had one missionary,
for three or four years, in the middle of the eighteenth century,
and a Negro clergyman for fifty years following. In the Tamil
country of South India the S.P.C K had done a great work by
the agency of German Lutherans. That was all, Let us now
briefly review the connexion of England with both India and
Africa before the epoch of extended missionary effort began,
Africa was thta a Dark Continent indeed. Dark it is still ;
but dark it was a century ago in a sense we can hardly realize
now. Eor many years past, in successive editions of the Church
Missionary Atlas, the article on Africa has commenced with
these words: "Africa has been described 'as one universal
den of desolation, misery, and crime ' ; and certainly, of all the
divisions of the globe it has always had an unfortunate pre-
eminence in degradation, wretchedness, and woe." Gleams of
light are to be seen now, here and there, athwart the moral
darkness; yet those old words need little modification to-day.
But when the Church Missionary Society was founded, Africa
was a dark continent in another sense. It was almost wholly
unknown. The coast-line had been traced by the Portuguese
explorers of the fifteenth century; but although the course of
some of the rivers and the position of some of the lakes had been
fairly guessed at by Mercator, Ogilby, and other map-makers of
the seventeenth century, the more careful accuracy of the
46 AFRICA AND THE EAST — WAITING
PART II. eighteen tli century had discarded this guess-work, and in 1788,
1786-1811 the newly-formed African Association said in its prospectus that
Chapes _Ajrica St00(^ a|one «m a geographical view" because it was
" penetrated by no inland seas, nor overspread with extensive
lakes like those of North America, nor had, like other continents,
rivers running from the centre to the extremities " ' The only
British traveller who had made any discoveries was James Bruce,
and his narratives of journeys in Nubia and Abyssinia had been
received with scepticism. Mungo Park was then on the travels
which in 1796 revealed the existence of the Niger, though its
course to the sea was not determined till 1830. That was all.
Very happily did William Jowett, the first Cambridge missionary
of the CMS., when considering the peoples and religions of
Africa from his watch-tower at Malta, exclaim, — "Even the
geographer, whose task lies merely with the surface of the land
and sea, confesses that all he has to show of Africa is but as the
hem of a garment ! "
Dark also, in a moral sense, was the connexion of England
with Africa It is a humiliating fact that for more than two
The slave centuries England was the chief slave-trading nation. She did
Trade. no£ in^eeci begin the detestable traffic. It was the Portuguese
and the Spaniards who first kidnapped Negroes, and carried them
across the Atlantic to provide labour for the early settlements in
the New World, because the Natives they found there proved
incapable of steady work ; and in the first decade of the sixteenth
century, a Papal bull authorized the opening of a slave-market at
Lisbon. But in 1562 an Act was passed by the English Parlia-
ment legalizing the purchase of Negroes ; and Queen Elizabeth's
famous naval commander, Sir John Hawkins", sailed at once to a
small peninsula in West Africa, named by the Portuguese Sierra
Leone, forcibly and fraudulently seized three hundred Negroes,
carried them across the Atlantic to Hayti, and sold them there.
During the hundred years preceding 1786, the number of slaves
imported into British Colonies exceeded two millions In 1771,
no less than 192 slave-ships left England for Africa, fitted up for
a exactly 47,146 slaves. Slaves formed an important part of the
L property of well-to-do families in England Most people of
consideration had estates in the West Indies, and thence they
brought Negroes home as domestic servants. So late as 1772,
advertisements appeared in the London newspapers of black boys
and girls to be sold/1 But it was in that year, 1772, that the
freedom of the slave on British soil was secured. Granville
* Hero is the advertisement of an auction .— " Twelve pipes of rawin wine,
two boxes of bottled cyder, six sacks of flour, three negro men, two negro
women, two negro boys, one negro girl " Here is a bill of lading — "Shipped
by the grace of G-ocl, in good ordci and woll-contiitioned, in and upon the good
ship Mary Borough, twenty-four prime slaves, six prime women slaves, marked
and numbered as in the margin "—the marks being branded on a certain part
of the body — The Liverpool Privateers (London, 1897), quoted in the Times,
December 4th, 1897.
AFRICA AND THE EAST — WAITING 47
Sharp, then a clerk in a government office, whose sympathies had PART II.
been drawn out by the sufferings of some Negio slaves who had
been cruelly treated, had determined to test the legality of slavery
in England , and his unyielding perseverance, in the face of all
sorts of obstacles, brought the question, at last, to a plain issue English
before Lord Chief Justice Mansfield. On June 22nd, 1772, was ^!ery
delivered the memorable judgment which settled the controversy JIJ^6*1
once for all. " The claim of slavery," said the Lord Chief Justice, * ega '
" never can be supported. The power claimed never was in use
here, or acknowledged by the law . . . As soon as any slave sets
his foot on English ground he becomes f ice."
This judgment did not stop the slave-trade as between Africa
and the Colonies ; but it at once set free all the slaves in the
British Isles The immediate result, however, was not good.
Claiming their liberty, they deserted then masters, and then suddenly
found themselves without employment 01 means of subsistence ;
and the streets of London began to swarm with Negro beggars.
Granville Sharp now turned his energy into schemes for their
benefit , and it was in 1786 that, with the help of Government, Sierra
he formed a plan for settling them on that very peninsula of Sierra colony
Leone where Hawkins had kidnapped the first British slave- founded-
cargo. Pour hundred liberated Negro slaves were shipped thither,
under English superintendence; and a district twenty miles square
having been purchased from a Native chief, the British flag was
hoisted, and the Negroes were planted out upon the land. Other
shiploads followed; about a thousand Negroes came over from
Nova Scotia, whither they had fled from the United States ; a
good many English, farmers and artissans, sought their fortune m
the new settlement , and the population grew apace. Disaster
after disaster, however, fell upon the colony . the Native chiefs
plundered it, and sickness carried oft most of the English settlers —
which led to Sierra Leone receiving the sobriquet of the White
Man's Grave. To promote the safety and prosperity of the
people, the Sierra Leone Company was foirned in 1791, to
introduce trade, industry, and Christian knowledge. Henry
Thornton was the chairman, and Wilberforce a director , and among
the leading men were other magnates of the " Clapham Sect." But
further disasters ensued ; and in 1794, Freetown, the capital, was
destroyed by a French squadron, and the inhabitants treated with
merciless barbarity. Zachary Macaulay, father of the great
historian, was governor of the settlement at that time A
previous governor, Lieutenant Olarkson, should also be men-
tioned, for his singular devotion and genuine piety. :'
In the meanwhile, at the very time that Granville Sharp was
forming his first plans for sending liberated slaves to West Africa,
the University of Cambridge had propounded, as the subject for
* Lieut. Clarkson's Journal, a touchingly interesting narrative, is published,
by Bishop Ingham m his Sierra Leone after a Hundred Years (Seeley, 1894).
48 AFRICA AND THZ EAST— -WAITING
PART II the Latin Essay of 1785, the question, " Is it right to make slaves
1786-1811. of others against their will ? " The prize was awarded to Thomas
^jSkaf. 5 Clarkson; and on gaining it he reflected that "if the contents of
ciarkson's ^s essay were true, it was time that some one should see these
Essay. calamities to their end," He republished it in English, and it
became a classic in the controversy of the next twenty years,
wiiuam "William Wilherforce, too, had begun his great campaign against
fb?ce.er" the Slave Trade itself. Even in his earlier years there had been
signs that God had marked him out to be the leader in the great
enterprise. " His abomination of the slave-trade," wrote a school-
fellow long afterwards, " he evinced when he was not more than
fourteen years of age." He wrote to the newspapers on the
subject while still a boy ; and even amid the gaieties of his
early adult life the sufferings of the slaves in the West Indies
oppressed his spirit "In 1780," he afterwards wrote, "I
expressed my hope that I should redress the wrongs of those
•wretched beings." But the youthful lover of freedom had not yet
entered into the liberty wherewith Christ makes His people free,
and did not yet see that the deliverance of the slave from earthly
bondage must, if any real good was to be done, be accompanied by
efforts, in the name and in the strength of the Lord, to deliver
him also from spiritual bondage. It was in 1785 that Wilberf orce,
while on a continental tour with his friend Isaac Milner," was
His con- awakened by reading Doddridge's Eise and Progress of Religion in
version. ^ie ^^ . an^ on October 21st, in that year, it pleased God to make
His gracious promise of the Spirit to those that ask Him, m
Luke xi. 13, the turning point of the young statesman's life, and
by that Spirit to enable him to yield his whole self, body, soul, and
spirit, to the service of his Divine Master, t Then Wilberf orce
advanced from feeling to action; and it was in the memorable
succeeding year, 1786 — concerning which more will be said m
Hisdedi-i the next chapter, — that he wrote, " God has set before me two
cation. ^^ objects, the suppression of the slave-trade and the reforma-
tion of manners "—and that under the celebrated oak at Keston,
he devoted himself definitely to the campaign against the traffic
in human flesh and blood
That Wilberforce was specially raised up by God for this great
work, no one can doubt who reads the long story of the twenty
years' struggle. Edmund Burke had formed plans a few years
previously for mitigating the horrors of the slave-trade and
ultimately suppressing it, but had given up the idea as hopeless.
No mere political movement could have accomplished it. "The
powerful interests with which the battle must be fought," writes
Wilberforce's son and biographer, " could be resisted only by the
general moral feeling of the nation. There was then no example
upon record of any such achievement, and in entering upon the
* Afterwards Dean of Carlisle and President of Queens', Cambridge
f But Wilberforce, though undoubtedly converted to God in October, If 85,
did not fully realize his new state of salvation for some few months See -D. 57.
AFRICA AND THE EAST — WAITING 49
struggle it was of the utmost moment that its leader should be PART II
one who could combine, and so render irresistible, the scattered 1786-1811
sympathies of all the religious classes." This Wilberforce alone hap d
could do, and did do.
It is important to distinguish between the Slave Trade and
Slavery. Slavery on British soil was declared illegal by Lord
Chief Justice Mansfield's judgment. Slavery in the British West
Indies was not touched by that judgment ; and its abolition was
not to corne for half a century, and then not by Wilberforce's
hands, but by Button's. Wilberforce's campaign, though inspired HIS anti-
by his distress at the sufferings of the West Indian slaves, was ^adc
not against Slavery — for that the time had not come — but against campaign
the Slave Trade.
At first it seemed to Wilberforce and his comrades that the
abolition of the Slave Trade would be speedily decreed They
had with them the sympathies of the three foiernost statesmen
and orators of the day, Pitt, Fox, and Buikc , and Wilbeiforce's
intimate friendship with Pitt, who was then almost at the height
of his power as Prime Minister, gave him exceptional opportunities
of pushing the cause. They little anticipated the piolonged
struggle that was before them. They quite failed to estimate the
strength of the vested interests of a great trade. And it very soon
appeared that the walls of Jericho would not fall at the first
trumpet blast. The slave-traders and slave-holders boldly dis- Opposition
pnted the very facts on which the abolitionists relied. Yet the trade?"
horrors of the "middle passage " across the Atlantic were already
notorious. One example will suffice A slave-ship with 562
slaves on board lost fifty-five by death in seventeen days. They
were stowed between decks under grated hatchways. They sat
between each othei's legs, and could neither lie down nor in any
way change their position night or day. They were branded like
sheep with the marks of various owners, these being burned on
their breasts with a red-hot iron. Zachary Macaulay actually
crossed the Atlantic in a ship full of slaves, on purpose to see
these horrors for himself But " the tiade " gravely affirmed that
the slave-ships were "redolent with frankincense"; that tho
voyage across the Atlantic was the happiest period of the Negro's
life ; and that the involuntary convulsions caused by the heavy
irons on his body camo from his lovo of dancing. !: They declared
that insubordination and crime would be tho only result of milder
treatment. They raised the cry of " Property ! property 1 " and
thus appealed to all the selfishness of British human nature.
And they hinted that the abolitionists were no better than the
* These actual statements, from the evidence given before the Parliamen-
tary Committee, are quoted in tho Life of TFW&er/orcc, chap. vu. In 1788, a
slave-ship that was being fitted out m the Thames was visited by some
members of Parliament, and the result -was an Act limiting the number of
slaves, which was passed at the very beginning of the controversy. But it
was totally disregarded, and never enforced.
VOL. I, B
50 AFRICA AND THE EAST— WAITING
PART II republicans who were then deluging Paris with blood. One
1186-1811 result was that Mr. Ramsay, a clergyman who had lived in the
Chap 5t West Indies, and spoke the truth concerning the traffic, literally
died under the distress caused by the calumnies which were heaped
upon him.* Another result was that their audacious misrepre-
sentations were successful, year after year, in staving off the final
decision.
In 1789 Wilberforce made his first great speech in Parliament
on the subject, occupying three hours and a half. The Bishop
of London, Dr. Porteus, wrote that it was " one of the ablest and
most eloquent speeches ever heaid in that or any other place,"
and added, "It was a glorious night for the country." The
slaveholders, however, succeeded in getting the motion deferred
till after the examination of witnesses ; which involved a post-
ponement to the next session. The collection and marshalling
of evidence involved immense labour, and "Wilberforce's diary
shows that for months he gave nine hours a day to the task.
Entries abound like this, "Slave-trade — quite exhausted."
Zachary Macaulay, who knew West Africa, and James Stephen,
who knew the West Indies, were his chief lieutenants, and
rendered important service. For three years the struggle went
on, and in 1791 the question again came before a full House.
Wesley's It was at this point that John Wesley sent fiom his dying bed
message. n^s memorable message to Wilberforce, probably one of the last
things, if not the very last thing, that he ever wrote. Encouraging
the young statesman to be an " Athanasius contia mundum," the
aged saint adjured him to be "not weary in well-doing." "If
God be for you, who can be against you ? Go on m the name of
God, and in the power of His might, till even American slavery,
the vilest that ever saw the sun, shall vanish before it. That
He who has guided you from your youth up may continue to
strengthen you in this and all things, is the prayer of your
affectionate servant, John Wesley." But on this occasion "the
trade " triumphed by a large majority.
The cruel attempt to identify the abolitionists with the infidel
followers of Tom Paine, on the ground that, like them, they
aimed at overthrowing property and civil oider, had its effect
upon the mind of King George III., and he became their
determined opponent, as already were the Prince of Wales (after-
wards George IY.) and other of the royal dukes. This added
Hope greatly to the difficulty of the position , but Wilbei force, strong
deferred. ^n ^ righteousness of his cause, persevered year after year,
* Wilbcrforce himself incurred great oblui]uy, uuu wuuy stones to hia
discredit were put in circulation bj Ins enemies On one occasion Glarkson
was travelling by coach, and tlio passengers \vcro discussing tlio $lct\c-trade
question "Mr. Wilbeiioico," s-aid one, " is no doubt a, great philanthropist
in public , but I happen to know that he is a cruel husband and beats his
•wife " In point of fact, "Wilberforce was not yet married ! — Harford's
Recollections of Wilberforw, p Ul.
AFRICA A fib THE EAST— WAITING 51
although in 1795, in 1796, in 1798, in 1799, he -was beaten, PAKT PI.
sometimes in one way, sometimes in another. 1786-1811,
Having thus brought Wilberforce and his campaign to the close 0haP 5>
of the century, let us now turn to India.
In the gradual " Expansion of England" as manifested in the
growth of the Empire in all parts of the world, an important part
has been borne by those voluntary yet, in a sense, authorized
associations called Chartered Companies. In the present work we
shall see something, by-and-by, of the influence, generally for
good, of the Hudson's Bay Company, the British East Africa
Company, and the Eoyal Niger Company. The first led the way .
to the greatness and completeness of the Dominion of Canada.
The second has given us the East Africa and Uganda Protectorates,
with all their illimitable possibilities. The third, in preparing the
basin of the great river for the Niger Protectorate, has done
excellent work. So has the British South Africa Company, which
has already extended over vast regions the Pax Bntannica. But
the greatest of all these associations has been the East India
Company.
On the last day of the sixteenth century, December 31st, 1600,
Queen Elizabeth granted a royal charter to " one Body Corporate
and Politick, in Deed and m Name, by the name of The Governor The East
and Company of Ma chants of London trading into the East Indies." company.
So was born the famous " John Company," which for two hundred
and fifty-seven years represented Great Britain in India. " During
one half of this period it was a trading, and during the other half
a political and administrative organization ; while all through its
history, when it departed from the principles of toleration, it was
hostile to Christian Missions from a blinded selfishness. Yet it
was used by the Sovereign Euler of the human race to prepare
the way and open wide the door for the first hopeful and ultimately
assuredly successful attempt), since the Apostolic Church swept
away Paganism, to destroy the idolatrous and Musalmau cults of
Asia." ::
The early agents of the Company were very different men from
the early " pilgrims " to tho American Colonies. To the efforts
made to evangelize the Ecd Men of New England there was no
parallel in India ; and the impression made by Englishmen on
the Hindu mind may be gathered from the oft-quoted words English ,
addressed to the chaplain who accompanied Sir T. Eoe, the I^nSa?
British Ambassador to the Mogul Emperor, — " Christian religion
devil religion ; Christian much drunk, much do wrong, much beat,
much abuse others," Job Oharnook, the founder of Calcutta and
first Governor of Bengal, became an avowed Pagan under the
influence of his Native wife, and after her death annually sacrificed
a cock upon her tomb. Civil and military officers kept their
* Dr. G. Smith, Conversion of India, p, 84
J3 2
52 AFRICA AND THE £AST— WAITING
PART II. zenanas , ' ' where, ' ' as one described it, ' ' they allowed their numerous
1786-1811. black wives to roam about picking up a little rice, while they
ohaP-_6' pleased them by worshipping their favourite idol." The pages of
Sir John Kaye's History of Christianity in India teem with similar
illustrations — and worse — of the social and moral condition of
Anglo-Indian society in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
After this, it is a small thing to say that the East India Company
was eighty years in India before a church was built When two
or three had been supplied, it became fashionable at Madras to
atteud public worship twice a year, on Christinas and Easter
days; and on these occasions the Natives crowded to see the
strange spectacle of Europeans going to " do pujah " The new
charter before mentioned issued by William III. in 1698, which
required the Company to provide a chaplain in every garrison
and principal factory, and enjoined on such chaplains the
duty of learning the native languages, " the better to enable
them to instruct the Gentoos that are servants or slaves of
the same Company in the Protestant religion," produced little
effect, * and so late as 1795 Sir John Shore (afterwards Lord
Teignrnouth), then Governor- General, reported officially that the
clergy in Bengal, " with some exceptions," were "not respectable
characters." "A black coat," he added, "is no security from
the general relaxation of morals." Some of them returned home
with large fortunes, made by trading and even gambling.
First^ Meanwhile, all through the eighteenth century, missionary
Missions. work among {fog Natives was going on in the south of India.
It began, indeed, in Danish territory, but it spread both into
Native States and into the districts occupied by the Company.
This was the Mission founded by Ziegenbalg and Plutscho
under the auspices of King Frederick IV. of Denmark, and
subsidized and in great part directed by the S P.C.K , as men-
tioned in our Third Chapter. But this was only in the Tamil
country. In 1758, however, Clive, whose victories really laid the
Kier- foundation of English supremacy in India, invited Kiernander,
nander. one 0| fa& Danish missionaries, to Calcutta, and thus began
Missions in the North. In 1771, Kiernander built a church,
and called it by the Hebrew name Beth Tephillah (House of
Prayer). It was generally known as the Mission Church, but m
later years as the Old Church. His labouis, however, were
mainly confined to the poor Portuguese and Eurasians, from
amongst whom he gathered a small congregation , a few adherents
won from Heathenism being also baptized. He worked well
Charles According to his lights, but the character of his teaching may be
Grant. imagined from the fact that when Charles Grant, then a young
* Occasionally "black servants" were bow 0 fa, and then baptized and in-
structed; and "Portuguese" (le half-castes) in humble life were to some
extent cared for. The earliest recorded " convert," mentioned as far back as
16%, was, curiously enough, named John Lawrence. See an article in the
Madras Mail, July 21st, 1897.
AFRICA AND THE EAST — WAITING 53
official of the Company, who had been awakened to a sense of sin PART II.
and of the ]ust claims of a holy God, went to him m deep concern, 1786-1811.
— " my anxious inquiries," writes Grant, " as to what I should do p 5"
to be saved embarrassed and confused him exceedingly , and he
could not answer my questions " His old age was clouded by
heavy pecuniary embarrassments, and his church in 1787 was
seized by the Sheriff of Calcutta in behalf of his creditors.
Then Charles Grant, :< who had risen rapidly in the Company's
service, and held what was then the high rank of Senior Merchant,
stepped forward, and, in conjunction with Mr. William Chambers,
the Company's chief linguist, and the Eev. David Brown, a friend David
of Charles Simeon's, who had conie out as chaplain to the Military Brown-
Orphan Asylum, purchased the church, and having vested it in
their three names, wrote to the S P.C K. m England to send out
a clergyman, Grant offering to pay him 3 GO/ a year out of his own
pocket The S P C K. did (1789) send out a clergyman named
Clarke, who was really the first English missionary sent to India ;
but as he did not turn out well, and only stayed a few months, he
is not usually counted. Not till eight years afterwards (1797) did
the S P C.K succeed in finding a successor, and he, like the mis-
sionaries in the South, was a Dane in Lutheran orders, Mr.
Ringeltaube, but, after a year or two, he joined the London
Missionary Society,f and the S.P C.K. never sent a third man.
Meanwhile David Brown had resigned his post at the Asylum to
take charge of the church on Clarke leaving ; and, except during
Eingeltaube's tenure of the post, continued to minister to a growing
and influential English and Eurasian congregation, without pay,
for twenty- three years. [ He was also appointed a Company's
chaplain, and ministered for part of the time simultaneously in the
official church, St. John's , and he constantly attended the
hospital and the gaol He never took furlough. In the whole
period he was only once absent, lor a short trip up the Ganges.
" In the religious progress of the European community," writes
Sir John Kaye,§ " he found his reward. He lived to see the
streets opposite to our churches blocked up with carnages and
palanquins, and to welcome hundreds of communicants to the
Supper of the Lord. He lived to see the manners and conversa-
tion of those by whom he was surrounded purified and elevated ;
the doctrines of his Master openly acknowledged in word and
* An extremely interesting sketch of Charles Grant's career, by Mr. Henry
Morris, has been recently published at Madras by the Christian Literature
Society for India, and in London by the S.P.C K. See also Dr. George Smith's
chapter on Grant in Twelve Indian Statesmen
f Ring-eltaube afterwards began tho great work of tho London Missionary
Society in Soubh Travancore. Though a man of groat devotion, he was very
eccentric, and after labouring for some years and baptising many converts,
he suddenly disappeared in 1815, and was never heard of again.
; The church continued m the hands of trustees till 1870, when it was
handed over to the Church Missionary Society.
§ Christianity in India, p. 165,
54 AFRICA AND THE EAST — WAITING
PART II. deed, where once they had been scouted by the one and violated
. by the other." The religious history of Calcutta during a quarter
of a century is the history of David Brown's life
Plans of The three fiiends, Grant, Chambers, and Brown, together with
Brownand another Company's official, George TJdny, :< formed, in 1786, a
large scheme for a Bengal Mission under Government auspices,
and submitted it to influential persons in England, as we shall see
hereafter Nothing came of it directly, but it was one of the
causes which led indirectly to the establishment of the Church
Missionary Society. Giant, however, made a small beginning
himself by commissioning, at his own charges, a ship's surgeon
named Thomas to start a Mission at a place called Gomalty ; but
this scheme failed also
Grant's Grant returned to England in 1790, and was at once in com-
mfluence, mumca^on with William Wilberforce and other influential
Christian men regarding possible plans for the evangelization of
India. He published an able and elaborate pamphlet entitled
" Observations on the State of Society among the Asiatic Subjects
of Great Britain," which is characterized by Sir John Kaye and
other good authorities as one of the most statesmanlike papers ever
written upon British influence in India. He became a Director of
the East India Company, and was three times Chairman of the
Board , and for many years all his energies were thrown into the
arduous work of supervising the government of the great Depen-
dency. Sir John Kaye thus writes of him : —
" The headpiece of the Company in Leaclenhall Street, the mouthpiece
of the Company in St Stephen's, the oracle on all subjects of Indian
import, of that little knot of warm-hearted, earnest-minded men who dis-
cussed great measures of humanity on Clapliam Common, Charles Grant so
tempered the earnestness of his spiritual zeal with sound knowledge and
strong practical sense, that whatever lie said carried a weighty signifi-
cance with it. Such a man was much needed at that time He was
needed to exercise a double influence— an influence alike over the minds
of men of different classes in India, and of his colleagues and compatnots
at home."
And Dr. George Smith sums up his career in these eloquent
words ; 1 —
" In the seventy-seven years ending 1823 Charles Grant lived, a servant
of the East India Company in Bengal, and then Chairman of its Court
of Directors ; a member of Parliament, and father of two statesmen as
pure as himself and only less able— Lord Glenelg and Sir Robert Grant,
Governor of Bombay Charles Grant saw and mitigated the greatest
famine on record, which swept off four millions of beings in Bengal,
Behar, and Orissa, a century and a quarter ago. He purged the Com-
* In 1893, the Commissioner of Peshawar, a descendant of Udny's, and
hearing the same name, held a drawing-room meeting at his house at that
frontier city, which was addressed by the Author of this work and the late
Rev. B. TV. Stewart.
t In an article in Good Words, September, 1891; reproduced, in substance,
in Twelve Indian Statesmen, 1897
AFRICA AND THE EAST — WAITING 55
party's government of abuses at the worst penod of its history. A friend PART IT.
of Schwartz, the great missionary, he helped Carey to Serampore, he sent 1786-18U.
out the Evangelical chaplains through Simeon, ho founded Haileybury Chap. 5.
College, he was the chief agent * in the institution of the Church Mission-
ary and Bible Societies, he fought for the freedom of the Afiican slave
as wisely as for the enlightenment of the caste-bound Hindu. He was
the authority from whom Wilberforce derived at once the impulse and
the knowledge which gained the first battle for toleration m the Hon.
East India Company's charters of 1793 and 1813. Above all, Cttarles
Grant wrote in 1792 the noblest treatise on the Asiatic subjects of Great
Britain, and the means of improving their moral condition, which the
English language has ever yet seen."
It was in 1793 that William Wilberforce, influenced by Grant,
first moved Parliament to afford facilities for Missions in India.
The East India Company's Charter had to be renewed, and he
proposed resolutions in favour of promoting the moral and religious Defeat of
improvement of the Natives. These resolutions were carried in *
Committee of the House, but before the third reading of the
Charter Bill the East India Directors took alarm, and the result
•was that Wilberforce had in sorrow to write, " All my clauses
were struck out last night, and our territories in Hindostan,
twenty millions of people included, are left in the undisturbed
and peaceable possession, and committed to the providential
protection, of — Brama."
From that year, 1793, may be reckoned what has been well
called the Dark Period of twenty years in the history of Chris- The Dark
tiamty in India, during which all possible discouragement was Penod-
given by the East India Company to every effort to spread the
Gospel. It is significant that, in that same year, Lord Macartney,
on his embassy from Great Britain to China, made the following
humiliating declaration : " The English never attempt to disturb
or dispute the worship or tenets of others ; they come to China
with no such views ; they have no priests or chaplains with them,
as have other European nations." Chaplains, however, there
were in India ; and we may thank God for them. During the
twenty years, all that was done in India, by the Church of
England, for the spread of the Gospel, was done by them, and
especially the famous " Five Chaplains," David Brown, Claudius
Buchanan, Henry Martyn, Daniel Come, and Thomas Thomason.
It is a curious coincidence that this same date, 1793, was
the date of Sir John Shore's accession to the Governor-General- Lord
ship, For Shore was a godly Christian, who made no secret of his J^outh.
personal religion, refusing to transact business on Sundays, and
getting churches built at the civil and military stations. But
more than this he could not do. To Wilberforce, who had written
to him about Missions, he replied that the English in India would
not tolerate them : indeed " they needed first to Christianize them-
selves." After four years he returned to England, became Lord
* Bather, " one of the chief agents,*'
56 AFRICA AND THE EAST—WAITING
PART II. Teigmnouth, joined the Evangelical coterie atClapham, and, when
17864811. the Bible Society was established, was elected its President,
Qbap^S. j^ meanwhile India continued — waiting.
Thus we have seen Africa and India waiting. But India is
The rest of not the whole of "the East." What of the lest of Asia? First
waiting!"" there was the Turkish Empire. The Levant was not in those days
the scene of holiday tours. Few Englishmen had ever visited
Syria or Asia Minor But the Lands of the Bible, where the first
Christian Churches had been planted, and in particular the Holy
Land itself, the sacred ground on which the Lord's own feet had
trod, were not forgotten by the few large-hearted souls that could
look beyond the bounds of their own parishes. Those lands,
however, were practically inaccessible. Mohammedan tyranny
ruled undisturbed. European Powers had not yet begun to inter-
fere in the East. It was but a few years before that the Turk
was thundering at the gates of Vienna. Moreover, in the closing
decade of the century, the Mediterranean was the battle-field of
hostile fleets. So "the East," in so far as it meant the Levant,
was still — waiting. But had it not, all this while, its own Chris-
tianity ? Yes, the ancient Churches of " the East " still lived, and
had, through the wonderful providence of God, been preserved
through twelve centuries of Moslem oppression. But if alive m
one sense, they were dead, or all but dead, in another. Not one
of them was even attempting to win the Mohammedan to Christ ;
and, their presence notwithstanding, the Lands of Islam were still
waiting — waiting for an aggressive Gospel.
So also was it with Persia ; so with Tartary ; and as for Central
Asia, no one knew anything of it Ceylon and the other East
Indian possessions of Holland had had a dull and formal Pro-
testant Christianity imposed upon them by their well-meaning but
unspiritual Dutch rulers. China, on the other hand, was the scene
of extensive Eoman Missions, but the converts were scarcely
distinguishable from the Heathen, and had only exchanged —
painful though it is to state the actual truth — one idolatry for
another. Moreover, although, in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries the Jesuits had contrived to get into the country, and by
their scientific attainments to maintain a position there, China, at
the close of the eighteenth century, was closed against foreigners.
Still more securely was Japan locked and barred against all inter-
course with the outer world. The great nations of the Far East
were still — waiting.
And in the heavens, the Lord of all these Eastern lands, the
Lord of the whole earth, was — wo/ding. Nearly eighteen centuries
had passed away since He started His Church on what should
have been her career of world- wide blessing; and while the
Church 'had corrupted herself, torn herself to pieces with
internal dissension, and at last gone to sleep, the Church's
Lord was still — waitino.
REV JOHN VENN
REV THOMAS SCOTT
REV CHARLES SIMEON
REV JOHN NEWTON
REV RICHARD CECIL
John Venn, Rectoi of Clapham "First Chairman of C M S Committee
Thomas Scott, Commentator , Fii&t Secietaiy of C M S
Chailes Simeon, Incumbent of Trinity, Cainbncl£>e , Orig-inator of idea of C AI S
John Newton, Bectoi ot St Mary "Woolnoth u '
Richard Cecil, Mmi&tei of St John's Chapel, Bedfcoicl Row.
CHAPTER VI
THE MISSIONARY AWAWING, 1786—1799.
The Twelve Events of 1786— Charles Simeon— Carey— The Baptist and
LondoiKMissionary Societies—The Eclectic Discussions— Botany
Bay-Sirrteon in earnest-Josiah Pratt and John Venn— Why form
a new Society ?— L.M S. not desirable, S.P G, not possible.
"When ite shall sfo these things com to pass, Iww that it is nijh"—
St Markxin 29
" What Ime I now done 1 Is thei e not a cause * "— 1 Sam xvn 29.
|N oui1 Fourth Chapter we took a rapid survey of the PABT IL
World, the Country, and the Church, from the point WB8-18II
of view of the closing decade of the Eighteenth Gen- Chapl ^
tury, Our Fifth Chapter showed us " Africa and the
East— Waiting," till the Evangelical Revival should '
set on foot the forces for their evangelization. We must now
trace out the story of the Missionary Awakening, and particularly
the story of the Chmch Missionary Society,
The year 1786 was an epoch-making year in the history of th<
Missions, In that year twelve different events occurred, many of y
them quite unconnected with one another, but most of them
combining to'produoe the Missionary Awakening which led to the
establishment of the Church Missionary Society, while others of
them were more or less connected with that Awakening.
(1) In 1786, William Wilberf orce entered into the peace o! God,
received the Lord's Supper for the first time on Good Friday,
solemnly resolved " to live to God's glory and his fellow-creatures*
good," and, as before mentioned, dedicated himself, under the
oak-tree at Keston, to the task of abolishing the slave-trade,
(2) In 1786, Thomas Clarkson's essay against the slave-trade
was published, and began its work of influencing the public mind,
(3) In 1786, Granville Sharp formulated his plan for settling
liberated slaves at Sierra Leone,
(4) In 1786, David Brown, the first of the "Five Chaplains/'
landed in Bengal,
(5) In 1786, Charles Grant at Calcutta conceived the idea of a
great Mission to India,
(6) In 1786, William Carey proposed at a Baptist ministers'
meeting the consideration of their responsibility to the Heathen,
and was told by the chairman to sit down.
he
year v
58 THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, 1786—1799
PART II. (7) In 1786, the first ship-load of convicts was sent to Australia,
^SS-lSll. an^ a chaplain with them
_L (8) In 1786, ^e Eclectic Society discussed Foreign Missions for
the first time.
(9) In 1786 occurred the visit of Schwartz, the S.P.C K.
Lutheran missionary in South India, to Tmnevelly, which led,
more than twenty years after, to the establishment of the C.M.S.
Tmnevelly Mission,
(10) In 1786, Dr. Coke, the great Wesley an missionary leader,
made the first of his eighteen voyages across the Atlantic to
carry the Gospel to the negro slaves in the West Indies, an
enterprise afterwards joined in by the CMS and several other
societies.
(11) In 1786 was passed the Act of Parliament which enabled
the Church of England to commence its Colonial and Missionary
Episcopate.
(12) In 1786, Dr. Thurlow, Bishop of Lincoln, preaching the
annual sermon of the S.P.G , advocated the evangelization of India.
" Can we," he urged, " withhold from so many millions of rational
beings, unhappily deluded by error or degraded by superstition,
the privilege of an emancipation from their chains of darkness
and an admission into the glorious liberty of the children of
God? " And he appealed to the East India Company to build
churches and support clergymen for them.
Some of these events have been noticed before. Some will
demand our attention by-and-by. Let us now take No. 5, with
Nos. 4 and 12, and then Nos. 6, 7, and 8.
Grant's It was a similar plan to Bishop Thurlow's that Charles Grant
scheme. na^ conceived, as before mentioned. Upon the Company and the
Government he relied for the propagation of Christianity in
Bengal. He, together with his three coadjutors before named,
David Brown, Chambers and Udny, addressed letters regarding
the great scheme for a Bengal Mission to the Archbishop of
Canterbury, and alsp to influential members of Parliament. The
two men in England, however, on whom they relied to push it
forward were William Wilberforce and Charles Simeon. Both
were young; neither had yet gained their subsequent unique
influence ; but with an instinct in which we must see the guidance
of God, Brown, who had been Simeon's intimate friend at
Cambridge, and Grant, who must have heard of Wilberforce' s
new fame as a religious man, fixed on the clergyman and the
layman who, above all others, were likely to influence godly
people in England. Wilberforce has been already introduced.
Let us now introduce Simeon.
Charles Charles Simeon, on first entering King's College, Cambridge,
Simeon from a ^fQ |Qr
summons of the Provost to receive the Lord's Supper , and had
found light for his perplexed mind and peace for his quickened
conscience by reading Bishop T, Wilson's book on the Sacrament,
THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, 1786—1799 59
During his undergraduate days he had gradually grown in the PART II.
Christian life, though meeting with not a single man who knew 1
the doctrines of grace. Just before his ordination on his fellow-
ship in 1782, he had come across John Venn,'1' of Sidney Sussex
College, who became his life-long friend. He served as curate
at St Edward's for a few months, at once crowding the church by
his awakening sermons, and then was appointed by the Bishop of
Ely, who was a fuend of his father's, to Trinity Church. The
parishioners, alarmed at the advent of a " Methodist," locked the
pews and stayed away from church; but the aisles were soon
thronged by casual hearers When he started an evening service
— an outrageous novelty in those days, — 'the churchwardens, to
prevent it, locked up the church. For years Simeon underwent
persecution of all kinds, from both town and gown ; but he always
said, " The servant of the Lord must not strive ", and his quiet
but unconquerable patience giadually won a complete victory.
This was the clergyman to whom Charles Grant and David
Brown sent from Calcutta their scheme for a great official Church
Mission to India.
The evangelization of India, however, was, in God's purposes,
not to come that way. It was the Dutch method of Missions,!
and it had been tried and found wanting. Not by the official
action of Government, but by the devotion of an obscure Baptist
cobbler, was a Bengal Mission to be established. Yet the letters
of Brown and Grant bore fruit Nearly half a century afterwards
Simeon endorsed the original joint letter he had received from the
Calcutta friends with the words, " It shows how early God enabled
me to act for India, to provide for which has now for forty-two
years been a principal and an incessant object of my care and
labour. ... I used to call India my Diocese. Since there has been
a Bishop, I modestly call it my Province.1' I If it were only for
his having, at a time when godly clergymen were so sorely needed
in the Church at home, influenced such men to go out as Claudius
Buchanan, Henry Martyn, Daniel Corrio, and Thomas Thomason
— the other four of the " five chaplains," — India owes to Charles
Simeon an untold debt of gratitude.
The obscure Baptist cobbler was of course William Carey.
Carey owed his interest in the heathen world to the perusal of
Cook's Voyages ; but his spiritual fervour he owed, under God,
to Thomas Scott, afterwards the first' Secretary of the Church
Missionary Society. Long afterwards he wrote, " If I know
anything of the work of God in my soul, I owe it to the preaching
of Mr. Scott." It was in 1786 that he in vain invited his brethren
to give attention to the Lord's last command, " Sit down,
* Who had been excluded from Trinity Col] ego because he was tho sou of
one of the " serious" clergy Seo p, 89.
t See p 19
J This document, with Simeon's eiidorsemenfc, is noiy in the possession of
Ridley Hall.
60 THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING^ 1786 — 1799
PART II young man/' said the chairman of the meeting ; " when it pleases
1786-1811 God to convert the Heathen, He'll do it without your help, or
—Q> mme " Although his first attempt to awaken a missionary spirit
failed, he went on praying and studying, learning Latin, Greek,
Hebrew, French, and Dutch. In 1792 he published his famous
Enquuy into the Obligations of Ghiiztians to use Means foi the
Conversion of the Heathen In the same year, on May 30th,
he preached his memorable sermon before his fellow-ministers
at Nottingham, on Isa. liv. 2, 3, " Enlarge the place of thy tent,"
£c , dividing it under those two heads which have been an
inspiration to the whole Church of Christ from that day to this,
"(1) Expect gieat things fiom God ; (2) Attempt great things for
Baptist God'1 On October 2nd the first fruit of it sprang up : the Baptist
SociSet°y.ary Missionary Society was formed , and in the following year Carey
himself sailed for India as its first missionary.
Carey's enterprise also led to the formation, in 1795, of the
second great missionary society of that period. Its founders
were Dr. Haweis, Sector of Aldwinkle, and Mr. Pentycross, Vicar
of Walhngford, together with some Independent and Presbyterian
ministers, — not Baptists, and not Wesley ans ; and its basis was
undenominational It was called simply The Missionary Society ;
but as, shortly afterwards, two Scotch associations were founded,
which were called respectively the Edinburgh and the Glasgow
London Societies, it quite naturally came to be known as the London
Society ary Missionary Society, and ultimately adopted that title. Its esta-
blishment was hailed with great enthusiasm by a wide circle of
Christian people, which culminated when, in the following year,
the ship Ditjf sailed with its first party of missionaries for the
South Sea Islands. Although its constitution has always remained
unsectanan, it has practically, from the first, been the missionary
organization of the Congregationahsts. No society has had greater
names on its roll : it may suffice to mention Morrison, John
"Williams, Moffat, Livingstone, Ellis, Mullens, and Gilmour
The two Scotch societies just mentioned were founded in 1796.
An attempt in the same year to induce the General Assembly to
take up Missions officially was not successful, despite Dr Erskine's
memorable appeal to Scripture — " Moderator, rax me that Bible ! "
Let us now turn to the Evangelical leaders within the Church
of England. .They had begun to consider the subject of Missions
Society0 some years before. The Eclectic Society had been founded in 1783
^ a ^ew clergymen and laymen, for the discussion of topics
interesting to them. They met fortnightly in the vestry of St.
John's Chapel, Bedford Eow, of which Eichard Cecil was then
minister. A missionary subject came before them for the first
time on November 13th in that epoch-making year, 1786, when
the question for consideration was, " What is the best method of
planting and propagating the Gospel in Botany Bay ? " " Botany
ay " s^00<^ ^or w^ia^ we now k&ow as the Australian Continent,
Bay. and was a familiar name to the readers of the Voyages of Captain
THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, 1786—1799 61
Cook, by whom the eastern coast of that portion of Australia now PART IT.
called New South Wales had been explored The new continent 1786-1811.
had been chosen by the British Goveinment as a penal settlement, p_'.^'
and the first ship-load of convicts was, as above-mentioned,
despatched to Botany Bay :' in this same year, 1786. One of
Wilberforce's first efforts for the good of his fellow-creatures was
in their behalf. He and John Thornton interviewed Pitt, and
induced the young Prime Minister to send a chaplain with them
— which circumstance was to Henry Venn the elder, then in
his old age, the token of coining blessing for the distant regions
of the earth Throughout the world, he wrote on the occasion,
" a vast multitude whom no man could number should call upon
the name of the Lord." Though he, " stricken m years," would
not live to see it, he " would be well informed of it above," " All
heaven," he goes on, " will break forth in that song of praise,
Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." The first
chaplain was Bichard Johnson , | his assistant and successor,
appointed in 1793, was Samuel Marsden, afterwards the Apostle
of New Zealand, whose heroic labours resulted in an abundant
fulfilment of Venn's piophocy
In 1789, the Eclectic Society again discussed a missionary
subject, " What is the best .method of propagating the Gospel in The Gospel
the East Indies ?" In the propounding of this question we see for India*
the influence of the communications received by Simeon and
Wilberforce from Brown and Grant ; but there is no record of the
discussion.
In 1791, a third missionary question was considered at an
Eclectic gathering, via., " What is the best method of propagating
the Gospel in Africa?" — which carries us back to two other The Gospel
of the events of 178G. The subject was no doubt suggested for Afnca>
both by Wilberforce's Parliamentary campaign against the Slave
Trade and by the then struggling freed-slave settlement at Sierra
Leone ; both which have been already noticed. Of this discussion,
again, no account has been preserved,
Not until 1796 did the Eclectic brethren again discuss Foreign
Missions ; and in the meanwhile the Baptist and London Mis-
sionary Societies had been founded. In the year that saw the
birth of the latter, 1795, Charles Simeon and other Evangelical
Churchmen were discussing at two clerical meetings at Eauccby
m Lincolnsliiie tho possibility of using a legacy of ^4000, loft to
the Vicar to lay out " in the service of true religion," m training
young men for missionary service. Nothing came of this, and
* The name of Botany Bay long remained a synonym for a place of
punishment, but the Bay itself: was soon superseded as a landing-place by
Port Jackson, a few wiles north, now the magnificent harbour of Sydney.
•f A curious and interesting Memoir of Richard Johnbon has lately been,
published, under tho title of Australia's First Preacft-er, by James Bonwick
(S Low and Co., 1898) His little-known history deserved to be ferreted out j
but the author might have spared his reflections on Marsden.
62 THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, 1786 — 1799
PART II. the money was used, it is believed, for a similar purpose for the
1786-1811. home ministry ; but the incident shows that Simeon and others
p 6* were not forgetting the Lord's Command, though as yet the way
in which they could do their part in fulfilling it had not appeared
But on February 8th, 1796, Simeon opened a discussion at an
Eclectic meeting on the question, " With what propriety, and in
what mode, can a Mission be attempted to the Heathen from the
Established Church?"
The very form of the question marks a step in advance. No
longer do Botany Bay, or the East Indies, or Africa, fill up the
The Gospel field of vision. It is " the Heathen " that are thought of. The
Evangelization of the World is contemplated, however remotely.
And the mention of "the Established Church" indicates, what
was the fact, that while the brethren gave hearty God-speed to
the non-denominational "Missionary Society" lately founded,
and some of them contributed to it, they felt nevertheless that
the Church of England must have its own Missions.
Some particulars of the discussion have been preserved 1: Only
" two or three " out of the seventeen members present — pre-
sumably Simeon, Scott, and Basil Woodd — were favourable to any
definite attempt being made. The majority were afraid of the
bishops, or shrank from seeming to interfere with the S P.G. and
S P C K., or doubted the possibility of obtaining men, or urged
the claims of the Church at home. Nevertheless, the "two or
three" ardent spirits did not lose heart, and long afterwards
Basil Woodd wrote acioss his MS. notes of the discussion, " This
conversation proved the foundation of the Church Missionary
Society."
Three years, however, elapsed before action was taken ; and we
have only a few occasional hints that the great subject was not
Simeon in forgotten. At Charles Simeon's suggestion, the clerical society at
earnest. j^^]^ above mentioned, and the Elland Society, which
supported young men of Evangelical principles at the Universities
with a view to holy orders (as it does still), were considering
the question , and on their behalf the Eev 0, Knight, a leading
member, was in correspondence with the Bishop of London. Of
this correspondence the Minutes of the Elland Society (still extant)
give an interesting account ; but nothing came of it Again, in
the Life of Wilberfw cc we find the following two entries in his
journal : —
1797. July 27th. " To town, and back to dine at Henry Thornton's,
where Simeon and Grant to talk over Mission scheme."
November 9th. "Dined and slept at Battersea Rise for mis-
sionary meeting ; Simeon, Charles Grant, Venn. Something,
but not much, done. Simeon in earnest."
4 They were summarized IB an Appendix to the Fnueral Sermon preached
bj the younger Henry Venn (Hon Sec of C M S ) en the death of Josmh
Pratt. This Appendix is printed at the end of Pratt's Life See also 3. H.
Fratt's Eclectic Notes.
THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, 1786—1799 63
That dinner at Clapham on November 9th was more important in PART II.
the world's history than the Lord Mayor's banquet at the Guildhall 1n¥"18g1'
the same evening I JL '
It was in this year, 1797, that a young clergyman, lately come
to London as curate to Cecil, joined the Eclectic Society. This josiah
was Josiah Pratt, whom we shall often meet hereafter. His first Pratt,
religious impressions, as a youth at Birmingham, had come through
hearing the impressive reading of the Vemte Jl by Charles Simeon,
then also quite a young man ; and it was the solemn utterance, by
Thomas Bobmson of Leicester, of the words, " Let us pray,"
before the sermon, that led to his conversion of heait to God.
On February 4th, 1799, he, the youngest of the Eclectic brethren,
proposed this question for discussion : " How far may a. Periodical
Publication be made subservient to the interest of Religion?"
This discussion bore fruit. It led to the starting, two years later, of
the Ghnstian Observer, which quickly became, and for three quarters
of a century continued, a valuable organ of Evangelical principles
and work Pratt himself was the first editor, but was soon
succeeded by Zachary Macaulay, It is mentioned here, partly to
introduce Pratt, and partly because his proposal was immediately
followed, at last, by a reconsideration of the subject of Missions.
For on February 18th, 1799, the Eclectic Society once more
faced the question. There was, indeed, only what is recorded as
" a general conversation on the subject of a Mission connected
with the Evangelical part of the Church of England"; but it
issued in a notice for a more regular discussion on March 18th,
when John Venn himself would introduce the subject in the
following form: "What methods can we use more effectually to "What
promote the knowledge of the Gospel among the Heathen?" §5° ™G
This again was a further advance upon the thesis of three years
before. The question was now not merely "What ought the
Church to do ? " but " What can we do 9 "
John Venn's wisdom and judgment are very manifest in the
summaries of his address which have been preserved. | _ He laid
down three principles: (1) Follow God»s leading, and look for
success only from the Spirit. This was the primitive policy.
" The nearer we approach the ancient Church the better."
(2) Under God, all will depend on the typo of men sent forth. A
missionary " should have heaven in his heart, and tread the world
under his foot," And such men only God can raise up, (8) Begin
on a small scale. " Nature follows this rule. Colonies creep
from small beginnings. Christianity was thus first propagated."
In applying these principles Mr. Venn deprecated beginning by
collecting money. Bather, let each member (1) admonish his
people to promote Missions, (2) pray constantly for guidance,
* The singing of the* Canticles?, except by cuthodial clioirs, was a later
Evangelical innovation
f Notes by both W. Goode and Josiah Pratfc are pimted in the Appendix
cited in a previous Note.
64 THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, 1786—1799
PART II. (3) study and inquire as to possible future plans, (4) speak to
1786-1811 Christian friends on the subject. Finally, the Mission must be
c ap> 6> founded upon "the Church-pi mciple, not the high-Chuich pnn-
ciple"; and if clergymen cannot be found, send out laymen.
The remarks of Grant, Pratt, Simeon, Scott, and Goode are
also briefly recorded Simeon, with characteristic directness,
proposed three questions * "What can we do? "When shall we
do it ? How shall we do it ^ " and answered them thus, (1) " We
must stand forth before the public" , (2) "Not a moment to be
lost. We have been dreaming these four years, while all Europe
is awake " [with the excitement of the great war] ; (3) " Hopeless
to wait for missionaries ; send out catechists " Ultimately it was
Must form resolved to form a Society immediately. On April 1st, another
Society, meeting was held to prepare the Eules , and on Friday, April 12th,
1799, the public meeting took place which established the Church
Missionary Society.
But why > But why was the new Society established at all? Were there
not Church Societies already in existence ? And was there not
also a younger Society which, though not conducted by Churchmen
only, was one in which Churchmen could certainly, if they would,
exercise great influence? The answer to this last question is
found in John Venn's dictum that the projected Missions must be
based on the " Church-principle." It may be doubted whether
even his foresight could then perceive that while simple evangelistic
preaching can be carried on in common by Evangelical Christians
divided on Church questions, the non-denominational method
becomes impracticable when converts are being gathered into
communities , but if not, it was a true instinct that led him to
the conclusion. A Native Christian community must either be
linked with an existing body or become a new independent body
itself. In the former case it cannot help following some de-
nominational lead ; in the latter case it adds one to the number of
distinct bodies that already divide Christendom On the Con-
gregational principle, the latter result is unobjectionable ; but
neither Presbyterianism nor Methodism accepts that principle, and
L.M.S. still less does the Church of England do so, The decision of the
desirable Evangelical brethren, therefore, not to throw their energies into
the new London Missionary Society, was inevitable. And not
only inevitable. It was not because they could not help it that
they formed a Church Society. With all their true love for the
godly men outside the Church, and their large-hearted readiness
to unite with them in every religious and philanthropic enterprise in
which union did not compromise principle — as, for instance, in
the Eeligious Tract Society, founded in that same year, 1799, and
in the Bible Society, founded in 1804, — they nevertheless were
ex ammo loyal members of the Church of England They
thoroughly believed in Episcopacy and Liturgical Worship ; and
while no doubt, in common with Churchmen of all schools at that
time, they set a higher value on " Establishment " than men of any
THE MISSIONARY AWAKENIN^ 1786 — 1799 65
School do now, they were far too well instructed to imagine that PART II.
the Church of England only dates from the Beformation. As we 1786-1811.
shall see presently, they looked back to the primitive Church for GliaP *>•
guidance in the details of their enterprise. One of their leaders,
Joseph Milner, had but recently published his great History of the
Church of Christ, in which, while faithfully setting forth Evan-
gelical doctrine as the life of the Church, he showed the continuity
of the Church from the Apostolic Age downwards, and dwelt
lovingly on the characters and careers of the holy men of even tho
darkest periods of mediaeval superstition.
The answer to the other question, Why did not the Evangelical s P.C.K.
leaders throw their energies into the existing Church Societies, not S"P G*
the S P C K, and S.P G, ? is not fully seen in Venn's other dictum, possible,
that the projected Missions must not be based on the "High-
Church principle " There is more behind than appears on the
surface. The expression " High-Church principle " would, m the
present day, mean that missionary work could only be effectively
done by the Church in her corporate capacity, or by missionaries
of a Church holding the apostolical succession. But it is doubtful
whether Venn meant that. As stated in the previous chapter,
real High Churchmen were but few then. The S. P.C.K. and
S.P.G. had both been founded as voluntary societies, and though
the latter had a royal charter, it would be the extrernest Erastianism
to suggest that a royal charter represented " the Church in her
corporate capacity " Moreover tho S P.C.K. was at that very
time employing and supporting missionaries in Lutheian orders
in India, and rejoicing over the news of those missionaries them-
selves ordaining Natives after the Lutheran use/-' More probably
Venn meant two other things, viz , (1) that no Church enterprise
ought to be undei taken by individual clergymen, without the
bishops at their head, and (2) that every man ordained by a bishop
was ipso facto fit to be a missionary If those two propositions Because
constituted what Venn meant by the " High-Church principle," it principles
is no marvel that he objected to it ; for (1) the question he pro- dlffered»
pounded to the Eclectic brethren was "What can we do?" — we
individual men of a despised school , and (2) the leading principle
he laid down was that all would depend, under God, on the
type of men sent out, and that God only could provide the
right ones Here, in fact, we have the two essential and un-
changing principles of the Church Missionary Society, viz., (1) It
is the right of Christian men who sympathize with one another
to combine for a common object, (2) Spiritual work must be done
by spiritual men,
Apart, however, from all differences of opinion on points like
these, there was one sufficient reason for not working through
the S.P.C.K. and SP.G John Venn and several other of
his associates were subscribers to both Societies ; but at that
* See the qttotation from an S.P.G K. fteport, anfr, p 23.
VOL. I, 3?
66 THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, 1786—1793
PART II. time they had not the slightest chance of being permitted to
1786-1811. exercise any influence in the counsels of either. Illustrations
CbaP-6- have been given in the previous chapter of the hatred and
Because contempt with which the " feeble folk " of the still small though
bo"nu?-a" Creasing body of " serious clergy " were regarded by their fellow-
welcome, Churchmen. It is fashionable now to allow that they did good
in their day ; but all they got then was the barest toleration.
" Your fathers killed the prophets, and ye build their sepulchres "
In a letter written some years afterwards, Pratt stated that at this
time so exclusive a spirit reigned in the S P.C K. that although
he and his brethren were subscribing members, any offer of active
co-operation with a view to Missions would have been instantly
rejected, and mentioned the fact that "a most worthy man"
bad been refused admission to membership because he was
recommended by Wilberforce 1 * If, therefore, the Evangelicals
were to do anything at all for the evangelization of the Heathen,
they must act for themselves ; and this being so, they naturally
and rightly determined, under God, to work upon their own lines
and in accordance with their own principles.
Because It must be added that both the S.P.C.K. and the S.P.G. were
feeble!1011 ^en at ^e l°west point of energy and efficiency. The zeal and
earnestness that had set them going a hundred years before had
almost died out , and the wonderful vigour and resourcefulness
that have given both of them world- wide spheres of usefulness m
our own day had not yet been awakened The S P.C.K was so short
of funds that its India Missions were starved, and the Native
Christian communities were rapidly diminishing ; while the S.P G.
was only able to keep up its grants to the Colonies by means of
the interest on its invested funds, its voluntary income being then
under £800 a year \ As we shall see hereafter, the S.P.G. owed
its revival in no small degree to the Church Missionary Society ;
not merely through the natural action of a healthy emulation,
but through the direct efforts of some of the Evangelical leaders.
In later times, owing to the rise of the Tractanans and their suc-
cessors, theological differences have become more acute , and it is
inevitable that a Society which, on its own legitimate principle, is
as broad as the Church, should have some men upon its staff
* See 0, Hole, Eosrly Hilary of Q M 8 , p 407 At a much later period,
between 1820 and 1824, Charles Simeon , when proposed as a member of the
S.P C K , was "black-balled," and he was only admitted subsequently owing
to the personal efforts of C. J. Blomfield, afterwards Bishop of London.
(See Christian Observer, July, 1863, p 530) This was m the very mitUt of
the period when, according to most Church writers, the E\angelicals YUTG
dominant !
•f The S.P.GK had, however, a considerable public position, When Edward
Bickersteth was a lad (probably in 1801), he was present at the Anniversary
Sermon at Bow Church in Cheapside, and was much impressed by the
equipages of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, who attended in state, and also by
the handsome carriages of the Archbishops of Canteibury and York and many
of the Bishops. Ltfe o/JEf. Biden>tetht vol. i. p 6.
THE MISSIONARY AWAKENING, 1786 — 1799 67
whose views and methods cannot be approved by most supporters PART II.
of the C.M.S ; but this should not blind any of us to the magnin- 1786-1811.
cent work which, with whatever deductions, the S.P.G. has done ChaP 6*
and is doing all round the globe.
But John Venn's address on that memorable 18th of March,
perhaps without his seeing the full bearing of what he said, laid
down other important missionary pi inciples. (1) " Follow Gods John Venn
leading." This seems a trite remark ; but in the practical conduct J£n«pies.
of missionary enterprise nothing is more important It is one
thing to lay a large map on the table and say, " We will go here,
and we will not go there." It is quite another thing to watch the
indications of the Divine will, not moving till they are clear, but,
when they aie clear, moving fearlessly. Many illustrations of the
importance of this principle will appear in this History. (2) ' ' Begin
on a small scale/' This, again, seems a kite thing to say; but
experience has shown its value Very likely Venn had m his
mind the virtual collapse of the London Missionary Society's first
expedition to Tahiti, attempted on too grand a scale, sent forth
with immense I'clat, and furnishing even then useful lessons on
the vanity of human plans — though it was so greatly blessed
afterwards. (3) "Put money in the second place, not the Hist;
let prayer, study, and mutual converse precede its collection "
Even at the end of the nineteenth century, we are only
beginning to see the bearing of this all-important principle.
(4) "Depend wholly upon the Spirit of God." This seems a
matter of course ; yet nothing is more often forgotten. Tho
Church is only slowly learning that fundamental article of her
Creed, " I believe m the Holy Ghost."
The full significance of Venn's utterances does not appear ever to
havo been pointed out before. Only fragmentary notes of them
survive, and these secrn to have been regarded as merely of a mild
historical interest. We shall see presently that the Hector of
Clapham was the author also of the .Rules of the now Society, and
of its first Account of itself for the public. Justly does the
Society's Jubilee Statement (1848) desciibe him as "a man of such
wisdom and comprehension of mind that he laid down on that
memorable occasion, before a small company of fellow-helpers,
those principles and regulations which have formed the basis of
the Society," and upon which its work has been earned on ever
since. Truly the name of Venn deserves to be held in honour by The three
all its members. Henry Venn the First was one of the chief Venns-
leaders in the Evangelical Kevival which necessarily preceded
Evangelical Missions. His son John Venn took a principal part
in building and launching the new Society. Henry Venn the
Second was afterwards, for thirty years, its wise and indomitable
Honorary Secretary and virtual Director.
CHAPTER VII.
THE Nm SOCIETY AND m EAELY STRUGGLES.
April i2th, 1799— The Men and their Plans— Waiting for the Arch-
bishop—Men, Money, and Openings wanted— The First Five
Sermons— Thomas Scott and Josiah Pratt,
" Who liatli despised the day of small tlmgs ?"•— Zeoli iv 10.
PART II. IBWtfjjMlE have seen the principles and objects of the founders of
1786-1811. Q a HM the new Missionary Society, Let us now take up the
ChaP- fr* m il in story of its birth and early years.
Apni lath, l|yy|| It is Friday, the 12th of April, 1799. We are in a
1799. ' first-floor room in a hotel in Aldersgate Street, the
Castle and Falcon. It is not an unfamiliar hostelry. In it were
held the earlier meetings of the Eclectic Society, before they were
moved to the Vestry of St. John's, Bedford Eow. In it the
London Missionary Society was founded, four years before. And
the three windows of this first-floor room on the right will still be
pointed out a hundred years after as marking the birthplace of
the largest missionary organization in the world.
The In this " upper room " are gatheied, on this 12th of April,
roomp."r sixteen clergymen and nine laymen.* The Eev. John Venn,
Sector of Clapham, is in the chair. The speeches are short and
business-like. All know what they have come for, and there is no
occasion for moving oratory, Four Eesolutions are adopted, The
first puts the fundamental principle of Missions in the fewest
possible words :—
(1) "That it is a duty highly incumbent upon every Chris-
tian to endeavour to propagate the knowledge of the Gospel
among the Heathen "
Not " the Church," merely, be it observed ; but " every Chris-
tian." Then if the Church does not move, individual Christians
must move. Thus simply is justified the establishment of tho
new Society The second Eesolution justifies it in regard to
another point : —
(2) " That as it appears from the printed Exports of the Societies
for Propagating the Gospel and for Promoting Christian Kuow-
* The list has often been given, but as some who were present soon with-
drew from the infant Society, it is more interesting to print the names
of the first Committee. Moreover, at this first meeting, some of the most
ardent leaders, as Simeon, Cecil, Ghant, and H Thornton, were not present.
THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES 69
ledge that those respectable societies confine their labours to the PART II
British Plantations in America and to the West Indies,* there 1786-1811.
seems to be still wanting in the Established Church a society for Chap 7.
sending missionaries to the Continent of Africa, or the other parts
of the heathen world."
The next Resolution forms the Society and adopts the Rules The new
submitted:- formed7.
(3) " That the persons present at this meeting do form them-
selves into a Society for that purpose, and that the following rules
be adopted."
(In the original Minutes the Rules follow.)
Then a fourth Resolution directs the first practical step : —
(4) " That a Deputation be sent from this Society to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury as Metropolitan, the Bishop of London as
Diocesan, and the Bishop of Durham as Chairman of the Mission
Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,
with a copy of the Rules of the Society and a respectful letter "
Then conies the election of the officers and committee. It is 2Jjc5rs
resolved to request Mr. Wilberforce to be President ; but he proves rmtteelm"
to be unwilling to take this prominent position in the infancy of
the Society, and he therefore becomes a Vice-President, along
with Sir R. Hill, Bart., M.P., Vice- Admiral Gambler, Mr. Charles
Grant, Mr. Henry Hoare, Mr Edward Parry, and Mr. Samuel
Thornton, M.P. The Treasurer appointed is Mr, Henry Thornton,
M.P. The Committee chosen number twenty-four, as follows —
Rev W J. Abcly, Curate of St John's, Horsleydown, Southwark.
Rev. R. Cecil, Minister of St. John's Chapel, Bedford Row,
Rev E, Outhbert, Minister of Long Acre Chapel.
Rev J. Davies, Lecturer at two London churches.
Rev. H. Foster, Lecturer at four London churches.
Rev. W. Goode, Rector of St. Anne's, Blackfiiars.f
Rev. John Newton, Rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, Lombard Street.
Rev. Dr. J W. Peers, Rector of Morden.
Rev. G. Pattriok, Lecturer at two London churches.
Rev. Josiah Pratt, Curate of St. John's, Bedford Row.
Rev. T. Scott, Minister of the Lock Chapel.
Rev. John Venn, Rector of Clapham,
Rev. Basil Woodcl, Minister of Bentinck Chapel, Marylobono.
Mr. John Bacon, R.A., Sculptor.
Mr. J. Brasier, Merchant.
Mr. W, Cardalo, Solicitor.
Mr. N. Downer, Merchant,
* It has sometimes been suggested that "West" hero is an accidental
slip, and that "Bast" was meant, But is this so? The S P,G. had, even
then, some little connexion with the West Indies ; and although Uio S.P.G.K,
was supporting with its funds the Lutheran missionaries in tho East Indies,
it is quite possible that the Bosolution did not refer to what was not strictly
an English Mission.
f Properly St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, with which St. Anne's Jiad boext
united.
yo THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES'
PABT II Mr. C. Elliott, Upholsterer.
1786-1811. Mr. J, Jowett, Skinner.
Chap 7 Mr Ambrose Martin, Banker.
Mr. J. Pearson, Surgeon.
Mr. H. Stokes, Merchant.
Mr. E. Venn, Tea-broker.
Mr. W. Wilson, Silk-merchant.
It will be observed that of the thirteen clergymen, only four
were benefioed. Four had proprietaiy chapels licensed by the
Bishop of London. The rest were curates or lecturers. The
" serious clergy" had then few chances of being appointed to
livings, and it speaks much for the good sense of the bishops that
they were willing to license the proprietary chapels for Church
services. As for the lectureships, they were usually endowed
offices to which the parishioners had the appointment ; and a
good many Evangelical clergymen found employment that way.
Among the lay members, the most remarkable was John Bacon,
E.A., the celebrated sculptor, * who, after executing so many
elaborate monuments, was commemorated, as directed by his will,
only by a tablet with the following epitaph : — " What I was as an
artist seemed to me of some importance while I lived ; but what I
really was as a believer in Jesus Christ is the only thing of
importance to me now " Mr. Elliott is notable as the father and
grandfather of distinguished children and grandchildren, among
them the two famous Brighton clergymen (B. B. and H V. Elliott),
the authoresses of " Just as I am " and of Gopslcy Annals, and
Sir Charles Elliott, late Lieut -Governor of Bengal. Mr. Jowett
was the father of the first Cambridge graduate sent out by O.M.S.,
William Jowett, who was 12th Wrangler in 1812. Mr. Wilson
was uncle to Daniel Wilson, afterwards Bishop of Calcutta.
Bacon, Jowett, andPattrick died very shortly, and Cecil resigned
owing to ill-health. Among the four who filled their places, two
should be mentioned, viz., the Bev. Samuel Crowther, Vicar of
Christ Church, Newgate, after whom was named, long afterwards,
the rescued slave-boy who became the first Bishop of the Niger ;
and Mr. Zachary Maeaulay, governor of Sierra Leone, editor of
the Christian Observer, and father of the historian.
It will be observed that— of all men f — Simeon's name was not
on the list. This was because, in those days of slow travelling, it was
essential that the Committee should consist of London men. But
C°eU1bers soon a^erwar^s twenty-six country members were elected in ad-
mem ers. ^'^ a)lnong whom, besides Simeon, were Biddulph and Vaughan
of Bristol, Dikes of Hull, Fawcett of Carlisle,*! Melville Home of
Macclesfield, Eobinson of Leicester, and Richardson of York, all
men of mark and influence.
* Bacon presented a silver teapot to the Eclectic Society for use at its
meetings ; which teapot is still preserved in the Chnrch Missionary House.
| Mr. Fawcett was the only one of the founders who lived to be presont afc
the Jubilee,
THE NEW SOCIETY AMD ITS EARLY STRUGGLES 71
What was the name of the new Society ? The Eesolutions PART II.
passed at the meeting did not give it a name ; nor did the original 1786-18] I.
Kules. But six weeks afterwards a second General Meeting was Ghap> '*
held, at which the Eules were revised, and the name settled, The new
61 The Society for Missions to Africa and the East," But this ^£fy>s
title never came into practical use. For some years the words
"The Missions Society," or "The Society for Missions," were
colloquially used. Gradually people began to add the word
" Church," to distinguish the Society from others ; but not until
1812 was the present full title formally adopted, " The Church
Missionary Society for Africa and the East."
It is not necessary here to give the original Bules. Suffice it to The Rules,
say that they made (as at present) every subscriber of a guinea (or, if
a clergyman, half a guinea) a member ; that they provided for the
appointment of a General Committee of twenty-four, one-half of
whom were to be clergymen (the rule making all subscribing clergy-
men members of the Committee not being added till 1812) ; also a
Committee of Correspondence to obtain, train, and superintend
the missionaries ; and that they directed that the acceptance of
missionary candidates should be voted on by ballot. The present
Law XXXI, "A friendly intercourse shall be maintained with
other Protestant Societies engaged in the same benevolent design
of propagating the Gospel of Jesus Christ," was No XX. ; and the
concluding Eule, commending the Society to the prayers of its
friends, was the same as the last Law now. There was no
provision for the appointment of Patrons, or of Secretaries.
Thomas Scott, who became the first Secretary, was appointed by
the Committee.
The next thing was to prepare a statement for publication ; and Jheec£rs°"
John Venn drew up a paper entitled An Account of a Society /or
Missions to Africa and the East.* This paper has one singular
feature. It contains no reference to what is, after all, the one
great reason and motive for Missions, viz., the solemn Commission
given by our Lord to His Church, and binding upon every
member. But it dwells impressively on the blessings of the
Gospel, and the world's need of them ; and it touchingly refers to
the condition of Europe at the time, expressing the hope " that
since God had so signally defended this Island with His mercy as
with a shield, His gracious hand, to which, amidst the wreck of
nations, our safety had been owing," would be " acknowledged,
and His goodness gratefully recorded, even in distant lands." It
refers to the S.P.C.K. and S P G., notes the work they were doing,
and shows the openings left by them for a fresh organization,
explaining that the words in the title, " for Africa and the East,"
indicate that the new Society would not interfere with the S.P.G.,
whose principal field was North America. It also lays down
clearly the principle of " Spiritual men for spiritual work," stating
* One copy of t,he original Account is preserved at the O.K. House, It was
reproduced in fao-simile, and republisljed, in 3886,
72 THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES
PART II. that it would be the Committee's aim to recommend such men
on"^ as " ^ave ^emselyes experienced the benefits of the Gospel,
and therefore earnestly desire to make known to their perishing
fellow- sinners the grace and power of a Eedeemer, and the
inestimable blessings of His salvation." It also has some remark-
able paragraphs on the proposed appointment of " catechists," or
as we should now call them, lay evangelists It is explained that
men not fitted by education for English ordination might yet prove
good missionaries to " savages rude and illiterate," and it appeals
(with references to Hooker and Bmghani) to the usage of the
primitive Church for authority to use such men as " catechists,"
Lay missionaries do not need any apology in the present day ; but
at that time the proposal was a bold one, and, as a matter of fact,
such serious" objections were urged against it by some of the
Evangelical leaders themselves, including even John Newton and
an ultra-Calvimst like Dr. Hawker of Plymouth, that it had soon
to be dropped altogether ; and in the Account as printed with the
First Annual Eeport these paragraphs have disappeared. So
strict were the ecclesiastical principles of men whom some
regarded as scarcely Churchmen at all.
A deputation, to consist of Wilberforce, Grant, and Venn, was
and the now appointed to wait upon the Archbishop of Canterbury, and to
bishop, present to him the Account and the Eules, together with a letter,
signed by Venn as chairman of the Committee It does not
appear that the deputation was ever received by the Archbishop,
though the letter and papers were sent to him, His communica-
tions seem to have been with Wilberforce only. The letter did
not ask for patronage, nor even for permission to go forward. It
only stated that the Committee "humbly trusted that his Grace
would be pleased favourably to regard their attempt to extend the
benefits of Christianity, an attempt peculiarly necessary at a
period in which the most zealous and systematic efforts had been
made to eradicate the Christian faith." It was dated July 1st,
but not until the end of August did Wilberforce succeed in seeing
the Archbishop, whom he reported as " appearing to be favourably
disposed," but " cautious not to commit himself " But the other
bishops had to be consulted, and in those days such a consultation
was not easily managed ; and not until nearly a year afterwards,
on July 24th, 1800, was Wilberforce able to communicate the
result to the Committee. He wrote : —
" I have had an interview with the Archbishop, who has spoken in
very obliging terms, and expressed himself concerning your Society in
as favourable away as could be well expected I will tell you more at
large when we meet, what passed between us, Meanwhile, I will just
state that his Grace regretted that he could not with propriety at once
express his full concurrence and approbation of an endeavour in behalf
of an object he had deeply at heart, He acquiesced in the hope I
expressed, that the Society might go forward, being assured he would
look on the proceedings with candour, and that it would give him
pleasure to find them such as he could approve,"
THE N&w SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES 73
What Wilberforce did tell Venn further when they met seems PART II.
only traceable in a speech and a letter of Pratt 's some years 1786-1811.
later. The Archbishop and the Bishop of London, said Pratt, Ghap 7t
" encouraged us to proceed, and promised to regard our pro-
ceedings with kindness, and to afford us countenance and
protection when our proceedings should have attained such
maturity as to commend themselves to their approbation."
Meanwhile, during the waiting-time, the Committee had been Committee
meeting regularly, in Mr Goode's study at St. Anne's Rectory on mee mgs>
St. Andrew's Hill. Indeed that study remained their meeting-
place for twelve years, a fact afterwards commemorated by a
tablet on the chimney-piece, which may be seen there to this
day.* But, pending the Archbishop's reply, the members had
little business to transact. They corresponded with friends in the
country, they formed the nucleus of a library, and in their
private capacity they subscribed one hundred guineas for the
London Missionary Society as a mark of sympathy when its
missionary ship the Dufl was captured by the French.
When at length the Archbishop's reply through Wilberlorce
was received, the Committee met to consider it. Some members
thought the encouragement it gave too slight to proceed upon,
but Venn and Scott took a more hopeful and courageous
view, and ultimately the decisive resolution was adopted, " That
in consequence of the answer from the Metropolitan, the Com-
mittee do now proceed in their gnat design with all the activity
possible." 1
Three requisites for the Society's work had now to be sought <rluje
i> • i • i> •**•• * 1 neeas :
for, viz., men, money, and openings for Missions, As regards (a) Men,
men, sympathizing clergymen in all parts of England were
written to, but not one gave much hope of likely candidates. Mr.
Jones of Oreaton knew of one young shopman, " a staunch
episcopalian, somewhat contemptuous of Dissenters, and aiming at
ordination," and doubted if he would do. Mr. Fawcett of Carlisle
knew two " apparently suited,'5 but " could it be right to break the
hearts of their mothers ? " Mr. Dikes of Hull knew no one.
Mr. Powley of Dewsbury knew no one. Mr. Vaughan of Bristol
knew no one. Dr. Hawker of Plymouth protested against
* A photograph of the room, showing the tablet, hangs in tho C,M, House j
and a reproduction of it will be found at page 80,
f There was also an answer from the S.P.O.K. Tho Minutes of that?
Society for November 4th, 1800, include the following entry :-—" Head a
letter from the Rev Thoa Scott, Secretary to a { Society for Missions to
Africa and the East,' dated tho 3rd inst , which had accompanied a present
to the Board of fifty copies of an account of that Society, and in which he
expressed a hope that their additional institution will bo considered as a
sincere though feeble coadjutor, in tho groat and arduous attempt of pro-
moting Christianity through the nations of the Earth, and will accordingly
be looked upon by this Society with a favourable eyo. Agreed that the
thanks of this Society be returned to that Society for this mark of their
attention,"
74 THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES
PAST IT. sending out laymen at all even if they could be found. Simeon
1786-1811. ha,i sounded the " serious men " at Cambridge, but was sorry to
Chap^T. gay ^at not one responded with " Here am I, send me," and
added, "I see more and more Who it is that must thrust out
labourers into His harvest."
(5) Money, Money, naturally, was not much wanted until men had been
found ; but the first two donations were given at the very first
meeting, £100 each from Mr. Ambrose Martin, the banker, and Mr.
Wolff, the Danish Consul-General. The first published contribu-
tion list, which is for two years, comprises also donations of £50
from Wilberforce and three Thorntons, and various other dona-
tions and subscriptions, amounting to £912 altogether: against
which the only expenditure was £95 for printing. Several of the
country clergy wrote that the distress was so great, owing to the
war and bad harvests, that no money could be spared from the
relief of the starving. " High prices, taxes, and the condition of
the poor," wrote Vaughan of Bristol, "bring extraordinary
demands on every one "
of labour5 Meanwhile the third requisite for missionary work, openings,
was engaging the careful attention of the Committee West
Africa, as already mentioned, was prominent in their thoughts ;
but other fields were considered, including Ceylon, China, Tartary,
and Persia, and the great Arabic-speaking peoples of the East.
Suggestions were also made by friends that the Society might
undertake the enlightenment of the Greek Church, and that it
might ransom Circassian slaves in the Eussian territories near the
Caspian Sea, with a view to teaching them Christianity ; but the
Committee did not take kindly to either of these proposals.
Meanwhile, in the absence of missionaries, they fell back upon
the printing-press as an agent of evangelization ; and the earliest
practical steps taken after the receipt of the Archbishop's com-
munication were in that direction. Plans were formed for the
preparation of a version of the New Testament in Persian ; and
of a grammar and vocabulary and simple tracts, in the Susoo
language ; and a grant was made to the Professor of Arabic at
Cambridge, Mr. Carlyle, to assist him in producing the Scriptures
in that language. An interesting memorandum by him on the
subject is appended to the Society's first Annual Eeport. So also
are copious extracts from a pamphlet on the possibility of pro-
ducing the Scriptures in Chinese, which had been written by a
dissenting minister named Moseley. This pamphlet called atten-
tion to a manuscript, containing portions of the New Testament
in Chinese, which had lain unnoticed for sixty years in tho
British Museum. The prosecution of this work was soon after-
wards handed over by the infant Society to the S.P.C.K. ; the
Committee " being confident that in consequence of the superior
funds of that Society, and the rank, talents, and influence of many
of its members," the scheme might by them " be more completely
carried into execution," The S.P.C.K., however, soon afterwards
THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES 75
resigned the work into the hands of a still younger organization, PART II.
which at this time was not yet founded, viz., the British andiW-lSIL
Foreign Bible Society. C1^7-
We now come to the Society's first Anniversary This was two Mistake of
years after its foundation ; for pending the Archbishop's reply, Date*
no public demonstration could be made. A curious consequence
ensued. The first Anniversary being in 1801, and the second in
1802, and the tenth m 1810, and so on, a general impression came
to prevail that the Society was one year old in 1801, two years old
in 1802, ten years old m 1810, and so on, and therefore that the
date of its foundation was 1800. This mistaken idea was actually
perpetuated for many years in official documents ; and the earliest
reference to the true date that Mr. Hole has been able to find
occurs in the appendix to Mr. Venn's funeral sermon on Josiah
Pratt in 1844:. Not till the period of the Jubilee did the title-page
of the Annual Eeport give the fact correctly.
The early Anniversaries were different indeed in character from The early
those of later years. The Sermon was the principal thing ; the ^£i
Meeting was quite secondary, so far as public interest was
concerned Almost from the first, it was ck rigueur for men
and women from the few Evangelical congregations in London
to hear the Sermon, which was preached in the forenoon. The
Meeting immediately followed it, and consisted of the members of
Committee and a few other subscribing members ; all the names
being duly entered in the Society's minute-book. Men only
attended, just as they only would attend a political or commercial
meeting ; and the presence of ladies was not expected/1 In fac,t,
the purpose of the Meeting was simply that the members might
formally adopt the Eeport, pass the accounts, and elect the
committee and officers for the ensuing year. Great speeches on
these occasions were yet in the future. There being for the first
twelve years no President, a Vice-President or member of Com-
mittee took the chair. At the first Anniversary, John Venn
presided ; after that, it was always a layman. There was no
collection ; nor was there after the Sermon on the first three
occasions. At subsequent Sermons the contributions much
exceeded the usual amount at the present day. This is easily
accounted for. There were as yet no Local Associations, and
therefore contributors naturally put into the church plates
offerings which would now be paid to local treasurers. For the
first dozen years (aftor collections began) the amount averaged
nearly £300.
There is much that is deeply interesting about these early
* It was thought quite improper {or ladioa to attend public meetings.
Some years later than this, a RiwHop was publicly rebuked by a Baron of the
Exchequer for bringing in Tns own wii'o upon his arm ; and even so late as when,
Blomfield was Bishop of Chester, a few ladies who were admitted to an
S P Gr meeting in that diocese wore carefully concealed behind the organ !
See Clmstian Observer, January, 1861, p. 40,
76 THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES
PART II. Sermons. The venerable John Newton -was invited to preach
1786-1811. the first, in 1801 (two years after the Society's birth, as above
Chap *• explained) After some hesitation, owing to his doubts about the
scheme for employing catechists, he consented, but ill-health
prevented his fulfilling his promise, and, a few days before the
time, the Committee had to request their Secretary, Thomas
whit Scott, to preach. The day appointed was Whit Tuesday, May
Soifday' 26th, and the church St. Anne's, Blackfnars, Mr, Goode's. The
weather was unfavourable, and only some four hundred persons
assembled. That does not seem a failure, at eleven o'clock on a
week-day, considering the obscurity of the infant Society ; but
Scott no doubt thought the congregations of St. John's, Bedford
Bow, and Bentinck Chapel, and the Lock Chapel, and Clapham
Church, and the half-dozen others likely to sympathize, would
have sent larger contingents ; and Mrs Scott wrote to her son at
Hull, " We did expect a crowded church on this most important
occasion ; but alas ! our hopes were damped " In subsequent
years the " crowded church " became a fact , and from those days
to the present, the C.M S Annual Sermon has never lost its
attractiveness. To preach it was once called by the late Bishop
Thorold " the blue riband of Evangelical Churchrnanship " ; !: and
certainly the list of the preachers is a list of the most eminent of
Evangelical clergymen during the whole century.
The first The first five preachers were Scott, Simeon, Cecil, Biddulph of
preachers. Bristol, and John Venn ; and it is interesting to read and compare
their sermons. Scott's, in the judgment of the present writer, is
incomparably the best. It is long, comprehensive, and admirable
every way. Simeon's is very short, less than one-third the length
of Scott's, and much simpler, but full of fervour. Cecil's is in-
cisive and epigrammatic, but scarcely bears out his reputation as
"the one Evangelical genius." Biddulph' s is plainer, but has
impressive passages. John Yenn's is more like the average
sermon of the day than any of the others, the first half of it being
1 of the moral essay type ; but it is valuable nevertheless. There
are features common to all. In not one of them is the Lord's
Last Command prominent. The leading thought usually is the
wickedness and misery of Heathendom ; and the motive chiefly
T Scott's appealed to is that of pity. Scott's text is Eph. ii. 12, " Having
Sermon.
an£ wfthout God in the world." He reviews the cruelty
and licentiousness of ancient Paganism, quoting Terence and
other classical authors in illustration, and affirms that African and
Asiatic Heathenism is no better. He refers, as do most of the
early preachers, to the question of the future state of the Heathen
who have not heard the Gospel— a subject that frequently came
up at the Eclectic meetings Generally speaking, the preachers
do not dogmatize on the point ; but they urge that as we certainly
have no positive knowledge that the Heathen are saved, it is our
* And by Archbishop Magee, when Dean of Cork. See Chapter LIII,
THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS MARLY STRUGGLES 77
plain duty to try to save them. Scott deals in a masterly way PART II.
with the charge of " unchantableness " urged against those who 1786-1811.
feared they might be lost. 0haP- *•
11 Our opinions/' lie says, " concerning the etoinal condition of our
fellow-men will not alter that condition, whether we groundlessly pie-
sume that they are safe, or needlessly tremble lest they should perish
everlastingly" "Either they are peiislnng, or they are not: and it is
very strange that love should in this instance lead men to that very
conduct which, if adopted by a parent towards a child even supposed to
be in danger, would be ascribed to brutal selfishness and want of natural
affection ' — and that malevolence should dictate those anxious fears and
expensive self-denying exertions which, in any case affecting the- health
01 temporal safety of others, would be looked upon as indubitable proofs
of strong affection and tender solicitude ! "
Continuing, he asks whether our Lord was lacking in " chanty "
when He wept over Jerusalem, and whether the opposite conduct
would have been " benevolence " ; and he observes that, after all,
it IB those Christians that are "uncharitable" who do the most,
not only to spread the Gospel, but to relieve temporal distress.
When Scott comes to the practical part of the sermon, he is
certainly loss "straight" (to use a modern phrase) than mis-
sionary advocates would be now. Considering that no one had
yot offered to go as a missionary, nor that any likely person had
been heard of, his caution in disclaiming any desire to excite
"disproportionate and romantic zeal" scums lather needless.
IIu does quote Gluist's command, and says that "no doubt" it
was still in force , but this point is timidly set foith. Instead of
summoning Christians to evangelize the world, he only suggests
that " something " should be attempted. And he is careful —
rightly caieful, and yet, at that time, perhaps unnecessarily
careful— to assuic his hearers that faithful pastors at home,
"prudent and active men" who form and direct missionary plans,
business men who contribute money, and those that use thoir
influence and reputation to " patronixo and protect their designs
against the opposition of worldly men," "are all serving the
common cause "; " nor would it he advisable to remove them
from iheir several stations, oven to employ them as missionaries,"
Still, he appeals ciuncstly lor help in some form. "Let us," he
urges, " nut nuTi'ly inquire what wo arc bound to do, but what
we can do." Then he reviews the obstacles that will be en-
countered, and illustrates the power of the Spirit to do what man
cannot do by referring to " the impediments to cultivation from
snow and frost/1 which aic "insuperable by all the power of
man," but \\luch ure effectually removed "when the Almighty
Ruler of the seasons sends the wann south wind, \\ith the beams
of the vernal sun," Ho then proceeds to argue that several .
societies are better than one, but that they should work in
harmony ; that those who object that home work is more urgent
are ml " the most xealous in bringing sinners to repentance and
78 THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS &ARLY STRUGGLES
PART II. faith in their own neighbourhood"; and that zeal for the con-
^Ck"18^1' versi°n °^ ^e Heathen will certainly kindle increased zeal for
ap ' souls at home.
Simeon's. Simeon's text was Phil. ii. 5-8, " Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus," &c ; and his mam point is seen in this
question, " What would have been the state of the whole world,
%f the same mind had been in Christ that is in us % "
Cecil's. Cecil took Isa. xl. 3, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord," and
divided his sermon thus : the Moral state of the Heathen, the
Means of their recovery, and the Motives to attempt it. It con-
tains some very striking passages. For instance, referring to the
need of care lest "specious but unsound characters" should go
out into the Mission-field, he says that though "such carnal
Gospellers" may take upon themselves, like some at Ephesus, to
exorcise the evil spirits that possess the Heathen, the evil spirits
will probably reply, " Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who
are ye ? " — and they will " return from their rash attempt ' naked
and wounded.' " So again, " while the Sons of Earth, the slave-
traders particularly, entail an odium upon the very name of
Christianity," and "the Sons of Hell are endeavouring, and that
with horrid strides of late [alluding obviously to the infidel
measures of the French ^Revolution] to root out the very remem-
brance of it from the earth," " may we," he says, " as the Sons of
God, ' in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,' ' shine
as lights in the world.' " Once more . If any ask, What have we
to do with the religion of other nations ? he replies, —
" Suppose the Heathen millions to be sick, and this through a poison
which was artfully introduced as a medicine, arid which must destioy
both them and their postenty ; suppose also that any one had a specific,
and the only specific, which could relieve them under the effects of
that poison ; I ask what notion the Objector would form of a person
who should live and die with this specific in his cabinet, crying ' What
have I to do with the remedies of other nations ? ' Would not he say,
* This Querist has either no faith in his remedy, or no feeling in his
heart'?"
Much in the same way did Biddulph, whose text was the
" Golden Eule " m Matt, vn , apply that Eule. Imagining the
case of the Susoos being Christians and ourselves Heathen, he
thus speaks :
" Bring the matter home, my Christian brother, personally to your-
self. Fancy yourself to be a poor Heathen, wandering in your native
woods, without any distinct knowledge of God, or any acquaintance tit
all \\ith a crucified Saviour, yet conscious of guilt, harassed by fear, and
destitute of all consolation under the certain prospect of death and a
subsequent state of existence. Now what would you wish that the
enlightened Susoos, enjoying your present advantages, should do to you $
Let conscience determine the part which you would have them to act ;
and this is the tule of your own conduct, when you again contemplate
yourselves as Christians."
John Venn's text was 1 Cor. i, 21, " After that in the wisdom
THE NEW SOCIETY AXD its &ARLY STRUGGLES 79
of God," &c. He reviewed the vain attempts of ancient philoso-
phers to reform mankind— making, m a striking note, an excep- k^18*1'
tion in favour of Socrates, — and then set forth the Gospel as the p '
one remedy for human sin and woe.
The next four preachers were Edward Burn of Birmingham, others.
Basil Woodd, T. Eobmson of Leicester, and Legh Bichmond,
Eobmson was a very eminent preacher, and his sermon in 1808,
on Bom. x. 13-15, is one of the most powerful, and one of the
most finished, in the entire series. Its utterances were solemnized
by the death of Newton, and the paialytic stroke of Cecil, which
had lately occurred, Claudius Buchanan was the preacher in
1810. He was followed by Melville Home, Goode (the rector of
the church), Dealtry (afterwards Archdeacon of Surrey), and
Dean Byder of Wells (afterwards Bishop of Lichfield). Some of
these sermons will claim notice by-and-by. All were delivered
in St. Anne's (or, more accurately, St, Andrew's, as before
explained). St, Bride's was first used in 1817.
Of these preachers, the two who were pre-eminently identified
with the earliest struggles of the Society were Thomas Scott and Scott
John Venn Venn's remarkable wisdom in laying down the secretary.
Society's principles, drafting its rules, and guiding its first pro-
ceedings from the chair of the Committee, has already been
noticed. Of scarcely less value was the indomitable energy of
Scott. For three years and a half he plied the labouring oar as
Secretary. Although active opeiations had scarcely begun when
he retned, he was until ing in working out the preliminaries, and
his courage and faith again and again caniod the day when more
timid counsels nearly prevailed. Scott's deeply interesting narra-
tive of his own gradual enlightenment and conversion to God is
entitled The FW ce of Truth. Truth indeed has force , and so has
character , and the force of character in Scott was a distinct factor
in the development of the newly-born Society. He was deficient
in popular gifts , he was m some ways, like John Newton, a rough
diamond; but, as W. Jowett says,1 " being endued with a strong
and capacious understanding, and possessing un.wuu.ncd perse-
verance, he made himself a thoroughly learned man, especially
in theology " ; and as Dr. Overtoil says, I "ho was a noble speci-
men of a Christian, and deserved a much wider recognition than
he ever received in this world." He resigned his Secretaryship
at the close of 1802, on his appointment to the vicarage of Aston
Sandford, Bucks
His successor was Josiah Pratt, who haa boon already introduced. Pratt the
Pratt was only thirty -four years of age when he was appointed |eecor"fa
Secretary, and he held oilice for more than twenty-one years, *cre aiy
The growth of the Society's influence at home, and the extension"
of its work abroad, was mainly due, under God, to him, For the
* C M 8 Jubilee Tract, Fowidm mid fii'bt Wive Years.
f Eittjltbh Ch'imli in the Eighteenth Century, chap. ix.
8d THE NEW SOCIETY AND ITS EARLY STRUGGLES
PABX II. first nine years of his Secretaryship, his salary was £60 a year ;
17864811, then £100 a year ; and, from 1814, £300 a year. He had two
ChaP 7- Sunday lectureships and one on Wednesday evenings ; but almost
the whole of his week-day time, often up till late at night, was
absorbed by the work of the Society , and his house, 22, Doughty
Street, was for several years practically the Society's office.
There he studied the needs of the great dark world, the possi-
bilities of its evangelization, the problems of so vast an enterprise ;
and there, as we shall see, he in alter years compiled month by
month the current history of all its branches, There he thought
out, and prayed over, his plans for his own infant Society There
he interviewed likely, and (more often) unlikely, candidates for
missionary service. There he wrote his long letters to Africa and
India and New Zealand, in days when shorthand-writers and
copying-presses were unknown, and when there were no mail-
steamers to carry his correspondence or bring back the answers.
There he bore the burden of what became a rapidly growing
organization, and there, in simple faith, he daily and hourly cast
his burden upon the Lord.
The Study in St. Alice's Rectory, in which the first Committee Meetings
were held, showing the tablet on the chimney-piece (see page 73).
CHAPTEE VIII.
TEE FIRST MISBIONARTES.
Henry Martyn's Offer— The Men from Berlin— Their Training—The
First Valedictory Meetings— The First Voyages out— The First
Englishmen accepted— Ordination difficulties.
u Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"— Isa vi. 8
more and more," wrote Charles Simeon, when PART IL
all inquines after likely missionaries only resulted in g?^ I1'
disappointment, " Who it is that must thrust out _ '
labourers into His harvest." These words, already From
quoted in a previous chapter, indicate the gravest of come'mis-
the difficulties to be encountered by the new Society, and indicate swnanes?
also the true solution of those difficulties, It will be remembered
that the original idea of the founders, in their despair either of
finding ordained men willing to go abroad, or of inducing the
bishops to ordain men for foreign work, was to send out lay
" catechists." This plan fell through; and it pleased God to
show Mo could thrust out labourers by sending them as their first
English candidate a Senior Wrangler and Fellow of his College,
who could be ordained on his fellowship. This, it need hardly be
Said, was Henry tytartyn,
Henry Martyn was Senior Wrangler and First Smith's Prize-
man in 1801, It is interesting to notice that the Third and '
Fourth Wranglers that year were Eobert and Charles Grant, sons
of the Charles Grant whom we have already met as one of the
originators of India Missions and as one of the founders of the
Society, Eobert, afterwards Governor of Bombay, is known to
us by his hymns, " Saviour 1 when in dust to Thee " and " When
gathering clouds around I view." Charles (afterwards Lord Glenelg)
became Minister for India, in which capacity he sent the first Daniel,
Wilson as Bishop to Calcutta. Martyn was ordained, and became
Simeon's curate, in 1803 ; but before that, in the autumn of the
previous year, he was in communication with the new Society.
The reading of David Brainerd's Life * had stirred his heart about
the Heathen, and shown him also the blessedness of a life of self-
sacrifice in the Lord's service ; and the news that kept coming to
Simeon of Carey's work in Bengal drew out his sympathies to
India, Obstacles, however, arose to his going out under the
* See p. 27,
VOL. I, G
82 THE FIRST MISSIONARIES
PART II. Society. Family losses and responsibilities made it impossible for
1786-1811. him to take the bare allowance of a missionary ; and besides this,
ChaP 8- it would have been difficult even for Mr. Grant to obtain leave for
his sailing in an East India Company's ship with the direct object
of preaching to the Heathen But an appointment as a Company's
chaplain was obtained for him ; and the Society's Report in 1805
stated that the Committee had " cheerfully acquiesced, as the
appointment was of considerable importance," and might " ulti-
mately lead, under God, to considerable influence among the
Heathen." He sailed for India in 1805, laboured untiringly for
six years in such work as was possible, then journeyed to Persia
in failing health, suffered there for a year the bitter enmity of the
Mohammedan moulvies, and, on his way home thence, yielded up
his heroic spirit to God at Tokat in Armenia, on October 16th, 1812,
at the age of thirty-two. Though his name does not actually
honour the C.M S. roll of missionaries, it is a recollection to be
cherished that he was really the Society's first English candidate;
and though his career was brief, and he was never technically
a missionary, yet his unreserved devotion to Christ's cause, and
the influence of his name and character upon succeeding genera-
tions, entitle him to be for ever regarded as in reality one of the
greatest of missionaries. " God measures life by love ", and by
that measure Henry Martyn's life was a long one indeed.
Before, however, Martyn approached the Society, an unlooked-
for opening had appeared for obtaining missionaries elsewhere.
Through two foreign Protestant ministers residing in London,
Mr. Latrobe, of the Moravian Church, who was acting as agent
here of the Moravian Missions, and Dr. Stemkopf, of the
Lutheran Savoy Chapel, the Committee heard of a Missionary
Seminary lately established at Berlin. This new institution in
. Qermany was rea^y ^e outcome of the missionary awakening in
England. A certain Baron von Schimdmg saw in a Hamburg
newspaper a notice of the formation of the London Missionary
Society, and wrotfe to the Directors about it. Their reply he
communicated to other godly men in Germany of the Pietist
school, and ultimately, with a view to the promotion of a missionary
spirit, and to the supply of men to any societies that might be
formed, the Berlin Missionary Seminary was started, under the
auspices, and partly at the expense, of the good Baron, and under
the direction of a Lutheran pastor, the Rev. John Jaenick^. The
frugality expected from the students may be gathered from the
fact that they were to be allowed two nx-dollars (about 65. Sd.)
per week for their entire maintenance. From this institution the
perplexed Committee of the new Church Society, in what seemed
the hopeless backwardness of Englishmen, now hoped to obtain
missionaries. The second Annual Report, presented in June, 1802,
began with these words ; — " It is with much regret that your
Committee meet the Society without having it in their power to
report tot any iidBfiiowies are actually engaged in fulfilling t]w
THE FIRST MISSIONARIES 83
pious designs of the Society. They had indulged the hope that, PART II
in consequence of their earnest apphcations to a very numerous 1786-1811,
body of clergymen in almost every part of the kingdom, several Ghap 8t
persons in whose piety, zeal, and prudence the Committee might
confide would ere this have offered themselves to labour among
the heathen. Their hope has however been disappointed." After
lamenting " the evident want of that holy zeal which animated the
apostles and primitive Christians," the Committee went on to
announce that, " following the steps of the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge," they were now looking to the Continent
for men, and expressed a hope that the now Berlin Seminary
would presently supply them.
Within a month of this Eeport being presented, two of the
Berlin students, Melchior Eenner, of the Duchy of Wurtemberg, J^jJjJ
and Peter Hartwig, a Prussian, had been accepted by correspon- sionanes.
deuce , and in November of that same year, 1802, they arrived in
England — at the very time when Henry Martyn was in communi-
cation with the Society, Germans and Englishmen did not study
each others' language then as they do now , and when the two
men appeared before the Committee in the library of St. Anno's
Bectory there was no means of conversing with them. A few days
after, however, the Committee received them again along with
Dr Steinkopf , who acted as interpreter ; and having accepted them
as " missionary catechists " for West Africa, sent them to lodge at
Clapham, where they could learn a little English before going out.
When they were ready to sail, Dr. Steinkopf offered to arrange for
their receiving Lutheran orders ; and the Committee, to avoid what
they thought would be the ecclesiastical irregularity of this being
done for a Church society within an English diocese, gave them
leave to go back to Germany and be ordained there, They went
accordingly, and came back Lutheran clergymen, and therefore on
a par ecclesiastically with the German and Danish missionaries of
the S.P.C K in South India, The Committee then accepted them
as full "missionaries"; and the "catechist" difficulty was thus
disposed of, as the friends who objected to laymen being sent out
were, quite willing to recognize Lutheran orders. A passage
having been engaged for them — concerning which more presently,
— and Hartwig having married Sarah Windsor, late governess in
Mr. Venn's family, it now only remained to bid them God-speed.
This first Valedictory Dismissal is deeply interesting to us First Vale-
who now, year by year, witness the wonderful scenes on similar Sfa^lSstu
occasions. It was what was called " an Open Committee," held
at the New London Tavern in Cheapside. Subsequently, these
Valedictory gatherings, when held in public halls, were called
Special General Meetings of the Society; but in course of years
they came to be regarded as technically meetings of the General
Committee, and the proceedings were entered in a regular way in
the Minute Books. The altered procedure in recent years will
appear hereafter, At that first Dismissal, on January 31st, 1804,
a 2
84 THE FIRST MISSIONARIES
PAJIT ii. there were present twenty clergymen and twenty-four laymen.
1786-1811. Ladies were not yet invited to the Society's public meetings , the
bhap^s. £rs^. occasion Of fogfa bemg present was at the fourth Valedictory
Dismissal, in 1811. At the fifth Dismissal, in 1812, there was
also a service at St. Lawrence Jewry, with a collection which
amounted to £72. Reverting to this first one, the chair was taken
by the Eev. Henry Foster, one of the most regular members of
the Committee ; the Instructions were read by Pratt ; the two
missionaries, unable to speak English with sufficient fluency,
responded by presenting a written letter to the Committee , and
that was all. The most interesting incident of the gathering, to us,
was the presence of Henry Martyn, who was then still expecting
to join the Society. In his journal we find the following entry : —
"At one o'clock we went to hear the charge delivered to the mis-
sionaries at the New London Tavern m Cheapside. There was nothing
remarkable in it, but the conclusion was affecting. I shook hands with
the two missionaries, and almost wished to go with them, but certainly
to go to India."
"Nothing remarkable": no, Henry Martyn could not foresee
Pratt's in- with what deep interest those first Instructions would be read
structions. ninety years after But even when set side by side with the
ablest of the long series of masterly state papers produced in later
years by Henry Venn the Younger in the form of Instructions to
departing missionaries, Josiah Pratt's " charge " will not suffer by
the comparison. It does not convey injunctions regarding personal
conduct , it does not give spiritual counsel. For these it refers
the brethren to some more private Instructions separately given.
But it ably reviews the position of affairs in West Africa at the
time, and directs the missionaries as to the course they shall
pursue in various contingencies It expresses thankfulness that
when the Society had " the means and the will " to send forth
messengers of the Gospel, but was "destitute of proper instru-
ments," these men, having no pecuniary means, had " depended on
the providence of God to furnish them," and had in faith gone to
the Berlin Seminary to be prepared for missionary service. It ex-
presses the opinion that the best plan of operations for a Mission
would be a " Settlement," " consisting of several Christians of
both sexes living as a small Christian community, and exhibiting
to the Natives the practical influence of Christianity in regulating
the tempers and the life, and in thus increasing the domestic
1 felicity "; but that until, if ever, it should be " in the power of
the Society to accomplish this plan upon any considerable scale,"
which "must be left to the gracious Providence of God/' the
Committee would " imitate the example of our Lord, when He
sent His disciples two and two to declare the glad tidings of His
Kingdom." One passage, in which the missionaries are instructed
how to deal with slave-traders, is especially worth quoting for its
•wisdom : —
" You will take all prudent occasions of weaning the Native chiefs
THE FIRST MISSIONARIES 85
from this traffic, by depicting its criminality, the miseries which it PART II.
occasions to Africa, and the obstacles which it opposes to a more 1786-1811.
profitable and generous intercourse with the European nations. But Chap. 8.
while you do this, you will cultivate kindness of spirit towards those
persons who are connected with this trade. You will make all due
allowances for their habits, their prejudices, and their views of interest.
Let them never be met by you with reproaches and mvectives, however
debased you may find them in mind and manners. Let them never
have to charge you with intriguing against them and thwarting their
schemes ; but let them feel that, though the silent influence of Chris-
tianity must, whenever truly felt, undermine the sources of their gam,
yet in you, and m all under your influence, they meet with openness,
simplicity, kindness, and brotherly love."
At the second Valedictory Meeting, January 13th, 1806, which second
may conveniently be noticed at this point, there was given, m ^^
addition to the formal written Instructions read by the Secre- Meeting,
tary, a spiritual address by a clergyman ; which custom has been
adhered to ever since. On that occasion the speaker, with great
appropriateness, was John Venn ; and his address, printed with J. Venn's
the Annual Eeport, is every way admirable, and might be de- charge-
livered now, almost word for word, to any departing missionary
band. He dwells on the example of John the Baptist, of our
blessed Lord Himself, and of the Apostles ; and then also on that
of the modern missionaries whose names, even at so early a date,
were known and honoured, Eliot, Bramerd, and Schwartz, and
the Moravians in Greenland. One lesson drawn from the example
of John the Baptist is worth noting. Venn observes that " *in
external appearance of sanctity" in him "seems to have had a
wonderful effect in impressing the minds of the Jews "; and
urges that " the same impression, in some way, must be made
upon the people, that we are above the world. In vain," he adds,
" will those who are eager about the accommodations and enjoy-
ments of the world persuade mankind that they are truly in
earnest in their religion " And take this striking description of a
true missionary's character . —
" He is one who, like Enoch, walks with God, and derives from constant
communion with Him a portion of the divine likeness. Dead to the
usual pursuits of the world, his affections are fixed upon things above,
where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. He is not influenced,
therefore, by the love of fame and distinction, the desire of wealth, or
the love of ease and self-indulgence. Deeply affected by the sinful and
ruined state of mankind, especially of the Heathen, he devotes his life,
with all its faculties, to promote their salvation. Undaunted by dangers,
unmoved by sufferings and pain, he considers not his life dear, so that
he may glorify God. With the world under his feet, with Heaven in his
eye, with the Gospel in his hand, and Christ in his heait, he pleads as an
ambassador for God, knowing nothing but Jesus Christ, enjoying nothing
but the conversion of sinners, hoping for nothing but the promotion of
the Kingdom of Christ, and glorying in nothing but in tlio cross of
Christ Jesus, by which ho is crucified to the world and the world to
him. Daily studying the woul of life, and transformed himself more
and more into the midge which it sets before him, he holds it forth to
86 THE FIRST MISSIONARIES
PART II. others as a light to illuminate the darkness of the world around him,
1786-1811. as an exhibition of the light and glory of a purer and higher world
Chap. 8. above."
A valedictory address by Thomas Scott, in 1811, is also
singularly wise and comprehensive ; but, like his first Annual
Sermon, very long, occupying thirty-two octavo pages.
The first But to appoint men to West Africa, and to send them there,
voyages. were £wo yery (^1feren|j things. The only conveyance that could
be heard of was a slave-ship, regularly fitted up for the trade ;
but though there would be plenty of room in her until she arrived
off the Coast, application for a passage was refused. Zachary
Macaulay, who was now a member of the Committee, was " re-
quested to seek for some other vessel "; and at length he " found "
the John, belonging to a firm of woollen drapers, proceeding to
Sierra Leone, and succeeded in engaging passages for the two
missionaries at thirty guineas each. The John sailed, with other
merchant-vessels bound elsewhere, under the protection of an
armed convoy ; and this first voyage of C.M.S missionaries proved
more prospeious than some later ones, as they reached Sierra
Leone safely after fifty-seven days' sailing, only four times longer
than the fortnight occupied by steamers to-day. But the voyage
of the second party — three men, Nylander, Butscher, and Prasse —
illustrates vividly the delays and inconveniences, to say nothing
of dangers, to which the travellers in those days were exposed.
After five weeks of waiting at Liverpool, their ship sailed on Feb-
ruary 12th, 1806, but was stranded on the Irish coast. After seven
more weeks' delay in Ireland, they sailed again on April 22nd
from Bristol ; but the ship had to put into Falmouth to join others
sailing under convoy. While the brethren were on shore, the
captain suddenly weighed anchor without giving them notice,
and resumed his voyage. They hastily engaged an open boat,
hoping to catch up the vessel, which, before steam made ships
independent of the wind, was generally possible ; but the attempt
failed, and after being long tossed about by a violent gale, and in
imminent peril, they had the- mortification of being obliged to
return to Falmouth. Providentially the wind changed, and the
whole fleet had to put back. Thus they were enabled to em-
bark again, and after losing the convoy and narrowly escaping
a French privateer, they reached Madeira on June 2nd. There
the captain, who had been drinking, suddenly died, and the ship
was detained more than three months until fresh orders could
come from England. At last, on September 22nd they safely
reached Sierra Leone, more than seven months after their first
sailing
The next party from Berlin came to England under difficulties
of another kind, which are thus referred to in the Eeport :— -
" These brethren left Berlin on July 2nd, embracing the oppor-
tunity afforded between the time of signing the Armistice between
the Bussians and the French, and the conclusion of the Peace of
THE FIRST MISSIONARIES 87
Tilsit. By avoiding the great roads, and travelling on foot, they PART II
arrived -without interruption, through many difficulties, at Werni- 1786-1811
gerode. From Wernigerode they went to Altona; from that place QhaP 8
to Tonningen, and thence they embarked for this country "
At this point it may be of interest to glance at the Society's J/gJjJ868
published accounts, and see its expenditure upon these early mission-
missionaries. In the account for 18034, the following items aries-
occur . —
£ s. d.
By the Education of Four Students at the Semi-
nary at Berlin, Six months 72 3 0
By Expences on Account of the Missionaries
Renner and Hartwig, during their Stay in England,
for Board, Lodging, Washing, Apparel, Education,
and Incidents 224 5 11
By their Passage to and from Germany to obtain
Ordination, and necessary Expences . . . . 39 12 7
By Conveyance of them and Mrs. Hartwig to Ports-
mouth with their Baggage, &c., and Expences duimg
their Stay there, previous to their sailing . . . 21 13 0
By their Passage for Sierra Leone, thirty guineas
each, with sundry Articles of Clothing suitable for
that Climate, and other Necessaries .... 222 3 8
In the account for 1805-6, one of the items is as follows . —
Sundry small Articles of Apparel and incidental Ex-
pences, with Board, Washing, Lodging, &c., for the
five Missionaries, Woman and Child, during their stay
in England, with Charges for their Instruction in the
English Language, Apothecary's Attendance, and
Medicine for two of them in a dangerous illness, &c. 324 10 11
And in the account for 1806-7 are these items : —
For the Passage of Three Missionaries to Africa,
with Appai el and other Necessaries . . . . 193 11 4
Expences of the said Missionaries in Ireland, in
consequence of the Vessel being stranded off Wex-
ford . 73 14 0
Further Expences m Madeira, during a stay there
of several Months, in consequence of the Death of
their Captain 267 7 6
Very early in the history of their enterprise, the Committee of Anxieties
the young Society had to learn by experience how the work of
God may be marred by the infirmities of men. First they were
perplexed by getting very little news of the missionaries. At
one time eight months elapsed without any tidings from Sierra
Leone at all. Then came criticism from onlookers, that the men
were slow at the language, and not getting at the people. Then
followed plain indications of friction among the brethren. At
first the Committee had appointed Banner " Senior." Then they
made all equal. Then they re-appointed Benner " Superior."
These are troubles which some of the younger Societies in our
88 THE FIRST MISSIONARIES
PART II. own day have had to go through, though the public hear nothing
1786-1811. of it. The old Societies are not free from the difficulties ; but
0faaP- 8 they have learned by long experience the best ways of dealing
with such matters. The early Committee were often perplexed,
though never in despair ; often cast down, though never
"destroyed." Of the first five missionaries, already named,
three proved excellent and faithful workers, accomplished what
for West Africa may be called long service (Eenner seventeen
years, Nylander nineteen, Butscher eleven), and died at their
posts. One, Prasse, was also excellent, but died two years after
landing. This is a satisfactory record, notwithstanding that the
fifth, Hartwig, turned out badly, and caused grave mischief m
Hartwig's Africa and untold sorrow to the Committee. He engaged in
fal1' the slave-trade, and in many other ways proved himself quite
unworthy of the name of missionary. His poor wife, Venn's
former governess, had to leave him and come home. For several
years Hartwig wandered about in Africa, and at length, " coming
to himself" in the " far country" of sin, wrote home to Pratt in
penitence and remorse. The Society declined to reinstate him
as a1 missionary, but consented to engage him on trial as an
interpreter and translator; and his brave wife went out again
and rejoined him. He died, however, almost immediately, and
Mrs. Hartwig a few months afterwards.
Pratt's letters to the brethren on these various difficulties are
full of both wisdom and tenderness. God had indeed manifested
His gracious favour to the Society in giving it such a Secretary.
It is also worth noting how entirely open the Committee were
regarding these trials. The fall, and the penitence, of Hartwig
were fully recorded for all men to read ; and so were the minor
infirmities of others from time to time. But it must be remem-
bered that the printed accounts rarely went into the hands of any
one who would not regard such troubles with prayerful sympathy.
To publish a man's unsatisfactory conduct in these days would be
to ruin him for Me.
At the very beginning of even the less serious of these painful
Plans for experiences, the Committee made up their minds to send out no
men who were not trained under their own eye ; and in 1806
much time and thought were given to the subject of a Seminary
in England. In consultation with Thomas Scott, who was now
Eector of Aston Sandford, Bucks, they ultimately arranged for
their candidates to reside at Bledlow, a village five miles off,
where Nathaniel Gilbert, formerly chaplain at Sierra Leone, was
rector. They were to reside with William Dawes, a gentleman
who had been twice governor of Sierra Leone, and who knew
something of the Susoo language, as well as of Hindustani,
Persian, and Arabic , and they were to go over to Scott once a
week for further theological teaching. The third party of
Germans, Barneth, Klein, Wenzel, and Wilhelm — the party/
already mentioned as having to journey from Berlin by byways
THE FIRST MISSIONARIES 89
and on foot, — were thus sent to Bledlow ; also two English candi- PART II.
dates, who, however, proved unsatisfactory, and only stayed a 1786-1811.
few weeks. Nor did the four Germans stay long, though this was Chap 8t
not their own fault, but because Mr. Dawes moved from Bledlow.
Then Scott, with his indomitable spirit, although much occupied
with his biblical work, consented to take the candidates himself ; T- Scott
and he continued this important service for some years, until in 1815 as tramer*
failing health compelled him, after most courageous struggles, to
give up the work. Under him the men did well ; they were true
and humble Christians, won the hearts of the Buckinghamshire
farmers and labourers, and responded readily to Scott's teaching.
He shrank from no labour. Shortly after he took them, the
Committee wrote and requested him to instruct the candidates in
Susoo and Arabic, he being totally ignorant of both languages !
It is amazing to find that he really set to work, though over sixty,
to learn both. He and his pupils together, by means of those
linguistic works upon which the infant Society had incurred its
earliest expenditure, did manage to get a fair knowledge of Susoo ;
and though Arabic was far more difficult, his familiarity with
Hebrew helped him, and within a few months he set about
reading the Koran with the students.
Not long after Scott began his work, the first two Englishmen First
sent out by the Society came on to the roll, but without going
under his instruction. They were in fact not " missionaries" in anes
the -Society's sense of the word, but Christian artizans, engaged to
go to New Zealand as pioneers of industry and civilization, though
with the object, through these, of introducing the Gospel ; and
they were called in the Beports " lay settlers." These were
William Hall, a joiner from Carlisle, and John King, a shoemaker
from an Oxfordshire village. They proved the first agents in one
of the Society's greatest and most fruitful enterprises, the initiation
of which will have to be reviewed m an early chapter.
But in October, 1809, just two months after Hall and King
sailed, the Committee accepted for training a married shoemaker
named Thomas Norton, a man of real ability, who had already, like
Carey, studied Greek in the intervals of his trade, and who
ultimately received holy orders and was one of the first two
English clergymen sent out by the Society. At first it was con-
templated to send him to one of the Universities ; but Scott
urged that the university life of the period was not favourable to
the cultivation of the missionary spirit or of missionary habits of
life, and it was resolved to send him and his wife to Aston Sand-
ford. They must come, wrote Scott, by the coach which ran
three times a week from the Bull, Holborn. They should be met
in the evening in a tilted cart, the best conveyance for those
roads.
The next English candidate accepted was William Greenwood,
a blanket manufacturer from Dewsbury, in 1811; and in the
following year came Benjamin Bailey and Thomas Dawson, from
0 THE FIRST MISSIONARIES
PART II ^tlie same town. Nine other Germans were also received, one of
w^om was afterwards the famous South Indian missionary
Rhenms. A little later, the Committee declined the offer of a
Shropshire curate who required at least £700 a year in order to do
missionary work effectively. Meanwhile Scott's bodily infirmities
were increasing , and offers from the Eev. John Buckworth, of
Dewsbury, and the Eev. T. Bogers, of Wakefield, in 1814, to
train some of the candidates were accepted. The first candidate
sent to the latter clergyman, an Essex farmer's son, bore a
name that was to be highly honoured in after years — Henry
Baker.
And now the very difficulty presented itself that had led, at the
beginning, to the adoption of the abortive catechist scheme before
referred to. Norton and Greenwood were ready for ordination ;
HOW but how were they to obtain it ? ^The bishops had not yet smiled
d?nat?onr? uP°n &e new Society at all, and when two or three were cautiously
approached through personal friends, they entirely declined to
ordain men for work outside their own dioceses, or even for
curacies within their dioceses if understood to be merely stepping-
stones to foreign work, Those who were thus applied to were not
the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Bishop of London, to whom
in the present day we go; for Archbishop Moore, who had
promised to "regard the Society's proceedings with candour," and
Bishop Porteus, who had supported the Evangelicals in philan-
thropic movements, were dead, and Dr. Manner s-Sutton and Dr.
Bandolph, who now filled the two posts respectively, were quite
beyond the reach of the " serious clergy." Scott would have taken
Norton for his own curacy, but Buckinghamshire was then in the
diocese of Lincoln, and Bishop Tomhne was at that very time
fulminating against the Evangelicals (who were very mild Cal-
vinists) in his Befutation of Calvinism. At last, a Cheshire
clergyman who wanted a curate succeeded in obtaining ordination
in Chester diocese for Greenwood, on Trinity Sunday, 1813 , and
the incumbent of St. Saviour's, York, persuaded the northern
Archbishop (Harcourt) to ordain Norton for him at the following
'Christmas. Norton was rather closely examined on certain points
of Calvinistic doctrine, because he had been trained by Scott; but
he wrote, " Through mercy I was enabled to answer the Arch-
bishop either in Scripture language or that of our Articles."
Thus, fourteen years after the foundation of the Society, two
bishops were induced to perform acts that assisted its plans;
though, be it observed, they did not perform these acts for the
Society's interests, nor at its request, but only for work (albeit
temporary) under the clergy in their own dioceses. The circum-
stance throws light on the patient faith of the Committee, in
going on with an enterprise which by this time, as we shall see
hereafter, was growing rapidly under their hands, but for which
they could as yet perceive no certain way of obtaining fit instru-
ments duly commissioned by their own Church. They could not
THE FIRST MISSIONARIES 91
foiesee that their missionary candidates would in after years form PART II.
a distinct element in the London ordinations, and that again and W86-181L
again men trained by them, and without the advantage of Urn- p 8t
versity education, would take the first place in the strictest exami-
nation any Church of England diocese has, and read the Gospel
accordingly in St. Paul's Cathedral,
The obstacles in the path of the Committee emphasize also the
debt that English Church Missions owe to Lutheran Germany. Our
As we have already seen, all the S P.O.K. men m India were
Lutherans. In the Church Missionary Society's first fifteen years,
it sent out twenty-four missionaries. Of these, seventeen were
Germans ; and of the seven Englishmen, only three were ordained,
viz,, the two above-mentioned, and "William Jowett, the first
University graduate on the Society's roll, having been 12th
Wrangler in 1810. Of him we shall have more to say in a future
chapter. Meanwhile, we can understand the feelings of Melville
Home, one of the leading Evangelicals of that day, when in eloquent
language, in a speech at Leicester, he compared England and
Germany. On the one hand, England had stood alone " as the
forlorn hope and supporting pillar of the lawa, liberties, and
religion of the vanquished Continent," when all Europe was
under the iron heel of Buonaparte. On the other hand, Germany,
amid all her sufferings from the horrors of war, was " advancing
with the sacred standard of the cross of Christ and reviving tho
drooping zeal of the Church of England." But he was not happy
in the prospect. "Highly," he said, "as I honour the pious
Lutheran ministers, who are bold to suffer and die in our cause,
I cannot brook the idea of their advancing alone into the field with
the standard of our Church in their hands. Where are our own
ministers ? What happy peculiarity is there in the air of Ger-
many ? What food is it which nourishes these pious Lutherans ?
I cannot allow these good men to stand in our place. Let us
assert our own dignity and that of the Church to which wo
belong ! " In after years, some of the noblest of the Society's
missionaries were Germans ; but they were not Lutherans. They
were for the most part trained at Islington, and received English
orders from the Bishop of London. Though England cannot
claim them, the English Church can. And now we have lived to
see the day when in England itself the missionary vocation is at
last widely recognized as worthy of the very best of our young
men, and to send forth year by year increasing numbers of those
who are manifestly the Lord's chosen vessels to bear His name
before the Heathen,
CHAPTEE IX.
AFEICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY,
Renewed Anti- Slave Trade Campaign— Wilberforce's Triumph—Sierra
Leone— India in the Dark Period— Carey and Serampore— Claudius
Buchanan— The Vellore Mutiny— Controversy at Home— The
Charter Debates— Another Victory— India Open.
" Let no flwwi's hewrtfwl because of Iwm; tliij servo/nit will go omd fight with
ths Philistine . . . 80 JDawd jwwiZed "—1 Sam. xvii. 32, 50.
PART II |lrWWM|AYING started the new Society, let us now resume
W88-1811. If 111 a the story of the two great mission-fields that were
Cbap, 9. Kr^|p| "waiting," Africa and India. In our Fifth Chapter,
irBm we k^ * e British Sl^e ^ra(k s'^ ^anipant in West
Africa at the close of the eighteenth century, and the
Dark Period of twenty years just beginning in India in 1793.
First Meanwhile, missionary work had been commenced m South
to Sea. Africa. The Moravians were first, as they have been in other
fields. George Schmidt went out as early as 1737, and laboured
six years among the Hottentots ; but it was not until the last
decade of the century that the Dutch, who then reigned at the
Gape, allowed others to go. The British, however, conquered the
colony, and in 1798 the new London Missionary Society sent that
remarkable Hollander, Dr. John Vanderkemp, to work among
both Hottentots and Kaffirs, How the Gospel was sent to West
Africa will appear in a future chapter. 'We now turn again to the
battle of the Slave Trade.
Year after year, as we have seen, Wilberforce's efforts had been
baffled; and when the eighteenth century closed, the question
seemed no nearer solution. Yet, notwithstanding the opposition
of the slave-traders, of the royal dukes, and of King George
himself, conviction gradually forced itself upon the minds of
most honest men. The Evangelical Churchmen, the Methodists,
the regular Dissenters, and the Quakers, combined to use all
their influence in getting petitions sent to Parliament; and
some of the bishops did good service in the House of Lords,
Political events, and the overwhelming anxieties about the
War, prevented any definite steps being taken in the first three
years of the new century; but in 1804 Wilberforce again
advanced to the attack. The change in the minds of men was at
once apparent, The bill passed all stages in the Commons by
REV CLAUDIUS BUCHAMAN
REV DANIEL CORRIE
„. .ji-r^ East India Director.
Darnel Come, East India Ohaplam? *£rt Bishop of Madras
AFRICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY 93
laro-e majorities. But the House of Lords deferred it for a year ; PART 3Bf.
and in 1805, owing to the absence of many friends " through 1l8h648^L
forgetfulness, or accident, or engagements preferred from luke- p
warmness," it was thrown out in the Commons. Wilberforce
was deeply pained. "I could not sleep," he wrote; "the poor
blacks rushed into my mind, and the guilt of our wicked land."
Then came the death of Pitt, heart-broken at Napoleon's crushing
victory at Austerlitz ; and then the death of his old rival, but
comrade-in-arms against the slave-trade, Fox Wilberforce had
now to contend, not only with the last desperate energies of " the
trade," and the active hostility of the royal dukes, out with the
lukewarmness of leading statesmen who professed to be allies,
But he was the central figure of an increasing body of resolute
men, bent not only upon the abolition of the slave-trade, but upon
many other philanthropic objects Mr. Colquhoun draws several
pictures of Wilberforce's daily life, first in Palace Yard, and|«nein
afterwards at Kensington. Here is a fragment describing the Yard"
scene in Palace Yard, while Pitt was yet alive :—
" Its bell is always tinkling, and the knocker never still , up the crowded
door-step and down again there flows a stream of men, which runs on
without stopping from morning to night, and such queer visitors, black
and white, rosy-faced Saxons, and woolly-haired Africans; bustling,
warm men from the city, spruce peers and baronets from the West End,
stout squires from Yorkshire, broad-cloth manufacturers from Bradford
and Leeds, broad-brimmed quakers from London, York, and Norwich,
yellow-faced nabobs who have been burnt under the tropics ; and mixed
with these, black-coated clergymen, and grave dignitaries, and smooth-
shaven preachers of many sects. Here you meet that stout Scotchman,
East India Director. Mr. Grant, whose sons are just beginning to be
noticed, and that stern, silent man, with quick step and keen grey eyes,
the father of a son more famous, Zachary Macaulay ; and that grave,
austere banker, whose word the City of London takes as a bond, who
has a name and note in the House of Commons — Henry Thornton ; and
that long, shy, bashful clergyman, Mr Gisborne, who- comes up un-
willingly from his Staffordshire woods ; and that stout, portly dean, Mr.
Milner, who walks and talks as if he had borrowed the voice of Dr.
Johnson; and that gentle layman, Mr. Babington, from Leicestershire ;
and the acute and energetic William Smith, member for Norwich ; and
the courteous peer from the Mis of Cumberland, Lord Muncaster. That
quick step and keen legal eye belong to Mr Stephen. Mixed with these,
you have the bustling Secretary of the Treasury, and the eagle-eyed
Scotchman with his broad accent, omnipotent to the north of the Tweed;
and then (for the House is up) a notable pair, the tall figure of the
Premier [Pitt], with the ruddy features, cheerful voice, and pleasant joke
of Addington."
Not till the winter of 1806-7 did Wilberforce at last witness the
triumph of his cause. Then, in division after division, he proved
victorious ; obstacle after obstacle was overcome ; the Lords passed
the bill ; then it came to the Commons. On February 23rd the
second reading was proposed. The opposition now made little
show. Sir Samuel Romilly touched the House to its heart's core
94 AFRICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY
PART II. when lie " entreated the young members of parliament to let that
1786-1811 day's event be a lesson to them, how much the rewards of virtue
Chap 9 exceeded those of ambition; and then contrasted the feelings of
Napoleon Buonaparte in all his greatness with those of the
honoured man who would that night lay his head upon his pillow
siaveh an(^ remem^er ^na^ *ne Slave Trade was no more ", and shouts of
Trade acclamation burst forth such as had rarely been heard in the
abolished. House. The second reading was carried by 283 to 16 , the bill
went safely through committee, and back to the Lords for final
acceptance , and on March 25th, 1807, it received the royal assent
" God will now bless the country/' wrote the victorious champion :
" the first authentic account of the defeat of the French has come
to-day." It was true From that time the tide in the great
European struggle turned In the very year which abolished the
hateful traffic, began the series of events in Spain which cul-
minated in the victories of Wellington and the fall of Napoleon.
" Oh, what thanks/' continues Wilberforce's journal, "do I owe
the Giver of all good, for bringing me in His gracious providence
to this great cause, which at length, after almost nineteen years'
labour, is successful f "
In the same year, 1807, other events occurred of great impor-
tance to the Colony of Sierra Leone First, the misfortunes of
the Sierra Leone Company, which had often given great anxiety
to Wilberforce and the Thorntons, led to a parliamentary inquiry,
Transfer of and this to the transfer of the settlement to the direct admimstra-
Eeoneto ^on °^ ^ie Crown, which was effected on January 1st, 1808.
the Crown. The directors of the Company, in a final report, justly pleaded
that, notwithstanding the tremendous obstacles they had had to
encounter, and the heavy financial losses incurred m the enter-
prise, much good work had been done. They had " established a
colony which, by the blessing of Providence, might become an
emporium of commerce, a school of industry, and a source of
knowledge, civilization, and religious improvement, to the in-
habitants of the African Continent "; and they declined to regard
this as an unworthy return for the pecuniary sacrifices of the
shareholders. Like another African Company long afterwards,
they were " content to take out their dividends in philanthropy."
New plans Then secondly, Government arranged for the reception at
slaves? Sierra Leone of slaves who might be rescued from slave-ships still
plying in defiance of the law and captured by the British cruisers
sent to enforce the law. The population thereupon began to
increase rapidly, some two thousand " liberated Africans," as they
were called, being added to it annually for several years. These
having been kidnapped from all parts of West Africa, there were
gathered at Sierra Leone representatives of more than a hundred
tribes, almost all speaking different languages or dialects. Their
moral condition was deplorable, and for some years the settlement
presented sad scenes of barbarism, immorality, and superstition.
But, thirdly, for the improvement and civilization of the people, a.
AFRICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY 95
new Company was formed called the African Institution. The PART II.
Duke of Gloucester, one of the royal princes, was president ; and 1786-1811.
several bishops, statesmen, and philanthropists formed the govern- ckap 9.
ing body, including Wilberforce, Clarkson, Granville Sharp, four
Thorntons, Zachary Macaulay, Charles Grant, James Stephen,
and others whose names will become familiar in this History
Energetic steps were taken for the benefit of the Colony. Schools
were opened ; the growth of profitable products was encouraged ;
and the people were incited to engage in both agriculture and
trade. But it must be acknowledged that the success of these
measures was very partial ; and it was not until the direct teaching Yet one
of the Gospel was undertaken — from which the African Association faJkfns
was precluded by its constitution—that any real and marked ac mff
improvement began to be seen in Sierra Leone
How this teaching came to be given will appear hereafter.
But we can now see how natural it was for a new missionary
society founded by men of the " Clapham Sect " to bear the name
of Africa upon the forefront of its title. In the Instructions
delivered to the first two missionaries sent out, in 1804, the facts
that had directed the minds of the Committee to West Africa are
clearly stated —
" The temporal misery of the whole Heathen Woild has been dread-
fully aggravated by its intercourse with men who bear the name of
Christians ; but the Western coast of Africa between the Tropics, and
more especially that part of it between the Lino and the Tropic of Cancer,
has not only, in common with other heathen countries, received from us
our diseases and our vices, but it has ever been the chief theatre of tho
inhuman Slave Trade ; and tens of thousands of its children have been
annually torn from their clearest connexions to minister to the luxuries
of men bearing the Christian name, and who had no more right to exercise
this violence than the Africans had to depopulate our coasts with a
similar view The wickedness and wretchedness consequent upon this
trade of blood have deeply and extensively infected these shores ; and
though Western Africa may justly charge hoi sufferings from this trade
upon all Europe, directly or remotely, yet the British Nation is now, and
has long been, most deeply criminal. We desire, therefore, while we
pray and labour for the removal of this evil, to make Western Africa the
best remuneration in our power for its manifold wrongs."
Nobly indeed was this noble purpose fulfilled. There are few
episodes in all missionary history more moving than the story of
the early efforts of the Church Missionary Society in West Africa.
It is a story of faith tested and tested again and again, of patience
having her perfect work, of disappointment and disaster, and of
the mighty power of Divine grace in the hearts of the most
degraded of mankind,
Let us now turn to India. One result of Wilberforce's unsuc- East n
cessf ul attempt to obtain a modification of the East India Company's ex°cTu£ny
charter in 1793 was that the Company stiffened its regulations m!ssion
the admission into its territories of persons— merchants ane5'
96 AFRICA AND INDIA: STRUGGLE AND VICTORY
PART II or others — not sent by itself. " A man without a ' covenant ' was
1. a dangerous person ; doubly dangerous the man without a ' cove-
embarked in a Company's ship, but it being discovered, just before
she sailed, that he had no licence, he and his baggage were sent
ashore again Then he obtained a passage in a Danish ship ; but
on his arrival at Calcutta, having no licence from the Company to
reside in Bengal, which at that time was necessary, Mr. Udny
entered his name as an indigo-planter, stood surety for his good
conduct in a large sum of money, and sent him to manage one of
his own indigo factories a hundred and fifty miles from Calcutta.
There, and in that capacity, lived for six years the one representa-
tive in India of the missionary zeal of Christian England , and in
that obscure — one may say ignominious — way began English
Missions in her great dependency.
In 1796 came another Baptist missionary, Mr. Fountain, who
succeeded in entering the country in the character of a servant
on Mr. Udny's estate ; but his outspoken sympathy with French
republican notions caused alarm, and brought upon him the
censure of his Society. It was the avowal of similar views that
prevented that noble Scotchman, Mr. Haldane, who had sold his
large estate to go out and found a Mission in Bengal, from
obtaining leave from the Company to go ; and when, in 1799,
four more Baptist missionaries arrived in an American ship, great
alarm prevailed in Calcutta, more especially as a Calcutta paper,
mistaking the word "Baptist," stated that four Papists had
come, who were at once assumed to be French spies In our
Fourth Chapter we saw something of the reasons for the horror
and detestation with which any democratic opinions were then
regarded; and as Buonaparte was at that very time in Egypt,
and was known to have designs on India, we are not surprised
to find that the Governor- General was taking steps to expel
" all Frenchmen and republicans " Thirteen years after, when
Napoleon's Grand Army had been destroyed in Eussia, the Mis-
sionary Eegister opened its number for April, 1813, with an article
headed " India secured to Britain by Eussian Victories " — which
has in our day a curious sound.
The four missionaries were instantly ordered to leave the
country ; but they contrived to get up the Hooghly in a boat by
night to Serampore, a small Danish settlement fifteen miles north
Danish of Calcutta. " It was a sort of Alsatian receptacle," says Sir John
re«ivescnt Kaye,t " for outcasts of all kinds. Fugitive debtors from Calcutta
them. found there an asylum where English law could not reach them ;
and even that most perilous and pestilential of all suspected
persons, the missionary of the Gospel, might lie there without
molestation." For the Danish governor, on being challenged by
the Calcutta authorities to give them up, refused to do so. The
* Kaye's Christianity in India, p. 223. f *&*'&» P- 228.
AFRICA AND INDIA: STRUGGLE AND VICTORY 97
result was that Carey left his indigo factory and came and joined PART II
them, and so, in January, 1800, began the great Serarnpore 1^86"1811'
Mission, which was to be a power in India for many a long year. p
A remarkable man must now be introduced, to whom, perhaps
more than to any one else, the coming opening of India to the
Gospel was due. Claudius Buchanan was a young Scotchman ciaudms
who had left his studies at Glasgow University to wander over Buchan&n.
Europe with his violin, but, finding himself destitute in England,
had " come to himself m the far country," had been led to Christ
by old John Newton, and sent to Cambridge at the expense of
Henry Thornton. Subsequently Simeon obtained for him an
East Indian chaplaincy, and he arrived in Calcutta in 1797. He
quickly became a power in Bengal, and in 1800 was appointed to
preach before the Governor-General, the Marquis Wellesley, on a
memorable occasion. Nelson had destroyed the French fleet at
the Battle of the Nile, and their Syrian campaign had failed ; and
a Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed at Calcutta " for the ultimata
and happy establishment of the tranquillity and security of the
British possessions in India." Lord Wellesley was so stirred by
Buchanan's sermon, that he ordered copies to be circulated all
over India and sent home to the East India Directors; and
almost immediately afterwards he put David Brown and Buchanan
at the head of a great College he was founding for the education
of young Englishmen in the Indian languages, and generally for
the promotion of Western literature and science. As the only
man in India competent to teach Bengali was Carey, Brown per-
suaded the Governor-General to appoint him, assuring him that
he was "well affected to the Government." The large salaries
attached to the offices held by these three good men were
unreservedly devoted to preparing the way for further Missions
by printing translations of the Scriptures.
Buchanan spent some of his money in another way. He sent
home no less than £1650 to the universities and public schools of
England, Scotland, and Ireland, to be offered in prizes for the Buchanan
best essays and poems, English, Latin, and Greek, on subjects pnzes*
that would set the competing students thinking of the spread of
the Gospel in India. The subject of the Greek Ode, IW<r0o> <f>fa,
is worth noting in view of what will be related presently. The
successful English poem was sent in by young Charles Grant, son
of the great Anglo-Indian above-mentioned, and fourth Wrangler
in Henry Martyn's year. Buchanan followed this up by giving
Oxford and Cambridge £500 each for the best English prose work
on certain missionary topics, one of them being the History of
Missions in all ages, At Oxford, the prize was won by Hugh
Pearson, afterwards Dean of Salisbury, and biographer of
Schwartz, and of Buchanan himself. His Essay has been already
referred to, and quoted from, in this History/1- At Cambridge the
* See p. 8.
VOL. I. H
98 A FA ic A AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND Vic TOR v
PART II best Essay (though a technicality deprived it of the prize) was by
1786-1811. John W Cunningham, Fellow of St. John's, fifth Wrangler m
Chap^9 ^gQ2? an<j afterwards Yicar of Harrow. All these three successful
competitors became active CMS men.
Meanwhile Buchanan was vigorously using his own vigorous
pen, sending home his works for publication in England One of
these, the Memoir of the Expediency of an Ecclesiastical Establish-
ment in British India, had great influence afterwards. Another,
entitled Christian Researches in the East, describing a visit he
paid to Travancore, in order to inquire into the condition of the
ancient Syrian Church there, led, ten years later, to the establish-
ment of the C M.S. Travancore Mission.
Successor All this time the Serampore Mission had been growing in
Mission, strength and influence. Not only was its literary and translational
work most extensive and valuable, but it was gaming converts.
In six years ninety-six adults had been baptized, including six
Brahmans and nine Mohammedans. Sir William Jones, the great
Orientalist, had declared that no Brahman could be converted , and
again and again, even to our own day, has it been asserted that no
Moslem ever is converted Sir William knew the power of caste,
and the critics know the power of Islam. But he forgot, and they
forget, the power of the Cross ; and the Serampore converts were but
the first of a long series of proud Brahmans and fanatical Moslems
who have come to the feet of the Son of God There were some, in-
deed, as there have been some in all ages from Ananias and Sapphira
downwards, who proved unworthy members ; but others became
conspicuous examples of the transforming power of the Gospel.
Encouraged by these successes, and by the high character and
tolerant policy of Lord Wellesley, the Baptist missionaries began
to distribute tracts, and even to pi each and teach, in Calcutta, and
in the surrounding rural districts ; but these proceedings were
quickly checked, and an unfortunate tract attacking the character
of Mohammed led to greater vigilance on the part of the
authorities. It was at this time, too, but after Lord Wellesley had
left India, that the Government passed a special Act taking the
Temple of Juggernaut, with all its honors and immoralities, undor
State protection and patronage.
Then, in 1806, occurred an event which threw back the progress
veiiore Of liberty for seven years. Some of the Sepoy troops at Vellore,
utiny' near Madras, mutinied. A mighty panic was engendered ; and it
suited the purpose of the Anglo- Indians who were opposed to
Missions to attribute the outbreak to alarm caused by the presence
of missionaries * From that time the Company and its officers
became more and more hostile. Two Baptist missionaries who
More mis- arrived in 1807 were ordered off at once, and one of them pro-
cee^e(* to Burmah instead, and started a Mission there. In 1811,
* Apropos of this panic Sir John Kaye obseives, " It is always religion that
is to blame If a man catches cold, he caught it at church j such accidents
never happen at the theatie " Clu i^tiainty in Iiuha, p 252.
AFRICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY 99
one of the Serampore men, Mr. Chambeilain, went up to Agra, PART II
but was instantly sent back under a guard of Heathen Sepoys ; ^ "1811>
and on being invited again to the North- West to be tutor to an ap>
officer's children, he was a second time ordered back by Lord
Hastings, then Governor-General, who said that "one might fire
a pistol into a magazine and it might not explode, but no wise
man would hazard the experiment." In 1812, three English and
five American missionaries arrived at Calcutta. The latter were
the very first sent forth by the newly-formed American Board of
Commissioners of Foreign Missions, a body similar in constitution
to the London Missionaiy Society, but, like it, virtually the society
of the Congregationahsts. All the eight were peremptorily refused
permission to land Two of the Americans, one of them being the
heroic Judson, became Baptists, and got leave to go to Burmah.
After a series of difficulties enough to try the faith and patience of
the boldest, but which cannot be detailed here, the other three,
who had escaped in a coasting vessel to Bombay, wore allowed to
remain there; and they ultimately laid the foundation of the
prosperous American Mission in that Presidency. Of the English-
men one was deported, one escaped to Serampore, and one to a
Dutch settlement ; but this one was eventually expelled, and the
Mission was ordered to pay £500 to cover the expense of sending
him home. Even at Madras, the Government of which was
usually more tolerant, and had just put up a monument to
Schwartz at the Company's expense, a missionary of the London
Missionary Society was expelled in the same year, 1812.
The Veilore Mutiny caused greater alarm in England oven than J°r"tr<j^
in India. A war of pamphlets ensued, opened by a member of the sfngfami
East India Company named Twining, who quoted from Buchanan's
Memoir before mentioned, and moved the Court of Proprietors to
expel all missionaries from India and stop all printing of the
Scriptures in Indian languages ; and this motion was only defeated
by the strenuous efforts of Charles Grant, who was now an
influential Director of the Company. A Bengal officer, Major
Scott- Waring, published a Vindication of the, Hindoos from the
Aspersions 0} the fiev. G. Buchanan. Well might Wilberforee
write of the Anglo-Indians who, " having lived among Pagans
for many years," had now " come home with large fortunes, and
manifested their heathenish principles by openly espousing the
cause of the Vedas against the Scriptures and the Hindoo against
the Christian faith." Among the replies was one by Lord Teign-
mouth himself. Sydney Smith published his famous and furious
attack on Indian Missions in the Edinburgh Review (April, 1807),
aiming his bitterest shafts at the ''consecrated cobblers" who
were engaged in such a work. Southey rejoined in the very first
number of the Quarterly Review (April, 1808).
Buchanan now came home, and threw himself into the conflict Bucha~
with characteristic impetuosity. But instead of flinging pamphlets campaign,
at his opponents, he preached sermons to his friends. If only the
H 2
100 AFRICA AND INDIA , STRUGGLE AND
PABT II. Christian public could be stirred up to care for the evangelization
1786-1811, Of India, he cared little for what the critics might say. His great
Chap^9. sermon at Bristol on February 26th, 1809, which (said a paper of
the day) " kepD the minds of a large auditory in a state of most lively
sensation for an hour and twenty-five minutes," and which was
inTthee Star published with the title " The Star in the Bast," may be truly said
East." to have first awakened the interest in India which was presently
to win so remarkable a victory in Parliament. He described the
labours of both the little band of S.P.O.K Lutheran missionaries
in the South and the Baptist brethren in the North. He told the
story of two converts from Mohammedanism, one of whom had
died a martyr for Christ. He appealed powerfully for the people
he loved so well, and closed with these striking words : * —
" "While we are disputing here whether the faith of Christ can save the
Heathen, the Gospel hath gone forth for the healing of the nations. A
congregation of Hindus will assemble on the morning of the Sabbath,
under the shade of a banyan-tree, not one of whom, perhaps, ever
heard of Great Britain by name. There the Holy Bible is opened , the
Word of Christ is preached with eloquence and zeal ; the affections are
excited , the voice of prayer and praise is lifted up ; and He who
hath promised His presence when two or three are gathered together
in His name, is there in the midst of them to bless them, according to
His woicl. These scenes I myself have witnessed ; and it is in this
sense in particular I can say, We have seen His Star in the East."
Then, in 1810, he preached the C M.S Annual Sermon, on
the words, " Ye are the light of the world." This text, and the
" star in the east," are both of them interesting as embodying the
same thought as the subject he had chosen five years before for the
Greek Ode ; and on the very words of that subject, " Let there be
light," he preached in the University Church at Cambridge m this
same year. Light for India's darkness was thus repeatedly his
theme ; and, in tho C.M S. Sermon, very impressively docs he
dwell on both the darkness and the light.
In these ways the public mind was becoming familiarized with
the great questions about to be raised when the Company's
Charter should have to be renewed in 1813 A year before that,
Christian men began to form plans for influencing Parliament,
wdber- Wilberforce, mindful of his defeat on the same question nineteen
front,*0 the years before, would remember that it took exactly nineteen years
to get the Slave Trade abolished, and would be encouraged by the
victorious issue which God had graciously granted to his African
campaign to hope for a similar interposition of the same Lord of
Hosts in the Indian campaign he was about to undertake. " It is
a shocking idea, "he wrote to a, friend, " that we should leave sixty
millions of our fellow-subjects, nay of our tenants (for we collect
about seventeen millions sterling from the rent of their lands), to
remain in a state of barbarism and ignorance, the slaves of the most
cruel and degrading superstition." To Hannah More he wrote,
* C.M.8. Report, 1809, Appendix, p. 515.
AFRICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY 101
"Now that the Slave Trade is abolished, this is by far the greatest PART II.
of our national sins " In his diary we see him using dinner- 1T86-1811.
parties and all sorts of other opportunities to influence leading men p* 9>
to help him — to use his own words — in " getting leave for Gospel
light to pass into India." " This," he wrote, "is indeed a cause
for which it is worth while being a public man "
The battle now began. "Wilberforce marshalled his forces;
Buchanan wielded his vigorous pen ; Grant and Parry used every
effort to influence their fellow-Directors , Pratt threw his energies
into the work of rousing the country. On the other side pamphlet
after pamphlet, article after article in newspaper and review, held
up to the contempt of the world the miserable and hopeless
attempts of "consecrated cobblers" to convert the mild Hindu,
and at the same time, with glorious inconsistency, tried to frighten
the English people into the belief that unless they put a stop to
the said " consecrated cobblers " they would infallibly lose India.
The campaign was opened on April 24th, 1812, by an important JfQ^g8
Public Meeting on the India question, arranged by the Church °
Missionary Society, at which four hundred gentlemen assembled,
including many M.P.'s and other influential persons. Wilberforce
in his diary calls it " a grand assemblage," and adds, "I spoke
with acceptance " A few days later he attended a meeting of
the S P. O.K. for the same object at the office of that Society,
which also had been stirred up by Buchanan's works, and which
was employing its more recognized influence in the same cause,'1'
Besides the pressure brought to bear on the Government in
this way, and by personal influence, two measures of importance
were taken, chiefly at the instance and at the cost of the Church
Missionary Society. One was the rousing of the Christian public
to send petitions to Parliament from all parts of the country.
Pratt worked at this with untiring energy ; and the number sent
in (about 850) was the largest ever known up to that time upon
any subject. The other was the commissioning Buchanan to
take up his pen once more ; and two powerful pamphlets were
the result, one on the general subject of religion in India and the
other on the importance of an " ecclesiastical establishment "
there. These were printed at the Society's expense, sent to all
M.P.'s, and circulated by thousands in the country. In the midst
of the agitation arrived the news of Henry Martyn's death, at
Tokat in Armenia, on his way home from India and Persia. Such
an event, at such a moment, stirred the hearts of the workers in
the cause, and spurred them on to more strenuous efforts for the
opening of India to the Gospel.
"The harvest," writes Sir John Kaye, "now appeared ready
for the sickle. The labours of those busy workmen, Grant,
Teignmouth, Thornton, Wilberforce, Buchanan, and their com-
* In the recently-published History of the S P O.K. the entire credit is given
to that Society, and the OJ(.S 19 not mentioned. But this is not " history."
102 AFRICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY
PART IT. panions, were at length about to be rewarded. They had toiled
1p81f"1811 an<^ striven manfully for years; they had encountered public
p opposition and private ridicule ; they had been shouted at by the
timid and sneered at by the profane ; they had been described as
dangerous intermeddlers, and as imbecile fanatics They had
contended only against the open official suppression of Christianity
in India ; they had asked only for toleration ; they had demanded
that, in the midst of opposing creeds, the faith of the Christian
might be suffered to walk unveiled and unfettered. They had
been seeking this liberty for many years ; and now at last the day
of emancipation was beginning to dawn upon them." *
Proceedings in the House of Commons began with the exa-
mination of witnesses in Committee of the whole House. Two
former Governors -General were examined. Warren Hastings,
now an old man, was very cautious, and would not commit
himself to either approval or disapproval of missionaries, or of
the proposal for a bishop ; but, to be quite safe, he adopted the
familiar excuse that the time was not opportune Then came
House of Lord Teignrnouth. Let us hear Kaye's graphic account of his
examination : \ -
Lord
Teign- " The Committee seemed to know the kind of man they had to deal
mouth. yrijj^ an(} assailed him at starting by putting an extreme case • ' Would
it be consistent with the security of the British Empire in India that
missionaries should preach publicly, with a view to the conversion of the
Native Indians, that Mohammed is an impostor, or should speak in
opprobrious terms of the Brahmins, or their leligious iites?' To this,
of course, Lord Teignmouth replied that there might be danger in such
indiscretion j but that no one contemplated the conversion of the Natives
of India by such means ; and when, soon afterwards, the question was
put, ' Is your Lordship aware that an opinion prevails in India that it
is the intention of the British Government to take means to convert the
Natives of the country to the Christian religion p ' he answered, without
a moment's hesitation, ' I never heard it or suspected it.' One would
have thought that there was little need after this to put the case
hypothetically j but the witness was presently asked whether, allowing
such an opinion to exist among the Natives, the appearance of a Bishop
on the stage would not increase the clanger. 'I should think,' said
Lord Teignmouth, 'it would be viewed with perfect indifference.'
Determined to work the hypothesis a little more, the Committee asked
him whether, ' were the Hindus possessed with an idea that we had an
intention of changing their religion and converting them into Christians,
it would be attended with any bad consequences at all?' 'I will
expatiate a little in my answer to that question/ said Lord Teignmouth ;
and he then delivered himself of the following explanation, the admirable
good sense of which is not to be surpassed by anything to be found in
the entire mass of evidence elicited, throughout the inquiry, upon all
the points of the Company's charter • —
" ' Both the Hindus and Mohammedans, subject to the British Govern-
ment in India, have had the experience of some years, that, in all the
public acts of that Government,4 every attention had been paid to their
prejudices, civil and religious, and that the freest toleration is allowed
* C/u ist KHHfy n India, p. 257. f M , P 2G4
AFRICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY 103
to them ; that there are many regulations of Government which prove P^RT II.
the disposition of Government to leave them perfectly free and un- 1786-1811.
molested m their religious ordinances ; and that any attempt at an Chap. 9.
infringement upon their religion or superstitions would "be punished by
the Government of India. With that conviction, which arises from
experience, I do not apprehend that they would be brought to believe
that the Government ever meant to impose upon them the religion of
this country.'
u But the Committee had not yet done with their hypothesis, and were
determined not to let the witness, whatever might be his opinion of its
absuidity, escape without giving a direct answer ; so they assailed him
r" LI by asking, ' Should the state of things be altered, and we not
rve the conduct we have hitherto observed, but introduce new modes
and enact new laws, for the carrying into effect the conversion of the
Natives to Christianity, would not that be attended with disagreeable
consequences ? ' To this, of course, but one answer could be given ;
and Lord Teignmouth gave that answer, leaving the Committee to make
what use of it they could ' If a law were to be enacted,' he said, ' for
converting the Natives of India to Christianity in such a manner as to
have the appearance of a compulsory law upon their consciences, I have
no hesitation in saying that, m that case, it would be attended with very
great danger ' Who ever doubted it p Who ever contended for anything
so preposterous— so insane F "
The Charter Bill introduced by Lord Castlereagh in 1813 was charter
debated in Committee of the House of Commons on a series of debatcs-
Resolutions, and Nos, 12 and 13 showed that the Government,
after some hesitation and under considerable pressure, had re-
cognized the strength of feeling in the country They were, in
fact, framed upon lines suggested by Wilberforce and the C.M.S.
Committee : —
" XII. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Committee [i e. of the
House of Commons] that it is expedient that the Church Establishment
in the British territories in the East Indies should be placed under the
superintendence of a Bishop and three Archdeacons, and that adequate t
provision should be made from the territorial revenues of India for their
maintenance.
"XIII. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Committee that it is
the duty of this country to promote the interest and happiness of the
native inhabitants of the British dominions in India, and that such
measures ought to be adopted as may tend to the introduction among
them of useful knowledge and of religious and moral improvement.
That in the furtherance of the above objects, sufficient facilities shall be
afforded by law to persons desirous of going to, and remaining in, India
for the purpose of accomplishing those benevolent designs.
"Provided always that the authority of the Local Governments
respecting the intercourse of Europeans with the interior of the country
be preserved, and that the principles of the British Government on
which the natives of India have hitherto relied for the free exercise of
their religion be inviolably maintained/'
No. 12 passed easily; but No. 13 led to long and heated
debates, certain Anglo-Indians and their sympathizers straining
every nerve to defeat it. One member, Mr, Marsh, gave a glow-
ing description of the Hindus and of Hinduism, dwelling on " the
104 AFRICA AND INDIA : STRUGGLE AND VICTORY
PABT II benignant and softening influences of religion and morality " that
1786-1811 prevailed in India, and expressing "horror at the idea of sending
p< 9 out Baptists and Anabaptists to civilize and convert such a
people, at the hazard of disturbing or deforming institutions which
appeared to have been the means ordained by Providence of
making them virtuous and happy." Among the speakers on the
Christian side were the two Chailes Grants, father and son, stand-
ing shoulder to shoulder in the cause of the Master they loved.
Wilberforce rose about midnight on June 22nd, and spoke for
two hours, " Nobody," wrote a hostile critic, " seemed fatigued :
all indeed were pleased, some with the ingenious artifices of his
manner, but most with the glowing language of his heart. Much
as I differed from him, it was impossible not to be delighted with
his eloquence." Early next morning he wrote to Mrs. Wilber-
victoryat force, — " Blessed be God, we carried our question about three
astt this morning" ; and a few days later, "I heard afterwards that
many good men had been praying for us all night." The Bill
quickly followed the Eesolutions, and received the royal assent
on July 21st. * In the autumn of that very year Napoleon was
totally defeated by the allied armies at Leipsic, and Wellington
drove Soult over the Pyrenees and finally delivered Spain from her
invaders. The East India Act came into force in the following
April ; and in that very month Napoleon was banished to Elba,
and peace proclaimed. " Them that honour Me I will honour."
Thus what Professor Seeley calls the period when Anglo-Indian
life was " braknnnizcd" — when " the attempt was made to keep
India as a kind of inviolate paradise, into which no European,
and especially no missionary, should be suffered to penetrate—-
came to an end," and " England prepared to pour into India the
civilization, the Christianity, and the science of the West." t
"And now," wrote Buchanan, "we are all likely to be dis-
whatisto graced. Parliament has opened the door, and who is thereto
follow? g0 jnp jirom ^e Qhu^jh not one man!" it was too true.
Southey, m his Quarterly Bevieiv article five years before, had
taunted the Church, strong Churchman as he was, with the
remark that " the first step towards winning the Natives to our
religion was to show that we had one " ; and this remark was just
as applicable now. But the first two English clergymen for the
work were at this very time serving curacies ; and in 1815 they
landed in India, the pioneers of a long succession of able and
holy men. The first Bishop, too, was duly appointed in accordance
with the new Act, as we shall see by-and-by. Wilberforce was
not wrong when he wrote, after his great victory, " I am persuaded
that we have laid the foundation-stone of the grandest edifice that
ever was raised in Asia."
* The Sections of the Bill embodying in an enlarged form the Resolutions
given above are printed at length in the 0 M.S. Report of 1814,
•f JSxpcmswn of England) p. 310
A PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT:
1818-1834.
NOTE ON PAET III.
THIS Part is entitled " A Period of Development." The Society emerges
from its feeble infancy and moves forward with the vigour of youth.
Chap. X describes a host of " forward steps " that marked the years
1812-18. Chap. XL tells the story of the first Provincial Associations
and Deputations. In Chap. XII. we turn aside to notice other Societies,
both their work and progress and their relations with the C.M.S. In
particular we see the very curious circumstances of the revival and
expansion of the S P.O. in 1818. The next five chapters take us into
the Mission-field, and we read of the early trials and successes in West
Africa (XIII.), the deaths of faithful labourers there (XIII , XIV ) ; the
commencement of work in North and South India (XV.), and in New
Zealand, Ceylon, &c (XVI); the Society s plans and efforts for the
revival of the ancient Eastern Churches (XVII.), both in the Turkish
Empire (as it was then) and in Tiavancore. Chap. XVIII., from the
standpoint of 1824, the date of Pratt's retirement, surveys the position
and prospects of the work at home and abroad, and shows how hard
experience had moderated the sanguine expectations of the early loaders
of Missions.
LORD GAMBIER
REV BASIL WOODD
REV JOS1AH PRATT
REV WILLIAM GOODE
REV T T BIDDULPH
T T Bitldulph, Incimihent oi
CHAPTER X.
FOWARD
Signs and Causes of Coming Development— The President—New Rules
—Salisbury Square— Annual Meetings and Sermons— Valedictory
'Meetings— Public Affairs . Fall of Napoleon • State of the Country
—More Openings for Work— Translational Undertakings— Samuel
Lee— Offers of Service— Special Funds— The " Missionary Register,"
" Speak unto Hie children 0} Israel, that they go JorMml "— Eiod. xiv. 15.
50M time to time, in the history of the Church Mis- PAET III,
sionary Society— as indeed of most other enterprises 1812-24.
—there have been epochs marked by very distinct Chay> 10>
advance, followed perhaps by periods of slower and
quieter progress Such an epoch we find in the years ^ST*
1812-1816. Before that time, the Society was but an infant,
In 1812-13, it seemed to shoot up suddenly into vigorous growth,
Not, indeed, in respect of what is after all the essential function
of a missionary society. Only three men were sent out in 1812,
all German mechanics ; and only one in 1813, an English school-
master. Not till 1815 did the first three English clergymen,
Greenwood, Norton, and Jowett, actually sail Nevertheless,
these years were years of very marked advance in the influence
of the Society at home, and the interest of the Christian public in
Missions generally.
The infant Society had indeed been growing all along, and there
had been signs of coining development. West Africa was no
longer the only field of labour, Samuel Marsden had come home
from Australia on leave, and had induced the Society to plan a
settlement in New Zealand; and he had gone back to his post
among the convicts, taking with him two mechanics to send to
the Maori cannibals. A Corresponding Committee had been
formed at Calcutta, and grants of money had been voted to it, for
translational purposes and to employ native readers, Above all,
Claudius Buchanan had come home from India, and had (as we
have before seen) been employing his vigorous and resourceful
mind in planning schemes for the evangelization of that great
dependency.
Then came Melville Home's sermon in 1811, which is in-
disputably the most eloquent and moving of all those preached in
io8 FORWARD STEPS
PAST in the earlier years. Taking as a text the inspiring utterance of
1812-24. st. Paul, " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
Chap^io. me^ ^ Denounced in burning words the backwardness of the
Church, and appealed for a courageous resolve to do the Lord's
will "Away," he cried, "with the wretched cant of false
humility, ' We can do nothing.' " His exhortation was especially
to the clergy : why were they not pressing into the foreign field
themselves ? But in one notable passage he addressed wives and
mothers, and this, as the first appeal of the kind put forth in a
C M S. sermon, it will be interesting to quote here :—
Appeal to « Christian Matrons ' from whose endeared and endearing lips we first
women. heard Of the wondrous Babe of Bethlehem, and were taught to bend our
knee to Jesus— ye who first taught tliese eagles how to soar, will ye now
check their flight in the midst of heaven p ' I am weary/ said the ambitious
Cornelia, ' of being called Scipio's Daughter. Do something, my sons, to
style me the Mother of the GraccH ' ! And what more laudable ambition
can inspire you than a desive to be the Mothers of the Missionaries,
Confessors, and Martyrs of Jesus ? Generations unborn shall call you
blessed. The Churches of Asia and Africa, when they make grateful
mention of their founders, will say, ' Blessed be the wombs which bare
them, and the breasts which they have sucked ! ' Ye Wives, also, learn
to rejoice at the sound of the battle. Bouse the slumbering courage of
your soldiers to the field, and think no place so safe, so honoured, as the
Camp of Jesus Tell the missionary story to your little ones, until their
young hearts burn, and in the spirit of those innocents who shouted
Hosanna to their lowly King, they ciy, ' Shall not we also be the Mis-
sionaries of Jesus Christ * ' ''
But while the pleading of Marsden and Buchanan for the South
Seas and India, and the eloquence of Melville Home, gave a
decided impetus to the Society, the two immediate causes of the
great steps forward at the epoch we are now to review were the
agitation for the opening of India to the Gospel and the journeys
of some of the clerical leaders all over the country to start Branch
Associations. The India movement began, as we have seen,
with the holding of a public meeting attended by four hundred
gentlemen, the largest the Society had yet held , and it at once
showed the world that a powerful institution was springing up.
The Deputation movement raised the Society's income m one
year from £3000 to £13,000. This latter movement will be
described in a separate chapter.
The year 1812 witnessed several forward steps in the home
administration of the Society. Up to this time there had been no
The first President. Now Admiral Lord Gambier was appointed. He was
President, Qne QJ» ^ mog^. ^s^mguished of naval officers at a period
memorable for brilliant examples of naval skill. In 1807 he com-
manded the naval squadron to which the Danish fleet (then under
Buonaparte's control) surrendered, and, in 1809, the Channel fleet
which defeated and partially destroyed the French ships opposed to
it ; for the first of which services he received a peerage, and for the
second the thanks of both Houses of Parliament) When Thomas
109
Scott was at the Lock Chapel, the Admiral was one of his flock ; PART III
and he was a Governor and hearty friend of the new Society from 1812-24.
the very first As the Society's work and responsibilities grew, it °kapj.0,
was necessarily brought much into contact with the Government,
— indeed much more than it is now, when the liberty of individuals,
or of companies or societies, to engage in enterprises of all sorts
all over the world, is so much greater than it was then ; and in
the absence of recognition by the bishops, the Society had to look
to laymen of position to represent it. At the Anniversary of 1812,
therefore, not only was a President appointed in the person of
Lord Gambler, but sixteen Vioe-Presidents also, including four And Vice-
peers and eight members of paihament Among these were Lord presidents-
Teignmouth, formerly (as Sir John Shore) Governor-General of
India, and now President of the Bible Society; Sir Thomas
Baring, father of Bishop Baring, and of Loid Northbrook;
Thomas Babington,* the intimate friend of Wilberforce, after
whom Zachary Macaulay named the son who was by-and-by to
become so famous ; and Nicholas Vansittart, who became, only
three weeks later, Chancellor of the Exchequer, succeeding Mr.
Perceval, who was shot dead in the lobby of the House of
Commons on May 9th. Perceval himself, who was Premier as
well as Chancellor, and a man of high character and (in a sense
uncommon in those days) irreproachable life, had himself shown
courtesy and kindness to the Society more than once. So did
Lord Liverpool, who succeeded him as Premier ; and so did Earl
Bathurst, who at the same time became Secretary for the Colonies.
Vansittart, while , Chancellor of the Exchequer, and afterwards as
Lord Bexley, spoke at the Annual Meetings. Without the favour The need
of the Ministers, many of the Society's early enterprises would forthem-
not have been possible. Missionaries frequently had passages
granted them in Government ships; and those proceeding to
Colonies, like Sierra Leone, or Ceylon, or New South Wales, had
to take letters of commendation from the Colonial Office in
London Those for India had of course to get leave from the
East India Company. A President, therefore, had important
functions in those days , and Lord Gambler, who held the office
twenty years, proved far more than a figure-head. He took an
active part, not only in high official negotiations, but in the
ordinary labours of the Committee It is almost needless to add
that in this respect he has boon imitated by his two successors,
the Earl of Chichester and Sir John Kennaway.
In the same year, 1812, the Society's Laws were revised.
most important alteration was in the constitution of the Corn- t
mittee. Hitherto it had consisted of clergymen and laymen in
equal numbers. Now the twenty-four elected members were all
to be laymen ; but all subscribing clergymen were to be members
* Father of Car on John Babingtou, und uncle of C. C. Babington, Professor
of Botany at Cambridge.
no FORWARD STEPS
PART III likewise ;: This was the constitution previously invented by
1812-24 pratt for the Bible Society, \ and it was now adopted for the
Ch!L.10' Church Missionary Society. One cannot but admire the courage
and faith of the Society in adopting such a constitution. The new
law practically put it at the mercy of whatever party m the Church
might choose to take advantage of the position to secure a majority.
From that day to this there has been nothing whatever in the
laws of the Society to prevent its principles and methods of action
being entirely changed. Membership in the Church of England
is the sole qualification for the governing body. It is needless to
say that those Churchmen who are not m accord with the distinc-
tive Evangelical principles, doctrinal and ecclesiastical, which
have ever guided the Society, have always been a majority among
the clergy. Why have they never exerted the power the laws
give them, qualified themselves for the Committee by a half-guinea
subscription, and come and out-voted the old members ? John
Henry Newman, who was at one time an active member of the
Oxford Church MissionaiyAssociation, did think of planning such
a coup.\ We have no ground for blaming him : he was as much
a member as any one else, and had a perfect right to get the views
he honestly held adopted if he could. But a Society has traditions
as well as laws ; and although the Church Missionary Society's
laws say nothing whatever about Evangelical doctrines or
principles or methods, every one knows that these are m fact, and
have been from the first, the life of the Society , and it is greatly
to the credit of the cleigy generally that they have always, with
the honourable fairness of English gentlemen t recognized its
traditions, and, while not always approving of its proceedings,
have abstained from interfering with them. Still more con-"
spicuously generous is the conduct of those bishops who, though
not in accord with the Society's traditions, are willing to be
identified with it by membership and by the acceptance of the
•office of Vice-President. But the day for episcopal recognition of
this kind had not come at the time we are now leviewmg. In
1815, however, Bishop Bathurst of Norwich and Bishop Eyder of
Gloucester, the first on the Bench to do so, gave their names to
the Society as Vice-Presidents.
The Com- To revert to the amended laws of 1812. Two Committees sub-
mittees' ordinate to the General Committee already existed, viz. (1) of
Correspondence, to receive and tram missionary candidates, and
to administer the Society's foreign work,§ and (2) of Accounts,
* At the General Meeting in May, it was only provided that clerical
members of the Society might attend the Committee, but as this proved a
privilege which they did HOD appreciate, another General Meeting was held
in December, and the law was altered to make them fall voting members.
f See p. 152.
| So Henry Venn says. See Chapter XXXVI
§ Three years later, the Committee of Coriespondence wns divided into
four sections, viz , (1) Africa, (2) India and Ceyion, (8) New Zealand, (4)
FORWARD STEPS m
the name of which sufficiently explains its functions Two others PART III.
were now added, viz , (3) of Patronage, to nominate Vice-Presi- 1812-24
dents and otherwise obtain the support of influential persons, and Chap 10-
(4) of Funds, to circulate missionary information and devise
measures for obtaining contributions. One more new law may.be
mentioned. The Committee were empowered to appoint persons
who had " rendered essential service to the Society" to be
Honorary Governors or Members for Life. Acting on this law, Hon Life
they soon opened the list of Hon. Life Governors by placing on Governors
it four names, viz., Thomas Scott, Claudius Buchanan, Basil
Woodd, and the Rev, J Jaenicke of the Berlin Seminary ; ': and
two years later they added the names of Goode, Burn, Biddulph,
and Daniel Wilson, of the home clergy ; Samuel Marsden, the
Australian chaplain; and Coirie, Thomason, and Thompson,
Indian chaplains. \
The year 1812 also saw a small foreshadowing of the future The first
Church Missionary House Up to this time the Committee meet- offices<
ings had been held, as befoie mentioned, m Mr. Goode's Rectory;
and the "office" was in Piatt's house in Doughty Street. In
January, 1812, a room for Committee meetings was hired at Mr.
Seeley's bookselling shop at 169, Fleet Street,} but Pratt con-
tinued to do his own official work at home. In the following year
it became necessary to provide a regular office, and No. 14, Salis-
bury Square was rented, the Committee meeting there for the first
time on December 13th, 1813. Subsequently it became the
residence of an Assistant Secretary, with quarters for missionary
candidates , office, college, and Secretary's house being thus under
one roof. § The hours were nine to seven, for Secretary, Assistant
Secretary, and clerks. In 1820, a house in Barnsbury Park was
taken for the Assistant Secretary and students; and No. 14,
Salisbury Square became an office only.
Mediterranean and Home Thus the "Group" system of recent years was
anticipated. So also was the modem " pt dcis " system The despatches were
to be "abstracted and indexed" for the use of tho Committee.
* Jolm Yenn was on his death -bed at the time, or doubtless his name would
have been added. He died July 1st, 1S13
_t This List has grown in subsequent years, until, in 1882, it was arranged
to limit it to one hundred names; and now, )ear by year, much interest is
taken in the selection of names to fill up' vacancies The authority to
appoint Hon. Life Members was not made uso of until 1888, when it was
availed of to find a place for ladies.
| Messrs. Seeley afterwards moved to the other side of Fleet Street.
J7o. 169 became the office of the Jtecmd newspaper, and for some years
its upper floors were occupied by the Church of England Sunday School
Institute.
§ Many readers will remember that by the side of the 0 M House as it
was in 1883 there was a small, old-fashioned Scotch hotel That hotel was
No 14, which had been occupied by the Society from 1813 to 1862. In 1862
it was given up for the large new House erected hard by. In 1883 it was
purchased, pulled down, and a new wing to the existing House built on the site
The east end of the present large Committee-room, therefore, is the identical
spot where the Committee met for the first time in 1813.
H2 FORWARD
PART III That resident Assistant Secretary was Edward Bickersteth.
1812-24. He did not come into the Society's service until 1815, and we
if-10' sna^ mee^ kim m an°^er chapter, before that time, at Norwich ;
Edward but this seems a convenient place to introduce him, as his appoint-
stether~ men* was asguredly °ne °f ^ne s^ePs forward which we are now
tracing out. At this time he was a solicitor at Norwich, in
partnership with his wife's brother, Mr. T. Bignold; He had
been educated for his profession in London, and while there
had taken some interest in Missions. He had heard Claudius
Buchanan's Annual Sermon, and read Buchanan's writings,
which had opened, he writes, " a new scene of the vast impor-
tance of studying m every way to promote the Gospel of Christ "
"By the grace of God," he adds, " I will bend my soul more and
more to this gloiious end. I may do much more by self-denial.
My Saviour died for me, and shall I not abstain from luxuries for
His Gospel?" Thus began a career which afterwards gave the
Church Missionary Society a Secretary, and in later years gave a
bishop to Exeter in his son, a bishop to Japan in his grandson,
and at least five missionaries to India and Africa in a daughter, a
grand-daughter, and three grandsons.*
To resume. The Anniversaries were now becoming much
more important and interesting. St. Anne's Church was crowded
at the Sermons. Even in 1810, Buchanan estimated that two
thousand persons were present. In 1812, the preacher was Mr.
Goode, the Eector, himself ; and in 1813, the Eev. W. Dealtry,
Fellow of Trinity, Cambridge, and also F E.S. He was mathe-
matical professor at the East India Company's College, and just
then was at Clapham, serving the parish church for John Venn.
Venn died in the same year, and Dealtry succeeded him as Eector.
In 1814, the first dignitary of the Church to preach for the
Society occupied the pulpit, This was the Hon. and Eev. Henry
Dudley Eyder, Dean of Wells, who in the following year became
Bishop of Gloucester, the first decided Evangelical raised to the
Episcopal Bench, Dean Eyder's sermon will come before us
again presently. Then in 1815, the Eev E. T. Yaughan of
Leicester (father of Dean C J Yaughan) was the preacher.
He was one of the ablest of the Evangelical clergy, and his work
for the missionary cause at Leicester became a pattern to be
pointed to for imitation; but he subsequently adopted strange
views. In 1816, a second representative of India was selected,
another of the godly chaplains whom Simeon had sent out,
and whose names should be had in everlasting remembrance
—Daniel Corrie. His text, Isa. xliv. 20, was suggested by
his personal experiences of Indian religion — " He feedeth on
ashes : a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot
deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand ? "
* Mrs. E Durranfc, Miss E. B. Dnrrant, Eev. H. B. Durrant, Dr. Albert E,
Cook, Dr. J. H. Cook.
FORWARD STEPS 113
Very moving is his account of the misery and hopelessness of the PART III
Hindu. This, let it be remembered, was at a time when suttee, 1812-24
child-murder, and other crimes were rife, which have since been Gha13 10
abolished by law
Gome's was the last Sermon preached at St Anne's, Blackfriars.
In 1817, Daniel Wilson began the long series of Sermons at First Ser-
St. Bride's, Fleet Street : He was at that time Minister of st°Bnde's.
St. John's Chapel, Bedford Bow, having succeeded Cecil in 1809.
He was an active member of the Committee, both m its delibera-
tions in London, and m preaching and speaking over the country ;
and he continued so after he became Vicar of Islington m 1824,
and until his appointment to the Bishopric of Calcutta in 1832.
His St Bride's sermon, on the words, " Lift up your eyes, and look
on the fields," is remarkable for its compiehensive survey of the
world, and of the Missions actually carried on. Other preachers
had enunciated principles, he sets forth facts. And the appeal Appeal to
to "the younger clergy" at the end is something quite new* — Sergyer
" Listen to the call ' Think, and think again, on the question.
Do not mistake cowardice and indolence for humility " To which
succeeds a passage which could only with partial truth be spoken
even now; and then it was an ideal representation of the fact
indeed . — " Say not that your parents and friends discountenance
your design. You mistake their meaning. They intend only to
try your constancy. ... All the Church accounts those families
blessed who give a son to this cause." When this ideal repre-
sentation is realized, the Evangelization of the World will not be
very far off !
The Anniversary Meetings at this time changed their character ; j^"™*1 s
and the change marks another forward step. In 1813, for the mee mgs'
first time, ladies attended ; and instead of a formal gathering of a
hundred gentlemen to do necessary business, six hundred members
crowded the large room in the New London Tavern. For the
first tune, a President presided. For the first time, important
speeches were made, by Wilberforce, Simeon, Dean Eyder, and
others. But it was not an Anniversary Meeting that was to
engage for the first time what was then the regular place for great
London gatherings, Freemasons' Hall. It was a Valedictory And vale*
Dismissal that took the Society to that historic building. This dlctory<
was on January 7th, 1814, and the occasion was a great event
indeed. The first four missionaries for India were taken leave of,
Bhenius, Schnarre", Greenwood, and Norton ; and these last two
were the first clergymen of the Church of England to go to Asia
definitely as missionaries | The other two, like the S P.O. TV.
men, and like the C.M S. men in Africa, were in Lutheran orders.
Lord Gambier presided ; Wilberforcc and Henry Thornton spoke,
* St Bride's has been used OVPV sine?, oxccpt m 1823, 1831, 1832, arid
1833, IE which years respectively four othor City churches received the
Society
f With one exception not uinallv reckoned See p C3.
VOL I, ' J
H4 FORWARD STEPS
III. and also a young Fellow of St John's, Cambridge, who was to be
1812-2-i a power in after years, John W Cunningham of Harrow Pratt
OhapjLO Delivered the Instructions, and a masterly address, written by
Buchanan, was read for him (he being ill) by Dealtry, Some
fifteen hundred people attended , and for the first time tickets of
various colours were used, and members of the Committee acted as
stewards. Gieenwood and Norton did not sail for more than a
year after; but Ehemus and Schnarre* proceeded at once to
Portsmouth to join an East Indiaman, a passage by which had
been granted by the Company. Portsmouth friends had before
been privileged to see the last of missionaries ; and this time an
enthusiastic lady there wrote to Pratt, —
" They brought the apostolic age forcibly before me, and I thought of
Barnabas and Paul, and could not help saymg to myself, Surely the
barbarous people will call dear Mr. Rhenius ' Mercurms,' Dear Sir,
what highly-privileged days are these !
All the promises do travail
With a glorious day of grace."
Crowds The Committee did not venture to engage Freemasons' Hall for
attending. ^ nexj. Anniversary ; but in 1815 they did so, and were rewarded
by an attendance as crowded as at the Dismissal. Wilberforce
in particular, wrote Pratt, "carried away with him, even more
than usual, the hearts of his hearers by a full stream of Christian
feeling and sublime piety"; and James Stephen, "in a style of
grand and vehement eloquence, made an indelible impression."
The numbers of friends desiring to attend the annual gatherings
now increased year by year ; and in 1817 tickets were issued to
members only. As, however, nearly two thousand were at once
applied for, some hundreds failed to get into the hall ; and Pratt
expresses, in some comments he wrote at the time, the wish that
a building might be erected to hold 3000 people, and so constructed
that all should hear with ease. Exeter Hall was then yet in
the future. Not till 1831 was it ready for the Anniversaries,
Another difficulty that was growing was the length of the Beport
to be read , and in 1819 it was arranged to read an Abstract only.
But even the Abstract " occupied nearly two hours", and twelve
speeches followed. And n must be remembered that the Meeting
at this time did not begin till noon, the Sermon having been
preached the same morning at 10 am. The Monday Evening
Service did not begin till 1821. It is true that there was no
meeting on the Tuesday evening ; yet still it must have been a
fresh and living interest that brought crowds to gatherings of such
length. There were no missionaries to tell thrilling stories of
converts There were almost no converts to tell about. No one
asked, What are the results? They met to do the will and the
work of the Lord they loved ; and they rejoiced to do it
?eedipn°s ®^e °^ner development in the Meetings of this period is worth
noting. In the early years, all the Besolutions, except the one
FORWARD STEPS 115
which adopted the Report, were votes of thanks to all sorts of PART III.
people, patrons and committee-men, treasurers and secretaries, 1812-24.
preachers and speakers ; and the natural result was that the ChaP 10-
speeches tended to flow into the channel of mutual admiration.
The plan of carefully framing the Resolutions to refer to the
events and circumstances of the year seems to have been invented
by Yaughan of Leicester, and it was at once highly praised by
Pratt, and recommended for general adoption. "The usual
motions of thanks," he says, ''might be consolidated, in order to
give time for Resolutions declaratory of the mind of the Meeting
on the real business of the Society." Some later remarks of his,
suggested by the various May Anniversaries of 1817, are worth
quoting, and worth digesting : —
" A very improved spirit has prevailed. There has been less mingling
of human infirmity with the work of God' — less of mutual praise — a more
devout and heavenly spirit— more unfeigned affection toward other
Christians in their exertions— and a more single eye to the glory of God
We urge it on all our Christian brethren to invoke the outpouring of a
gracious influence on the minds of preachers, speakers, and hearers, that
a pure fire may be kindled and cherished, which shall diffuse itself on all
sides, and warm every heart ; and we advise such a modification of the
Resolutions as may rather lead the speakers and the audience into an
intelligent view of the various objects and measures of the Societies,
than to search out and listen to some ingenious form of paying com-
pliments one to another " *
Other Valedictory Meetings were held from time to time ; and
one of them calls for special notice. On October 28th, 1817, no
less than eight ordained Englishmen were taken leave of, with
two Lutheran clergymen and six wives, sixteen in all, going to §Sou«»
four different parts of the world, viz., Collier \ and Decker to ^ken leave
Africa, Connor to the Levant, Joseph Fenn, Henry Baker, and
Barenbruek, to India ; Knight, Lambrick, Mayor, and Ward, to
Ceylon. This was another great occasion. There was a service
at St. Bride's, at which J. W. Cunningham preached, on the
singularly suitable words, " Though I am sometime afraid, yet put
I my trust in Thee" (P.B.V. of Ps, Ivi. 3). Freemasons' Hall
was crowded for the Meeting, over which Lord Gambier presided.
Pratt read the Instructions — again admirable; and then four
missionaries (Collier, Connor, Fenn, Lambrick), representing the
four fields, replied in behalf of themselves and their brethren, —
a plan rarely followed in after years, until, quite recently, the large
numbers going out have necessitated its revival. The Address
was given by Charles Simeon. \ The collection was £111, and
two £50 donations were sent in afterwards as thankofferings for
such a sight. One clergyman wrote, alluding to the death of the
Princess Charlotte, which had just plunged the whole country into
grief, — " At this moment of national sorrow, and perhaps of
* Missionary Register, 1817, p. 197.
t Mr. Collier went as chaplain to Sierra Leone. See p. 163.
| Printed, with the Instructions, in. the Report of 1818,
i 2
ii6 FORWARD STEPS
PAST III. national chastisement, may Institutions like these be our safeguard
1812-24. and defence!"
.!L- ^ne §reat European events at this period could not fail to affect
Events m the feelings and utterances of the Society's advocates. Englishmen
Europe: were caue(^ upon to show their gratitude to the God of battles and
throw of of nations by spreading His Gospel. Napoleon's Grand Army
Napoleon ka£ p^g^e^ on the frozen plains of Eussia in 1812, and in the
autumn of 1813, when the first CMS. deputations were travelling
over England, the Allied forces on the Continent were pressing the
great usurper back on to the French fiontier, while Wellington
was clearing Spam of the invaders and driving them back across
the Pyrenees. " Surely," writes a Huddersfield clergyman in
a paper circulated after Basil Woodd's visit, " the wonderful
interposition of Divine Providence in behalf of our nation at this
awful crisis will excite the members of the Established Church
to exert themselves in promoting the increase of the Kedeemer's
Kingdom." A Liverpool clergyman writes, " "What glorious
intelligence 1 How thankful we should be to the Great Arbiter
of nations for His ' mighty hand and stretched-out arm ' in
breaking the yoke of the oppressor 1 May it stimulate us to
renewed "efforts ' " A hymn composed at the time, and sung at
the first Bristol Anniversary in the following year, contains this
verse :—
Amidst our isle, exalted high,
Do Thou our glory stand ;
And like a wall of guardian fire
Surround Thy fav'rifce laud
That the "isle exalted high" might prove worthy of being the
Divine " favourite" was one aim of the missionary advocates.
The Annual Report presented in May, 1814, just after the banish-
ment of Napoleon to Elba, opens by calling attention to the " new
and extraordinary circumstances " of the country : —
" After two-aiicl-twenty years of "bitter animosity, or of treacherous
peace more injurious than open war, the good providence of Him Who
doeth after the counsel of His own will has'brought within our reach that
state of repose for which we often and earnestly prayed, but under
mournful forebodings that it was removed to a distance incalculable. A
generation has grown up under the din of arms. The youth and early
manhood of our children have been familiarised with tales of infamy and
of blood. The whole frame of human society in this more civilized part of
the world has been disorganized. One of the most powerful and refined
of nations was making rapid and systematic strides toward a state of
barbarism, All the vanecl occupations which form the peculiar character
of civilized life were likely soon to be absorbed in those of the cultivator
and the soldier— of the man who should till the ground in order to feed
another who might disturb and oppress the world. But the good
providence of God has rescued Europe from this enormous evil, and, by
means which so distinctly mark His irresistible hand, that even the
thoughtless are compelled to exclaim, ' Verily there is a God that judgeth
the earth.1'"
Dean Dudley Eyder, the preacher on that same day, must have
FORWARD SPEPS 117
startled the congregation when he gave out his text, and no doubt PART III.
stirred their deepest emotions too — " Thou hftest me up above 1812-2-i.
those that rise up against me : Thou hast delivered me from the GhaP 10.
violent man ('man of violence/ inarg) Therefore will I give The u man
thanks unto Thee, 0 Lord, among the Heathen, and sing praises Jf^",,
unto Thy name." " Behold," said the Dean, " our deliverance,
even from the Man of Violence Behold our Deliverer, even
the Mighty Jehovah. And behold in the Society for which
I plead the -humble instrument of accomplishing our purpose of
gratitude."
It is difficult for us to realize the intensity of hatred and indig-
nation with which England regarded Buonaparte. Two facts
incidentally but significantly recorded in the Society's publica-
tions at the time may illustrate what cause there was for it.
(1) Before his invasion of Eussia, he told the Eussian Ambassador
that he would destroy that empire. "Man proposes/' was the
reply, "but God disposes." "Tell your master/' thundered
Napoleon, " I am he that proposes, and I am he that disposes."
(2) He did invade Eussia ; he returned, leaving the bulk of his
vast army dead upon its frozen plains ; and the official returns
of the Eussian authorities showed that they had had to biun
213,516 French corpses and 95,816 dead hoses. It was to
Englishmen horrified by such impiety and such shocking results
of unbridled ambition, that the good Dean appealed in his
memorable Sermon.
In the following year, 1815, when Napoleon, having escaped
from Elba, again threatened Europe, the Committee opened their
Eeport by adverting, with deep regret, to the disappointment
of these anticipations. " The portentous gloom which seemed
scattered by the Divine Hand is again gathering round. The
threatening clouds are again darkening the heavens, and a dread
night of horrors seems fast coming upon this fair portion of our
world." Within seven weeks of these words being read, the Peace at
"mighty Hand and outstretched Arm" once more intervened, last
and the crowning victory of Waterloo ushered in the thirty years'
peace. The unhappy two years' war with the United States had
already come to an end, and Vaughan of Leicester, in the Sermon
of 1815, had exclaimed, " May Britain and America, now re-united,
know no other rivalry than the rivalry of efforts to bless the
world ! "
But the internal state of the country was by no means c
favourable to appeals for Christian enterprises, The increase c
of wealth during the war had, indeed, been enormous, England
had for a time possessed the colonies of France, Spain, and
Holland; "manufactures profited by the great discoveries of
Watt and Arkwnght ; and the consumption of raw cotton in the
mills of Lancashire rose from fifty to a hundred millions of
pounds." At the same time, agriculture was in a state of
"feverish and unhealthy prosperity/' the price of wheat rising
Ii8 FORWARD
PART III. to £5 per quarter. But the new wealth was not evenly dis-
^12-24 tributed : both the introduction of machinery and the high prices
ap ' °f produce, while enriching the few, reduced multitudes to rum ;
and the rapid increase of population increased the difficulty of
the position, while the distress was enhanced by the pressure of
the now enormous national debt, exceeding 800 millions sterling,
and of the immense yearly expenditure, — the budget of 1815
being for ninety millions, a figure only again reached within
quite recent years, when the population has doubled, and the
wealth of the country increased almost beyond calculation.
Pauperism was rife to an extent inconceivable m these days : for
instance, at one time, every third person in Birmingham was a
pauper , and the poor-rate rose fifty per cent. Eiots broke out,
which were only suppressed by military force; "and with the
increase of poverty followed its inevitable result, the increase of
crime." * It was in the midst of a social condition like this that
the small fraction of the nation that could look beyond material
interests and care for the Eternal Lord and His Kingdom was
being summoned to a holy war in His name.
Nevertheless, the proclamation of peace had filled all hearts
New hopes with joy ; and the Committee fully believed that a wide extension
and plans. Of the Society's operations would be the result Dean Eyder
expressed their feelings in the Sermon already lef erred to : —
"All the signs and circumstances of the times concur with the
stupendous event of our deliverance to press tins great duty, the object
of the Society, upon your minds. The weapons of our warfare seem to
have been preparing by gradual and almost silent operation, till the
moment is at last armed, and the feeling and principle communicated,
by which these weapons should be wielded for the conversion of the
world, the fulfilment of the primary design of creation, the consumma-
tion of redeeming love."
And five years after this, hi the Eeport of 1819, the Committee
were still full of the same thoughts. " We are labouring," they
said, "ma Pacified World 1 The sword is beaten into the
ploughshare and the spear into the pruning-hook."
]?or some time, the eyes of the Committee had been directed to
the East, where the Oriental Churches still kept the lamp of
Christianity burning — albeit feebly and dimly— amid the darkness
and tyranny of Islam ; and now that the Mediterranean was no
longer continually traversed by hostile fleets, the way was open
for a Mission to the Levant. Of that enterprise a future chapter
will tell. Here it need only be noticed that William Jowett,
Mow of St John's, Cambridge, and Twelfth Wrangler in 1812,
sailed for Malta with a special commission from the Society about
two months after the Battle of Waterloo Eussian Tartary, and
Persia, were also pressed upon the attention of the Committee,
* Paitly from Gieen's Short History of the English People, chap, x., sect, 4.
FORWARD STEPS 119
and Astrachan, on the Caspian, seriously considered as an inviting PART III.
city for a central station , but the Edinburgh Society was already 1812-24.
in occupation of it. Ceylon was much upon their mind, and an p
active correspondence had been going on with the excellent
Chief Justice, Sir Alexander Johnston, who presently, on his
return to England, became a Vice-President of the Society. The
two English clergymen who, as before stated, were the first
missionaries of the Society, and of the Church of England, to
India, were originally designated to Ceylon. With the West
Indies, also, the Committee were in correspondence, —Mr. W.
Dawes, the former Governor of Sierra Leone, who had for a few
months undertaken the training, at his house in Buckingham-
shire, of the early German missionaries, being now resident at
Antigua; and a call also came from Honduras, in Central
America; while, all this time, Africa and India occupied the
largest share of attention, and the openings m distant New
Zealand gave promise of a rich harvest of souls.
Literary and translational work also occupied much time and Literary
thought at this period, and a prominent place in the Annual work«
Eeports. The Bible Society was for the most part engaged in
printing and circulating the Scriptuies in English and in the
Continental languages ; while a considerable part of the similar
work, and still more, the preparation of tracts, &c,, and the
translation of the Prayer-book, in Asiatic and African tongues,
was undertaken by the Church Missionary Society. There were
in hand the Old and New Testaments in Syriac, portions of
Scripture in Malay, and some of the Gospels in two West African
languages, Susoo and Bullorn ; also parts of the Prayer-book in
Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, and Bullom ; and various tracts,
catechisms, &c., in some of these languages. Modern Greek, and
Maltese, and even Italian publications were taken in hand, in
connexion with the Society's plans for the Levant ; and a newly-
discovered MS. of the Scriptures in Ethiopic, the ecclesiastical
language of the Abyssinian Church, was edited and printed. In
particular, the Committee were very keen upon completing the
important works in Hindustani and Persian left unfinished by specially
Henry Martyn. They actually had a new fount of type made to foy persi*-
reproduce the Persian character more exactly, paid for it out of
C.M.S. funds, and placed it at the disposal of the Bible Society.
Special mention is made of one work accomplished, not by
the Society, but m Russia, viz., the printing of Henry Martyn's
Persian New Testament, which had been received by the Persian
Mohammedans with eagerness, and even by the Shah himself.
Thus, said the seventeenth Keport, " the dear Martyn, though dead,
was still preaching the Gospel to that numerous people." He
himself, indeed, was not forgotten in Persia. The testimony of
English travellers is from time to time adduced in the Society's
publications. One, Captain Gordon, is cited as saying, "You
little think how generally the English Moollah, Martyn, is
120 FORWARD STEPS
PART III. known throughout Persia, and with what affection his memory is
1812-24 cherished.1'*
^
Samuel remarkable young man, Samuel Lee. He was a carpenter's
Lee- apprentice at Shrewsbury, who, while working at his trade, had
acquired a knowledge of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Synac, Arabic,
Persian, and Hindustani, before he was twenty-five years of age.
He carae under the notice of Buchanan, who introduced him to
Pratt , and the Committee arranged for him to go to Cambridge
at the Society's expense.! There he quickly made his mark as a
scholar, and for some years he was employed by the C.M S Com-
mittee, and called "the Society's Orientalist." His name, and
the works upon which he was engaged, frequently occur in the
Reports of this period He afterwards became Professor of
Arabic and Canon of Bristol.
Help to Another task undertaken by the Society after the Peace was
nentaii the rousing of the Protestant Churches of the Continent to take a
Christians. s]2are m misslonaiy wort§ in the Eeport of 1816 the Committee
say.—
"The return of Universal Peace opening the friendly intercourse
which all true Christians in the world will ever desire to maintain, the
Committee have availed themselves of the opportunity to diffuse in-
formation on the subject of Missions, and to offer to foreign Protestants
every practicable degree' of co-operation . . . They have opened an
intercourse with a Missionary Institution established at Basle, and they
will render every aid in their power to any other Societies which may
rise among the Foreign Churches, The return of Peace has brought
many Colonies again under the powei of the Continental States ; and
your Committee trust that the Christians of those States will unite and
exert themselves in diffusing, in and aiound these Colonies, the blessings
of the Gospel. The Missions of the Danes in India have long lan-
guished for aid. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has an extensive
Held for exertion m the Eastern Archipelago; and the vast countnes
of Northern Asia are opening themselves before the other States of tho
Continent."
Among instances of practical help given in accordance with these
designs, may be mentioned the temporary carrying on of the
Danish Mission schools at Tranquebar in South India, and a grant
of £100 to the new Basle Seminary, which had been founded by
some Christians in that city as a thankoffering for its preservation
from threatened disaster and rum in the last year of the Great
War.J It is also a striking and little-known fact that the
* Missionary Register, January, 1821, p 36.
t It is a curious fact that one of the first uses to which the newly-hired
house in Salisbury Square was put was to receive Lee's family while lie was
at Cambridge, " as the most economical means of providing for them."
J The contending armies were on opposite sides of the town Bombs were
thrown into it. Suddenly (said Mr Blumhardt, the Director, at a CMS
meeting at Cambridge in 1822), " the Lord of the elements sent a very strong
east wind, and the bombs were exhausted m the air before they could reach
our homes."~lfis$i<ma7 \j Register, June* 1822
FORWARD STEPS 121
Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Epis- PAET III.
copal Church of America owes its origin to suggestions made by 1812-24.
Pratt to some of the bishops of that Church, as will be seen Ohap °'
hereafter.
In fact, in the Seventeenth Year, as Dr. Hears observes,* " the
wide reach of the Society, nerved, as it were, by the strength and
energy of youth, seemed suddenly to embrace the whole world. Enlarged
The Society saw before it the prospect, not only of bringing plans*
civilization to West Africa and New Zealand, of diffusing education
throughout India and Ceylon, and of aiding evangelization in all
these countries and in the Mohammedan world, not only of
awakening missionary interest among Churchmen in America,
and of reviving evangelistic zeal among the Protestants of Europe ;
but also of assisting in the recovery from their long sleep of the
ancient Syrian and Greek Churches " Well might the Committee
exclaim, " Who is sufficient for these things? " And well might
they ' ' affectionately urge the duty of intercession on all the
members of the Society," informing them that they themselves
were now meeting eveiy Saturday evening to " invoke the blessing
of God on all their plans and proceedings "
And in the Report of 1818, they survey the position in striking
language . —
"In the adoption of these Missions, the Committee woie led by
degrees, as the Providence of God opened opportunities befoio them.
No Society could have at once planned such a series and system of
Missions ; and it is no small satisfaction to your Committee to review,
in this respect, the steps of the Society, and to see how God has
graciously led it forward, as by the hand, and fixed it in positions most
favourably situated for influence on the Mohammedan and Heathen
World
" On the review of these Missions it will be seen that the Society has
to deal with man in almost every stage of civilization ; from the noble
but uncultivated New Zealancler, upward through the more civilized
African, and the still more refined Hindoo, to the acute and half-
enlightened Mohammedan, and the different gradations in which
Christianity is enjoyed by the Abyssinian, the Syrian, and the Greek
Churches.
" These varied shades of light and civilization require all the varied
means and instruments which the Society is now calling into action ;
from the blacksmith, the ropo-maker, the boat-builder, and the farmer, '
who meet the first necessities of the New Zoalaiuler, up through the
schoolmaster who follows his fugitive children into the woods, and the
reader who collects the more lettered Hindoos around him in the bazaar,
to the catechist who instils principles into inquiring minds, and the
missionary who preaches the glad tidings of salvation. All are needed ;
and all are occupying an important post in that great work, which it
pleases God to assign to our various Institutions."
And these various projects were not fruitless. Dr. Hears
* Dr. Hears, who was for a time a C M S missionary, was engaged to
prepare a portion of this History ; but ill-hoalth put a stop to his work. The
passage above is extracted from his MS.
22 FORWARD STEPS
PAST III. thus Happily summarizes the encouragements of the Society's
Seventeent31 year> endinS APril> 1817 :~-
" The seventeenth year saw in Africa the first* grand result of direct
Evangelization by its own European agents; in India and in New
Zealand, its first successes from a combination of Medical Work with
preaching ; m the former country, the first employment for Educational
purposes of native teachers trained by the Society ; in the latter Islands,
the first material result of Technical Education ; in Europe, the p st
practical effects from the Society's endeavours to awaken missionary
interest in the Continental Protestant Churches ; in the Mediterranean,
the fit st advantages accruing from the appointment of a Literary Repre-
sentatne; in America, the first fruits of the suggestion of co-operation
made by the Committee to the Episcopal Church of the United States ;
while it witnessed, for the Syrian, the Hindu, the Malay, and the African,
the fi) st versions of the Holy Scriptures committed to them in modern
times at the hands of the first Missionary Translators of the Society,"
candidates Offers of service, too, were now becoming numerous ; and the
increasing. 0ommft|jee were beginning to find the necessity of exercising that
caution in receiving them which has often exposed the Society to
the censures of unthinking people, but which has again and again
been so abundantly justified. In 1816, the Committee in their
Eeport said, " Not a few offers have been of such a nature, that
they cannot but earnestly advise all who think of proposing
themselves for this arduous work, well to count the cost, and
to view impartially their own situation and character, and the
Committee are the more urgent on this head, as their reasonable
expectations and hopes have not been without disappointment,
from caprice, self-will, or worldly -mmdedness, after considerable
expense had been incurred." And in the following year, in which
no less than fifty offers had to be reported, they mentioned that
" the general want of employment," owing to the distressing
condition of the country, had compelled them to " scrutinize with
peculiar care into the motives which led to these numerous offers."
And it is evident that an experience familiar enough in later days
led them to add these significant words :—
" It will be obvious to all considerate persons that the Secretaries and
Committee of the Society have more' ample means of appreciating the
qualifications of candidates than can be enjoyed by others. The friends
of any person who offers himself as a Candidate for this work naturally
incline to think well of his spirit and qualifications : they feel a measure
of personal or local interest in his success : nor have they had the
opportunity of being convinced by experience that something more than
genuine piety and a desire of engaging in this service is absolutely
requisite to the character of a Missionary."
Cautions Only a few months later, Pratt wrote the following admirable
catesandi" remarks on missionary character. The extract is long, but no
reader will wish it shortened :* —
"Not a few of the present race of Missionaries emulate the virtues of
the best of their predecessors, and are the happiness and honour of the
* Missionary Reyistei , January, 1817.
FORWARD STEPS 123
bodies to which they belong ; and many more are devoting with all PART III.
simplicity, the talents entrusted to them, to the honour of their Lord • 1812-24.
but there are some of less weight of character. Chap 10.
" We do not speak of those shades and gradations of character which
are inevitable in such a body of men ; nor of that variety of talents which
the Great Householder commits, for wise purposes, to His servants : but
we speak of those imperfections which have, in different degrees, disap-
pointed the reasonable expectations of the Societies by whom such persons
have been prepared and sent forth, at a great charge on Public Charity.
"It may be beneficial to trace the operations of a mind of this de-
scription in offering itself to the Missionary Service. An honest zeal
springs up in a man newly awakened to feel his own obligations to
Redeeming Mercy, to communicate the knowledge of Salvatioivbo others.
Missionary Sermons, or Meetings, or Publications, awaken his attention
to the awful state of the Heathen World-— he offers himself to this service
— he persuades himself that he is sincere , and he really is sincere ; —
prudent counsellors advise him to much prayer, self-examination, and a
diligent study of the Missionary work and its difficulties, with his own
fitness for the labour ; and they give him faithful intimations of their
own judgment respecting him— these may happen to be somewhat
humbling, and he receives a little check in his view, of himself , but he
goes to his preparatory work under the strong bias of new-kindled zeal,
with little real self-suspicion, and with little actual discernment of
motives ; and his conclusions are, of course, favourable to his wishes : —
he perseveres, and prevails ; and, at length, sets forth on his high errand,
not to teach, alas ! so much as to learn !— to learn that he has deceived
himself and misled others ; that he is not sufficiently dead to the world ;
that he is unreasonably careful about his conveniences and comforts ;
that he cannot deny his whole self ; that he cannot, in lowliness of mind,
esteem others better than himself ; that he cannot keep his eyo off his
own things, to look with kind consideiation and strict impartiality on
the things of others ; that he cannot lie at the feet of his Master, and at
the feet of his Brethren for his Master's sake • — he learns somewhat of Painful
these painful lessons before he reaches the Heathen shores ; and when he lessons to
enters on his work, still he has much to learn, before he can effectually earnfcd-
teach:— he counted little, in theory and at home, of privations, and
difficulties, and opposition, and enmity, and strange manners, and new
modes of thinking, and prejudices, and dulness, and disappointments :
he read of all these, and thought lightly of them ; but he has now to
learn that he is come to this arduous work inadequately prepared ; that,
as he knew but little of himself, so he knows but little of those among
whom he is to live ; that he wants that good sense, that intelligence,
that self-command, that unwearied patience, that condescending kindness,
and that knowledge of the heart, winch are absolutely requisite to tho
full discharge of his high calling. And well will it be for him if he
discern this ; and if, feeling his own deficiencies, he go humbly to his
Heavenly Father, and diligently learn, that he may be enabled well to
occupy such talents as may have been entrusted to him in teaching
others, The wisest and best of our Missionaries must learn in this way :
but they know this ; and their good sense, and their diligent study of
their own hearts and of mankind, have prepared them to learn with
rapidity, when on Heathen ground, the best methods of commending
their message to the men among whom they are to live :— while others will
give way to discontent, and peevishness, and selfishness ; and will grow
listless, and, ultimately, unless Divine mercy arrest their progress, utterly
unprofitable in the great work which they nave undertaken,
124 FORWARD STEPS
PART III. " We have no pleasure in drawing such a sketch of human infirmities ;
1812-24. and rejoice to believe, that but a few, in any considerable degree,
Chap 10. answer to this picture : but we sincerely hope that this statement of
facts, which, ui various measures, have too often occurred, may act as
a caution to those who are purposing to offer themselves to this service.
" We know the difficulties under which the different Societies labour,
Deeded i*1 their judgment of candidates Where there are apparent integrity
quahfica- and piety and zeal, there is yet sometimes an absence of DECIDED
tlons' MISSIONARY TALENT , and, where there is talent, and even sincerity, there
is too often a want of the MISSIONARY SOUL : there is, not seldom, 'a
moderate portion of various missionary virtues, which together fonn a
character that you cannot disapprove, and are reluctant to reject ; but
there is an absence of those decided and "positive MISSIONARY GIFTS and
GRACES, which would lead you to send such an one forth with confidence
and joy
"We would not be supposed to undervalue men of a heavenly character,
though not of a superior mind No ! such men, by; their humility, their
faith, their love, and their prayers— by their readiness of service, and
unwearied kindness of spirit— are the stay and comfort of their Brethren:
they conciliate and win the Native mind ; and they call down the blessing
of then: Lord on the undertaking in which they are engaged
" But, perhaps, Christians have failed here in the duty of Prayer. The
devoted Missionary is the greatest character in the Church of Christ :
all the mere dignities of outward station sink before the grandeur of his
mind and purpose. But the greatest of all human Missionaries was
specially prepared and trained for his arduous service ; and the more we
study the history of those men who have most fully imbibed his spirit
and imitated his labours, the more clearly shall we discern the provi-
dential and gracious influence which guided them, from their earliest
years. The true Missionary must be a man peculiarly called and pre-
pared of Him, who divideth to every man severally as He will.
Let prayer " Let us then, Christians, in all our prayers for the success of Missions,
bhedUlti" never fa^ to keseecn the I^d of the Harvest, that He would send forth
labourers into His harvest— that He would graciously prepare, from their
youthful years, by the leadings of His Providence and the influences of
His Holy Spirit, able and devoted servants for the advancement of His
Kingdom in the world
" Oh, how does the heart cling to the name and deeds of such men of
God ! We need not point out these CHRISTIAN heroes. Every Society
actively engaged in promoting the knowledge of Christ in the world is
blessed with such men. May every returning year multiply their number
manifold ! "
One result of the increasing number of English, candidates was
that the Committee in 1817 resolved upon receiving no more from
the Berlin Seminary. No doubt, however, there were other
reasons for this step ; for in the following year two Germans were
received from the newly-opened Institution at Basle, These were
J. A. Jetter and W. J. Deerr, both of whom proved valuable
missionaries and fulfilled long periods of service.
Women It was in 1815 that the Society received its first offers of service
wanted, &orn women. Three ladies at Clifton, Misses Hensman, Weales,
and W. Wilton, offered to go anywhere in any capacity. Daniel
Corrie, who was home from India at the time, expressed a strong
opinion that they might be of great value for work among the
Hindu women, for whom nothing had then been done ; but the
FORWARD STEPS 125
Committee, after discussion at two meetings, resolved not to send PABT Hi-
unmarried women abroad, except sisters accompanying or joining
their brothers. No other decision could be looked for at that period,
and it is rather a token of the Committee's readiness for "new
departures" that they did not say No at once without debate.
Four years more passed before the first two "female mission-
aries" were sent out, " schoolmistresses " for Sierra Leone ; but one
of them went with her brother, W. A. B. Johnson She afterwards
married. The other, Mary Bouffler, died soon after landing.
How the money was raised to meet all the enlarged and ex-
panding work foreshadowed in this chapter will appear in the
next one Here we need only note two special funds started at
this .time, which were "forward steps" indeed, but of the kind
that have to be retraced.
One of these Special Funds was to purchase and fit out a special
missionary ship. Both Marsden and Buchanan had urged such Funds
a plan on the Society ; the former, however, only asking for a,
small vessel for local use in the South Seas, while Buchanan,
with his usual large conceptions, aimed at a ship that would
convey missionaries and stores to all parts cf the world, facilitate
visitation of the Missions, and secure speedier and more regular
communication. Our ocean greyhounds, as the great mail-
steamers have been so happily termed, were of com so then in
the future.1' The scheme was at first warmly received, but
never came to maturity. It was arranged to name the ship the
William Wilberforce; but although a good deal of money was
contributed, the fund did not prove large enough for the purpose,
and was at length applied to cover the expenses of the Active,
Marsden' s brig in the South Seas. The other Special Fund was
for the maintenance of African children. At first, gifts of £5
were invited, for the "redemption" of the children of slaves; Redemp-
but this "redemption" looked so much like purchase — which
word was actually used now and then by inadvertence, — that
strong anti-slavery friends protested, and the plan was abandoned,
"to avoid," said the Committee, "the appearance of evil." In
lieu of it, regular subscriptions of £5 a year were invited, towards
the expense of feeding and clothing boys and girls rescued from
slave-ships and handed over to the care of the Sierra Leone
missionaries by the Government. A great many such contributions
were given, including some by Quakers who could not support the
Society in a general way. Tho suggestion was made at the same
time that the children might be named after the donors, which
much added to the interest of the plan. Ths first case of the
kind was a gift from a Welsh friend named Llewellyn, who
requested that four boys supported by his money should be called
David, Morgan, Owen, and Evan 'Llewellyn; and four girls,
* It is a curious fact that even forty years later, when. Pratt* s Memoir was
pnbhshed in 1849, his biographer mentions, as a reason why the Society at.
that date needed no ships of its own, that letters had como from New Zealand
in ninety days They now come in thirty-five.
126 FORWARD STEPS
PART III Anne, Martha, Lucy, and Sarah Llewellyn. Very soon almost
1812-24. all the familiar Evangelical names in England were reproduced
Ckap^lO ID Africa , and we find Eichard Cecil, Marty n Buchanan, John
Newton, Gloucester Byder, John Venn, Edward Bickersteth,
Eichard Gurney, Hannah More, Mary Clapham, and so forth.
Thus began a system which was very attractive at first sight,
and seemed reasonable at Sierra Leone, where children of various
tribes, without parents and without names, were taken up —
though even there it proved awkward in after years, when a
grown-up " Edward Bickersteth " or " Hannah More " happened
to turn out badly and was convicted of crime ; but which, when
subsequently adopted in India, produced very untoward effects,
denationalizing the children and condemning them to be identi-
fied all through life as children of charity.
It only remains here to notice the fresh efforts made at this
time to diffuse missionary information by means of periodicals,
Up to 1812, the Society had nothing for its friends to read except
the Annual Sermon and Eeport ; the latter of course very meagre,
but having the journals of the early West African missionaries
appended. But in 1813, Josiah Pratt commenced the publication
The" Mis- of a monthly paper called the Missionary Register, which he earned
Register" on ^or five-and-twenty years with quite extraordinary industry
and vigour. It began with thirty-two small pages (fscap 8vo),
but very soon became thicker, and after three years was enlarged
to demy 8vo. In type and paper it has to a modern eye a very
old-fashioned and uninviting look ; but its contents are most
valuable, collected with what must have been astonishing patience,
and arranged with great skill. From first to last, it was not
confined to C.M S. information, but definitely aimed at giving a
systematic account of all Missions of all Societies Taking up at
random the eighth volume, for 1820, we find that it contains
540 pages, and that of these only 140 are devoted to the Church
its com- Missionary Society. For completeness there has never been
pieteness. ^y^g at all like it. From 1813 to 1855 one could obtain from
it almost all the materials for a general History of Missions.
From the time it was given up until now there has been no such
work, and the historian would be compelled to search all the
Eeports of the various organizations. In the first ten of these
forty-three volumes, for example, one can read of the triumph of
Christianity in Tahiti (so curiously like the modern story of
Uganda), the destruction of idolatry in the Sandwich Islands,
the commencement of the Madagascar Mission, the now forgotten
but most interesting enterprise of the L.M.B. in Siberia, the
Scottish Mission on the Caspian Sea, the earliest work of Eobert
Moffat and of that strange man Joseph Wolff, the beginnings of
S.P.G. in India and South Africa,* the wonderful translational
* It is interesting to find that the first Church work in South Africa was
an S.PG-. school at Wynberg— a place near Cape Town which is now
conspicuous for its missionary zeal in support of C.M S.
FORWARD STEPS 127
work of the Serampore Baptists, the first inception of the Basle PART III.
Missions, the formation of the great American Societies, and, in 1812-24
particular, the first efforts of the A B C F M m Bombay and GhaP- 10'
Turkey, the foundation of the Freed Slave Colony of Liberia, the
patient labours of the Moravians m many lands, the Methodist
work in the West Indies, the progress of Morrison's Chinese
Bible, Judson's start in Burmah, and several Missions in such
oft-forgotten fields as the Malay Archipelago and Central America.
The work of the Bible Society and the Jews' Society on the
Continent of Europe is described at length, with information
from their branches in Germany, Russia, &c. The S P.G colonial
operations in Canada are included ; and so are the proceedings
of home Societies like the S P.C.K. and Eeligious Tract Society
(on their home side), the Naval and Military Bible Society, the
Prayer-book and Homily Society, and even the National, British,
and Sunday-school Societies, together with, of course, philan-
thropic organizations like the African Institution and the Anti-
Slavery Society.
A few further particulars of the early contents will be in-
teresting. The funny little first volume, in its brown leather its con-
covering, opens with " An Appeal, particularly to Churchmen, tents-
on the Duty of Propagating the Gospel " ; and the rest of the
thirty-two pages of No. 1 are occupied with a brief account of
the Church Missionary Society. Nos. 2 and 3 are entirely taken
up with a contribution from Hugh Pearson (afterwards Dean of
Salisbury) entitled "Historic View of the Progress of the Gospel
since its first Promulgation" — a reproduction, in abbreviated
form, of his Essay which gained the Buchanan Prize at Oxford,*
No. 4 is devoted to India, the Charter Bill of 1813 being then before
Parliament, and concludes with an obituary notice of Henry
Martyn, whose death had just been announced. No. 5 contains
a brief sketch of all the chief Missionary and Bible Societies in
the world ; a narrative of the shipwreck of an African missionary
party ; and notices of the May Meetings. Here it should be
mentioned that the Register, like other periodicals at that time,
was published at the end of the month it belonged to, so that
the May number in each year gives the account of the May
Anniversaries. The next few numbers give a serial sketch of
the life of Schwartz, some of the speeches at the inauguration
of the Bristol C.M.S. Association, and much information about
other Societies. The systematic and complete review of the
various Mission-fields and societies does not begin till the fourth
year, when the magazine became an octavo one. This fourth
volume opens with a list of all the (Protestant) missionaries in
the world at that time (1816), two hundred and sixty in number;
and the fifth volume opens with an alphabetical list of all mission
stations, with a few notes to most of their names and the names
of the missionaries working at them. Summaries of this kind,
* See p 97.
128
FORWARD STEPS
Its pic-
tures.
PART III varying in form, are given m most of the January numbers.
Biographical sketches of deceased missionaries and Native con-
ver^s are numerous, and give the minutest details of the last
days and hours of some of them. Descriptions of idolatry, and
of heathen customs like suttee, &c , are inserted, often taken from
the very first authorities of that day, such as Sir W Jones and Dr.
Ward. In the volume for 1820 we find printed, for the first time,
the familiar prayer used to this clay at G M.S General Meetings.
Illustrations occur frequently, from 1816 onwards, very rough
woodcuts which would not pass muster now, but which excited
keen interest eighty yeais ago. Before, however, these begin,
two illustrations are found, of another kind. One is a striking
diagram or chronological chart showing the progress and relative
position of Christianity, Mohammedanism, and Paganism, in the
eighteen Christian centuries ; and the other is a map of the world
with all the Missions of all Societies marked.
This Missionary Register was unquestionably a great power
in its early years. Though not an official publication of the
Church Missionary Society, it was naturally identified very closely
with it by Pratt being the editor , and the Society purchased
some thousands of copies every month for free distribution among
subscribers and collectors. It was ultimately superseded by the
various periodicals started at different times by the Societies
themselves in their individual interest, but the forty-three
volumes will always remain a monument of sanctified industry
and a storehouse of valuable information concerning the progress
of the Kingdom of God.
The First Picture in a Missionary Magazine, the Missionary Register of
April, 1816 ; representing a scene in West Africa.
OHAPTEE XL
ROUSING THE COUNTRY: TEE Fim ASSOCIATIONS
DEPUTATIONS.
Growing Needs— Plans for Associations— The Start at Bristol—Basil
Woodd's Yorkshire Journey— Features of the Campaign. Obstacles,
Opposition within and without the Church, Successes, Spiritual
Influence, Hymns— Norwich, Cambridge, Liverpool, Ireland-
Grandfathers of the Present Generation.
" The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he Uew a trumpet . . . And
he sent messengers throughout dl Mana&seh . . . and he sent messengers unto
Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Nayhtali."— Judges YI. 34, 35
IE have now to look at one particular movement of the PAST IIL
year 1813 which, as already indicated, was one of the n^12'2^
principal "forward steps" of the period, and the ^'
cause of many others. This movement was the
sending out of Deputations to preach and speak in
behalf of the Society, and the establishment of Local Associations.
Apparently it was the need of money that led to the initiation of
the movement; but money was not the chief burden of the
sermons and speeches
In 1812, having thirteen men already in the field and ten under
training,— with heavy responsibilities in Africa, and (as we shall
see) New Zealand and India and Ceylon beginning to demand
attention,— the Committee, conscious that an income of £2500 to
£3000 a year would not meet the growing expenditure, were much
occupied in devising plans for widening the area of interest in the Plans to
country and thus increasing the Society's resources. Pratt at raisefunds-
length matured a scheme, adapted from one already started by a
younger but more flourishing institution, the Bible Society, for
establishing Church Missionary Associations in town and country
in aid of the Society ; nay, as the original scheme phrased it,
" throughout the Empire." The main idea was to obtain not
only collections in churches, which needed no regular local
Associations, to secure them, but more especially penny-a-week
subscriptions from young and old, rich and poor, which were to
be raised by each member undertaking to collect at least twelve
such subscriptions, say Is, a week or £2 12$ a year.
The first of these new Associations was formed within a few
Aveeks, for London itself ; but this soon became practically only a
VOL. i. K
130 ROISING THE COUNTRY
PAST III committee of leadeis of the various paiochial and congiegational
associations which giadually came into existence, and which
severally retained then independence Of pi ovmcial Associations,
o- Mr Hole's reseaiches show that the first, organized m Febiuaiy,
ciations ig;^ wag a|j DewsburyJ a town which had alieady given the
Society two of its eaihest English missionaiy candidates, Gieen-
wood and Bailey The Vicai, Mi Buckwoith, was one of the
warmest fiiends of the missionary cause Collections on Mi
Piatt's plan were begun about the same time at Caihsle, Beading,
and foui 01 five smaller places, without the foimation of a legular
Association The honour of being the first paush of all to organize
one has been claimed foi Hatheileigh in Devonshire , but this
was for the 0 M S and the Jews' Society (then an undenomina-
tional body) jointly In hke mannei, at St Chad's, Shrewsbury,
an Association was foimed to collect jointly for the CMS,
the Bible Society, and the Piayei-book and Homily Society
Dewsbury in England and Glasbury m Wales ceitamly stand
fizst with legulaily-orgamzed Associations foi C M S only But
Bristol Bustol had been planning opeiations on a laige scale before,
appai entry, any of the otheis, and probably the only reason why
its date is not actually the earliest is because so laige a scheme as
it was pioposing needed time to matuie When it did stait, on
March 25th, it at once took the lead, and kept it foi many years
— if indeed it does not still keep it, seeing that the thiee 01 foui
Associations that now laise a laiger sum covei a much laigei aiea
The chief founders and leaders of the Bustol Association aie
worth naming They weie the Eev T T Biddulph, alieady
mentioned as the pieacher of the fouith Annual Seimon , the Eev
James Yaughan, fathei of a well-known cleigyman of later yeais,
James Vaughan of Bughton , the Eev John Hensman, whose
name, by-and-by, came to be given to children in a Tamil boai ding-
school, and eventually to be borne by a Native clergyman in
Ceylon and a leading Native Christian layman at Madias, the
Eev Fountain Elwm, long a piomment Evangelical cleigyman ,
and Mi J S Harfoid, of Blaise Castle, an intimate fuend of
Wilbeiforce,1 and uncle of Canon Harfoid-Batteisby, the foundci
of the Keswick Convention These men ananged for the m-
auguiation of the Bnstol C M Association by pioceedmgs lasting
ovei five days, comprising sermons m seven chinches, with
collections (which included £60 woith of ladies' ]ewelleiy), and a,
gieat public meeting m the Guildhall, at which eleven resolutions
were moved and seconded by twenty- two speakeis, besides whom
* In tho Jubilee Statement of the Committee, in 1848, seveial places aro
mentioned as having had Associations at an earliei date, Olney in 1802,
Aston Sandford in. 1804, &o , but these were not regular Associations, and
this word ne\ei occurs in tho Exports until 1813
f Mr Hnrford was quite a young man at this time Fifty year* aftoi, he
published a most interesting book, BcLolhdiona of Willwan Wilherforco
(London, 1864), which contains many striking anecdotes of tbo gieat
philanthropist
THE FIRST ASSOCIATIONS AND DEPUTATIONS 131
theie weie the Mayoi m the chaii, and Mi Piatt, who had come PART III
from London on pmpose How long the meeting lasted we aie 1812-24
not told , but in those days five and six houis were not thought P J-1
too long on an impoitant occasion Some of the speeches are
still extant, •• and they aie not shoit Mi Piatt's must have
occupied an hour , and Mi Haifoid's, which is descnbed in a Harford's
contemporary notice as "very elegant," and which is leally speech
eloquent and able, piobably three-quaiteis of au houi One
passage is so stiikmg that it must be quoted heie Mr Harford
is leplymg to the objection, " What right have we to disturb the
ancient faiths of the East ? " He says —
"To tins question I would simply ieply, What right had St Paul
[whom lie supposes to have brought the Gospel to Bntam , but the
argument would apply equally to any one else] to visit tins country when
thu thick film of Pagan darkness involved the minds of its inhabitants p
What right had he to biave the tenors of our stoimy seas, and to
encounter the still moie savage manneis of our ancestors ? What light
had he to oppose himself to their hoi rid customs, to thiow clown by ms
doctrine their altais stained with the blood of human sacrifices, and to
regenerate the code of their morals clisgiaced by the permission of every
crime which can brutalise and degiade human nature ? What right had
he to substitute for the furious imprecations of the Diuids the still small
voice of Him who was meek and lowly in heait ? What nght had he to
exchange their homcl pictures of the invisible woild foi the glorious
prospects of the heavenly Mount Zion, the innumerable company of
angels, and the spuits of just men made perfect ? What right had he to
plant by such a procedure the sommal principle of all our subsequent
glory and prosperity as a nation, our boasted liberty, our aclmuable
code of law, the whole inimitable flame and constitution of oui govein-
nient in Church and State •>
" This quanel with the rnemoiy of St Paul I shall leave to the oppo-
nents of Missionary Institutions to suttle , and when they hnve made up
their minds as to the degree of infamy which is to cleave to him, for
having been (m a remote sense at least) the fiist conveyancer to us of
the best blessings which we now oii]oy; I will then consign over the
Missiontuies of the piesomt clay to tluni severest ropiohonsionl"
This speech is lemaikable also foi a glowmg eulogy of Hetuy
Maityn, the news of whose death had just beon icceivcd The
addiesses geneially consist of aigumonts justifying tho existence
and objects of the Society Theie are appeals neithei for men
nor for money It was no doubt supposed that when the claims
of the Heathen woild came to be leahzod, both would bo foith-
coming If tins expectation ^as ontoi tamed, it was not fuliillod
as legcuds men ISfo mibbionaiy on tho Society's loll appeals to
have hailed fiom Bustol foi many yeais aftci wards | But as
regaids money, this gieat meeting initiated the movement which
quadiupled the Society's income within the year Its immediate
* In vol i of the Niaaionwy Register
f But it is true that m some cases the pmticulai town whence a man
came 13 not named And theie may have been candidates who were not-
accepted
132 MOUSING THE COUNTRY*
PAST III result was the mapping out of the whole cityfoi systematic weekly
1812-24 and monthly collections , and m its first yeai the Bristol Associa-
fL,11 h°n raised £2300, a sum equal to the whole average annual
receipts of the Society before that time
An important featuie m these mauguial proceedings was the
presence of Mi Pratt His visit to Biistol was the first instance
First "de-( of what is now known as a "deputation" But that woid was
potions ' not used then in this connexion It often occuis in the eaily
recoids, but it means a deputation to wait upon a bishop 01 a
ministei of state In this yeai, 1813, began the piactice of sending
leading cleigymen to diffeient counties and towns to preach
seimona and addiess meetings , but they weie looked upon as a
soit of vanety of the "itinerants " of Wesley's day, and were a
good deal suspected in consequence The first demand for such
a visitor came fiorn Leeds , an eminent surgeon theie, Mr W
Hey, F E S , a friend of Wilberforce, suggesting that a toui might
be made through the West Biding Piatt applied to Basil Woodd,
and Woodd' s leply shows what such a proposal looked like at
first sight " I do not see the expediency of sending ministers
from London to Yoikshue it has an aspect of publicity which
I do not like I am willing to succour the cause m my own little
sphere, but do not ask me to take long jouineys " Nevertheless
he gave way, yielding, it may he supposed, to Pratt's reasoning
01 importunity , and within thiee weeks, on July 21st, he was on
B woodd's his way to Yorkshne with his wife, taking the torn in lieu of a
tour holiday, tiavellmg m a postchaise, and undeitakmg, if lequued, to
pieach twice a day " This is a glorious object," he mote, " and
it is an honoui to collect if but one stone 01 bnck for the spiritual
temple I tiust I have yom prayers m this very impoitant and
unexpected engagement, foi this day thiee weeks I as much
expected to be in the moon ! "
Leeds, Bradfoid, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Pudsey, Tadcaster,
Knaiesboiough, Yoik, Scaiboiough, Bndhngton, Malton, Ponte-
fiact, Bainsley, and many smallei places, weie visited on this
journey, and, on the leturn journey southwards, Ketteimg,
Petei borough, and some Midland villages The torn took two
months and a hah8 The tiavelhug, in pie-iailway days, and hotel
expenses, came to £150 , but Mi Woodd collected £1060 He
preached fifty sermons, and started twenty-eight associations, in-
volving, it may be presumed, a good many public meetings, besides
pnvate conferences, &c , and he distubuted over 7000 papeis
In Biadf oid parish chinch he preached thiee times on Sunday, the
collections amounting to £73 , and he " could not lesist " address-
ing the childien also " Who knows," he said, " but it may bring
some child to the blessed Saviour?'5 Missionary Exhibitions
weie yet seventy yeais off, but, "I biought two Hindoo gods
with me , one has a snout like an elephant I find they enteitain
everybody, 'and plead the cause of Missions as well as if they were
missionaries themselves " He returned full of joy and thank-
THE FIRST ASSOCIATIONS AND DEPUTATIONS 133
fulness " Om exclusion," he mote, " has been attended with PABT III
a succession of mercies, kindnesses, and endearing interviews,
which I trust will piove a foretaste of oui eternal meeting"
" I have expenenced gieat encoiuagement foi fresh exeition
May the Ghuich Missionaiy Society flouiish till the Son of Man
cometh in His glory ' Amen " His hosts appear to have been as
pleased as he was One cleigyrnan wiote about " the tiuly gieat
and good Eev Basil Woodd, who, with his deal and interesting
timlkure moiti6, wherevei they go kick the beam of hospitality
by their own intrinsic excellence "
This memoiable journey was quickly followed by others, undei-
taken by such men as G-oode, Burn, Henry Budd, Legh Eichrnond,
Melville Home, Haldane Stewait, William Maish, Daniel Wilson,
and, a little latei, E W Sibthorp and J W Cunningham Theie
was also an M P , Mr T E Kemp, who took a torn in the north,
carrying the clerical deputation with him in his carnage Mi Hole
has tiaced out the touts from the middle of 1813 to the end of 1814
with infinite pains and accuracy, devoting to them nearly half of
his large volume The lecords aie full of inteiest They give
significant glimpses of the Chuichlife of the penod, they nanate
the small beginnings of associations which have done noble woik
in latei yeais, and are doing it still , and they introduce us to the
fatheis and grandfatheis of oiu own contempoianes in all paits of
the countiy In the piesent woik we can but gather up some of
the geneial featuies of these early deputation touts, with a few
illustiative incidents
1 The inconveniences of travelling m those days, and the Risks m
weary length of the journeys, must be boine in mind In the travclhnff
first toui, already described, Basil Woodd wiote, " Om carnage
has ciacked two axle-boxes and two spimgs, loads very lough "
After a Cornish trip he wiote, " Last Satuiday at Plymouth was
the fiist legular dinner I had foi eight days " On one occasion
Daniel Wilson travelled from Gam to 5pm in a coach diagged
by " four wietched horses," with seven other passengers inside
and ten out, accomplishing foity miles in the time , aftei which
he had twenty-si1? miles furthei to go m a postchaise, at the
late of five miles an horn, arriving at his destination at 10 p m
" Theie was a suffocating dust the whole way " One journey
cost the Society and the Chuich deai Mi Goode went to
Ipswich on a frosty night, the floor of the coach was out of
repair, and let in chilling diaughts > and the illness that resulted
ended a most valuable life
2 Much more serious than these external discomforts were
the opposition and objections met with Here and there, letters
m the local newspapers—anonymous, of course— reproduced the
cavils of East India traders and the sarcasms of Sydney Smith ,
* It was this Mr Kemp on whose estate at Brighton Kemp Town was
built
134 MOUSING THE COVNTRY
PART III and cuticisms of this kind, of which we think lightly now, had a
qmte :factltl°Ils impoitance then Still gieatei was the difficulty
caused by the lack of episcopal pationage Eleven bishops weie
on the list of pations of the Bible Society— and, it may be added
heie, six loyal pnnces, the Dukes of Yoik, Kent, Cambridge,
Cumbeiland, Sussex, and Gloucestei (Kent and Sussex spoke at
the Anmversanes in these very yeais) , but not one had given his
name to the Church Missionary Society Some of the bishops
sition weie even °Pen opponents " We have got a new bishop," writes
f bishops one fiiend, " who is deteimmedly hostile to every society, and
declaies openly that he looks on them as dangeious to the State
and the Establishment " Bishop Law, of Chester, whose diocese
extended fiom Bummgham to Westmoi eland, chaiged his clergy
not to leceive " those itinerant preachers who, neglecting then
own parishes, went about thiough the country to draw all the
money they could for the suppoit of societies self -constituted,
and unauthorized by either Church 01 State " Evening services,
too, and week-day services, weie sometimes objected to, not only
by bishops, but by othei lespectable people who dieaded inno-
vations The Bishop of Exeter foibad evening services when
Basil Woodd visited Devonshire , and even John Scott of Hull,
son of Thomas Scott, and for many years aftei wards one of the
warmest of C M S men, was afraid to hold a special service on a
week-day " It would be very distasteful to church folk," he
said, " and give the whole affan an nregulai and unchuichhke
appeaiance " We aie not suipnsed, after all this, to find many
excellent clergymen holding aloof One at Liverpool letuined
the papers sent to him, saying, " A society having foi its object
the inciease of puie leligion seems to me essentially defective
if it has not the pationage and support of those to whom I owe
deference as exeicismg the apostolic office and functions in our
Ghmch " To which Piatt replied, " Youi pimciple would have
stifled the Reformation m its birth It implies that nothing can
become a duty in the subordinate members of the Church m
which their superiors do not countenance them We have but
one point to aim at in this lespeot — to desewe that countenance,
and we have no doubt it will, in due time, be obtained1'
Objection was also frequently made that the new Society was
interfering with the old ones — geneially, of course, by those who
did nothing for the old ones 1 The most conspicuous, and indeed
amusing, instance occuned in 1817 at Bath, when an Aichdeacon
interrupted a meeting by a public piotest, but this will be noticed
m the next chaptei Piatt's oidmary reply to such objections
will easily be divined In a word it was this, that neither
S P C K noi S P G was sending any Church of England mis-
sionaries to either Africa, or Asia But he replied m another
way in at least one case A Norwich clergyman offeied him his
pulpit, provided the collection might go to the S P C K instead
of the CMS Pratt at once consented, saying, "We seek not
THE FIRST ASSOCIATIONS AND DEPUTATIONS 135
ouiselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord His Kingdom, His glory, PART HI
His spirit, is what we seek to advance m all things " m?12"24
3 A good deal of difficulty was encountered from an opposite p
quaiter The London Missionaiy Society, quite naturally, as a Rivalry of
non-denominational body, sought the suppoit of Churchmen as L M s
well as of Nonconfoirmsts, and wa»s at this time paiticularly
vigorous in pushing its claims all over the countiy It had no
high ecclesiastical authorities to appease, and it had aheady
aroused widespread enthusiasm among the Dissenters Much
rnoie jealousy was aroused m this way than on account of S P G
01 S P C K , neithei of which would have dreamed of employing
"itinerant pieacheis" m those days Again and again we find
local friends, who desned the new Chuich Society to be suppoited
writing uigent letters to Piatt for deputations, " or the London
Missionary Society would occupy the field first " Bristol itself
was loused m the fiist instance by the L M S obtaining sermons
and collections in no less a church than St Mary Bedcliffe On
the othei hand, the Dissenteis in many places were very generous
to the Chuich Society Repeatedly, when Legh Bichmond or
Haldane Stewait 01 Daniel Wilson was to pi each m the parish
church, the Independent, Baptist, and Methodist rnmisteis closed
their chapels, and took their people to hear the visitor At Stoke-
upon-Tient, " the Methodists enlivened the service by their loud
Amens " At Kettenng, Andiew Fuller, the fuend of G«irey, and
secretary of the Baptist Missionaiy Society, held one of the plates
at the doois
4 One effect of these difficulties on both sides was that the church
advocates of the new Society took especial pains to insist on its of ST?!1"
Chuich basis and character Thus, at the mauguial meeting at JJJJ]1*"
Bnstol, the principal resolution appioved the new Society because
it was undei stood to be " decidedly attached to the doctrines
and episcopal government of the United Church of England and
Ireland", and on the same occasion Mi Biddulph, the Evan-
gelical leader at Bustol, said, " It is in the chaiactei of Church-
men that we appear this day , happy in an oppoitunity of testifying
our attachment to our Zion, and of proving that attachment by
zeal foi her honour "; and he goes on to quote fiom the Prayer-
book, to show that " om past omissions are not chargeable on our
Venerable Paient " This phiase, and " oiu Veneiable Mother
the Established Chuich," aie not infrequent A Suffolk gentle-
man, in giving in his adhesion to the Society, wrote, " Satisfied
as I am of the supeuor excellence of our veneiable Church
Establishment, from its stnct adherence to the great truths
of the Gospel in its Liturgy, Ai tides, and Homilies, I cannot
but wish for the success of a plan to extend its influence ", and
similar expressions abound m sermons, speeches, and letters
Especially do we find them in Irish utteiances "However
gieat," says one, "the blessings of religion under any really
Christian form, sho appeal <3 with a peculiar grace when she is
136 ROUSING THE COUNTRY
PART IE made known through that pure and evangelical medium [the
1812-24 Chuich] which unites a dignity to command the lespect of the
Chap ll mog^ Impen0us " Again, an lush judge rejoices to have " no
doubt that the Heathen will flock m larger bodies into the Chuich
of England than into any other religious community " John
Cunningham of Hariow, for many years a leader among Enghsh
Evangelicals, wiote a pamphlet m 1814 on Chuich of England
Missions, m which he appeals to "those who believe in the
supenonty of our Church to every other religious society," who
" discovei in its formulanes the exact impress, the sacied image,
the embodied spuit of the Gospel," who " attiibute the moial and
intellectual advancement of the country in great measure to the
character of the religion diffused by the Establishment," who
believe that the " stieam of puie and undefiled piety " having
" suffeied so little pollution in this country since the Apostolic
ages " is due to " the meicy of God in confining it to this pai-
ticulai channel " And, again and again, Chuichmen aie called
to greater activity in the cause m ordei that even lecogmzed
Churches, like the Piesbytenan Church of Scotland and the
Lutheian Church of Geimany, may not outiun the Church of
England in promoting it " Shall the eldest daughter of the
Eefoimation," exclaims one, " suffer hei younger sisters to out-
stnp her m the cause of missionary benevolence ? Shall not the
Chuich of England, the Queen of Churches, awake fiorn hei
lethargy, stand up in hei comely proportions, clothe heiself with
the doctrines of her Articles as with the gaiments of salvation,
and send foith her sons, breathing the spirit of her Lituigy, to
cariy the banneis of the Cross to the ends of the eaith? "
"The Much of this has a strangely unfamihai sound m our ears
Establish- ggpg^gjfy ^e constant reference to "the Establishment " Is
this word, much as we still value the connexion of Church and
State, ever used at a missionary meeting now? or even at a
Church Defence meeting ? This is not the place to discuss the
causes of the change of feeling , but the fact is certainly signifi-
cant Still more cunous is a sentence in a circular issued at
Norwich by Edward Bickersteth, then a solicitor in that city -~
" As this is peculiarly a Church Society, and as the objects of the
Society ham received the sanction of Parliament, it is hoped that
all the fnends of the Establishment will patronize and support
it " It is true that the leference here is to the passing of the
East India Company Charter Act, which was one " object " of
the Society Still, the sentence startles the modern readei
Evtmgeh- 6 While the advocates of the Society weie thus emphasizing m
empha-aot everv possible way its Church chaiacter, it does not seem to have
aked occurred to them to emphasize its Evangelical distmctiveness We
seaich m vain m their utterances for the strong assertions of the
truth of Evangelical doctrines and the rights of Evangelical men
which form quite the staple of C M S speeches in the middle of
the century At first sight one proposes to account for this by the
THE FIRST ASSOCIATIONS IND DCPUJATIONS 137
fact that the Tractanan movement had not then given an impetus PART III
to High Church teaching and methods But the opposition to n?12"^
Evangelicalism was— as has been already shown m these pages — ap
actually stionger and rnoie bittei in those days than affcei wauls
Bishop Tomlme of Lincoln was at least as vehement m his
denunciations of what he was pleased to call Calvinism as " Henry
of Exetei " in latei days, and " Calvinism" really meant Evan-
gelicalism, foi the Wesleyans, who weie stiong anti-Calvimsts,
weie equally condemned The leal fact is that the theological
" colour " of an oigamzation emanating fiom the " senous clergy "
went without saying It was its Church chaiacter that needed
explanation and vindication
6 But whatevei might be the opposition to the Society, or to Success
the missionary cause generally, the pleaching deputations diew ?if0nsputa"
ci owds to then sei vices At Norwich, people clung to the windows
outside to catch a few woids of Piatt's seimon, and Daniel
Wilson wiote at the same time, " The whole city seemed to have
come togethei You might have walked on the people's heads
I stand amazed at what God hath wrought " At Sheffield Parish
Chinch, the congiegation assembled to heai Legh Richmond
numbeied 3500, and hundieds failed to get m , and at Biadford,
when he pieached thiee times on the Sunday, the congiegations
weie estimated at 2000, 3000, and 4000 respectively " I nevei
saw anything like it," he wiote, "such a day, such a church,
such a vicar, such life, such attention, such libeiahty " The
vicar thus lefeiied to was Mi Crosse, whose bequest founded the
Ciosse Hebrew Scholaiship at Cambndge Curious incidents aie
lecorded foi instance, at Welshpool, an officei at the theatre
on Saturday night called out to the company that they must
all come to chinch next day and hoai the gentleman from
England Collections weie often very laige, and the poor gave
freely
7 It is evident that most of tho work \\as dono by seimons Meetings
The day of large public meetings was not yet As we have seen, J0dv°euy
they came slowly, even m London There is a cui lous incident
mentioned in an article signed "H," wntten foity yeais latei,
which appears m the Chnstian Obscnw of June, 1857 Mi
Eichardson of Yoik has been before mentioned as one of tho
fiist countiy membeis of the Society, and a heaity fuend , but the
meeting heie mentioned could not have been befoio 1817, as
Bickeisteth was one of the deputation —
" It is now almost forgotten with what distrust even the beat men
viewed these Public Assemblies for religious purposes We can remember
near half a century smce, tho visit of a ' deputation ' from one of these
Institutions, to York, wheie Mi Richardson— the fit Prebendary of such
a Cathedral, lofty and majestic in his person and manner— then presided
over the considerable body of earnestly religious men in that city, His
consent was obtained, though with some diraculty, to the holding of such
a meeting And the wntor oE this paper remembers, when the present
138 ROUSING THE COUNTRY
PAST III Bishop of Calcutta, Mr Bickersteth, and himself presented themselves to
1812-24 the Meeting, the solemn manner in which the then aged and venerable
Chap 11 Minister rose from his chair, and, leaning on his gold-headed staff,
announced to the assembly his doubts about such Meetings , but added,
that, as certain well-known advocates of lehgions objects had presented
themselves in the hope of being allowed to hold such <in assembly, he
had consented to it, and he now called on them to proceed, and if they
had any new facts or arguments in stoie, to produce them , on which the
ti enabling youths (compaiatively) aiose, and, as well as they were able,
told then story, showed the destitute condition of nine-tenths of the
human i ace, and pointed to the means by which it was hoped to meet
their necessities, and pom the light of the Gospel into these daik legions
And aftei they had finished, what was their joy to heai Mr Richardson
close the Meeting by announcing that he was convinced, and that hence-
forth he should lejoice to welcome such deputations as the Society weie
maj£eg & mick}e)" was illustrated Penny Associations were being
started m many places not visited by deputations , collectois, men
and women, undertaking to collect a penny a week fiom at least
twelve peisons, i e a shilling a week, 01 £2 12$ a yeai Mr Hole
has unearthed the case of a Warwickshne lady who hoped to find
a subsciibei or two at Coventry, "though religion was not much
alive in that town " She left a paper with a townsman, asking
him to give a penny a week He read the paper, was stnred
up by it, and staited collecting himself among his "senous
acquaintances," and in a shoit time he had formed what he called
four "societies" of twelve peisons each giving a penny a week,
and three " societies " of twelve each giving a shilling a month
Seveial ladies in different towns obtained hundieds of small
subscribers And not ladies only A Welsh clergyman, on
leceivmg a paper fiom headquarters, mounted his horse, rode
foity miles, applied to rich and pooi, and came back with
£23 Is Qd An Essex vicar's wife sent up collections from "the
Tradesmen's Club at the Bun inn, 30s ," " the Tiadesmen's Club
at the Swan, 20s ," and " the Laboureis' Club at the Swan, 20s "
9 But the movement did not aim only at the collection of
funds, nor weie its results pecumaiy only The numerous ongmal
letteis examined by Mr Hole mention again and again the spirit
of prayer awakened " Prayer for the conversion of the Heathen
was everywhere remembeied among religious people, in individual
devotions, in social meetings, in family worship, in secluded
villages, in humble cottages, and among children " Even this
was not the only spiritual result, scarcely perhaps the chief
spiritual spiritual result, of the movement Pieachers like Basil Woodd
the move an(^ ^^ •^lc-nmon^ an^ Daniel Wilson preached no mere charity
men?°ve" sermons In setting forth the darkness and the needs of the
Heathen woild, they also set forth the one remedy, the message
of a full and finished salvation fiom the guilt and the powei of
sin by the atoning death of Chnst and the legeneratmg and
THE FIRST AssociArioNS AND DEPUTATIONS 139
sanctifying giace of the Holy Ghost , and m doing this, they weie PAKT III
preaching the Gospel which is the powei of God unto salvation 1812-24
to thousands who needed it for themselves, and to not a few who p ll
laiely if evei heaid it Mi Kemp, M P , whose volunteei torn
with a clencal deputation has been mentioned above, wiote his
nnpiessions of the campaign, and said that not only would the
Society itself benefit, but it would also " become the mstiument
of pieachmg the Gospel m many pulpits whence the joyful sound
was not often heaid " In this sense the utteiances of the depu-
tations weie stiongly and powei fully Evangelical , they weie
spiritually Evangelical, though not polemically Evangelical
Moreovei, the Gospel they pieached was a piactical Gospel,
because, instead of meiely comfoitmg "professors" (as pious
people were called) with glowing accounts of their privileges and
safety as the flock of Chust, they summoned the said " piofessors "
to rise up and bestn themselves foi the salvation of otheis Then
teaching, theiefoie, loused both the careless and unbelieving fiom
the sleep of sin, and also the drowsy Chustun fiom the sleep of
self-satisf action In both lespeets, the journeys of the CMS
deputations proved a leal blessing to the country and to the
Church
10 It is interesting to observe that the spmtual influence of the Us^of
missionary sei vices was distinctly fostered by the use of hymns, ymns
then— as befoie stated— a suspected novelty in the Ohm oh, so
seriously suspected, indeed, that Charles Simeon, at this very
time, advised a friend, whose bishop ^as angiy with him foi
intioducing them, to " put them a&ido " as " quite umiecessaiy " ^
" The hymns," wiote Basil Woodd from Yoikshire, " have gieatly
mcieased the missionaiy feeling " But he pi ef erred metncal
versions of the Psalms, and this is not surprising when one leads
the doggerel of some of the hymns of the penod The leason,
however, for his prefeience was rnoie piobably that Psalms were
ecclesiastically less open to objection , and it is noticeable that
the first " hymn-paper " issued by the Society itself at that very
time contained foui Psalms, viz the G7th, " To bloss Thy chosen
lace" (Tate and Brady) , the 72nd, "Jesus shall reign wheie'er
the sun11 (Watts) , the 96th, " Sing to the Loid, yo distant lands "
(from some local collections) , and the 117th, " From all that
dwell below the skies " (Watts) Yet there weie a few good
onginal hymns too, ounent at the time, such as " O'ei the gloomy
hills of daikness," " Arm of the Lord, awake, awake," and "All
hail the power of Jesus' name " It is a significant thing that,
although seveial of these Psalms and hymns weie wntten eaily in
the dull eighteenth century, they failed to come into geneial use
until the present century The missionary awakening caused a
demand foi such compositions, and long-neglected prayers and
piaises m veise weie unearthed, giadually became farmhai, and
* Moule's Charles Simeon, p 182
140 ROUSING THE COUNTRY
PAUT HI now aie sung all over the woild Here a very cm ions fact may
( 1812-24 be mentioned The eaily tiaditions of the Chuich Missionary
Chapjl goclety ag a caiefully stnct Chinch institution were perpetuated
to oui own day m the mattei of hymns foi its official Anniveisary
Seimon The papei punted foi the occasion was always headed
"Psalms to be Sung," and the same thiee were sung year after
year without change, viz , " With songs of grateful praise " (a
version of Ps xcvi ), sung to " Dai well's " , " Jesus shall reign,"
sung to "Tiuio", and "Eiom all that dwell," to the Old
Hundredth these last two being the veiy too that Easil Woodd
asked for in lieu of "hymns " It will scarcely be believed that
the fiist " hymns " at the famous St Bude's Service were sung m
1882, on the occasion of Bishop Pakenham Walsh's seirnon
Oui account of the use of the Association and Deputation
system, must not close without a brief notice of three or foui of
the Associations The great one at Bnstol has been mentioned
Norwich The next in importance was at Norwich, the formation of which
- ^ag £ue ^o Edward Bickeisteth, then a solicitor in that city
If Bnstol had the honour of leading the way m the new
missionary movement, Norwich was distinguished for being the
first to secure the pationage of a bishop The then Bishop of
Norwich, Dr Bathuist, was a very libeial-mmded man, and m
his first episcopal charge went so fai as to avow himself convinced
that the " zeal and piety " of the Evangelicals, " when undei dm
regulation, were pioductive of very great good" He was
aheady a fuend of the Bible Society , and he at once acceded to
Bickersteth's lequest that he would be Pation, not of the Chinch
Missionary Society itself, but of the pioposed Noiwich Association
But veiy few of the leading clergy and people m Norfolk followed
his example " This city," wrote Bickersteth, " is in a veiy
different state to Bristol All are ahve to woildly things, while
lehgion meets with either opposition or a most cold and heaitless
reception " " Many seem to start with honor at the idea of
Missions as including everything enthusiastical and fanatical "
But he had already declared to his fellow-citizens that " an Asso-
ciation there should be, if he stood alone on the Castle Hill and
pioclanned it " , and now he expresses his full belief that if they
"continued praying and believing and working," it might be
1 ' lespectable " And the " praying and believing and working " did
bring down a blessing Although " the rich and noble, the clergy
m general, and the Dissenters and party men " all stood aloof, the
success of the inaugural services and meetings (Sept , 1813) was
astonishing It was on this occasion that the crowds mentioned
before thronged to heat Piatt and Daniel Wilson , and the week
pioduced £900 A Ladies' Association was started, the first in
England , and it is a striking parallel to this that the first of the
modern Ladies' Unions was also started m Norfolk, m 1883 At
* Overborn, Sngksh Ohwrcli in the Nineteenth Qentw yt p 113
THE FIRST ASSOCIATIONS AND I)EPU PAWNS 141
the first Anniversary, in 1814, the Bishop actually piesided at PART in
St Andrew's Hall, and delivered the Joist episcopal speech evei 1812-24
given for the Church Missionary Society It was short, but veiy QhaP ll
much to the point " Do some respectable men start at the veiy
name of ' Missionary ' ? What does ' Apostle ' mean ? " " Aie
we to bewaie of enthusiasm ? I, gentlemen, am no fuend to a
zeal that is without disci etion But those who aftect to be so
much alarmed about it may pievent the effects they appiehend by
joining oui lanks and niodeiatmg the zeal fiom which they feai
such bad consequences " " But they toll us that theie aie akeady
two venerable societies m the Established Church Be it so— I
wish theie weie two hundied ' " And the good bishop concluded
by encouraging the Society to peiseveie "till the glad tidings be
preached in every coinei of the woild, ' as fai as winds can waft
and waters roll ' " Heber had not yet written " From Greenland's
icy mountains " whence, then, came these last words ?
Among the earliest Associations one expects to find Cambndge, First •»*.»
considering Simeon's intimate connexion with the fiist establish- S
ment of the Society, Martyn's caieei and death, and the interest
excited by Buchanan's prize essays And there weie influential
Evangelicals in the Umveisity besides Simeon, such as Isaac Milner,
Dean of Carlisle and President of Queens', who had been a Senioi
Wrangler , William Faiifih, Tutoi of Magdalen and Jacksoman
Professoi of Chemistiy, also a Senioi Wiaugler, and immensely
respected foi his ability and goodness , James Scholefield, Fellow
of Trinity, and afterwaids Eegms Professoi of Greek , Joseph
Jowett, Fellow and Tutor of Trinity Hall and Regius Piofessor of
Civil Law , his nephew, William Jowett, Fellow of St John's,
and afterwards a missionaiy , and William Dealtry, Fellow of
Tunity, who succeeded John Venn at Clapham Nevertheless,
there must have been some peculiar difficulties , foi no regular
Association was formed until 1818, and even then Simeon, to use
his own woids, " tiembled at tho proposal, and lecommended the
most cautious pioceedrngs " Meanwhile, as before stated, one of
the eaihest churches in England to havti a collection foi the
Society was Tunity, Cambridge, as fai back as 1804 , and eaily m
1813 we find both town and gown being canvassed, the foirnei by
ladies and the latter by undeigiaduoites The well-known names
of Chailes Budges and Fiancis Cunningham, both of Queens'
College, occui among those of the undergiaduates who weie
active , and among the junior contubutors were Henry Venn the
Second (afterwaids CMS Secretary), H Y Elliott and E B
Elliott, two biotheis Gaius- Wilson, John Babmgton, and otheis
who in aftei years did good service m the cause of Chiist Through
the efforts of F Cunningham, Daniel Witaoti was induced to
visit Cambndge in the May teim of 1814, and pieach in Simeon's
chinch Dunng the thiee weeks before he came, the zealous
juniors set to work, and collected no lesb than £270 m the vanous
colleges, one-half the contributors being of Queens1 College, then
142 ROUSING THE COUNTRY*
PAST III the favounte lesoit of Evangelical students Sixty yeais after-
1812-24 waids, Canon John Babington thus lecorded his lecollections
Otapu ofrfl
" A raie sermon it was , I was never more deeply interested in my
hfe The text was, ' He shall see of the ti avail of ms soul and be satis-
fied ' The question was, What must that be which shall satisfy the
yearnings of the blessed Redeemer's soul g I have seen a printed sermon
of his upon that text, but the influence at the time of his fervour, and
the depth that he seemed to open befoie us, was far beyond any thing that
the punted sermon can suggest "
When the legulai Association was foirned, at a public meeting m
1818, two Fellows became Secietanes, Mandell of Queens' and
Scholefield of Timity , and among the Vice-Presidents we mid no
less a person than Loid Palmeiston, then one of the membeis
for the Unrveisity But the connexion of Cambridge with the
Church Missionaiy Society has in later yeais been of a veiy
diffeient character, as we shall see heieafter The primary
purpose of an Association— and a most useful purpose— is to
raise funds Carnbudge has raised missionanes •
Man- The most unpiomismg of the laige towns weie Manchestei
cheater an^ Lim«p0ol Manchester began with a Sunday-school Asso-
ciation in St James's paush, and no more was done for two
yeais ""We aie opposed," wiote a friend there, "by all the
weight of propei ty and powei, both ecclesiastical and seculai
The soil of Manchester is very unfavoiuable to the cultivation
and growth of any leligious institution -whatsoever even those
already planted aie in a weak and languishing state, choked with
Liverpool thorns, the cares, the nches, the pleasures of life " Liverpool
seems to have been still worse The only Evangelical cleigyman.
theie, Mi Blacow, had a propnetaiy chapel, and no status among
his brethien "What with ultia-Calvimsts on one side, Methodists
on the othei, and the whole posse of the cleigy and then powei-
ful lay patterns on a thud, I am perpetually assailed " He adds
that he foais that all he can laise will be £200 01 £300 a yeai horn
his o\\n congicgation ' How many Liverpool chinches laise tli.it
sum now 9 Mi Blacow thought that this ^ould bo a pi oof that
" the bush was not hunt " He enlaiges ou " the zeal and eneigy
of the Dissenteis and the apathy of the Establishment " " The
whole mass of the people is veiging fast into dissent, and we shall
soon have an episcopal Establishment with a dissenting popula-
tion " But there was something much woise than Dissent
Liveipool had been deeply involved m the slave-tiado , and Blacow
obseives that " an age must elapse before the gaiment spotted by
the flesh— with the polluted stains of African goie which clings to
so many leading men— is wom away " " While a shred of that
remains," he adds, " whoevei appeals among us in the holy garb
* In an aifcicle on "The Eaily Bays oE the CMS at Cambudge," in the
GUI' fntdhgenco of September, 1887, Mr Hole gives full and inteiestmp
particulars , and these are supplemented m his book
THE FIRST ASSOCIATIONS AND DEPUTATIONS 143
of the Bedeemer's ughteousness, will be treated as a movei of PARC III
sedition, a man not fit to live upon the eaith " Beading all this, 18]2-24
one begins to appieciate the mighty woik clone for leligion, and p
for the Chuich of England, in aftei yeais, by Hugh Stowell at
Manchester and Hugh McNeile at Liveipool
One of the most mteiestmg of the home enterprises undei taken
at that time was the establishment of the Hibernian Auxiliary Ireland
The same difficulties, fiom the opposition of the bishops on the
one side and the aval claims of the London Missionary Society on
the othei, which we hcive noticed in England, weie encounteied
also in Ii eland , but at length Piatt, D Wilson, and W Jowett,
went over, in June, 18 W,— leaving London, it is woith noting, at
7 a m on Monday, and i caching Dublin early on Fnday morn-
ing , and being received with the gieatest kindness by many
leading people, they successfully started the Auxiliaiy It is
curious to obseive that one of their most enthusiastic friends was
Mr Thomas Painell, gieat-uncle of the Irish political leadei
Many names mteiestmg in veiy different ways fioin this one °u£ &
occui in the lecords of the early Associations and Deputations
We find Begmald Hebei (aftei waids Bishop of Calcutta) seeking,
but in vain, to influence the clergy of Shrewsbuiy in the Society's
favour We see E T Vaughan, father of Dean C J Vaughan,
wainily welcoming Piatt to Leicestei , Sir John Kennaway,
giandfathei of the piesent Piesident, taking the lead ui the Devon
Association , Thomas Fowell Buxton, aftei waids Baronet, and
giandfathei of the piesent Sn T F Buxton , Mr Hardy, Becoidei
of Leeds, father of Gathoine Haidy, M P , fiist Viscount Cian-
bropk, John Sargent, fnond and biographer of Henry Maityn,
and father-in-law of Bishop Samuel Wilbei force , Petei Fiench
of Beading, grandfathei of Bishop French of Lahore, T Can,
of Wellington, Somerset, afterwards Bishop of Bombay, in his
old age a leading inembei of the CMS Committee , G J Hoaie
(of the Fleet Stieet, not the Lombard Stieot, branch of the
family), aftei waids Archdeacon of Suriey and Vicai of Godstono ,
Phihp Gell, the fust collectoi of Sunday-school contnbutiotTi foi
the Society, falliei oi Bi&hop (Jell of Madias, Isaac Spoonei,
of Ehndon, fathei-m-law of William Wilbeifoico, and grandiifcher
of the wife of Aichbibhop Tait, Mi John Higgms, fathei
of C L Higgms, one of Dean Buigon's "Twelve Good Men,"
and President of the Bedfordshue CM Association, and John
West, an Essex cuiato who waa aftei wauls the hrbt CMS
missionaiy in Noith-Weat Anionca, and baptised the fiist Ghns-
tian Indian boy (aftei wards the first Bed Indian clergyman)
by the name of his old lectoi, Henry Budd Many other not
less mfceiestmg names have come befoie us m this chaptei
Sometimes a pessimistic Evangelical speakei enlaiges mournfully
on the woids, " Your fathei s, where tire they ? " May we not
well reply, " Instead of thy fatheis shall be thy childieu, whom
thou tnayest make princes m all the eaith " ?
CHAPTER XII
6 MS AND OTHER Socmm
The S P C K and SPG at this Period-The Archdeacon of Bath's
Attack on C M S -Awakening in S P G the Royal Letter-Pratt's
"Propaganda"— Heber proposes union of S P G and C M S —The
Bible Society, Jews' Society, Prayer Book and Homily Society,
Religious Tract Society, Nonconformist Missionary Societies-
Foundation of the American Church Missions
" look not em \j nvm on fas own things, lut every man dso on the things of
oto"-Phil n 4
PAUT III IgoBjpAj'HE leferences in C M S publications in early days, and
1812-24 Kj§5| especially in the Missionary Eegiste),io the labours
ChaP 12 KM Sr| and progiess of other Societies, are so fiequent and so
IllgdZall fr^' ^ ^ seems d-68118^6 ^ tf113 s^ge to give a shoit
*- notice of these Societies, and of the lelations of the
Chuich Missionary Society to them, moie especially as some of
Societies fam owe(j muc]1 10 |jiie Sympathy and eneigy of C M S leaders
The spiut that actuated men like Josiah Piatt and his comiades
is strikingly shown in his woids, quoted m the preceding chapter,
when a Noiwich rectoi insisted on giving the collection after
Pratt's sermon, not to the new Society, but to the S P 0 K " We
seek not ourselves, but Chiist Jesus the Lord His kingdom, His
gloiy, His spirit, is what we seek to advance in all things "
The reasons that compelled the founders of the Society to esta-
blish it at all, notwithstanding the previous existence of the S P 0 K
and S P G on one side and of the non-denominational London
Missionai y Society on the othei , have aheady been stated ' When
once then own oigamzation was launched, however, while they
fiequently urged its difference m basis and in punciple fioni the
L M S as a leason why Churchmen should join it, a careful search
fails to find any instance of their urging any difference of basis
and principle between it and the S P 0 K and S P G as a reason
why any paiticulai class of Churchmen should support it rathei
than them They constantly pleaded that Chui ch people generally
should suppoit it as well as the otheis , but on what giound ? On
the ground that the Heathen must be evangelized, and that the
two old Societies were only doing it on a very small scale In
* SeoOhapteiVI,pp 64,65_
CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIES 145
1817, the S P C K Lutheian missionanes m South India weie PART III
reduced to two , and out of a free income of £24,000, it spent
upon them and their mission about £1000, the Society's mam
work being that of publications and grants to schools at home At
the same period the S P G had about forty clergymen and foity
schoolmasters m the North American Colonies, and scarcely any
others , "' and of these, only thiee were in part labouring among
the Indians But its great and sudden expansion was now
approaching, and was described year by year by Piatt in the
Begistw with unfeigned joy and unreserved sympathy
The spirit in which both these elder sisters were regarded might c°rdl£j
be illustiated by many expressions m the Eepoits, Seimons, andS°sepGcn
speeches of the time For instance, m the Beport of 1814, the |n£ c K
Committee speak of " the invaluable laboms of the two Societies,"
while they add that as Missions to the Heathen are only one of
the objects aimed at in either case, an institution was still needed
which should aim solely at that object " Most gladly will the
Committee witness such an augmentation of tho funds of those
two Societies as will enable them to enlarge their caie of the
Heathen Theie is more than room for all exeitions This
Society comes foiward, not to censme tho partial effoits of past
times, but to aid and augment these efforts " And in tho same
year, Dean Eydei, m the Annual Sermon, says of the two older
institutions, " God be thanked foi their past exeitions \ God be
with them m the future 1 We would hail them as eldei brethien,
as foierunneis, as examples We are not contending in a lace
where * all run, but one receiveth tho pnze ' Theie are many
crowns, and only too few candidates "
In 1814, the S P C K published in one laige volume an Abstiact
of its Eeports and Conespondence on the Lutheran Missions m
South India from 1709 to date Pratt instantly hailed this woik
with satisfaction, and strongly recommended it m the llegwt&r,
and, at the end of his icview of it, added a noteworthy separate
paragraph, in which he " respectfully submitted to the veneiable
Society for Propagating the Gospel the expediency of imitating
the example" of the Bister Society, "The public," he urged,
" have very little opportunity of becoming acquainted with its
proceedings, the Annual Sermon and Beport not being published
for sale, but limited m their circulation to the members " (then
about 300 in numbei), " nor," he adds, "is justice done to those
patient and successful exertions by which it long repioached tho
supmeness of others " Meanwhile ho legularly published in tho
Register large extracts fiom the SPG, Beport, although the
work was almost wholly then among the settlers, and scarcely a
reference to the Heathen is to be found In 1817 is repunted m
* To be strictly accmate, the Society jiaid JB50 a year towards the stipend
of a chaplain for the Africa Company on the Gold Coast, and £40 a year for
three schoolmasters and one schoolmistress for the convicts m New South
Wales and Norfolk Island
VOL I L
146 CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIES
PAST TIT its piiges neaily the whole of the Annual Sermon preached at
1812-24 BOW Chinch by the Bishop of London (Di Howley), " not only,"
ChaP 12 wiites the editor (Pratt), "on account of its intrinsic excellence,
but because we wish our readers to partake with us in the pleasure
which we deuve from witnessing the pledges thus given, in the
highest quarters, of hearty co-operation in the diffusion of Chris-
tianity throughout the woild The anxiety which the highei
Pastors of the Church are beginning to feel for the recovery and
edification of her distant membeis awakens m our minds a lively
hope that the couise which has been at last entered on will be
consistently puisued " The Annual Meeting is also noticed, as
usual, though in those days theie was little to notice, for it was
held m the vestry immediately after the Sermon, meiely to adopt
the Eeport and pass a vote of thanks to the Bishop
Avoiding Moieover, the Committee weie careful not to intrude into what
fefdsG might be S P G fields of laboui In 1819, Bishop Rydei of
Gloucestei brought befoie them the need for the Chuich of
England undertaking missionaiy enterprise in South Africa, wheie
at that time only the London Missionary Society, the Wesleyans,
and the Moiavians were engaged The Committee, however,
seem to have had some information that the SPG was con-
templating woik theie, and therefore directed inquiries to be made
on this point in the first instance On ascertaining that the
SPG, having been applied to by the Governor of Cape Colony,
was about to send " a cleiical missionaiy to instruct the Natives,"
it was lesolved to take no fmthei steps
s P c K In 1813, the S P C K , stuied up evidently by the rapid piogiess
moving ^^ important position attained alieady by the Bible Society,
began to organize district committees all ovei the country, which
very quickly doubled and tiebled its income u One of the fiist
of these was foimed by Basil Woodd, immediately aftei that
memoiable tour m Yoikshire f 01 C M S which was descubed in
the pieceding chaptei, m connexion with his own congregation
at Bentmck Chapel , and it raised £122 foi the S P C K the fiiat
year The SPG subsequently staited similar Distiict Com-
mittees , but this was preceded by a senes of events which marked
the emergence of the Society fiom its long torpoi into the activity
that has characterized its proceedings from that day to this
These events must be briefly noticed
On November 30th, 1817, in which year St Andrew's Day and
Advent Sunday coincided, a Church Missionary Association was
inaugurated at Bath by a seimon preached at the Octagon Chapel
* With a view to assisting this movement, Pratt inserted in the Register
the " form of recommendation for membership," as follows —''We the Under-
written do recommend A B to be a Subscribing Membei of the Society for
Promotuxg Christian Knowledge, and do verily beheve that he is well affected
to His Majesty King George and his Government, and to the "United Ohuroh
of England and Ireland as by Law established , of a sober and religious life
and conversation, and of an humble, peaceable, and charitable disposition "
CMS AND OTHFR SOCIETIES 147
(afterwards Di Magee's) by Bishop Eyder of Gloucestei , and the PABT in
next day the same Bishop piesided over a meeting convened to 1812-24
foim the Association As soon as he had deliveied his opening GImP *2
speech, and just as Mi Pratt was about to make his statement on
behalf of the Society, the Aichdeacon of Bath, Mi Thomas, rose The Arch-
unexpectedly and piotested, m the name of the Bibhop of Bath sUSi00 °
and Wells, against the invasion of the Diocese by an unauthonzed ^Pffif
society, which amounted, he said, to a. factious mteifeience with
SPG, and also against Bishop Eydei foi miaudiug into a
diocese not his own In point of tact, Bishop Rydei was no
mtrudei, for he was also Dean of Wells — a. not uncommon case m
those days,— and thoiefoie had a status mthe diocese Moreovei,
the Bishop of Bath and Wells had been communicated with by
him, had consented to his piesidmg, and had not commissioned
the 11 ate Aichdeacon to make the piotest Also it turned out that
the Aichdeacon was not even a sub&ciibmg member of SPG,
which Piatt was 1 But the incident, though a small thing in
itself, led to gieat consequences The Chinch Missionaiy Society striking
profited by it, both m money sent in at once in token of con- reBulta
ndence (£400, against the loss of foiu guinea subscnptiong) , *
and from the wai of pamphlets which ensued, which gave the
Society a publicity it had nob befoie attained to The Aich-
deacon's attack appealed in the Times, and a " Defence " wntten
by Daniel Wilson not only went lapidly thiough eighteen editions,
but was punted in many newspapers The SPG piofiUid still
more The Aichdeacon1 s eulogy of its gioat woik was so fai
beyond the tiuth at the tune, that some of the bishops woke up s P o
and lesolved to put moio life into it, and make it woithy of such 5J,akmg
piaise, and m paiticulai, not to leave Chmch Missions m Noith
India (the South being caied foi by the S P 0 K ) to the young
CMS The CMS leadeis made no seciet of then thankful
satisfaction at this move Piatt thus announced it in the Register
of Apiil, 1818 —
u Our readers will rejoice to loam that the Society [SPG] is enlarging
its operations, and IB about to avail itself of that influence which it may
extensively exert over the membois of tlio Established Chinch, to call
theit resouices into action in support of Missions to Indm Soveial
Special Meetings have been summoned, within the last fow wooks, to
deliberate on these subjects, and were attended by the Aiehbishops of
Canterbury and Yoik, the Bishops of London, Salisbury, Norwich,
Gloucester, Ely, Peterborough, Exeter, Oxford, and Llamlaft Wo
shall take an eaily opportunity of reporting the proceedings "
And the next Annual Eepoit said, " Yom Committee most
heaitily bid tho Society foi tho Piopagation of the Gospel God-
speed, and etitioat every meinboi of this Society [CMS] to aid
that venerable body to the utmost by his contributions and by his
piayeis They augui incalculable good fiom these exertions, not
* Jnst as in tUo case of Canon Twwic Tnylor'a attauk in 1888,
brought CMS gifts amounting m the atfgretfate to £1000
L 2
143 CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIFS
PABT III only to the Heathen and Mohammedan subjects of the Empire,
1812-24 but to those who attempt to become blessings to them" At the
Chap x same time, the Committee reminded then friends that even if the
SPG undertook the duty of evangelizing the whole of the
Heathen within the Empire, theie would still remain five or six
hundred millions of souls outside the Empne, and theiefore
(at that time) outside its iange,— a hint that CMS had still a
reason d'ttie "Oh I" exclaims the Eeport, "it needs nothing
but an undei standing of the immensity of human wietchedness
and peidition to extinguish all jealousy and nvahy among Chris-
tians— that nvaliy alone excepted, which shall laboui most
assiduously to save souls fiom death and to hide the multitude
of sins!"
The new measures adopted by S P G weie two Fust, a sum
of £5000 was voted to the Bishop of Calcutta, who, though an old
SPG suppoitei, had now been in India nearly four yeaas without
leceivmg any help from the Society Secondly, the Punce Begent
Royal (afterwards Geoige IV ) was applied to foi a " King's Lettei " to
* be sent to all panshes in England and Wales diiecting that a
collection be made for the Society Similar Letters had been
granted to the Society six times in the pieceding century, and the
fact that one had not been applied foi since 1779, almost foity
years previously, was a sign of the meit condition fiom which the
Society was now awaking In announcing these decisions m the
Ecgibtm, Piatt said, —
" Let us thankfully acknowledge herein the good hand of Him Who
govern eth all tilings after the counsel of His own will We tiust that
we shall have to record the collection of a munificent sum on tins
occasion, and that it will be our frequent duty to repoit the gieatm-
ciea.se and successful labours of Church Missionaries among the Heathen "
That this was not merely the utterance of official couitesy is
shown by the following extract from a private letter written at the
time by Pratt to Thomason at Calcutta —
" Wonderful things have taken place The Archdeacon of Bath
has unwittingly served that great cause which lies, we trust, neaiest om
hearts He gave -the Society for Piopagatmg the Gospel credit foi
doing so much, that some of our ruleis in tlie Church have felt it
needful to do more than it had ever entered into then? minds to con-
template And now, by virtue of a King's Letter all the clergy will
be enjoined to plead its cause Had any one told me, when I and
Mr Bickersteth were travelling to Bath, to attend the famous meeting
of December 1st, that in less than six months such a measure should be
determined on by Authority, no sagacity of ours could have devised by
what means such an event could be accomplished , but we would adore
the wisdom and goodness of our God, and pray for the man who has
been the undesignjng instrument of so much good "
And to Come, also m India, he writes,—-
" Is not this wonderful P Could you have conceived any means, when
among us, by which the Clergy, willing and unwilling, should be con-
strained in all their pulpits to plead the causo of Missions p-ancl of
CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIES 149
Missions in India ? True, numbers will make this a leason for not aiding PART III
w , "but they will be made to aid that cause which is dearer, we trust, to 1812-21-
all our hearts than any consideration respecting ourselves " Chap 12
But Pratt was not content with woids He did a very notable
thing Hardly had the Royal Letter been issued, early m 1819,
than a remarkable book appeared, by an anonymous writer, Pratt's
entitled "Propaganda being an Abstract of the Designs and mn0°unflybook
Proceedings of the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of l°J}eiP
the Gospel in Foieign Parts, with Extracts fiorn the Annual
Sermons, by a Member of the Society", the extracts being
from the sermons of such men as Aichbishop Seckei, Bishops
Bevendge, Burnet, Butlei, Horsley, Lowth, Newton, Tonilme,
Warburton, &o That book was compiled by Josiah Pratt With
infinite laboui he had gone through the old SPG- Beports and
exti acted the best passages, feeling that if the clergy who received
the Letter could only have such sermons and reports to guide
them, their appeals to their congiegations would be more intelli-
gent and more effectual With all possible speed he brought it
out, and published it anonymously, conscious that if his name, or
that of the Church Missionary Society, appeared, it would quite
fail to do the work he hoped it would do Its success was imme-
diate and decided, and it had great influence m promoting tho
collection The Preface to this book is worth quoting in full —
" From the Yeai 1702, to the prosent Yoar, a Seimon has been annually
preached before the Society, at the Parish Church of St Mary-le-Bow
which Sermon has, in every instance except that pi cached in 1703, boon
printed foi the use of the members , and has been accompanied, with
the exception of a few of the earlier yeais, with an Abstract of tho
Society's Proceedings
" These Records of the Society having nover been published for sale,
but printed merely for the use of tho Members, the Editor considered
that he should lendor an acceptablo service to his Biethren of the
Clergy, by collecting from these Records, such statements and icasonmgs
as might enable them to plead with eflect the cause of the Socioty, m
obedience to the Royal Mandate issued on the Tenth Day of Febiuary
of the present Yeai
" These official documents, together with an Account of the Socioty to
the Year 1728, published by its Secietary, tho Rov David Humpliioys,
D D , have supplied the materials for the following pages
" The Clergy will see, from the vaiious Extracts heiein given, that the
East was contemplated, many years since, by some of tho Right-
Reverend Members of tho Socioty, as a most important object of its
attention and care Bishop Thurlow, in 1780, spoke strongly on this
subject , and was followed by many others In 1817, it was renewed,
with fresh vigour and zeal, by Bishop Howley , and by Bishop Ryder, m
the present year The Editor ventures to predict, that the moie closely
the condition of that part of the Empire is examined, the moie earnest
will every faithful Membei of the Ohuich becomo, to aid tho Propaga-
tion of the Gospel in those parts, by his contributions, his counsels, and
his prayei s The sources of information on this subject are now easy of
access, and are multiplying every day
"Zondwi, J% 1,1819 n
150 CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIES
PART III The piogiess of the movement is repoited m theEcgriste? month
1813-24 by month The S P G 'e own Giiculai is given m full , which, it
Chap_12 must be observed in passing, contains no lefeience to any othei
Society, not even the S P C K , and no allusion to any existing
work in India The Annual SPG Sermon of that yeai also is
punted m the Rcyistei almo&t m full, occupying sixteen columns
of close type, in the Decembei nunibei is given the total of
loyal collections up to that tune fiom the vanous dioceses,
amounting to £42,222 15s Gd , and the following announcement
is also made — " We lepice to find that a beginning has been
made in the establishment of Local Associations m suppoit of the
Society , as we may hope, by this means, to see the gieat body
of the Established Ghuich biought into a system of habitual
contubution m suppoit of Missions to the Heathen "
A little later, we find the following in the Annual Report —
[This Society] " is a kindred Society to those veneiable institutions of
the Church of England—the Societies for Promoting Christian Know-
ledge and for the Piopagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which
have laboured in the glorious work of preaching Christ among the
Heathen and m the Butish Colonies during more than half a century
It utterly disclaims all interfeience, all rivalry with them It occupies
no missionary station which they are able to occupy It exeicises
towaid them a temper respectful and conciliating It regards them as
eider sisteis, and lejoices to behold them putting forth then: strength,
increasing the numbei of their fiiends, extending the limits of their
Missions"*
red Sro? G ^ ma^ ^e askG(^ wne*nei tneie was anY recipiocity of feeling
cateP?r°" on the pait of the older Society towards the youngei one
Theie does not seem to be any evidence of it , but it must be
lemembeied that SPG had then no organ of its own, and that
its Annual Eeports weie the briefest business statements At
the same time, a veiy kindly feeling could haidly be expected
Only two bishops had as yet openly joined the Church Missionary
Society , it was still widely legaided as an institution that had no
light to exist , and it would scaicely be surpiismg if the kind and
sympathetic utterances of itsleadeis were looked on as an attempt
at patronizing and as savouring of impertinence It is not
agreeable to human nature to be patted on the back by those
whom you are wont to despise But if the younger Society did
not get much direct expression of gratitude fiom its eldei sistei,
the cause it was servmg leceived a gieat impetus , and this not
only in the way indicated in Piatt's letteis, but m another way
which Di Overton shrewdly points out Missions to the Heathen
bore, in the imagination of the rnapnty of Churchmen, the taint
of "Methodism " But the SPG was above suspicion in this
respect, "it was impossible for the keenest scent to detect in it
any traces of that hated thing", so when such a Society itself
* 0 M S Report, 1823, p 51
CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIES 151
engaged m efforts of the kind, " it stamped them, as it weie, with PART III
the mark of respectability " -< 1812-24
But the idea occurred to at least one great and admuable man ChaP 12
that the two sisteis might be united This was Begmald Heber, Heber'a
of whom we shall see rnoie in another chapter He wiote toP^|to
John Thornton, his intimate college friend, then Treasurer of the SPG and
C M S , and to Bishop Byder, on the subject Prom the lattei c M s
lettei it appeals that though sympathizing with both SPG and
C M S , he had definitely joined the latter and not the foimer
" Of the two Societies," he says, " I have been induced to join
that which is pecuhaily sanctioned by youi Lordship's name, as
apparently most active, and as employing with more wisdom than
the elder coiporation those powerful means of obtaining popular
suppoit which ignoiance only can depieciate or condemn It is
but justice to say that I have seen nothing which leads me to
repent of this choice But why, my Loid, should theie be two
societies for the same precise object ? " He actually formulated
a scheme of union, or lather, as must candidly be said, of
absorption of C M S into SPG The S P G was to admit all
CMS members to its membeiship, and enrol on its staff all
CMS missionaries , the C M S Secietanes weie to become
Joint Secretanes of S P G , and CMS was to tiansfei to S P G
all its pioperty and funds | "What the replies of Bishop Byder
and Mi Thornton weie is not recoided In the meanwhile, the
S P C K , which was mcioasmg its income and its homo woik
by leaps and bounds, was not piospeimg m its SouLh Indian
Missions One Lutheran inimstei was sent out in 1813 — but soon
died,— anothei in 1818, and two moie m 1819 , Piatt's ReqistGi
i sporting tho valedictory charges onallthieo occasions In the
following decade, these Missions, which had gieatly languished,
came under the joint diiection of the S P C K and SPG, and
subsequently the S P G took entire ohmge of them, Riuce which
undei a succession of able men like Caldwoll, they have been
developed and extended m all dnections
It must not be supposed, because tho Chinch Missionary
Society displayed so much biotheily feeling towaids tho older
Societies, that theEvangehcalleadeisweio backward in defending
Evangelical truth when they thought it necessary In 1816, fox s P c K
example, a great conflict aiose in the S P C K over a tiact by "e"trover"
Dr Mant on Baptismal Begeneration Basil Woodd and Daniel
Wilson, whose congi egations were among the most hbeial
supporters that the S P C K had m London, contended that its
extreme statements wei e inconsistent with the Society's regulna
line of moderate teaching on the subject, and although they
* English Qhwcli in tliQ Nineteenth Century, chap YIU,
| Dr G Smith, m his fascinating rocent biography of Heber, prints this
proposal with the evident sympathy becoming a Presbyterian The Pres
bytenans all over the world have unreservedly worked theic Missions, not by
societies, but by " the Ohurch m her corporate capacity "
152 CMS AND OTHER SOCIEHES
PAET III were beaten at the ciucial division, the Archbishop of Canterbury
1812-24 intervened, and, though approving the tract himself, obtained
ChaP ^ gome modifications in its language
Of all the Societies with which our own Society was bi ought
more or less into contact at the period now under review, by far
The Bible the most successful and prosperous was the British and Foreign
society Blble goolety It had been foun(ied on March 7th, 1804, after
some months of patient preparation All denominations pined
in it , Wilbeiforce, Grant, and othezs whose names are already
familiar to us in this History, became its leading members , loyal
dukes patiomzed it , bishops who would do nothing for Evangelical
movements within the Church gave it then: names and influence ,
and its establishment was hailed with widespread enthusiasm
At Oxfoid, in 1813, it was joined by the Chancellor of the
Umveisity, eight Heads of Houses, five Professors, and both
Pioctors, besides the Lord-Lieutenant and other chief men of the
county and city , and at Cambridge the patronage was not less
distinguished Three Secietaries were originally appointed one
for the Nonconformists, Mr Hughes, who was the leal founder ,
one for the Foieign Protestants, Dr Stemkopf } and one to
represent the Church of England— for which post Josiali Pratt
was chosen, but he only held office a few weeks, and was
succeeded by the Eev John Owen Pratt was the inventor of the
constitution of the committee Its members were all to be laymen,
of whom six were to be foieign Protestants, and the lemamder
(thirty) equally Chuichmen and Dissenteis, but all clergymen
and ministers who became subscribing membeis weie to have
seats and votes, — " a provision," says the Bible Society's historian,
Mr Owen, " which, while it concealed their names, lecogmzed
their privileges and retained their co-operation " This proviso is
mteiestmg as having doubtless suggested, a few years latei, the
similar plan upon which the governing body of the Church
Missionary Society has been formed for more than eighty yeais
But the two Societies have had a higher and a closei association
than that involved in this external resemblance They have
woiked together in unbroken fellowship m the one cause of giving
the Word of God to the Heathen nations While the C M S , and
the other vanous missionary societies, have supplied the trans-
lators of the Scriptures, the Bible Society has done the essential
woik of printing and distributing the versions The Bible is still,
and no doubt ever will be, the object of attack and criticism on
the part of men whose learning is not sanctified by the wisdom
that cometh fiom above, but meanwhile, in its hundreds of
foreign versions, it is proving its inspiration by enlightening the
eyes and conveitmg the souls of multitudes of the most ignoiant
and degraded of the human race
The proceedings of the Bible Society occupy considerable space
m the Eegist&r In its tenth year the Society's Income had
reached £70,000, exclusive of sales of Bibles , and the Eeport
CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIES 153
printed is an astonishing recoid of woik all over the woild In PAST III
1817, so great was its progress in Euiope that Pope Pius "VII 1812-24
issued a Bull against it , to which the Bishop of Gloyne, at the QhaP 12
Anniversary that yeai, thus incisively referred — Pope's Bull
against it
" This respectable personage, his Holiness the Pope, says that many
heresies will appear, but that the most banef id of heresies is the reading
and dissemination of the Bible So, then, to propagate that book in
which Christianity is founded is to propagate heresy The misfortune
of this Bull is that it conies into the world a thousand years too late
It might have done some harm in the Ninth Century, but will have very
little effect m the Nineteenth To quote St Paul, ' I thank my God
that, after the way they call heiesy, so worship I the God of my fathers ' "
The Bible Society's anniversaries, indeed, were generally very its Anm-
brilliant affairs In 1816, the speakers were Lord Teignraouth veraaries
(President, in the chair), the Duke of Kent, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, the Bishops of Gloucester, Norwich, Salisbury, and
Clogher, Charles Giant, M P , and Lord Gambier Speeches m
its behalf at Liverpool, Margate, Dover, &c , by the PnrneMinistei
himself, Lord Liverpool, are leported in the Register Indeed
this very biilhancy was a cause of complaint on the part of some
Bishop Bandolph of London was "disgusted at the pomp and
parade" of the Society, contrasting it with the " simplicity and
modesty" of the SPCK : But of couise much more senous
grounds of opposition prevailed, and the Bible Society was again
and again vehemently attacked by the ablest High Chuich
contioveisiahsts of the day, such as Bishop Herbert Maish,
Archdeacon Daubeney, and Dr C Wordswoith, because it circu-
lated the Bible without the Prayer-book, and encouraged the
notion that men might draw their own religion fiom it without
the guidance of the " authoritatively-commissioned priests" of
the "one only apostolical Ghurch established in this country "f
It will at once be undei stood how the CHS loaders weie con-
cerned in the defence of the Bible Society, as well as in alliance
with it in the tianslation and distubulion of the Scriptures
Anothei oiganusation with which the Society's chief men wore
m close touch was the London Society for Piomotmg Chustiwuliy London
among the Jews It was founded in 1808, on non-den onu national i^ty
lines like tho London Missionary Society, and like the Bible
Society, it had royal support, the Duke of Kent being Pati on
In a few yeais, however, it ran hopelessly into debt, and then
it appeared that subscriptions were lefused on account of its
unsectarian eharactei Ultimately the Dissenters, in a generous
spint, withdiew, and subsequently founded a separate society
for themselves , and fiom that time the London Society prospeied
Its debt, then £14,000, was paid off m the loom at the next
Anmveisaiy Its meetings, in fact, were for many years perhaps
* Overtoil, JSnyhsli Church tn the Nineteenth Century, chap vm
f Archdeacon Daabeney, quoted by Ovorton, ut supra
1 54 CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIES
HIT III the moat popular of all, the meetings being always densely
812-24 ciowded, and the gieatest interest being taken m the Hebrew
p school-children who sang on these occasions Chailes Simeon
was specially devoted to the Jews' Society, and so was Legh
Richmond, the author of Th& Dairyman's Daughter and other
biogiaphical sketches of Chiistians m humble life which had an
enormous circulation, who was not only Eectoi of Turvey, but
also Chaplain to the Duke of Kent On one occasion, however,
when he was to preach at a Sheffield church foi the Church
Missionary Society, he took as his text Eom m 29, " Is He the
God of the Jews only?" Another anecdote tells the othei way
Simeon and Bickersteth weie together on the platfoirn at a Jews'
meeting The foimer, in his speech, said the Society was "the
most blessed of all " The latter wiote to him on a slip of paper,
"Six millions of Jews, and six hundred millions of Gentiles—
which is the most important?" Simeon lephed, "But if the
conveision of the six is to be life fiom the dead to the six hundred
— what then?"* The friendship of CM S was manifested by
the House in Salisbury Square being lent to the Jews' Society for
its Committee meetings
Yet anothei body closely connected with the Chui oh Missionary
looked Society was the Piayei Book and Homily Society, which was a
lomify kind of Evangelical S P C K so far as its paiticular function was
ociety concerned Prayer-books weie then often published without the
Articles, and this Society was designed to secuie that they appealed
in all the copies it supplied It pioved a useful ally to the
Missions in publishing translations of the Pi ay ei -book in the
various vernaculais The S P C K at that time was not likely to
print veisions coming from the missionaiies of an " unauthouzed "
body like the Church Missionary Society
Then there was the Eeligious Tract Society, founded m the
same yeai as C M S , 1799 Its mat promoters were membeis of
"the Three Denominations," Presbyterians, Independents, and
Baptists, but Churchmen quickly joined it, and Legh Eichmond
became one of the Secretaries, believing, to use his biographei's
words, "that he might promote the mteiests of his own Church
by pieventmg the ciiculation of tracts hostile to her opinions, as
well as advance the common cause of tiue religion " The gieat
work, at home and abioad, done by this Society is well known
One feature of its early years is worth noting Its anniveisanes,
which the Missionary Register regularly repoits, were held at
six o'ckclc in the motmiiy of the day on which the Bible Society
also met, at the City of London Tavern Breakfast was the
first item m the progiamme, and the Register mentions that m
1823 no less than 1054 persons paid for then: bieakfast, and
hundreds more weie unable to get in
Noncoa- With the London and Baptist Societies, and with the Moravian
fonaiBt
Societies
* Memoir of E BicLcrateth, vol 11 p 61
CMS AND OTHER SOCIETIES 155
and Wesleyan Missions —the last-named of winch wore at this PAHT III
time being moie logulaily 01 gammed, the CMS leaders also nu12~™
maintained a "fuendly mteicouise," in accordance with the ap
Society's 31st Law They watched with sympathetic interest the
London Society's work in South Africa and the South Seas, and
its beginnings m China (Monison's Chinese New Testament was
published m 1814) , the Methodist leyivals among the West Indian
Negio slaves, the extiaoidmaiy industiy and success of the
Baptists, Caiey, Mai simian, and Waul, in tianslating the Scrip-
tin es into vanous Indian and othei Asiatic languages , and tho
heioic enteipuses of tho Moravians Also the commencement of
oigamzed Missions by the Foreign Piotestant Ghuiches, and
by the Chiibtians of the United States— especially the strange
expeneucoH of the nist Ameiican missionaries who attempted to
land m India All those weie legulaily leported in the Register
And in 1818 a plan was set on foot of the Secietanes of the
difieient Societies meeting quaiteily (afterwaids monthly) for
confeienco on topics of common interest At fiist they weie
held m tho CMS IIouso , afterwaids in the different offices m
tmn
One luippy icsult of Piatt's eneigy in setting otheis to woik
must be specially mentioned In 1816, he adchessed letters m
the name of the Committee to some of the bishops and other
leading members of tho Ameiican Piotestant Episcopal Chuich,
not asking foi tho aid of that Chuich for the Society, but offeimg
tho aid of the Society, if needed, to enable the American Chuich
to give independent co-operation in the woik of evangelizing the
Heathen Very coidial lotteis weie leceived in reply, paiticulaily
fiorn Bishop Gnswold, of what was then called the "Eastern
Diocese," and Bishop White of Pennsylvania Bishop Gnswold
at first doubted whethei the Ameiican Chuich was strong enough
to engage m Foreign Missions, and suggested that a clergyman m
his diocese who offered for mission aiy service should be adopted
by the Chuich Missionary Society But Piatt, m loply, urged
thefoimation of an Ameiican Chuich Society, which should send
him out itself, on tho ground of the gieat reflex benefits that
would acciue to the Chuich itbolf fiom engaging directly in
mis&ionaiy work , and tho Committee offered a giant of £200 to
help then Amoncan fellow-Churchmen to make a stait The
usidt was the etfabhshmcMof the Domestic aiid Foiwgn Missionary American
Society oj the American Chuich In 1821, its organization was society P
completed, as a Society comprising and representing tho whole
Church , and the constitution is printed at length in the G,M S
Eeport of 1822 Tho American Chuich owes a deep debt of
gratitude to the S P,G foi its labours among its people before the
Declaiation of Independence which established the Bepubhc of
the United States , but it owes the initiation of ita great Missionary
organization to the Chuich Missionary Society
CHAPTBE XHI
SIWRA L$om TEE WHITE MAN'M Gun AND THE BLAG&
Early Efforts-The Susoo Mission-Edward Bickerateth's Visit— Work
among the Liberated Slaves— W A B Johnson and H During—
The Revival at Regent— The Fever and its Victims-West Africa
riot a Debtor but a Creditor
" 80 then death woMli n us, Iwt life MI you "—2 Cor iv 12
PART HI DjnHN our Fifth and Ninth Chapters we saw how it came
1812-24 ||p ||1 to pass that the new Society found its sympathies
GhaP 13 ph Ell drawn out in an especial degree for Africa, and fixed
ra«sla its eyes upon the West Coast Not, in the first
instance, upon Sierra Leone The little mountainous
peninsula was then only peopled by two or thiee thousand settlers,
liberated Negroes fiom England and from the other side of the
Atlantic , and foi them and the Europeans m chaige of them the
Sierra Leone Company provided chaplains, Melville Home and
Nathaniel Gilbert (both of whom we have met before) being the
first The Society had larger ideas Not for the few settlers,
but for the great tribes and nations beyond, Susoos, Jalofs,
Temnes, Mandingoes, Fulahs, were its earliest plans formed
Not a peninsula- five-and-twenty miles in length, but a laige
section of the great dark continent, was the object of their prayers
and efforts
Previous Some attempt had already been made by other societies to
wlfSca pla^ the Gospel in Africa The solitary SPG missionary at
Cape Coast Castle in 1752, and his native successoi, have been
mentioned in our Third Chaptei The Moravians had sent men
to the same Guinea Coast in 1768, but all had died Among
the Hottentots of South Africa th& same devoted Chinch had been
more successful , while the "Wesleyans, and the London Missionary
Society, had also begun good work among the southern tribes, the
latter having on its staff that remarkable missionary Vanderkemp
To the neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, the two small societies
in Scotland, the Glasgow and the Edinburgh, had combined to
send six men, to the Susoos , but three had died, one (Peter
Greig) had been murdered by the Fulahs— the first missionary
martyr m Africa,— and two had returned home , and no further
effort was made to continue the Mission
SHIRK A LEONE THE WHITF MAN^ GRAVR, &•<: 157
This last-named effort had dnected the thoughts of the new PART III
English Society to the Susoo tnbes, north of Siena Leone , in 1812-24
addition to which, seveial Susoo hoys had been brought to Gbap 13
England by Zachary Macaulay, and weie being educated at SUBOO boys
Clapham in a small school called the African Academy The j££lap"
Committee engaged one of the refrained Scotch missionaries, Mr
Brunton, to prepare vocabulanes, tracts, &c , in the Susoo Ian-
gauge , and, to establish a Mission among the Susoo people, the
eaihest German missionaries were appointed
We have seen that although it was easy to appoint men to West
Afuca, it was not so easy to get them theie , and we have had
some glimpses of the difficulties and trials of the eaily voyages
Still haidei did it piove to get them fiom Sierra Leone, whithei Early
the successive vessels took them, to then allotted field of laboui dl cutes
among the Susoos, about one hundred miles to the noith, on the
Eio Pongas Physical difficulties, such as lauty of communica-
tion, weie not the gieatest The whole coast was dangeious,
owing to tho virulent hostility of the slave-dealers The Slave-
tiade, it must be remembered, was not abolished till 1807 , the
Act did not come into force in Afuca till Januaiy 1st, 1808 , and
even then, the enfoicmg of it was not an easy task Moreover,
as has been related m a pievious chapter, human infirmity
was manifested by the missionaries themselves , dissension
finding entrance among them, and one having to be dismissed for
grave misconduct Some little good woik, howevei, was done in
Sieetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, where many Susoos weio
to be found , and at length, in 1807, aftei more than thiee yeais'
delay, Leopold Butschei succeeded m reaching the Eio Pongas
and arranging for a missionary settlement there The others
quickly followed , more men came out , and m the next foin or
five years three stations weie occupied, Bashia and Canoffee on
the Pongas, and Gambiei (so named after the President of the
Society, and not to be confounded with the Biver Gambia) , m
addition to which, Nylander began a Mission among the Bullom
tube, on the mainland opposite Sierra Leone
Nevertheless, the Susoo Mission was a very humble enterprise, |gjjfon
and far from satisfactory accotdmg to om modem staudaid It
was little inoie than two or tlnee schools, m which German
missionaries, while still tiyuig to pick up Susoo, weie teaching
English— also a language they understood very imperfectly— to a
few African boys who weie clothed and fed at the expense of the
Mission Year by year the Committee had nothing else to tell
m their Annual Bepoits , yet then failh, though often sorely tried,
never failed The jomnals of the missionaries were regularly
published, and are even now interesting to read, for the graphic
accounts they give of the degradation of the people, And the
Committee felt assuied that slow but sure work among the
children would m due time bear fruit " Let us fervently pray,"
says the Annual Report of 1810, " that these children may become
158 SIERRA LEONF
PART III faithful disciples of oiu Gieat Master , and that some of them may
1812-24 be iaised up as installments to pioclaim the glad tidings of
ga}va|jlon thioughout their native tubes It is in this way that
we may expect God will be pleased to woik when His tune is
come foi diffusing His Gospel widely thiough the nations, because
it is m this way that He has usually effected His pui poses
hitheito "
But the Committee wanted moie than this The caie of the
childien — many of them the offspring of the slave-dealeis them-
selves— had given the missionaries an entiance to the people,
and Piatt wiote again and again urging them to take advantage of
it Thus, in 1813 (combining two letteis heie) —
" The public are now beginning to take a warm interest m the Society's
concerns We have aroused their feelings and awakened their con-
sciences Many eyes ai e turned on our missionaries Schools ai e our
foundation , but the foundation is laid m order to the rearing of the
superstiucture The time is come I The natives know you now to
be honest men Go as often, and as far into the Snsoo country as you
can Pi each Christ to theml Let us have exact accounts of yom
Susoo pi cachings name your subjects, the number of youi hearers, the
reception or rejection of the Woid Let it be known and felt all ovei
the Susoo country that you have a message to delivei them from God
Success belongs not to us, but attempts and exertions do "
The difficulties of obeying these counsels, howevei, weieieal
ones For one tiling, the missionaries weie suspected of being
spies, and of informing the Bntish ships of the seciet smuggling of
slaves that was still going on, and the slave-dealeis becama worse
lathei than better disposed tow aids the Mission, and twice they
burned down the Mission houses Foi anothei thing, the traffic
burst into fiesh life when the Peace ensued in 1814 , the Ticaty
of Pans restoring to Fiance its old possessions m West Africa,
Goree and Senegal, and allowing her five yeais' grace befoie
putting an end to hei slave-traffic— which practically meant the
lesumption of it for that period Wilberforce and his friends at
once woke up m England The Society held a public meeting on
the subject, which was addressed by him and Henry Thornton
and James Stephen , othei meetings weie hold in London and
the Provinces , hundreds of petitions were presented to Paihament,
with 755,000 signatures, and addiesses to the Giown wero
adopted by both Houses In the meanwhile, however, mischief
had been done The French slave-tradeis had not lost a moment
m resuming the tiamc, and of couise, England and France
being now at peace, British ships had no power to interpose
The deliverance, strangely enough, came through Napoleon,
When he left Elba and again thieatened Europe, and " the
threatening clouds again darkened the heavens" (to use the
Committee's woids quoted before), one of his first acts was to
abolish the slave-tiade entirely, hoping thereby to conciliate the
Allied Powers, and when Waterloo once more restored the
THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE AND THE BIACK MAN'S LIFE 159
Bouibons to the thiono of Fiance, they could not foi veiy shame PART III
refuse to confirm the one good act of the vanquished usmpei
With gieat joy the Chinch Missionary Society saw all Euiope
muted on tli-c question — always excepting Spam and Poitugal,
which nations, unmindful of the heavy deht they owed to England
foi delivering them fiom the Eiench conqueioi, still peisisted in
sanctioning the hateful tiaffic
Then again, the missionaries weie piesscd by seculai concerns,
involved in maintaining the childien To remedy this, when
Butschei i eturned to Africa aftei his shoit visit to England in
1812, Gemian aitizana weio sent with him, with a view to then
leheving the missionaiies of those duties , but they did not piove
very satisfactoiy Sickness and death, too, frequently invaded
the Mission paity, and, woist of all, dissensions again aiose among
them Meanwhile, the population of the Colony of Sieua Leone Need ot
was lapully gi owing Thousands of slaves taken from the slave- Le™
ships weio landed at Eieetown by the Bntish cimsers, the
Govoinmcnt peicoived that Christian caie and mstiuction weie
nioio and nioie needed foi them , and projects began to be formed
foi concentiatmg the Mission in Siena Leone itself, and sotting
the missionaries to ministei to the still miseiable though icscuecl
Negi oes
To auange all this, to sot things in oidci genoially, and to
acquaint tho Committee fully with all the ciicuinstances of the
Mission, a man who could fully reprobent the Society was now
wanted, and the eyes of, the Committee fell on the Noiwich
solicitor, Edwaid Bickeisteth Piatt, indeed, had aheady Bicker-
sounded him with a view to his taking holy oidois, moving to w
London, and becoming Assistant Secretary, and while he was still
consideimg that call, this furthei and most impoitant summons
came He hesitated no longer, but at once placed himself at
the Society's disposal, although a heavy pecuniary sacrifice would
be involved m giving up his piofossion "With a view to his
visiting Afuca with adequate influence and full power of sacied
mimslralion, the Bishop of Norwich oidamed him deacon at once
(Decembei 10th, 1815), and also gave him letteis dimiaaory to
tho Bishop of Gloucester, that he might receive priest's oideis a
few days later On January 24th he sailed for Sieira Leone
The Inductions of tho Committee given to Bickersteth are,
like all Pi alt' B wntmgs, full of wisdom and judgment Two tasks
WOLG committed to him, (1) to examine into the actual state of
the Mission, (2) to make 01 suggest plans for its more efficient
working The importance of the hist part of his commission may
bo gathered fiom Ihe fact— so unlike anything in our modem
experience — that m twelve years, out of twenty-six men and
womon who had gone to Afuca, only two had visited England
sinco, and of those only one, Butschei, had had information
to givo the Committee They had therefore been dependent on
couoflpondencG and casual report Bickersteth was accordingly
T6o SIERRA LEONE
PART III instructed to converse with eveiy member of the Mission sepa-
1812-24 lately, and with all other persons, English or Afiican, who could
ChaP ls tell him anything at all But to some he was to give exceptional
confidence —
"If, under circumstances so likely to call for your Christian candour,
you find any men whose devout intercourse with their Heavenly Master
and His Holy Word have raised them, through the grace of the Divine
Spirit, above the influence of the temptations around them, and have
maintained the Life of God in a state of vigour m their own souls, you
will take such men to your heart , you will be in an instant at home with
them , you will place unlimited confidence in their assertions , you will
feel that they are far more competent than others to give you a sound
opinion on the objects of your inquiry , you will unfold to them at large
the views and wishes of the Society , you will kneel down with them at
the footstool of Him who waits to be gracious, and who delights in and
will crown these believing and patient efforts of His servants "
Hia mflu- Bicker steth's visit was greatly blessed of God It coneoted
ence t ere many evijs ^ ^ imjjiated many new plans , it gave a fresh impetus
to the whole work , it pioved the real startmg-pomt of the perma-
nent Sierra Leone Mission In personal matters, the best
testimony is that borne by the senior missionary Eenner, who had
himself not been without fault "Our respected visitor," he
mote, "was partial to none of us, but acted in a straight course,
dealing out meat in due season, admonishing, leproving, or
comforting, as every one's situation or circumstances might
require " Sir Ohailes McCarthy, the Governoi, reported to Eail
Bathurst, the Secretary foi the Colonies, very highly of Bickei-
steth's influence On leaving, he addiessed a pastoral lettei to
the brethien In this admirable document he points out faithfully
the evil of any one missionary acting independently of the rest,
which had been a fruitful cause of disunion He lays stiess on
om Lord's rule m Matt xvm , " If thy brother shall trespass
against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him
alone " He exhorts to " a tender consideration of one anothei's
feelings, infirmities, situation, rights, and circumstances " He
significantly warns them that " the missionary has not only to
guard against the plague of his own heart, but lest he be hindered
in his work, and led into error, by the wife, of his bosom " " The
very affection," he adds, "which is due m so dear a connexion
may mislead us "
Bickersteth had received authority to dismiss or suspend any
agent if necessary , but he was not obliged to have recourse to so
painful a step The missionary band was not to be reduced m
number in this way It had, in God's mysterious providence,
been terribly reduced by death Out of the twenty-six men and
women who had gone out before Bickersteth, sixteen, as before
mentioned, had died, besides children There were now six
Lutheran clergymen in the Mission, Eenner, Nylander, Butscher,
Wenzel, "Wilhelm, and Klein , and one schoolmaster,
Tffs WHITE MAN'S GRAPM AND THE £ 'LACK MAW'S LIFE 161
On missionary policy and methods, nothing can be moie ]ust PART III
and discriminating than both Bickeisteth' s injunctions to the
biethren and his Report to the Committee He had, on the
whole, been pleased with the schools on the Pongas At Bashia,
on Easter Day (April 14th, 1816), he admitted six senior boys to
the Lord's Supper, the first African communicants in the Mission
He realized the exceeding difficulty of work among the adults,
most of whom weie debased and demoialized by the slave-trade ,
yet he could not refrain fiom plainly saying that they had not
had a fair chance of healing the Gospel The missionaries had
undoubtedly been slack in this lespect , they had lacked boldness,
and love foi dying souls , they pleaded ignoiance of the Susoo
language, but had not sought for interpreters Bickersteth there- HIS
fore obtained a Native who could interpret a little, and went example
himself to pi each in the villages, in order to show the biethien
how to do it and encourage them by his example , and m his
pastoral lettei he lays the greatest stiess upon pleaching the
Gospel, in season and out of season, as the first duty of a
missionary " This is your first, your gieat work Everything
else must be suboidmate to this Go in the diy season regularly
to the Susoo and Bullom towns Take with you, if you find it
expedient, some of the children Sing a Susoo or Bullom hymn
Pleach the Gospel, and pi ay with them , and God will bless you "
Bickersteth's hope that the Susoo Mission might be maintained
and developed was not fulfilled Not long aftei his letum to
England, the hostility of the chiefs compelled its abandonment
But the many piayeis that had gone up foi it weie not left
unanswered Not a few of the boys and gnls m the schools gave
evidence of Divme grace in their hearts , and one of the six
boys whom Bickersteth had admitted to the Lord's Suppei was
honouied m a lemarkable way to be an encouragement to piaying
friends at home His baptismal name was Simeon "Wilhelm, and
he was the son of a Susoo chief of some note He begged
Bickeisteth to take him with him to England, m older, as he
said, that he might learn rnoie fully what would fit him to teach
his countrymen , and Bickersteth, though with much hesitation,
did so The boy, then seventeen years old, lived at fiist at
Pakefield Rectory with Francis Cunningham , but the east coast
proving too cold for an African constitution, he was taken m at
No 14, Salisbury Squaie, by Bickeisteth, who, it will bo lemem-
beied, then lived theie , and he attended an impoitant school m
Shoe Lane, wheiethe then young National Society was developing
its improved system of education Simeon impiesaed eveiy one
by the thoioughness of his Clnistianchaiacter and the consistency
of his life , but his health suddenly failed, even in an English
summer, and he died m the Chinch Missionary House, the fiistAN«po
garnered fruit visible to English eyes of the long-tiied and much- &? c M in
prayed-foi West Africa Mission He was buried in St Bride's HoUBe
Church, and Pratt preached a funeial sermon on the text, " Is not
VOL i M
1 62 SIERRA LEONE'
PAST III this a biand plucked out of the fire1?" Bickeisteth mote a
1812-24 memon of him, with every paiticulai of his last days and hourb,
ohftp 13 which occupies moie than fifty columns of the Mmionai y Begi&ter,
m thiee successive numbers, his poi trait being given too •
Nothing of this kind is ever published at the present day We
do not keep diaues of the utterances of a sick-bed , but this old
nanative cannot be lead without emotion, and one realizes
something of the thankfulness and joy with which fuends all over
the country lead it then
A very diffeient caieei shows how God blessed the Susoo
Mission in quite unlooked-foi fashion In 1812, Butscher had
bi ought to England a boy who had been baptized by the name of
Bichaid Wilkinson This boy, on the eve of returning to Africa,
aftei le&idmg a few months with Thomas Scott, was affectionately
addressed by the Committee and commended in prayei to God
He did not, however, turn out well, and Bickersteth found him a
hindrance The abandonment of the Mission led to his being lost
sight of, and foi more than forty years nothing moie was done
The Rio for the Rio Pongas In 1854, a new Mission was started theio by
an Association in the West Indies , and when the fiist missionary,
Mr Leacock, anived, he was welcomed by a native chief, who, to
his astonishment, pioceedcd to repeat the Te Dcum This was
Eichaid Wilkinson Foi some yeais he had i elapsed into
heathenism, but m 1835, being ill, ho tinned again to the Loid,
and fioni that time, foi noaily twenty yeais, he piayod that a
nnssionaiy might once moio come and loach his people He
pioved a steadfast friend to the new Mission, aud died, giatoful
and happy, m 1861 The Eio Pongas Misuon is still earned on
by the Baibadoes Association, and is now affiliated to the SPG
"Cast thy bread upon the wateis for thou bhalt find it affcui
many days "
But to losumo Though Bickeistoth did not contemplate
plans for abandoning the Pongas, ho came back to England full of the
Leone, possibilities of Sioria Leone The iccaptuied slaves, in thousands,
from many tubes and nations, and of many languages, wcie being
clothed and provided foi by the Goveinmont But Chnstian
teaching and influence were sorely needed , and what an opening
was thus piesentcd for raising up, if the convex ting giace of the
Holy Ghost wcjie vouchsafed, Native Chnstidns who should
themselves m of lei years cairy the Gospel to the mtouoi, it might
be to the veiy countries from which they had been stolon 1 This
was the giand woik to which the Church Missioriaiy Society now
girded itself
While Bickeisteth was laying his plans for the due occupation
of Sieiia Leone before the Society, Su Charles McCaithy, the
Governoi, was sending coiiespondmg plans home to the Secietary
for the Colonies The Committee and Earl Bathurst accoidmgly
* July, August, ajid September, 1818
TffE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE A vz> THE BLACK MAN**; LIFE 163
airanged measures togethei The peninsula was divided into PART 111
parishes, and the Society undeitook to piovide minisleis and (101° ^
schoolmasteis, Goveinment giving consideiablo pecuniary aid A
cential boaiding-school, called the Chiistian Institution, was
estabhshed on Leicester Mountain, above Ficotown, and here
weie leceived some two hundred boys and girls suppoited by the
special School Fund lefoned to in a pievious chaptci Govern-
ment built a chiuch at Fieetown, and made provision for two
chaplains Furthei details it i& needless to give moie fully
Parts of these plans were settled bofoio Bickcistolh went
out , and tho fiist four schoolmasteis sailed a few weeks aftei
him, amved at Siena Leone while he was thoio, and weie
located by him Two of those, both Germans, Johnson and
During, leceived Lutheian oiders at the hands of thice of
then brethien, and afteiwaids became two of the veiy best
rnissionancs who ever laboured in West Afnca At tho same
time, an excellent cleigyrnau, Mi Gamon, went out as Govern-
ment chaplain , and soon aftei wards tho Society supplied a second
chaplain in tho person of one of its students, Mi Golhoi In the
next five years, to 1822 inclusive, seventeen moie men woie sent
out by tho Society Death continued to claim a sad tubuto the
sowing was still m tcais , but a joyful leaping, at last, was now
at hand
The most conspicuous instrument used by God to effect tho
change was William Augustine Bernaid Johnson Ho was aj
native of Hanover When eight yoais old, he was ropioved by gjjln
his master, one Monday moining, foi only romombcnng one text
out of tho Sunday moining soimon, which was, " Gall upon Me in
the day of tioublo I will deliver Ihee, and thou shall glorify Me "
Tho rebuke he leceived for remembering nothing else so affected
him that this text was deeply nnpimted on his mmd foi tho lost
of his life, and very tiuly did it prove tho key of his career
Coming to England after his maiiiago, ho worked at a sugar-
refiner's, in Whitechapol, but business wab slack, and wageb low,
and at length they weie on tho veigo of starvation Suddenly the
text lecuned to his mmd, and ho cued to Gotl, not ouly for bioad,
but foi the paidon of his bins In a quite unexpected way, help
carne to them, but, what was still butter , both husband and wifo
set themselves to servo the Lord with full purpose of heart from
that day In tho following year, 1813, ho chanced lo bo present
at one of the Church Missionary Society's valedictory meetings ,
and his whole soul was mod with the thought of teaching the
Heathen also to " call upon the Lord " Two years later, his
fellow-countryman, During, who was alieady accepted by the
Society, introduced him to Pratt, and m 1816, as alieady men-
tioned, they sailed togethei, with two others, and the wives of all
foui, for Africa
Johnson was located by Bickersteth at Begent's Town (or as it Johnson at
was ultimately called, Eegent), one of the settlements of liberated ReffBnt
M 2
164 S&RRA LEONE
PAST III staves, wheie some fourteen hundred of them had been placed
1812-24 The descnption of them will answer equally well foi any of the
Chap 13 Ofoei "panshes," as they weie called, Gloucester, Kissey,
"*" Leopold, Wilbeifoice, Bathuist, Waterloo, Charlotte, dc Twenty-
two diffeient tubes and nations were represented among them,
and the only medium of mutual communication was a little
broken English Their condition was deploiable The punty of
the mainage state was unknown among them They were
crowded— one may say heided— in miserable huts They were
full of disease, and the latest arnvals weie like skeletons When
clothing was given them, they sold it , and not till they saw a
modestly diessed negio seivant-girl in Johnson's house did they
peiceive the advantage of it They shirked the labour of cultivat-
ing the giound, many of them prefeinng to live by thieving " If
evei I have seen wretchedness," wrote Johnson, on arriving at
Begent, " it has been to-day These pooi depraved people are
indeed the offscounng of Africa But who knows whether the
Lord will not make His converting power known among them ?
With Him nothing is impossible " So " in the day of trouble/'
once more, Johnson "called upon the Lord " And the promise
was abundantly fulfilled Deliverance from despair was granted
at once , and if ever a missionary was permitted to prove that
God had said to him in powei, " Thou shalt glorify Me," it was
William Johnson
The On July 14th, 1816, his second Sunday, Johnson peisuaded a
Revival ^ Of ^ p60pie fo come mfo bls own ^ut eariy m the moimng,
and sang and prayed with them The Spirit of God at once gave
a blessing their hearts were touched, and all day long successive
little companies ciowded into the hut Next day he began school,
with ninety boys and a few girls, and foity-three adults m the
evening In the following month , a stone church put up by Govern-
ment was ready, and very quickly the degiaded people, under the
mighty Divine influence that was working in them, though they
knew it not, were attending in crowds He invited them to visit
him privately At first they only came for what they could
get, but soon one and another and another appeared, deeply
convicted of sm, and crying to God for meioy , and at earliest
dawn, befoie the daily prayers in chuich at 6 am, Johnson
could see men and women kneeling under the bushes in seciet
prayei Saturday evening was again and again obseived to
be a time of special blessing , but Johnson did not then know
that the Church Missionary Committee in London always met
on that evening for prayer In October, only three months after
his arrival, twenty-one converts were baptized, carefully selected
from among a crowd of applicants , and month by month othei
baptisms followed Nothing in missionary history is more touch-
ing than some of the utterances recorded of the now tamed and
humble people " I cannot thank the Lord Jesus enough for this
good book," said one, " for I have seen myself m it " " How is
THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE AND THE BLACK MAN'S LIFE 165
it with your heart ' " one was asked "Massa," was the leply, PAET III
" my heait no live heie now , my heart live theie," pointing up- 1812-24
ward A mutual benefit society was formed " Dat be very good ^P ^
ting, bioders," said one , " suppose one be sick, all be sick , one
be well, all be well" A missionary association was formed
seventeen of the converts spoke, and one hundied and seven put
down then names as subscriber Some of the speeches aie
repoited in the Eegist&r Here is a fragment of one —
"Missionary come here, and preach to us, and we pay nothing
England make us free, and bring us to this country My brothers, God
has done great things for us But I have denied Him like Potei I am
guilty before Him , but oh, may He have mercy upon me 1 I am not
able to do anything I pray Got! make us help God's word to cover the
earth as the waters cover the sea I believe that word will come true
If any got a penny, let him give it, and pray God to bless our Society "
This led to a geneial Ghuich Missionary Association being
formed for the Colony m 1819 , and the contributions in its first
year amounted to £68 4s lid
Let us take one day out of Johnson's diary, September 6th,
1817, fourteen months after his ainval —
"The vestry, the gallery stairs, the tower, the windows, were all
full Some of the seats in the passages were ovei -weighted and bioke
down When I entered the church and saw the multitudes, I could
hardly refrain myself After evening service, one of the boys wished
to know if it were really true Jesus pi ay eel foi them They had
been in the field to pray, and did not know how I spoke to them,
and they went back with joy It was a moonlight night, and the
mountains re-echoed with the singing of hymns, the girls, in one part,
praying and singing by turns The boys had got upon a high rock
with a light , one gave out a hymn, and when finished, another engaged
in prayer Many of the people, hearing, got up and joined them "
Eevivals among emotional people like the Negroes aio not
uncommon in America Methodist camp-meetings are regular
agencies for pioducmg them But there tho people aie famihai
from infancy with the outhne of the way of salvation Here we
see absolutely ignorant and utteily degraded Heathen, with no
religious ideas beyond the superstitions of " giee-grees " or fetishes,
suddenly understanding what sin is, "Who Christ is, how sin can be
put away, how Christ can be trusted and served , and not merely
understanding these truths and giving play to the emotions
kindled by them, but exhibiting before the eyes of all around them its practi-
transformed lives— honesty and pmity and love in the place of cai cffects
pilfering and unoleanness and incessant quarrels What could
effect such a change ? No missionary could do it , no army of
missionaries , but the Holy Ghost alone But the Holy Ghost
works by means , and the means He used at Begent — as so often
elsewhere— was a man wholly devoted to his woik, really caung
for the souls of his flock, setting forth in all then simplicity and
fulness the great facts of sin and salvation, and trusting only to
1 66 SIERRA LEONE
PART III the Spirit Himself to make the woid effectual And the lesult was
1812-24 seen m g0(Hy liyes Mr Gamon, the chaplain, visited Regent,
Chap^lS anflmot0 of the people, " We could scarcely have expected such
evidences fiom those who have so long been fai distant fiorn God
by wicked woiks and gioss ignoiance Their geneial characteiistie
is lowly obedience When Mi Johnson has been out, they often
laboui moie than common to do a good day's work " And a
schooknagtei employed at Eegent duimg a visit Johnson paid
to England was astonished at their " mtegiity, industry, and
docility "
Gospel The Gospel was not brought to these people by Civilization , but
Cmha-en tne Gospel brought Civihzation in its tram Heie is the repoit
tlon of Eegent two yeais aftei -—
"The Town itself is laid out with regularity, nineteen streets are
formed, and are made plain and level, with good roads round the Town ,
a large stone Church rises in the midst of the habit itions , a Govern-
ment House, a Parsonage House, a Hospital, School Houses, Store
Houses, a Bridge of seveial arches, some Native dwellings, and othei
buildings, all of stone, are either finished or on the point of being so
But the state of cultivation further manifests the industry of the people ,
all are farmers, gardens, fenced ui, aie attached to every dwelling, all
the land m the immediate neighbourhood is under cultivation, and
pieces of land even to the distance of three nulos , there are many nco-
fields, and, among other vegetables raised for food, aie cassadas,
plantains, coco, yams, coffee, and Indian corn, of fruits, they ha\o
bananas, oranges, limes, pineapples, ground-nuts, guavas, and papaws ,
of animals, theie are horses, cows, bullocks, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks,
and fowls, a daily maiket is held for the sale of articles, and on
Saturdays this maiket is large and general It has been already said
that all aie fanners , but many of them, beside the cultivation of the
ground, have leai ned and exercise various ti ados fifty of them ai o masons
and bricklayers, forty, carpenteis, thirty, sawyers, thirty, shingle-
makers, twenty, tailors, four, blacksmiths, and two, butcheis In
these various ways, upwaid of six hundred of the Negroes maintain
themselves , and have been enabled, m this short space of time, by the
fiuits of their own productive mdustiy, to relieve from all expense, on
their personal account, that Government to which they pay the most
grateful allegiance "
And an official Eeport on Eoads and Public Buildings, issued m
1819, thus concluded its remarks on Regent —
" Let it be considered that not more than three or four years have
passed since the greater part of Mr Johnson's population were taken
out of the holds of slave-ships , and who can compare their present
condition with that from which they Were rescued, without seeing
manifest cause to exclaim, ' The hand of Heaven is m this ! ' Who can
contrast the simple and sincere Christian worship which precedes and
follows their daily labours, with the grovelling and malignant supersti-
tions of their original state, their gree-grees, their red-water, then witch-
craft, and then devils' houses, — without feeling and acknowledging a
miracle of good, which the immediate interposition of the Almighty could
alone have wrought ? And what greater blessing could man or nation
desire or enjoy, than to have been made the instruments of conferring
auch sublime benefits on the most abject of the human race P
THL WHITE MAN*S GRAVE AND THE BLACK Mitfs LIFE 167
" If any other circumstance could be leqmrod to prove the immediate PAST III
interposition of the Almighty, we have only to look at the plain men 1812-24
and simple means employed in bringing about themuaculous conversion Chap 13
that we have recorded Does it not lecall to mmcl tho first diftusion of -1 —
the Gospel by the Apostles themselves P These thoughts will occiu to
strangeis, at remote distance, when they heai theso things , and must
they not occm much moie foicibly to us who havo these tilings
constantly before our eyes ? "
In 1819, Mis Johnson, who had been doing excellent work
among the women and girls, was oidoied homo, sick, and hei
husband had to accompany hei to England On Eastei Day,
about ten days befoie they sailed, ho baptized 253 adult conveits, Johnson's
and adimmsteied the Holy Communion to 258 Tho parting converts
with his people bi ought out all the love they had learned to feel
foi him With many teais they ciowded the shoie to bid him
faiewell, saying, " Massa, suppose no watoi live heio, we go with
you all tho way, till no feet moio I " Tho tirno of his absence was
a time of testing, of winnowing and sifting, for tho Native Ghuioh ,
and one of the convex to aftci wauls descubcd it thus — "Massa,
bcfoio you gofiom this place >ou pieach, and you say, ' Suppose
somebody beat nee, when ho done beat, he take the fan and fan
it, and then all chaff fly away, and tho nee get clean So God do
Him people He fan the chaff away ' Now, Massa, wo been in
that fashion evei since you been gone to England Gtod fan us
that time foi true " Noveithcless, when Johnson icturncd to
Africa in the following Januaiy, he found the people, as he said,
' ' hungei mg after the woi d of God m 01 o than ovoi ' ' His ] oui uala ,
and those of othei missionauos in the Golony, fill many pages of
the Missionary Rcgistei , and of Appendices to tho Annual Eepoits ,
and the details of his daily m initiations among the people, the
evidences of giace m then he<uts and lives, and the illustiations
also of the devil's powei to cause inconsistency and backsliding
in some, aie most touching
But it was not at Eegent only that the Spint of God was
woiking Mi Turing's labouis at Gloucester met with blessing
little less lemaikable , and indeed almost all the panshos showed
impiovement which astonished those who visited them, and
elicited waim testimonies fiom the Govemmont officials and othei
independent witnesses Thus Sir Gcoige Collier, the Commodore official
of the West Afncan Squadron, wiote, — STOWS
" More improvement under all oncumstances of climate and infancy
of colony IB scarcely to bo supposed I visited all tho black towns ami
villages, attended the public schools and other establishments , and 1
have novel witnessed in any pop illation more contentment and happiness
I have attended places of public woiship m every qnaitoi of tho
globe, and I do most conscientiously declaie that nover did I witness
the services of religion more piously pei formed or mote devoutly attended
to than m Sioira Leone "
The Chief Justice of the Colony in 1822, the Hou E Fitzgerald,
testified that while, ten years before, with a population of 4000,
1 68 SfERR* LEONE
PART III theie weie forty cases in the calendai foi tiial, now, with the
1812-24 population inci eased to 6000, theie weie only six cases , and not
Chap 13 one of these was fiom any village supenntended by the mission-
aues The Governoi, too, Su Charles McCaithy, a man who by
his high chaiactei, wisdom, and untiring energy, conferred in-
estimable benefits on the Colony, attended the Committee while
on a visit to England, and boie stiong testimony to the leality of
the missionary woik
The joy of the Committee, and of fiiends all ovei the country,
was the kind of joy of which we commonly say that it knows
no bounds , but this phrase would be incoirectly applied here
Then joy did know bounds The journals were read with keenest
mteiest and thankfulness , and when Johnson visited England,
his simple and unaffected recital of God's work at Eegent made a
deep impression everywhere Yet the Committee, and the leading
friends, knew well that the gieat Enemy of souls would not let
Caution alone such a woik as that The expressions about it in the
ComM S ^ePor^s aie cautious and moderate , the missionaries are com-
mittee mended foi so carefully testing the candidates for baptism— as
indeed they did,— and enjoined to redouble their vigilance, if that
weie possible, and their watchfulness also as regards then own
personal Chnstian life Satan " desiied to have " them as well
as their conveits , and the infiimity of human nature is illustrated
by the withdrawal of foui schoolmasters, and the dismissal of
two, during that very time of blessing, 1818-22 Moreovei, theie
were reminders year by yeai of the penis to life and health at
Deaths Siena Leone The deaths up to 1815 inclusive have alieady
Leone"* been mentioned In 1816, one of the new schoolmasteis died a
few weeks after landing In 1817 was Butscher's home-call,
and that of another schoolmastei In 1818, Wenael died, and
one of the wives , in 1819 two schoolmasters and another wife,—
one of the former, J B Gates, a man of exceptional powei and
excellence, " our light hand," as Mr Duimg called him , ! in
1820 one of the wives , in 1821, the semoi of them all, and No 1
of the entue CMS roll, Melchioi Renner, aftei seventeen years'
unbioken service in Afuca Moreover, in 1818-19, both chaplains,
Hi Garnon and Mr Collier, died, and Mrs Collier \
Ml accounts of the sickness and death of all these biethren
and sisters were published in the Begister, and called forth wide-
spiead sympathy and fervent piayer It is hard to say which aie
the most moving, the trustful and sometimes joyful utteiances of
the dying soldiers of the Cross, or the courageous faith that
* Cates's mother went to one of the Annual Meetings at Freemasons'
Hall To prevent overcrowding, only subscribers were admitted " Are yon
a subscriber P" "No," said the poor woman, and sadly tnrned away
Suddenly she leappeared "Tea," she exclaimed, "I am a subscriber, I
have given an only son "— In/a of JbsiaH Pi att, p 882
| A special chapter follows this one, giving fuller personal details of some
of these brethren and sisters
THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE AND THE BLACK MAN'S LIFS 169
breathes in the letteis of the survivors But even after all this, PABT III
the woist was yet to come In 1823, the yellow fever bioke out, n?ia~™
and wi ought havoc in the Colony Many officeis and civilians p
fell a victim to it The Cluef Justice, the Colonial Secretary, a
member of the Governors Council, three doctors, two chaplains,
and many otheis, all died within a few weeks The Chief Justice
was deeply mouined by the whole Colony, having been univei sally
esteemed as the friend of eveiy Chustian and philanthropic work
Two thousand Negioes attended his funeral Nylander wiote
that Sir C McCarthy, the Goveinoi, was absent on the Gold
Coast, but was daily expected " He will be astonished to see
the Colony almost empty of Public Officeis — no Lawyei — no Judge
—no Secietaiy— only one Water, and thiee Meinbeis of Council
—no Chaplain— one Schoolmastei — only thiee Medical Men— and
a few Missionanes ' "
But the missionaries weie not exempt In 1823, seven new
schoohnasteis and five wives landed at Siena Leone Of these
twelve persons, six died m that yeai, and four more within
eighteen months Then came the home-call of William Johnson
himself He had left his wife in England , and in this year,
being cuppled by ophthalmia, he leceived leave to go home and
see her, as she was not expected to live long Three days aftei
he sailed, the fatal fevei, which no doubt was alieady on him,
appeared , and after foui moie days, the evangelist of Begent Deaths of
yielded up his spirit to the Loid, and his body was committed to ^naon
the deep, at the age of thirty-four, and aftei seven yeais of a
missionaiy life to which there are few paiallels in the whole
history of the Chuich Then During took the fever, and, while
almost at the point of death, was put on boaid a ship, with his
wife, to be taken if possible to England The vessel sailed on
August Slflii, and was nevei again heaid of She was supposed
to have foundered, with all on boaicl, in a temble gale m the
English Channel m the fust week of November Thus penshecl
also the evangelist of Gloucester Town, wheie a woik of God had
been manifested only second to that at Regent The two Hano-
veiians who together had studied at. the National Society's
Central School, who together had sailed foi Afi ica, who together
had received the instructions of Edward Bickei sloth on the spot,
who together— or lathei, simultaneously— had enteied upon the
arduous task of reclaiming the most degraded of mankind, who
together had rejoiced ovei the abundant tokens of the Holy
Spnit's eonveitmg and sanctifying woik, now almost together
entered into the presence of their Lord ]
* See next ohaptei
f The old Mwwvr of W A B Johnson has boon long out of print; but
Dr A T Piorson has lately given the gist of it m a very attractive form m
Ins Souefl. Tears w Sierra Leona (New York, 1897) Dr Pierson thinks
Johnson's narrative" "the most lomaikable story of sevon years' missionary
labour "he " evei read "
1 70 SIERRA LEONR
PART III The Committee weie foi tho moment ciushed by all this ovei-
™812~^t whelming sonow They gazed m one another's faces acioss the
cimpjs tabl6j they knelt togethei at the footstool of Divine Meiey , and
Attitude of the tiadition is that one leading lay membei, on the day that the
miettcem" 116WS caime °^ seveial deaths, lose and said in a tone of deep
feeling and fiina lesolve, "We must not abandon West Africa "
And when, at the following Anniveisaiy, they had to piesent then
Bepoit, the language is smgulaily calm and comageous —
" The Committee scarcely know whether to speak in the language of
grief or of ]oy, of sorrow or of tnumph— so mingled have been, of lato,tho
Divine Dispensations In no one year has tho Society ever sufteiod a
greater loss in its Friends and Labouieis, while in no one yeai lias there
been a more evident blessing on tlieir labours Tho alleviations of its
heavy trials have been remarkable They have given occasion for a
special manifestation of Divine Grace Those who have died have died
in the Lord, thanking God foi calling them to His woik, and glonfying
His Holy Name in the midst of then sufferings Their surviving relatives
around them have expressed entire resignation to the Divine Will, m
the veiy midst of their trials, and this just before they themselves were
called to their everlasting rewai cl The survivors seem to have had then
faith elevated above the trying circumstances m which they had been
placed, and to have become more entirely united, and devoted to then
work The Society will see m this state of things a peculiar manifesta-
tion of the character of the work, whose labourers have often had to say,
( As dying, and behold wo live— as sorrowful, yet always lejoicmg ' Their
Heavenly Mastei illustrates the powei and the abundance of His own
grace, m the very weakness of His seivants , and He carries on His own
work, while He removes to their eternal toward those msti union ts whom
He has most highly honoured "
Seveial of the schoolmasteis weie Geimans, not fiom Beilin as
of old, but fiom the new Basle Seminary , and the news of then
Zeal of deaths made a deep impiession upon the students " Every one
Basiemen 0| om, ]3lejjhleil(" ^iote Blumhaidt, the Directoi, "is piepaimg
himself to come foiwaid and offei himself as a sacnfice to tho
Loid Should many moie such tidings of an immoital world
amve, we could not longer detain om deal brethren-soldiers
fiom going to the spot wheie the Heroes of the Chuich have
fallen "
The tidings of Johnson's death at sea did not reach Sicira
Leone till they had come to England by the ship he died m and
been communicated by another ship to Africa , and appeals fiom
the brethren to send him back quickly, and many letteis fiom his
converts to himself about the sickness and the sorrow oppi essmg
the Colony, kept airiving at Salisbury Square long after ho had
Regent been called away But when at last Eegent heaid of it, a fresh
paaSr^ lte an^ remarkable proof of the genuineness of religion in the people
death y/as afforded The schoolmaster in charge, when reading out the
news, begged them to be calm and quiet , and though the whole
congiegation were instantly in tears, none of the noisy outcries
weie heard which had been so natuial to them m the past
THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE AND THE ft LACK Mitts LIFE 171
Piesently they lose and sang a hymn which Johnson had taught PABT III
them, and of which he was veiy fond — 1812-24
' J Chap, 13
In every tionble sharp and sfciong,
My soul to Jeans flies ,
My anchor hold is firm in Him,
Whon swelling billows riso
Bis comfoifca bcai my spnits up,
I tiust afnithfnl God,
Tho sure foundation of my hope
la m my Saviour s blood
Loud Ilallohrjahs I will sing
To my RodeoTnoi's Name ,
In ioy and smrow, life and death,
His IOT o is still the sarao
At the usual Piayei Meeting on the following Saturday evening,
seveial of the conveits spoke lovingly of then dopai ted friend and
pastoi , and one of them said, "Wo thought too much of Mi
Johnson, though he was a good man God will not suffer us to
put confidence m any but the Loid Jesus Chust My dear
brethren, I think God took him away, because we looked moie
to Mi Johnson than we did to Jesus "
In the next thiee yeais seveial more deaths occuued, among More
them that of Nylander, the oldest nnssionaiy aftei Beimei was dcaths
taken away, being No 3 on the Society's loll Ho had labomod
nineteen yeais m Africa without once coming to Eutope Ho
was the founder of the Bulloni Mission, and m his latei yeais
was looked up to as the veteian of the Colony When he died
m 1825, only one man was left who had gone out befoie 1820
This was Wilhelm, one of the foiuth party (1811), and No 10 on
the roll In 1826, out of a total of seventy-nine peisons, mis-
sionaries, schoolmasteis, and wives, who had gone out in the
twenty-two years, only fouiteen lemamed , the laigo majority of
the remainder being dead
This chaptei may appiopnately be concluded by quoting fiom
a striking letter addi eased to the Committee m the midst of then
tuals by a fnend of the Society whose name is not given —
" We ought not to be discouraged by our losses m Afncn, , since, even
on the pimciple of justice, wo should bo voiy hbeial to that countiy
For what has influenced the public mind so much as the interesting
accounts communicated lospectmg that country P I fiimly bohove that
three-fourths of the zeal foi Missions now evident among us was first
excited by the state of Afnca Go and toll of lams, and fevois, of
graves, of deaths, of missionaiioa dead, of missionaries dying, of mis-
sionaries fainting under the burden and heat of the clay, toll of the good
already done, and that othois are panting to outer into this very field—
these things will produce even more beneficial eftocts than they have
evei yet produced they will produce sufficient funds for the support,
not only of the African Mission, but of the whole Such a labourer as
this is surely worthy of its hire on advocate so touching, so eloquent,
172 SfERRA LEONE THE WHITE MAN'S GRAVE, &c.
PAST III so successful, should be well repaid In fine, notwithstanding the
1812-24 Society's expenditure upon Africa, Africa is an advantage to the Society
Chap 13 —a creditor, and not a debtor "
worrtd'?ie Yes> an<^ so Africa always has been To India, to China, to
creditor all other Mission-fields, Africa is a Creditor, not a Debtor The
deep interest and living sympathy again and again aioused in
behalf of Africa, by the enterpiises of various Missions, whethei.
on the Nigei, 01 the Congo, 01 the Zambesi, whethei on Lake
Nyassa or the Victona Nyanza, whethei at Siena Leone 01
Kuruman 01 Zanzibar or Mombasa, have again and again been
manifested in peisonal conseciation and in the dedication of
substance to the Lord, by which every other part of the world
has been the gainei
CHAPTBE XIV
THE
Miss Childe's Book-Some Martyrs for Christ in West Africa— Rev
W Garnon— Cates-A Negro's Wail— Mr and Mrs Palmer-
C Knight and H Brooks— Nylander's Daughters— Kissy Church-
yard
"I aw now ready to lo n/n ul I hmfiniblwl wj comae "—2 Tim iv G, 7
jHENwe road Si Paul's louclung woids, "I am HOWPAET III
loddy to bo ofteied, and the time of my depaiktfe is at 1812-24
hand , I have fought a good fight, I have finished my ChaP I4
com BO, I have kept the faith,"— and leniembei that
thoy weie wriUcn m his old age Iioni the Mameitme
Prison at Borne, wo think natuially of his long careei and his
" labours more abundant," and oui idod of a " finished comse " is
of a long life of usefulness at length laid down But a " finished
coiuse" noeduotbe a longono Both the sons of Zebedee finished A finished
their course, although one was tho first apostle to fall, and the courw
othei outlived all the rest The Lord Himself, at the age of thirty-
throe, could say, " I have finished the woik which Thou gavest
Me to do and now come I to Thee " Yes, "the work which
Thou, gavest mo to do ", not necessanly the work which we in
our shoitsightednoss may have purposed or aspued to do " Im-
mortal till hs w&tlc is ttoic"— so the Christian has been well
described, yes, but the woik appointed by the Divine Master may
bo a very small one, and when thai woik is finished, the "couiso"
is finished too
The woids thus chosen for tho title of this chapter aio the title Miw (
of a book wiitten moio than thirty yeais ago by the daughter of took c
tho venoiated former Funcipal of the Chmch Missionary College,
tho Eov C P Childe, but now out of punt •" No moio beautiful
and touching book lias evoi been publibhed In simple language
it sketches tho caieois of some of tho earhei CMS missionaries,
most of them in Africa, whose "finished course" was a very
brief one The present chaptei consists chiefly of a few gleanings
fiom that volume, supplemented fiom the ongmal records The
scope of our History docs not permit of many biographical details
* The hivuM Coime, Bncif Mices of Vqpwttd G/iurc7i
Sooloy & Co , 1865
174 THE. FINISHED COURS&
PAHT III of the rmssionaiies being introduced , but we may at this point
1812-24 nghtly turn aside foi a moment from the goneial naiiative, to
GhaP 14 behold the tnnmphs of Divine Grace in some of the biethien and
sisteis whose " coin so " was quickly " finished "
One of the most mteiestmg of these faithful labomeis was not
a C M S missionary at all, m the stnct sense of the word His
name does not appeal on the loll But to all intents and purposes
he was a C M S missionary neveitheless In the early days of
Siena Leone, the Committee now and again picked out then: best
men and gave them to the Goveimnent to send out as chaplains ,
and while the icgular missionaiies weio eithei Gorman Lutheian
mmisteis 01 English schoolmasters and artizans, Englishmen
qualified for oidmation weie allotted to the not less important —
Gamonthe and more prominent and influential— office of chaplain One of
chapiam these was the Rev William Gainon
William Garnon was an orphan biought up by an uncle, Captain
James Garnon , who had seen much active service, and filled his
nephew's mind with the glories of a soldiei's life William m due
couise obtained a commission m the 14th Foot, and served in
Spam under Sir John Moore, and m the ill-fated Walcheien
Expedition The Walchei en fever shatteied his health, and dining
the long penod of delicacy that followed he came under the
influence of a godly aunt at Brighton, and ultimately, thiough a
faithful seimon he heard theie, was converted to Chust Being
mtioduced to William Wilberfoice, he was encouiaged by that
gieat man to study foi the ministry , and af Lor oidmation and a
short seivice in England as GUI ate, he was appointed to the
Chaplaincy at Sierra Leone lie sailed thithei, accompanied by a
young wife, m September, 1816, at the very time that Edwaid
Bickerbteth was leturnmg to England
The difference between a chaplain and a missionary m Webt
Afuca was little rnoie than one of status and salary, Government
connexion and pay being a good deal higher than that of a
missionary society The chaplains thiew themselves heaiUly into
missionary woik, and the missionaiies porfoimed the chaplains'
duties when death or absence left vacancies Mi Gainon pioved
a tiuo raissionaiy, travelling among the villages, encouraging the
biethien, addressing their congiogations, mstiuctmg then classes
It was the penod of the revivals undoi Johnson and During,
descubed in the preceding chapter, and Garnon' s help and counsel
were of the greatest value
Sunday, July 19th, 1818, was a day of aiduoua seivico at
Fieetown, and Garnon was tiled out In the middle of the night
he was called up by a messenger from one of the Geiman
missionaiies, Mr Wenzel, who was dying , and m a few minutes
a second messenger followed, mging him to come quickly His
wife, dieading the exposure for him in his fatigued condition,
begged him to wait till the morning, but his icply was, " If the
doctor is sent for, he is not afraid to go instantly , neithei must
THE fi WISHED COURSE 175
1 " He rode on hoiseback foui miles thiough heavy lain , and PART III
two days aftei be was struck down by fevei Ab the same time, 1812-24
in the same house, the assistant-chaplain, Mi Collier (who had P 14
been a G M S student), and Mis Collier, weie also lying ill , and
Mis Gornon heiself was daily expecting the advent of hei fiist-
boin On the 28th Mis Colliei died , and the missionaries who More
came togcthei for her funeial that evening, knelt iound hei cofiin, deatha
and piayed the Lord, if it weie His will, to laise up both the
chaplains Mis Garnon, who had been tenderly nursing hoi
husband with the little stiength she had, was now obliged to
retne, but Johnson, During, and Cates, watched though the
night Eapidly, howevei, then beloved fuend and counsolloi
sank, saying with almost his last bieath the Apostolic Benediction
over hvnisdj— "The giace of our Loid Jesus Chiist, and tho love
of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with ma",
adding, a moment aftei wauls, " Yes, they are with me " In the
eaily morning of July 29th, ]iist two days after his twenty-sovonth
birthday, William Gainon entered into lest, and thus on two
successive evenings the bereaved band of missionaiiea assembled
round an open grave Next day, Gainon'a little son was bom
On tho thud day, the sick German, Wenzel, died, and was bunod
" And now, deai Sirs' " wrote Gatos, repoitmg these deaths,
" be not discouraged ! Letmoie laboureis put then livos in then
hands, and come to help those that are left Ethiopia, shall soon
stietch out hei hands unto God 1 " Then, when Gates InmsoH
died m the following ycai, and tho othci chaplain, Mi Colhci,
and Mis Josty (a most devoted woman, whoso husband only
survived her six months), Dm ing wrote —
"When it pleases Qod to visit His people with afflictions, those wlio
iire His aie host seen, and distinguished fiom those who bum His name
but ,110 none of His While those whose only hope is in this life aio
terrified by seeing numbois of then fellow-mortals limnod into eternity,
tho tiue Chnstian is enabled to stand hko u child by his Fitthei's side,
and see with soienity what He is clomp I would huinhly say to my
supenoiB, Be not dismayed at tho tlaik dibpensations of om God I Foui
not foi the Saviour shall yot suo of tho ti avail of His soul among tho
tubes of Africa I am not cast down' I know that tho Lord can work
by a single individual as much as by a thousand, only I would aave
yoiu earnest players for us tho suivivois "
Another mole,— "Wo aio not dwcouiagod, but encouraged ,
and if wo aio so who stand m joopaidy ovoiy hom, why should
not you bo ? Send us aiaol»hoi Gatob— an Elisha instead of our
Elijah 1" And Nylundor, alluding to a icpoifc that had leachod
Sioua Leone that the Society was giavoly thinking of abandoning
the Mission, urges the blessing that God had alioady vouchsafed
to the labours of those who had been taken away, and evon to
the silent influence of those who had been but a few weeks in the
country, mentioning actual cases of conversion brought about by
God using the words and lives ol some with tho briefest caieers
1^6 THE FINISHED COURSE
PART III " Look forwatd for youi rewaid 1 " he writes to the Committee ,
1812-24 "though the bodies of our biethieu aie removed from among us,
ChapJ.4 y^ ^Q gee(j ^gh ^ey sowe(i keeps growing " One simple
A Negro's letter m bioken English must be quoted, mitten to Mr Johnson
waii while m England by one of his converts It gives the most vivid
pictuie of all —
" That time Mi Gates sick, and Mi Moigan sick , and poor Mi Gates
die Then Mi Collier get sick, and Mr Morgan get sick again , and
one friend said, * God soon leave this place ' , and I said, ' I trust m the
Loid Jesus He knows His people, and He nevei left them, neither
f 01 sake them'— and then, next Sunday, Mr Colhei die — then Mr
Morgan sick— Mrs Morgan sick— Mi Bull sick Ohl that time all
Missionaiies sick ' Wo went to Fieetown Monday, and bury Mi Collier
—we come homo again, and keep service in Chinch Oh, that time
trouble too much in iny heart Nobody to teach me, and I was so sorry
for my pool country-people Mr Gates die — Mr Collier die — Mr
Morgan sick— oh, what must I do for my countrymen 1 But I trust m
the Lord Jesus He know what to do , and 1 went to piay; and I say,
1 0 Lord, take not all the Teachers away from us ' ' "
The sad The yeai 1823 was another specially sad time, as mentioned
year 1833 before In January of that year a vessel from England arrived at
Siena Leone, bunging back Mr and Mis Duung, and bringing also
no less than thirteen new labourers, and a new colonial chaplain
and his wife The same ship, sailing again for England, took m
it W A B Johnson Now observe what tho hand of death did
m that yeai On Apul 20th one of the new men was taken , on
April 25th a second , on May 3rd Johnson died at sea , on May
6th a colonial chaplain leturnmg home also died at sea , on May
7th the new chaplain was called away , on June 6th his wife ,
on June 22nd the wife of the hrst man taken , on June 25th
another wife, on June 28th another of the new band, on
November 26th yet another In that Novembei, too, Mr and Mrs
During were lost at sea It was at the same time that the Colony
was so bereft of its officials, as before recorded 1 Let us now just
glance at two members of this martyr-band — as they may well be
called, — the new chaplain and his wife, the Eev Henry and Mis
Palmer
Mr and Mr Palmer, like Mr Garnon, had been m the army He had
fought at Waterloo, and had served in many distant chmes, and
a man thus mured to hardship seemed to the CMS Committee
exactly fitted for the dangerous post of Sierra Leone, and was
accordingly recommended by them to the Government Moreover
he was of a singularly bright and joyous spmt, that could be
trusted not to give way to depression His young wife was the
daughter of a country clergyman, the Eev John Noble, Vicar of
Fnsby, Leicestershire, and nad been the sunshine of the village,
It was not tall Mi Palmer was about to sail for Africa that she
was married In her twentieth year she was cheerfully laid on
* See p 169 f See p 169
THE FINISHED COURSE 177
the altai of sacnfice by her parents , and it is related that, ]ust PABT III
thoughts up horn the dieaded African shoie to the " city out of
sight," the " city which hath foundations, whose rnakei andbuildei
is God " But the beautiful piayei ui the Mamage Seivice le-
mmded them that it is those who " obey His will " that aie
" always m safety under His piotection "
In the Memoir of Robert Noble, the great educational missionary
m the Telugu country, it is recorded that, when he was a boy, his
eldei sistei, who was going out to the Mission-field, passed though
the town of Oakharn, wheie he was at school, veiy eaily in
the morning, called to bid him farewell, saw him in bed, and gave
him a Bible as a paitmg gift, saying, " Eobert, read your Bible "
That sister was Anne Palmer
On then aiiival at Siena Leone theyweieteinpoianly quaiteied
with W A B Johnson at Eegent When, thiee months later,
he was about to stait on that voyage which he did not live to
complete, Mrs Palmei had the pnvilege of being present at the
memoiable faiewell communion seivice, and mote home with
overflowing ]oy of the foiu bundled and twenty Negio Cmistians
among whom she had knelt at the Loid's Table On May 3id
Mr Palmei 's predccessoi in the chaplaincy, the Eev S Mood,
sailed foi England — which he, too, never reached, The next day,
Sunday, Mi Palmei preached at Ib.eetown on the opening woids
of the Loid's high-pnestly piayei, " Father, the horn is come"
In the middle of the seimon he felt the fevei seize upon him , and
on leaching home he said with deep emotion that if ho never had
anothei opportunity of declanng the Gospel, he believed he had
faithfully declaied it that day , and then with solemn emphasis he
lepeatod his toxt, "Fathei, the houi is come!" Within tluee
days he was gone The veteian Nylander wrote, " Had he fallen
at Wateiloo when he fought theie, would not his death have beon
counted honourable ? Is not his death here in the Loid's battle
more honourable? " The young widow wiote, <c He who cannot
eir, whose love to His people can never fail, has seen fit to take
my beloved husband to Himself Can I reply against God ? I
cannot, I will not The hour was come, and His name was
glonned "
She, too, now took the deadly disease From hei sick-bed she
wrote to a schoolmaster's wife in Sierra Leone, "May you and
your husband hold each other &s loans, together with every other
precious gift which our God may bestow upon you " Three
weeks after her own husband's death, the babe was boin whom
her fellow-missionanes had looked for to cheei her in her soirow ,
but it was born only to die , and six days after, " the hour" came
foi the young mother too On June 6th she fell asleep
The missionary who reported these losses was a young school-
yoL i N
178 THE FINISHED COURSE
PART III mastei conspicuous for piety and devotion, one of the party who
1812-24 > ha(i oniy come out; m the previous January, Phihp Vaughan
Chap 14 it was his wife to whom Mis Palmei wiote the message akne-
Mr and quoted That wife was the next to be stiuck down Thenanativeof
Vaughan ^61 ^as^ ^ays 1S one °^ *ne mos^ Couching °^ *ne many touching
nanatives of that fatal year Her sick-chamber was indeed the
house of God and the gate of heaven Hei utterances of faith and
hope are most beautiful Not for a moment did she lepine " I
have never repented," she said, "one single step I took towaids
coming here I sought my God's duection, and I nimly believe I
had it, both by the teaching of His Spmt and the leadings of His
Piovidence " To hei, too, a child was boin, but boin only to die ,
and, shoitly aftei, she " finished hei couise," literally " with ]oy "
Out of six labouieis m Fieetown alone, three months before,
only Vaughan himself now lemamed , and he, too, joined them,
m the piesence of the Loid in the following Novembei The
widow of another of the martyi-band came and took chaige of the
girls' school, but she also was taken within a few months
There was no G M S missionary m ITieetown left to smooth her
dying pillow , the veteian Nylander was lying dangeiously ill at
the neighbouring village of Kissey , and a young Wesleyan mis-
sionary, Mi Harfce, was alone pnvileged to receive her parting
messages He too died soon after , and Nylander himself m the
following yeai
But before Nylander 's death, two othei valuable men had
amved, and had died The Committee, deeply feeling the im-
portance of sending good men to the two stations which had been
so gieatly blessed under Johnson and Dining, Eegent and
Gloucester, appointed to the Sierra Leone Mission, for the fiist time,
two of their English candidates who had been ordained, Charles
Knight Knight and Henry Biooks Knight was a bi other of one of the
Brooks ^ our men wno na^ fonned the first band of missionaries to Ceylon f
Biooks, like Henry Williams of New Zealand, had been a
lieutenant m the Navy The words of Edwaid Bickersteth's
charge to them at the Valedictory Meeting, show incidentally
which of the brethren who had died m Africa weie held in
rcial estimation for their faithfulness and zeal "You aie
ut," said Bickersteth, " to tread m the steps of Garnon, and
Johnson, and During, and Vaughan " , though he added, " and
many others of the excellent of the earth, who are gone from the
scene of youi future labours to their heavenly rest Follow them
as they followed Christ "
They sailed on November 3rd, 1824, but contiary winds diove
their vessel into Cowes, and theie they were detained ]ust two
months Brooks, recalling his naval experiences, wrote, "How
different aie my circumstances, views, hopes, from what they
were when I was last in this port ! Then, we were waiting foi a
* Bee p 216
TffE FINISHED COURSE 179
fair wind m order to carry out the declaration of War against the PABT III
Americans Now, we are waiting for a favourable gale to enable 1812-24
us to go and preach the Gospel of Peace to the Africans Then, I ^ p
was in fear and apprehension Now, I am tranquil, blow high or
blow low, because I am assured that my God watcheth over
me " At length they got away, and i cached Siena Leone on
February 3rd
Knight took charge of Gloucestei, and Biooks of Eegent Both
stations had greatly suffeied during the yeai and a half that had
elapsed since then beieavement The Negio Christians, easily
led this way or that way, had sadly backslidden But within a
few weeks, the two new pastors had the joy of seeing most of
them come back , and all looked bright and hopeful But veiy
quickly was their course finished On the sixth Sunday of his
ministry, Knight was struck by the fever, and had to commit the
services to the schoolmastei, though by a gieat effort he succeeded
m administering the Communion That the Lord was calling him
away he did not doubt foi a moment , but he faced death without
a shadow of feai He did, however, think of the eftect of it m
England " It will be such a discouiagement to the Society," he
said , " and it will prevent others coming out '' Brooks hastened
ovei from Begent, in time to bid his comiade faiewell, and, on
the evening of his death, their seventh Sunday in Africa, to com-
mit his body to the grave Then he went back to hie own post,
and on the thirteenth Sunday, a sunstioke laid him low On the
Monday, however, he got up— to bury another fellow-labouiei, his
schoolmaster's wife On the Tuesday he was again struck down,
never spoke again, and fell asleep eaily on the Wednesday moin-
ing, May 4th A young Negro lad in the Chustian Institution
wrote home to the Society, " Deal Sir, do send us moio mission-
aries like Mr Biooks, men who count all things but loss foi Jesus
Christ's sake "
It was within the following three weeks that the veteran
Nylander was taken, after nineteen years' unbroken service Of
him we will not now speak , but let us briefly notice the two
young daughters he left oehind Nyiknder's
In Edward Bickersteth's jouinal of his visit to Africa in 1816, daU£rhterS|
occurs the following entry, undei date May 5th —
"I pleached from Matt xxviu 19, ' Baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost/ after which I had
the pleasure of baptizing Mi Nylander's two children, Catherine * and
Anne Elizabeth, The negro school-childieu seemed much interested,
and I was glad of the opportunity of talking to them about the
ordinance "
This was on the Bullom Shoie, opposite Sierra Leone, wheie
Nyknder was tfcen stationed , and it was the first baptism in that
country, in which now for many years the Sierra Leone Church
* Sic m journal , but afterwards she appears as Hannah
N 2
i8o THE FINISHED COURSE
PAST III has maintained its own Mission, and admitted hundreds of
nS^u memkers m^° tne v^ble Body of Christ
p The two httle guls, entnely orphaned by then fathei's death
at the ages of thirteen and eleven, weie sent to England for
education , and after six years at the famous Clergy Daughters'
School neai Kirkby Lonsdale, they were engaged by the Society to
he teacheis in the land of then bnth When the Committee took
leave of them, in 1831, Bickeisteth affectionately addressed the
young sisteis whom he had baptized fifteen years before, and
whose names stand Nos 10 and 11 on the C M S roll of women
missionaiies Young as they weie, they proved excellent school
misti esses, and a few yeais later, both were married Anne-
Elizabeth to the Eev J F Schon, the eminent linguistic student
and missionary, and her sistei Hannah to the Eev Edwaid
Jones, the coloured cleigyman of the American Church who was
so long Piincrpal of Fourah Bay College
But they also soon finished then couise Each died in turn at
the age of twenty-five Each left a little daughter Hannah's
child soon followed hei to the bettei land Anne Elizabeth's
child still, by God's meicy, survives, and is honoured by
missionaries and tiavelleis mnumeiable who have enjoyed the
And simple hospitality of her mission bungalow, as Mis Higgens of
grand- Colombo
aug ter When James Fredeiick Schon was mourning the loss of his
beloved young wife Anne Elizabeth, one of the African Christians
said to him, " Massa, the time when tiouble catch me, me go to
you you speak to us of Jesus and the Eesunection, and that
make oui hearts glad Massa, can this now no comfoit you $
Your wife no lost, youi child no lost They that believe in Jesus
never die "
Kiaaey Kissey Churchyard, in which lie the mortal remains of many of
yardch" *nese brethien and sistei s, is a familial name to older membeis
of the Church Missionary Society Often were the tombstones
in it refened to at missionary meetings in former yeais And no
wonder , foi touching indeed aie these memorials of the dead—-
or rathei, of those " not dead but gone before " Many of them
belong to a later period than this chapter has to do with , yet let
them be just noticed here Side by side he those heroes and
heroines of the cross " There" says the book that has inspired
this chapter, " lies the veteian missionary, worn out by years of
toil, andtffowfi, the young brothel, struck down in the prime of
his youth, and the height of his usefulness Th&ie sleeps the
young wife, who rejoiced that she was counted worthy to die foi
the name of the Loid , and there the httle cmldien, early blighted
by that deadly climate,— like the babes of Bethlehem, ' uncon-
scious martyrs m the cause of their Eedeemer ' " What the
touching Service for the "Churching of Women" calls "the
great pain and peril of child-birth" is conspicuously illustiated
by the inscriptions on the giaves at Kissey Heie lie's Augusta
THE. FINISHED COURSE 181
Kissling (n&e Tanner), the young wife of the excellent Basle PABT III
missionary to the Gold Coast who, after nve yeais theie, pined 1812-24
the G M S , married, and went to Sieria Leone, and who in after ^Pj14
years lendeied valuable service in New Zealand Many hopes
clusteied lound Augusta Tanner Her Loid had given her
natuial talents, which a good education had developed When
she was fifteen, God hi ought her to Himself At the age of
nineteen He called her to West Afnca lor rnoie than a yeai
she enjoyed good health, and began zealously to woik among
the women and girls Then her babe was bom, and died , and,
an hour after, the mother yielded up her beautiful spirit to the
Loid Neai her giave is that of Mis Giaf and hei infant She
landed with hei husband one December , on Maich 14th she was
laid to lest m Kissey Chuichyaid Haid by, again, is the grave of
Mis Schlenkei and hei infant She lived m Siena Leone just
six months And the graves of two wives of David Schrnid, both
Geimans , the fiist of whom landed m Januaiy and died in July,
and the second landed m January and died in Maich
But Kissey Churchy aid is not the only spot thus sacred The
cemcteiy of Fieetown contains many like early graves , and not a
few aie found in other outlying villages It was not, howevei, in
all cases the wife that was taken so soon One grave at Kissey,
for instance, beais this inscription, " Oui dear and blessed
Comad's lesting-place " "Comad" was another Basle man
01 darned m England, the Rev John Conrad Clemens To his
wife, also, a little babe was given, and immediately taken away
again , but she recovered, nuised her dying husband, and then
nobly laboured on m Africa, as a widow, foi nineteen yeais
Sabina Peter von Ella, of Strasburg, deserves, as Mrs Clemens,
an honoured place among the heiomes of Sierra Leone
Some have leproached the Missionaiy Societies for sending out
young women to die, and have suggested that their childien
" have no light to exist " Let such critics lead Di Gust's Dr cust
address on Missionary Heioes m Afnca, m which he speaks SaSa of
so sympathetically of " many a gentle woman's giave, for womeu JJ™J|fsm
have never been found wanting to share the honour and the sum-field
danger of the Cross," and uses these noble woids —"Some are
selected to live and woik, to others is conceded the peculiar
grace to die nobly, and set a glonous example Deaths aie
required as well as Lives to complete the picture of the Now Life
Some may follow the steps of oui Loid m a life of beneficence
and mercy , to others is gi anted the sweeter lot of filling up that
which is behind of His sufferings And in the last struggle, how
by grace they have been sustained, doing nothing common or
mean in the last memoiable scene of then eaxthly passion but
sealing then faith by their mannei of meeting death "
CHAPTEE XV
INDIA Tm OPENED DQOE} m
CMS Work begun before the Opening— The Calcutta Corresponding
Committee— Come and Abdul Masih— The First Missionaries—
The Bishopric of Calcutta— Bishop Middleton— Bishop's College-
Bishop Heber— Burdwan and its Schools— Miss Cooke's Girls'
School— Benares, Agra, Meerut— The Sepoy Convert— Madras and
Tmnevelly— Hough and Rhemus
11 Open y& the gaies, that the righteous which fa&p&th the truth way
mfa in "— Isa XXYI 2
PART in ||MiWjN|i|OW, through the Divine blessing upon the stienuous
1812-24 P Mj |j exertions of Buchanan and Wilberforce and Pratt and
GhaP 16 K SB 91 their alhes, the door of India was opened for the
jQgJIJI Gospel, we have already seen in our Ninth Chapter
We must now see how the Christians of England
availed themselves of the great opportunity
Work in But the Chuich Missionary Society had begun woik in India
before the k^019 ^a* 7ear 1813 ^ Corresponding Committee, compnsmg
door three of the famous "five chaplains," David Brown, Buchanan,
opened and Henry Martyn, and also George Udny, had been formed at
Calcutta m 1807, and money had been gianted to them, first for
translations of the Scriptures, and then for the employment of
Native Christians as " readers " The Society's vote of money for
readers was noticed in the House of Commons by a hostile
member, but Giant succeeded in quieting him
Subsequently, Martyn and Buchanan having left India, and
David Brown dying in 1812, the othei two of the " five chaplains,"
Daniel Come and Thomas Thornason, were the leading spirits ,
and it was under Gome's auspices that the first and most
Come celebrated of these readers was set to woik This was Abdul
andA.bdui jj^ originally Sheikh Salih, a zealous Delh Mohammedan,
and a man of some rank, having been mastei of the jewels at the
Court of Oudh He had been led to seek Christ though hearing
Henry Martyn explaining the Ten Commandments to a crowd of
natives at Cawnpore He engaged himself as a copyist under
Sabat, Martyn's assistant in translating the New Testament into
Hindustani, and as he copied the translated chapters, the enhance
of God's Woid gave light, and the result was that he asked foi
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR , THE ENTE&IXG IN 183
baptism After Maityn left India, on Whit Sunday, 1811, he was PAST III
baptized by David Brown in the Old Church, Calcutta, by the 1812-24
name of Abdul Masih (Servant of Christ) Come, on being ChaP 15
appointed chaplain at Agia, took him there with him, engaging
him as a reader in the name of the Chuich Missionary Society
He was thus the first CMS agent in India , and it is a coinci-
dence woith noting that Gome's diary of the boat journey with
him up the Ganges was one of the communications read at the
first Committee meeting held m the new office m Salisbury Square,
on December 13th, 1813 A nch blessing was vouchsafed to the
Indian evangelist's work, and duung Corne's sixteen months at
Agia over fifty adults, Hindus and Mohammedans, were baptized
So commenced the caieei of the man who was afterwaids ordained
by Bishop Hebei Let it never be forgotten that the first Native
clergyman of the Church of England in India was a conveit from
Mohammedanism Thomason had a poi trait of him painted, and
sent it home to Simeon m 1814 Simeon sent it to the Church
Missionary House, and th ere it hangs to this day A letter of Abdul
Masih's to the Committee, a translation of which is printed m the
Eeport of 1818, is singularly touching ' ' 0 friends of my soul/' he
says, " I who am the least of the servants of the Church of Hmdoo-
stan, give praise to the Loid Jesus, the Messiah, having found
favour of you all " He gives an account of his woik, and particu-
larly of two ex-Moslems who had apostatized, expressing gladness
that the "wolves in sheep's clothing" had thrown off their dis-
guise He sends " salaams " from forty-two men and women and
their children , and concludes, — " May this Letter of Abdul Masih,
written January 1, 1816, from his residence Akbarabad [i e Agra,
the city of Akbar], arrive m London at the Chuich Missionary
House, m the presence of the Eeverend Josiah Pratt ! "
Abdul Masih's journals came home regularly, and proved quite Abdul's
the pi&ce de rtsistancc, sometimes for months together, in the new jourii s
Mmionwy Register , and they excited the deepest interest among
the Society's friends throughout the country It is interesting to
notice that he was, m a humble sense, the first CMS medical
missionary It was reported that m two months he had treated
one hundred cases, had spent a large part of his stipend in
the purchase of medicines, and was known far and wide as the
Christian hahtn His journals greatly encom aged the Committee
As yet there was no fruit to speak of m West Africa, whither all
the missionaries (save the two "lay settleis" for New Zealand)
had hitheito been sent , and heie, befoie a single man had been
sent to India, and at the veiy time that Wilbeiforce was fighting
m Parliament foi liberty to send them, the Lord was already
gathering out His elect, using two mstiuments which have every-
where and at all times, down to the piesent day in Uganda, been
more blessed than any other, the Native Evangelist and the
Written Word The Committee saw m it a confirmation of {f that
first principle of all missionary exertions, an witm confidence in
184 INDIA THE OPENED DOOR, THE ENTERING IN
PAST in God, in the ptudent use of all opportwnbes as they may present
1812-24 thmsekes"*
Ohap 15
— But before the news began to arnve that so cheeied the
Committee— indeed within a month of that first journal of Gome's
being lead,— the great Valedictory Dismissal had been held,
noticed in a previous chapter ,t to take leave of the fust fom
missionaries for India, Ehemus, Schnane, Gieen wood, and Noiton
Buchanan Buchanan's mitten addiess on the occasion is a mastoipicco of
fiS?S*e ^ise counsel, dictated by his own expenence m India, and based
for India Upon our Lord's chaige to the Twelve m St Matthew f It is
notable for its plain statement that a missionaiy's life m India is
not (ordinarily) one of penl or piivation, and foi the waimng that
one of the chief temptations would bo to indolence and case in the
enjoyment of " new modes of comfort " , notable also foi its
earnest exhortation not to send home colomed and (unintention-
ally) misleading reports Let one shoit passage be quoted —
"Beware, especially, of giving too favourable an account of ynm
ability to preach in the native languages, and of the effects of yom
preaching on the heaiers Foi instance, after you lu\o mado some
progress in a particular language, and have committed to memory n fow
theological phrases, you will, peinaps, tiy to conveise with the mtivos
on religious subjects But, in your account of such a conversation m this
stage of your study, do not call it yy\eaclmiq Chi i»t to the pwiplt Foi it
may be that the people scarcely understood a single ilooti mo of youi
address, and that, when they asked you a question, you could not
understand or answer them Tow each C/tnst implies the pi caching of
Him fully, and to the nndei standing of tho people , and that pooplo aio
placed under a heavy responsibility who lejoct tho message hi y<mi
written accounts, therefoie, be just to yourselves, bo just to tho pooplo,
and be just to Christ's doctrine "
Among other staking features of the addiess aie his illustrations
of the use to be made of the descriptions of idolatiy in Iwuuh
and othei prophets, m lieu of meie abuse of tho idols, and his
reference to the unique Chaldaic verse embedded m tho Hebrew
of Jeremiah's piophecy, chap x 11, "Thus shall ye say unto
them, The gods that have not wade the heavens and the cculh, urcit
they shall yensh from the earth, and fiwn wide) time hccweni "
" Just as if," says Buchanan, " while you are receiving mstuictious
in your own tongue, one sentence should be given you m tho
Tamul or Cmghalese language which you should deliver to tho
Hindoos " § This great charge— which a fnend in India (not
named) urged the Committee to adopt as a standing chaige foi
all Indian missionaries— was Buchanan's last work lie died
February 9th, 1815, and Piatt wiote, m well-chosen woidn,
"In his character weie united remaikable simplicity, groat com*
* Eeport, 1815, p 567 f See p 113*
J It is printed an the Appendix to the Report of 1814
§ He names Tamil and Singhalese because two of the mon were gonig to
Madras, and two to Ceylon—though the two latter did actually go to India,
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR , THE ENTERING IN 185
piehension and grasp of mind, with the waimth and glow of PAST ill
genius , and these qualities weie all sanctified by Divine giace, 1812-24
and directed to the promotion of Chnst's Kingdom among men, ° 1J lg
with a boldness and foititude, under difficult cncumstances, the
success of which will endear his memory to geneiations yet
unborn "
The East India Company, loyally accepting the decision of
Parliament, gave Bhemus and Schnarie, befoie the Act actually
came into foice, passages to India and licenses to leside theie,
the Society guaianteemg then charactei and good behavioui (At
a subsequent penod the Committee had to piomise to recall any
missionaiy with whom the Goveinment might be dissatisfied , and
to lequire each man to give a bond foi £450, to secme his retiun
if summoned ) At Madias they weie received by another of the
godly chaplains to whom India owes so much, Marmaduke
Thompson, who was just then forming there a Conespondmg
Committee for South India, The veneiable Di John, who had
for many yeais been at the head of the Danish Mission at
Tranquebar, being just dead, and the S P C K having no one to
send in his place, the two CMS men weie dnected by the
Coriespondmg Committee to go and take chaige for a time , and
although soon afteiwaids they weie recalled to Madras for woik
in the city, othei CMS missionaues weie sent to Tranquebai,
and this airangement continued foi some years In passing it
may be noticed that the first Native teachei engaged under theso
two owed his conveision to his recovery from sickness through
the use of medicines dispensed by them — another foieshadowmg
of the Medical Missions of the future Noiton and Greenwood, More men,
and a new Lutheian cleigyman of great ability and learning,
Chnstopher Gottbold Schioter, followed m 1815, Benjamin
Bailey and Thomas Dawson m 1816 , and the biotheis Schmid,
Baienbruck (the last of the Beilm men), Adlington, Hemy Baker,
and Joseph Fenn, in 1817
This was not a veiy eager response by Chnstian England to the But very
new openings winch God's Px evidence had given to its zeal and ew
energy Noi had othei Societies a woithiei lemforceincnt The
S P C K sent one Lutheran out m 1813, and no more till 1818
The London Missionary Society began to extend m the South,
followed a year 01 two latei by the Wesleyans , and the Baptists
advanced from Serampoi e into the North- West , but the piogiess,
even m staff and machinery, was very slow Thoie was also the
little beginning of the American Congregationahsts at Bombay,
already referred to That waa all
In the meanwhile, the Home Goveinment had fulfilled one
purpose of the Act of 1813, by appointing a Bishop of Calcutta 3Jlfir8tf
Their choice fell upon Di T F Middleton, Aichdeacon of Hun-
tingdon, Vicai of St Pancras, and author of a valuable tieatise,
not on the Greek Article puie and simple, after the fashion of the
dry-as-dust divines known as the " Gieek-play bishops," but on
1 86 INDIA THE OPENED DOOR, THE ENTERING IN
PAST III the Doctnne of the Greek Article applied to the Cnticism and
Gh12~l5 ^/l^ra^on °f MM New Testament, which leally was designed to
ap refute Socmian interpretations of certain impoitant passages
of Scripture bearing on the Deity of the Son and the Holy
Ghost Middleton was a stiong High Churchman, and, as Dr
Overton puts it, "figuratively speaking he hailed from Clapton,
not from Clapham " •• It is worth noting, howevei, as indicating
the views concerning Continental Protestantism then pievaihng
among good men of his type, that in delivering an admirable
charge to Mr Jacobi, the Lutheian missionary sent to India in
1813 by the S P 0 K , he said, " We legard you as invested with
the functions of an apostle " , while Jacobi in his reply, which is
punted, without correction or comment, in the volume of Bishop
Middleton's Sermons and Charges, obseived that he was " very
happy to understand that the Ghuich of England consideis the
Lutheran Chinch as a faithful sister "
The opinion is a common one that the Evangelicals would
necessarily be disappointed at the choice of Middleton for a
bishopnc the establishment of which was so largely due to their
energy , but no evidence of this is produced, and it would seem
more probable that, accustomed as they were to work as a despised
mmonty, and stiangers as they weie to ecclesiastical honours, the
appointment would appeal to them quite natural, and would be
taken as a matter of course Pratt, at all events, knew that an
able and vigorous man was being sent, as he resided m St Pancras,
and had suppoited Middleton in large schemes of Church extension
which some of the paushioneis had bitteily opposed t The
gieater pait of Middleton's chaige to Jacobi is punted in the
Missionary Register of January, 1814 , and the very next number
opens with this announcement —
BISHOP FOR INDIA
Archdeacon Middleton, whose Address to Mr Jacobi we
noticed m our last Number, has been appointed the new
Bishop for India — the most important charge with
which any English Clergyman ever left hia native shores !
Care not So India got its fiist Bishop , but foi fear of offending the
indiaend Natives— very few indeed of whom can have known or cared any-
thing about it — he was conseciated privately m Lambeth Palace
Chapel (May 8th, 1814), and the Dean of Winchester's sermon
on the occasion was not allowed to be printed The Missionary
Register, however, printed the Bishop of Chester's valedictory
address at the S P C K House, and Middleton's reply How
Bishop Law viewed the matter may be judged from these words
" The establishment of Episcopacy will most effectually check
* See p 39
•f Mr* Hole suggests that the great Parliamentary grant of one million
sterling for building churches in 1818 was indirectly a result of Middleton's
wort at St Panoras
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR, THE ENTERING IN 187
every erroneous doctrine, stop the wild progiess of enthusiasm, PAST III.
and spread the knowledge of uncorrupted Christianity " 1812-24
In due course Bishop Middleton landed m India Sir John ° p 15
Kaye quaintly says ' —
"There was no commotion, no excitement Offended Hinduism did But India
not rise up in arms, nor indignant Mohammedanism raise a war cry of cared not
death to the infidel Bnghsh gentlemen asked each other at the dinner-
table if they had seen the Bishop, but the heart of Hinduism beat
calmly, as was its wont The Bishop preached in the Christian temple
on the Christian's bw a dm , and that night the Europeans in Calcutta slept
soundly in their beds There was not a massacre , there was not a rebellion
The merchant took his place at the desk , the pubhc servant entered his
office , and the native undeihngs salaamed meekly and reverentially as
ever Everything went on as usual, ui spite of the Bishop, and his lawn
sleeves, and his sermon on Christmas Bay It really seemed probable,
after all, that British dominion m the East would survive the blow "
It was the same when he took his journeys Brahman priests
whose lands did not yield them enough revenue welcomed the
Lord Padre Sahib, thinking that he would look on them as
brothers and squeeze grants for them out of the Government
purse , others asked him for a little money towards the repair of
their temples , and the Bishop, instead of finding them either
terror-stricken at his approach on the one hand, or leady to be
converted on the other, found that a few rupees judiciously
distributed weie his best passpoit
Middleton became a good and hard-working bishop in some Bishop
ways, though his life was much embittered by disputes with the J
Government about his junsdiction ovei the military chaplains, by
frequent stiuggles on points of etiquette and precedence, and by
the pretensions of the principal Presbyterian chaplain, Di Bryce,
a combative man, to be quite as good as any bishop But the
Church Missionary Society had to suffer great disappointment on
account of two of his decisions He declined either to license
the missionaries 01 to ordain Natives He has often been blamed
for these refusals , but both were due to an honest belief that his
commission fiom the State gave him no authority to do eithei
The result, however, was (1) that Abdul Masih, for whose ordina-
tion the Society had fondly hoped, had to wait until Middleton
had been succeeded by Heber , and (2) that the missionaiies, not
being licensed, weie piecluded from ministering even occasionally
to English congregations This question perplexed and troubled the
Bishop not a little He was not happy about the presence in his
diocese of clergymen without his license " I must either license
them," he said, " or silence them " He conscientiously declined
to do the first, and he found himself unable to do the second
Nevertheless, the Committee determined that nothing on their
part should prevent such co-operation with the Bishop as they
were permitted to lender When he formed his great plan foi
* Cftnaiioroty in India, p 290
1 88 INDIA THE OPENED DOOR , MB ENTERING IN
FABT III the establishment of Bishop's College, proposing to apply to it
1812-24 that giant of £5000 which first extended the opeiations of the
Chappie s p Q to India>< and when the S P 0 K thereupon voted a hke
CMS sum, the Committee lesolved not to be behind the oldei Societies,
|™£of and proceeded to vote £5000 too out of the Society's General
Eund— one-sixth of its Income for the yeai— foi the same purpose ,
and Pratt wrote in the Register, "We heartily re] oice in the
co-opeiation of these thiee Societies in this gieat object, and trust
that this co-operation will tend to cheush a kind and friendly spint
among then Membeis, both in then proceedings at home and in
then: exeitions among the Heathen "f The following Minute was
passed at the Committee meeting of July 12th, 1819 —
" Resolved— That this Society cannot behold without a high degree of
gratitude the geneial interest at this time manifesting itself, through
every part of the Kingdom, m favour of the Venerable Society f 01 the
Piopagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts , and contemplates with
peculiar pleasure the zeal and readiness with which it has adopted the
important Plan suggested by the Lord Bishop of Calcutta for establishing
a Mission College near Calcutta, and the promptitude with which the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge has agreed to support the
said Plan , and that this Society, desirous of co-operating in the same
great and common Cause, do now make a like Grant of £5000 for the
same purpose, and that its Oonesponding Committee at Calcutta be
empowered to express to his Lordship its respectful acknowledgments
of the enlarged views which he has so eminently displayed in his plans
for promoting the Conversion of the Native Population of India , and to
request that Tie will be pleased to accept the sum hereby voted, to be
paid by the Society's Corresponding Committee, in such manner and at
such times as his Lordship may wisli "
Not content with this conspicuous token of then1 eagei desire to
support the Bishop, the Committee m the following year voted
£1000 towards the maintenance of the College, and repeated the
vote in the two succeeding years , but Middletonhad just sciuples
about drawing this money, as the College statutes piovided that
students would be at the disposal of S P G The grants weie,
howevei, duly paid, but the Committee had some little difficulty
m justifying them to some of their suppoiters, and in 1826 they
issued an elaborate memoiandum on the subject Eventually
better ariangements were made foi receiving CMS students ,
but little use was ever made of this pnvilege
Bishop's in ch^ course a fine building was elected on the bank, of the
0 e£e Hooghly, three or foui miles below Calcutta , and the Bishop
threw his whole heart into the development of the scheme A
bellow of Tnmty, Cambudge, Dr Mill, went out as Principal, and
high hopes were entertained of the usefulness of the new Univei-
sity of the East, as Middleton loved to call it But for leasons
which have never been clearly understood, or at all events never
* See p 148
f The Bible Society, subsequently, also voted £5000, of course specifically
for Bible translations
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR, THE ENTERING TN 189
oleaily explained, the College did not prove a success For one PAST III
thing, it was ceitamly piemature It was for the high classical 1812-24
and theological education of the Native Chustians , but there were p
not then, nor weie there for long yeais after, a sufficient nurnbei
of suitable conveits belonging to the Church of England "Ulti-
mately, after a stiuggle lasting half a century, the buildings were
sold to Government The institution, on a rnoie modest scale, is
now earned on in the heait of the city by the Oxfoid Mission
As time went on, Bishop Middleton learned to value the
missionaiies, and began to desne a closer connexion with them
But in the midst of hopeful negotiations with the Society, which
gave Pratt great satisfaction, the Bishop died, on July llth, JJjJ*}}^
1822, aftei a few days' illness, brought on, no doubt, by the fatigue
involved in his immense journeys The Diocese of Calcutta com-
prised all India, and Ceylon, and Amttalm! — but no Indian
bishop ever attempted to reach that ultima Thule, of his jurisdic-
tion Even within India pioper, the tiavelling, in pie-iailway
days, was wearying and weanng m the extreme , and Middleton' a
thiee successois all fell victims to its exhaustion Indeed the
Diocese of Calcutta enjoys the unique honour of having had seven
bishops in succession, not one of whom came home to die The
eighth was spared to retire aftei twenty yeais' woik , but all his
predecessois fell at then post Theie is no other foieign diocese
m the woild with a similar lecoid
Middleton' s immediate successor was Bcginald Heber, Recto: j^™1*
of Hodnet, Shiopshire, a bulliant scholai and Quaiteily Beviewei,
a tiue poet, a devoted paush clergyman , a fascinating peisonality
altogether, loved and admired by all who knew km •" "No man,"
wrote young Lord Ashley (afterwaids the great Bail of Shaftes-
buiy) in 1826, " ever equalled Bishop Hebei His talents weie of
the most exquisite character If he weie not a Soeiates, able to
knock down by force of leasonmg the most stubborn opposeis, he
was like Orpheus, who led even stones and tiees by the enchant-
ment of his music " \ His appointment was hailed with ]oy by
the Evangelicals Not that he was one of thon own body Indeed
he has been sometimes claimed as a High Churchman He was
leally in the best sense a model ate man, and singularly free from
party piejudice of any kind In a letter to a young clergyman
advising him to "avoid singularities, " he specifies "the High
Churchman who snuffles m a pompous tone through his nose, and
the Evangelical minister who picaches extempoie " He wrote
occasionally for the Clm&faan Obseivcr, but he objected to piayer-
meetings Perceiving the gleat influence of hymns among the
Dissenters, he compiled a hymn-book for Church use, appropriate **ia
to the Church seasons , but as neithei the Aichbishop of Canter- ymas'
bury nor the Bishop of London would authorize its use, he
* See Dr 0- Smith.' s delightful biography (Murray, 1895)
t Life of Lord Skuftesbwy, vol i p 102
190 INDIA f THE OPENED DOOR , THE ENTER:NG IN
PABT III refrained fiom publishing it " His own hymns, especially " Holy,
1812-24 noiy} noiy} L01fl Qod Almighty " and " The Son of God goes foith
ap to wai," have of themselves immoitahzed his name, and still
more, the greatest of inissionaiy hymns, "lYom Greenland's icy
mountains " t But Hebei besides being an exemplary parish
clergyman, was a thorough believer in Missions He was a warm
suppoiter, not only of the S P G and S P C K , but also of the
CMS and the Bible Society { Foi the Bible Society, indeed, his
fiist missionaiy sermon was preached at Shrewsbury m 1813 A
sermon for the CMS, at Whittmgton in 1820, on the words,
"Thy Kingdom come," is a singularly eainest and impiessive
appeal " When you are about to he down this night," he said
to the congiegation, " and begin, in the words which the Loid has
taught you, to commend youi bodies and souls to His protection,
will you not blush, will you not iaemble to think, while you say
to God, ' Thy Kingdom come 1 ' tihat you have this day lefused
your contributions towards the extension of that Kingdom? I
know you will not refuse them 1 "
Heber and Hebei was oonseciated on June 1st, 1823 , and on the 9th he
c M s attended a meeting of the C M S Committee, and assuied them,
that he " entiiely appioved the principles on which the Society's
Missions m the Bast weie conducted, and was going out with the
most cordial disposition to render them every assistance in his
power " His policy was quite diffeient from Middleton's He
avoided friction with the civil authorities , he made fnends with
the Baptist and Congregationahst missionaries , he put the evan-
gelization of the Heathen m the forefront of the Church's duty in
India He took a different view of his powers and responsibilities
fiom that taken by his piedecessor, and on arriving m India, he
* Some of these particulars are from Overtoil's English Church in the
Nineteenth Century
t On Whit Sunday, 1819, Dr Shipley, Dean of St Asaph and Yicar of
Wiexhara, pieaohed a sermon in Wrexham Church m aid of the 8 P Q- That
day was also fixed upon for the commencement of the Sunday Evening
Lectures intended to be established m that church— an important event m
the parish at a time when Evening Services were still few and far between.
Reginald Heber, then Rector of Hodnet, the Dean's son-in-law, undertook to
deliver the first lectnre In the course of the Saturday previous, the Dean
and his son-in law being together at the Vicarage, the former requested
Heber to write "something for them to sing m the morning," and he
retired for that purpose from the table, where the Dean and a few friends
were sitting, to a distant part of the room In a short time the Dean
mquiredj "What have you written?" Heber, having then composed the
three first verses, read them over " There, there, that will do very well,"
said the Dean "No, no, the sense is not complete," replied Heber
Accordingly he added the fourth versej and the Dean being inexorable to
Ins repeated request of " Let me add another, oh, let me add another," thus
completed the hymn, which has since become so celebrated It was sung
the next morning in Wrexham Church, for the first time A facsimile of
Heber's onginal MS appealed in the 0 M Gleaner of April, 1882
t Heber's project of uniting the QMS. with the SPG has been
already mentioned, p 151
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR , THE ENTERING IN 191
at once arianged to give episcopal licenses to the missionanes ' PAET III,
He also expressed his leadmess to leceive Natives of India as
candidates foi oidmation— a shoit Act of Paiharnent being passed
on purpose to confiim his authoiity to do so , and, as befoie
intimated, he admitted Abdul Masih— who had aheady leceived
Lutheian oideis upon Middleton's lefusal to oidam him — to the
mmistiy of the Chinch of England, by confeirmg Anglican
oideis upon him on Novembei 30th, 1825 \ He fuithei greatly
pleased the Evangelical leadeis by appointing Daniel Come
Aichdeacon of Calcutta Come indeed had been a pM&ona giata
with Bishop Middleton, who had spoken of him in the warmest
teims
Let us now take a bnef survey of the Society's Missions in Survey
India as they had been developed during Middleton's Episcopate, Missions
and as they appealed when Hebei landed at Calcutta
In the ten yeais, 1814 to 1823, the Society had sent to India
twenty-six men fouiteen to the Noith, eleven to the South, and
one to Bombay Thnteen weie English cleigynien, and ele\en
weie Geimans in Lutheian oidois, the lemaimng two weie a
schoolmastei and a puntei There was also an able and devoted
Emasian, William Bowley, who had leceived Lutheian oideis in
India Three had died, and one had retuined invalided Eleven
stations had been occupied by Euiopean missionanes, and at
seveial othei places there weie native catechists and schools
supported by the Society, but supei vised by Company's chaplains
The woik was entuely administered by the Coriespondmg Com- The corre-
mittees at Calcutta, Madias, and Bombay, the Society voting c£JJJ?lng
them large giants of money year by year, and leaving to them its mittees
distribution, and (in most cases) the location of missionaries —
even the tiansfei of a man from Madias to Calcutta, 01 moe wsd
No other system was possible at a time when a lettei took five
months to go or come, — foi instance, the death of Bishop Middleton,
on July llth, was not known in England till Decembei And
the Corresponding Committees consisted of Company's chaplains
and officials who weie devoted to the Society's spiutual principles
and fitted by long expenence m India to devise and carry out
* Dr Overfcon (English Church in the Nineteenth Contwyt p 276) says
that Eeber (< very properly insisted that the missionaries gent ont by the
CMS should be as ranch, under his jurisdiction as those sent out by other
Church Societies, and lie succeeded in carrying his point, though tho rule was
not formally recognized by the Society " This is the one single instance in
which 1 find Dr Overton maocmato (1) As regaids episcopal licenses, the
Society had begged for them from Bishop Middleton, and rejoiced when
Eeber gave them (2) There were no English missionaries of other Church
Societies when Hebei went out, except the piofossois m Bishop's College,
belonging to the SPG- Thioe young SPG men aiuved during Heber's
short episcopate In the South, all the S P 0 K men were Germans in
Lutheran oideis
| This, as before stated, was the first Anglican ordination of a Native of
India But Eeber had already 01 darned, in India, a Native of Oeylon,
u student at Bishop's College, named Christian David
192 INDIA THE OPENED DOOR , PHE ENTERING IN
PABT III good plans At Calcutta, Thomason was Hon Secietary , at
1812-24 Madias, Marmaduke Thompson , at Bombay, Thomas Cair (after-
Chapels wai£g ^gt B^op of Bombay) The Tieasuiei at Madias was
J M Stiachan, m aftei yeais peihaps the most influential layman
in the counsels of Salisbury Squaie George Udny, who had been
one of the onginal piomoteis of missionaiy woik in Bengal twenty
years befoie, was still a member of the Calcutta Committee
But the Committee at home then contained scaicely any one, save
Charles Giant, who knew India personally The position is
almost entnely leveised at the present day On the one hand,
there aie veiy few chaplains m India of the type of Come and
Thornason On the othei hand, Anglo-Indian officials aie an
impoitant element in the Home Committee, and so are letued
missionaiies , and both classes add to their past local expenence
the largei experience gamed in the Committee itself of Missions
all round the woild Add again to this a mail communication m
less than a foitmght, and the electric telegraph, and we can lealize
the immense change that time has wi ought Whether the con-
sequent tendency to centiahzation may not go too far is a fuithei
question, not to be discussed heie
Ecciesias- Difficulties, howevei, arose between some of the missionaries —
cuitiesffi" paiticulaily some of the Lutheians— and the Corresponding Com-
mittees , the foimer objecting to being conti oiled by the lattei
The Home Committee had to interpose, and m 1818 they laid
down impoitant lules on the subject The missionaries weie
bidden to recognize the Ml authonty of the Conesponding Com-
mittees m " external affaus," which weie defined as compusing
" the fixing of stations, the locations and tiansfeience of mission-
aneg, leception 01 dismissal of catechists and othei assistants,
the regulation of salanes, the undeitakmg and the geneial
planning of buildings, &c " In " internal affaus," which weie
denned as " the spiritual power and authority for the due exeicise
of which a missionaiy was lesponsible to the ecclesiastical lulers
of the Church he belonged to," the missionaries weie to be
directed by "the Bishop or othei legular Ecclesiastical Powei "
The Society "assumed no contiol over the conscience of a
missionaiy in the discharge of his spiritual functions," but "it
would ever exeicise the right of letaming 01 dismissing him,
according as it might approve 01 disappiove his views, tempei,
or conduct " Counsel's opinion, however, which was obtained
at this time, affirmed that the Bishop had absolute power over
locations— that is, of English clergymen He had no authority
over laymen , nor over Lutheian ministers — so wheie was the
"Ecclesiastical Power" that was to contiol the very persons
with whom the difficulties aioso? The Committee, howevei,
gave positive instructions that Anglican forms of worship were
to be used m all the Society's Missions, and at the same time
* See p, 54
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR , THE ENTERING IN 193
passed a lesolution to receive no Lutheran candidate who was PART III
unwilling to promise this p?1^""2*
In legaid to funds, the Corresponding Committees undertook GhaP 16
laige lesponsibihties They did much moie than admmistei Liberal
giants fiom England They boldly set foiththe punciple that J^1^-
for the evangelization of India the English m India weie pn- India
manly lesponsible, and they treated the Society's giants as
virtually grants-in-aid to Missions locally suppoited and woiked
Foi rmssionaiies they might have to look to England , but foi
money they looked pumanly to India — ceitamly for the money
foi buildings, the maintenance of schools, and the payment of
Native agents This system was originated at Calcutta, in 1817,
by a seimon pleached by Corrie at the Old Chuich, in which,
having just returned from England, he told the Anglo-Indians
how, m his own fathei's pansh at home, the pooi weie denying
themselves to send the Gospel to the Heathen "When," said
he, " shall we begin to see British Christians in India do the
same?" No less than £300 was collected aftoi that seimon
Thomason wiote — " This was in eveiy le&pect an interesting
occasion Nevei before had a Discouise been dehveied, pro-
fessedly with a Mis&ionaiy object, fioin a pulpit of the Established
Chuich in India It is my full intention to keep up the pi notice,
if it please God to spare my life " And the success of the plan
was lemaikable Foi instance, m 1823, while the Calcutta Com-
mittee diew bills on the Society at home foi £7387, they raised
in Bengal ]ust £4000 , and while the Madras Committee diew
on the Society for £3390, they raised on the spot just £2000 In
fact, the number of godly officeis and civilians in India lud
laigely increased, under the influence of the many devoted men
for whom Simeon, through Chailes Grant, had obtained chaplains'
appointments , and then scale of giving was much highei than
pievailed, 01 evei has pievailed, m England When we aie
told, as we so often aie told, that Anglo-Indians do not believe m
Missions, the answei is that they aie the most liberal supporteis
of the very Missions their eyes have seen, most of which were
actually started at then instance and at their expense That is
to say, the truly Christian men among them , and who else aie
competent judges ?
Glancing now at the CMS Missions as they appealed m 1823,
we find that the Goriespondmg Committees had from the fiist
set before them three metJiods of missionary woik foi adoption,
viz , the (1) Press, (2) Schools, and (3) what they called Missionary
Establishments, i e stations with oicUined missionaries Tho
employment of Native Chnstian "leaders" like Abdul Masih
was appaiently included undei the fiist head, as they were to
"read" to then countrymen the Scnptuies, tiacts, &o, which Work at
the Pi ess produced, but of course, as " missionaiy establish-
ments " multiplied, these " readers " developed into " oatechists "
under the oidamed missionary All three methods were being
VOL i o
194 INDIA ' TtJR OPENED DOOR , THE ENTERING IN
III woiked at Calcutta The Mission (after a temporary location at
1812-24 Gaiden Beach, south of the city) had secuied a valuable piece of
15 giound in the heait of that pait of the native quartei known as
Mnzapore,*1 usmg for its pui chase a gift of Es 30,000 from Major
Phipps At that time the Society had a plan for establishing
in all its Missions what were called " Christian Institutions,"
by which was meant a seminary foi the preparation of Native
teachers, with mission-house, church, pnnting-office, &c , all in
one compound The pui chase at Mnzapore was with this object ,
and it has been an impoitant centre of woik, moie or less on
those lines, fiom that day to this A church, Tiinity Chuich,
was built, and opened m 1826 A punting establishment was
started under a man named Blown, who had been sent out for
the purpose, after serving foi some years in the pnnting-office
X JM ' V V X tJ
employed by the Society in London 1 He was leally in his own
piovmce an excellent missionary, and died at his post in 1824
Piesses and founts of type, English, Arabic, and Persian, weie
sent'out by the Society , the Nagii or Sanscut charactei types
being obtained m India Portions of Scupture, piayei-books,
catechisms, pumeis, hymn-books, tracts, simple expositions,
were produced in laige numbers, and it is inteiestmg to see
in one of the lists " 500 Hints on Piayei foi the Outpouring of
the Holy Spirit "
Firat Schools of various giades weie giadually staited both in
schools* Calcutta and in several othei of the chief cities of Noith India ,
and every effoit was made to mtioduce what was then known
as the New 01 National System of Education This was the
pupil-teachei system staited m England by Di Bell,} and
woiked by the National Society, which was founded m 1811
Bell himself had invented it at Madias, $ and the Chuich
Missionary Society took it back to India To us now it seems
cmious that no attempt was m the fiist instance made to give
Chustian teaching in those small schools But the idea was
to awaken a desue for knowledge, howevei simple, as a road
* Not to bo confounded with the town of tliat immc noai Benaies, which
IB a si ahem of the L !M S
f The film f}hon\vas W M Watts The business was m aftoi ^ ens taken
ovei by Me&siH Gilbcit and Jtwngton, who me slill the Society's cluo!
punters
I Aurt, alnioat simultaneous, by Thonms Lnnnaslci, uho instituted tho
"Butish" 01 uudouommational form of education, 111 contiadistinotiou to the
" National " education of Bell ond the Ohiuch Ihe contiovorsj between the
advocates of these systems was as bitter then as it has been in leoent yoais
§ He was an army chaplain there, and supenntended the education of the
boys at the Mihtaiy Orphan Asylum One day he chanced to BOG somo
Native children -writing with then fingeis on the sond Ho told a toachei au
the school to teach tho alphabet in the some way , but the teachei neglected
to do so, and then Bell set an eldor boy to teach the youngei so This was
the origin of the whole pupil teachei system, the discovery of which was
welcomed in England with quite extraordinary enthusiasm See Over-ton,
English Church m the Nineteenth Cettfrur^ chap vu
INDIA ' THE OPENED DOOR , THE ENTERING IN 195
by which the Gospel should afterwards travel Of the first PART III
school opened, at Kidderpore, a subuib of Calcutta, the Com- lfl2-24 !
mittee say m the Bepoit of 1817,— "It is undei the care of Chap 1B
the missionaries, but is not likely to alarm prejtidice, as the
schoolmaster ^s not a Chmtian" It would be easy to cnti-
cize such a system now Apparently it was criticized -then ,
foi the Committee, m the Bepoit of 1819, enteied into a careful
defence of it "Wheie we cannot effect what we would,"
they say, "it is the pait of piudence to attempt what we
can "
And ceitamly this system did piove the thin end of the wedge
Foi example, at and around Burdwan, an impoitant town Burdwan,
seventy miles noith-east of Calcutta, seveial village schools weie
staited by a Chnstian officer stationed thcie, Captain Stewait,
in communication with the Coriespondmg Committee and with
funds piovided by them At fiist the Scnptures weio not even
lead in them, and Thomason wrote that he thought Captain
Stewart had acted " very wisely " Then it Wtis ananged to open
a cential school in the town, at which English should be taught,
and to which should be diafted the most pioimsmg of the village
scholais Heie we see the embryo "Anglo-Vernacular School "
And as the scholais could not come m daily, Stewart piovidcd
lodging and food foi them foi the inside of each week — m which
plan we see the embiyo Mission JBoai ding- School Aftei tins
had been going on foi a year, Thornason wiote — "Burdwan is
now ripe for a Missionaiy He will have a largo School of JBoys
piepaied foi him, aheady well taught, capable of leceivmg any
m&ti notion that he may judge it expedient to impait He will
have escaped the diudgeiy of elemental y instruction, and will
sit down at once to the full and niatuie laboms of a Missionary " ,
and Stewart, having thus gained the conhdence of tho paients,
gave notice that the Chiibtun Scuptiaos would bo mtioduced
into the cential school when tho raiasionaiy arrived In due
couise he did amve, and aftei anotliei yooj, the English IOBI-
dents at Buxdwan, invited to the annual Examination, beheld
with astonishment the Gospels being lead, taught, and questioned
upon, in a school of Heathen boys, with then Heathen paients
looking on " Tho Biahnuns stood by, and heard then boys
speak of Jesus as the Son of God and the Savioui of tho World,
and of His command to go and pi each the Gospel to all people,
without utteimg a word " Yet the boys themselves, only a law
months befoie, had objected to read any book which contained
the name of Jesus The following year, 1822, the report was,
" The Gospels are now read in all the schools Who could have
expected, a yeai ago, to sec a thousand Hindu childien leading
the Gospel?" The wedge had been duven home; and it is
simple matter of historical fact that more convoits from Hinduism
have been gatheicd into tho Chnstian Church through the Results pf
influence, diiect 01 indnect, of schools, than by any othei one
o 2
196 INDIA * THE OPMMED DOOR , THE ENTERING Itf
III instrumentality Even at the piesent day, when the evan-
1812-24 gehstic pieacher or lecturei goes out fiom England foi a winter's
ChopJL5 eampaign among English-speaking Natives, the knowledge of
Ghiistianity that he builds upon in addiessmg those who are still
Heathen has been gamed by them in Mission Schools When
one and anothei yields to the claims of Chnst piessed by these
evangelists, he yields to a Lord and Savioui whose claims he
well knew befoie — claims which, humanly speaking, he would
not have recognized now but foi that pnoi knowledge
One of the missionaiies who was located at Burdwan boie a
name which has become highly honouied in his distinguished
The sons This was the Eev John Peiowne, who went out and
Perownes j^Q^g^ ^ Bmdwan seven yeais He was the father of Bishop
J J S Peiowne, of Woicestei , of Di E H Perowne, Mastei of
Corpus , and of Archdeacon T I Peiowne, of Norwich
No othei station m Bengal pioper, outside the capital, was
occupied except Buidwan But higher up the gieat plain of the
Ganges, in that pait of India afteiwaids (in 1833) designated
the North-West Provinces, woik had been begun at seveial cities,
generally thiough the influence of Anglo-Indians already there
Gome's residence at Agia as chaplain had fixed the location
theie of Abdul Masih , and during the penod now under review,
the faithful old evangelist continued his labouis amid the respect
of all who knew him He was supported by the counsel and
sympathy of a godly officer, Lieutenant Tomkyns Gome's
appointment to Benaies, on his return from his fuilough, had
issued m a determination on the paifc of the Society to assault
that great fortiess of Hindu idolatiy His own heart was
deeply moved by the scenes aiound him He was no modem
globe-trotter, viewing the degrading superstitions of Benares with
languid curiosity Like St Paul at Athens, his spirit was stirred
within him, and he saw m those ciowds of deluded devotees
immoital beings who might be living for the glory of God
He wrote also of a neighbouimg distiict, quite a small one,
wheie a friend of his was magistrate, that in it two widows, on
an average, were burnt every month, that sis lepeis weie
buried alive within the yeai , and that one hundred peisons had,
m the yeai, drowned themselves m wells, in levenge for some
Benares offence An unexpected opening foi good woik in Benaies
came thiough a wealthy Hindu, named Jay Naiain, establishing
and endowing a laige Boys' School, and handing it ovei to the
Church Missionary Society This great School has evei since
been an important educational agency, and has given a know-
ledge of the Christian faith to many who have only embraced the
faith in after years.
Chunar, on the Ganges, not far from Benares, was occupied
w BOW- ° ' *•
ley
* " From Hinduism " Not reckoning the large accessions from the non-
Aryan peoples
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR t THE ENTERING IN 197
also at Gome's instance It was a Government station for invalid PAST III
soldieis, and the policy at that time was to begin by piovidmg 1812-24
schools foi the childien of Englishmen, who, like the lest of the Gbap 15
Eurasian population, weie much neglected That this class was
worth caring foi was illustiated by the fact that the missionaiy
who was stationed at Ghunai, and whose name will ever be
inseparably connected with it, William Bowley, was himself an
Eurasian He was at fiist employed as a catechist Then, when
Bishop Middleton declined to oidain Natives of the countiy, he
received Lutheran oiders, fiom tluee of the Lutheran ministers
aheady in the field, at the same time as Abdul Masih In 1825,
again along with Abdul Masih, he was 01 darned as an Anglican
cleigyman by Bishop Hebei He laboured at Chnnar with
exemplary devotion for neaily thiity yeais Gieenwood, who has
been mentioned moie than once befoie as one of the first two
English clergymen engaged as missionanes m India, was also at
Chunar, doing the English part of the work
At Meeiut, the fuithest to the noith-west of all the stations, an Meerut
inteiestmg woik was earned on undei the supeimtendenee of
anothei of the zealous chaplains, the Rev Henry Fisher Two
particulaily inteiestmg conveits heie come into view The first
was a Biahman named Permanund, who had been conveited to
Chust under the teaching of the Baptist missionaiy mentioned m
a foimer chapter as having been twice sent down from the North-
West under guaid by ordei of the Government • He had not,
however, been baptized, because he wished his infant son to be
admitted into the visible Chinch with him, and this, of course,
the Baptist missionaiy would not do He came undei the notice
of Mrs Sherwood, the wife of an omcei at Meeiut, and the well-
known authoiess of excellent books for young people, and in
1815 she obtained for him an appointment as schoolmaster under
the C M S Corresponding Committee He was thus the Society's
fiist agent in that city, and at Christmas, 1816, he was baptized
by Mr Fishei by the name of Anund Masih (Joy of Ghnst) He
labouied for twenty yeais, and then was oidained It is a thing
to lemember that the fiist Native clergyman of the Chuich of
England in Noith India (Abdul Masih) had been a Mohammedan,
and that the second (Anund Masih) had been a Biahman— the two
classes from which those who knew not the powei of Divine
grace had often declared that no converts could be won
The other inteiestmg conveit at Meeiut was a non-commissioned
officer in the 25th Sepoy regiment, a Biahinan of veiy high caste,
who, having long been convinced of the folly of idolatry, and
having seen something of Chnstian worship when serving in
Mauntius, came spontaneously to a room over the city gate
at Meerut, where Anund Masih had gathered a few converts,
and at once joined the little community, and was baptized by the
* See p, 99,
198 INDIA THE OPENED DOOR > THE ENTERING IN
PAST III name of Matthew Prabhu-dm The officer commanding the
1813-24 legiment lepoited to the G-oveinment " so singular and unpiece-
Chap^lS fluted an ocoimence " as the convex sion of a Sepoy to Christianity,
sepoy stating that "the gieatest consternation" pievailed among the
cashiered Native ^°°PS) an(^ ^at senous mischief might lesult The
Governoi -General oidered a special Commission of Inquiry, and
it tinned out that the only " consternation " had been among the
English officers, and that Piabhu-dm, though he could no longei
eat with the Biahmans in the regiment, was still lespected by
them as a good soldiei Nevertheless, he was dismissed,
"rejected," wiote Fisher, "by his eaithly commandei, because
he was a Chustian " The Goveinment allowed him his pension,
and afteiwaids offeied him admission to another legiment , but
this he declined, saying he had done nothing to deserve dismissal
fiorn his own • He continued a faithful Christian, and was often
alluded to in warm teims in Mi Fisher's leports
The Society had also for some time schools and agents at
Allahabad, Lucknow, and Delhi The fiist Church of England
woik, theiefoie, at the last-named city, now famous as a gieat
SPG centre, was done by the C M S Anund Masih frequently
visited Delhi, and a sect of Hindu ascetics called Saadhs came
undei his influence, but no great lesults followed It is also
On the notewoi thy that the fiist attempt to cairythe Gospel to Thibet
Thibet0 was made by the Society dunng this penod At Titalya, then
a military station in the Himalayas, the commanding officei,
Captain Lattei, was a zealous Christian, and at his instance the
Geiman missionary Sclnotei, who accompanied Greenwood and
Noiton to India in 1815, was appointed to that place, with a view
to his studying the Thibetan language, becoming acquainted with
the people, and prepanng Scnptuies and tiacts for them His
letteis, and those of Captain Lattei, duung four or five years, aie
very mteiesting , but he died in 1820, the first CMS missionary
lemoved by death in any Mission except West Africa , and Latter
also dying soon afterwaids, the enterprise was never lesumed
But Schioter left important MSS of his Thibetan studies, and
these weie handed over to Caiey and the Seiampoie Mission as a
help to the translational work going on theie, while his valuable
collection of books on Thibet was given to Bishop's College
Schrofcei himself was a lemarkable man— a gieat linguist and a
true and humble missionary So also were the next two men
who died in India, Schnane and La Roche, both likewise
Lutherans
One moie important forward step taken at this time in North
* The full details, Tnth the official correspondence and minutes of the
Commission of Inquiry, are published in Wilkinson's fetches of Qhnntiamty
m North Iwfaa (London, 1844) Sir John Kaye, who is generally on the
Christian aide upon questions of the kind, disputes the fact of the man being
dismissed because he was a Christian (Qhnstianrty in India, p 342) , but
the official documents seem decisive on the point
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR, THE ENTERING IN
India calls foi notice In 1820, Miss M A Cooke was sent out PAST III
by the Butish and Foieign School Society, at the request of a 1812-24
local educational body at Calcutta, with a view to her starting a p 5
school foi Hindu girls Female education had already been First pis1
successfully begun at Serampore by Mrs Maishman, of theg™8
Baptist Mission , and Miss Cooke was to make a further attempt Cooke
m the same dnection After a few months, the local body found
itself without funds to go on, and transferred Miss Cooke to the
CMS While she was still studying Bengali, and wondeiing in
what way she might presently begin to work, an incident occuried
which gave her an unexpected opening On January 25th, 1822
—a date woith noting — Miss Cooke visited one of the Boys'
Schools, in older to obseive the pronunciation of the language
" An European Female," as the Eepoit quaintly styles her, m the
heart of the native town, was a novelty which drew a ciowd lound
the school dooi In the crowd was a little girl, whom the Native
teachei diove away, telling Miss Cooke that the child had for
thiee months been distuibmg them by begging to be allowed to
learn to read with the boys Miss Cooke immediately said that
sha would come the very next day, and begin to teach her as well
as she could Next day, accoidmgly, she went again, accom-
panied by an Englishwoman who had been long in India and
spoke Bengali well They found fifteen girls assembled, and
their motheis standing outside, eagerly peering through the
lattice The women were admitted, and a most interesting con-
versation took place The lady fuend, who is not named, thus
narrates it —
" They inquired whether Miss Cooke was married I answered No
Had she been, or was she going to be P
"'No she is man led, or devoted, to your ohildien she heard in
England that the women of this countiy were kept in total ignorance ,
that they were not taught even to read and write, and that the men
alone were allowed to learn, and that theie was no female to teach you
She therefore felt much sorrow foi youi state, and detei mined to leave
her country, her parents, her fnends, and eveiy other advantage, and
come here for the solo purpose of educating your female children '
" They with one voice cried out, smiting their bosoms with then right
Lands, ' Oh, what a peail of a woman is this ' '
" I added, ' She has given up evory earthly expectation to come here
she seeks not the nches of this world, but that she may promote your
best interests '
" ' Our children are yoms ' we give them to you ! ' replied two or three
of tlio mothers at once "
Two days afterwards this lady went again —
"One asked, 'What will be the use of learning to our female
children p '
" I said, 'It will enable them to be more useful to then- families , and
it will tend to gam them respect, and increase the harmony of families n
u ' True,1 said one, " our husbands now look upon us us little better
than brutes,'
200 INDIA THE OPENED DOOR , THE ENTERING IN
III " Another said, ' And what benefit mil you denve P '
1812-24 " ' The only return we wish is to promote your happiness '
Chap 15 « < Then I suppose tins is a holy work, and pleasing to your God ' "
It is a far cry fiom this simple beginning to the accomplished
Christian Indian ladies who aie graduates of the Umveisities , yet
the one has led on, step by step, to the othei Miss Gooke, at
least, had faith to believe in great lesults In a few weeks,
petitions began to corne to her asking for a girls' school in this
and that street, and when she sent to England her first repoit, she
could tell of fifteen schools at work, and neaily four bundled gills
in attendance Eurasian gnls had been obtained from the Female
Orphan Asylum as teacheis Miss Cooke suggested that Gills'
Schools throughout England should be invited to contribute
specially to this work, and, recollecting the Eoyal Letter in
favour of the S P G four years before, she added, " Would that
the Krng would command a Seimon to be preached for the Cause
throughout his Dominions 1 " Meanwhile the Calcutta Committee,
true to their principle of appealing primarily to the English in
India, opened a special fund, whrch speedrly reached 3000
rupees, the Marquis of Hastmgs (the Governor -General) and the
Marchroness grvrng 200 each
A year or two after thrs, Miss Cooke was married to one of the
new mrssronanes, the Eev Isaac "Wilson , but she continued her
labours zealously, both during her mamed life and long after she
became a> wrdow in 1828
Bombay Leavrng North India, we come to the Bombay Presidency In
1818, a Corresponding Committee was formed by the Eev Thomas
Carr, another of the zealous chaplarns (afterwards first Bishop of
Bombay) , and in 1820, a Cheshire curate, the Eev E Kenney,
was sent out by the Society, the first mrssronary of the Church of
England in Western India He began earnestly, but he only
stayed six years, and the work for long after that was on a very
small scale
Madras The story of the Missions m the South is very different It
was in the Madias Presidency that the Danish and German Mrs-
srons, suppoited by the S P C K , had been canied on all through
the eighteenth century The most important centres were Tranque-
bar, which always remarned m direct connexion with Denmark,
and Tanjore, Tnchmopoly, and Madras, which were definitely
S P C K Missions As before mentroned, the work had greatly
languished after the death of Schwartz, and was at rts lowest ebb
durrng the first twenty years of this century I C Kohlhoff was
at Tan] ore, and Pohle at Tnchmopoly, and there were a few
Natives also m Lutheran oiders, who were called "country
priests " Three more were so ordarned in 1818, four years after
there was a Bishop in India, a notable circumstance in S P C K
history The earliest CMS mrssionanes were sent to assist
these Missions Schnarre, and afterwards Baienbruck, were in
charge at Tianquebar, after the death of the Danish veteran Dr,
INDIA THE OPENED DOOR, THE ENTERING IN 201
John, and Bhemus and L Schmid at Madias But the latter PART III
brethren, and otheis who followed them, among whom J /Sla""?t
Bidsdale should be specially named, piesently began independent ap
work m and aiound the capital A chuich was built m Black
Town (the most populous native quaitei of Madias) m 1819, and
the thiee methods aheady specified m the account of North
India weie all adopted also at Madras Tamil books and tiacts
weie prepaied and punted m large numbeis at the mission press,
and some Telugu woiks also, many veinaculai schools weie
opened, and a Seminary for tiaimng Native evangelists was
begun
But the principal mteiest of the Southern Missions is deiived
fiom Travancoie and Tinnevelly Concerning Travancoie, it
need only be said here that Noiton, one of the first two English
01 darned missionaries, was sent theie shoitly aftei his arrival in
India m 1815, and took up his lesidence in the following yeai at
Allepie, wheie he laboiued twenty-five years, and died at his post,
and that the famous triumviiate, Benjamin Bailey, Henry Baker,
and Joseph !Penn, went to Cottayani in 1818-19 These three
were specially commissioned to work for the revival of the Syiian
Chuich, and this branch of the Society's enterpuse will come
before us in another chapter
Of Tinnevelly, the famous southernmost piovmce m the Madras
Piesidency, moie must be said Its missionary history dates
back to 1771, m which yeai Schwaitz's journal mentions that one s P c K
of his Native Christians from Tnchinopoly was leading the Gospel
to the Heathen there In 1778, Schwartz himself visited Palam-
cotta, the English capital of the piovmce, thiee miles from
Tinnevelly town, and found a few Chustians there He baptized
a Brahman widow who had been living with an English officei,
and been taught by him the rudiments of Christianity She
received the name or Clonnda, and was afterwaids chiefly instru-
mental m building a little chuich In 1780, Pohle visited
Palamcotta, and organized the congregation , and in 1786, when
Schwartz paid them a second visit, they numbeied 160 persons
In 1790 he oidamed, according to the Lutheian use, one of his
best catechists, Satyanadhan, and put him m chaige, speaking of
his zeal, love, and self-denial, in the highest terms This
oidmation was the one over which the S P C K so lepiced, as
befoie mentioned n As a fuither evidence of its sense of the
importance of this opening, the S P C K sent Josmeke', a new
German missionary, to Tinnevelly, and he labouied there till his
death in 1800 The haivest from the seed sown by him and
Satyanadhan was gieat Thousands were baptized by Gencke",
one of the Tan] ore missionaries, m the first five yeais of this
century , no less than 5095 in three months m 1802 But fiom
1806 to 1816 no missionary visited Tinnevelly, there were, in
* See p 23
202 INDIA THE OPENED DOOR , THE ENURING IN
PAST III fact, as we have seen, none to go , and the woik fell all to pieces
1812-24 Peihaps the baptizing had been too lapid , certainly the caste
ChapjL5 Clis|j0mg tolerated were themselves enough to eat the life out of
the Ghnstian community, and in 1816 there were only 3000
piofessmg Chiistians left
Hough's In that year anothei of the good chaplains, the Eev James
efforts HOUgilj was appointed to Palamcotta , and to him is due the le-
orgamzation, levival, and extension of the Missions m Tmnevelly
He at once made diligent inqunies about the Chiistians, and found
the thiee thousand souls scatteied among sixty villages, without
schools, and without Tamil Testaments even for the few who could
lead But they weie living in peace, and on the whole he was
pleased The two chief villages weie Nazareth and Mothellur,
wheie he found " country pnests " mimstenng to the people
He at once sent a leport home to the S P C K , but without
waiting for its aid he at his own expense started schools and
obtained Testaments, Piayei-books, and tiacts fiom Madias, and
himself began to learn Tamil The S P C K supplied a little
money, but could send no men, being unable to reinforce even its
largei Missions in Tanjoie and Tnohmopoly At length Hough
applied to the 0 M S Corresponding Committee at Madras , and
in 1820 Bhemus and B Schmid weie sent to Palamcotta They
were warmly welcomed by Hough, who was on the point of
letirmg in broken health He wiote to the Society —
" I can now look forward to my approaching departure hence with
less regret Yet, as the scene of my labouis, the object of my anxieties,
the subject of my piayers, and the source of my delight, for four years
past, I cannot entertain the thought of quitting it for ever without
painful emotion I am most thankful for having been peimitted to
make a small beginning here in the noble work of turning the Heathen
fiom darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God "
For several years these two good men bore the whole buiden
of the Tmnevelly Mission Schmid supervised the schools,
Bhenius, with his attractive peisonahty and perfect knowledge
of Tamil, shepherded the S P 0 K congregations and directed the
S P C K catechists, and also, by his preaching all over the district,
started extensive new work undei his own Society The transfei
of the S P C K Missions to the S P G , the arrival of the fiist
SPG missionaries, the friendly division of the territory, and the
fuither development of C M 8 woik, belong to a later period
Heie it may suffice to say that, under Bhemus's holy influence
and untiring energy, theie seemed foi a time as if an old pre-
diction of Jflsnickd's might be fulfilled " There is every reason
to hope that at a futuie period Christianity will pievail in the
Tmnevelly distiict,"
CHAPTER XVI
"INSULAR MISSIONS" NEW ZEALAND, OMYLON, WEST
Imwa, MALTA
Samuel Marsden and the Maoris— The New Zealand Mission-
Christmas Day, 1814— The Lay Settlers— Trials and Disappoint-
ments—Henry and William Williams— The Openings in Ceylon
and the First Missionaries— Antigua, Barbadoes, Honduras— Malta
as a Centre of Influence
"Let them decbioBisptme^'ntlietslmtU"—!^ xln 12
jjHE term " Insulai Missions" is not a recognized one PMC IIT
in 0 M S phraseology , but it is to be found m ;L812"?i
occasional use in the early Eepoits, and in that of iap .
1820 a veiy interesting passage is quoted and adopted
fioni the local Eeport of one of the Associations (not
named), which puts the thought of the Isles of the Sea m a very
striking way After surveying the Continents of Asia and Africa,
the "Insulai Missions," it is suggested, might seem little worthy jsian^
of notice "But what is it that has placed us, the inhabitants of Missions
the British Islands, but a few ages since scarcely included in the British
known woild, and described only by the whiteness of our cliffs, Iale8
the tin on our coast, and our strange supeistitions-^i>to has
placed us m a position torn which we parcel out the globe ?
And who shall say that the Cmghalese, or the New Zealanders,
or the West Indian brethren of those Africans m whom so wondei-
ful a change has aheady taken place, may not, when oiu still
enlarging Missions shall have made them fully acquainted with
Him though Whom all have access by one Spirit unto the same
Father, rise to oui elevation, or even reach a standard of spiritual
dignity and powei which Christendom has not known since the
Apostolic Age ? " Might not those Islands, continues this Report,
"one day inquire m to) Missionary Meetings how the British
Church may be revived ? "
Several gieat islands in the vauous oceans piesented them-
selves from time to time to the thoughts of the CMS leadeis,
Ceylon came into view in the very fiist year The West Indies,
and Madagascar, and Sumatra, and the Malay Archipelago, were
biought under then notice by governors, chaplains, and other
Englishmen resident 01 interested m them Malta— great his-
torically and stiategically, if not in size— asked for help by the
204 (( INSULAR MISSIONS"
PABT III mouth of a Eoman Catholic priest The innumeiable islands of
1812-24 foe Southern Seas might have been suggested by the great enter-
Qhap 16 puse of the London Missionary Society in some of them , but
peihaps the very fact that they were paitly thus provided foi
excluded them fiorn consideiation, as they aie nevei alluded to as
a possible field But a Mission to New Zealand was the second
undertaken by the Society, and not one of its Missions has a more
thiilling history
NEW ZEALAND
The shipping of the first caigo of convicts to Botany Bay has
been refened to in a pievious chaptei as one of the seveial events
that maiked in so striking a way the year 1786 The second of
the Government chaplains sent out to the settlement thus formed
Samuel was Samuel Marsden, whose heroic enterprise, prolonged through
Marsden more fl^n fo^y yeaiSj nas justly earned for him the title of the
Soutii Apostle of New Zealand The son of a Yorkshire tradesman,
Wales genfj to Cambridge by the Elland Society (an association for
assisting godly men to study foi holy orders), he was appointed in
1798, through the recommendation of Wilberforce, chaplain to the
penal establishment "Foi many years," to use the woids of
Dean Jacobs, the histonan of the Church of New Zealand, " he
earned on smglehanded a most determined struggle against the
vilest imaginable iniquities, the grossest abuses of authority, and
the most shameless licentiousness shielded by official influence
As a sure consequence, he provoked the virulent opposition of
powerful and unscrupulous adversaries — men interested in main-
taining the abuses he exposed — who stiove for yeais, though
happily without success, to blacken his chaiactei and chive him
from the Colony" With this conflict, however, we have
nothing to do But while Marsden was faithfully doing his duty
to God and man in New South Wales, and whrle he did not
neglect, as we shall see hereafter, the downtrodden and degraded
aborigines of Australia, his sympathies were especially drawn out
towards the Maori race of New Zealand
New Zealand was so named by the Dutch navigator, Tasman,
who discovered the islands in 1642 He did not, however, venture
to land, rn the face of the warlrke demonstrator made agarnst
hrm by the Natrves , and it was left to Captain Cook, more than a
century later (1769), to begin fnendly intercom ae with them
But the adventurous traffic that sprang up in the South Seas rn
consequence of Cook's discoveries was marked by the treachery
and fraud and violence by which the pioneers of so-called
"Christian commerce and crvrhzatron" among barbarous races
have so often disgraced the Christian name The authentic
accounts of the merciless cruelties perpetrated by English traders
on the Maoris, who in good faith put themselves in therr power,
* Colonial Church Eistonea New Zealand By the Very Rev Henry
Jacobs, D I) , Dean of Ohnstohurcla, New 2iealq,nd S P 0 K , 1888,
ZEALAND, CSYLO&, Wzsr INDIES, MALTA $&
give the reader the same kind of sickening shudder that one feelslSrTtl
on seeing dumb animals wantonly ill-tieated Of course retaha- 1813-24
tion ensued whenever a chance foi it occuired Nevertheless, the Ohap 16
Maon savages, fieice as they weie, and addicted to cannibalism,
proved to be one of the finest abonginal laces with whom English-
men evei came m contact
The histMaous that Maisden sawweie two men who had been Marsden
bi ought by Captain King, Governoi of the penal settlement on j
Noifolk Island, to Port Jackson (the gieat inlet now known as
Sydney Haibour), with a view to then giving hints on the cultiva-
tion of New Zealand flax (pliomnium tenax) Subsequently others
came ovei to New South Wales, and Maisden stiove to do them
good and bung them undei the sound of the Gospel He con-
stantly received them at his own house at Paiamatta (fifteen miles
inland from Sydney), and put up huts in his gaiden for then
accommodation, as many as thnty being sometimes theie at once
Theie were awkwaid incidents now and then On one occasion
a lad died who was the nephew of a chief, and his uncle was
about to kill a slave, to attend his spnit in the invisible woild
With gieat difficulty he was peisuaded to defei it till Marsden,
who was absent, came home Then he had to give way to
Marsden's piotestations One of the chiefs entei tamed in 1806
was a man of gieat intelligence named Te Pahi (Tippahee), who
was so struck by what he saw of the aits of life that he begged
foi some one to be sent over to teach his countrymen In 1808, Marsden'a
Maisden visited England, and at once came to the C
Missionaiy Society to plead foi the Maori
The Society was then still m its infancy It had sent out
exactly five missionaries, and these to a Mission-field compaia-
tively neai, and familial to the leaders through the Sierra Leone
Company, and indeed to some of them, Zacnary Macaulay and
Melville Home foi instance, from personal knowledge Now they
were asked to send men to the Antipodes, to a land whence it
would take twelve months to get an answer to a letter, to a lace
of wailike baibanans among whom no Emopeans had yet settled
It must have been a staitlnig buggostion, even to men of faith like
Piatt and John Venn Moieovoi they had had a SGIIOUB warning
regaiding the South Seas by the disasters and disappointments
that had attended the London Mis&ionaiy Society's gieat eniei-
pnse Novoithelebs, aftei the second Committee meeting foi the
consideiation of the pioposal, it was decided to accept it Aftei
all, no elaboiate scheme was before them , no gieat company of
settleis, going forth m then own ship, as m the case of Tahiti,
was askod foi Marsdon did not oven suggest a " Mission," in
our sense of the woid He only asked foi three mechanics His
theory was the theorj of many now who know nothing of the
histoiy of Missions Theie it no excuse for them now , but there
was much excuse foi Marsden and the Society then The
theory seemed reasonable on the surface, and they had no
206 " INSULAR MISSIONS l*
PAST III experience to correct it It was this, expiessed in Maraden's own
£**¥* woids -
Chap 16
" Nothing in my opinion can pave the way for the mtioduction of tho
Gospel but civilization,— and that can only be accomplished among
the Heathen by the arts The arts and religion should go togethei
The attention of the Heathen can be gained, and then? vagrant habits
corrected, only by the arts Till then attention is gamed, and moial
and industrious habits aie induced, little or no progress can be made m
teaching them the Gospel To preach the Gospel without the aid
of the arts will never succeed among the Heathen for any time "
Marsden and the Society weie to leain the fallacy of this
by hard experience, and it was the New Zealand Mission that
The "lay was ^° teach them Howevei, two men weie found who seemed
settlers * suitable, William Hall, a joiner, lecormnendod by Mr Fawcett
of Caihsle, and John King, a shoemaker, recommended by
Daniel Wilson, then at Oxford (as Vice-Principal of St Edmund
Hall) It did not occur to the Committee to give them any
theological instruction They were plain Christian men, and if
they were by-and-by to give any teaching at all, it would be of
the simplest charactei But they did have some preparation
Hall was sent to Hull to learn something of ship-building and
navigation, and King to a rope-walk to learn spinning, &c The
third man wanted should have been a smith , but a smith did not
appeal Basil Woodd, however, bi ought a> young schoolmaster,
who also undei stood faimmg, Thomas Kendall Humble as such
a band was, it was found desirable to seciue the "favour" of
Loid Gastlereagh, then Sccietary foi the Colonies, and of Colonel
Macquane, who was going out to New South Wales as Governor
A passage was obtained, with some difficulty, foi Hall and King
by the tiansport-ship Ann (by which Mi Maisden also sailed), oil
condition of their lending a hand on the voyage when reqmied
They were to have £20 a yeai foi peisonal expenses, and to be
provided with seeds, live stock, and tools, and then to maintain
themselves They aie never called " missionanos " m the old
Reports, but at fiist "lay settleis," and some years latei
" teacheis " Kendall, who did not sail till latei, is called " school-
master" until his oidmation
Their m- Inexpenenced as the Committee weie in such a Mission as this
atructions — Qr m^ee^ m any Mission — the Instiuctions to Hall and King
are singulaily good and wise The Society's object, they said,
was " to introduce amongst the Natives the knowledge of uhn&t ,
and m order to this, the Arts of Civilized Life " The men aio
msti noted as to both their religious and their civil hie As
regaids religious conduct, they aie enjoined (1) to guard earnestly
the saciedness of the sabbath-day, (2) nevei to omit family
woiship, and to "perform it as publicly as possible, by reading
Scnptme or singing "loud enough to be heard by a passing
Native " "To show them that you woiship youi God every
day, as Daniel did, cannot but make some impiession on them,"
NLW ZEALAND^ CEYLON, WEST INDIES, MALT< 207
(3) They were to conveise with the Natives about sin and PART III
salvation " when employed m planting potatoes, sowing coin, Q^2~%
01 in any othei occupation " (4) They weie to gather the f£_
childien together foi mstiuction as soon as possible "While
catechizing them, you may speak through them to the giown
people " Then as legaids civil conduct, they aie bidden (1) to
"spend no time in idleness," but "occupy every moment set
apart for labour m agriculture, building houses or boats,
spinning twine, or some othei useful occupation " "If you
indulge in idleness, you will be ruined " (2) To make them-
selves independent m lespect of pi o visions, by cultivating giam
and rearing pigs and poultiy (3) To give no piesents to the
Natives, and to leceive none (4) To show the Natives the
advantage of mdustiy by sending then handiwoik (mats, &c ) to
Poit Jackson foi sale (5) On no account to be diawn into wars
" Tell them you are forbidden by the Chiefs who have sent you
out "
The Ann sailed in August, 1809, and leached Port Jackson m Their
Pebiuaiy On the "voyage one of those unexpected incidents vcyaffe
occuned which in missionary history have so often displayed
the paiticulai pi evidence of G-od A poor, haggaid Maon wus
found on boaid, who, after the strangest adveutuies, and aftei
the most baibarous treatment by English captains, had been
bi ought to England and tinned asnoio to staivo , and this Maon,
whose name was Euataia, • pioved to be a nephew of the chief
Te Pahi, and himself a chief likewise His joy at learning the
en and of Hall and King ma,y be imagined, and he eageily
piomised them all assistance and piotectiou in his powei But
on arriving at Poit Jackson, Maisden and his party had to meet
a gnevous disappointment News had just come that the
Bntish ship Bwjtl had been burnt by the\ Mtions, and the ciew
killed, and eaten Tins, it was aftoi wauls pioved, was but in
leialiation foi miudeis bykaders, and in its tmn the massacie
was icvenged by a paity of whalers, who attacked and buint Te
Pain's village, although he himself had done all in his powei to
save the crew of the Boyd, and did in fact save some of them
But these sad events put an end to any hope of a speedy settle-
ment in New Zealand
Aftei some months of woaiy waiting, a whaling-ship was found Long
willing to take the young chief Euataia and land him in New e ays*
Zealand, and he was sent m hei to asceitam the piospects of
safely settling there But nothing was heard of him for more
than a year, and Marsden could only wait anxiously, while the
Society at home began almost to despan of the enterpnse At
last Euataia appealed at Poit Jackson The captain of the
whaler had lefused to land him in New Zealand, but earned bun
off to Norfolk Island and put him ashoie destitute , and at length
* Whiten m the eaiher Bepoite "Duatorift "
208 " INSULAR MISSIONS"
PART III he had persuaded another ship retaining to Port Jackson to
1812-24 take him back thithei Anothei attempt was made after a while,
ChapJ.6 an(j ^ ^mQ ftuatara did land , and the lesult of his intercourse
with the other chiefs was that though they leceived his descnp-
tions of civilized life with mocking scepticism, they agreed to
welcome the settlers
Opposi- But now Maisden encounteied fresh obstacles The Colony of
colonists ^ew South Wales thought the exteimmation of Maori savages
moie desii able than then: conveision, and the traders who were
profiting by fraud and violence all ovet the Southein Ocean
ob]ected to any attempt by missionaiies, whether in New
Zealand 01 at Tdhiti, to pi each honesty and morality and peace
Every possible slandei was set on foot against Maisden , no one
supported him, no ship would take him and his mechanics
acioss, noi indeed would the Governor give him temporary
leave fiom his duties as chaplain to enable him to go At last
he purchased a small brig of 110 tons, the Active, and sent
Kendall and Hall over to make fuither inquiues , and on their
return with a favouiable leport, and bringing Euataia and othei
Marsden chiefs with them, the Governoi gave him peimission to go, and
Zealand ^ce ^6 ^o\Q paity with him, i e the three men from England,
with then: wives and children, and half a dozen mechanics fiom
Poit Jackson, and the Maon chiefs The stiange condition of
South Sea society at the time may be gatheied from the com-
position of the crew of the Active one Englishman, one Irish-
man, one Prussian, one Swede, one Noiwegian, one American, one
white Colonist, one Maori, two Tahitians, and one Sandwich
Islandei 1
These few details have been given in older to convey, if
possible, some slight idea of the dimculties attending even the
piepaiations foi a Mission to New Zealand in those days It
was now Novembei, 1814 Five years and thiee months had
elapsed since the Ann left England Another year and thiee
months weie yet to pass befoie the Society at home heaid of
the settlement having really been begun This was not sowing
the seed and waiting patiently foi the harvest It was waiting
foi even an oppoitumty to sow the seed Tiuly patience had hei
pei feet woik in those days !
The voyage fiom Sydney to Noith Cape, the northern ex-
tiemity of New Zealand, about 1000 miles due east, is now done
m four 01 five days by steamer The Active left Port Jackson on
November 28th, and sighted North Cape on Decembei 15th, a
good voyage foi a little sailing vessel The Bay of Islands,
whither she was bound, being tho entiance to the district where
Euataia and othei friendly chiefs weie dominant, is a little to
the south of Noith Cape, on the fuither (east) side How Marsden
heaid that a deadly feud had spiung up between Buatara/s tnbe
and anothei , how he at once landed, despite Buataia's warnings,
and, with only one Sydney man and an mterpieter, went, un-
NEW ZEAL AND) CKYLON, WEST INDIES, MALTA 209
aimed, stiaight to the hostile paity , bow he slept that night in PABT III
then midst undei the open canopy of heaven, how m the 1812-24
morning he peisuaded them to make peace , how he went on p lg
joyfully with his whole paity to Buataia's tubo , how the horse,
the hull, and the cows he had brought with him, excited the
Natives, whose largest animal was the pig , how eveiy thing be-
tokened a piospeious stait foi the settlement, — has often been
told, and can be lead again and again with deepest mteiest Lot
us come to Chustmas Day It fell that year on Sunday Christmas
Kuataia had gatheicd his fellow-chiefs and people togethei Day»l8l4
" A veiy solemn silence prevailed I lose and began the service
by singing the Old Hundicdth Psalm, and I felt rny very soul
melt within me when I viewed my congregation, and consideied
the state they weie in Aftei leading the service, I preached
fiom St Luke 11 10, ' Behold, I bung you good tidings of gioat
]oy, which shall bo to all people ' " Such is Maisdon'R simple
account of one of the gioat histonc scenes in the histoiy of
Missions,— indeed one oi tho leally gioat bcunes in the history of
tho "Bnfcisli Coloin.il Empnc, foi the veiy cxiBtence of tho now
fiouushing Colony of Now Zealand is duo to tho coinage and
faith of Siiniuol Maisdcn in Hinging hunsolf among tho Maona
The Mission he initiated on Gbii&Unas Day, 1814, tamed the lace ,
and then, in pouied the colonists
Maisdou spent two months in tho countiy, and then i claimed
to his own duties in Now South Wales Jhorn Paiaraatta ho
sent a full lepoit of his proceedings home to England It
airived early m 181G, while Edwaid Bickeisteth was on his
voyage out to Afnca, and just before William Johnson sailed
thither li excited the liveliest mteicst Theie were yet to
pass many yeais before praise could aRcend to God at the news
of Maoi i convei sions , but piayeiful sympathy was called fotth,
and Africa had aheady taught tho Society that theio must be a
sowing in tours bofoio theio could bo a reaping in joy One npo
eai, howevoi, v>as voiy quickly leaped, though not m New Zealand
itself A young Maon, named Mam (Mowhoo), who had been A Maori
undor Maisden's mstiuction at Paramatta, woiked his way to London,
England as a common sailor, and on leaching London was taken
by the captain to the Church Missionaiy House The Society
received him, and sent him to Basil Woodd at Paddmgton, and
theio he showed evident signs of Divmo grace in his heait Ho
set to woik to leain how to toach, hoping lo go back to Ins
own countiy as a teachoi , but, as in tho caso of Simoon Wilholm
* Sovonty oiglit yeais after, on Soptomlior 28th, 1892, tho CMS Deputa-
tion to the Oolomoa landed (it tho beautiful ut,y of Auckland, a little south of
the Bay of laUndR, and piotoedod to tho Cathedral, whoie -WGIO gathered
tho Bishop and cloigy and a Imge congro^tion of white colonists MaiBden's
text on GtuiBtnwfl fiay, 18H, was tlui to\t of tho first addioss, and tho
Ohuroh of Now Zealand was invited now to join m sending on the " good
of great ]oy" to " all people "
210 (( INSULAR MISSIONS " •
PART in the Susoo lad,11 disease struck him, and he died in the faith of
1812-24 (jkiBt on December 28th, 1816, ]ust two years after Marsden's
Qhap 16 Christmas sermon at the Bay of Islands A deep impiession
was made by the Ghiistian deaths of the young Negro and the
young Maori in London, within a few months of each other, and
before any decided encouragement had come to the praying
members of the Society fiom either Africa or New Zealand
The names of Mowhee and Simeon Wilhelm were coupled in
many utteiances of thankfulness in seimons and speeches all
over England, and both their portraits appear in the same
volume of the Missionary Register, 1818
Mean-while Marsden was carrying on a Maon Seminary at
Paiamatta, where Natives might be rnoie effectively trained in
" the arts of life " undei his own eye than in New Zealand itself ,
suitable men being sent over fiorn time to time This Seminary
lasted for some years, with varying foi tunes At the Bay of
The Islands, the little band of settlers weie patiently tiymg to win
then way among the Maons It pioved weaiymg and discoui ag-
ing work Euatara had died befoie Marsden left, and the loss of
his help and piotection was keenly felt Savagery of all kinds
abounded , lobbenes weie incessant , and lepeatedly the settleis
and their families weie wained at night that they would be
muidered before morning Hall and King made no pi ogress m
the language, though Kendall did , and it was haid to get even
the fuendly Natives to leain anything, whethei reading 01 wilting
or handiciafts And with all this, there was constant peiil fiom
a settlement of escaped convicts on the opposite side of the Bay-
men of the most reckless chaiacter, whose wicked tieatment of
the Maoris continually endangeied the lives of all white people
In 1819, howevei, when, after the lapse of fom yeais and a half,
Maisden paid a second visit to New Zealand, taking with him a
clergyman sent out by the Society to be tho spuitual he.id of the
Mission — Mr Butler, — and again when he paid his tlmd visit, in
1820,— things looked brighter m several ways The "aits of life "
really seemed to be piogressing Theie were fields of whoat ;
there were horses and cattle , fiuit-tiees sent from Sydney were
flout ishing , blacksmith's shops, saw-pits, rope- walks, weio at
woik, and a boarding-school was successful in taming and
teaching even the wild^and volatile Maon childien Kendall was
especially efficient h*e was the schoolmaster, the farmer, the
doctor, and the linguist He had alieady prepared some small
papers in the Maon language The settlers weie gaining lespect
and influence, insomuch that, although, within a yeai or two,
about one hundred Natives had been muideiod by Euiopean
traders and escaped convicts, no retaliation had been attempted
upon the Mission settlement The Committee were much en-
couraged they saw the good influence of even the small beginnings
* Seep 16],
NEW ZEALAND, CEYLON, WE^F INDIES, MALTA 211
of industnal, educational, medical, and linguistic work , and they PART III
hoped gieat things fiom the efforts of the new G-overnoi of New
South Wales, Sii Thomas Brisbane, in putting down the outiages
perpetiated by Europeans — concerning which they had m an
earner Beport used this strong language —
"Your Committee feel it stiongly that Providential Guidance lias
thrown the Society, in its two attempts among the more uncivilized
Heathen, into conflict with the most rapacious of their countrymen
But whether it lespects Western Afnca or New Zealand, they will not
cease to protest against these enormities, and to wipe their hands of
these crimes 1101 will they desist fi om employing all piacticable methods
of ledress, till such lediess is actually obtauied "
But a much daikei period now ensued A great chief named gonp "*
Hongi, • who was supposed by the nussionanes and by Maisden
to be then best Maon friend and one likely to be soon influenced
by the Gospel, came to England with Kendall He was leceived
with much respect and kindness by the Society's leaders , and
one good thing lesulted from the visit— ho <md Kendall weio bent
to Cambridge foi two mouths to enable that gieat scholai, Pro-
fessor Sa,muel Lee, " the Society's Orientalist, "I tonxthegtaumw
of the Maori language , and the Grammar and Vocabulary pioduced
by Lee became the ioundation of all subsequent Maon translations
Kendall was admitted to holy oideis duimg their stay, and high
hopes weie entertained of the futuie of the Mission But it
turned out that Hongi's chief object m coming to England was to
obtain guns and gunpowder , that he had obtained a large quantity,
and that on his way back he purchased more at Sydney by selling
the valuable presents given him, including some from George IV ,
who had granted him an interview , and his return to Now
Zealand was the signal, not for peace and advance in civilization,
but for war and massacre and cannibalism The nanatives of his
proceedings are truly dreadful , and the settlers wore filled with
noil 01 when they saw the heads of men and women tossed about
in wild fuiy, and tit-bits from human corpses brought to their own
dwellings and offered to them to eat Worst of all, to the
shame and dismay of the little band, Kendall himself was Kendall's
proved to be the ally of Hongi, and seemingly the instigator, not treachei>y
indeed of his cannibalism, but of his ambitious designs The
Society had laid down strict rules against the use of guns and
gunpowder in bai termg for food, and honest men like Hall and
King weie ready to starve — as indeed they nearly did — rather than
di&obey this rule, Kendall opposed them, and claimed liberty to
trade m arms and ammunition, and one 01 two of the Sydney men
bided with him This led to the discovery of his alliance with
Hongi In the Beport of 1822, the Committee say, referring to
the change in the chief's temper and attitude,—" Into the cuoum-
* Written " Slmng hoe " m fcho earhei Reports,
I* See p 120
212 "INSULAR MISSIONS"
PABT III stances which led to this they will not now enter, they have
1812-24 obtained a clue to them, which will lead, they fear, to some
Ch!L.16 painful conclusions " In the following yeai the Committee
" Had the whole number of labourers in this Mission maintained
among these Heathens the Christian spmt and character, the Committee
would have made comparatively light of its external difficulties , but it
is with gnef that they add that its mam trials have ausen from within
It has been found leqmsite, in the faithful chschaige of the duty which
Christian Communities owe to the honom of that Name by which they
aie called, to separate fiom the Society two Members of the Mission,
foi conduct disgraceful to then profession The Committee tiust that
it will never become necessary again to exercise this painful duty but
should the necessity at any time lecui, the path of duty is obvious, as no
blessing fiom God can be expected, but in proportion as the simplicity
and purity of the Christian character are maintained "
dismissed ^ne °^ ^6 ^wo ^ismisse^ was> °^ couise, Kendall , the other
was Mr Butler's son In the following year, a thud man,
a mechanic, was dismissed, and Mi Butler himself, who
had come to England, withdrew But seveial otheis — thirteen
had gone out from England up to 1823, and some from New South
Wales—were woiking and playing earnestly In the Bepoit of
1824 the Committee say —
" In the midst of the evils which have arisen to this Mission fiom the
sins of some who have been engaged in it, and the infirmities of otheis,
God has not left Himself without witness in this land, but has maintained
among His people, nndei all the tnals endured from the Natives, and the
still greater tnals fiom some of their own body, faithful and devoted
Labourers, who, though they have felt, to use their own expiession, as
' living Martyrs,' have continued to lift up holy hands in the midst of
these savage tubes, to labour unweanedly for their good, and to cause the
light of a meek and holy conversation to shine around them "
When we remeinbei that all these soie trials weie buidenmg the
minds and hearts of the Committee in the veiy yeai of the terrible
mortality at Siena Leone, descubed in the Thirteenth Ohaptei,
we cannot but praise God that His grace enabled them to hold
on with uuf alteimg faith , and that the blessing vouchsafed to
Johnson's work at Begent was fresh in their memories as a token,
after all, of the favour of the Lord Maisden, too, upon whom
fell the heaviest burden, in grappling on the spot with the diffi-
culties of the Mission, both external and mteinal, never deapaned
foi a moment He had his previous experience with the L M S
Tahiti Mission to fall back upon, and that Mission now, after
years of trial, was being blessed beyond anticipation —
" I had many a battle to fight [he wrote] for years, with somo of iho
first settlers sent out to the Society Islands, who tinned out unprincipled
men The Directors of the London Missionary Society despoiled of
success, after they had expended many thousands of pounds , and they
frequently wiote to me on the subject, expressing their foars that they
must abandon the Mission I never had myself, however, but one
NEW ZEALAND, CEYLON, WEST INDIES, MALTA 213
opinion relative to that Mission— and that was that it -would succeed PART III
and God has now blessed the word of His grace to thousands of the poor 181^-24
Heathen m those Islands " Chap 16
He added, significantly,—" The way is still open, if Labomers can
only be piocuied fit foi the woik , and God will find these and
send them forth when He sees meet You have some excellent
ones of the earth m New Zealand, whom the Lord will assuiedly
bless, but we must not sow and expect to leap in the same
day"
In that very yeai, 1822, was sent foith the man whom we may The new
regaid as the first of the second generation of New Zealand mis- Henry
sionanes, and who was destined in God's providence to be one of
the chief instruments m the evangelization of the Maori iaco
Hemy Williams had been an oihcei m the Navy, and had seived
in the wais with both Ranee and the United States He ottered
to the Society m 1820, and leceived his education for the ministry
under a clencal lelative, the Bev E G Maish He was the
second candidate to receive holy oideis fiom the Bishop
of London undoi the new Colonul Service Act , • and he sailed,
with his Wife and thieo childien, on August) 7th, 1822 Tho
Instiuctions given him aie veiy significant The ComnnUee woie
now realizing that if Civilization pioccded Gluibtumly, it was very
likely to piove an obstacle to Chnstiamty, and that the Gospel
did not need the " arts of life" as its precuisois, however useful
they might be to win attention to the Divine message, and,
as in this case, to make a Mission paitly self-suppoiting " It
is the gieat and ultimate pmpose of this Mission," they said to
Henry Williams, "to bung the noble but benighted lace of New
Zealandeis into the enjoyment of the light and freedom of
the Gospel To this gmnd end, all the Society's measures aw
subordinate "
" The Committee aie the more earnest with yon on this point, because,
in the constant attention which this Mission will icqmre, for yoais to
come, to seculai business, the temptation of tho Labomors has been,
and will be, not to give a duo proportion m then plans to Behgious
Education and Insti notion
"Go forth, then, in tho tiue spuit of a devoted Missumaiy, having no
secular object in view, hut desuous of bimgmg glory to God by advancing
the Kingdom of His Bon
"Theiesult of your laboius, be well assuied, will indue time show
itself What a man sowoth, that shall he also ioap Indefatigable
labouis, unweaiied patience, peisevormg prayei, simple faith, and un-
failing love, will in the end piocluco then visible fruit to the piaiso mid
glory of God, while self-will, evil tompeis, indolence, solf-mdulgenco,
pmsuit of gam, a worldly spnit, stnfo and contention, neglect of devotion,
and all those othoi evils to which we aio by mituie prone, would render you
unprofitable to New Zealand, and a burden to the Socioty , and would
nil you with self-iepioach and soriow, if they did not end, as they have
done m some awful instances, in a state of apostasy from 6od,"
* Seop 216
214 "INSULAR MISSIONS"
III In the Address delivered at the same time by B G Maish,
181&-24 there is a sinking passage about self-defence The New Zealand
Chap^lG missicmnes weie not oniy forbidden to use muskets foi bartei,
NO fire- Mr Marsh enjoins them not to use arms at all, even to save the
arms ! llyes
"As you are about to enter the territories of a savage and powerful
people, to commit yourselves to then hospitality, and to live under then
laws, it would be vain to think of piotectmg yoursolves by force against
their violence It is impossible to shut your eyes to the fact that, so far
ds human means are concerned, you must be consideied as in their
power and at their mercy All offensive instruments, therefore, it is
wise for a Missionary to renounce As his ohject is peaceful, so should
Ins hand he unarmed He should carry the olive-branch, and not the
sword , and should exhibit the example of a person who comes into the
enemy's camp in the sa<red character of a Herald of Peace He will
therefore neither wear a sword, noi bestow one He will persist in
abstaining from earthly weapons while he is prosecuting a spiritual
warfaie He will say under all provocations, * I will go in the stiength
of the Lord God , I will make mention of His righteousness only ' "
The reply of Henry Williams is also interesting, and ]ust such
as might be expected from, a naval officer enteiing missionary
service He assures the Committee that he shall " considei it a
most sacred duty to regaid" then oideis at all times " as ngidly
as ever he did those of his Semoi Officer while he was in His
Majesty's Service", and, referring to his wife, he says, "With
Mrs H regard to Mis Williams, I beg to say that she does not accom-
Williams pany me merely as my wife, but as a fellow-helpei in the work "
Even at the end of the century, Henry Wilhams's example would
not be out of date '
Eemy Williams pioved to be a man after Marsden's own heait
From the time of his amval in New Zealand, the whole Mission
improved , and Mrs Williams, as he had said, was a true fellow-
worker Trials, however, were not over A new station was
established, among new people, and the thieving and thieats
fiom which the earlier settlers had suffered, had now to be again
encountered Moieover, " foui young childien in a very small
dwelling, which effectually excluded neither wind nor rain, was in
itself sufficiently inconvenient , and to this was added the want
of a fire even in cold weathei, for the walls of rushes were too
combustible to allow of one in the house", while the cooking
Mrs Williams had to do in an open shed, whatevei the weathei
That is, when theie was anything to cook , but the Natives stole
then* fowls and destroyed their vegetables, and lefused to supply
* There is 310 real inconsistency between these counsels and tho duty of a
missionoiy to join, in case of urgent need, in a defensive nght under the
orders of the State, aa recently in Uganda What IB heie deprecated IB his
defending the Mission against violence offered to it in virtue of its missionary
character An English open air preacher attacked by roughs would refrain
from injuring them in self-defence, but he would join in defending those very
roughs against a toreign invader
NEW ZEALAND^ CRYLO^ WEST INDIES, MAL?A 2 i
food except in exchange for guns and powder, which Williams P.AHT III
resolutely declined to bartei " Often," wiote he of his wife, " is
she fared in her work, but never of it "
Another of God's chosen instruments for the evangelization of
New Zealand was now on his way out, in the person of Heniy
Williams' s brother William Williams had been brought up to
the medical profession, and had been assistant to a surgeon at
Southwell, but on Henry's going forth as a missionary, he
determined to follow him He went to Magdalen Hall (now
Heitfoid College), Oxfoid, and took his degioe m 1824 , and m
July, 1825, he sailed with his young wife foi New Zealand In
the Insinuations, the Committee, peihaps encouraged by tho
woids that Henry Williams had uttoied about his wife throe
yeais befoie, specially addies&ed Mrs William Williams They Mrs w
exhorted hoi to lemembei that "no countiy can be happy 01 WllhamtJ
Chustian but m piopoition as its Females becorno so," and to
seek every oppoituuily of influencing the Maori women "You
should lank," they said, "with those honoiuable Women of old
who labomed with even Apostles m the Go&pel " In all
missionaiy histoiy, has any woman pioved heibolf moio woithy
of this " lank " than Jano Williams ?
When William Williams and his wife leached Sydnoy, they
weie met by Hemy m a little vessel, the Ilaiald, which ho,
piofiting by his naval expeiience, had himself built at the Bay of
Islands, with the assistance of W Hall, who, as will bo remem-
beicd, had learned something of ship-building at Hull befoie
leaving England seventeen years befoie, The ActivQ had been
sold some time pieviously , a vessel which had taken Marsden to
New Zealand for his fourth visit in 1823 had been wieckod , aud
Hemy Williams had determined to supply the want himself
Meanwhile, not a few signs had appeared of the grace of God
working in Maon heaits Theio weie inquirers aftei tho way of
salvation , theie wcio hopeful deaths , and on SopLcrabei 14th,
1825, the fiist baptism took place, that of a chief named Bangi, First
on his deathbed Then e could be no doubt of the genuineness of convert
his faith he leceived the name of " Chiibtian " , and ho was the
mat of a gieat company of believers do&tmed to be gatheicd out
of one of the most savage and feiocious laces ovoi met with,
But the great ingathonng was not yet
CEYLON
Tho very fust Beport issued by tho Society, in 1801, givos
evidence that, in wistfully suivoying tho wido holds of Heathendom,
the Committee did not pass ovei the Ihland of Ceylon It hud Ceylon
long boon in tho possession of Holland, having been taken by that
enteipiising little fttato fiom tho Poituguoso m 16CG , but it had
* Sho lived to lecoivo tlio CMW Deputation to ihe Colonies 111
and died, honotued aud leveled by all, m 1890, aged 95^ Her husband was
the fliet Bishop of Waiupu, and her BOIL the thud.
"INSULAR MISSIONS"
III lately (1796) been conquered by England The Dutch, as men-
1812-24 tioned in a foimei chapter/" had forced Protestant Chiistiamty
Chappie Up0n ike people, by subjecting Buddhists, Hindus, and Eomauists
alike to heavy civil disabilities, but they had honestly en-
deavoured to provide religious ministrations foi them, building
chinches and supporting cleigy and schoolmasters The British,
of course, lestoied religious liberty , and though the fiist govemoi
did seek to continue the official patronage of lehgion, this policy
was soon abandoned The people quickly peiceived that then
newiuleis caied little what rehgion pievailed, and whereas in
1801 theie were 342,000 Singhalese and 136,000 Tamils who
piofessed Protestant Christianity, in ten yeais moie than half of
these had gone back to Buddhism or the Tamil devil-woiship
"Government lehgion" had been thiown off, and the Dutch
churches were going to rum The Society, however, was thinking
of Ceylon before these apostasies occurred, and legarded it as a
specially hopeful field Moreover, there was no East India
Company theie to exclude or expel missionanes The Butish
authorities, indeed, were fairly favourable But Africa presently
filled all the field of vision, and Ceylon disappeared for a time
from view
In 1810-11, two cncumstances biought Ceylon once moie
prominently before the Society One was the publication of
Buchanan's Christian Researches in the East, which within two
years ran through twelve editions, and which gave much mfoima-
tion about Ceylon The other was the piesence in England of
sir A the Chief Justice of the Island, Sii Alexander Johnston, an
Johnston afom^ble Christian man, who had on his own account employed
two Singhalese men to translate Bishop Porteus's woik on the
Evidences of Chiistiamty, and who earnestly pressed the claims
of the comparatively new British possession upon the sympathy of
Christian England On his letuin to Ceylon, he caused the fusts
number of the Missionary Register (January, 1813) to be tianslatcd
into Singhalese, Tamil, and Portuguese, for circulation in the
Island, and he wrote to Pratt proposing a Church Missionary
Association there, and the sending of suitable native youths to
England for training This latter plan was forestalled by the
Society resolving to send out missionanes , and it will be lemem-
bered that the first two English candidates for whom oidination
had been procured, Greenwood and Norton, weie at fiist designated
to Ceylon, and only diverted to India after they had actually
sailed
Not till 1817 were theie men actually available But in that
SonarS" ^^ ^ ^st *our "wel6 sent ^ortn» Samuel Lambuck, Robeit
to°ceyion Mayor, t Benjamin Ward, and Joseph Knight Lambnck was a
* See p 56
f Mayor raaraed Charlotte Bickersteth, sister of the 0 Jt 8 Secretary,
and was the father of the three distinguished brothers Mayor, of St John's,
Cambridge, one of whom became Latin Professor
NEW 2EAL4ND) CEYLON) WEST INDIES, MALTA
man in middle life, who had been a tutoi at Eton, and was probably PART III
the most matuie person yet engaged by the Society They weie n?12"1o
all oidamcd by Bishop Ryder of Gloucester This was the first iap _
occasion of sending out fom cleigymen at once to one Mission,
and many yeais elapsed before the Committee weie able to take a
sirmlai step They weie heartily welcomed, not only by Sn A
Johnston, but also by the Governor, Sn Robert Biownngg It is
veiy interesting to observe in the eailyEepoits how frequently the
Colonial Governors aie mentioned as heartily co-opeiatmg with
Missionary Societies Sir E Browmigg, when he left Ceylon in
1820, refeired in a public speech to his action in this respect
" The chief ends I have had in view," he said, " were the happiness
of the people confided to my caie, and tho honour of iuy own
country, to which I was responsible foi the sacred trust " On
these accounts, therefore, and not merely because of Ins personal
faith m Chribtumty, he felt it his " bounden duty to foster and
entourage" Missrons
It was by Sri E Biownngg's advice that tho old hill capital,
Kandy, was occupied by Lambuck The Kandyans wcie a Kandy
singularly vigorous 3 ace, and had maintained their independence
all through the Portuguese and Dutch peiiods, and it was with
difficulty, and after tho destination of one detachment of troops
sent against them, that tho Bntish succeeded in subduing them,
m 1815 Two years latei , a formidable rebellion broke out, but it
was quelled ]ust before the missionaries ainved, and the Govoinoi
wished one of them to go there at once The possession of tho
famous relic called "Buddha's Tooth" by tho chid; Buddhist
Temple at Kandy added to the importance of the place, aa
pilgrims from all parts resorted to it Two othei stations woro
opened at the same time ' Baddegama in the southern Singhalese
country, and Nelloro, in the Jaflna Peninsula, at the north end of
the Island, a densely-populated Tamil distinct Four years later,
Lambnck removed to the village of Gotta, m the plain, six miles
from Colombo, which has been an unpoitant centto ovor bince
Bishop Hebei visited Ceylon in J825, and was exceedingly Heber in
pleased with all he saw " The Church missionaries m this
island," lie wiote, " aie ically patter us of what missionaries ought
to bo— Healoufl, disci eet, oideily, ivnd most active " | It is a
ounoiis illusto alion of the times that his advice was as!kud l)y
the brethren as to tho piopnoty 01 otherwise of then meeting
tho missionaries of othoi denomi nations m periodical gatherings
for Bible-study, confer unco, and prayer , and that so good and
largo-hoar ted a man as Hoboi, while "not thinking it necessity to
adviso their cessation, now that they wero established," did feel
it necessary to requobt tho chaplains and buoh other of the
clergy as wore not miysionaries to abstain from attending them,
* Jfttisin/Ktji/ IftMH/t'i, 1821, p 71
| Dr G, Smith's Uis/toj) Mar, p 280
2 1 8 " INSULAR MISSIONS "
PABT III and did also feel it necessary to suggest lestuctions as to the
1812-24 p^ laymen might take m them —
Chap 16 r J b
- "With no feeling of disrespect or suspicion towaids the excellent
laymen who have joined you, I would recommend, if my counsel has
any weight (and I offer it as my counsel only), that, though there is no
unpiopnety in their taking then turns in reading the Scnptures, and
mingling in the discussions which anse on the subjects connected with
your conference, they would ahstain fiom leading m prayoi, except when
the meeting is held in one of their own houses, and when, as nustei of
the family, they may consistently oftei up what will then be then family
de\otion '
ha?d°fieiad ^lle Society had expected Ceylon to bo an easily fruitful field ,
but the opposite pioved to be the case One of the missionanes
wiote m 1868, reviewing the past histoiy - —
" A moie arduous task, a more trying field of labour it would be difh-
cult to imagine It is a mattei well understood by planters, that while
the primeval foiest land, if cleaied and planted, will soon yield them
a rich return, the ohenas of the lower ranges, previously exhausted by
native cultivation, though f ai more easy of access, and requiring far less
outlay at the beginning, will too often mock then hopes, and can only bo
made to yield a xeturn at last, by a long and expensive mode of
cultivation This fact has its counterpart in spnitual husbandry
Pure Buddhists and Hindus are tenfold more accessible than tho
thousands of relapsed and false professors of Christianity The
traditions preserved in native families of the fact that their foiefathers
were once Cluistians and afterwards leLumed to Buddhism, is uatuinUy
regaided by them as a- proof of the supenontyof the latter lehgion,
whilst the sight of chinches, built by the Dutch but now gone to ruin,
adds strength to the belief that Christianity is an upstart religion, which
has no vitality, and winch, if unsupported by the ruling poweis, cannot
stand before their own veneiated system "
And in few Missions did the progiess piove slowei, foi many
years, than in Ceylon But a bnghter day afterwaids dawned ,
and though the work has never produced staithng lesults, no
Mission has had year by year to tell of moie manifest tokens of
Divine grace m individual hearts and lives
WEST INDIES,
When the " Society for Missions m Afuca and the East " was
founded, theie was evidently no thought of extending its opoia-
We8t tions to the West The sympathy of tho leaders, howovei, with
Ntgroes *ka Negio lace, and especially with the Negio Slaves, could not
fail to reach to the British possessions m the West India Islands,
m which so many thousands of Negioes weie still the slaves of
English planteis But the call thithei came in an unlooked-for
way As befoie explained, it was not the piactice of the Com-
mittee to take a map of the world, and put their ungers upon
particular legions to which they would like to send missionanes
* Jnbilee Sketches of the 0 M S Ceylon Mission
ZEALAND, CEYLON, WESI INDIES, MALTA 219
There was always an invitation 01 othei external icason for PART III
going in this 01 that dnection This was what has been always p.812~?l
legarded as Providential Leading It was so with the West p
Indies Mr William Dawes, who had been Governor of Siena
Leone, and aftei wards a member of the Committee, wont, in 1813,
to live in the Island of Antigua, and offered to act as an
honoiaiy lay "catechist" to such Negroes as he could leach
His pioposal was coidially accepted, t\nd although his name does
not appeal on the Society's loll, he leally did effective missionary
work for some years — much as the India chaplains did Ho
instituted both day-schools and Sunday-schools, and the Society
gi anted him money for teachers An omcei in the Eoyal
Artillery, too, Lieutenant E Luggei, who was quaiteied at
Baibadoes, started schools, assisted by the Society, m that
Island, and the scheme was afterwards extended to St Vincent
and Dominica In 1820, moie than two thousand Negro childieu
wcie undei mstiuction The Committee also sent a clergyman
who had offcied to the Society to Hayti, as a chaplain Moanwlulo,
the SPG held the Codungton Estate m Barbadoes in tiuat, and
employed a chaplain to instinct the sUvos employed upon it
The wo] k of othci Missions will appeal by-and-by
Bntish Honduras, although on the mainland of Cential Honduras
Amoucii, may be legaidod as a pj.it of the West Indies, and
thercfoie must be mentioned heie At the invitation of thu
English chaplain theie, Mi Aimstiong, the Society, in 18J8,
sent a second chaplain, a schoolmastei, and a punka, foi tho
purpose of establishing a Mission among tho Mosquito Indiana,
who appealed to bo paiticulaily accessible to Christian instruc-
tion But the second chaplain i etui nod invalided, and the
woik was never prosecuted with effect, although foi tluco or four
years Honduras held its place in tho Society's Bepoits
Tho Committee lejoiced when two Bishops weie sent to the
West Indies in 1824, to pieside ovei tho new dioceses of
Jamaica and Baibadoes, and at a later penod impoiUnt woik
was undei taken m the foimei juusdiotion
MALTA,
How Malta came to be occupied, and with what puiposos, will
appeal m the next obaptci Iloie it need only bo absolved that
the Committee legaidcd the little Island as a convenient base Malta us
for extending opei aliens in all dnoctions " Iftom this com-
mauding station, Chnstians have easy access, m thnii efforts to
laiso and propagate tho "Faith, to mipoitaut portions of the
Thiee Continents of the Old Woild, by a lino of coasl oqimlin
exlionl to half tho Gircumfeiouco of tho Glol)a " The access to
Afnca fiom tho Mediteu.inean was especially piommonl in their
thoughts They looked at Egypt, pitying Urn oppressed Coptic
Chinch, and tuisting that "wlnlolho ryiamid and the Temple
had u\citud cntlm&iasm and animated icseatch, Chnslun
22*0 " INSULAR MISSIONS" NEW ZEALAND, CEYLON, &>c
PAST III would not be found deficient in giving aid to that Church whose
1812-24 country afforded protection to our Infant Savioui, and whose
Chap 16 shrines were conseciated by the labouis of a Cyril and an
Athanasms " And they looked at the Baibaiy States, and
joyfully anticipated the day when " the northein shoies of Afuca,
and all the othei coasts of these magnificent inland seas " should
" feel the leviving influence of that Sacied Light which once shone
upon them with distinguished splendour " And they did not
confine themselves to rhetouc Scores of pages in the volumes of
the Missionary Begistei at this time aie filled with impoitant
information legaiding North Africa and the Levant geneially
Piorn the Malta Pi ess went foith thousands of Christian tiacts and
portions of Scnptuie to eveiy accessible North African port And
from Malta started the Mission to Abyssinia, which ultimately led
the Society to Eastern Equatorial Afiica
CHAPTEB XVII
Tm EASTERN CnmHEs Emm TO SEWS THM
The Committee's Eyes upon the East— An Appeal from Malta-
William Jowett-C M S Policy with the Eastern Churches— The
Bible for the Eastern Churches— Promising Beginnings— Turkish
Atrocities— The Syrian Church of Travancore— Buchanan and
Colonel Monro— C M S Designs— Fenn, Bailey, Baker
" JTe fki liatli m cm, let Inn 7/ecw wlmt tlio Spwit mill unto the Cliwclies "
-Rev 11 7,11,17,29, m 6,13,22
[HE eneigy with which the young Society was now being PART III
conducted led to many plans being pioposed to the ;[?12~?t
Committee foi development m diffeient directions , and ap
the extiaoidmaiy bieadth both of knowledge and of
sympathy which Josiah Piatti displayed m the Mission-
ary Register— io which Uieie is leally no parallel at all in the piesent
day— natmally induced a belief that the Society could be used for
almost any good purpose at home or abroad Among the sugges- c M s not
tions made to the Committee repeatedly by various fuends was that catSSc*0
" cleigymen of learning, intelligence, and piety" should be stationed countries
at various Continental cities, paiticulaily in Italy The idea was
not to tiy and add to the number of Pioteatant communions
abioad , not necossanly to encouiago open secession from theEonian
Church But it was thought that theie must be many godly
individuals m that Chinch who would welcome mpie Scnptuial
and tiuly Pnmitive teaching, and that giadually a leformmg
movement might be set on foot within the Italian and Spanish
and Galhcan Churches themselves " Frequent and strong repre-
sentations," the Committee say in the Report of 1818, weie
made to them as to the good which might thus be done It did
not appeal to thorn, however, that this was the proper woik of the
Church Missionary Society That work, they said, was "to com-
municate the knowledge of Christianity to such as did not possess
it " Still, there was a way m which they were willing to help
Though their funds, they felt, were not applicable to such projects,
their "knowledge and influence" might be rightly used m
"reviving and diffusing Chnstianity in any of the Churches
abroad,"— not only m the Eoman Church, but IB, the too lational-
istio Protestant Chinches, such as those of Germany, Switzerland,
Holland, &c They weie disposed, accoidingly, to " lender advice
222 THL EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS ro REVivr THEM
PABT III and assistance to suitable clergymen, "willing to piooeed to places
1813-34 where they were likely to be useful " Appaiently, they had no
Chapjtf opportunity of fulfilling this pionuse, because no suitable cleigy-
men canie forward
m for But it was different with the Chuichos of tho East Tho
Eastern Society did entei upon an important enterpuso with a view to
churches? ^ p^]^ levival Where lay the difleienoe? It lay in tins,
that the levival of the Eastem Chuiches would uudoul -Wily havo
an effect on the Mohammedan and Heathen Woild " It has not
appealed," says the same Eepoit, " confoinmblo to tho duect
design of the Society to expend any pait of its funds on Chustun
Countnes, otherwise than with tnf ultimate view of winniny,
though them, the Heathen to the tcccpt'ion of the Goycl " Long
befoie this, indeed, then eyes had rested with pecului inteiost
on the sacied legions of the East It was humiliating tli.it m
the lands in which the Incarnate Son of God lived and died,
m which Apostles laboured, from which the Gospel had itibt
sounded out, a fanatical and yet sterile leligion like Islam, the
enemy of all enlightenment, tho bai to all piogiess, rfhould bo
Dominant Yet the Eastem Chmches, so far fiom being offeclivo
instruments for winning the Mohammedans to Chust, woio, and
still are— regretfully as it must be said,— a ical obstacle to their
evangelization " We have lived," they say, "Among Chnstiann
foi twelve bundled yeais, and we want no such loligion as thai "
And it must indeed be aoirowfully acknowledged that tho igmn unco
and supeistition pievaihng among the Ouontal Chi istians go fui to
justify such a lemark
As fai back as 1802, a Bnstol fiiond had wnttoii to tho young
Society, — " Would it not be an object well woitliy tho atUmtion oi
youi Missionary Society, to attempt tho Levival of Rpmttiul and
Evangelical Eehgion m the Gieok Chinch ? " In the next Animal
Eepoit, this proposal IB just mentioned, but moioly as ono of
several suggestions of possible missionaiy ontoipnsoB, and without
any expiession of the Committee's wiah to adopt it A fow ytiaiH
later, Claudius Buchanan, whoso Clmbtmn liewuclicb in thfJMt
descnbmg his tiavelsm India and Ceylon, had excited so ninth
interest, was contemplating a journey to tho Ixnant, no doubt
with a similai object His book had lovoalod to Chiisliau
England the existence of the ancient Synan Church m TniVtiiuojo.
Another book, had he taken this proposed jouinoy, would doubtlt^h
have told with equal sympathy of the oppiowsed ChuichtiH of
Greece, Asiatic Turkey, and Egypt Ho did not go, hcMovoi
Peihaps the then uigent question of tho opening of Indw Kopt
him m England The actual piopo&al which ultnn,itol> Iwl to tho
Society's enterprises m the Mediterranean, ciimo, stiango to say,
from a Eoman Catholic
Two English fuends of the Society had been visiting Malta, uiul
had made the acquaintance thero of Di Cloaido Naudi Fioni
them, no doubt, he heaid of the new Missionaiy Society of tho
THE EASTERN CHURLHES EFFORTS TO REVIVE THEM 223
Church of England , and in June, 1811, he addiessed a letter to PART III
Pratt51 In this cunous document, he calls attention to "the 3812-24
multitudes of Christians of different denominations m the Levant ^ll_ap_ *
[i e the vanous Onental Churches] " living mingled in confusion Appeal
with the Tuilush inhabitants " Pnoi to the "War, he says, the §2tie
Boman Congregation De PiopagandA Fido frequently sent Romanm
missionaiies to these " ignoiant Chustians " , but that Institution
being " now no moie— its propeity sold—its levenues usurped and
diveitod," they weie " deprived of the true light of the Gospel "
Thoie weie still, it was true, some " Fatheis of St Frauds" m
Egypt, but, it was " much to be lamented," they weie " veiy ill-
informed " "It now, theiefoie," he goes on, "devolves upon
you to entei on this laboui of piopagatmg the Chnstian Faith
among Infidels, and of conmmmg it among the Ignoiant " And
he appeals foi missionaiies of the English Ghiuch who would
" accommodate themselves to Epstein customs in lespect of
manneiSjdiess, &c ," and leain Aiabic and Modem Gieek
It is smcly a cunoua spectacle Evidently tho good doctor
Wds a truly pious man To hmi Epstein Chiistondom was
hoietical, and should be enlightened by Western Chiistondom
Bomo was no doubt the chief lopioseuUtivo of Western Glmsten-
dom , but if she failed, the English Chinch, as an nulcpondont
Bianch, was quite qualified to touch the EtisL It IB icimukable
also that he quotes a Gieek deacon who had obseived to him that
" the institution of the Bible Society of England must have taken
place by heavenly mspnation " 1
The Committee lesponded waimly In the Eepoit lead at llie Attitude
Anniversaiy of 1812, they invited " zealous youug clorgymon " to Jj^j* s
come forward and be " the honoured installments of conliimmg mittee
and piopagatmg the doctune of tho Cross m countries deal to
them as scholais fiom classical associations, aucl moie deai to
them as Chnstians from sacied " It is a staking coincidence
that on the very day on which thoylwd icccived Dr Naudi's
letter, they had also befoie thorn one fiom Molvillo Homo, calling
attention to Buchanan's account of the Syuun Chinch of Malabai,
arid uigmg them to send a Mission foi its enlightenment, and m
the same Annual Bepoit of 3812, they dwelt upon this call also
In addition to which, the Abyssinian Chinch, and Egypt, and
Aiabia, and Peisia weio all icfoi rod to , and the Committee
expressed their longing for anothoi Pentecost when " Parthiana
and Modes and EUmitos, and the dwellois in Mesopotamia, and
in Juddoa— in Egypt— and Aiabians " would " speak m their own
tongues the wonderful woiks of God " In the following yeai, they
enlarged fmthei , and the paragraph is mteiestmg an showing what
was thought at that time of the prospects of the Papacy —
" The Committee feol dooply iinpiesBoil with the eonvittiuu that Malta
has not been placed in our hands nieroly for tho oxtonsion and security
* Printed in tho Appendix to the Report of 1812
224 THE EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS TO REVIVE THLM
PAST III of our political greatness The course of Divine Providence seems
1812-24 plainly to indicate that the United Church of England and Ii eland is
Chap 17 called to the discharge of an important duty there The Bomish Chinch
is manifestly in a state of gradual but lapid dissolution Its scattered
members ought to be collected What Chmch is to collect them ? The
prevailing form of woislnp m the East almost universally, and in the
rest of the world generally, is episcopal Was ever such an opportunity
presented for extending Christianity in that primitive foim of its
discipline which is established m the United Erapne?"
Encouiaged by the Society's lesponse, Di Naudi came to
England, and laid befoie the Committee pioposals foi sending
them two 01 thiee Maltese 01 Gieeks 01 Italians for English
education and oidmation On being shown the Thnty-Nme
Ai tides and the Oath of Supiemacy, which candidates for English
oiders must accept, he expiessed his belief that they would be no
obstacle The Committee appioved of this plan, but nothing
seems to have come of it They appointed Naudi, howevei, the
Society's correspondent at Malta, and they pioposed to a young
Cambridge man, the brother of Piatt's wife, to go out to the
Mediterranean as " Liteiary Bepiesentative," to inqune into the
state of religion m the Levant, and to suggest methods for
translating and circulating the Scripkues, and othei ways of
William influencing the Oriental Chuiches This was Wilham Jowett,
jowett B0n Of jojjjj jowejjf; Of Southwaik, a gentleman who had been one
of the original membeis of the first Committee, but who had died
a few months aftei his appointment William Jowott 'was
Twelfth Wianglei m 1810, and a Fellow of Si John's , and ho
had a curacy at Nottingham In aftei ycais he was to become a
Secretary of the Society He now accepted the piopo&ed com-
mission, but could not go foi two years
We go forward, theiefoie, to 1815 We entei No 14 Salisbuiy
Square We find the Committee sitting, with the Piesidcmt, Loid
Gambiei, in the chair The Cambridge Wrangler is piescni— the
fiist Umveisity graduate to go foith in the service of the Society
It is a quiet " dismissal," not a public meeting as when bands of
men for Africa and India had been taken leave of But Josiah
Piatt rises, and reads, as Jowett's instructions, one of the inoRfi
important of all the Society's eazly manifestoes
His in- The Committee quite undei stood that they weio not undci-
atnictiona, ^j^g a Mlsaiou Of ^6 ordinary kind Jowett's "high oflico AH a
Minister of the Gospel and a Messenger of Divine Morcy " might
have to be, "in its dnect exeicise, suspended foi a time " His
task was (1) to collect mfoimation about the state of icligion on
the shoies of the Mediterranean, and (2) to inqune as to tho best
methods of " propagating Christian Knowledge " Thei e was voiy
little known in England on these points "The Classic, the
Painter, the Statuary, the Antiquarian, the Naturalist, the
* John Jowetfc's brother Benjamin was grandfather of Benjamin Jowett,
Mastei of Balhol
Tim EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS TO REVIVE THEM 225
Merchant, the Patriot, the Soldier, all," say the Committee, " have PAUT III
their reporters, but no one details to us the number and the 18] 2-24
characters of Christiana , no one has opened to us channels of p *"
communication with such men , no one names the men who aie
there, perhaps, in letnernent sighing over the moral condition of
then: country, and calling, as Europe once called to Asia, Gome
over and help us " From Malta as a centre, Jowett is to survey
the religious horizon First, he is to look at the Eoman Church
" Notice her condition — any favouiable indications — the means of Moslems/
communicating to her our pnvileges You cannot act, under youi and Jewa
circumstances, as a public impugner of her eriors, noi as a
reformer of her piactice , I but you may watch, with a friendly
eye, to asceitam the best means of lestormg hei to pumitive
health and vigour " Then he is to study the vanous Oriental
Churches, Greek, Jacobite or Syrian, Coptic, Abyssinian, Armenian,
Nestonan Then the Mohammedans " Garry youi eye ail lound
the Sea, by its north-eastem, its eastern, its south-eastern, its
southein, and its south-western borders, and you behold the
triumphs of the False Piophet Tmkey presents itself as almost
begiidmg, duoctly 01 by its vassal states, this inland ocean " \
Then the Jews "multitudes are scatteied among the Moham-
medans, and no ono has hitherto investigated the state of this
people " Nor aie the Druses and other strange communities
omitted from the enumeiation Then as to methods of work
Jowett is to visit and correspond with mleis and consuls and
ecclesiastics and travellers of all kinds , to foira, if possible, local
associations for distribution of Scriptures (m fact, small Bible
Societies) , to prepare foi the establishment of a prmtmg-piess at
Malta, to study the languages of the Levant, and to seek for
valuable MSS of the Scnptuies in them Then it is hoped that Hopes for
" some of the distinguished Prelates of om Chuich " would open churchis
a correspondence with the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch,
and Alexandria, " so that through then influence our systems
of education might be communicated, and Biblo Societies
established "
It was, indeed, to the Eastern Chinches that the Society chiefly
looked for the future evangelization of the non-Chi istian popula-
tions m the neighbouring Asiatic and Afnciui ooimtnos "As
these Churches," they said, " shall reflect the clear light of the
* A cuiious illustiatum of tbo iffnornnoo here lamented IB f urmsliud by tho
meeition m tho Nimonawi Jter/tsfaf (Juno, 1818} of a quite elementary
account of tho population and condition of Jerusalem, sent fiom Jlfadnw, boinpf
demed fiom an Armenian bishop visiting India
f Under the Eiuopcan TiDahea which had confirmed the annexation of
Malta by Groat Britain, the Maltoao weioto be left " undisttubod in their
faith" The Government thoiefoie would not allow any evangelistic work
amonct them
J At that time, of course, Greece and the^Gieek Islands, Roumama
and Bulgaria and Servia and Boaniti, and ,tho whole of North Africa, owed
allegiance to Turkey
VOL I Q
226 THE EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORT 10 REVIVE THEM
PART III Gospel on the Mohammedans and Heathens aionnd, they will
1812-24 doubtless become efficient mstimnents of rescuing them fiom
delusion and death " And " it is by bringing back these Chinches
to the knowledge and love of the sacied Scnptures, that the
blessing from on high may be expected to descend on them " ''
Again,—
" The revival of the Greek Church, in its primitive purity and vigour,
should be an object of the affectionate exertions and earnest pi ay era of
all who wish the extension of Christianity in these regions Enlightened
and animated by the free and ample circulation among them of the
Holy Scriptuies, the Greeks— numeious, widely scatteied, with a
cultivated language, and maintaining a ready intercourse among them-
selves and with others — will act most powei fully and beneficially on the
large masses of people among whom they live " f
Accordingly, these Churches weie to be dealt with in a
modei ate and conciliatory spnit In the Instructions given to a
later band of missionanes, there is a staking passage iflustutmg
this t—
"Skuty— for it is peculiarly applicable to the circumstances of an
enlightened and devout Christian labouring in the midst of a benighted
and corrupted Oriental Chuich— study that spnit of moderation, delicacy,
and caution, which was exhibited by the Apostles toward their country-
men the Jews, and toward their converts from among the Gentiles
Although they acted, and spoke, and wrote under the immediate inspua-
tion of the Holy Ghost, and foreknew ceitamly the approaching
dissolution of the Jewish Polity, yet, in ntual observances, such as
Circumcision, Washings, the Change of the Sabbath, Fasts, Attendance
at the Temple and in the Synagogues, and generally in all the discipline
of the old covenant, which was waxing old and leady to vanish away,
they were tempeiate, conformable, conciliatory, and large-heaited
They were, especially, backward to dispute, excepting when ceiemonial
observances were abused to disparage the doctrine of fiee justification
by faith in Christ, or substituted for the inward sanctification of the
heart by the operation of the Holy Spirit Imitate thorn, by continually
insisting, m the simplest and most practical manner, on the two oaidmal
doctrines of the Gospel, Justification and Sanctification , and waive as
much as possible, those contentions which are unprofitable and vain "
And again, on another occasion, Jowett was cautioned about
proselytism —
"The etoinal salvation of the souls of men is the giand object of oiu
hopes and cares But a difficulty arises heie, so far as oui coin BO
lies among those who are ah early outwardly members of Chnstiaii
Churches Whenever the member of a Church which holds tho mam
truths of the Gospel, though with a gieat mixture of eiroi, discerns that
error, he is perhaps disposed to bieak awayfiom its Communion It
requires much wisdom, candour, and fidelity, to guide tho conscience
aright in such cases "
And the Committee go on to distinguish between the Roman
Chuich and the Churches of the East —
u The Roman Catholic Church is entangled in a snare from which it
* Report, 1820 f Kepoifc, 1819 J Report, 1829, p 142
THL EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORIS TO REVUE THEM 227
cannot be freed, while it holds tho Infallibility and Universal Headship PART III
of the Bishop of Kome The Gieek, Aimenian, Synan, Coptic, and 1812-24
Abyssinian Churches, though in many points fai gono fiom the simplicity Chap 17
and purity of the truth, are not so entangled , and also possess within
themselves the principle and the means of lef tarnation " *
At fiist, the eriteipnse gave high piomise of success Jowett Bnght
went foith, and, aftei him, the fiist two Oxfoid rnon em oiled by prosPecta
the Society, James Connoi, Sckolai of Lincoln, and John Haitley
of St Edmund Hall They tiavelled to Egypt, Syna, Tuikey,
the Greek Islands, at a time when such ]omneys were almost as
difficult and fatiguing as in the time of Si Paul , foi example, on
one occasion the voyage fioin Malta to Constantinople occupied
sixty-nine days 1 Sometimes they were in quarantine foi weeks,
as the plaguo continually raged in the Levant A pimtmg-piess Malta
was established at Malta, which at one time (laihoi latei, 1827) prese
was undci the chaige of John Kitto, the deaf but learned mason
who afterwaids did so much to populanse tho best icsnlts of
Biblical study and Oiicntal icsoaich | This pio&fi sent foi ill
Scuptuies and tiacts by tho thousand m Maltese, Italian, Modem
Gieek, and Aiabic Some of thorn wcio wnUen by Di Nandi,
and it is mteiesting to find an enlightened Eoman Catholic — foi
he does not seem to have left his Chinch — wilting tiacts on the
impoitance of tho Scuptuies being lead by the people at Lugo
Some ol them consisted of extiacts ftom the Gieck Iftilheis,
tianslated into Modem Gieek Maltese, however, was especially
studied, as an mtioduction to Aiabic , and a latgo pait of the
Bible was ptoduced in it It was observed thai in the Gicek
chinches, the Old Testament was lead m the Sepkugmt voision,
and the New in the ongmal Gieek , m the Coptic chinches, m
Coptic, in the Syrian churches, in Synac, m the Abyssinian
chinches, m Ethiopia, and geiiei ally, i cad from old MSS, but
thai none of these ecclesiastical languages were " imderslondcd of
the people," 1101 did even the pnests often possess pinited copies
The Society, tbeiefoie, in conjunction with tho Bible Society,
published editions of the Scnptuies in these languages foi the use
of the pnests and olheis who could icad thoni Tho object was
" the enlightenment and elevation of the pnestR of the lospcctivo
Communions by Scuptme Tmih and Chanty," in oidoi that,
" by then means, translations might bo mado into tho Vcinaculaia
foi the use of the people, and foi the convulsion, of the Heathen
aiound them " In two cases tho Society was itself mstiiumontal
m getting important veinaculai veisions mto cu dilation Fust, a
Gieek Aichimandrite at Constantinople, named Hilunon (afttii-
wards an Aiclibishop in Bulgana), undeitook a veifiion of clioNew
Testament in Modem Gieek, which was duly published Secondly,
a tianslatton of the Ethiopia Bible of the Abyssinian Chuich had
been made a fow yoais before by an aged monk named Abu Buini,
* Jfwsiiwtti ?/ Roifistcr, 1829, p 407
1 "Whose son is Prebendtuy Kitto, ItocLor oC St Martin m-tlia-Fiulds
0 2
228 THE EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS TO REVIVE THEM
PABT III under the direction of the French Consul at Cano, M Asselm de
1812-24 Cherville The MS , consisting of no less than 9539 pages m
Chap^l7 j-bg Amhaiic language and charactei (the Abyssinian veinaculai),
all written out by Abu Eumi, was hghted on by Jowett, and, aftei
some negotiation, purchased for the Bible Society, and portions of
it were piinted, many thousands of copies of which weie aftei wards
circulated by 0 M S missionaries in Abyssinia *
The mtercouise which the "Literary Eepiesentatives " had
with the Eastern bishops and priests was very hopeful The
Welcome Bishop of Smyrna, the Bishop of Scio (" a tiuly learned man "),
Eastern the Professors at the great Greek College at Scio, and leading
Bishops priests and doctors at Athens, Milo, Zante, &c , gave Jowett a
warm welcome on his very fiist ]ourney When he visited
Egypt, the Coptic Patriarch granted him letteis to the pmicipal
priests and convents Mr Connor was received with equal
wairnth by the Greek Patnarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem,
the Gieek Archbishops and many Bishops in Crete, Ehodes, and
Cypius , and the Syrian and Airneman Patnarchs and Bishops
in Syria and Palestine The two brethren, indeed, saw quite
enough to make them, as Jowett significantly says, lift up their
hearts to God with the cry, " That it may please Thee to
illuminate all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with true knowledge
and understanding of Thy woid ' "—but many of the most influen-
tial ecclesiastics entered heartily into the plan of foinnng local
Societies Bible Societies, and circulating Vernacular Versions , and seveial
such societies weie actually formed, at Malta, Smyrna, Athens,
and Corfu and other Ionian Islands Appaiently the only obstacle
was fear of the Turks taking alarm, and withdiawmg some of
the small amount of leligious liberty then allowed to the oppiessed
Chnstians Even wheie no regular organization was formed, the
Patriarchs and Bishops frequently fostered plans for the circula-
tion of the Versions The Eev Eobeit Pmkerton, Agent on the Con-
tinent foi the Bntish and Foieign Bible Society, a very able man,
came south at this time, and took an active part m the woik Mi
Henry Drummond, afterwards so well known by his connexion
with Edward Irving, also fostered these local plans and associa-
tions, employing foi the purpose an agent named Chustopher
Buickhardt (not to be confounded with the famous tiavellei of
that name) " His idea of a Bible Society," writes Jowett, " is
very simple It is two 01 thiee people sitting down togetliei,
signing a set of lules, and then saying, ' We aie the Bible Society
of ,' and immediately acting as such The only objection to
this system is its want of appeal ance m the eyes of its neighbouis
which, however, is in some degree its security " This is the tine
way of forming almost any society !
The spuit of inquiry thus awakened in the East led one
* The levision of this Version for the Bible Society was one of tho tusks
of tho Basfc African missionary Krapf, in Ins old age, and ifc was finished only
in 1879, and printed at the St Cnschoua Mission Piess, neai Basle
THE EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS ro REVIVE THEM 229
ecclesiastic, the Aichbishop of Jerusalem m one of the thiee PART III
blanches of the Syrian Jacobite Church, to visit Em ope, in order jJ812~^l
to obtain help towards printing the Scupturos in the paitictilai p "
foim in which his people could read them, le m the Arabic An Eastern
language punted in Syriac characteis He applied to Borne and %££' in
Pans m vain, and then came on to London He was waimly England
leceived by the QMS Committee, and a special fund was
opened, not by the Society itself, but by its friends independently,
in aid of his scheme, of which Professoi Macbude of Oxfoid and
Piofessoi Lee of Cambudge weie Secietanes The Aichbishop
was taken leave of at a laige public meeting at Ficemason's Hall,
piesided ovei by Loid Teignniouth
In 1820, Jowett came to England foi a few months, and biought
out a valuable woik, Climtian Ifasca? <,//&> %n the MeditciianeiDi,
on the plan of Buchanan's pievious book on the Fmthoi East ,
and so great was the inteicst aioused by his accounts of the Lands
so deal to Chn&tian heaits, that he was, at the age of thirty-foui,
appointed to pi each the Annual CMS Scimon (Has theio ever jowett's
again been a pieachei of it bo young '?) His text was admiuble sermon,
" He that hath an eai, let him heai what the Spmt saith unto the
Chinches " The ancient Crunches of Ephowus and Pcigamoa and
Thyatira and Saidis and Laodicea weio, in thoir icspcctive
distinguishing featuies, abundantly icpresonted in tho Ouental
Chnatendom of the Nineteenth Centuiy , and thoio weio not
wanting, here and theio, Chuiches in some degree woithy to
represent even Smyrna and Philadelphia In this excellent seimon,
Jowett did not view the Eastern Ghri&tiang merely as objects of
mteiest and sympathy He saw that they ought to be tho
evangelists of tho Moslem woild But for this they weie not yet
qualified "They believe in Chusfciamty, but the giounds of
then belief aie not such as would peisuade unbelieving nations
Christianity is upheld chiefly by Custom and by Authority , and
not un frequently, by belief in idle legends and lying woudeis "
Theiefoie they must be famihtiribcd with the Scupturos, and
taught the Histoncal Evidences of tho Faith And tho ontoipribo
of enlightening the Onental Chinches was to bo regarded only as
a preparatory work Jowett1 s aident hopes looked foiward to
" tho conveision of the Mohammedan Provinces which onoompasw
two-thuds of the Meditorianean, tho lecoveiy of the Jews to thoir
true Messiah, and eventually the evangelising of all tho daik and
unknown regions of Intenor Afuca "
These fai-ieachmg hopes were not damped by the sad and
untowaid events that immediately ensued in tho East Oit
Monday, April 30th, 1821, Jowett pieached his seiinon On tho
very Sunday following, May Gth, a ternblo outbreak of Moham- Outbreak
medan fanaticism occurred at Constantinople The venoiablo
Patnarch of the Gioek Church, Vrtio had BO heartily thrown
himself into tho woik of Bible translation and clistiibution, was
attacked by a Tiukish mob wliilo performing divma woibhip, and
230 THE EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS TO RLVWR TULM
PART III dragged to a ciuel and ignominious death Otkei bishops and
1812-24 pnests weie killed , and the outiage was followed by otheis not
Chapel? iesg baibaious in many parts of the Tmkish Brnpne In par-
Massacre ticular, the fughtful massacie at Scio bonified all Europe— a
of Scio leheaisal, one may say, of the Bulganan and Armenian akocities
of latei yeais The city of Scio was sacked , the gieat College,
the headquarteis of Gieek learning, the chinches, the hospitals,
the houses, weie all destioyed, and the valuable libiaaics buint ,
and thousands of the people weie meicilessly slaughteied These
outiages led to the Gieek Wai of Independence , and thus began
the giadual dismembeiment of Tuikey Christian Englishmen at
that time little thought that the Ottoman Empne would last
through the centiuy , they would have been shocked at the idea
of British blood and tioasuie being expended in the hopeless
attempt to prop it up , by them, and by then fatheis for several
centimes, the Tuik had been evei looked upon as the lelentless
foe of Chustendom , the Poles who had hulled him back fioni the
gates of Vienna, and the Gieeks who now lose against him, weie
Turkey the heroes of those days The advance of Eussia, if anticipated
Russia at all, was anticipated with pleasme and hope Seveial Eussian
Bible Societies had been established, and weie doing splendid
work In the Mmwnaiy Eegistei of Decembei, 1817, there are
speeches lepoited of the Aichbishops of Moscow and Tobolsk,
delivered at meetings of the societies of those cities The Czai
Alexander himself was the aident piornotei of Bible and missionaiy
enterprise, and the peisonal fnend of the Gtnneys and Frys and
other leadeis of philanthiopy in England Eussia was looked to
as the ally of all that was good , Tuikey, as almost the em-
bodiment of evil In a poweiful Intioduction to the Missionary
Begistct of 1823, Josiah Piatt enlaiged on the subject "The
stronghold of the Mohammedan Antichrist," he mote, " is shaken
to its foundations " Eecent events were " all additional symptoms
of the approach of that Eum which has long been piepaimg foi
this mam support of the delusions of the False Piophet— delusions
by which the god of this woild has foi twelve centmies blinded
the eyes and besotted the heaits of countless millions of
mankind "
But, foi the time, the growing woik of Bible and tiact en dila-
tion was gieatly impeded In a previous chaptei, the Papal
The Pope Bull of 1817 against the Bible Society was noticed In 1824, a
new ^°Pe lssue^- a Cncular warning Catholics against its tiansla-
tions— although the Bible Society, with great wisdom, circulated
m Eomau Catholic couutnes the veinacular veisions made by
Boman divines themselves In like manner, the Sultan, as
Oommandei of the Faithful, immediately after the issue of that
Cuculai, put forth a Firman foibiddmgthe import of any Chnstiau
Scriptuies into the Tuikish dominions, and oidermg copies to be
* See p 153
THE EASTERN CHURCHES EtFORrs ro REVIVE THEM 231
buint Thus, wiote Pratt, " the Eastern Antichnst oo-opeiates PART III
with the Western 1 " — and the co-operation was peihaps closer 1812-24
than the public realized, for tho opinion of some of the Entish
Consuls, and of leading Bomamsts in the Bast themselves, was
that Boniish influence was at tho bottom of even the Sultan's
action, seeing that Papal niissionanes weie in no way mteifeicd
with No one at that time would have thought Pi ait nuirow-
minded foi stigmatizing the Papacy as the Western Antichrist
Bishops and divines beyond all suspicion of Evangelicalism
habi dually did so then
Jowett continued at Malta till 1830, and Hartley made mteiest-
mg toms in Asia Mmoi, and in the Ionian Islands , butfiom 1825
onwaids the Society's eftoits weie chiefly concentiated on Egypt
and Abyssinia, and the niissionanes weie all Geimans 01 Swiss
fiom the Basle Seminary Othei missionaiies from tho samo
institution, howevei, woiked at Smyrna and Syia But all this
belongs to a latei penod in our Hi&toiy The nott losult of tho
enteipuse foi tho icvival of tho Eabtcin, Chinches way, un-
doubtedly, thai Oiiontdl Chnstondom, though accoiding manifest
lespcct to tho good men living in its midst, and willing to uso tho
publications of tho Malta PJ.CSM, was by no means inclined to be
quickened into fiesh hfo l)y tho Ghiistcndom of the West
THE MALABAII BYIIIAN CHURCH
Theie is another Onental Church foi tho levival of which, at Srmn
this pei lod, the Society made earnest ciToits Fiom tho caihest
centimes, Christianity had taken loot in South- West India , and
when Vasco da Gama, the Poituguose mivigatoi, leached India
by sea lound the Cape in 1498, he found flemishing a Nestonan
Chmch, which, though not fiee from eirois and supoistitions,
knew nothing of the Papacy, tho cultus of the Vngin Mtiry, or
Tiausubstantiabion An auny of Poituguose pilot-its followed, and
in many places tho Indian Christians submitted to tho yoke of
Borne In 1541 came Xavioi , and at Goa ho found visible signs
of Poituguebc Chnstiamty m tho shape of "a magnificent
cathedial, a resident bishop, a chuptoi of canons, a i\anclBcau
convent," &o Tho ancient Chmch, howovei, did not submit to
Borne till 1599, when Mene/cs, Archbishop of Goa, by an
unsciupulous uso of both foico and fraud, sociued ita subjection
at the Synod of Udutrnpiua All tho mamed puosfcH wore do-
posed, tho doctuneof tiiansubntan tuition and tho woi ship of tho
Virgin wore enfotcod, and tho Inquisition was established But
when tho Dutch dispossessed the Poi tuguosti o£ coitampoits on
the Malabar coast in 1(563, they nmdo way foi a Syrian Metro-
politan to como fiom Anfcioch, who was welcomed by the rajvjonty
of the Chmkttis as then libeiator from Boman tyinnny , tind the
result was that the Church, instead of lesuming its old Nestonaii
connexion, became Jacobite, and haa ovei smco looked to Antioch
232 THE EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS TO REVIVE THEM
PAST III as its ecclesiastical centre - Hence the common name of Syrian
1812-24 Church, though the designation used locally is " Chnstians of St
Oliap^tf Thomas " The majority of its members aie in the protected
states of Travancore and Cochin , and the Eomamsts bemg also
numerous, those states hare the largest proportion of Chnstians
in the population to be found in India
Bucha- It was Claudius Buchanan who fiiat drew public attention to
"ithes" *ks ancien* Chuich In his Chnstian Besewches he gives a
graphic account of his visit to Travancoie in 1806, and writes
enthusiastically of the Synan Chnstians and their compaiative
freedom from error He bi ought to England the famous Peschito
MS , now m the University Library at Cambridge, the only com-
plete ancient MS of the Synac Bible m Europe, except one at
Milan In the Eeport of 1812, in which was piopounded a com-
prehensive programme of missionary woik m the East, evidently
mspned by Buchanan's book, the CMS Committee say of " the
Synan Christians of Malay ala" that "they have maintained a
regular Episcopal Succession from the earliest ages, and in all
impoitant points accord with the faith of the Primitive Church " ,
and it is suggested that " a few learned, prudent, and zealous
clergymen would be received, as theie is ground to hope, with
open arms by this venerable Chmch Then, labours," it is
added, "would tend, under the Divine blessing, to revive and
confiim the influence of the faith in that oppiessed Community,
and might lead ultimately to a union between our Chinches "
But the first practical step towards helping the Synan Church
was taken by the Bntish Eesident at the Hindu Couit of Tiavan-
core A previous Resident, Colonel Macaulay, had welcomed and
Colonel aided Buchanan , and now his successor, Colonel Monro, in 1813,
Monro foimed a plan foi establishing a college for the education of the
Synan cleigy and laity, inducing the Hindu Earn (Princess) to
endow it with money and lands, and applying to Mr Mannaduke
Thompson, the Madias chaplain, for a clergyman of the Church of
England to be Pnncipal In 1816, Thompson being now Secietary
of the CMS Corresponding Committee at Madras, sent in
response two of the first missionaries who arrived from England,
N°dBaii ^omas Norton and Benjamin Bailey This step met the hearty
*" a ey approval of the 'Home Committee, who thereupon commissioned
then- Orientalist, Samuel Lee, at Cambridge (not yet Professor),
to write a sketch of the history of the Malabar Chuich , which he
did with his usual leairnng and thoioughness, and it was printed
as an appendix to the Eeport of 1817 Another missionary,
Dawson, who was sent in the following year, had soon to letuni
Baker and home invalided, but in 1818 arrived Henry Baker and Joseph
enn Fenn Norton was stafconed at Allepie, the energetic Eesident
obtaining from the Eani a giant of land for the Mission Bailey,
* The best account of the Syrian Chnrch, its histoiy and cloctnno aud
lifcaigies,&c, isgivenm LmgenngsafL^litm a Daj k LaraZ, by T Wlufcoliouae,
London, 1873 Mi Whifcehouse was a chaplain at Cochin
THE EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS TO RLVIVE THEM 233
Baker, and Fenn, the celebiated Ttavancoie Timinvuate, settled at PABT III
Cottayanr, where Colonel Munro's Synan College had been estab-
hshed Eenn had been a young London bamstei, who gave up
brilliant prospects to be a missionary Having good connexions,
and exhibiting unusual powers, he was already making £1500
a yeai But he heaid the Divine call, and responded at once ,
and he was oidamed m the first instance toFiancis Cunningham's
curacy at Pakefield To him was moie especially committed the
woik of seeking to influence the Syrian Chuich
The missionaries weie expiessly instructed by the CMS Com- CMS
rmttee " not to pull down the ancient Chuich and build another, cern?ng°an
but to lemove the rubbish and repan the decaying places " " The
Syrians should be bi ought back to then own ancient and pnmitivo
worship and discipline, lathei than be induced to adopt the liturgy
and discipline of the English Chuich , and should any consideia-
tions induce them to wish such a measuie, it would bo highly
expedient to dissuade them from adopting it, both for the
pi enervation of then individuality and oniaienoss, and gi cater
consequent weight and usefulness as a Chuich , and to pi event
those jealousies and hoiut-lnumngs which would in all probability
hereafter aiise "
At the first ainval of Noiton, sonio apprehension was manifested
by the Metian (Metropolitan) and othei Sytians that the Eughsh
clergy were coming, as the Roman cloigy had come, to subjugate
them to the domination of a foieign Church "But I amained
them," wrote Noiton, "that it was out sole dosue to bo uistiu-
mental, by the Divine assistance, in strengthening the Metuur's
hands for removing those evils which they had derived from the
Church of Borne, and which he himself lamented, and to bung
them back to their primitive state, according to the puuty of the
Gospel, that they might again become a holy and vigorous Chinch,
active and useful m the cause of God " The Metian thereupon
welcomed him as their " deliverer and protector " This Mctian,
however, soon died, but ho was succeeded by two excellent men,
who were Metrans jointly, and who both pioved most fiiendly,
and anxious to follow the counsels of tho missionaries On
December 3rd, 1818, an assembly was summoned by one of thorn,
Mar Dionysms, which was attended by forty calamus (puests)
and seven hundred of the laity, and at which Joseph Ftmn
addressed them He dwelt on the duties of both clergy andhuty,
pointing out the evils of enforced celibacy for tho former, and the
importance of conducting public worship in a language " undor-
standod of tho people", and suggested the appointment of BIX
* An interesting account of .Joseph FGUH, by Di J 0 Milloi, appeared in
the 0 M Intelligencer of Mny, 1878 He was foi fifty yours Munstex of Black-
heath Park Chapel, and a vcnoratod momboi of tho 0 M 8 Committoe He
was the fathei of seveuil clerical Bonn among them, 0 0 Fonn, of Ceylon,
and aftorwarls Sooiotiuy of 0 M S , David Fain, of Madras, J F Fenn,
of Ohelionham , T F Fonn, IToucl MaaLoi of Tieub (Jollogo
234 FME EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS ro REVIVE THEM
PAST III of the most able catanais to consult with the Metian and the
1812-24 missionanes as to the pmifymg and simplifying of the ntes and
0h!L. ceiemomes Of the Chuich, which were extremely elaboiate and
comphcated and in many lespects supeistitious,— adding the
caution that it was desirable to " altei as little as possible " •
Early Of course, it was not expected that lefoirns could be effected at
success of once t an^ meanwhile the thiee brethren set to woik in the vanous
departments allotted to them Fenn took chaige of the College,
at which it was aiianged that every candidate for the Synan
ministry should be tiamed , Bailey, having been two yeais longer
m Tiavancoie than the otheis, and being theiefoie moie advanced
m the language, began the translation of the Bible into Malayalam ,
and Bakei started and supervised schools in Cottayam and the
surrounding villages They quickly won the personal esteem of
the people , and a remaikable letter | was written by the Metian
to the President of the Society, Loid Gambler, in 1821, m which,
comparing the Pope to Phaiaoh, he called Colonel Macaulay,
(the first Eesident), Moses, and Colonel Momo, Joshua , speaking
also affectionately of " Mar Buchanan, the illustrious priest," of
"Priest Beniarnin, Priest Joseph, and Priest Henry" (Bailey,
Fenn, and Baker), and of " Samuel the Pnest," i e Piofessor
Lee, who had written them a lettei in the ancient Synac language
Bishop Middleton, of Calcutta, who visited Travancoie ]ust when
the work was beginning, appioved of the missionanes' plans , and
the Principal of Bishop's College, Dr Mill, two years latei, wiote
with surprise and pleasure of the judicious way in which, m his
judgment, they weie filling a veiy difficult position
For some yeais the reports weie veiy hopeful , and yot no
results definite reform had been accomplished The actual practice of
the Synan Church proved to be far more supeistitious than was
peiceived at first The clergy were ignoiant and often immoial,
and the people given to drunkenness and license of all lands
Many of the lehgious customs weie simply bonowed from the
surrounding Heathenism In respect both of lehgious observance
and of morality, the Christians had " mingled with the Heathen
and learned their wolks " But the missionanes noted this gicat
and fundamental diffeience between them, that while the Heathori
gloried — as they glory to-day— in their shame, and justified the
vilest practices by the example of their gods, the Christians
entnely acknowledged their own sm and degradation, and even the
superstitious character of their worship, and professed to wish foi
impiovement Both the Eesidents and the missionaries urged the
marriage of the priests, the prohibition of which was no original
rule of the ancient Church of Antioch, but had been bouowed
* An abstiact of this Address JB given in the Appendix to the Report ol
1820, m vrhioh also theie is an official report by Colonel Monro to the
Madras Government on the history and condition of Christianity in Tiavan-
core
\ Printed in full m tlie Mmwnw y Regwtoi of 1822, p 431
Tuz EASTERN CHURCHES EFFORTS ro REVIVE THEM 235
fioin Eome Celibacy, indeed, was held m high honoui , but m PART III
actual fact theie was veiy little leal celibacy Though the i?12"2!
pucsts had no lawful wivos, they had mistiesses, and children, ° p 17
quite openly , so that mamage would have been au important
refoim But although the good Metians did advocate it, very
little .came of the pioposal Meanwhile, Ferni and Bailey went
on training the young pnests and translating the Scnptmes, and
attending the Syrian services regulaily, although these were often
extremely distasteful to them
In 1825 the good Metran, Mai Dionysius, died His successors
pioved to bo men of a totally difteient spirit, and opposed all
ref 01 ms For ton y eai s rnoi c , nevertheless , the Society pei severed ,
but, as will appeal heieaftei, the enterprise was at last acknow-
ledged to bo a failure To the Jews at Pisidian Antioch, in
the caihest days, St Paul had said, "It was necessary that the
woid of God should fiist have been spoken unto you but seeing
ye put it fioni you, and judge yom selves unwoitlvy of eveilastmg
life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles " So, m effect, said the mission-
aries to the Indian child i en of Lhe Syrian Antioch They now
tinned to the Heathen But thi& ua viewed from 1825, is still in
the future
CHAPTER XVIII
THE OUTLOOK AFTER TWENTY-FIVE TEARS
Josiah Pratt retires— Sombre Tone of his Last Report— Cunningham
on the Great Enemy— Discouragement and Repulse in the Mission
Field— Deaths— New Friends— The Anniversaries— Men and Means
—Ordinations— New N -W America Mission— The S V M U
Motto anticipated— The One Hope, an Outpouring of the Spirit
" Much dmowaged leco/me 0} tlie way "—Numb xxi 4
" Bui Dttud eiiCQwaged fame!} n the Lot cl Ins Qocl "- 1 Sain xxx 6
PART III
1812-24
Chap 18
QUAETEE of a century had now passed since the
little band of obscme cleigymen and laymen esta-
blished the new Society in the Castle and Falcon Inn
We have traced the history of the Society's eaily
straggles, of its tnals of faith and patience, of its
almost sudden leap, at the age of thuteen, fiom infancy to
vigorous youth, of its lapid extension thionghout the country, of
its relations with othei Societies, of its fiist Missions in West
Africa, m Noith and South India, in New Zealand, in Ceylon , of
its effoits in behalf of the Eastern Chinches Let us now pause
for a moment at the year 1824, and survey the Society's position,
its Missions, and the woild generally
As before stated, it is a curious fact that m 1824 the Society
was not aware of its being twenty-five years old ! The tradition
had grown up that it was founded in 1800, probably because
Pratt and the few othei survivois of the little band of foundeis !t
had been wont to date the commencement of the Society, not
torn its actual formation m 1799, but from its resolve to go
foiwaid in the following year, when the Archbishop's leply was
received It was Hemy Venn who afteiwards put the matter
right, and celebiated the Jubilee m the true fiftieth year But let
us take advantage of the mistake, and instead of taimg our stand
definitely m Apnl, 1824, adopt for our survey the bioader platform
of the years 1824 and 1825 geneially, up to which peiiod the
preceding chapters have brought the history of the Missions
On April 23id, 1824, just after the leal twenty-fifth birthday,
resigns Josiah Pratt resigned his Secretaryship It is only a close study
of the period that can enable one to realize the importance of this
* Of the original thirty two (members of Committee and Y P B), twelve
weie still alive in 1824
OUTLOOK AFTER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 237
event Piatt has never been fully appreciated He is not a PART III
histonc character But a sense of his gieatness giows upon the
mind as the Society's inner history is followed, and as the
Missionary Register is studied page by page In particular, the
combination in him of faithfulness to the spnitual principles which HIS char-
were— and are— the life and soul of the Society, with the truest
and most generous bieadth of sympathy towards other men and
other organizations, was almost unique One cannot lesist the
conviction that in this breadth of sympathy he did not always
carry all his colleagues on the Committee with him , but of the
value of it to the Society during those critical eaily yeais theie
can be no manner of doubt To quote two very diverse authonties
Dr Overton calls him " quite one of the best in eveiy way of the
Evangelical cleigy " " Like many of the Evangelicals," he says,
" Pratt showed gieat business talents, which weie most valuable
in the management of then various piojects He was a man of
singularly unobtrusive character, and was lathei foiced by cucum-
stances than led by his own choice into pi eminence His foite
was piactical wisdom " And Mi Jowett, who was one of his
successors in the Secretanat — " He was a man all eneigy — giave,
him, undaunted eneigy, with a mind compiehensive, sagacious,
sound, and piactical, a nnnd always busy, going foith m its
exclusions throughout the length and bieadth of the land, and
thiough the compass of the whole eaith With these original
qualities of the understanding was combined a power of labout
truly astonishing Others might delibeiatc, he could de-
liberate and act too In the qualities of his heart he was
truly large, fervent, and affectionate " "I never knew a man
like him," Bishop Gobat once said, " able to ask of missionary
candidates such plain questions without offending" How tiue
was Cecil's forecast when Pratt fiist came to him as cm ate in
1795, and the young cleigyman was timid and downcast — " Nevoi
mind, Pratt make youiself useful, and the time will come when
yon will be wanted "
The ground of Piatt's letnement was the increasing burden of
the Mibswnau/ R&)ii>tet, which occupied a, very largo poition of his
time , and any leader of its volumes at that peuocl will wonder
that the editoi could mid an horn foi anything olsc It may justly
be again observed that no missionary peiiodical of the piesent day
can compaie with what the Reqibtp) was then, m compieherwivo-
ness and completeness, and editonal industry That theie was no
hidden leason for resignation behind, in the shape of any dif-
ference with the Committee, is clem from the fact that they at
once appointed him Chaumanof the Committee of Correspondence,
an oihce of fai moie dominating influence then than it could
possibly be now, when the mirabeis are five or six tunes greater '
* There is now uo permanent Chairman of this Committee In the absence
of the Piesidont, some Vico-Piosideut or other momhei is voted to the chair
ad
238 THE OUTLOOK AFTER TWENTY-FIVE
PART III Theie is no leason to doubt that Pratt wiote the bulk of the
1812-24 Eeport of 1824, though he retired ]ust befoie its piesentation Its
ChaP 18 concluding paragiaphs aie smgulaily weighty Let a shoit
Hia last passage be given —
Report
" No man can say that he has acted up to the extent of his obligations
Let him but feel, m its full energy, the constiainmg power of the love of
Christ to Ins own soul, and the first waking thought and the last
conscious desne of every clay will be how he may best live unto Hun
who died for him Let him but know m the full comprehension of their
value, the things which aie freely given to him of God, and lay to heart
the dreadful state and imminent danger of the perishing world, with his
own responsibility for the talents committed to his chaige, and the few
fleeting moments in which, to all eternity, he will be able to do any-
thing toward the Salvation of immortal souls — let him fed all this as he
ought, and every faculty of body and soul, every houi of his waking
life, and every atom of power and influence which he can command,
will be devoted to rescue souls from death and to hide a multitude of
sins"
But upon the whole, this last Eepoit of Pratt's has a distinctly
sombre tone Its openmg words are, " The Committee have to
display a chequered scene," and reference is immediately made to
the " very seveie trials " which it had " pleased God, m His wise
and righteous Pi evidence, to bring on some parts of the Missions " ,
and the whole outlook at this time was very different fiom the
animated expectations that had marked the pen-od of development,
1818 to 1816 Missionary leadeis were now learning, yeai by
yeai, the haid lesson that the Jencho-walls of Heathenism do not
fall at the fiist summons , that the great Enemy's malice is most
especially manifested against that division of the Lord's airny that
attacks him in his strongholds, that the " stiong man aimed "
can only be dispossessed of his usurped dominion by the dnect
v J. ••* tt
powei of the " Strongei than he " Many encouraging facts dwelt
upon by. Pratt in the Register * a few months befoie this time, as
for example that the contnbutions to the various Societies now
amounted to £1000 per day, f— that the Scnptmes had been
translated into one bundled and foity-four languages,— that tens of
thousands of souls had already been gatheied from among the
Heathen, numbers of whom had died m the faith and were now
safe for evei,— only tended to make the antagonism, both of " flesh
and blood" and of " principalities and poweis," more vehement
and bitter than ever Naturally, theiefore, we find the leahty of
the Devil and his works much dwelt upon at this time Foi
jahnCun- instance, J W Cunningham's powerful Sermon at the Anmvei-
nmgfaam'a
61111011 * January, 1824 The January number of the Register was at this time
always devoted to a survey of the world and of Missions
f In the Regwter of December, 1826, is given a List of Contnbutions to
" Missionary, Bible, Tract, and Education Societies," including institutions
like the National Society, the Sunday School Union, the Naval and Military
Bible Society, &c The total is estimated at about £380,000 , but more than
half of this -would be for home work
THE OUTLOOK AFTLR TWENTI FIVE YEARS 239
sary of 1823 is devoted to this subject • The text combines, in a PART HI
way which is not at all common, the 31st and 32nd veises of St 38] 2-24
John xn , " Now shall the prince of this woild be cast out , and I, G}iaP 18
if I be lifted up from the eaith, will diaw all men unto me " , and
the subject is, m the pieacher's woids, "TheEmpiie of Satan
upon Earth, and the Destruction of that Empire by the Son of
God " Aftei a masterly sketch of the lesults of the Devil's
dominion, both outwaidly in Heathendom, and mwaidly even in
the heaits of professing Chnstians, and a striking pictuie of the
gradual piesent victory and complete future triumph of Chnst,
Cunningham pioceeds to ask pointedly, "Why should any man
be astonished to find almost innumeiable obstacles and enemies to
the piosecution of the missionaiy cause?" "The Missionaiy
Enterprise," he goes on, "may be considered as an assault, at
once open and dnect, at the very heait of its citadel IB it not
then to be expected that an Enemy so heice, poweiful, and
implacable, will lesist such an attack ? Is the evil spinti an
1 accusei of the brethien ' ? — then have we a light to expect
' railing accusation ' against his opposeis Is lie the ' fathei of
lies ' ? — then we may expect to be pmsued by the giosseht ialso-
hoods and calumnies Was he ' a inuidoiei fiom tho beginning ' ?
— then have we reason to anticipate pei sedition, and every species
of violence by which unroeasuied and miwoaned malignity can
prosecute its object " At his concluding paiagiaphs we will look
presently
Meanwhile, let us glance at the Mission-iield In West Africa, Reverses
the woik had almost collapsed, owing to the leinble succession of in theficld
deaths , there weie already signs of tho tares springing up amid the
wheat, even in the distinct (Regent) that had been the scone of tho
lamented Johnson's much-blessed Iaboui8, and the slave-trade,
particulaily undei the Fionch Hag, wab reviving, with all its
horiois, along tho whole coast In Hew Zealand, affcei ton years'
woik, no apintual fiuiti luid boon gathmed, and the Mission had
been sadly damaged by the bad conduct of some of the agents
On the snoies of the Modi ton a,ne,in, and in Ttavancoie, Uie
ancient Chiu dies of the E.isL wei a bliowmg IO&H disposition than
they had fehown at fiiat to accept the lefonmng suggestions from
the West, and the Giook icvolt had been mot by increased
manifestations of bigotiy and fanaticism on tho purl of Moham-
medan Tuikey In Etwsia, too, the uanowei Hchool in tho Kubso-
Greek Ohiuch was legaimng the upper hand, and tioubluig tho
Scottish MJSHIOIIH on the Caspian , and this, with the gi owing
enmity of the Taitiu population, lod to scveial stations beiug aban-
doned , whilo the death of the O^ai Alexander in 1825 put an end
to the laigo hopes that hung upon his peiaonal piety and sympathy
with missionaiy effoit In India, piogiess was vciy slow, except
in Tmnevelly , the most shocking accounts of widow-buinmg and
* Likewise 0 F, Gluldo'p Scimon m 1870
240 THE OUTLOOK AFTER TwRNTY~i>nrE YEAR?*
III child-mui der weie coming home, and lending the heaits of the
1812-24 leadeis of the Register , the nist Bishop had died, and the second
_ ^d only just landed, fioin the SPCK Tamil Missions no
leportswere being leceived at all, and the greatest Mission in
Bengal, that of the Baptists at Serampore, was in the midst of the
tmtowaid dispute which presently sepaiated it for many years
fiom the parent society In South Afiica, the great work of
Moftat and others,— and in the South Seas, the great work of John
Williams and otheis,— under the London Missionary Society,
weie meeting with senous (though tempoiaiy) checks China
was still virtually closed, but Morrison, whose Chinese Bible
had long been complete, was at this very time m England,
forming plans foi Chinese work at Singapore in view of a possible
futuie entiance into the empne itself Japan, of comse, was still
hermetically sealed , and its name never occurs at all m these
eaily Beports and Begistars
Perhaps the most painful manifestation of the Enemy's malice
was in the West Indies The Anti- Slavery Socrety had ]ust been
formed (1823) , Wilberfoice had committed the cause to Fowell
Buxton, and Buxton had opened his Paihamentary campaign , and
the slave-propnetois m the West Indies, having taken alarm at
the rising feeling in England against slavery in any form, weie
seriously opposing missionary work among the negroes Some
Wesleyan missionaries, overawed by then attitude, had publicly
disclaimed all sympathy with the Abolitionists, and theieupon had
been disavowed and censuied by then Society at home In
Demerara, a missionary of the L M S was unjustly condemned to
execution for his sympathy with the negroes, and died m prison
But his case, and the West Indian Slavery question generally, will
come before us hereafter
Criticism Natuially, controversies like these bi ought Missions into unusual
at home pubhc notice , and a torrent of ignorant and prejudiced criticism
poured foith from newspapeis and reviews, which added to the
geneial sense of sore conflict and trial of faith Notwithstanding
the favourable attitude of the Prime Mimstei, Loid Liverpool,
towards Missions, most leading statesmen— as usual — had no
faith in them , and it is curious to find the Duke of Wellington,
then in the plenitude of his unique authonty, declining to be
Patron of the Wellington C M Association, on the ground that
"if the Society's object was to convert the Hindus, its effoits
would be fruitless if they were not mischievous " Ecclesiastical
opposition against the CMS, too, had revived Good Bishop
Eydei was translated from Gloucester to the Diocese (as it then
was) of Lichfield and Coventry, and the new Bishop of Gloucestei
(Bethell) foibad all seimons and collections for the Society,
seveial Archdeacons attacked the Society in their chaiges , and at
places like Worcestei, Beading, and Guildfozd, attempts to form
CM Associations failed Nor did the opponents balance this
* See Mmioiun y Register, 1824, pp 238, 278
THL Qu FLOOR AFTER TWBNTY-PWE YEARS 241
opposition by any zeal in behalf of Missions undei auspices more PARI III
congenial to them The SPG- was again m financial difficulties 1812-24,
The gieat King's Letter Collection in 1819 had been put in trust 0haP 18
for Bishop's College , and the ordinary funds had lathei suffeied
by it In 1823, the SPG income from voluntaiy oontnbutions
was only £2100, which with £4700 fiom the dividends on leserve
and trust funds, and £9200 frona the Government for Canadian
cleigy, was quite insufficient even for its then limited woik , while
it was at this very tune auanging to take over the South Indian
Missions which the S P 0 K had not the machinery for managing
Again Pratt came to the front with a stiong appeal for SPG m
the Register, •> othei CMS men helped foi example, a " district
society " was formed at Clapham itself by Dealtry, Basil Woodd
and Cunningham speaking on the occasion And from about
this time the Society began to expand and develop as it has done
evei since In the very next yeai, 1826, it held its fiist leally
public meeting, m Fieemasons' Hall, on which occasion Dealtry
was one of the speakers
So there weie many things to account foi sornbie lepoits And
the Church Missionary Society could not but foel the depai toe Deaths ot
of old and levered friends Thomas Scott-' 'Father Scott," as frienda
he was affectionately called, died m 1821, and Charles Giant m
1823, t both, howevei, leaving sons who did noble work foi the
missionary cause Wilberfoice's last speech in Parliament, on
West Indian slaveiy, was delivered in 182d , and though he lived
yet some years, it was mostly in retirement On tho other hand, New
new fnends weie coming forwaid Chailes Grant the younger, frienda
aftei wards Lord Glenelg, who had already gained a position m
Parliament, was a warm supporter So was Fowell Buxton,
Wilberfoice's successoi in the Anti-Slaveiy campaign The
names of Hugh Stowell and Hugh McNeile begin to appear
among the speakers at meetings Hemy Venn the younger, the
futuie Secretary, joined the Committee m 1822 Buxton1 a hist
speech at the Anniversaiy, m 1822, is veiy stiikmg in its way
of presenting our responsibility —
" I will put the case to myself — ( You tuo a piofessor of OluiBtuinity—
you avow your belief of its tiuth, and aclimio its doctimos—- you
enumerate the blessings which He gives who gives all things, and you
count among them His inestimable lovo in the leclemption of tho wxnld—
you know that Christian charity is the msopaiable fruit of true f tilth —
and you know that tins chanty seeks above all things the salvation of tho
souls of men "What do you do P You subset ihe your two or threo
guineas a yeai ! The conveision of eight hunclied millions of souls-
there is the object to be accomplished !— and there is the sacrifice which
you are prepaied to make foi it 1 '
* November, 1825
f Chailoa Grant htoially died w harness, Affcoi' two daya and nights of
nlmoat nnmteriTiptod work, ho lotaiod to lost feeling rothor ill—iw woll ho
might Tlio doctor was bout for, mid applied remedies , bui Grant turned over
mbed, and "fellasloop "
VOL I K
242 THE OUTLOOK AFTER Tw&tirwwz YEARS
PABT III "Were I to say, in the oidmaiy business of life, ' Such and such an
1812-34. object is my grand concern to that I cluect all my powers on that my
Chap 18 veiy soul is centred and I give for this great object my two-and-
forty shillings a year ' — such piofessions would be counted but an idle
mockery, when compaied with such feebleness and inadequacy of
exertion "
As regards pationage, too, theie was some little piogiess, not-
withstanding the enticisrns and the opposition No othei English
Bishop had joined, besides the two already on the list, Bathuist
of Noiwich, and Eydei, now of Lichfield and Coventiy , but
Aichbishop Tiench of Tuarn lepiesented the Chuich of Ii eland,
and the Bishop of Calcutta (Hebei) the Episcopate abroad There
were two Deans, Peaison of Salisbury, and Loid Liffoid of
Armagh. , and there weie foui Heads of Houses, of Duel and
Magdalen Hall at Oxford, and of Queens' and Corpus at Cam-
bridge The laymen weie better lepresented by ten peers and ten
HP's Of the latter, Sir Eobeit Hairy Inghs, the well-known
and highly-respected member for Oxford Univeisity for so many
years, is the most noticeable "We shall meet him hereafter It
should be added that many othei peers were Pations of Pro-
vmcial Associations, though not of the Paient Society No less
than twenty-six of these appeal in the Eeport of 1824 Among the
names it is interesting to see " the Eail of Derby " and " the Earl
of Bosebery " Heie also we may notice the names added to the
list of Honorary Governors foi Life, foi their " yeiy essential sei-
vices to the Society," in addition to those mentioned in oui Tenth
Ohaptei There weie, of the home cleigy, J W Cunningham,
Fountain Blwin (Secretary of the gieat Bnstol Association), John
Langley (Shropshire Association), William Maish, Geraid Noel,
Legh Eichmond, E W Sibthorp (the eloquent pieachei who
afterwards joined the Church of Eome, then came back, and then
seceded again), Chailes Simeon, J H Singer (Secietary of the
Hibernian Auxihaiy, afterwards Bishop of Meath), Professor
Scholefi eld of Cambridge, Haldane Stewart, and one or two otheis ,
Henry Davies (Bombay Chaplain) , and three laymen, viz , Colonel
Munro, of Tiavancoie , J M Stiachan, of Madias , and J H
Hanngton, of Calcutta
The Anniversaries continued to be occasions of great mteiest to
an ever- widening circle of members and friends The pieachei s
subsequent to 1817, up to which date they have already been
noticed, weie, in 1818, Professor Fansh, of Cambridge , in 1819,
the Eon GeiaidT Noel, in 1820, B W Mathias, of Dublin , in
1821, William Jowett, whose sennon has before been noticed , in
1822, Marrnaduke Thompson, the Madras chaplain , in 1823, John
W Cunningham, of Harrow, as already mentioned, in 1824,
Fountain Elwm, of whose sermon more presently
Progress at The Society's Income was steadily rising In 18234 it was
home £34,500 , and in the following year it rose to £40,000, and never
* See p 111
THE OUTLOOK AF i CR TWLNTY-FII c YMRS 243
again fell below that figure The advance shown is ically not so PART III
gieat as it actually was, owing to some slight changes in tho mode 181&-24
of presenting the accounts In a futme chaptei, the financial ^_18
details will be moie fully explained The soiuces of Income
piesented a striking illustiation of the powei of littles Laige
benefactions and legacies were few and fai between , but penny
collections weie oigamzed all over the countiy Ladies' Associa-
tions weie a gieat powei in those days They weie not
parochial, but foi a town or distuct , and hundieds of ladies went
round and lound collecting the pennies week by week and month
by month The poor gave eageily, aitizans' Missionaiy Unions
weie formed, Sunday-schools and Juvenile Associations weie
multiplying At Hanow, Cunningham had been unable, fiorn
local circumstances, to stait a legulai Association so eaily as ho
wished, but at length a meeting was held tho loom was
thronged, and five bundled labour eis, seivants, &c ,put down then
names as penny subscriber A Juvenile Association at Hull, and
a Sunday-school at Leeds, laised each of them ovei £100 a, ycai
A new publication, the Q uai toly Papi , had been staited in 1816,
foi fiee distribution to those humble but icgulai contnbuto] s , and
ovei half a million copies weie cuculatcd in 1822 It w.w beginning
to be the custom at some Piovmcial Anmveisanos to hold meet-
ings in the evening » foi the Labouring Glasses " Of comae
regular Annual Meetings eveiywheie weio held in tho daytime An
evening meeting at Manchester in 1823 is specially mentioned,
which was attended by 1200 peisous of tho woikmg clafas Yet,
with all this activity, the gieat bulk of the cleigy still held aloof,
and many even of decided Evangelical views merely stippoited
the Society because it was Evangelical, but showed no leal sscal in
the missionaiy cause Again and again do the Annual Bopoits
and Sermons appeal to the clergy , and this in tone and language)
that leave no doubt in the leadei'smmd that they weio legarded
as exceptionally backward in fulfilling then gieat obligation to
obey the Loid's Last Command
At the end of 1824, the Society had sent out fiom Europe
ninety-eight men, and &ix single women Of the ninety-eight
thirty-two were English cloigymen, Unity-two were English
laymen (including a few who weio ordained afteiwaids) ; Unity
weie in Lutheian oidois (sixteen fioin tho Beilin Seminary, nine
from the Basle Semmaiy, two fiom tho Univoisity of Jena, and
thiee otheis), and foin weie Geiman laymen Of tho- whole
ninety-eight, hfty-foui weio still on the loll at tho end of 1824
Of the six smglo women, five had manied and one died The
number of wives was foity-seven
It was only in the Bepoit of 1823 that tho Society first
published a Statistical Table It contains tho numbers of Euro-
* The roll of mou to that elate is exactly ono htmclrod , but this includes
Bowley, the Eurasian, m North India, and Paokoy, a lay settler in Now
/ealaua who hud gone from Sydney
B 2
244 THE OUTLOOK AFMR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
PART III pean and Native missionaries and agents, and of schools and
1812-24 scholais At the end of 1824, theie weie but two " Native mission-
s mQ&» ^bdul Maglll an(i Bowiey tne Emasian Theie were 319
"Native teacheis and assistants," but two-thuds of these were in
India, wheie piobably the non-Christian school-teacheis were
included Theie weie 296 schools, and 14,090 scholais Not till
1832 was an estimate given pf the number of communicants , and
not till 1869, of the total number of Chiistian adheients
The numeious deaths and disappointments in the Missions,
especially in West Africa, led the Committee to think much of the
importance of native agency In the Eepoit of 1823, they
expiess very earnestly then hope and piayer that efficient native
evangelists and teachers might be laised up " m such numbeis,
thiough the blessing of the Holy Spnit, as to supeisede the
necessity of any other supply of Teacheis from Christendom than
those guides and counsellor who, availing themselves of the
experience of all the older Churches of Christ in the West, might
be the means of establishing and extending the rising Churches of
the Heathen Woild " But this was yet in the future
Meanwhile the arrangements for teaming men at home weie
datea at this time occupying much of the Committee's attention Since
Scott had been obliged to give up the chaige of candidates —
Benjamin Bailey was the last undei him, — they had been dis-
tributed among vanous cleigymeu m diffeient parts of the country,
foi theological reading with a view to holy ordeis That is, foi
part of their time The weeks occupied during the consideration
of their candidature, and again between the completion of then
theological studies and then sailing for the Mission-field, they
spent under Bickeisteth's care, in Salisbury Square as long as he
resided in the House, and, when the House became too small, at a
house taken foi him in Bamsbury Park Mr Dandeson Coates,
afterwards Lay Secretary, lived at the Office after Bickersteth left
it, and gave a good deal of time to assisting m the details of
business With Bickersteth also resided the men from Basle
during their sojourn in England But as his chief woik was m
the country, travelling from place to place, preaching and speaking
at local Anniversaries, the time that he could give to the candi-
dates and students was not large In view of all these ciicum-
stances, the Committee began to feel that a regulai Tiaimng
Institution for the Society was becoming an urgent need Some
of then* friends opposed the idea, and urged that accepted candi-
dates should be sent to the Universities, but it was ultimately
agreed that while men educated independently at the Umveisities,
and then coming forwaid for missionary work, should be earnestly
sought foi, it was desirable, m the case of men of humbler station,
requiring to be trained at the Society's expense, that they should
be under the more immediate supervision of the Society's repre-
sentatives Hence the scheme, one of Pratt1 s special hobbies, for
establishing an Institution at Islington Of this Institution we
THE QVTLQOK AFT&R TWENTY-FIVE YEARS 245
shall see raoie in an early chaptei The House in Uppei Street PART III
was opened for the leception of students on Januaiy 31st, 1825 , 1812-24
but the college buildings weie not erected foi two 01 thiee yeais 0}lftP 18
latei Its histoiy, therefore, falls into our next peuod
Meanwhile the Basle Seminary was turning out admn able men, Basle men
under the guidance of its highly-iespected Principal, Theophilus
Blumhaidt The Committee justly placed gieat confidence in his
faithfulness and wisdom , and when he visited England m 1822,
he was waimly welcomed, and spoke at the Anmveisary Meeting
Although at this time, and until 1826, his men leceived only
Lutheian orders, he fully agreed to their adopting the Piayei Book
in its entiiety, and assiued the Committee that they weie able,
" fiom a full conviction of their heaits," to accept the oidmances
of the Church of England In the next quarter of a centuiy we
shall find that a large proportion of the Society's best and ablest
missionaries came fiom the Basle Semmaiy , but most of these, as
we shall see, leceived fuithei tiaming in England, and English
oideis
One of the eaily difficulties of the Society m sending forth
missionanes — the obtaining English oidination foi them— was Ordina-
now entuely removed Aftoi Bishops Rydei and Bathmst joined tiona
the Society, they oidained men at the Committee's lequest,
accepting as a title the Committee's agieemcnt to employ them
Archbishop Harcouit, of Yoik, did the same on two 01 theo
occasions But an anangement like this could only bo pioviaiomil
Howevei, the difficulty was solved m 1819 by an Act of Paiha-
ment called the Colonial Seivice Act, which gave the Aichbishops
of Canteibuiy and York and the Bishop of London powei to
ordain men foi " His Majesty's Colonies and Foreign Possessions,"
under certain lestnctions Fiom that time the Bibhop of London
regularly 01 darned the Society's missionaries Indeed he had
claimed to have the nght before, objecting to Bishop Rydei doing
so,-1' and the Act settled the question The fust miasionaiy thus
ordained was Isaac Wilson (who mamed Miss Gooko of Calcutta),
at Chustmas, 1820, and the second Henry Williams (a.ftoi wards
Aichdeacon m New Zealand), at Tnmty, 1822
One new Mission had been lately sdai tod, which has not yet Jfjji011 in
been mentioned The Society foi Missions m "Africa and the West"
East " had gone into the Eai West So fai back us 1810, a Amftrica'
gentleman in Uppoi Canada, Mi John Johnston, had called the
Society's attention to the Ecd Indians of the Ojibbo\vay lube on
Lake Supenoi, and stated that if a man could be sent to them, the
Bishop of Quebec (then the only Bishop in Canada) would no
doubt oidain him Inquiry was accordingly made, 1ml Bishop
Mountain declined to ordain any such peiBon, and the matter
diopped In 1819, anothei proposal was made to the Society, by
a membei of the North-West Fur Company (not yet amalgamated
* Committee Minutes, September, 1818
246 THE OUTLOOK AFTER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
PART III with the Hudson's Bay Company), to establish a Mission among
^e ^n^ails b&yond the Eocky Mountains, in what is now British
Columbia The Committee undeitook " to procuie fiuther infor-
mation " , but what the result was does not appeal, as the matter
is not again lefened to Nearly forty yeais were yet to elapse
befoie a North Pacific Mission was staited
A third pioposal led to more definite lesults In 1820, the
Rev John "West, Curate of White Roding, Esses, an active
member of the Society, was appointed by the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany chaplain to their settlement on Bed Eiver, south of
Lake Winnipeg He laid befoie the Committee a pioposal foi
establishing schools foi the Indian children in that distuct , and
they voted £100 to assist him in this scheme In the following
year, he wiote pioposmg a regular Mission , and two members of
the Boaid of the Hudson's Bay Company, Mr Nicholas Garry
and Mi Benjamin Hamson, attended the Committee to support
the application The lesult was the appointment of Mi West
himself to superintend the Mission, of a schoolmastei to work
under him, and, subsequently, of one of the Society's students,
David T Jones, to be an additional missionaiy , and the voting of
£800 a yeai to covei expenses These decisions being come to in
1822 make that -year the date of the Noith-West America
Mission !* In the autumn of that year, Captain (afterwaids Sir
John) Biankhn, leturned from one of his gieat Aictic expeditions,
and came to the Society to uige it to extend its woik to othei
Indian tnbes scatteied over those vast legions, paiticulaily
piessmg the claims of the Eskimo But many yeais weie to pass
befoie these extensions could be uudei taken
It is very inteiesting to observe how, as the woik went on yeai
by year, the C M S leaders weie acquiring not only experience in
Higher the piactical conduct of Missions, but highei and truer conceptions
°^ * e work rtaelf j and of the obligations of Chustians regarding
it In a former chapter it was obseived that the misenes of the
Heathen appealed to them at first the chief motive of Missions,
and that the unique position and urgency of the Lord's Last
Command did not seem to have dawned upon them In the
Beport of 1819, howevei, we find foi the fiist time the two gieat
Missionary Commands of Chust put in juxtaposition, and the duty
of " every Chnstian in every age " insisted on plainly —
"From the moment when our Lord, looking on the desolate multitudes
of Judaea, gave that injunction to His disciples, 'Pi ay ye the Loid of
the Harvest that He would send forth labourers into His Harvest/—
from that moment, Prayer foi this object has nevei ceased to be the
Duty of every Clnistian From the moment when He left that last
command, ' Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature,'— from that moment, every possible eftort has been the Duty
of every Christian in every age "
* Bo it was called foi thioe quaiters of a centuiy It is now called Noilh-
West Canada Mission, this name being prefeired by Canadian fueiicls
TffB OUTLOOK AI<PER TwENry-pivL YEARS 247
In Piatt's annual Suivey of the Woild, m the Eec^tBJ of PART III
January, 1820, there is a lemaikable anticipation of a gieat thought p?12~*?t
which has only been quite lecently formulated, viz that it is the aP_
duty of Chnstians to take definite measmes foi the Evangelisation s v M u
of the Whole World within a limited time As now f cumulated, JSSJJteT
the " watch woid," as it is called, says "in this Cremation " It
is not put quite m that form in 1820 , but elaborate calculations
aie given legaiding the numbei of millions of Heathen in the
woild, and the possibility of sending 30,000 mwsionaues from
Euiope and the United States in twenty-one yeais It is shown,
in the quietest and most cogent mannei, that this could bo done,
and that the cost would be met by an annual contubution fiom
each communicant in Piotestant Chiistendom of four dollais, say
sixteen shillings The use of dollais m the calculation leveals the
source of the scheme It was diawn up by Goidon Hall and
Samuel Newell, two members of the iirst band of miSHionaues
sent to the Heathendom of the Eastein Heinispheio by the
Ghnstians of the United States— of that baud, sent by the
Amencan Boaid of Foieign Missions, whose utitowaid lecepiion
by the Bntish authoiities at Galcutia, in 1812, Jus been noticed
m a pievious chaptei They weio now at Bombay, and thence
they sent this lemaikable scheme to Boston Ptatt lucewd it in
due coiuse, and mseitod laige extiacts, with full commendation,
in the Rcgistv Fiom the United States it is, in oui own day,
that the pioposition m still more definite foim has come
It does not appear that this Bombay scheme laid any hold of
the mind of the Ghnstiau public Tho time was ceitaiuJy not i ipe
font But theie was anothei subject bi ought forward at this
penod, which engaged widei attention, and which also antici-
pated much that has occupied the minds of devout and devoted
Christians m these lattei yeais This was tUa tieed of CL fresh An o^
outpow %nq 0} tlic, Holy tym it the spirit*
It is a remaikable ciicumstance that wliat seems to have first needed»
biought this subject into especial pionnuonce m Josiah Pratt's
mind was— of all things t— the Coronaiion of Geoige IV , in 1821,
The very solemn Goionation Service had not boon heaul m
England foi sixty yeais, owing to Gooigo 11T fs long iciign, and
when it was at last used again, its imfaiiuhai plnahos oieatod a
deep impiession In the licqi^Ui of Januaiy, 182^, Piatt quotas
and comments on the Service, pointing out especially that it
"lecogmzes and enfoices the necessity of the constant and
abundant influences of the Holy Spint, m oulei to success in the
labours of Government and m the conduct of the ClniBtian Life "
Foi instance, " The King is conseciated to his Oflice by the
significative act of anointing with Oil — denoting those Giacious
Influences and that Heavenly Unction of the Holy Spirit, without
which he cannot fulfil his awful obligations To this end, Piayor
is put up foi the stiengthonmg Gi ace of the Ho]y Ghost " Then,
aftei noticing tho difficulties and disappointments besotting mis-
248 THE OUTLOOK AFTER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
PART III sionary "woik all over the woild, Piatt urges upon Chustians the
1J12-24 fl^y Of piayer for the outpouring of the Spirit In the following
Ohap ._ year, 1823, his annual Survey is headed, " The Conversion of
And the World dependent on the more abundant influence of the Holy
prayed for gpmj. » rp^ gubject, it is stated, was attaining prominence "in
the Pulpit, in Piayer, in Addiesses and Eesolutions at Public
Meetings, in Instructions dehveied to Missionaries, in Eeports of
Societies, and m the Communications of the Laboureis them-
selves ", and it is added that special couises of seimons on " the
Deity, Offices, and Giacious Opeiations of the Holy Ghost" weie
being delivered in many chinches In that yeai came John
Cunningham's Sermon, refened to eaikei in this chaptei By
what means did he affiim that the influences of Satan must be
met and oveicome? "It is only by an agency like his own,
spmtual and invisible," uiges the preachei, "that we can hope
effectually to contend with him " , and therefoie, Prayer foi the
Holy Spirit is the great weapon He refeis to " the multiplication
of piayers for the outpouring of the Spirit" as "a sign of the
times," and dwells on " the consolatory fact that thus the weakest,
the most unlearned, the poor palsied or bedridden soldier of the
Cioss can cany the war into the very camp of the Enemy "
Then in the following year, 1824, Fountain Elwm, the eneigetic
Secretary of the great Bristol Association, being the appointed
Preachei, went straight to the heart of the sub]ect "It shall
come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My
Spirit upon all flesh"— these woids, m which St Petei, on the
Day of Pentecost, quoted the old piophecy of Joel, were his
animating text And it is a delightful sermon every way, full
of Scriptuie, full of the Spuit of whom it speaks, full of tiue
missionary earnestness and enthusiasm Why is the professing
Christian woild, it asks, exhibiting so little of the life and power
of religion9 Because the woids are tiue of so many, "Having
not the Spirit" Why is Oriental Chustendom witheied and
decayed ? Because they have still to hear " what the Spirit saith
unto the Churches " How long will Israel be yet an outcast from
the Lord ? ' ' Until the Spirit be poured upon them fiom on high "
Why is Heathendom in moral daikness ? Because another spint,
the "god" and "prince of this woild," itiles theie undistuibed
What then is to be done ? Send forth men who can tiuly respond
to the solemn question at then ordination, " Do you tiust that you
are mwaidly moved by the Holy Ghost ?"— who will take no
weapon but " the sword of the Spirit "-—whose motto will be,
"Not by might, nor by powei, but by My Spuit"— who will
" keep the unity of the Spirit ", and we all, on om part, must
look for the outpouring, like Elijah by his servant's eyes— pay for
it, as Elijah did while the servant was looking— and labour to
promote it, because even the Omnipotent Spint works by means
FBOM PBATT'S KETIREMENT TO
VENN'S ACCESSION 1834-1841.
NOTE ON PAET IV
THIS Part only contains six chapters, but they are long and important
ones The first two are devoted to home aftairs Chap XIX is the
first of a series of chapters winch, one 01 more in each Part of the
History, intioduce to us the Personnel of the Society, the Secretaires and
Committee-men, the Preachers and Speakeis at the Anniversaries, the
Candidates and Missionaries, and those friends and fellow-workers who
died in the period In like manner, Chap XX is the first of a series
of chapters which in each Part show us the Society's Environment
during the Period, particularly dwelling on the state and progress of
the Church of England, with especial reference to the relations of the
Evangelical school 01 party to othei schools and parties In this
chapter we see something of the condition of England when Queen
Victoria ascended the throne, the great improvements withm the Chinch,
certain internal differences among Evangelicals, and the nse of the
Tractarian 01 Oxford Movement
The othei foui chapters take us again to the Mission-held India
absorbs two of them Chap XXI is an important chaptei, paiallel to
the "Envnonment " chapters at home It notices the changes and
developments in India m the period of the 'thirties, particularly the
reforms of Lord W Bentmck , also the episcopate of Daniel Wilson,
and his struggle with Caste , also the advent of Alexander Dun7 and the
commencement of Educational Missions under his auspices Then
Chap XXII turns our attention to the CMS Missions, and takes a
suivey of them all lound India, with a glance at other Missions, and at
Ceylon Chap XXIII carries us back to Siena Leone, and then across
the Atlantic to the West Indies, telling the painful stoiy of Slavery
theie and the story also of Buxton's successful attack upon it All tho
other Missions aie grouped together in Chap XXIV , New Zealand, the
Mediterranean, and Rupert's Land, and the short-lived attempts at
work in Abyssinia, and in Zululand, and among the Austialian Blacks
REV J W CUNNINGHAM
REV W JOWETT
REV E BICKERSTETH
BISHOP
SIR T POWELL BUXTON
JT W Cnnninffham, Vicar of Harrow, the most fiequent speaker at 0 M S Anniversaries
W Jowett, First Oambrid^'e Miaaionnrj , Secretary of C M S , 1833 18iO
Edward Bickersteth, O M b Beci-ettiry, 1810-1830
TTpm v "Rvflfir "RiRVion or Oloni Hslvflr and of Lichlield Fhet Bishoii to loin CMS
CHAPTER XIX
Tm Pmoum o? m PKIOD
Dandeson Coates — Edward Bickersteth — The Committee — Lord
Chichester President— The two Bishops Sumner— The Preachers
and Speakers— B Noel and Dale suggest "Own Missionaries"—
The Missionaries— The C M College— Deaths— Simeon and Wil-
berforce
"TFc Imc -maw/ mcmbeis 111 one fouli/, and dl jiicflifcm Iwenrt flio same
office"— Rom XH 4
[HE title of this Jouith Pait of our Histoiy embodies PAM IV
110 mere arbitiaiy division of time The penod of 1-824-41,
Piatt1s Secietaryslup was a distinctive peuod , and so
was the penod of Henry Venn's Seoietaryship
Piatt's letuement maikedaieal epoch, and so, still
more conspicuously, did Venn's accession It is impossible to A period pf
study the history of the seventeen yeais that elapsed between tho
one epoch and the other without feeling that they foiraed in some
lespects an interregnum There was piogieas, asswedly The
Society's income moie than doubled in the penod Associations
multiplied all over the country Two bundled missionanes weie
sent out, against one hundied in the piecodmg twenty yeais In
some of the misfoion-flelds theie was distinct advance, as we shall
see Neveitheless, tho process was due rather to the natuial
giowth of what had been planted before, than to definite forward
steps-e\cept in one instance, the West Indies Mission— on the
pait of the Society Consolidation lalhei than extension is tho
note of the penod Much was done m tho way of legulalioim,
financial and peisonal Tho i ules veg,u ding Candidates, Htudeuts,
Furloughs, Mainage, Childien, Sick and Bellied Missionanea,
Associations at home, Conespondmg Committees abioad, Episcopal
Licenses, &c , Ac , weie Riadually foimulated The Society,
having passed its infancy and its vigorous youth, was settling into
the matunty of middle life
Throughout the peiiod, a commanding lay personality to a laige
extent dominated the committee-ioom Mi Dandason Coatos
had been a membci of the Committee fiom 1817, and from 1820 Coatfl8'
he had lived in the Chuich Missionary House, lendmmg valuable
assistance in the practical details of tho woilc On tbo icauango-
THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD
PAET IV inent consequent on Pratt's letuement in 1824, he was appointed
n?24"™ ^sslstaut Secietaiy , ancl m 1830 he leceived the title, then fiist
_ u136^ of Lay Secretary This office he held till his death m 1846
He was a very able man, possessing, said Henry Venn long after-
waids, " fiist-iate poweis of business " " The official corre-
spondence/' continues Yenn, " was nevei more ably conducted
Sir James Stephen used to say that he knew no one m the public
service who woiked moie efficiently and zealously m an adminis-
trative department " It is to him, evidently, that the formulating
of the various legulations foi the piactical woiking of so compli-
cated a machine as a gieat missionary society was mainly due
He represented also, with gieat vigour — sometimes with too gieat
vigour, — the policy of a vigilant guaidianship of the Society's
independence of official Church control This was natuially the
lay view of many questions that came before the Committee , and
iihe more conciliatory, though not less staunchly evangelical,
element was supplied by his clerical colleagues,— who, howevei,
were often overborne by the force of his stiong personality Both
Bickersteth and Jowett, who weie successively his associates
as Secretaries, felt the stiain Of the latter, Venn says — " Of his
Christian wisdom and missionary sympathies it is not possible
to speak too highly , but the full vigoui of his lay colleague
somewhat overshadowed his admimstiation " Canon Bateman,
the biographer and son-in-law of Daniel Wilson, writes 1 —
" The clerical secretary at this epoch (1832) was the pious
and amiable William Jowett, but the lay secretaiy and the
ruling mind was Mr Dandeson Coates Most men of that day
will lemembei his tall, thin figuie, his green shade, his quiet
manner, untiring industry, and firm but somewhat nanow mind
Whilst Mr Jowett was writing kind and gentle letters, Mi Coates
was stamping upon the committee the impress of his own decided
views , and the lay element, paiamount for the time at home,
soon became predominant abroad " Bateman was peihaps not
quite an impartial judge, for reasons which will appeal hereaftei ,
but the traditions of the Church Missionary House confirm the
general nnpiession given by his words
Of the clerical secretaries of the period, the fiist to be mentioned
Edward is Edwaid Bickersteth We have already seen something of his
eaiher life, of his work at Norwich, of his visit to West Africa, of
his residence (first at Salisbury Squaie and then at Bainsbuiy
Paik) with the candidates, of his provincial journeys m behalf of
the cause Dunng Pratt's tenuie of office, he was Assistant
Secretary , on Pratt's retiiement he succeeded to his chau But
his principal work lemamed the same he might still be called
" chief deputation " and " candidate secretary " Little, if any, of
the official admimstiation was committed to him , he kept up that
* Address at the Opening of the New House, 1862 , punted in the C M
Intelligencer, April, 1862, and in the Appendix to the Life o/ K Venn
| life of "Bishop Wilson, vol n p 10
IHE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD 253
f atheily, or biotheily, correspondence with the missionauos which PART IYf
is so impoitant a pait of a Secietaiy's woik— though so little
noticed,— and for which the peisonal touch he had had with them
as candidates specially fitted him, but such of the legular
business as was not absorbed by Coates's all-embracing energy
was done by a second clerical secretaiy, the Eev T Woodiofte
Of this colleague, though he held office seven years, the old
recoids tell nothing that gives the student of them any definite
impression , and Venn, m the reminiscences aheady quoted from,
does not mention his name But Bickeisteth, though not
occupied with official business, was a powei m the Society The
growth of the income, the multiplication of associations, the
increasing numbei of offers of seivice, weie mainly due to his
eneigy and devotion , and, next to Piatt, he was unquestionably
the best and gieatest of Venn's predecessois He lepiesented
the highest spintual side of the Society's punciples and methods His
and operations His evangelical fervour was mosistible , and
wheievei he went, fiorn county to county and horn town to town,
ho steed his heaieis to then heaits' depths, and set them
piaymg and woikmg with ledoubled earnestness His beautiful
loving influence healed many divisions, and bound both woikers
at home and niissionanes abioad in holy fellowship If ever
a G M S secietary was filled with the Spuit, that secietaiy was
Edwaid Biokersteth
In the Memoii of Bickersteth by his son-in-law, Piofessoi T E
Buks, and in an appendix theieto by Henry Venn, illustrations
aie given of the application by Bickeisteth of his spmtual prin-
ciples to controveited questions in the Society He suppoited
Coates in some at least of his assertions of the Society's indepen-
dence, though not quite fiom the same standpoint , not fiom the
dread of episcopal 01 clencal officialism, which was natuial in a
layman, but from a jealous care of the spmtual chaiacter of the
work An impoitant instance of this will come befoio us heie-
after But upon some questions, the laymen who weio stiong
advocates of independence wore not with him, and in his
judgment they took too soculai a view Venn says, " He was HIS
sometimes ovei borne in aigument, but subsequent events dlfficulties»
have shown that his spiritual wisdom was a suioi gmdo than tho
more acute and foiciblo icasoning of hib opponents " One ques-
tion, regaidmg the training of students at tho Missionaiy College,
led to painful divisions between old and mutually valued friends,
Bickeisteth was outvoted on this occasion , - and although h&
loyally accepted the decision, it is evident that the strain of such
conflicts told upon him, and piepared the way foi his retiiement.
Like other clerical secietanes m eaihei days, he had a pastoral
charge in addition to his societaryship, being minister of Wheler
Chapel (now St Mary's, Spitd Squaie) , and finding the double
* 3/emou o/ B Utdonfoi/t, vol i pp 422, 438
254 ?HE PERSONNEL OF IHE PERIOD
PAET IT labours beyond his stiengtb, especially while his work consisted
1824-41 so laigely of jouineys to the piovmces, he pioposed to the
Chap_l9 Committee ceitain changes m his duties, paiticulaily a smaller
amount of deputation seivice " Aftei fouiteen years of incessant
travelling, he might," he thought, "in justice to himself, and
without injuiy to the Society, have some paitial lehef " He
plainly intimated that if they felt unable to adopt his pioposals,
"he was piepaied to considei then decision as the voice of God
calling him to anothei spheie of labom " , )et in the face of this,
the Committee declined his suggestions — wheieupon he wiote his
His retire- lettei of lesignation He delayed sending it, howevei , and on
ment the veiy next day, Sunday, Maich 14th, 1830, Mr Abel Smith,
MP foi Heits, who "chanced" to be a woishippei at Wheler
Chapel, mentally lesolved to offei him the lectoiy of Watton
This " coincidence" — if such a woid may be used of so signal an
instance of "paiticulai Providence" — settled the question, and
Bickers teth was able to name a happiei reason foi letirement
" I have never ceased," wntes Henry Venn in the Address before
quoted fiom, " to regiet the early dissolution of his connexion
with the office " For twenty years moie, however, Bickeisteth
continued the devoted friend and untiling advocate of the Society ,
and perhaps the moie piomment pait which he was now able to
take in the geneial curient affaus of the Church was leally of
gieatei value than his continuance m Sahsbmy Squaie could
have been We shall often meet him again in these pages
clerical Woodiofie and Coafces weie now the only Secietanes , and two
tanes yeais latei, 1832, Woodioffe also letiied To him succeeded
William Jowett, whose impaiied health prevented the continuance
of his missionary labouis in the Levant His " overshadowed "
position in the office has been already lefened to In 1839, a
third Secretary, the Rev T Voies (afteiwaids a well-known
cleigyman at Hastings), was appointed H Venn, then a leading
mernbei of Committee, wiote of him — " He has the abilities
that we want, but whethei he can stand his giound against all
en cum stances is the question " In the following year Jowett
letiied, and, some months later, Voies also All this while the
dominating spirit was Dandeson Coates , but in 1841 began the
Secretaryship of Henry Venn, and veiy soon the whole Society
felt that a hand was upon the helm which could be trusted to the
utteimost That hand was destined to steer the good ship foi
thiity yeais
Organizing After Bickeisteth's refinement, no Secretary at headquarters
tanS" was commissioned for deputation work , and many yeais elapsed
before any office was created similar to that of the piesent Central
Secretary But the growing demands of the ever-increasing
number of Associations led to the appointment, even in Bicker-
steth's time (1828), of a " Visiting Secietary," who held no rank in
* In a lettei to D Wilson, Vioai of Islington, Life of H Venn p 103
THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD 255
the Secretaiiat propei A second was added two 01 thiee years PABI IV
later, and a " Lay Agent," a retired naval officer, who looked after 1824-41
local funds, distnbution of papeis, &c In 1835, foi the nibt Chai> 19
time, appears the title of " Association Secietanes " Theie were
then foui, one of them being the layman, Mi Greenway, and
another, newly appointed, being the Rev Charles Hodgson, who
for many years woiked Yorkshire with extraordinary energy, and
brought up the contributions of that great county to a point from
which m these later years it has actually receded In the same
year the arrangement was first made of dividing the country into
districts— four at first, — and placing an Association Societal y m
each
Turning now to the governing body of the Society, we find it m Members
those days very much smaller than at present The aveiage com-
attendance at the General Committee m 1837 was eleven laymen mittee
(out of twenty-four elected member b) and eight of tho bubscribing
cleigymen The Committee of Correspondence, upon which, ab
now, fell the labour of detailed administration of tho Missions,
consisted nominally of the twenty-four lay members of the General
Committee and of bix or eight clergymen , and tho aveiago atten-
dance in that year, in which they mot forty-three times, was
eleven But there were good and btiong men among those who
by then regular attendance really governed the Society Homy
Venn, m the Address before refeired to, mentions m particulai
Sir James Stephen, son of the James Stephen whom we mot Leading
with rn our earlier chapters, father of the great judge of recent aymen
times and of Mr Leslie Stephen, and author of the Easays
m Ecclesiastical Biography He was a high official m the
Colonial O&ce, and subsequently became an Under-Sccietaiy
of State and Professor of Modern History at Cambridge
He was a valuable member of the Committee for nine years
Mr W A Garratt, an able barrister, was for twenty-three
years a regular attendant, and seems to have had exceptional
influence m the Society's counsels The legal profession waa
also represented by W Blan, John Poyndei, E V Sidobottom,
W Grane, and W Dugniore, Q C Among other loading lay
membeis, W M Ebrster should be mentioned, who, with his wife,
was wrecked, and drowned, oft the Welsh coast in 1831 , Di
John Mason Good, " a physician of high reputation m medical
literature, and a scholar acquainted with seventeen languages",
B J Bunion, a leading financial member, Su George Giey,
afterwards the well-known Whig Homo Secretary , and Dr John
Whiting (uncle of the Bev J B Whiting), who actod as honorary
medical adviser Very early, too, the Indian civil and military
services began to furnish valuable members, as thoy have dono
ever srnce Colonel Phipps, General Latter, Major Maokworth,
and J H Hanngton, were among the first, but the moat
important and influential member from Indra was J, M* Strachan,
who had been Treasurer of tho Madras Corresponding Committee,
256 THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD
PAET IV and who, from 1830 onwaid, was foi nearly foity years in the
1824-41 forefront of the Society's leaders Captain the Hon F Maude,
OhapJ.9 R N ^ j0ined tlie Qommli;tee m i833j anfl therefore belongs to the
peiiod undei leview , but his great services foi moie than half a
centuiy will be nioie suitably noticed heieaftei Among the
clerical clerical members of the period, Venn particularly mentions Jamos
members jjough, the former chaplain in Tmnevelly, with "his unim-
passioned but warm-heaited sentiments " , M M Preston, with
his "giave aspect, affectionate heart, thinking head, but slow
speech " , G Smalley the elder, with his " solid, practical sense,
and singleness of eye to the will and glory of the great Head of
the Church " To these we may add Joseph Fenn, who, invalided
from Travancoie, was one of the most regular and revered
members from 1830 to 1875 , and Thomas and John Harding, the
latter afterwaids Bishop of Bombay Among occasional but
highly-valued attendants from the country were Chancellor Baikes,
Professois Farish and Scholefield, J W Cunningham, and Hal-
dane Stewart But foremost of all among the cleigy, during the
Bamei first half of our penod, was Daniel Wilson, whose appointment to
Wilson, ^ Bishopno of Calcutta in 1832 will come before us in an eaily
chapter In 1824 he became Vicar of Islington, and the wonder-
ful expansion of Church work in that great parish dates from that
year In 1828 he established the Islington Chmch Missionary
Association, which has evei since been one of the most active and
fwutful of all the Associations,51 and has long raised £3000 a year
for the Society
Presidents Among tne Vice-Presidents, Venn specially mentions as valued
helpeis Lord Bexley (the Mi Vansittait who had been Chancellor
of the Exchequer), who gave important counsel to the Society
regaiding its finances, and for many years was a leader m seveial
of the religious societies , Charles Grant, Lord Glenelg, son of
Charles Grant the elder, and President of the Board of Control
(India Office) , Sir Thomas Baring, Sir George Bose, Sn Eobeit
Inglis, Mi (afterwards Sir) T Fowell Buxton, James Stephen the
elder, and, of couise, Wilberforce Loid Ashley, afterwaids the
great Earl of Shaftesbury, became a Vice-President m 1837
The Treasurer, throughout the whole period, was John Thomton,
nephew of the Henry Thornton who was the first holdei of the
office
Death of In 1833, the Society suffered the loss of its fii st President, Admiral
Gambier ^ord Gambler, \ m his seventy-seventh year "His Christian
character," wrote Pratt in the Registw, " was stiongly maiked by
simplicity and spirituality His ardent zeal for the Kingdom of
Christ led him ever to take a lively inteiest m the Society's pro-
ceedings " The Committee, in the following year, nominated the
* Of this Association, the Authoi was Hon Secretary from 1874 to 1880,
and Lad tho pnvilego of arranppng its Jubilee, which, was cololratel on
January 17th, 1878, a special extra fund being raised of £1000
f See p 108
THE PERSONAL OF THE PERIOD 25?
Marquis of Cholmondeley as his successor , but that excellent PAUT IT
Christian nobleman declined on the score of health Then they p?2*""*!
appioached the Eail of Chichestei, Henry Thomas Pelham, a G p 19
Captain in the Eoyal Horse Guaids, who had ]ust completed his TheEariof
thirtieth year " Led," mote his friend Mi Alexandei Seattle in cwchester
1886 (the yeai of his death), "in comparatively early life, undei
the influence of one of the Society's friends, to accept foi himself
the fulness and freeness of the Gospel of Christ, it was his desire,
since that happy union with his piecious Savioui, to make that
Gospel known at home and abroad " The fnend here referred to
was Charles Hodgson, who had been a hunting comiade of his at
Carnbiidge He and the young nobleman had togethei dedicated
themselves to the seivice of Chust in the chuichyard of the
Northumberland pansh of which Hodgson was curate !
The young Eail accepted the post of President on Chustmas
Eve, 1834, and m the following May he presided foi the first HIS first
time at the Annual Meeting After a modest reference to him- sPeech
self, he spoke the following wise and stirring words —
"A gieat deal was heard at the present day of the clangoi to which
the Church of England was exposed fioni its political and outwaul foes
He thought, however, they need not bo afuw of such foes as those If
the Church of England were indeed found zealously engaged in the
work of her Lord, He would be on her side, and who could bo against
her ? If she was zealously engaged in the missionary cause, then indeed
the Lord of hosts would be with liei, and the God of Jacob would bo
her refuge But was there not cause to feai with respect to 0111
national and beloved Church, that on account of her neglected oppoi-
tumties m spreading abroad that knowledge and light winch Gocf nacl
vouchsafed her, a long account against her was iccorded m lieavon P
When they considered their great national wealth, their many facilities
of communication with other nations, the repeated and still-continued
removal of obstacles and impediments to the missionary causo in
diffeient parts of the British possessions, and when also they looked
over the map of the world, and traced upon it the wide territory of
British dominion, and still wider one of British influence,— was there
* Canon Tristram writes to tho Author OB follows — " Tho story of Charles
Hodgson's and Lord ChichoHfcei's oonvoitJion as told mo first by fcliu late
G T Fox, was this — They had boon great fnoiula ud Unmbndgo, and both
weio beautiful horsemen and keen huntsmen Loitl Pol ham (at* ho them
was) wont on a visit to his fnend Hodgson, who had looontly boon oidiunoil
to the cuiacy of St John Loo, noai lloxham Ho \\IIH aboftdy mid in SGIIOUH
impressions, and Hodgson was voiy anxious to do his duty UH u, oleigynwn
One day they had boon out hunting together, and after putting up their
hoisoBj sauntered into tho ohnrchyaid They happened to «t upon an altar
tombstonej and talked At length they mutually vowod to givo thonisolvos
to Christ, as thoy had ne\er dono before, and knelt down by tlio stono to
pray and seal their vows togethoi l<Voin that day foiwaid thoy woro now
men Once when I was staying with Lord Ohichestor at fcJtanmor, I ventured
to hint at tho story, and asked him if ho remembered hiB visit to St John
Lee Ho said ho did indeed, and if ho wore there he could take mo straight
to tho tombstone, near tho south-wont ond of tho church " Soo also Lord
Chiohester's Reminiscences of Hodgson, 0/insfaan Otoonw, October, 1872,
p 747
VOL I S
260 THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD
PART IT knowledge laiely seen among men who have not been theie, and
1824-41 evincing his intimate acquaintance with the cunent history of the
C1"JP__19 Missions But what at the present day particulaily arrests our
attention is his partial anticipation of the " Own Missionary "
plan which, aftei sixty years, has latteily been adopted with so
much promise of blessing He indulges in what then seemed the
wild imagination of the Society being able to send to India One
Hundred Missionanes in the next twelve months, and draws a
striking pictui e of the effects, direct and mdnect, of such a foiward
step, calculating that, as one of the lesults, there would probably,
in twenty yeais, be 16,190 evangelists, European and Native, pieach-
mg the Gospel in India Then he asks, " But can it be done ? "
An " Own ' I answer It can be done at once, cind easily Among all the fi lends
Mis»10?an °^ * Society, are there not fifty at least, who, without foiegomg a
single comfort which they now en]oy, without sacrificing what is more to
them than the weekly penny contributed by the labouier, 01 the annual
pound by the domestic servant, coiilcl each contribute £300 to the
maintenance of one additional Missionary in India P One generous
person has already signified her intention, henceforth, to do so for New
Zealand "Will not twenty-five more be found to follow that Christian
example for India ? Thus twenty-five Missionaries might be sent Among
the larger and more wealthy parishes and congregations, with which some
of our Missionary Associations are connected, aie there not at least fifty,
in which ten persons might add £10 to their annual subscriptions , one
hundred persons £1 , and two hundred more lOa , without involving them-
selves in any painful sacrifice, or m the least diminishing their contubu-
tiona to any home object ? Bach such parish, or congregation, could
maintain one additional Missionary If there are fifty who could do it,
will not twenty-five he found geneious enough to make the example, and
thus <idd twenty-five Missionaries to India ? Further— among the young
men who take a benevolent interest in our Missions, are there not fifty who,
at their own cost, might give ten years to Missionary labours, as some
m their circumstances do, to travel for their pleasure P If so, will not
ten be found sufficiently devoted to do it ? Thus, sixty new Missionaries
might be raised , and with these examples before them, surely the other
Associations of this great Society would not find it difficult to provide
for the remaining forty —and thus a hundred additional Missionanes
might be sent out within the year
" I believe that, if a hundred devoted men did go, it would mfuse an
unction into the ministry of thousands m this land, inspire our piayeis
with fervency, unlock tne refused treasure, make Christians love each
other, and, being equally the effect and the pledge of an enlarged bless-
ing from God, would multiply conversions m our congregations, and,
rebuking the wordlmess of multitudes, foim a new era in the Church, to be
marked by a holier ardour, and a more self-denying energy in the whole
course of Christian duty
" Only let the expenment be made In this congregation are pi obably
numbers who have influence with various Associations , some who are
possessed of wealth , and some who are Ministers of Christ Will you,
then, m the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the utmost, by example
and by argument, animate oui Associations, generally, to provide the
Heathen with a hundred additional Missionanes within the next year P
In the name of a world of sinners, I ask it of you I ask it in the name
of Christ"
THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD 261
Two years later, in 1837, Thomas Dale, who was then Vicar PAST TV,
of St Bride's and theiefoie preached in his own church, took up i?24^1
the same idea, and worked it out more neaily as has been done in _ap
our own day If, he says, a true standaid of self-sacrifice were Dale also
followed, then — "r§wn
"Not a few among us would have each Ms own special 1 cpi esenta- JjJjJ1"11"
tm ministering the Gospel to the Heathen, scattering among them, in
his stead, the seed of life, and thus supplying his lack of personal
service
" But next, there is a principle of combination, which is so often in-
juriously, that it might well be, for once, profitably applied Where the
burden is too heavy for one, why should not two, or four, or six, if
linked togethei in close bonds of kindred, or by the closer tie of
Christian brotherhood, combine to maintain their own Missionary?
Why should not the various members of families, whom God hath
blessed, he led thus to offer a hvmg tiibute to His praise ?
" But if, again, there are many instances of disciples who can bestow
largely, but not to this extent, is not the principle which we have laid
down especially applicable to congiegations ? Cannot the Pastor urge
upon his flock to adopt, as the lowest, such a scale of congregational con-
tnbutions as shall ensure for them one who shall represent them in the
benighted empire of ignorance, and among the godless hordes of idolatry
and supei stition ? Why should not the sword of the Spn it be unsheathed,
why should not the bannei of Salvation be unfuiled, at then propei
cost, and in their special name, by some intrepid wamoi of Christ , who
has abjured home, with all its comforts— kindred, with all its chanties-
society, with all its indulgences and delights— countiy, with all tho ties
which it entwines so tenaciously around the heart, in orclei to be their
delegate in the great work of preaching the Word of God P In the
turbulent period of our own national history, when Liberty was struggling
to the birth, but there was no strength to bung forth, and tho State,
m sore travail, was compelled to maintain a piecanous existence at
the point of sword and spear ,— every adequate portion of land
sent forth its own wamor, armed and equipped to battle, for his
country's honour, and his own dear domestic hearth ,— and fer these,
even the vassals of arbitrary power would contend, as though they were
freemen like ourselves, and struck fox liberty Cannot something like
this be accomplished, in this noblest of causes, by the voluntary energies
of the Church? Cannot the parish which sent one, 01 the city which
furnished perhaps a hundred, warriors, provide a single Missionaiy ?
" Oh 1 if one thousand congregations were thus stmed up throughout
the land, in our own Church alone, to say nothing of othei denomina-
tions of Christians , nay, if one-half this numbei, not one m twenty,
throughout the empire, were kindled, as by a tongue of faro glanced from
heaven, into this divine work of faith and labour of love, then would our
calculation be complete ,— then would flow into the desolate wastes of
Heathenism a full and gracious tide, not of seventy, but of seven hundred
Missionaries, to testify among all nations the wondeiful works of God "
Bickersteth's seimon, preached two yeais aftei his lefaiement ® Bicker-
from the Secretariat, has of course a special interest It is the B e s
only Annual Sermon ever preached by an ex-Seqretary His
biogiapher, Professor Birks, says "His sense of the great im-
portance of the occasion led him to bestow much pains on the
sermon, and his elder children can i ©collect his reading it aloud
262 THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD
PAB.T IV. to them m private, more than once, to discover any defects, and
1824-41 be more familial with it in the public delivery His text was
Chap 19 Ps Ixvn 1, 2, which he applied to the Bntish Nation, to the
Church of England, and to the Church Missionary Society He
enlarged on the high privileges of oui country, its providential
opportunities, and grievous sins , the past revival of the Chuich,
and its lemaimng weakness and corruption } the giowth of mis-
sionary zeal, and its scanty means compared with the immense
expenditure on meie luxuries and sinful pleasures, the fearful
wants and daikness of the Heathen woild, and the blessings that
would flow to it from an extensive revival of true religion in our
Church and Nation . with the means by which these blessings
* V *J
might be secured— prayer, personal devotedness, and their com-
bined influence on the hearts and minds of others " Bickersteth
himself wrote "God carried me through my duties with much
mercy I preached an hour and thiee-quarters — the longest
sermon I ever preached m my Irf e— but the interest seemed to be
kept up m a ciowded congregation to the end "
The Sermon, however, had long ere this exchanged places in
importance with the Annual Meeting , and the enhanced interest
of the latter became moie manifest when Exeter Hall was opened
in 1831— of which more in the next chapter Indeed, in 1886,
the Society had to hold an overflow meeting in the Lower Hall ,
and m 1839 an Evening Meeting was added for the first time
StSe61"8 ^e ksts °^ 5Peakeis year by year aie interesting to look over
Annual In the twenty-seven yeais, trom 1815, when Ifieemason's Hall
Meetings mg £rg^ j^]^ moling sixteen meetings m that Hall and nine
m Exetei Hall, the same names occur again and again Bishop
Eyder fouiteen times, the two Bishops Sumnei (in twelve years)
nine times each, the Marquis of Cholmondeley nine times, Lord
Galthorpe eight times, J W Cunningham sixteen times, Wilbeifoice
eight times, Daniel Wilson seven times, Gerard Noel eight times,
Charles Simeon only four times (but much more often for the
Jews' Society), Haldane Stewart five times, Baptist Noel foui
times, C J Hoare four times, Bickersteth six times Charles
Grant the younger (Lord Glenelg) spoke three times, Lord Bexley
three times, lowell Buxton four times, Sir Eobert Inghs five
times m this period, Sir Geoige Grey once, Lord Chichester
(before his appointment as President) once, Professor Scholefield
three times Hugh Stowell first appears in 1838, and he then
spoke every year except one foi seven years Hugh McNeile
spoke in 1827 and 1828, but not again in this period Francis
Close made his first CMS speech m 1839 Henry Venn spoke
once only, in 1883 Bishop Bathurst of Norwich spoke in 1818,
Bishop Waid of Sodor and Man in 1828, Bishop Turner of Cal-
cutta in 1829, Bishop Mcllvaine of Ohio m 1835, Bishop Come
of Madras in 1835, Bishop Otter of Ghichester in 1837, Bishop
Longley of Eipon m 1838, Bishop Denison of Salisbury in 1841
Samuel Wilberforoe, afterwaids Bishop of Oxford, appeared for the
THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD 263
first time in 1840 It has been a very raie thing for men not PART IT
of the English Church to speak at the CMS Anniversary , but i?24"4*
Blumhardt, the Director of the Basle Seminary, spoke m p
1822, Alexander Duff in 1836, and Merle D'Aubignc in 1838 It
is very likely that Duffs appearance diew the crowd which
necessitated the oveiflow meeting before mentioned His speech
is one of the finest evei dehveied in Exetei Hall "* It is interest-
ing to obseive that Captain Allen Gaidmer also was a speaker in
the same yeai, just when he was persuading the Society to engage
m a Mission to the Zulus It will be asked, But where weie the
CMS missionaries all this tune? It is rathei surpnsmg to find
so few m the lists, considering that many had come home m the
'twenties and 'thirties, but the only names are Jowett and
Hartley of Malta, Raban of Sieria Leone, Fenn and Doran of
Travancoie, Yate of New Zealand, Gobat of Abyssinia, and John
Tuckei of Madras
This brings us to the most important of all blanches of the
personnel, the missionaries themselves Among the two hundred
sent out m the period under review, fiom 1824 to 1840, there
are ovei seventy whose names must be recoided, and the
lengthened sei vices of some of them are lemarkable Of Daniel Lon?
the Piophet we read that " this Daniel continued ", and truly the 8ervicca*
same thing may be said of many of the missionaries sent forth at
this time Two " continued " sixty 01 rnoio yeais , five, ovei fifty
years, twelve, foity or more years, nineteen, thirty or more
years Noble service was lendered, as has been befoie stated, by the
Basle Missionaiy Seminary, m supplying somo of the ablest and
most devoted missionaries !EVom it, prior to 1841, went forth, Basle men.
to West Afuca, Hansel (10 years), Schon (20), Schlenker (16),
Graf (19), Bultmann (22) , to West Afnca and affceiwaids to New
Zealand, Kisslmg, who became one of Bishop Selwyn's Arch-
deacons (33), to tho Levant, Egypt, and Abyssinia, Gobat,
aftei wards Bishop of Jeiusalem (17 years under QMS), Lieder
(35), KrusL (35), Schhenz (16), Hildnei of Syia (45) , to Abyssinia
and afterwaids India, Isenbeig (32), and Blumhardt (40) , to
Abyssinia and East Africa, Kiapf the explorer (19) , to India, Deerr
(24), Schaffler (30), Weitbrechi, (21), KiUckeberg (27), Loupolt (42),
Lmcy (86), C C Monge" (38), J P Meug* (30) , to India, and
afterwaids to Smyrna, Jetter (22) Most of these came from Basle
to Islington, received furthei training m tho Church Missionary
College, and weio ordained by the Bishop of London Another
valuable band of Germans fiom Basle went to the north-west of
Persia under the Basle Society, but on the conquest by Bussia of
the district they worked in, and their consequent expulsion, they
joined the CMS Among these were Schneider (37 yeais),
Hoernle (42), Kreiss (16), who went to India , Pfander, the great
missionary to Mohammedans, who laboured in India and Turkey
(25) , and Wolters of Smyrna (39)
* Seo p 310,
564 THE PERSONNEL OP THE PERIOD
PA*T IT Among the English missionaries sent forth fiom the Church
p?24"™ Missionary College in the period were, to West Africa, Waiburton
Ohapj.9 (2Q yeare^ Townsena (40), Beale (19), Peyton (15), Isaac Smith
Islington (18), Denton (16) , to India, Fartai, father of the Dean of Cantei-
men bury (19), Sandys (41), W Smith (41), Peet (33), Pettitt (22),
Harley (35), Thomas (34), Stephen Hobbs, afterwards in
Mauiitms (38), Hawkswoith (23), James Long (32) , to Ceylon,
Oakley, who in half a centuiy never once returned home (51) ,
to New Zealand, Hamlm, the fust student in the College (40),
C Bakei(46),A N Bio wu, afteiwaids Archdeacon (55) .Matthews
(52, and 12 as evuntus in the countiy), Ashwell (49), and
Burrows (57) , to Noith-West America, Cockian, afterwaids
Archdeacon, who never once came home (40), and Cowley, aftei-
waids Archdeacon (47)
Among the Enghsh missionaiies, seveial of whom weie men-
tioned in earhei chapters, who went forth before the Islington
College was opened, — or aftei its opening, without its training, —
other icng some also had long periods of service in Afuca, J W Weeks,
ervces afterwards Bishop of Sierra Leone (21, and 2 as Bishop), in
India, Norton (25), B Bailey (34), H Baker (47), M Wilkinson
(24), J S S Eobertson (39) , in Ceylon, J Knight (22), J Bailey
(24), and W Adley, who afterwards lived in England to the age
of ninety-seven (22) , to New Zealand, G Clarke (21), Heniy
Williams, aftei wards Archdeacon (45), E Davis (40), T Chapman
(46), J A Wilson (35), Morgan (33)
Unhersity Up to 1841, the misBionaiies from the Univeisities weie few
men indeed, only sixteen altogether Theie were six from Oxford,
Connor and Hartley, of the Mediterianean Mission, William
Williams, afterwaids Bishop of Waiapu (53 yeais), 0 Hadfield,
afterwards Bishop of Wellington (55, and still smvivmg emmtus),
and H H Bobart, of New Zealand , and John Tucker, of Madras
(14) Cambridge sent seven, W Jowett, 12th Wranglei, of
Malta (15), E Taylor (38), of New Zealand, I Wybiow, G
Valentine, 1st Class Classics and Sen Opt*, and J Chapman,
27th Wrangler (13), of India, J F Haslam, 9th Wrangler, of
Ceylon (11) , and P Owen, of the brief Zulu Mission And there
were three from Trinity College, Dublin, via , Doian of Tiavancoie,
J H Gray of Madras (10), and E Maunsell of New Zealand (30
yeais under CMS, and 30 as Aichdeacon) Some of these did
not have long careers , but Wybiow, Valentine, and Haslam died
early at then posts, Jowett, Tucker, and Chapman became
Secretaries of the Society, while Doian was an Association
Secretary for thirteen years, tmd J H Giay foi twenty- two
years Upon the whole, theiefore, the Society and its cause owed
much to these sixteen University men In 1841, the year to
which propeily oui enumeration ought to extend, come the dis-
tinguished names of Fox and Noble , but they may be left to the
next period
At this point the new Church Missionaiy College— or, as it was
THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD 265
originally called, Institution — may be conveniently intioduced PARTIY
The consideiations that led to its being established have been p?2*"*^
aheady briefly noticed ' They aie stated at length, and, m view ap .
of the doubts expiessed by many friends, with obvious caie, m church
the Bepoit of 1823 No othei Society has ever followed this J^881on'
example Both the S P G on one side, and the Denominations College
on the other, have looked to independent institutions foi the
training of their missionanes In the case of S P G , St Augus-
tine's College, Ganteibuiy, has, since its foundation m 1848, been
a chief source of supply It was not because the Chuich Mis-
sionary Society has had a peculiar difficulty m getting University
men that its own College has been necessary On the contiaiy,
a very laige majority of the Umveisity men who have gone oat as
missionaries to the Heathen at all have gone out m connexion
with C M S , and G M S has had a laigei proportion of giaduates
on its loll than any other of the gieatei Societies | Nevertheless,
the expenence of seventy yeais has fully vindicated the wisdom
and foiesight of Josiah Piatt in piojectmg the Islington College
No othei missionary institution m the woild has such a loll of
distinguished names Those enumeiated above belong only to
its first sixteen yeais Latei yoais added laigely to the list
The selection of Islington as the locak for the College pioved a its locale,
happy one Probably the choice was a natural consequence of Jsljnfiton
Bickeisteth and his students being aliea,dy m Barnsbmy Park,
but it is very likoly that the expectation of Daniel Wilson's eaily
succession to the vicaiage also influenced tho Society The
advowson had been bequeathed to him by his uncle, whose
propeity it was , and the old vicai, Dr Strahan, " undei whom,"
says Wilson's biographer, "Islington slept/' was not likely to
survive long In fact he died in the very yeai (1824) after the
ground was pui chased, so that when the Institution was actually
opened, it was welcomed by a vicai who was at that time the
most influential cleigyman on the Committee Tho mauguiation
took place on Januaiy 31st, 1825, on which occasion the passage mtlon
of Scriptuie read was very happily chosen It was Isa hv , in
which occius Gaiey's famous toxt, " Enlaigo the place of thy
tent, and let them sketch forth the curtains of tiuno habitations
spaie not, lengthen thy coidfy and stiengthen thy stakes "
Excellent addiesses were given to tho assembled fnonds by the
newly-appointed Pimcipal, tho Rev J Noiman Peaison, of
Trinity College, Cambndge, and to tho students (twelve in
number) by Bickersteth f But at first no new building was
erected upon the giountl purchased, only the house alieady
standing on it (still the Principal's house) was used In the
following year, howevei, it was deteirnmed to build a real college,
* See p 244
•f Of course, small bands of University men, as m tho Oxford and
Cambndge Missions in India, do not come into such a comparison
J Printed verbatim m the Report of 1825
266 THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD
PAST IY to accommodate if necessary fifty students, with hall, library,
1824r4l lecture-rooms, &c , and on July 31st, 1826, the first stones (there
Chap^l9 were ^y0j Qne a|. ^Q kase Qf eac]I Of ^Q centrai pillars) were
laid by the President, Loid Gambler On the same day, the
students (twenty-six , of whom six were already m orders) were
its studies examined before the Committee in Latin, Greek, Divinity, Logic,
and Mathematics The languages of the Mission-field weie then
legarded as an important pait of the studies, and three months
later, anothei Examination took place of the Oriental Classes
conducted by Piofessoi S Lee, m Hebiew, Arabic, Sanscnt, and
its first The fiist Pnncipal, the Eev J Norman Pearson, of Trinity
principal c0nege} Cambridge, was a good and able man, but in the in-
experience of the Committee, and every one else concerned, m the
conduct of such an institution, giave differences of opinion arose
as to the methods of tiaimng An Investigation Committee,
appointed at a tune of financial pressuie to examine into the
Society's expenditure (as we shall see hereaftei), included the
College within then purview, and recommended considerable
alterations It was these diffeiences that caused so much distress
to Bickersteth, as befoie mentioned, and undoubtedly led to his
contemplating retirement Yet the changes ultimately decided on
weie m the direction of his own views The Institution was to
be less of a College and more of a Home, and the academical
element was to be distinctly suboidinate to the spiritual element <
In the course of the discussions Mr Pearson resigned the
Prmcipalship, but aftei wards he withdrew his resignation, and
continued Pnncipal till 1838 He then retired, on his appoint-
ment to the Incumbency of Tunbndge Wells The Bishop of
London (Blomfield) took the opportunity to express his high
opinion of the College and its Principal " He lemaiked that he
had been much struck with the comprehensiveness of the
theological knowledge acquired by the students, and with the
judiciousness of the mode in which it had been imparted , and
added that the Society's students had been among his best
candidates " The Eev C F Childe, Head Master of Walsall
Grammar School, was appointed to succeed Pearson, and for
twenty years proved a Pi mcipa> whose devotion and success have
never been surpassed
Deaths of It only remains to mention the deaths of this penod That of
friends ^e piesiflen^ L01cl Gambler, has been aheady mentioned In
1831, died Basil Woodd, whose great services from the very first
have been frequently lef erred to , in 1833, James Stephen the
elder, and Charles Elliott, the veteran member of Committee , t
m 1834, Lord Teignmouth, President of the Bible Society, and
that excellent lady, Hannah More, who had for so long exercised
* See Boport of 1830 , and the Appendix, in which the new Regulations for
the Institution ate printed m full
•j- See p 70
THE, PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD 267
a powerful influence among nch and poor in the cause of
true religion, and who bequeathed the Society £1000, m 1836, 1824r41
Bishop Ryder, and in 1837, Bishop Bathuist, the first two Gh^_1
prelates to ]0in the Society, m 1838, Zachary Macaulay, and
Biddulph of Bustol The deaths of Hebei, Gorne, and Carey
will come before us m reviewing India, and those of Momson
and Marsden in leyiewmg China and New Zealand Depaited
missionaries also will be lef erred to undei the vauous Missions
But two othei deaths must be moie paiticulaily mentioned in
closing this chaptei, those of William Wilbeifoice and Charles
Simeon
Wilberforce and Simeon had been contemporaries m a veiy
maiked sense They weie bom in the same year, 1759 They
weie not together at Carnbndge, as Wilberforce went theie veiy
young , but they enteied on their lespective life-woiks nearly Their
togethei, Simeon preaching his first sermon only a few months f
after Wilberfoice made his fiist speech m Paihament Wilber-
force's conversion to God occuired a few yeais later than Simeon's ,
but the opposition and ndicule they encountered m then lespective
circles weie simultaneous As we have seen, it was to theae two
men that Charles Grant and his associates at Calcutta specially
addiessed then fiist appeal foi a Bengal Mission At the very
time that Simeon wiote his paper on Missions for the Eclectic
Society, Wilberfoice was wilting his Practical View of Ghi istiamty
The one led to the foundation of the Chmch Missionary Society
The other had an influence quite unique on Christian life in
England Togethei m spnit, though m widely different sur-
roundings and by very different methods, they laboured foi the
extension of true religion at home and for the spiead of the
Gospel abxoad Togethei they spoke at the first great public
Anniversary Meeting held by the Church Missionaiy Society, in
1813 They both spent their fortunes for the good of Church and
people Wilbeiforce was far more outwardly successful in his Their
lifetime The extraordinary fascination of his social qualities [
made him personally popular even among those who sneered at
his religion, while Simeon's personal influence, though veiy
gieat within-his own circle, nevei made him a generally popular
man But Simeon has been, indirectly, a greater power m the
Church of England , especially thiough the Simeon Trust, which
has secured Evangelical teaching m perpetuity foi some of the
most impoitant parishes m England Wilberforco died three
years befoie Simeon, but it is a question whether the impiossive
scene at Westminster Abbey on August 5th, 1833, when all that Their
was distinguished m Church and State gatbeied round the grave funer(d8
of the most eminent Christian the British Paihament has ever
known, was one whit more significant than the scene m King's
Chapel at Cambridge on November 19th, 1836, when the body of
the man who had so long stood nearly alone m his witness for
Chust, despised and hated by town and gown alike, was followed
268 THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD
PAST IV to its last lesting-place by the whole University and a multitude
°^er moiirners
Of Wilberforoe, Sn James Stephen, m one of the most bulhant
Stephen of his brilhant Essays, says s —
onWilber- J J
force «Qf £he gobies Of public benevolence which were matured or
projected during the half-century which followed the peace of 1783,
there was scarcely one of any magnitude m which Mr Wilberfoice was
not largely engaged Whether churches and clergymen weie to be multi-
plied, or the Scriptures circulated, or missions sent to the ends of the
earth, or national education established, or the condition of the poor
improved, or Ireland civilized, or good discipline established m gaols, or
obscure genius and piety enabled to emerge, or in whatever othei form
plnlanthiopy and patriotism laboured for the improvement of the
country or of the woild, — his sanction, his eloquence, his advice were
still regaided as indispensable to success "
What, asks the same writer, was the secret of his powei '
" It is to be found m that unbroken communion with the indwelling
God, m which Mr Wilberf orce habitually lived He ' endured as seeing
Hun who is invisible,' and as hearing Him who is inaudible When
most immersed m political cares, or in social enjoyments, he invoked and
obeyed the Yoice which directed his path while it tranquillized his
mmd That Voice taught him to rejoice, as a child, in the
presence of a Fathei whom he much loved and altogether trusted, and
whose approbation was infinitely more than an equivalent f 01 whatevei
restraint, self-denial, labour, or sacrifice, obedience to His will might
render necessary "
wtoauiay Of Simeon, Lord Macaulay wrote, "If you knew what his
Itephen authority and influence weie, and how they extended fiom
*>n Simeon Cambridge to the remotest corners of England, you would allow
that his real sway ovei the Chuich was fai greater than that of
any Primate " ] Sir James Stephen suggested that the Church
of England should turn out of the catalogue of her saints such
doubtful figuies as St George, St Dunstan, and St Crispin, to
make loom foi " St Chailes of Cambridge " f And Dr Moule
i-
" As regards the Church of England, his dearly-beloved Church, he
has proved himself one of her truest servants and most effectual
defendeis Perhaps more than any other one man who ever arose
withmhei pale, he has been the moans of showing, in woids and in life,
that those Christian truths which at once most abase and most gladden
the soul, as it turns (m no conventional sense of the words) fiom daik-
ness to hght, fioui death to life, from self to Christ, are not the vagaries
of a few fanatical minds, careless of order and of the past, but the
message of the Church, the tradition of her noblest teacheis, the bieath
and soul of hei offices and older He has shown in another direction,
under conditions of peculiar and difhcult experiment, that the converted
* Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography, Essay on Wilbeifoi ce, pp 48C, 499
f Trevelyan's Life ofLoid Jtfocow&M/, vol i p 67
t Essays in Ecclesiastical Bwjratplvy, p 678
| Mode's Simeon, p 259
THE PERSONNEL OF THE PERIOD 269
life is, m its genuine development, a life of self-discipline, of considerate- PART IV
ness for every one around, of courtesy and modesty, of homly servitude 3824-41
to established duty, and of tliat daylight of truthfulness without which Chap 19
no piety can possibly bo wholesome "
Such were the two gieatest men among the early piomoteis of
the Church Missionary Society They weie not its working
leadeis, like John Venn and Pratt and Basil Woodd and Bickersteth
and Zachary Macaulay , but the one was the author of the
original idea of such an oigamzation, and the other was, of all its
public champions, the most influential and the most eloquent
We shall meet both Simeon and "Wilberforce again in this History
in chapters that look back to incidents m their lives, but in
tieating of the personnel of the period now before us, we take
occasion to bid them both faiewell
CHAPTER XX
THE ISm&QWisiT 0^ TUB Pmion
Public Affairs— The Reform Bill and the Bishops— Accession of
Queen Victoria— Church Reform— Evangelical Improvements—
The C P A S —Growth of S P G -Bishop Blomfield— Opening of
Exeter Hall— Bible Society Controversies— Prayer at Public Meet-
ings— Calvimstic Disputes— Edward Irving— Plymouth Brethren-
Prophetical Studies— Pratt warns against Disunion— The Tractanan
Movement Keble and Newman-Attitude of the- Evangelicals,
and of C M S
" flow J loseech you, brethren, &?j tlie mm of out Lord Jems CJw ut,
there IQ no dwswns among you "— 1 Coi i 1Q
!{ Lest Satm s/iowZd get an adianiat/e o/ ws /or ire are noi ij/norcwrf of 7ws
"— 2 Cor 11 11
PART IY |Wft^|^T studying the history, not of the Society's Missions,
1824-41 oft m but of the Society itself, we cannot fail to notice
kow ^ was a^ec^6^ by ^s siuroundmgs, in the
Country and in the World, m the State and in the
Church And there was so much that was im-
portant and interesting in the emiionment during the period
we are now studying, that it seems right to devote a chapter to it
For the leaders of the Church Missionary Society were not men
wholly absorbed m the details of the Society's business, and
unable to pay attention to public affairs or to the general interests
of religion On the oontiaiy, they weie men of the world in the
best sense, and took a prominent part m all movements foi the
public good at home and abroad
A eriod Our period, from 1824 to 1841, was emphatically a period of
m°vement, of large changes and developments Abroad, the
leaotionary influences that naturally prevailed after the fall of
Napoleon were losing then foice In 1830 the counter-forces of
on the revolution burst forth, replacing m France the Bourbons by the
Continent, Q^^ ffa^ aD<l thus preparing the way for the still fiercei
revolution of 1848 , and putting on the throne of the newly-formed
kingdom of Belgium one of the wisest of modern soveieigns On
the other hand, Russia, under Nicholas, was commencing that
foiward march which, despite subsequent reveises, still continues,
and the Eastern Question came during our period into the front
rank of international difficulties , while the too enthusiastic antici-
THM ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD 271
pations of freedom and enlightenment in the young kingdom of PART IV
Greece and the new republics of South America gradually faded 1824-41
away The Church Missionary Society was not unaffected by QlmP ^
these events Its Turkish Missions had to be given up on account
of the tuimoil in the East , the revolutionary spnit, spreading to
England, started controveisies which sadly interfered with the
piogress of religious enterprises , while at the same time, godly
men were stnred up by the alarming condition of things to woik
haider than ever to pieach the Gospel while theie was time ( ' The
commotions of the kingdoms around us," said the Committee in
1831, "and the agitations of our own country, call on us to ' work
while it is day "' "The pangs and thioes of the Old World,"
wiote Pratt in the Missionaiy Begistcr, "are fast coming on,
Dark and ominous clouds are blowing up fiorn every quarter,
the moial atmosphere is surcharged with mischief, and society
itself seems ready to heave from its foundations " He commends
the Epistle of St James for general leading, and goes on, " Not
by our controversies, but by our meekness and patience— not by
many-Golouied faith, but by oui works, proceeding from that well-
defined faith of Scriptuie, ' faith that woiketh by love ' — will the
cause of our Eedeemer be truly and largely piomoted m this
nation and m the world "
At home, the period takes us fioin the middle of George the And at
Fourth's reign, over that of Wilharn, to the eaily days of Queen homfl
Victoria and her young husband Prince Albeit , and we seem, even
as we read these words, to step into a new atmosphere The great
material developments of the century are commencing Steam
navigation is already rapidly increasing, railway travelling has
begun , even the electric telegiaph is projected , •» the penny post
has ]ust been established (1840) , the financial refoims of Peel and
his successors, which are to diffuse wealth to an extent utterly
undreamed of, are about to be initiated But an epoch of national
upheaval has preceded all this Parliamentary Reform has been Reform
effected after a conflict far exceeding m bitterness anything that Bil1
we in the second half of the centmy have witnessed, The agita-
tion, when the House of Loids thiew out Earl Grey's first Bill,
was tremendous Quiet families m the country were toirined at
night by seeing the flames of burning hay-neks and even of farm-
houses, and in the day by the news of riots m all duections, of
Derby gaol broken open, of Nottingham Castle buint, of fearful
excesses in the streets of Bristol In the nudst of it all came the
Cholera, a disease hitherto unknown m Europe, and caused urn-
veisal tenor by its ravages A Fast Day was pioclaimed by
Government, and Pratt wrote in a pnvato letter, f "I gather
hope from the seemmg piety with which tho Day of Humiliation
* In 1837*8 tho first steamships crossed tho Atlantic, tho London and
Birmingham Railway was opuned, and a tologmplua message was gont fiom
Eusfcon to Oamden Town
t Life of Pratt, p 288
THE ENVIRONMENT OF ME
PAST IV was observed , for though there was a degiee of impious scoffing
1824r4l [m ^0 House of Commons] such as I never remember on any
Ch!L-2° similar occasion, there was, on the othei hand, moie apparent
piety than I ever saw So it is, while the enemy comes in like a
flood, the Spirit of God lifts up a standard against him "
Bickersteth wrote a tract on the occasion, which was circulated
by hundreds of thousands
Paihamentary Befoim did not of itself effect Social Eefoim ,
but it woke up the nation to see the appalhng need of it Let
Social Lord Shaftesbuiy's biographer summarize for us the condition of
condition J.L.I •»,,,,
ofthe things —
people a ^ Bpint Of tuibulence and lawlessness manifested itself everywhere
Education was at a deplorably low ebb The factory system
was cruel in its oppression Mines and colhenes were worked in great
measuie by women and children Bakers, sailois, and chimney-sweeps,
were unpiotected by legislation Fuendly societies, many of them rotten
to the core, were the only legalized means of self-help Pawnbrokers
held the savings of the people Sanitai y science was practically unknown
Ragged schools, reformatory and industrial schools, mechanics institutes,
and workmen's clubs, had not begun to exist Taxation was oppressive
and unjust Postal communication was an expensive luxury even to the
well-to-do Limited liability, enabling working-men to contribute their
small capital to the increase of the productive power of the country, was
not so much as thought of The cheap literature of the day reflected
the violent passions which raged on every side Crime was rampant ,
mendicancy everywhere on the increase " —
— and the wntei goes on to diaw a pictuie of London and the
large towns befoie Sn E Peel established the police force •• This
graphic passage describes the position m 1833 In 1837, when
Queen Yictona ascended the throne, it was worse rather than
bettei, a fact to be remembered when we look back over her long
and glorious reign , and at this point it will be interesting to read
the words of Lord Chichester, at the QMS Anniversary next
The young a^er ^er accession, legarding the young Queen —
Queen « gmce our \^ Anniversary, a star has risen above our political
horizon— a star of beauty and of promise , and, from thousands of British
hearts, there are ascending daily prayers that the dawn of her reign may
be the dawn of her country's glory— that, herself reflecting the beams of
the Sun of Righteousness, our Gracious Queen may gladden and refresh
our drooping land May the blessing of God so rest upon her, that the
loyalty which she inspires may piovoke us to a bettei cmvahy than that
of arms 1 May her name be associated with those works of Christian
Love, which, however disproportionate to our high responsibilities, prove
that we are still a Christian People 1 And thus shall the record of her
reign be a record of victories unstained with blood— of victories, whose
glory shall be ascribed to the Son of God— whose trophies shall -consist,
not of captive Kings or Nations made subject to the sceptre of England's
Queen, but of ransomed slaves delivered from the bondage of Satan, and
brought, through the eftorts of British Chanty, into the happy service
of England's God" t
* Hodder, E , J ife of Lord Shaft estwt/, vol i pp ldl-134
f Sydney Smith, preaching at Sfc Paul s on. the Queen's Accession, said
THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD 273
The Ministry of Eail Grey, which took office in 1831 after PAST IV
twenty years of Tory goveinment, and which earned the Eefoim 1824-41
Bill, did not prove antagonistic to the plans and policy of the p 2Q
Evangelical leaders It was on the right side of the Slavery TheWhig
question, its Lord Chancellor, Brougham, having been for years church
one of the most powerful anti-slavery advocates , and it was this Reform
Goveinment that introduced and passed the Abolition Bill, as we
shall see by-and-by On India questions, too, it was sound, the
younger Charles Giant (afterwards Lord Glenelg) being President
of the Board of Contiol (as the India Office was then called)
Certainly it was not specially favourable to the Chinch Earl
Grey called on the Bishops to "set their houses m order,"
though he did not finish the quotation and tell them they should
" die, and not live " Eadical reforms were introduced, to the
dismay of the majority of Churchmen , and the opposition offered
to these and to the Eeform Bill by the Bishops in Parliament
brought upon them great odium They weie even hustled and
insulted in Palace Yard , they weie burnt in effigy , on the 5th
of November, figuies representing them weie substituted for Guy
Fawkes , the Archbishop of Canterbury was mobbed in his own
cathedral city , the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (Eyder) was
nearly killed outside St Bride's, Meet Street , the Bishop of
London dared not go out to preach , and the Bishop of Bristol's
palace was attacked and burnt to the ground When, however,
the Irish Church Temporalities Bill was brought m, which abolished
two archiepiscopal and eight episcopal Sees, and many sinecure
cathedral stalls, and redistributed their revenues, eleven English
Bishops voted for it They were beginning to see that although
Church Eeform might be painful, it was the only way of saving
the Church — at least the Church Establishment Josiah Pratt
had seen this befoie He wrote of the " infatuation " of those
who opposed all change "If the leal evils m the Church,"
he said, " were piomptly redressed, it would stand firm in its
strength, but while nothing is done to remove its blemishes,
the sappeis are at woik at the foundation " The obstructives,
however, were outvoted , and it is impossible now to dispute the
truth of Dr Stoughton's words, that " the leforms strengthened
the Church's corner-stones, added buttresses to its walls, and gave
it a new lease of continuance " !
" What limits to the glory and happiness of our land, if the Creator should m
His mercy havo placed in the heart of this royal woman the rudiments of
wisdom and mercy , and if, giving thorn time to expand, and to bless oui
-children's children with hei goodness, He should grant to her a long
sojourning upon earth, and leave hor to reign over us till she is well stricken
m years What glory ' What happiness ! What ]oy I What bounty of God ' "
(Quoted by Stoughton, Religion in England, 1800—1850, vdl 11 p 165 )
* An excellent summary of the Church legislation of the period is given
by Oanon 0- 0- Perry in his Studentft ISnghsh Church History, chap xi
(Murray, 1890) "In the course of twelve years," he says, " the status of
the Ohuroh of England was revolutionized "
VOL I / T
274 THh BNVIRQNMWJT OF THE PERIOD
PAST IV There can be no doubt that the Church, notwithstanding the
1824-41 abuses that needed to be dealt with, was in its moral and spiritual
ChapJJO usance fai sponger than it had been at the beginning of the
improved century Dr Overton gives many contemporary testimomes to
gate of the fact - Of course its condition would not compare for one
church moment with its condition in the piesent day Since then the
standaid of efficiency has been enoimously laisea , and the practical
good work done is a hundred-fold what it was at the date of Queen
Victoria's accession But the improvement had begun, andBi
Overton attributes it, in the mam, to the influence of the Evan-
gelical party In the main, but he very fairly adduces the
conscientious zeal of the small band of real High or " Orthodox "
Churchmen—the men who weie infusing new hfe into the S P G
and S P 0 K —such as Bishops Van Mildert and Blomneld, Arch-
deacon Daubeney, Christopher Wordsworth the elder (Master of
Trinity), H H Noms,and Joshua Watson the layman, though he
confesses that they did not exeicise a wide influence,— except
indeed Blomfield, at a rather later period These two sections
together were but a small minority of Churchmen "Both
together were far outnumbered by the many who were neither one
thing noi the other , some inclining to the high and dry, some to
the low and slow , some whose creed consisted mainly in a sort of
geneial amiability, and some who were mere woildlmgs "1 This
torpid majority, indeed, were easily loused to echo the cry of " the
Chuich in dangei " , but the Chuich Impiovement and Chuich
Extension which are the best Chuich Defence weie effected by the
two wings, and, in the main, by the Evangelicals It is incidental
evidence of this, as Overton points out, that to be " senous " still
meant to be a " Low Chuichman," not a " High Churchman "
People geneiall) took for granted that spirituality and Evangeli-
calism were, on the Church of England, nearly synonymous
terms Not that all Evangelicals were spiritual that has never
been the case , but that spiritual men, generally speaking, weie
assumed to be Evangelicals
Bueinthe In a previous chapter we saw how the earhei Evangelicals
Evangjh- introduced week-day services and evening services, and hymns,
cals and moie frequent communions Daniel Wilson, soon aftei going
to Islington, succeeded in arianging, says his biographei, "three
full services m the church on Sundays and gieat festival days,
and one in the week, besides morning piayers on Wednesdays and
Fridays and saints' days An early saciament at eight, m addition
to the usual celebiation, had been also commenced " f In fact,
considerably later than this, at Evangelical country towns like
Lowesfcoft under Prancis Cunningham, attendance at early Com-
munion was a special token of evangelical fervour In 1886 Simeon
wrote of Trinity Church, Cambridge, " Yesterday I partook of the
* English CTwM ch m the Nineteenth Qentwy, p 8
t Jbid , p 16 j; Itfe of Bishop D Wilson, vol i p 264
THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD 275
Lord's Supper m concert with a larger number than has been .PART IT
convened togethei in any church m Cambndge since the place ^24~41
existed upon eaith So gieatly," he quaintly adds, " has the ap 20
Church of England been injured by myself and my associates " •
No wondei Dr Oveiton, after noticing Daniel Wilson's work at
Islington, remarks that "the Low Gluuchrnen weie better
Chuichmen than the No Chuichrnen " And it was the same m
piactical paiochial woik Di Moulo mentions that his fathei,
when at Gilhngham, was told by Bishop Bmgoss of Sahsbury,
about the period we are now deahng with, that, "wherever he
went in his diocese, it was geneially those who thought with him
[H Moule] who were the active men m the parishes " It is they ,' '
he said, " who get schools built, and diligently teach the young,
and bung them well prepaied foi Confirmation " Moieovei, it is
specially germane to this Histoiy to obseive that it was then, m
now and as ever, the parishes in which zeal and interest in the
evangelization of the woild were manifested, that were m the front
in all Chuich work at home
This last point was also illustrated when the Chinch Pastorale PAS
Aid Society was founded m 1836 It was actually for mod m the foundcd
Committee-iooni of the Chuich Missionary Society, Pi att taking
an active part in the ariangemonts Bickorsteth and othoi CMS
leaders weie also in its counsels from the first , and its second
Anmveisary seimon was pleached by Mi Pearson, the Principal
of Islington College The JkfmwwKw y Rogibto regularly repoi bed
its proceedings, as well as those of the London City Mission, and
of the Additional Curates' Society, or, as the lattci was at first
named, the Clergy Aid Society, which wore established about tho
same time Indeed the A C S was started by somo of tho Bishops
partly as a kind of protest against the Evangelical distinctness
of the C P A S Mr Gladstone, also, who was at first a Yrce-
President of the C P A S , withdrew and joined the rival society
This last-mentioned incident is an illustration of tho increasing
activity of the moie Oithodox School on the lines of organisation
laid down by the Evangelical Societies Tho Iteqi&tw of 1839
records the formation of Provincial Associations in aid of tho Growth ot
S P G , the Bishop of Nova Scotia and Archdeacon Bobmson of s p G
Madras visiting some of the counties for tho purpose One
result of this movement, viz , pioposals for fonmng Joint Local
Associations of S P G and CMS, will como before us hereafter
The SPG funds were now rising rapidly yoar by yeai, and it was
successfully giapplmg with a still more rapid rise in the expendi-
ture, accompanied by the withdrawal of tho old Government
grant for the Canadian clergy Eoyal letters wore gianted to it m
1831 and 1836, the latter being specially with a view to aid in
ministering to tho freed slaves m the West Indies, but the
healthier sources of Income grew rndependently of these Letteis,
* Horde's 8meon, p 257
I 2
276 THE, ENVIRONMENT OP run PERIOD
PABT IV and by 1840 the voluntary contributions exceeded £40,000 In
182441 that yeai itg Annual Sermon was preached for the fust tune at
ChapjO gt Paul's, ^d the Lord Mayoi gave a dinner afteiwaids at the
Mansion House , but theie weie no public meetings at this time,
the one m 1826, mentioned in a foimer chapter, and anothei in
1827, being quite exceptional
The Among othei features that marked the Church of the period was
Bishops the increasing activity and efficiency of the Bishops Conspicuous
among those who weie raising the standaid of episcopal woik were
the two Sumners at Winchester and Chester, Bishop Ryder at
Lichfield, Bishop Ottei at Chichester, and Bishop Blomfield in
London Bishop Blomfield was called by Sydney Smith " The
Chuich of England here upon earth ", and again he says, " When
the Church of England is mentioned, it only means Charles
James London " * It is worth while, therefoie, to look a little
IiBn3f id a^ ^1S iemarkahle ma<n ^ne Difference between Blomfield at
Chester and Blomfield m London marks m curious ways the
changes that weie coming over the Chuich Eoi example, about
ten years before Queen Victoria came to the throne, a clergyman
in the diocese of Chester opened his church to a deputation to
pi each on behalf of some society (not named, but not CMS)
Bishop Blomfield wrote to him as follows ] —
"J"wZy 20^,1827
" A circular letter has been put into my hands, announcing a
sermon to be preached in your church, on behalf of a society called the
- Society, by the Kev - ' This open defiance of my directions,
with respect to these itinerant preachers, calls for some expression of my
displeasure I would put the question to youi common sense, whether
there must not be some check iiipon the preaching of sermons for
societies and who is to exercise that check but the bishop p I
have prohibited Mr - from preaching again in my diocese "
But when the Queen came to the throne, even the SPG,
which was above all suspicion of irregularities, was sending its
deputations over the countiy Again, heie is a passage fiom the
Memoir of Bishop Blomfield, in which his son and biogiapher
descnbes his views concerning ecclesiastical and religious topics,
which affoids a very curious glimpse into the rnind of a vigoious
young Bishop of the ma media school | —
" He insisted upon the gown being worn m the pulpit, alleging that
the use of the surplice was a departure from the usual practice, only
found in remote and small parishes , he would not support the Churon
Missionary Society, disapproving of the principles of its management ,
he considered that charity was too much diverted to distant objects to
the neglect of those nearer and more immediate , he considered that
the revival of an operative Convocation would be inexpedient , he refused
to sanction any collection of hymns for use in churches , he declared
that it was binding upon the clergy to preach the sole merits of Christ,
and the corruption of human nature, but discountenanced Calvinistic
* Memair of Bmliop Bbmfield, vol i p 205
f Ibid , vol i p 119 1 Jlnd , vol i p 110.
THE ENVIRONMENT OF FHE PERIOD 277
opinions , he disapproved of Wednesday evening lectures, and thought PAST IV,
that where there were two full sei vices on Sundays, such week-day 1824r41.
services were not required 5 he would rather that the sermon should bo Chap 20
omitted on Communion Sundays, than the elements should be admims- -
tered to more than one communicant at a time , he questioned the
propriety of holding oiatonos m chinches, and the profit of conveiting
a dinner-party into a prayer-meeting , and he maintained that the first
duty of bishop and clergy is to act strictly and punctiliously according
to law "
But when Blomfield was in the diocese of London, shoitly aftei
the Queen came to the throne, we find him using all his influence
to get the clergy generally to adopt the suiplice in the pulpit ,
also to mtioduce the weekly offeitoiy, and to read the Prayoi for
the Church Militant at Homing Service, even whon there was
no Communion The Charge delivered in 1842, in which he made
these recommendations,-1 was warmly welcomed by many Evan-
gelicals, among them by J W Cunningham of Hairow, who WAS
then one of their foiemost leaders, and who was a fai more
frequent speaker at C M S Anniveisanes than any other individual
in the whole century But two newspapers attacked the Bishop
from opposite points of view One was the Tvmes, which was
then largely under the influence of the young Tiactanan paity,
and the other was the Becoid, which, although at mat it approved
the suggestions, afterwards tuined lound and advised the cleigy
of Islington and other Evangelicals to refuse compliance It is
curious to nnd Blomfield's biographer wilting m 1863 to the effect
that the use of the surplice m the pulpit, which had been widely
adopted at the Bishop's request, was " now genoially aban-
doned"! +
But this is carrying us beyond om period Let us return to
the 'thirties
The gieat Societies had now a place of meeting bottei fitted to Exeter
accommodate the troops of fiiends that attended A largo Hall
had been built on the site of old Exotei Change in the Strand, the
money being laised by the issue of £50 shares, which weie taken
up by the wealthy philanthropists interested m the provision of
such a meeting-place, Some of the Societies took sluios, and tho
CMS for many yeais held five, as an investment, tho mtoiesl
forming a small item in the Income It was at hrst pioposed to
name the building the Philadelphia!! Hall, with the correspond-
ing motto, "Let brotherly love [<£iXa8eA.4>t'a] continue", but
before it was opened, the now famous name of Exeter Hall was
decided on, "m reference to the site having belonged to the
Exeter family " The opening took place on Maich 29th, 1831,
with a large gathering foi prayer, when leprosentatives of many
societies took paii In May of that year, the Hall was used foi
the Anniversaries of most of the leading societies, and it has
* Jf emeu of Bishop Blowfield, vol n pp 2^, 47, &o
f Rid , vol u p 63
27 8 THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD
PAST IV been so used ever since " Midway between the Abbey of West-
1824-41 minster and the Church of the Knights Templars," wntes Sn
Ohap^20 james Stephen in his pictuiesque style, " twin columns, emulat-
ing those of Heicules, fling their long shadows across the stiait
thiough which the far-resounding Strand pouis the full cuuent of
human existence into the deep recesses of Exeter Hall Borne on
that impetuous tide, the rnediterianean waters lift up then voice
in a ceaseless swell of exulting or pathetic declamation The
changeful strain uses with the civilization of Africa, or becomes
plaintive over the wiongs of chimney-boys, or peals anathemas
against the successois of St Petei, 01 m nch diapason calls on the
Protestant Chinches to wake and evangelize the world I "
Amend- It is a cuiious lUustiation of the imperfections of all things
Exeter** human, that, in the first yeai of the occupation of what was
Hail intended to be a temple of " brotheily love," several of the meet-
m«e ngs ^g ^^ mteuupted by the moving of amendments, a circum-
stance then apparently unprecedented, and which has since then
raiely if evei lectured Both the CMS and the Bible Society
underwent this experience In the former case the amendment,
which we shall hear of in another chapter, was at once appioved
and almost unanimously adopted , but m the latter case it bi ought
a bittei contioversy to a climax and led to a painful secession
The Bible Society, indeed, though ifc had attained a position of
influence far exceeding that of any othei Society, and though it
Bible was domg a magnificent work, was not only continually assailed
by vigorous High Church pens like those of Bishop Marsh and
Archdeacon Daubeney, but also lepeatedly tioubled by internal
dissensions , and these divided the CMS leaders, the Secretanes
themselves being on opposite sides m the cntical contioveisy m
1831 Before this, theio. had been a senous stiuggle over the
on the question of printing the Apocrypha The Society did not include
Apocrypha tte Apocryphal books m its English Bibles, but, being "the
Bntish and Foreign" affiliated and subsidized the Continental
Societies which did include them in the foreign editions This
was objected to by the Scotch blanches, which, after much
disputing, ultimately seceded, notwithstanding that the Parent
Society at length gave way, and determined to make no grants
towards the publication of any editions that included the
Apocrypha But the controversy in 1831 was much more senous
And on The Society having been ongmally formed as a meie business
tests0210*1 organisation foi producing and circulating the Scriptures, its
membership was quite open, and it was m fact supported by
many of the old English Presbytenans who had drifted into
Umtanamsm, as well as by others whose doctrinal views weie very
uncertain, if indeed they had any at all to speak of This gradually
became a gieat offence to the more decided Evangelicals, both
Churchmen and Dissenteis, and after many preliminary skirmishes,
The great *ne battle was joined at the first Annual Meeting that was held in
struggle Exetei Hall An amendment was moved to the Eepoit, affirming
THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD 279
" that no person rejecting the doctrine of a Tnune Jehovah can PART IV,
be consideied a member of a Christian Institution," and lequinng 1824-41
the Laws to be altered accordingly Immense uproar ensued, p ^
and, says Dr Stoughton, "it was sad to witness the passionate
expressions of feeling which were exhibited " " The chairman,
Lord Bexley, could not make himself heaid, and Daniel Wilson
stepped forward to speak m his name, as a strong opponent of
the proposed test The venerable and eccentric pastor of Suney
Chapel, Bowland Hill, declared that it was " preposterous to
refuse to let Socimans distribute the only antidote to their own
errors," and that he would be glad if even a Mohammedan were
willing to do so " Nay, he would accept a Bible from the devil
himself, only he would take it with a pan of tongs " The
giaver defenders of the existing open constitution aigued that if
the Society's Laws weie to embody lestuctive theological defini-
tions, it would be needful to go fuithei, and mseit other words
to exclude Romanists, &c , and they pleaded that, as a mattei of
fact, all the membeis of the governing body, and the agents, were
orthodox evangelical Chiistians The amendment was rejected
by a great majority, and a poition of the mmoiity thereupon
seceded, and formed the Tnmtauan Bible Society, which exists to
this day
In this contioveisy, Josiah Piatt, m common with the nmjoiity Attitude
of C M S leaders, supported tho ongmal constitution Bickersteth Jfen M S
was on the other side, and had to encounter a vehement piotest
by Dandeson Coates m consequence , but he declined to desert
the Bible Society, recognizing the blessedness of its woik, and that
the objection was after all rather a theoretical than a practical one
He, however, subscubed also to the Trinitanan Society as a token
of sympathy with the conscientious samples of its promoters \
Many other good men adopted his line , and at the Anniversary
in the following year, the brothers Noel, Gerard and Baptist, who
had been in the opposition, made a generous amende, and avowed
their unfaltering allegiance to the old Bible Society Pratt, with
his never-failing impartiality, reported tho proceedings of the
new Trinitarian organization year by year in the Register, and it
can therefore be seen that the speakers at its meetings com-
prised scarcely any C M S leaders Dissensions, moreover, arose
in its councils from the first , but none the loss it did good work
in spending upon the work of Bible circulation the money of
those who would not support the old Society
There was another controversy mixed up wrth this one, In P^y" »t
earlier days, none of the religious Societies opened their public
* Religion in England, 1800 to 1850, vol n p 90 Tho ftccord of the
period gives a verbcttm report of tho pioceednigs, which lasted BIX hours, and
were of tho most painful character One can scarcely road the report without
sympathizing with tho supporters of tho amendment , and tho Record, evidently
did so
j Memoir of JG? Bickerst eth, 70! 11 pp SO 85
280 THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD
PART IY meetings with prayer This, which seems to us almost incredible,
182441 was no doubt due to two circumstances Fnst, the old Conventicle
Chap^ao ^Q|.g for|Da^ anything of the nature of a religious service except
in churches and licensed dissenting chapels , insomuch that even
at Simeon's conversational parties for undergraduates, held in his
own rooms at King's College, he had no prayer, for fear of
transgressing the law * It is true that a new Act regarding
Dissenters m 1812 had repealed the old ones , but its effect was
uncertain Secondly, public meetings were held m the large
rooms of hotels and taverns and there was a feeling of " incon-
gruity of acts of religious worship with places usually occupied
for very different purposes " t Gradually, however, the need and
importance of public piayei was more and more felt, and
apparently the Jews1 Society led the way in introducing an
opening piayer at Freemasons' Hall Immediately after the
CMS Anniversary in 1828, the Committee passed a resolutron
SPG that " as the S P G and the Jews' Society opened their meetrngs
leads the mfa praverj" tf was desirable for the Church Missionary Society
to do the same for the future This History has shown several
occasions on which CMS helped S P G , but this good example
set by S P G may well be held to balance the account It is true
that the SPG annual meetings were wont to be held m the
vestry of Bow Church, which was sacred ground, but it can
hardly be doubted, m the face of the CMS Committee's
resolution, that the two special meetings held by the venerable
Society in Freemason's Hall in the two years immediately
preceding (1826 and 1827) weie also opened with prayer , and
this would certainly protect the CMS from any accusation of
ecclesiastical irregularity if it proceeded to do the same m the
same hall \
But when Exeter Hall, a building free from tavern associations,
was opened in 1831, there was no longer any room for scruple on
the score of incongruity , and from that time the practice became
Bible general But the Bible Society was still an exception Why
society was this ? Not only because a Socmian would object to the
refuses or^nary Christian conclusion of a prayer, "through Jesus Christ
our Lord," but because Dissenters objected to a form of prayer,
while Churchmen dreaded what wild sentiments might be expressed
in extempore prayer, and Quakers, then very influential (it was
the period of Joseph John Gurney and Mrs Fry), objected to
any arrangement beforehand as to who should lead m prayer
Bickersteth and others, however, deeply felt that these difficulties
* Moule's taeon, p 229
f Pratt, in Mmwm y Uegtsten , 1828, p 221
f The Liverpool 0 M Association followed the example of the Parent
Society, and appointed a clergyman to draw up a prayer for use, taken from
the Liturgy A proposal was also made " to conclude with a psalm or
hymn", "but," say the Minutes of the Liverpool Committee, "further
consideration of this important innovation to our proceedings was
postponed "
THE ENVIRONMENT OF THM PERIOD 281
weie the soit of difficulties that ought to be surmounted , and PAST IV
many who, like Pratt, had opposed any imposition of docfcimal 1824-41
tests, concuned in the importance of sanctifying Bible Society GtlaP 20
meetings by the reading of Scuptuie and piayei But Mi
Brandram, the able clerical secietary, suppoited the Dissenters in
opposing any such innovation , and no change was effected till
1849, when the reading of "a devotional portion of Scripture"
was at last permitted Prayei was not mtioduced until 1857
Questions like these, however, were but the piactical outcome Divisions
of a general spint of disunion which, from about 1827 onwaids,
spiead in Evangelical lanks * For instance, on the great subject
of Catholic Emancipation, which was the chief topic of political
home controversy bef 01 e the Eefoim agitation, leading Evangelical
Churchmen were divided Wilbei force, Buxton, the Giants,
young Lord Ashley, Dealtiy, Daniel Wilson, favoured the
lecognition of Roman Catholic claims, but they weie a minority catholic
Pratt and Bickeisteth earnestly and actively opposed the Bill
The consequence was that the Record, then lately started,
expressed, strange to say, no stiong opinion on the mate. A
similar division of opinion prevailed throughout the Church
Most of the High Chuich and Orthodox Bishops and divines weie
against the Bill, but not all Keble led a strenuous opposition
at Oxford, and Sir Eobert H Inghs, a strong Churchman,
yet associated with the Clapham cncle and a wairn suppoitor
of the Church Missionary Society, obtained the coveted seat foi
the University, aftei a prolonged and stienuous struggle, turning
out Peel, who, with the Duke of Wellington, had bi ought m the
dreaded Bill in the teeth of all their previous declarations It
passed, however (1829) , and thus one of the causes of disunion
was put out of the way There were similai diffeiences, but
less acute, over the Bill foi lepealmg the Test and Corporation
Acts, which was practically for the relief of Dissenters, but
this also passed, m the piecedmg year, 1828
But internal and esoteno controversies within Evangelical
ranks affected the Chuich Missionaiy Society more duectly The
old Oalvmistic disputes had not died out There was a small and diBputea'
diminishing party of very extieme predestmarian views, whoso
members constantly charged moderate Calvmists like Scott,
Simeon, Pratt, and Bickersteth, with being "enemies to the free,
sovereign, and everlasting giace of God"; yet these moderate
leaders were the very men who aJl the while were defending the
doctrines of giace against the vehement attacks of Bishops Mant
and Marsh and Archdeacon Daubenoy, as well as against the
Armimanism of the Wesleyans Bickersteth, in his journeys for
the Church Missionary Society, found what was called " high
* There was mdoocl some disunion boforo Ton yours earlier had occurred
what was called tho Western Schism, whon aomo friends at Bristol, Bath, &o ,
went astray on tho subject, inter alia, of Infant Baptism, and seceded from
the Ohurch
282 THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD
PABT IV Calvinism " — reaching almost to Antinomianasm— a great obstacle
182441 ]\/[en wno would not say to then- own congiegations at home,
Chap 20 « Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," because no one could believe
except by the compulsory power of the Holy Spirit, and who
openly lepudiated the woid " lesponsibihty " as applicable to the
elect people of God, were, quite natuially, incapable of missionary
zeal foi the evangelization of the Heathen , and Bickeisteth writes
of his attempt to mtioduce the Society at Plymouth," where
Lr Hawker's influence was dominant, as his " most foimidable
affan " " Such," he wrote, " is the effect of his doctunes, that I
fear nothing can be done m that laige town for extending Christ's
Kingdom "
Edward Then again, Edwaid Irving was at the zenith of his gieat
reputation in 1825-33 No such pieachei had ever taken London
by storm Crowds fiom the highest classes of society mobbed
the modest Scotch chinches in Hatton Garden and Eegent Square
Even at 7 a ni the lattei building was ciowded " By many
degiees the gieatest oratoi of oui times," said Be Quincey " The
freest, bravest, brotheihest human soul mine ever came in contact
HIS great with," said Cailyle living's famous sermon befoie the London
^lsslonaiy Society m 1825 staitled all missionaiy circles He
denounced the Societies for then prudential care about money
matters, and called upon Christians to go forth into all the world
as the apostles went round the familiar villages of their own little
Galilee, without scrip or purse, shoes 01 staves " He seemed,"
says Dr Stoughton, " going back to the days of Fiancis of Assisi,
mterpieting Sciiptuie as the Italian saint would have done, and
seeking to wiap a trial's mantle lound a Piotestant pieacher " |
Although the Directors of the L M S were inclined to think then
pieachei mad, a good many, both within and without the Church,
regarded him as a new piophet arisen in the name of the Loid \
Then living sfaayed into strange heresies regaiding the natuie of
Christ's humanity, and set forth novel views of prophecy, and
subsequently developed " supernatural manifestations " m the
shape of miraculous tongues and cuies Then he was excom-
municated by the Chuich of Scotland, and founded the " Catholic
Apostolic Chuich," now known aslrvingites , and, in Stoughton's
words, "the 'religious public,' after making him an idol, pulled
him fiom his pedestal and cast him down into the dust " With
much of this our Histoiy is not concerned , but Irving' s influence
undoubtedly fostered the disunion among Evangelical Christians
which is one of the features of the environment of the period
* But at Devouporfc -(Plymouth Dock it was then called), Mr Hitohins,
Henry Maityn's cousin, had a 0 M S Association
| Reli.jion.in England, 1800 I860, vol i p 379
J In 1889, a series of articles appeared in The 0/instian, which turned out
to be in the main a reproduction of Irving' s seimon They had a similar
effect on many mmds, for a time It is worth noting that the writer, like
Irving, soon afterwaids wont quite off Evangelical and Scriptural lines
THE ENVIRONMENT OF IHE PERIOD 283
Nearly at the same time, arose what is known as Plymouth PART IY
Brethiemsm, which in the 'thirties and 'forties lapidly became a 1824-41
power, and diew away not a few of the most spmtually-rninded ^f_
membeis of the Church, paiticulaily in Ireland It began with Plymouth
that longing aftei a peifect Ghuich which has always been so BrethTen
attractive a conception among simple-minded Ghastians with
little knowledge of Church History Its influence giew m
consequence of its thorough devotion to the study, verse by verse,
and line by line, of the Word of God , not merely the cutical
study of Hebiew verbs and Greek pi epositions— though this was
not omitted by the moio scholarly of the Biethien, — but tho study
of the inmost meaning of the nairatives and precepts andpiophecics
as a revelation from God to men And, m paitioulai, it developed
well-rnaiked " Futimst " views of unfulfilled piophecy, which
have since been widely adopted, and have led at different times to
much controversy In latei yeais, the influence of tho Brethien
has declined, owing to thoii endless divisions , but m the penod
we are now studying, they had the advantage which belongs to
every new movement, and indirectly they caused much doubting
and questioning in Evangelical cucles The Church Missionary
Society had cause in those days to lament their influence, for
it lost thiough them thioo missionaues, viz , John Kitto, tho
prmtei at Malta, who joined Mi Anthony Gloves (though he
did not belong to thorn in aftoi yeaib), Bhomus, tho gieat
Tmnevelly rnissionaiy, whose bieach with the Chinch was also
due to Mi Groves' s influence, and Mis 'Wilson, ol Calcutta and
Agarpara n
The study of piophecy was not confined to the Biothien and Prophcti
those who came undei then influence Sober and godly divmos !£dBtu C8
within the Church were taking up the subject , and several of
those best-known among CMS leaders adopted what aie known
as Pre-Millenanan views "Wo hero touch a question which has
a very close connexion with Poioign Missions The popular
idea, pnoi to this period, had been that tho gi adual and complete
conversion of the world would be effected by then, agency The
earlier Annual CMS Sermons generally take this for granted,
and draw glowing pictmes of tho wonderful icsults to be looked
foi ere long horn missionary oiloU Perhaps it was tho hard
experience gained m Salisbury Squaio, of the slow piogiess of
God's woik, and of tho way m which it IB rnancd by human
infiimity, that led, together with a closer study of tho New
* Saepp 317,320 Mi Groves waa a remarkable man, and fciuly dovotod Ho
went to Baghdad as a voluntoci "fioo lunoo" missionary at Ins own charges
in 1830, and was there joined by Mr Painoll (aftorwaidB Lord Congloton),
andF W Nowman tbrothoi ofJ H Newman, and afterwards a Doist) and
also by Pfander, afteiwudu ilio gioafc 0 M 8 missionary to Mohammedans
While they weie at Baghdad, a terrible outbreak of tho plague occurred,
which earned off more than half tho population , and Mrs Groves -was ouo
of tho victims Mr Groves afterwards wont to India
284 THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD
PAST IV Testament, to Edwaid Biokersteth's avowed change of views
182441 He, and many otheis like-minded, came to believe that our Loid
Chap ° will return to an unconverted woild, though it might be, if He
E sicker tamed long, to a Chi istiamzed world m the sense m which Europe
changed 1S already Christian, that therefoie the "millennium"— whatevei
views the rnystenous "thousand years" of Eev xx might leally mean
— could not piecede His coming, but must follow it, and
that aftei His return there would be further gieat events upon
the eaith, though upon the nature of these it would not be light
to dogmatize The effect of such views upon Missions was not to
paialyze but to stimulate prayer and effort If the Lord might
really come at any time, so much the more reason foi the utmost
energy and self-denial to " piepaie and make leady His way " ,
and Bickeisteth, in a letter written (1836) to a cleigyman who
had asked him for advice as to the best way of awakening
missionary mteiest, urged him to study the Loid's gracious
purpose to gather for Himself an elect Church out of the Gentiles
before His Coming, which would be the " grand animating spring "
of zeal and liberality * Fiancis Goode, m the Annual Sermon of
1838, strikingly sets forth the same motive for missionary effort
These views, howevei, did not wm universal assent, even among
the innei circles of Evangelical students , and at a later period
(1853), Samuel "Waldegrave, afterwaids Bishop of Carlisle, de-
livered a couise of Bampton Lectures against "MiHenariamsm "
Meanwhile, E B Elliott of Brighton, shortly after the close of our
Elliott's peiiod (1844), pioduced his gieat work, Hora Apocalyptica, which
" Hor« " ^^ faQ iehgious world by storm, and by its learned and powerful
marshalling of the evidence for the Historical interpretation of the
Books of Daniel and Eevelation, completely thrust out, foi the
time, the Futuust views of the Plymouthists This book—
"a work," writes Sir James Stephen,! "of profound learning,
smgulai ingenuity, and almost bewitching interest," — although
comprising four large volumes, ran m a few years through several
editions
But the study of prophecy was not always conducted soberly
and leverently, or with due modesty and leserve, and even
Bickersteth found "the piophetical spirit" almost as unfavorable
to Missions as the ultra-Calvmistic spirit "Things are most
dead and cold here" [the Midland Counties], he wrote m 1831,
" the good men are all afloat on piophesying, and the immediate
work of the Loid is disregarded for the uncertain future "J And
Piatt mote m 1841, trie last year of his editoishipof the Begister,
" Plain commands and plain promises aie, if not almost supeiseded,
yet certainly weakened m their force and energy, by views, sound
or unsound, on unfulfilled piophecy The cause of Missions is
safe while it lests on plain and unquestionable commands binding
vol n p 93
f Essaya in Ecclesiastical Biography) p 583
| Memoii , vol 11 p 43
ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD 285
on all Christians, and on promises open to all who endeavour to PAST IY
fulfil these commands , but questions of this nature, using within i^^i
Christian Communities, will weaken, so far as they are listened to, aiL
the springs and motives of action "
This buef sketch will serve to show how many topics there
weie upon which the Evangelicals of the period held divergent
views, and how imminent was the danger of serious disunion, a
dangei that was not wholly avoided The Ohuich Missionary
Society seemed to be the one rallymg-pomt wheie all could unite
—as it has been on other occasions since then A C M S leader,
therefore, was the natural counsellor at such a time , and Piatt warnings,
again and again in the Poster wained his leadeis against
the danger He began in 1827 with stiong and significant woids
After referring to his reminders in previous years (as we have
befoie seen) of the antagonism of the devil when his kingdom
was being so vigoiously assailed, he goes on, "But it is the
Internal Enemy which is chiefly to be dieaded Christians aie
not at peace among themselves " He denounces the unchari-
table spiut which "highly colours" and "grossly exaggerates"
the weaknesses or the mistakes of Committees and secretaries ,
the spirit of suspicion that looks at leports and statements
" rather with the view of detecting some concealed delinquency,
or of finding ground of objection, than with the design of
re] oicmg with the Society in any good which it may have been
the means of effecting, and of sympathising with it in its
trials" "Eveiy man," he continues, "will be tempted to set
himself up for a critic and a judge if measuies are proposed
which do not exactly accord, as he apprehends them, with his
own notions, he may scatter, as some have done, crude and
erroneous circulars and pamphlets about the country, while
others, without asking explanations, will take it for granted that
these things are true, and act on them as though they woio so "
"While Chanty will not hide hei oyos fvora what is evil, she
suffereth long and is kind— beareth all things, believoth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things — and nover fiuloth 1 " Are
Pratt1 s warnings quite out of date?
A time, however, was now appioachmg when minor differences
had to be sunk m the presence of what, at the time, all
Evangelicals, and a good many who would have refused the
name, regaided as the common foe Within the period we have
been reviewing began the Tiactanan movement
The history of what is perhaps better termed the Oxford
Movement is of course one of the most deeply interesting episodes
of the century An influence which displaced what had promised
to be a dominant influence at Oxfoid andpeihaps in the Church-
that of Liberal Churchmen like Whately and Ainold (different as
the two men were), —which earned captive some of the most
brilliant minds in the University ,—which survived the tremendous
shook of the secession to Borne of its foremost leadoi and of othois
286 THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD
PABTIV scarcely less distinguished,— which has developed, despite in-
1824-41 numerable obstacles, into one of the most potent influences in the
QbaP ^ Anglican Chuich to-day, — is one worthy of the closest and most
patient study In the piesent Eistoiy, of couise, such a study
would be quite out of place But throughout om nariative, from
this time forward, we shall be continually meeting the men, the
measures, the tendencies, the effects of the Oxford Movement ,
and at this point it is necessary to mqune how the C M S leaders
viewed it in its eaily stages
"What is called the Oxford or Tiactarian movement," says
Dean Chinch in the opening lines of his biilhant and, one may
itsocca- say, pathetic work,'' "began, without doubt, in a vigorous effort
81011 for the immediate defence of the Church against serious dangeis,
arising fioni the violent and threatening tempei of the days of the
Eeform Bill It was one of seveial and widely differing effoits
Yiewed superficially it had its origin m the accident of an mgent
necessity The Church was really at the moment impenlled amid
the crude revolutionaiy pio]ects of the Befoim epoch, and
something boldei and moie effective than the ordinaiy apologies
for the Church was the call of the hour " This view is confirmed
by the familiar fact that John Henry Newman always dated the
movement from Keble's famous sermon on " National Apostasy "
on July 14th, 1833, which, as the title indicates, was inspired by
the political penis of the time But the attacks on the Chuich as
an Establishment were only the occasion, not the cause, of the
its causes movement The cause lay far deeper Eomanticism was nsmg up
against utilitarianism , Sir Waltei Scott's works had awakened m
thousands of minds a sympathetic interest m what was mediaeval
and antiquarian , Coleridge and the Lake Poets weie exercising
an influence on thoughtful minds which, so far as it affected
religion, prepared them for the new teaching that was coming ,
and Keble's Chmtwn Year, m addition to its poetic merits, had
revealed the possibility of a quiet and leverent devoutness which,
without attending a Clapharn breakfast or an Exeter Hall meeting,
or subsciibmg to the Bible Society, could realize that
" There is a book, who runs may road,
Which heavenly truth imports ,
And all the Ipro its scholais need
Pore eyes and Christian hearts
" The works of God above, below.
Within us and aiound,
Are pages m that book to show
How God Himself IB found "
From which conviction the prayei would naturally anse—
" Thou Who hast given mo eyos to soo
And love this sight so fair,
Give me a heart to find out Thoe,
And read Thee everywhere "
* The Oxfoi d Movement t Maoraillan, 1891 It waa published aftor his death,
THS ENVIRONMENT OF ME PERIOD 287
Then it must be admitted that Evangelicalism had by this PABT IY
time become— shall we say ?— too comfortable to attract the aident 1824-41
and romantic minds of bulliant Oxfoid men bm sting with new p
and half -formed ideas about the giandeiu of an ancient historic Evan
Ohuich, the beauty of submission to Authority, and the con- ^ctahleSm
temptible character of anything that could be handed aa Oxford
"populai leligiomsni " Dean Church is of couise scarcely anmen
impaitial judge of Evangelicalism — though no man wasevei inoie
irnpaitial in intent, — but theie is truth and foice in his lemark '
that " the austere spuit of Newton and Scott had, between 1820
and 1830, given way a good deal to the influence of mci easing
populai ity", that "the piofossion of Evangelical leligion had
been made rnoie than lespectable by tho adhesion of men of
position and weight", thab, " pt cached in the pulpits of fashion-
able chapels, this leligion pioved to be no moie exacting than
its 'High and Diy' iival", that, "claiming to be exclusively
spiritual, fervent, unwoildly, the sole announcer d the fiee
grace of God amid self-nghteoiwness and sin, it had come,
in fact, to be on very easy terms with the world " In othei
woids, it was no longoi a kind of maityrdom to be counted an
Evangelical , and the young Oiiel men had undoubtedly in them
something of tho maityi-spint To be persecuted foi what they
regarded as the One Catholic Apostolic Ghuich was an hotioui to
be coveted Their ideal of life was i eally high They thought
the " ordinary religious morality," as the same wntor expresses it,
loose and unreal— as indeed it might well seem to those who know
not personally the bnght and holy life of a Bickcrsteth 01 a.
"William Maish, and the movement really flpiang, not from a
political or theological ciy, but fiom a deep moial conviction and
purpose The old English Church with its Apostolical Succession
was in dangei let them hvo foi tho Church, or die in its defence 1
Probably it was the fact that tho movement scorned to be
a Church Defence movement that pioventod tho Evangelical
leadeis fiom noticing it at hist, besides which thoio wore at
Oxford almost no Evangelicals to observe it Two town churches
were m their hands, but while Natt, at St Giles's, was an
excellent man, Bulteel, at St Ebbe's, was an antmomian, and
ultimately left the Chuich In the Univcisity, St Edmund Hall
was the " Low Church" preserve, but it was a good deal looked
down upon Wadham, under Dr Symons, was consideied fairly
safe by Evangelical parents, and foi this leason John Henry John
Newman was sent theie His Ouel Fellowship was later He Newma
had been bi ought up upon the wnlmgs of Borname, Newton,
Milner, and Scott He and his biothoi F W, Newman were
subscribes to the Oxfoid Chuich Missionary Association, and
for one year, 1880, he was Secretary of it , | and he actually
* The Oro/oi d Movement, p 121
•f Of Newman's attempt, mentioned by Yonn, to got men to como up
288 THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERIOD
PART IV contributed both money and articles to the Eecord But Keble m-
1824-41 financed Hurrell Fioude, and Huirell Fioude influenced Newman
p " He made me look/' says Newman himself, " with admiration
towards the Chtuch of Eonie, and in the same degree to dislike
the Eefoimation He fixed deep in me the idea of devotion to
the blessed Virgin, and he led me gradually to believe m the Eeal
Presence " These influences brought him where at fust he
did not mean to go "I do not ask," he afteiwaids said m
his pathetic " Lead, kindly light,"—
"to see
The distant sceno , ono stop enough foi me "—
a mistaken prayer as regards saving truth, though a good one
foi providential guidance
But veiy soon the Evangelical leadeis plainly saw "the
distant scene " Indeed Pratt, who, as we have seen, was no
suspicious and nanow-minded partizan, perceived the doubtful
tendency of Keble's poetry, beautiful as it was, from the
The hrst The Tiacts for the Times, which gave the Oxfoid move-
Tracts meri^ ^s more fomu'iai name, began to appear m 1833, but
it was not till 1836 that there was anything m them to excite
much alarm Then the Evangelicals saw whither the new school
was drifting, and the Bemoans of Hurrell Froude, published
a year or two later, revealed something of its innei history
Gradually the full sacerdotal and sacramental system of Tiac-
tanamsm stood levealed, and pioved to be, m its essence, what
not Evangelicals only, but all moderate Anglican Chin oilmen,
had always undeistood as "popeiy " — to use the old woid which
m those days was habitually used by all alike The tiuths which
the great Eevival of the preceding century had restoied to the
Chuich— the supremacy of Holy Scnptuie, tho smnei's duect
access to God by faith, salvation by giace alone, tuie i exoneration
the work only of tho Holy Ghost— were disciedited , and foi them
was virtually substituted a religion which mado salvation to
consist, piactically, in membership in a Chuich possessing tho
apostolical succession, and served by a priestly casto that alone
could administer effectual sacraments,
In the present day we can look back over sixty yoais and
influence acknowledge to the full the good which the Oxford Movement has
of the effected in the Church of England To attribute to its influence
ovemen ^ ^^ improvemenfc m public worship and paiochial woik which
the Evangelicals had aheady more than begun, and have since done
much to develop, is unjust and absurd , but that it lias carried
that impiovement furthei is indisputable, and 0111 dibhko foi the
extreme forms of modern Eitualism, as indicative of unscnptuial
and outvote tha Executive I have found no trace in tho old records (See
H Venn's Address at Opening of new 0 M House, printed m 0 M
Apnl, 1862, and as Appendix B in his Monion, p 405 }
* Apologia, p 87
THE ENVIRONMENT o* rue PERIOD 289
teaching, ought not to blind us to the fact Moieover, the PARC IV,
faithful Anglican Chustian to whom the old doctrines of giace 1824-41,
are dearei than life itself has learned fiorn it to value his GlmP 2C|
great inheritance in an ancient histouc Chuich, and to rejoice
in being linked, not only with the Fatheis of the blessed Befor-
mation, but also with the Eatheis of Pumitive Chnsteudoni
The continuity of Evangelical lehgion from that of the eaily
Fatheis was shown, it is true, by the Evangelical histonan of the
Church of Christ, Joseph Milnei, fiom whose gioat work Newman
himself confessed that he denved his enthusiasm foi tho Fathcis,
but still it cannot be said that the continuity of tho organic
Visible Church was leah/ed to any extent till it was taught by
the men of Oxfoid This continuity the Evangelical Chiuchman
has learned to value, while not for a moment will ho " unchmch "
those members of othei Piotestant communions that have not
the same advantages as himself He finds now that he can
join in much that is modem m Chuich hfo and oiganiisation,
and that is unquestionably tho indnoct issue of tho Oxfoid
movement, without in the smallest dogiee coinpioini&mg 01
mariing his plain Gospel behois and teachings But this
development of healthy and helpful Chinch hfo has come
giadually , and considenng tho giave cnois with which it was
at fiist too closely connected, we aio not buipiiRetl tbat out
Evangelical fathers dieaded evoiy new advance and suspectod
every successive step
But tbe Chuich Missionaiy Society was vcuy slow to enter into
even legitimate contioveisy It is sfcaitling to lead Bepoit after
Eepoit, and Sermon aftei Seimon, at this ponod, and find no
allusion to the new teachings that weie causing so much alaini
Pratt denounced them in letteia to Bishop Damol Wilson,
Bishop Wilson outm Calcutta delivered a powciful etui go against
them , Bickersteth piotested against S P C K tiacts that scorned
to have caught the infection, and winch woro in fact wuUon by
Dodswoith, one of the Oxfoid paity, who affccrwuida seceded to
Borne, the GhnUwn Obwrvei, m able aiticles, exposed tho
fallacies undeilying Newman's aigumonts But the CMS, as
a society, held its peace And it IR icmaikablo to hnd m tho
Sermon of 1841, by Eiaucis Close, tho Jin>t public avowal of its
being an " Evangelical Institution " And yot m this veiy Seimon
there is the stiongest animation of tho Society's Chmch character,
much more sp<ice being given to thin than to itB Evangelical
charactei The explanation is veiy nimplt) The CMS leadeis
regai ded tho Oxfoid party as "bchiHtnatics" (so Piatt calls
them), and the Evangelicals as the tiuost and fullest representa-
tives of the old Anglican and Befoiraed Church
VOL i
PART IV
Chap 21
Death of
Bishop
Heber
CHAPTER XXI
INDIA CHANGES, Emm,
The Bishops— Daniel Wilson— Lord W Bentmck— Social Reforms-
Abolition of Suttee -Government Patronage of Idolatry— Charles
Grant the Younger and the Company— Resignation of Sir P
Maitland— Work and Influence of R M Bird— Steam Communi-
cation—New Bishoprics— Bishop Come— Bishop Wilson and the
Caste Question— Education— Alexander Duff, his Father and
C Simeon— Duffs Plan— Ram Mohun Roy-Duffs College-The
Early Converts— Duff and Macaulay— The "Friend of India" and
" Calcutta Review"— Duff at home— His CMS Speech
ye tlwwa/ii o/ the Lord $m\j vaXUy sli&ll bo cmaW, and
tnmmtain and lull shall l>e made low and tho cioolod slidl b<j
stt ew07it, and the i ougb pZaces $l<m "— Isa xl 3, 4
ISHOP HEBEBr-gentle Eegnmld Hebei-was found
dead in his bath at Tnchmopoly on Apul 2nd, 1826
It was a young CMS tnissionaay, J W Doian,
who, with the chaplain, lifted the lifeless body out of
the watei During his bnef Indian caicer of two
years and a half, Heber had won all heaits by his unfailing
courtesy, goodness, and earnestness, and his episcopate hadfoi
the first time put Church of England Missions m his vast diocese
on a light footing The soriow in India was unmistakable
Public meetings m honour of his memoiy wcie hold m the tlueo
Piesidency cities, and the testimonies of high officials to his woith
aie very touching" Sir Charles Giey, the Chief Justice of
Bengal, felicitously applied Heber's own picturesque linos— in his
Oxford pnze poem, Pakstm—io the piogress which GluistLimly
might have been expected to make m India untlci Heboi's
sway —
No hammer fell, no poudcious axes HIN&
Like Bomo tall palm the mystic fabric sprung
The news leached England m Septembei, and caused universal
guef The C M S Committee, at a special meeting, expressed m
the stiongest terms their sen&e of the loss sustained by the Church,
and their " giatitude to the Giver of all good for the aliong faith,
ardent zeal, unaffected humility, universal love, and incessant
labouis of this distinguished Pidate " At the same time they
* Printed m the MIWOMP\I Eegist& of Docembui, 182G
BISHOP HEBER
DR ALEXANDER DUFF
BISHOP DANIEL WILSON,
BISHOP COTTON
REV J J WEITBRECHT
REV B BAILEY
tilmr, fioooiid Bishop of Ctiluitba, 1H2.J 1^20
AloMiudoi DuiT, 1) 1) , Poniulor off Mdueatioual MiwtfoHK in. Tnrtlii
Daniol WilHiiu, BiHhoii of Calcutta, 1H^2 1858
IT 1- L OoWon, JMfihop of Calcutta, 1HR8 1WWI
I ] WLirhrocht, MiHHlnnaiy In Bengiil, 1H.JO IBW
INDIA CHANGES^ REFORMS^ DEVELOPMENTS 291
adopted a memonal to the Government, uigmg the establishment PART IT
of more Bishopucs m India, seeing that no one man could sustain
the lesponsibiities and labours of such a diocese The SPG
and S P 0 K did the same But seven yeais moie weie to elapse
before any step was taken to supply this uigent need, and nine
years before it was actually supplied
And meanwhile, two moie episcopal lives weie sacnficed The
next Bishop, Dr James, only lived in India eight months , and Turner*1"
the fourth Bishop, Dr J M Tuinei, only eighteen months The
latter was deeply mourned He had thiown himself with aidour
into missionary labours, m cordial sympathy with both SPG
and 0 M S Come wiote that he was " oy fai the best suited foi
the appointment of any who had occupied it," and again, when
Turner lay on his dying bed, " To the Indian Chinch the loss will
be greater than any yet suffered " The CMS Committee in
then: minute on heaung the news, spoke of his " combination of
liteiary attainments with great devotedness to the seivice of his
Heavenly Master," of his " judicious counsels," of his " paternal
and social mteicouise with the missionanes," and of his " bright
example of fidelity, zeal, and unwearied labour "
The death of the fouith Bishop cioated the utmost constei nation gout
m England The Societies, CMS included, again memorialized dead°pa
the Government to establish more bishopncs , but the Befoim JJJJd
agitation absoibed attention, and nothing was done Meanwhile next ?
the vacancy must be filled up, and who would go? In the
present day the question would natuially be asked, Aie there no
suitable men in India itself, aheady inured to the climate? But
an affirmative answer to this question in 1831 would have been of
little practical use There were excellent chaplains, well fitted
to be bishops Thomason was dead, but there were Can of
Bombay, Eobmson of Madras, and, above all, Come of Calcutta,
who as Archdeacon, had three times found himself the acting
head of the English Chuich in India, m the inteivals between
the successive episcopates But to appoint one of these meant
(1) a lettei to India, (2) the voyage of the one chosen to England
foi consecration, (3) his voyage out again, and thus some
eighteen months would be spent befoio India could have another
bishop, 01 two years since Turner's death Someone must
be sent out ready consecrated from England, but again, who
would go ?
Bishop Turner, befoie sailing for India in 1829, had attended
the first annual meeting of the Islington Church Missionary
Association, which Daniel Wilson had founded m the previous
year * The Vicar, m the chair, promised the Bishop that " if at Da«i«t
any time Islington could give 01 do anything to benefit India,
they were leady " The Bishop said " he would undoubtedly call
for the redemption of the pledge at some future time " It was
* See p 258
u 2
294 INDIA CHANGED REFORMS, DEVELOPMENTS
PART IY raised that it was dangerous to meddle with ancient and beneficent
1824-41 xehgions , and some of the Euiopeans defended the old barbarities
Chapel wl|.g g^a^ persistence than the moie enlightened Natives them-
Abohtion selves The first reform was the abolition of Suttee, or widow-
of suttee burning Shocking accounts of individual lecent cases of this
terrible custom, taken from official leports presented to Parha-
ment, weie published in the Missionary Register - Chustian
officers who came home described the hoi lois they had themselves
witnessed t And as legaids the prevalence of Suttee, a parlia-
mentary paper stated that, m Bengal alone, 5997 widows had
been buint alive in the pieceding ten years { Yet m the very
same blue-book, an Anglo-Indian official vindicated the rite as a
species of voluntary death, " as when a high-spirited female, in
defence of hei chastity, piefers loss of life to loss of honour," and
depiecated the abolition of what (to use his own woids) they
consideied " a light affliction working for them an exceeding
weight of glory " ' fc And Lord Ashley (afterwaids Loid Shaftes-
buiy) when in office at the India Board in 1828 was "put down
at once as a madman " because he thought Suttee wrong || But
Mr Buxton in Parliament, and Mr Poynder, a sohcitoi on the
CMS Committee, in the Couit of East India Directors, weie
agitating for the abolition of this "light affliction", and in 1829
Loid William Bentinck, by a stroke of his pen, put an end to
Suttee If Other enactments followed, forbidding the vanous
crimes above enumerated
East India jn I8%$t twenty yeais had elapsed since the momoiablo levision
Char£"y B of the East India Company's Charter in 1813, and the time had
renewed come ^or a ^ur^ner levisioii Now came Charles Grant's oppor-
tunity He not only completely alteied the position of the
Company as a commeicial body, thi owing the Indian tiade open
to the woild, but he thiew the country open too, and it was no
longer necessary foi every missionary 01 othei "interloper" to
get the Company's license to settle theie Moreovei, ho seemed,
at last, the authority to eieet two more bishoprics, and the money
to suppoit them Without him, little would have been done
Theie was no excitement in the religious woild, as m 1813 , and
the CMS Reports scarcely notice the subject The Company
had conciliated the Christian public by the abolition of Suttee, and
also by a despatch to India on the veiy eve of the Ghaitei Bill
coming before Parliament
This memorable despatch, inspired by Charles Grant, dealt with
the great and complicated subject of the connexion of the State with
* See vol foi 1824, pp 238, 278 Some of those accounts showed thai
inflow-burning was not always voluntary, cases being given of young widows
forced, soieaimng, on to the funeial pile
f Ibid , 1825, p 250 } 1M , 1828, p 75
§ Zfed, 1828,p 76 1 LtfeofLnr&81utftealAirv,VQ\ i p 82
1" Tho official Regulation is printed in tho Mwwnai »/ llcgistw for 1830,
p 1S5
INDIA CHANGES^ RFFORMS} DEVELOPMENTS 295
idolatry The theoiy of the Government of India was absolute PART) IV
religious neutiahty and toleiatiou , but the theoiy bioke down in 1824-41
practice When the Butish arms conqueied and annexed an GhaP 21
Indian state, laige or small, the British rule of comse succeeded state
to the lesponsibilities and duties of the dispossessed goveininents pf^age
IT ,1 r f, t i -i i j ± 1 T n oi idolatry
Now these often included giants to temples and mosques, the
collection of taxes and dues foi then maintenance, the admim&tia-
tion of lands belonging to them, police piotection foi idoLitious
iites, and honours (such as salute-hung) to idol-festivals The
English goveinois and adnumstuitois m a newly-annexed distuct
simply continued the piactice of then Native piedecessors,
generally quite oblivious of the fact that this ically involved the
pationage, by a professedly Ghnstian nation, of leligious systems
and customs that weie not only false but cmcsl and degiading ,
and even when they came to think about it, they justified it on
the giound that to withdiaw the aid and piotection so given would
be an interfeicnce with the lehgions of the countiy, and theiofoie
inconsistent with the neutrality piofossed It was Claudius
Buchanan who fiist loused the Chustian conscience of England
by his account of the hoiTois of Juggernaut, of which he was an
eye-witness m 1806 The temple and its abominable ntes weie
actually suppoited by what was called the pilgi im-ta\, a capitation ^he
tax imposed on tho hundreds of thousands of pilgiwis who pite1^"
lesorted to thorn, collected by government officials, handed to the
Brahman pnests, and any balance (genoially a laigo one) appio-
pnated foi the geneial tevenue of the Company In ol/hoi woids,
as Kaye expiosses it, the Bntish Goveinniont in India " acted as
churchwaiden to Juggernaut" The system of which this was
typical gi actually became moie and moio offensive in the eyos of
Christian men in England , and at tho public meetings of the
missionaiy societies the pilgum-tax became a common object of
denunciation The question, however, was not a simple one,
Supposmg the tax abolished, would not that cncomagc moie
pilgrims to resort to the temples ? And as regaida tomple estates,
would not a withdiawal fioin then admmisli akm tempi the
Native trustees who might be appointed to peculation and corrup-
tion ? Charles Giant, however, sot himbelf solemnly, and as m
the sight of God, to con&idor tho whole subject , and the result
was his deep conviction that England must wash its hands of all
association with idolatiy, whaievoi the consequences Having
come to this decision, he persuaded the icluctant Directors to fall
m with his view, and the famous despatch of 1833 was sent out, Grant's
amid a choius of thanksgiving fiom all who cared for thedwpfttch
evangelization of India
But it was one thing to send such a despatch, and quite The
/another thing to get it obeyed In the Madras Presidency it
was openly ignored— the new Bishop of Madias (of whom moie
piesently) being publicly rebuked by the Governor m Gouncil
foi piosentmg (m 1835) a respectful memorial from the cleigy
296 INDIA CHANGES^ REFORMS^ DEVELOPMENTS
IV and godly laity on the subject But Lord W Bentmck was
not now at kead- °* ^e ^uPreme Government at Calcutta,
nor was Charles Giant (who had become Lord Glenelg) any
longer at the Board of Contiol, and the East India Directors
m Leadenhall Street resisted every effoit made by Mi Poynder
and otheis to get the despatch of 1833 carried out In 1837, the
year of Queen Victona's accession, the Company, inspired by a
new President of the Boaid of Contiol, Sir John Hobhouse, sent
out a discieditable despatch, vntually appiovmg of the delay in
cai lying out its ciders of four yeais befoie , wheieupon a staitlmg
event occurred Su Peregrine Maitland, Commandei-m-Chief of
Maitiand the Madias Airny, lesigned his post rathei than give any furthei
resigns ^g^ng t0 the troops to do honoui to the idols This giand act
of self-saciifice won the battle The excitement in Chustian
circles in England was intense, Paiharnent was roused, | and
Sir J Hobhouse had to promise to send out perernptoiy oidois
that the despatch of 1833 was to be obeyed without fuithei delay
This was done in August, 1838, and left no excuse foi the local
Indian authorities Nevertheless, fuither measures had to be
taken , and though the instiuctions were partially carried out, it
was not till 18ll that public honouis to idols weie finally
abolished All through these years, the Chuich Missionary
Society was strongly exeicised on the subject, and repeatedly
memonahzed the Home Government , and gieat was the lejoicmg
victory when at last the victoiy had been really won, and the disgiace to
atiaat Christian England finally wiped out J
* His exact act was this Two Christian pnvates had rofuaod to fiio their
muskets to salute an idolatrous piocesaion , and Su P Mutlaml iclusod to
sign the order for their punishment; " lie called his family lound him,
explained, to them the poveity into which they would bo plungod by hin
resignation They timtod in desiring that he should obey hw counuonco
All the Aimy, including tho Duke ot Wellington, thought him urong, and
the East India Company condemned him , but his manly and Htraightfoiward
explanation of his conduct won the Duke over to his sido, and at loiigth tho
Government gave him tho goveinoislup ot tho Capo of Good IIopo " (From
Venn's Pnvate Journals, 1854) A different and voiy intoioaimg \oxsicm
was given by the late Rev J H Gray m the C I/ Intdlujcnur ot Boptotuboi,
1887 Mr Gray was at Madias at the time, and he states that one oi Uio ihst
papois put before Su P Maitland for signatuie \vaa a document sanctioning
the appointment and payment of dancing girls ±01 a certain Hindu temple
This he refused to sign, and appealed to the Company Tho Duactois
declined to give way, and Maitland tlioieupon resigned
\ Mr Ghay (see preceding note) imfchor states that ho himself Bilbao
quently sent home to Maitland an account and sketch of an outrageous act
of homage to an idol committed by a high English official , and Bishop
Blomneld took thorn to the House of Lords, exhibited thorn thoro, and
threatened to send the sketch bioadcast ovei tho countiy, and that this
menace settled the question in Paihamont
} The whole hi story can bo traced out m the M wwnai \i flt/t^/cr, ]S32 to
1841 It is summamed m Kayo's O/mshtunij/ in Jntlia, pp ilH— 410, and,
more briefly, in an able paper by Mr (now Sir) W Maokwoith Young, now
Lieut -Governor of the Punjab, load boforo the Cambndgo Church Missionary
Union, and printed in the 0 li Intelliyenc&i of Fobiutuy, 1885
INDIA CHANGES, REFORMS, DEVELOPMENTS 297
This period was one of material as well as moral lefoim and PART IV
development It was one of important sei vices rendered by very o?24"^
eminent civil servants of the Company For example, Bobeit **£_
Merttms Bud, who, while at the head of the Bevonue Department R M Bird
in the Noith-West Piovmces, planned and earned out the survey Thompson
and land settlement of that nninen&e territory, becoming thcieby
recognized as the chief authority on a most complicated subject,
and saving twenty millions of people horn miseiy and mm
Dr Or Smith mentions James Thomason, John Lawienoo, and
William Murr, as coming "under the spell of Meittms Bud",
and Su B Temple says that Bud, " a bom lender of men," and
Thomason, "fonned the great school of administrators in the
North- West Piovmces" I "To have been selected by Robert
Bud," says Mi Boswoith Smith, " as a helpci in the gieat woik
in which he was engaged, was looked upon as a feather 111 the cap
even of those who weie destined soon to eclipse the fame
of then old pation " f Thomason wioto that he found Bird
"so instructive and communicative on subjects which regard
another woild," and they discu&sed together "how to cany
out then Ohrifitian principles into then daily walk as public
servants " ^ His and his sistei's work m the QMS Gorakhpur
Mission will be mentioned hereafter On Ins retirement to Eng-
land he became a regular and valuable member of the CMS
Committee
One branch of material progress must be noticed, because
it has had untold influence upoir the practical woilung of India
Missions This was the establishment of ntoam communication Steamers
between England and India Moieovei it was under LordB-Sand
W Bentmck's administration that tho initiative was taken, and an<* India
the virtual loader in taking it was Bibhop Darnel Wilson
It has boen mentioned that the news of Hcbor's death on
April 2nd reached England nr September That one fact suf-
ficiently illustrates the position at tho time On December 9th,
1825, four months before Heber died, tho fust steamer fiotn
England reached Calcutta , but she had come round the Cape,
and taken five months to accomplish tiro voyage, — no faster, m
fact, than the old East Indiamon , »md it was found that oven a
full complement of passengeis in "tho cabin" would not pay for
tho fuel expended || Natuially, nothing moia was done When
Darnel Wilson arrived at Calcutta in 1R32, ho found the question
revived, and under discussion It interested him a/t once , foi no man
ever felt moie keenly the separation from home friends " Thice
points of abstinence," ho said, " would promote calmness of mind
* Tivdve Infaan SfotowMsn, p 7fi Bud's sooond itamo is \auoiialy spolt in
diffierent books <( Morttma " is tlio cm rot t form
•( Men and Emits of My B»»w in India^ p 40
f Ltfeo/Lmil Lawcnw, vol i p 9ti
b ftuhra oj Utlw Tlwnwnn> by Sir K Tomplo P 71
I Mimomry Register, 1825, p 501), 18^0, p 263
2g8 INDIA CHANGES ', REFORMS, DEVELOPMENTS
PAST IT m India (1) never to look at a theimometer , (2) nevei to talk
a^ou^ ^le aillva^ 01 &on-an.ival of ships , (3) nevei to reckon
up minutely the weeks and months of lesidence " Good rules,
obseives his biogiapher, but nevei so badly kept as in his case ,
for he constantly made written notes of all three oucumstances I
But his keen desue foi qmckei communication with the home-
land led him to thiow himself into the new projects A pubhc
meeting to piomote them was held, at which he was not piesent ,
and it was a failuie No money was subscubed, and without
money nothing could be done The veiy next moinmg Loid W
Bentmck and Mi (afteiwaids Sn) Chailes Tievelyan met him out
iiclmg , and the lattei said to the Bishop, " My Loid, I wish you
Bishop would step forwaid " Daniel Wilson that day wiote a letter to
Sis the ^e c^ie^ magistrate, offering donations fiom himself and family
movement for BO gieat an object The lettei was published, and received
with enthusiasm , another meeting was held, the Bishop himself
piesidmg, and in a few weeks two thousand five hundied
subscriber had raised 167,000 rupees, then equal to neaily
£20,000 The Bishop continued at the head of the movement
He wrote to influential people in England— thn teen long letters to
Chailes Giant alone " To have a ceitam post," he said,
" starting on a given day, aiiivmg at a given day, leturnmg at a
given day — and that day one-half eailiei than the aveiage amvals
now — would be as life fiom the dead ' Positively it would make
India almost a subuib of London 1" And he dwelt on the
influence of inventions in othei ages upon moial piogiess —
" What an invention the maunei's compass I What an invention
the art of printing I By those two discovenes the woild became
accessible to knowledge and irnpiovement The Rcfoimation
sprang from then bosom " ;
His eneigy was successful Chailes Giant intioduced the
question m the House of Commons, fiom the Tieasmy Bench,
on June 3rd, 1834, a Parliamentary Committee lepoited favour-
ably, Government subsidies were offered, mail steam era weie set
running between England and Alexandna, othci steameis (at
first foui times a yeai 1) between Suez and Bombay , in 1841 the
£h|0 P & 0 Company organized the lattei service systematically,
service with steameis of the great size (as then thought 1 ) of 1600 tons and
500 horse-power , and India was bought within two months of
England The Suez Canal was not then dreamed of , noi the
gigantic and luxunous vessels that now bring us lettei q m twelve
days But gieat issues spring horn small beginnings , and it will
mteiest all readers of this History to nnd that the man who really
set the ball rolling was the gieat Evangelical Missionary Bishop
of Calcutta
It has been mentioned that the Charter Act of 1833 piovided for
* This narrative IB condensed fiom a long account m tlio liije of .BuTiojp Z)
, vol i chap 12
INDIA CHANGES, RMORMS, DEVELOPMENTS 299
the establishment of two new bishopucs, viz , foi Madias and P \BTIY
Bombay This was really in puisuance of a plan laid before 1824-41
Grant and the Government by Bishop "Wilson pnoi to his Gliai? 21
depaitnie foi India , and great was his joy when he heaid of its
being included in the Bill Let it be remembered that this was 5[J8lJ°prIc8
the Reform Ministry, by which the Iii&h Chinch was being and
despoiled of seveial of its bishopucs, whose chief had told the bay
English Bishops to set then houses m oidei, and whose doings
inspired Keble's menioiable sermon at Oxford on National
Apostasy, and we see the more cleaily what India, owed to
Chailes Grant, the worthy son of his distinguished father
Wilson at once wrote home asking that Aichdeacou Couie might
be Bishop of Madras, that Archdeacon Bobmson of Madias
might be Bishop of Bombay, and that Archdeacon Can of Bombay
might succeed Come in the Archdeaconry of Calcutta Various
delays, however, ensued, but at length, m 1835, Conic, having
conie home, was consecrated first Bibhop oi Madias Can
ultimately became fust Bishop of Bombay, but this was not
till 1837
Thus, at length, one of the " hve chaplains " who had kept the Bishop
Gospel lamp binning m Bengal in the Dark Period prior to 1813 Corne
became a bishop of the Chinch he had m faithfully seivod For
nearly thirty years, Come, gentle and unobtrusive as ho was m
character, and chaplain as he was in ecclobiastical status, had
been indisputably the chief missionary of the Chinch of England
in India Almost all the mission stations in North India had
been started by him He had never sought great things for
himself He just " served his own generation by the will of
God,3' with a quiet devotion and unfailing discretion that had
made him loved and U listed by all And now, having passed his
years in the North, ho entered a new sphere of labour m the
South as Bishop of Madras But it was for a little while only
For lather more than a JGAI he so acted as to wm, all heaits— •
except those of the u ate governor and officials who icsentcd his
gentle protest against thou disobedience to tho order forbidding
honours to idols,— and thon God took him, on February 5th, HIB
1837, to tho intense grief of all Chmtiam, m India, and of tho
Church Missionaiy Rociofcy at home IIci was succeeded by
Bishop Spencer , and when Can was consecrated to the new
see of Bombay, there were, at last, three Bwhopa for India
During Gome's bnof episcopate, thoie was one matter which
much burdened his mind This was the gruat Caste Question in The caate
the Native Church It had not troubled him during his long
career rn the North Caste difficulties have never been so acute
there as m the South For one Hung, tho influence* of Moham-
medanism has tended to minimize the influence of the minute
distinctions and lestnotions which m tho South reign undistui bod
The Brahmans, of course, are sti ict everywhere , but the numeious
lower castes are far more jealously marked off in the South than
300 INDIA CHANGED, REFORMS, DEVELOPMENTS
PAET IT m the Noith In Bengal, for instance, a Sudra is a low-caste
cnf^'lai man ' ku* m •^•a^Laa» ne 1S a high-caste man, because theie are
ap beneath him endless fuithei landi cations of the sy&teni Foi
another thing, Native Chustian communities scaicely existed in
the Noith in Gome's time , but in the South they weie numeious,
and there was room within the Church for the development of
the caste spirit In fact, as has been before mentioned, the
Danish and Geiman missionaries who had gathered these com-
Cagte in mumties peirnitted the ictention in the Chinch of many chenshed
the Native caste customs A note to one of Bishop Wilson's Chaages
church eriumerates fifty distinct usages common among them which he
legaided as inconsistent with the spint of Ghustunity The
principal were these — the diffeient castes enteied chinch by
different dooxs, and sat on difteient sides, they xeceived the
Lord's Supper sepaiately, sometimes using separate cups, the
missionary himself had to receive last, foi feai of defiling the
Sudra communicants, a Sudra catechist or mmistei would not
reside in a Pariah village, nor would a Sudra congregation leceive
a Pariah teacher , a Ghustian Sudia would give his daughtei to
a Heathen of the same caste lather than to a fellow-Ghnstun of
a lower caste, and seveial othei degrading distinctions aftected
the lelations between the sexes Moreovei, the Ghiistians, in
oider to letam their positions m the castes they lespectively
belonged to, "mingled with the Heathen and learned then
works " they observed heathen utes, employed heathen danceis
and musicians at festivals, woie heathen ca&te-maiks, and so
forth
Attitude The thiee 01 foui old S P G K missionanes who still supci vised
ariSiasion" ^e ^amil congregations m Bishop Hebei's tune, including the
' veneiable and veneiated Kohlhoft, had toleiated these usages), as
their predecessors had done, though without liking them But
the youngei men who now began to airive in the countiy, some
sent by the S P 0 K itself, some by the G M S , and some, a few
ycais later, by the S P G- , were disposed to adopt a iumoi
attitude against them , and of these Eheniub, the G M S
missionary, was the virtual leadei Hebei was appealed to on
the subject, and he was about to mqunc into it on tho spot when
of Bishop he died at Tuchinopoly He had, howevei, foimed a piehmmary
Heber, an£ tentative opinion, chiefly based on the views of Ghustian
David, the Ceylon Tamil whom, he had 01 darned at Calcutta.
David uiged, as so many have done befoie and since, that caste
was meiely a mattei of social distinction, and Hebei, mindful
of the social distinctions in England itself, which have nothing
to do with religion, was inclined to take a lenient view of caste
customs But in India caste is far indeed fiom being a mere
social system It is, in fact, the strongest lehgious influence m
the country It is not that a respectable and cleanly nidii objects
to eat with a man of duty habits On the contituy, the vilest
beggar who is a Sudia by descent would coasidoi himself defiled
INDIA CHANGES, RhiORMs, DEVELOPMENTS 301
by contact "With an educated and lespectable Panah Tins was PAIIT IV
the system that was eating the life out of the Native Chinch , and 1824-41
it cannot be doubted that Hebei would have soon peiceived its p
evil had he lived
Bishop Wilson was face to face with the question as soon as he of Bishop
auived in India He took a stiong line at once Basing lnsWllson
decision on the giand New Testament pimciple that m Chnstianity
" theie isneithei Gieek noi Jew, cncumcision noi uncncumcision,
Barbauan, Scythian, bond noi fiee, but Chust ifa all, and m all,"
he dnected that, as legaids Chinch usages, " caste must be
abandoned, decidedly, immediately, finally " But when hib lettei
was lead to the pimcipal congregations, at Yepciy, Tiichmopoly,
and Tan] 01 e, the Sudia Chi i stuns openly levoltccl At Tanjoie,
wheie Kohlhoff had presided ovei the Chuich foi many yeais, not
only did the bulk of the congiegation aL onco secede, but the
inajonty of the native inimstieis 01 " countiy pnests," ca.techists,
schoolmasteis, and othei mission employes, icfused compliance,
despite the entreaties of then semoi, the venoiablo Nyaiupiagasen,
then eiglity-thico years of ago, and all these weio thoioupon
dismissed In 1835, Bishop Wilson visited the South, and dealt Bishop
earnestly and lovingly with the disalfccted Chiibtians, pleading
with them the example of tho Good SamauUn, who dul not stop
to ask who the " ceitam man " waa, noi di earned of being denied
by touching him "And what," exclaimed tho Bibhop, using
from his seat in the ciowdcd chinch, "did oiu bles&ed Mabtei
say to this? 6ro, and do thou hkeivtsG " " A lon^ paii&e," &ays
his biographei, "of motionless and bieathlcsH silence followed,
bioken only when he besought ovoiy one piesenfc to ofttji up this
pray 01, — 'Loid, grve mo a bioken hcait, to leceive the love of
Ghnut and obey His commandb " Whilst tho wholo congtogation
weie lepoatmg tins m Tamil, ho bowed upon tho cushion, doubt-
less entreating holp horn God, and them dismissed them with his
blessing " !
Nevertheless, all his eiloits pioved unsuccessful, and at
Tiichmopoly he began a clelmilely-an angcd plan foi the adminis-
tration of the Holy Communion, to sorve as an object-lesson
He quietly directed who should come up to iccoivo lirbt a Budia
catechist, then two Paiiali catochists, then an English gentleman,
then a Sudia ugam , and to assist his design, the highest Enghah
lady in lank at the station lequosted that a Pauah might kneel
between hei and hei husband In this way, a foimal step was
taken, and it served to band togothm those Native Christians
who confonned But the majonly held aloof, and for many
years gieat difficulties beset thebo old Missions, despite the earnest
woik of the new English missionaries whom tho SPG —having
ere this entirely taken over the work fioin the SPG K— was
about this time beginning to send out In after years the
* Jjt/aqfBwJwpD Wihon, vol i p 463
302 INDIA CHANGES, REFORMS, DEVELOPMENTS
IV difficulties rather increased, owing to the action of the new
1824-41 Mission of the Leipsic Lutheran Society, which allowed caste
p (and does so still), and drew away many members of the SPG
congiegations The CMS and S P G Missions in Tmnevelly
have from time to time had similai difficulties to meet, and
indeed they have nevei been fully sui mounted A senous crisis
in the CMS Kushnagar Mission, m Bengal, foity yeais later,
will meet us m due couise Meanwhile the question has been
noticed in this place in connexion with the thiee Bishops who
fust dealt with it
Education We must now turn to a laige and unpoitant subject which
m indm much occupied the minds of thinking men in India during the
peiiod undei leview— the question of Education
If the Butish inle was to be peipetuated m India, it was felt
that the people must be educated Their degrading super sti-
tions weie largely due to ignorance, and the enlightenment of
then: inmds would open the way to higher moial influences
Moreover, unless the government was always to remain a pure
despotism, pieparation must be made foi the Natives m due time
sharing m the work of administration and legislation It was not,
however, till Loid William Bentinck took up the question, that
anything definite was done by the Government In the mean-
while, m 1818, Carey and his associates had projected a college
at Seiampoie foi the highei education of Natives But that
institution, though m time it came to do excellent woik, was not
in Calcutta The only attempt made at the capital — wheie such
The Hindu an attempt was most needed— was what was called the Hindu
College College, opened in 1817 undei the joint auspices of a few English-
men and Hindus In this institution English was taught, and
English literature and science studied, m the teeth of the opinion
then prevailing m Goveinment cucles, under the influence of the
gieat Sanscrit scholar, H H Wilson, that the light kind of highei
education for the Indian people was the study of classical Oriental
languages, such as Sanscrit and Persian But the Hindu College
was stnctly non-Chnstian, and virtually anti-Chnstian The
English text-books lead weie Hume's Essays and the licentious
plays of the age of Charles II , and even Tom Paine1 s woiks
weie lead with avidity out of school-horn s The consequence
was such a flood of immorality that the very Heathen parents
themselves were alarmed , and the whole cause of English study
was discredited
But now there arrived in Calcutta a man whom God had chosen
to guide the new ambition to learn English into Christian channels,
and to initiate one of the most important of agencies for the
Alexander evangelization of India That man -was Alexander Duff
Duff Duff was a young Highlander , and at first sight it seems hard
to connect him with Charles Simeon of Cambridge Yet one of
the grand things which, all unconsciously, Simeon was in tho
Lord's hands the instrument of dorng, was the forging of the first
INDIA CHANGEI* , ME*QRMS} DEVLLOPMENPS 303
link m the chain of events that led to the gieat Educational PART IT
Missions of India Going back to the yeai m which Simeon lead 1824-41
that paper befoie the Eclectic Society which ougmated the Glml5 21
Chuich Missionary Society, 1796, we iind that m the summei A retro-
of that same yeai he took holiday and went to Scotland At gJJJ^
Moulin, the parish which now contains the familial Pitlochne, he the pansh
visited Mi Stewaifc, an able Pie&byfcenan mmistei of " Modeiate "
views, who "preached a puie and high moiality, and held in a
ceitam sense the doctimes of Chustian oiLhodoxy", but who
" saw no satisfying lesults of his laboiu among his people, and
was himself lestlessly conscious that seciots of spiiitual joy and
powei lay neai him undiscoveied " Indeed, one Sunday he
told his people so, asking them to piary that he might have moie
hght, and piomismg tlut if he got it, ho would impaifc it to thorn ,
which led many to go to chuich week aftei week fiom cunosity,
wondcimg what new levelation would come Then came Simeon,
and Mi Stewait invited him to speak a few wouls to the con-
gregation " I expressed," wntes Simoon, " my feats lospectmg
the foimahty which obtains among all the people, and uiged thorn
to devote themselves tiuly to Jesus Ghiibt " But he adds, " I
was banon and dull God, howevoi is tho same, and His woid is
unchangeable " Yes, and God woiked That night Mr Stewait
came to Snueon's bedioom, and opened his heail* to him, and
from that day foith, with sati&iied mmd and lopicing hoait ho
preached Jesus Chust and Him oiuciiiod, with the leault that,
both at Moulin and afteiwaids in oi/hei piuishcs, nurabois of aoula
weie converted to God Now m that congiogation was a lad of
seventeen, James Duff Whefchei he was piosent when Simoon
preached, and whether he was impi cased, wo know not, buL
undei Mr Stewait's now faithful ministry he was led to yield
himself to the Lord Ten yeais afteiwiuds, run eon Alexander
was born, and this son always attubuted his own decision for
Chnst to the influence c\nd example of Ins fathei So Di Gooige
Smith begins his bulliant Life of J)n/f with these wouls,— " The
spmtual ancestry of Alexandoi Duff it is not difficult to tiaco to
Chailcs Simeon " |
In due comse Alexander Duff went to St Andrew's University, Duff and
and having taken the highest honouis m classics, s.tt down to amftrs
study theology at the feot of Di Chalmois, then at the height of
his gieat reputation Channel & was one of the few Scotchmen who
then cared foi Missions, and duung his live yoais at St Andiew's
six of his most distinguished students dedicated themselves to
the foreign held But the Establwhed Chinch of Scotland was
* Moule's Stmew?, p 169
•f The Btory IE partly told m tho opening pagwj of Dr G Smith's life of
Duff , but m the middle of tho first volumo (v «itJC) uno coinos upon a fulloi
and moie tonchmg account, Apropos of Dufis viBit to Gambridgo m 1886
Fifty years later, a son of Mr Stowart'a was an elder of tlio Bcotoli Olnnoh
at UaUuUa, and hold piayer inootiugB with Duff's conveiis ^/c, vol 11
P 66)
304 INDIA CHANGED REFORMS, DEVELOPMENT
PABT IV not yet a missionary Chinch It was still largely of the opinion
1824-41 Of tfjB Model ator of thirty years before, who m 1796 (the very yeai
p of Simeon's visit to Moulin) had said that " to spiead the Gospel
among heathen nations seems highly pieposterous, in so fai as it
anticipates, nay it e\en leveises, the ordei of nature"! The
Scotch Missions pieviou&ly mentioned in this History, in West
Africa and in Russia, weie the woik of a small voluntary society
But a few leading men in the Church, notably Dr Inghs, weie
now waking up to see that Scottish Presbytenanism should have
representatives in India not chaplains only— them it had aheady
— but missionaries also , and at length, in 1829, Alexander Dun
Duff to was 01 darned to be the mst foieign missionary officially sent foith
Calcutta by the Qhmch of gcotlana
After suffering shipwieck twice on his voyage out, the young
mmistei, twenty -four yeais of age, landed at Calcutta in May,
1830 "When the Natives who could lead the newspapeis saw the
account of his escape from two shipwrecks, they said, " Surely
this man is a favourite of the gods, who must have some notable
work for him to do in India " After visiting every missionary
and mission station in and round Calcutta, he formed his own
Duffs plan for an entnely new agency It was " to lay the foundation
scheme Q| ft Sys|jem Of elation which might ultimately embrace all the
branches ordinarily taught in the highei schools and colleges of
Chiistian Europe, but in maepaiable combination with the Chus-
tian faith and its dockmes, piecepts, and evidences, with a view
to the practical regulation of life and conduct Beligion was to
be, not rneiely the foundation upon which the supeistructuie of
all useful knowledge was to be leared, but the, animating spit it
which was to pervade and hallow all " The Bible was to be
read and expounded daily, " while the teacher prayed, at the same
time, that the truth, might be biought home, by the grace of the
Spait, for the real conversion to God of at least some of the stu-
dents " In view of the teachings of Scripture and Chinch history,
Duff " did not expect that all, 01 the majority, of these Bengali
youths would certainly be thus tuined , foi in nominal Christen-
dom he felt that few have been, 01 aie, so changed, under the
most favourable circumstances That ( many aie called but few
chosen,' however, only quickened his zeal But he did expect
that, if the Bible were thus faithfully taught 01 preached, some at
least would be turned fiom their idols to serve the Irving God " t
its in. Such is the system which almost all the principal missionary
fluence societies in India have since adopted, which lias often been
results assailed for its paucity of direct results, but the indirect results of
which have been incalculable Even in direct results, it has not
failed those who have worked it on Duffs principles as above
stated Let it be granted that the true converts from among the
higher and educated classes in India have been few in comparison
- - n -
T /„ „/ miff vnl i TJ 110 j I6w?,p 109,
INDIA CHANGES^ REFORMS, DEVELOPMENT
with the whole villages of poor cultivatois that have come
'in the South But it is as true at home as in India that " not
many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble
are called" , and as a matter of historical fact, scarcely one such
convert has been made in India except thiough the agency, duect
or indirect, of Missionary Education
But although it is too late to cnticuze the system now, one is
not surprised that it was opposed at fiist Di Bryce, the senior The plan
Presbyterian chaplain, whose chief occupation seems to have been oppoacd
fighting the Anglican bishop (at least in Middlcton's time) on
points of piecedence and the like, and whose gieat chinch waq
empty while the godly Scotch people went elsewhere, gave Duif
no sympathy • Noi did a single missionary in Calcutta appiove
the young Scotchman's project "You will deluge the city,"
they said, "with rogues and villains " But the Hindu College
was doing that already Theie was no means of stopping the
demand for English now The stream of tendency was rising
rapidly, and all that could be done was to direct it into good
channels That was Buff's purpose He found no fault with the
simple preaching and teaching aheady m vogue, though the
lesults so far had been infinitesimal There were then loss than
twenty conveits from Hinduism or Mohammedanism m Cal-
cutta, half of them. Anglican and half Baptist But Duff said,
"While you engage m directly sepaiatmg as many piecious
atoms from the mass as stubborn lesibtanco to ordinary appliances
can admit, we shall, with the blessing of God, devote oui time
and stiength to the preparing of a mine, and tho setting up of a
train which shall one day explode and teai up the whole fiom
its lowest depths 'M And God gave him, too, some "piecious
atoms," sooner than he 01 any one else thought possible
But though Duff got no suppoit from the older nnssionaiies, he
was greatly encouraged -by one remmkablo Hindu— Bam Mohun Ram
Eoy, the Erasmus of India, as Di Geoigo Smith calls him
Forty yeais befoie, without ever coming across a raissionaiy
(for there were none), Earn Mohun Eoy had lecoiled fiom the
degrading supeistitions of Patna and Benaios, and had wutten
an attack on " the idolatrous system of the Hindus " The study
of English subsequently mtioduced him to the Bible, and then
to the further study of Gieek and Hebiew In 1814 he founded
the Biahmo Sabha — the piogemtor of the Biahmo Samaj— " to
teach and to practise the woiship of one supiome, undivided,
* It ought, however, to be stated that Dr Bryco had, m 1825, written homo
to the General Assembly, asking that august body to send out one 01 two
Scotch clergymen who could spook, hko thoso of tho Church of England, with
the sanction of an "Ecclesiastical Establishment," BO tliat thwr Mission mitfhfc
have the support of " Constituted Kcclosiastlcal Authority " Om Pioabytcrian
brethren of tho Church of Scotland have always laid ovon more stress on
their <c Established" position than tho old-fashioned High Churchmen of
England
•j Dr G Smith's Duff, p 108
306 INDIA CHANGES, REFORMS} DEVELOPMENTS
PABT IT and eternal God " The orthodox Hindus theieupon founded the
I824r4l Dharma Sabha, in defence of Brahmamsin with all its ntes and
Chapjl ougtomSj Buch M guttee »Thus," says Di G Smith, "Hindu
society in Calcutta became divided into opposing camps, while
the Hindu College youths foimed a thud entienchment in support
of pure atheism and hbeitmisni These weie the thiee poweis at
work, unconnected by any agency save the slow and indirect
influence of English literatuie in the hands of vicious teacheis,
unopposed by Chnstiamty in any form, denounced at a distance,
but not once fairly grappled with, by any Chustian man, fiom the
Bishop to the Baptist missionaries "
Earn Mohun Roy had already given important aid to Loid W
Bentmck in the abolition of Suttee Now he wairnly welcomed
Duff Duff, entered into his piojects, heaitily appioved of his dotermma-
.j.lon f.Q kg.^ gcripture-reading and prayer in the proposed school,
and lent him the small hall of the Brahrno Sabha to begin his
work in On July 13th, 1830, only six weeks after landing —
having learned some Bengali on his long voyage— Duff opened
ms new school Several high-class youths, most of them Brah-
mans by caste, had been persuaded by Earn Mohun Eoy to
attend Let us read Dr G- Smith's picturesque account of this
great and memorable day *—
A memo- "Standing Tip with Ram Mohun Roy, while all the lads showed the
Bame respect as their own rajah, the Christian missionary prayed the
Lord s Prayer slowly m Bengali A sight, an hour, ever to bo remem-
bered 1 Tnen came the moie cutical act Himself putting a copy of
the Bengali G-ospels into then hands, the missionaiy requested some of
the older pupils to read There was murmuring among the Btahmans
among them, and this found voice m the Bengali protest of a leader—
' This is the Christian Shaster we are not Christians , how then can we
read it ? It may make us Chiistians, and our fi lends will dnve us out of
caste ' Now was the time for Ram Mohun Roy, who explained to his
Smug countryman that they weie mistaken 'Christians like Dr,
orace Hayman Wilson have studied the Hindu Shasters, and you know
that he has not become a Hindu I myself have toad all tho Koran
again and again, and has that made me a Mussulman P Nay, I have
studied the whole Bible, and you know I am not a Christian Why then
do you fear to read it ? Read and judge for yom selves Not compulsion,
but enlightened persuasion, which you may lesist if you choose, con-
stitutes you yourselves judges of the contents of the book * Most of
the remonstrants seemed satisfied "
months passed away The school had become famous
three hundred boys were m regular attendance , and tho fiist
annual examination astounded the English residents who attended
it Then Duff arranged for a quiet course of evening lectures, in
his own house on Natural and Revealed Religion, for students of
both his own school and the Hindu College Twenty attended
the fiist , but the second was never delivered The whole city
was alarmed Students of the Hindu College had attended a
* Life of Duff, vol -i p 121
INDIA CHANGES, REFORM^ DEVELOPMENTS 307
Christian lecture in a missionaiy's house ! Di H H Wilson and PART IY
the other anti-Chnstian Englishmen at the head of the Hindu
College foibad then pupils to attend religious discussions , and
the Government weie accused of letting a " wild Padre " bieak its
boasted neutrality Duff sought a private mteiview with Lord
William Bentinck, who assured him of his deep sympathy, but
advised caution But the young students of the Hindu College students
themselves resented the outciy, and boldly claimed libeity to f/berty,
attend Chustian lectures if they liked They staited a papei of and break
then own, the Enquirer, which was edited by the leading spirit
among them, Knshna Mohun Baneijea, a Kulm Biahman
They ostentatiously met together and bioke caste by eating beef,
and in then wild and unrestiamed assertion of freedom, they
grossly insulted a holy Brahman by tossing the remains of then
repast into his mnei court Theieupon K M Baneijea (who,
howevei, was not present when this was done) was expelled from
family and home " I was perfectly regardless of God," he aftei-
waidswiote, "yet He foigot me not" He and his associates,
sobered by the outcry, and convinced now that they wanted some
positive tiuth to fill the "aching void" left by then apostasy
fiorn Biahmanism, came and sat at Duffs feet to learn of
Chustianity as humble seekeis aftei truth
Anothei twelve months passed, and then, on August 28th,
1832, the nist conveit, Mohesh Chunder Ghose, was baptized , The first
not, howevei, by Duff himself, but by the Eev T Dealtiy, the convert8
successoi of Thomason, in the Old Chinch of David Brown and
Buchanan and Henry Marfcyn and Come I* "A year ago,"
exclaimed the young convert after the baptism, " I was an atheist
and a materialist , and what am I now ? A baptized Christian I
A yeai ago I was the most miserable of the miserable , now, the
happiest of the happy 1 In spite of myself, I became a Chus-
tian Suiely this must have boon what the Bible calls giace, fiee
giace, sovereign giace, and if evei thoie was an election of grace
surely I am one " The next was Kushna Mohun Baneijea K M
himself Long drawn towards Socimanism, and unwilling to Baner^ea
"acknowledge the glory of the Eteinal Timity "— " God," he
said, "by the influence of His Holy Spirit, was giaciously pleased
to open my soul to discom its smfubess and guilt, and the suit-
ableness of the great salvation which centred in the atoning
death of a Divine Redeemer " He was baptized on Octobei 17tli
in Duffs schoolroom, by Duff himself, but soon afterwaids ]omed
the Church of England, and both he and Mohesh became teachers
* Tho highest, most exclusive, most sacred section of tho Biahman oasto
f "Foi some unexplained reason," says Dr 0- Smith But Mohosh
Chnnder Grhoso had boon studying at Bishop's College, and tho teachers there
had no doubt spniod no pains to make an Anglican of him Moioover a
certain "Ma/joi JP " (Major Phippa?), who belonged to the Old Church, had
taken him by the hand to lead him to Ohnst 8 P (7 Eepm i for 1832, quoted
in the Mwwnwi y liegtster foi 1833, p 635 , also 0 M fl Hep® tt 1838, p 42
X 2
308 INDIA CHANGES, REFORMS, DEVELOPMENTS
IV in C M S schools Mohesh died in 1837, and his funeral seimon
1824-41 was preached at the Old Church by Banetjea, who had nist been
p 21 oidained by Bishop Wilson Banei]ea was afterwaidB the leading
Native clergyman of the Chinch of England in Bengal, and was
attached to the SPG Then on December 14th, 1832, came a
thud, Gopinath Nundi, well-known m aftei yeais for his courageous
confession of Chust when captuied by the bloodthirsty Moham-
medans m the great Mutiny Once moie, on April 21st, 1833,
Anundo Chund Mozumdai was baptized m the Scotch church ^
Fom "precious atoms" indeed 1— and the piecursois of many
moie in after years
Moimn -^am Mohun ^°y was no* present at these baptisms He had
Roy's come to England, and m England he died, in 1833 If in eailiei
England yeais ne na^ known Duff, he might have been the Luthei of
India If in this countiy he had met Dr Chalmeis, to whom
Duff gave him a letter of mtioduction, he might (humanly
speaking) have been bi ought to Christ But he fell, as so many
like him have done, into the hands of the Unitarians , and he
died at Bristol, declaung that he was neithei Chustian, nor
Mohammedan, nor Hindu
Duffs work was by no means confined to his school He was
only four years m India befoie his health utterly gave way, and he
was sent home, and remained at home six yeais But during his
shoit period at Calcutta he was a power In particulai he mspned
Chailes Tievelyan, who in his turn inspired T B (afterwaids
Lord) Macaulay, who together mspned Loid William Bentmck,
English with the docinne that the English language must be fostoied m
!nn£dife India Not, indeed, to the dispaiagement or discouiagement of
the vernaculais No one knew better, 01 urged moie strongly,
than Duff that no acquned language can evei replace the mothei
tongue But the Benaissance foi India was beginning , and what
Gieek had been to the European Eenaissance of the fifteenth
century, $oma great language with a hteiatuie behind it must be
to India Should it be Sanscrit, or Persian, 01 Arabic ? Yes,
said the Orientalists No, said Duff, and Tiovclyan, and
Maoaulay, let these be studied by linguistic and philological
experts, foi their aichseological value , but mnglidi must be the
medium foi lifting the young Indian mind on to the highoi plane
of Western cultiue, Western science, and Christian truth Pioice
and prolonged was the stiuggle between the Oiiento-mauiacs and
the Anglo-maniacs, as the two paities weie colloquially termed ,
but at last Macaulay 's logic and eloquence, backed by the palpable
* Gopinath Nimcli became a missionary of tho American PiGBbytormu
Church Anundo joined the London Missionary Society Duff hunsulf
explained that the reason why not one of the four lonmmed in the soivico1 of
tho Church of Scotland was that the Church had then no opening for thorn
"If the gronnd of then reasons had not boon romovod," lie wrote, " L should
not have expected any talented young tnan who leam od with zoal to bo
employed in arousing his countrymen, to remain with us—indeed I could not
ask any"— Life of Duf , yol i p 281
INDIA CHANGES, REFORMS, DEVELOPMENTS 309
evidence furnished by Duff' s college, won the day , and Lord W PART IV
Bentinck closed his seven yeais' beneficent lule by issuing the i?24"!1,
order-m-council which decided the supiemacy of the English p '
language in the Highei Education of India
Both evil and good lesults have followed But the evil was
sure to come, whatever the decision was , while the good belongs
to the actual decision itself To name only one thing Every
cold season now, Chnstian lectmeis and evangelists visit India, and
find ready foi them eager audiences composed of the creani of
India's young manhood, and uudei standing English To what
do they owe that? They owe it to the foiesight and deteimma-
tion of Bentmck, and Macaulay, and Tievelyan, and Dufi
These developments and lefoims weie gieatly assisted by fclnce
organs m the piess 3?u&t, Duff staitcd the Calcutta Chm> tian The press
Obsei m Secondly, an old quarteily called the I'1/ icncl of India, J."^"
conducted by the Serampoie Baptist missionaues, was m 1835
changed into a weekly papei by Mi JO Maishman, son of
Caiey's colleague Under his editoi&hip, 1835 to 1852, it became
the loading journal of India , and it continued &o under the oditoi-
ship of Mi Meiedith Townsend (afterwaids co-oditoi with Mi
B H Button of the Spectator), 1852 to 1859, and undei that of
Di George Smith (who&e admnablo woiks aio frequently lofcuod
to m this Histoiy), 1859 to 1875— foity yeais allogethei of umquo
influence always cxeicised m a high Ghiibtian spint • Thou
thirdly, m 1844 Gaptam (afteiwtuds Sir John) Kaye, the hibtonan
of the Mutiny, and of Chn&tiamty in India, in conjunction with
Marshmau and Duff, and assisted by Henry Lawience and other
bnlhant officeis and civilians, established the Calcutta liciww
To the weekly Fncnd of India and the quaiteily Calcutta Review
the cause of progiess and enlightenment m India owes much
As to Duffs policy of Missionary Education, it has been the
pattern foi the extensive woik earned on in many parts of India
by the Church Missionary Society , and theiefoie it is that the
foiegomg shoit account of its inception and initiation has found
place in the pages of our Histoiy
Duff found that m Scotland ho had a woik to do almost as Duff at
diflicult, and at first as discouraging, as his woik m India — to ome
aiouse his Chuich to caie for the ovangtih/ation of India The
story of his campaign, first in the General Assembly, | and then
in the Piesbyteues, as told by Dr G Smith, is tlmllmg indeed,
and among the immediate lesults woie the mspumg with mis-
sionary zeal of McGheyne and Someiville, and the actual sending
* It is interesting also that these throe suutoasivo oditoia, Maralmwn,
TownBcmd, and Smith, woio likewise successive Calcmtta correspondents of
the 2\met.
| His wonderful speech m the Assembly is described by Dr G- Smith, who
gives some passages The whole of it i& puntod in Pratt's Mmwnwy
Regwtw , and occupies no loss than twenty foni columns in the JuuQ, July,
August, and Soptemboi numbers of 1S35,
3io INDIA CHANGES, REFORMS^ DEVELOPMENTS
PART IV forth of John Anderson, Thomas Smith, and J Muiray Mitchell
1824-41 Indeed, Scotland has given a far laigei pioporfcion of its ablest
Chap 21 an^ mogf. cujijuie^ men jj0 Foieign Missions than any othei countiy
in the world But this does not belong to our History "What
Duffs does belong to it is the magnificent speech which the young High-
speech lander — he was still only just thirty— dehveied at the Chinch
Missionary Society's Anmveisaiy in 1836,51 to which allusion has
befoie been made No extiacts can give any adequate idea of it,
and yet a few passages must be given
" It is a most affecting thought," he began, " that m beaiching
for the most marvellous pi oofs of the fall of man, we aie not
lequned to go to the outsknts of the terrestnal globe— to the
shoies of New Zealand, 01 to the coast of Labradoi , but to visit
the vast legion of the Bast, which enwiaps in its bosom the ciadle
of the human race, of Eehgion, of Science, of the Pa,tnaichal
Faith, yea, of Chustiamty itself " This he powerfully illustrated
from the actual facts of Indian ignorance, supeistition, and
degradation What, then, was to be done ? " If it be asked what
is the prime mstiument in legenerating a fallen world, most
assuiodly the answei must be— the evei -blessed Gospel, preached,
pioclaimed, or taught by the living voice, and biought homo to
the heait by the Spirit of God " "In this," he obseived, " all
Christians aie agieed", but refeinng to the Eepoit just lead,
which spoke of Schools and Institutions, he added, " Heie pious
minds sometimes demui " Then follows a splendid defence of
Education as a missionary agency How could Englishmen, he
asked, be expected to go to India in sufficient numbers to roach
130 millions (as was then estimated) of Heathen? " Not unless,
by some catastrophe, we should be compelled to flee m thoubauds
from the land of our nativity, as the Jews fled fiom the city of
then fatheis, or as seamen nee from a sinking ship " No, wo
The object must look to native evangelists , and to educate, lead to Chiibt,
SonSuca" an<^ ^ram ^or ^1S service» those who might be so used wan the
Missions giand purpose of Missionary Education " If any object to this,
let them begin at home let them go foith with the dc&tioymg
scythe, to prove the sincerity of their punciples, and mow down
their Chustian Schools of eveiy grade let them toss their
Cambndge and Oxfoid into the depths of the sea, and then,
smiling at the wieck and havoc they have made, declaio that
we act inconsistently in desiring to eiect Chnstian Schools on
the Ganges, as well as on the banks of the Cam 01 of the Thames "
Then Duff enlarged on the intellect of India, winch would bo
satisfied somehow " We have not to do theie with vacuity of
mind lathei, with plenitude of mind " Theiefoie, let us
see to it that, mth the knowledge India would acqune, we gave
her also the knowledge of Jesus Christ and Him crucified,
othei wise we should be training up "versatile and learned
* Miuumfli j/ fitywto, 1836, p 398
INDIA CHANGES, REFORMS , DEVELOPMENT 311
infidels " Finally he appealed to Ins audience Fust as to their PART IT
duty and responsibility, and then—
" But why should I appeal to duty and responsibility alone P— why not _ ~
to the exquisite enjoyment expeiienced by those who know and value fervent
the privilege of being fellow-workers with the gieat God Himself in appeal
advancing that cause for which the ^ orld was originally created, and for
the development of which the world is still preserved in being? I
appeal to all present who bask in the sunshine of the Redeemer's love,
whethei the enjoyment felt in piomotmg the great cause for which He
died m agonies on the Cross, that He might see of the travail of His soul
and be satisfied, is not inefiable ? Oh ! it is an enjoyment which those who
have once tasted it would not exchange for all the treasures of India
It is a joy rich as heaven and lasting as eternity , and, in the midst of
troublous times, when the shaking of the nations and the heaving of
the earthquake which may ere long lend asunder the mightiest empues
have commenced, what stay—what refuge— what hiding-place can be
found like the faith and hopo which are the stionghold of the righteous?
Those whose faith has been firmly placed on the lock of Jehovah's
promises can look across the surges of the tempestuous ocean to the
bnght regions which lie beyond Think of the earth, as it now
is, icnt with noise and liuidened with a ciuse , think of the same
earth, in the ladiance of Prophetic Vision, converted into gladsome
boweis, the abodes of pence and iightoousness Yiew the Empuo of
Satan, at piosent fast bound by the non chains of malignant demons,
who feed and not on the groans and partition of immortal spuits
Behold, fiom the same dark empire, in the leahzation of prophetic
imagery, the new-clad myriads rise, ohauntmg the choius of a Renovated
Creation— the jubilee of a once groaning but now Emancipated Universe !
Oh, that the blessed, era were greatly hastened! Oh, that the
vision of that mitred minstrel who eiewhile sung so sweetly of ' Green-
land's icy mountains ' and * India's coral strand ' were speedily realized 1
—that glorious vision wheiein, rapt into future toes, he beheld the
stieam of Gospel blessings use, and gush, and roll onward till it
embraced every land and circled every shoie—
Till hko a soft of glory,
It spread from polo to polo
" Even so, Loid Jesus ! come quickly even so Amen "
Duff sat down amid a tempest of applause Bishop J B
Sumner, of Chester (afterwards Aichbihhop of Canteibiny), "was
the next speaker He rose, and paused long, waiting, as he
explained, " till the gush of emotion excited had been, somewhat
assuaged " William Gams, then one of the deans of Tumty
College, Cambridge (who, a few months latei, succeeded Simeon Duff and
at Trinity Church), was pi assent, and abked Duff to visit the sfawoa
Univeisity , and tneie the young Scotch missionary met Charles
Simeon, to whose blessed influence over his fathei's pastor his
own career in India was indirectly due It was Simeon's last
link with the India for which he had done so much Six months
later, he enteied into rest
CHAPTER XXIL
ton , Pwmm OF TEE Mmiom
The North India Stations— The Awakening m Knshnagar— Bishop
Wilson's Hopes— Why they failed— Bishop Wilson declines
Ladies— Mrs Wilson— Bombay— Tmnevelly— Rhemus his Work,
his Disconnexion — Progress under Pettitt — The Tmnevelly
Christians Nominal Christianity, Persecution , C M S and S P G
— Travancore Syrians and Heathen , Changed Policy of the Mis-
sion—Madras Seminary— Telugu Mission Fox and Noble— John
Tucker — Controversies with the Corresponding Committees —
Bishop's College— Other Missions in India— Ceylon
"As lie sotocdj some fell bi/ the wmj side ami somfell on ston
and some fell flnwnj/ fliowis an# otli&r Jell on flood goound, and did
i/wld /wt that sprcwu up and increased "— St Maik iv 4-8
IV |E|RflS|$|N our fifteenth Chaptei, we took a bnef suivoy of
182441 m jBt the Society's Missions in India when Bishop Heboi
Okp2 j landed m 1823 Let ^ now yiew them agam as
they appeared m 1841 * In the whole twenty-seven
years, 1814 to 1840 inclusive, the Society had coin-
One missioned exactly one hundred missionaries to woik m India
CM^ ThQ word " sent out " would not be strictly accuiate, as a few of
mission- j.^ were cngacre<l in India Fifty-six were labouimg at the
anesin . . n o D j HIT
India close of 1840 , and among these were such men as Sandys, Long,
Weitbiecht, W Smith, Leupolt, Pfandei, Pettitt, Thomas, Bailey,
Bakei, and Peet
In North India theie was distinct development, although thieo
impoitant cities m which some preliminary woik had been done
by catechists and schoolmasters had not, owing to the paucity of
labourers, been legularly worked, and had diopped out of the list
These were Delhi, Oawnpoie, and Lucknow The two former
have since become great centres of S P G woik , and Lucknow,
aftei the Mutiny, was peimanently occupied by the CMS At
this time Oudh was still an independent kingdom , but it had
been arranged for Abdul Masih to be stationed at the capital, and
after his oidmation by Bishop Heber in Decembei, 1825, ho
pioceeded accordingly to Lucknow But he fell ill soon af Lei his
Death of arrival, and died on March 4th, 1827, after fourteen years' faithful
service as really the first CMS missionary in India, "during
* But tins chapter, at one or two points, looks, foi convenience, u little
beyond that elate
INDIA PROGRESS OF PHE MISSIONS 313
the whole of which time," wrote the Calcutta Corresponding Com- PAM IT
mittee, "he had umfoirnly adorned the doctune of God our i?34"4™
Saviour, and greatly endeaied himself to many Christians of all p
classes in society " Nine years elapsed before the second Native
clergyman in North India was 01 darned— Anund Masih, to whom
refeience was made in Chapter XV
Agra, the scene of most of Abdul Masih's labotus, waa now Basle men
occupied by foui able Euiopeans, Geimans fiom the Basle a £ra
Semmaiy, who had been expelled from the north-west of Peisia
when the Kussians conquered and annexed the province they
woiked in These were Schneidei, Hoernle, Pfander, and Kiei&s
They had made then: way to India without leturning to Euiopo ,
and theie they were gladly taken up by the Calcutta Couebpond-
ing Committee They remained in Lutheian ordeis foi seveial
yeais, but ultimately they (except Kieiss, who died) weie ordamed
as cleigymen of the Chmch of England by Bishop Cotton In
addition to the ordinary woik of pioachmg and teaching, the
rmssionaues had now the caie of a laige numbei of famine
oiphans, thrown upon the Society's hands aftei the tenible
famine of 1837-8 For then accommodation, the Government ^rai^^
gave the Society the tomb of Mniam Zamam (the traditional Secundra
Ghnstian wife of Akbai, the gieat Mogul Empeioi), just opposite
Akbai's own giancl mausoleum at Secundra, six miles from Agra
The Secundia Orphanage was foi some years woiked by Hoemle,
who also started a mission pi ess, at which the oiphan boys, as
they grew up, were employed
At Benares, W Smith and Leupolt weie now in the full tide of fSthand
the noble woik which foi foifcy yeais they canjed on together, to
the admiration of all India Smith was the itmeiant pieacher,
in the city and in the surrounding country, Leupolt was the
organizer of schools, orphanages (heie also famine orphans weie
taken charge of in 1837-8), industrial institutions Under his
superintendence, the little Christian village at Sigra, a subiub
of Benares, became a happy centie of industry and good
influence
A new Mission had been begun in 1824 at Goiakhpur, north-
west of Benares, near the frontioi of Ncpaul It was, like so
many other Indian mission stations, skilled at the lequest, and at
the expense, of a Government official This was Mi B M Bud,
the Commissioner of the distiicfe, who, like othei civil ofliceis,
did all m his powei for Missions while m India, and joined the
CMS Committee when he retrained to England,1 His sister,
a weak and delicate lady, laboiued most devotedly by his sido
at Gorakhpui, teaching the women and girls, and to aaislating books
and tiacts into Urdu, until hei death fiom cholera m 1834 Lord
"William Bentmck took much interest in this Mission, and allotted
to it a large tract of waste land, to be cultivated by the Native
* Soo p 297
314 INDIA. PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS
PAET IV Christians, and upon it was built a village for them to dwell in,
name(^Basharatpur, " Town of the Gospel " The first rmssionaiy,
the Bev M Wilkinson, baptized some notable converts, paiticularly
Sheikh Ra]i-ud-dm, a Mohammedan of lank and influence, who,
after some yeais of consistent Christian life, died at a great age,
faithful to the last, though plied with every inducement to recant
on his death-bed
Coming to Lower Bengal, Timothy Sandys had begun the work
" which, for as lengthened a period as Smith and Leupolt at
Benares, and with equal faithfulness, he carried on in the capital
of India Weitbrecht, another of the Basle men, but trained
further at Islington and in English orders, was at Burdwan with
his devoted wife, whose work in England in her old age is one of
the happiest memories of the present geneiation But at the
period of this survey, the eyes of the Society rested with the
most eager interest and hope upon the Krishnagar or Nuddea
(more piopeily Nadiya) distuct, fifty miles north of Calcutta In
this district there had just been reaped the largest harvest of
converts yet gathered by any Mission in Noith India
In 1831, one of the German missionanes at Buidwan, W J
Deerr, visited Nadiya, a sacred Hindu town, and the birthplace
of Chaitanya, the Yaishnava reformer of the sixteenth century
Thence he ciossed the nvei Hooghly and made his way to another
important town, Knshnagar, where he staited a vernacular school
*** This distuct is m the heait of Lowei Bengal, and densely popu-
lated, there being at the last census rnoie than two millions of
souls on an aiea of 3400 squaie miles, or 590 to the squaie mile
Deerr came acioss some membeis of a curious community called
Kaita Bhoja, " Woi shippers of the Cieator," one of the numerous
sects, half Hindu and half Moslem, winch liave from time to time
risen up to protest against the tyianny of the Biahmans In
1833, thirty persons of this sect were baptized in the face of much
Movement peisecution The movement went on without much being said or
cKd8 fchougto a^ou^ 4 u11^ 1838, when suddenly the leading men in
tianity ten villages, including with their families some five bundled souls,
simultaneously embraced the Gospel of Christ, and, after some
months' instruction, weie baptized The Society at home heaid
of it early in 1839, but the Committee only put a brief and
cautious paragraph m the Annual Keport of that year " A spint
of inquiry," they said, " to a considerable extent, has lately been
manifested m the Knshnagar branch of the Buidwan Mission, of
a very hopeful kind Time is necessary to ascertain its leal
charactei Expenence has taught the Committee to icjoice with
tiemblmg, even under the most satisfactory indications of a woik
of grace among a Heathen population" That was all not
another woid But shortly afterwaids such accounts came from
the Bishop of Calcutta himself as filled all hearts with joyful
anticipation
"One day," writes Darnel Wilson's biogiaphei, "at the close
INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS 315
of the year 1838, a Native of courteous addiess and fine beaiing PART IV
stood at the gate of the Bi&hop's palace, the bearei of a message ^2^41
to him from the rmssionanes of Kiishnagai, similai to the one p
spoken to St Paul in vision, when the man of Macedonia stood by Appeal to
his bedside, saying, Come ovei and help us It conveyed tidings ^uSn
of a gieat and general movement amongst the Natives towaids
Christianity Advice and help weie ui gently requned " The
Bishop immediately commissioned Archdeacon Dealtiy (who had
been appointed to that ofcce when Come became Bishop of
Madras), and Kiishna Mohun Banerjea, who was now a cleigyman,
to go to Krishnagai and report They found that the whole
population of fifty-five villages weie desirous to become Christians
The movement had been fosteied by the unselfish kindness of
Mi Been and his helpeis when an inundation destroyed the ciops,
and to that extent tempoial motives were at woik, but the gwm
of the sect themselves, who would be loseis and not gainers
by becoming Chustians, were also among the beekmg ciowd
Dealtry and Baneijea, together with Sandys and Weitbrecht, who
had also hastened to the distuct, baptized at once five hundied
poisons who had alieady been some time undei mstiucfcion , and
they leiuuicd to Calcutta to beg the Couespondmg Committee
to send more missionaries and native catechists as quickly as
possible Eight months latei the Bishop went himself, accom-
panied by his chaplain, J H Piatt (son of Josiah Piatt) , when
five hunched moie candidates weie baptized, and two hundied of
the foimei company confirmed And at a second vibit in Maich,
1840, neaily similai numbers were received The adheients
numbered more than thiee thousand
The Bishop addressed two long and deeply-interesting letters to Bishop j
Loid Chichestei, as President of the Society, detailing the whole Spo??'8
stoiy, and his own visit - It is not surpusmg that he viewed the
movement as the pielude to a much wider one, thajt would sweep
hundreds of thousands of souls into the Chustian Chinch Not
that he foigot the dangeis of such a sudden accession of pool half-
taught cultivatois " The human heart," he wrote, " is deceitful
appearances aie tieacheious Popular movements of any kind
diaw in numbers of ill-mfoimed followers The habits of heathen
society soon steal behind the Christian mquirei, and entangle him
in the old ambush The result of real conversions, even at home,
and in om laigest paushes, and where crowded congiegotions in
every quarlei promise abundant fiuit, is comparatively small—
what then are the allowances to be made foi our feoble flocks in
Pagan India? " Still he did believe that the Holy Spirit was at
woik , and who should set limits to the power of His giace ?
It is well known that the early piomise of Krishnagar was not Krmhn*.
fulfilled , and blame has often been cast upon the Bishop and the
missionaries foi being deceived But one cannot lead the letters
* Puntod m bho Appendix to tlio Uopoit of 1810
316 INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS
PAET IY wntben at the time without noting the caie and caution exeicised,
the steadfastness of the converts under persecution, and many
othei signs of the reality of the movement If Knshnagar was
afterwaids a disappointment— as no doubt it was— aie not othei
leasons sufficient ? Ceitainly there are thiee which amply account
for it Fust, there weie not Native teacheis enough, and of good
quality enough, to go in at once and lead the converted on
to a higher life Secondly, it is cleai that the Geiman mission-
aries who took chaige, such as Deeir, Kiuckeberg, Lincke,
Blurnhaidt, &c — theie were ten in the distuct in 1848— had not
learned the unpoitance of teaching the Native Ohuich its fiist
lessons in self-suppoifc, seK-admimstiation, and self-extension
Not that they aie to be blamed foi this more than othei s
Scaicely any one at that time, at home or abroad, had really
grasped that gieat principle , and in North India especially, the
patnaichal system that suited the genius of the Geiman brethren,
making eacn missionaiy the ma-bap (mothei and father) of Ins
people, was, kind as it seemed, a leal obstacle to the healthy
independent growth of the Church Then thirdly, when the
Society at home, inspired by Henry Venn, adopted the principle
just indicated as its definite policy, the missionaiies weie with-
drawn (01 vacancies not supplied) too quickly , and the community
that might in its infancy have been taught to walk alone, when
suddenly let go, stumbled and fell How it was again levived in
latei yeais, we shall see heieaffcer
Bishop One lequest of Bishop Wilson foi Knshnagai leminds us of
wamTno another depaitment of woik in Bengal He appealed foi money
ladies fa provide instiuction for the women and guls But m what way ?
By taking them into the households of married missionaiies, and
clothing and feeding them Unrnamed lady missionaiies weie
not then thought of If they had been, and if they could have
been piovided, would not such an agency have been at least one
pieservative against declension m the Krishnagar Mission 9 But
the Bishop was not prepared to welcome them at all Aichdeacon
0 J Hoaie wrote to him fiom England about a lady who wished
to go out and work in India " No," lephed the Bishop, " the
lady will not do I object on principle, and fiom the experience
of Indian life, to single ladies coming out to so distant a place,
with the almost certainty of their mairymg within a month of
then ai rival I imagine the beloved Peisis, and Tiyphena and
Tiyphosa, lemained in their own neighborhoods and families " *
It will be observed that he conveniently omits Phebe of Cenchrea,
But ladies who oeitainly did not stay at home I And ladies did go to India
come even fl^ m JJ^Q uame of the Lord, and did not get married at
once, but did woik at some few of the stations 01 both CMS
and other societies These were sent out by a new organization
founded in 1834, which afterwards adopted the title of the Society
* Ltfe of Bishop D Wilson, vol n p 255
INDIA PROGRESS OF THk MISSIONS 317
for Promoting Female Education in the East— a society whose PAUT TV
agents have done noble woik, not only m India, but in other paits I824r4l
of Asia, both West and East Gb^J2
Theie was a Ladies' Female Education Society in Calcutta
before this, founded m 1824, which, with the assistance of a grant
of £500 from the C M S , had established a Cential School, with
Mrs Wilson (whose ongmal gills' school when she waa Miss
Cooke was noticed m our Fifteenth Chapter) at the head of it
The coming of these ladies leleased Mrs Wilson from the
Central School, and enabled hei to carry out the desire of hei
heait by establishing a Female Orphanage This she did at Mrs wii
Agarpaia, a few miles noith of Calcutta, m 1836 Bishop Wilson, Agarpara
after a visit to her theie, wiote of her, "This holy woman, and
'widow indeed/ with a spiritual, sweet, consistent carnage—
Henry Martyn or Come m female form— meek, silent, patient,
laborious, with extiaordmaiy tact for hei pecuhai work — is
carrying on the greatest undei taking yet witnessed in India " •
For six years she continued this blessed work, and then, to the
Bishop's dismay and grief, she joined the Plymouth Brethxen,
who had spread even then to India She had ceased to be
connected with the Chuich Missionaiy Society at her husband's
death in 1828 , .and the Bishop thought that hei isolated position
had made her rnoie open to the persuasions of the new-comers
She had indeed asked the Society to occupy Agaipaia as one
of its stations, but the paucity of men had led the Committee
to decline, which, the Bishop thought, "was the spaik that
fiied the train " } When, however, she openly seceded fiorn
the Chuich, he peisuaded her to tiansfei hei institution to the
Society, and then Agarpara became a C M S station
Crossing India now to the Bombay Presidency, we find some Bombay
little development, though the woik was still on a veiy small
scale The two pimcipal missionaiies during our pieseut period
were G P Fauai and J Dixon, both Islington men The formei
was the father of F W Fairai, afterwards successively Head
Mastei of Mailboiough, Canon and Aichdeacon of Wostmmstei,
and Dean of Canteibury A new station had been opened m 1832
at Nasik, an important centie of Bi airman influence in the Deccan
— indeed the Bemues of Western India At Bombay a High Money
School, established m memory of a godly and much-iespected Sch°o1
civilian, Robert Money, had been put undei the Society's chaige,
and a scholai of Trinity College, Cambridge, G M Valentine,
had come out as its Principal A remaikablo Parseo convert had
been one fruit of his work m the School, who afteiwaids became
well known as the Rev Soiab]i Kharsedji The Society viewed
with gieat satisfaction the appointment of Aichdeacon tiarr, who
had long been its correspondent, to be the first Bishop of Bombay
* M isswnai j/ Jteqwter, 1838, p 328
•f In/eqf Bwliop JFiZson, vol n p 187
3i 8 INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS
PAST IV Passing on to the South, we find that the ten or twelve years
i?24^ Pnor to the establishment of the Bishopric of Madias had been a
p time of great progiess in Tmnevelly Khenms proved himself a
South most devoted and until mg missionary Year by yea,r the converts
Progress m increased m numbei The people who put themselves under
Tinneveiiy mstiuction, indeed, were far more numeious than could be
EheSus satisfactory dealt with Many native catechists and teachers
weie employed, but they needed more mstiuction themselves,
and moie supei vision than the thiee 01 four missionaries in the
province could give them It was really a good thing that the
opposition of the Heathen was incessant, and that persecution
evei and anon broke out Tbis constantly weeded the catechumens,
those who were double-minded 01 half-heaited falling back,
while the baptized Chustians, not having been admitted to the
Ghuioh till they had been well tested, foi the most pait lemamed
steadfast The pa,stoial caie of the Christians, scatteied as they
weie over the countiy in more than two hundied towns and
villages, was a heavy burden upon the missionaries , but m 1830
an important step was taken towaids the development of an
indigenous Native Church by the ordination of the first Tamil
Rev John pastor, John Devasagayam He had been foi some yeais working
^ya£a" as an Inspecting Schoolmaster m the Tianquejpar distiict, of
which the Society was foi a time m ohaige when the old Danish
Mission had come to an end , and he had emphatically eained foi
himself a good degiee It was Bishop Tumei, the fourth Bishop
of Calcutta, who, while on a visit to Madias, had the pnvilege
of ordaining the first Native cleigyman in South India
Devasagayam, on his ordination, was sent to Tmnevelly, and
theie, in 1836, he received puest's ordeis from Bishop Come, in
Trinity Chinch, Palamcotta This church, opened in June, 1826,
was the fiist of seveial substantial churches, with toweis 01
spires, that were erected in the province, and became the
outward and visible sign of the giowth of Christianity Many
services of deep interest have been held in it m the past seventy
yeais
Ehemus founded seveial useful societies among the people,
especially the Dli&wiw, Sangam, 01 Native Philanthiopic Society,
foi the purchase of land and houses as a refuge foi conveits who
Christian were persecuted Several Christian villages spiang up under the
villages auspices of this organization, such as Kadachapuram (Grace
Village), Suvis&shapuiam (Gospel Village), and Nallui (Good
Town) Theie were also a Poor Fund, a Widows' Fund, and
Tiact and Bible Societies In connexion with these last, Ehemus
did excellent tianalational and liteiary work
The old ^or some 7ears BhemuB also supervised the congregations
s p c K belonging to the old S P C K Mission, comprising in 1825 about
88 ona' 4200 Christians Catechists for the old stations and districts weie
supplied from Tanjore and Tnchmopoly, but the four 01 five
Germans at those centres weie unable to spare from among them-
INDIA PROGRESS OF mE MISSIONS 319
selves a resident missionary for Tmnevelly •" Bishop Hebei, PAST IT
indeed, much desiied men m English ordeis foi Tan] ore and the i?24^
other older Missions In writing to the S P G K , while acknow- p
ledgmg the excellence of old Kohlhoff and others, he " trusted he
was not ilhbeial in expressing a hope that the "Veneiahle Society
would supply him with episcopally-oi darned cleigymen " Un-
foitunately none were forthcoming , nor was the SPG, when it s p G
took over the admmistiation from the S P C K in 1825, able to do
moie Not till 1829 could one be spaied, Mi Eosen, and he only
stayed a few months At last, in 1836, the SPG was able to
send an English missionaiy to its districts in Tmnevelly, the
Eev C Hubbaid, together with two Geimans in English orders
In 1841 came the Eev E Galdwell, who became one of the
gieatest of Indian missionaries, and facile pnncq)s among Tamil
scholais Shortly aftei this, the distucts of the two societies weie
carefully maiked out Hitheito the congiegations had been much
intermingled , and though this had piomoted the unity of the
Chinch, and facilitated the supervision of all alike in Ehenius's
time, it was found awkward foi native cateclnsls and school-
masteis in the same group of villages to be in diffeient connexions
and looking to diffeient supenors The able compilei of the
SPG Dtg&t thus sums up what was done — " Notwithstanding
the difficulties involved— such as exchanges of schools, congrega-
tions, and lay agents— a division of distucts was effected in a
spiut worthy of the common cause As a consequence of tbe
long neglect of the eaiher Misbion, the QMS has obtained
possession of the greater part of the Tmnevelly field, the SPG
operations being confined to the south-east of the piovince " ]
In leading the old CMS Eepoits at the time of the rapid views of
development of the Native Chustian community undei Ehenms, committee
one is stiuck with the extreme caution and candour of the Com- on Tinne
mittee They knew well how leady fnends at home aie to over-
estimate the results of Missions, and to imagine 01 expect
perfection in native conveits , and year aftei year, while thank-
fully repoiting the pi ogress effected through the goodness and
giace of God, they caiefully set foith the unfavorable side, willing
lathei to run the risk of putting weapons into the hands of unfau
and unsciupulous opponents— which pioved to be the case— than
to ignore 01 conceal facts Nay, they not only did this , they also,
even when a specially favomable lepoit cam©, wained their
* " Nominally the Mission was under tho Tinijnio Missionanes, but the only
real superintendence continued to be supplied by the agents of tho CMS,
until 1829 "— S P 0- Digest, p 533 The Calcutta Diocesan Committee of the
S P 0 K , at the time of the transfer to S P G- , ief erred to the Tmnevelly
Ohnstians as having been "kindly taken up by the Church Missionary
Society thus verifying, in a double sense, tho text that saith, ( One soweth,
and another reapeth ' [The] Committee rejoice, for their object IB equally
attained, that these Q-entilea were not suffered to remain in their idolatry,
and that this timely assistance has boon afforded by a Sister Society " 0 M,S
Eeport, 1828, p Jjfa f Digest, p 584
320 INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS
PABT IT readers against thinking too much of it In one Beport they call
182441 on them < i to re-j oice m what the Lord had done, but with trembling,
Ohap 22 an^ ^ |3Q jj^Qh m prayer f or tne as yet tender flocks, that He who
breaks not the biuised reed may strengthen, mvigoiate, and con-
firm the work of grace " Again, " The Committee would guard
then statements from being misundei stood, as if they lepresented
a state of advancement and punty beyond the truth of the case
The desciiption of a change fiorn a state of Heathenism to that of
a piofession of Chnstianity is always liable to such misrepiesenta-
tions by superficial readeis " And again, aftei quoting some
instances of exemplaiy Chustian conduct in the Chustians, they
said, " Let us not be mistaken, as if these instances were pioduced
as samples of the general state of Native Ghnstians Far othei-
wise they are given only as special instances of divine grace,
which prove that the work is of the Lord "—for, it is ]ustly added,
" Men do not gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles "
Difficulties In 1835, a grave cusis occuned m Tmnevelly Three 01 foui
years befoie this, Bhemus had pioposed that he and the other
G-eimans with him should ordain, according to the Lutheran use,
four or five of the chief native catecrusts, and so make them
" country priests " like those of the S P C K Missions To this
pioposal the Society replied that the S P 0 K " country priests "
had received Lutheian orders at a time when theie was no
English bishop in India , but that as English orders were now
piocurable, a Church society could seek no others foi iicw
candidates, though it gladly still recognized Bhenms's own ordeis
]ust as the SPG still recognized Kohlhoff s Much correspon-
dence ensued , and at length Bhemus pioposed eithei (1) to give
up his Tmnevelly post and engage only m translational woik, or
(2) to join another society, or (3) to go to England and confer with
the Committee The Committee chose the third alternative , but
in the meanwhile Mi Anthony Groves, the well-known and very
devoted Plymouth Biothei/ had visited Tmnevelly, and so
influenced Bhemus that, instead of going to England, he issued
two pamphlets attacking the Piayer Book and the whole con-
stitution of the Church of England, and sent them all ovei South
India The Committee received these pamphlets with " deepest
regiet and distiess," and while expressing their " stiong sense of
his piety, zeal, devotedness, and uuweaned labouis," yet felt
" bound in consistency, as attached members of the Chuich of
wcted England/' to dissolve connexion with him
Bhonms thereupon, in what appealed an excellent spuit, handed
over the charge ot the Mission to the Bev George Pettitt, who
was sent to Tmnevelly by the Madias Committee, and left the
district , but the difficulties of the position weie much enhanced
when the othei three German brethren, Schaffter, Muller, and
Lechler, elected to secede with him, leaving only John Devasa-
*• See p 283
INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS 321
gayam clinging to the Church Natmally theie was much giief, PART IV
and not a little discontent, among the Native Christians , but all 1821-41
seemed to be quieting down, when a leading catechist, who was ^^J32
discoveied misappiopiuting funds, icsujned, and at once set to
woik to incite the people to invite Mi Rheums and the otheis
back Unhappily, encouraged by English fuends at Madias who
lesented the Society's asseition of its Chinch pi maples, they
theieuponietumed, and a gieat and diatiessing schism ensued Distress
3?oi thiee yeais the Committee had to icpoit on Tmnevelly in m£achlsm
terms expressive of deep soirow , foi although three-fourths of
the converts remained staunch, the distuct was now filled with
" envying and strife, confusion and every evil work " Good
Bishop Come went down to Tmnevelly, and endeavoured to make
peace, but in vain , but his veneiable and gracious piesence made
a deep nnpiession on the faithful membeis of the Chinch, and it
was on this occasion that Devasagayam received priest's orders
— the first of many ordinations held at Polamcotta
In June, 1838, however, Ehenius died, lamented, foi his zeal Death of
and eainestness, by all paities The Society at once appi cached Rheniua
his widow with a pioposal that she and her family should be
tieated ]ust as they would have been if Ehenius had been on the
roll at the tune of his death The good feeling thus established
was signally manifested when the eldest son ofteicdhis services as
a missionaiy, came to England to bo tiaincd at Islington, and
ultimately letumed to Tmnevolly as a momboi of the CMS
staff In the meanwhile, the singular patience and gentleness
which Mr Pettitt, in his most toying position, had manifested
dunug the thieo yeais, had boino speedy fiuit Most of the
Christians who had seceded came back to the Chuich, with
Schaifter at then head Lechlei. pined the London Missionary
Society in another part of South India Muller pioposed to the
L M S to leceive him and his people where they were, thus
extending into Tmnevelly the Tamil Mission which that society
was canymg on upon the other side of the mountains, in South
Travancoie The L M S Directors, however, loyal, as ever, to
the great principle of rmssionaiy comity, declined to encroach The
upon Crunch of England ground , and ultimately Muller also, healed1
and the remaining seceders, lejomed the Church and the C M S
All traces of the schism now quickly disuppeaicd (t Then,"
mote Pettitt afterwaids, quoting the Acts, "had tho Churches
rest, and weie edified, and walking in the fear of the Loid, and in Further
the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied " In 1841, Bishop proere89
Spencei visited the Mission, and held the fitst confiimations m
the distuct, laying hands on some fifteen hundred candidates
Just befoie the crisis of 1835, the Chustian adherents, including
catechumens, numbeied about 10,000 , now, after six years, they
numbeied 20,000, after anothei six yeais, 80,000 This total,
however, continually varied as persecution raged and waned , but
the number of baptized Chustians rose steadily yeai by year, fiom
VOL i y
322 INDIA PROGRESS o& rxr MISSIONS
PART IV about 3000 m 1835 to 6000 in 1841, and 12,000 in 1848 Among
1824-41 these theie weie a good many Vellalais and Maiavais, highly
iap respectable and lespected divisions of the Sudia caste, and theie-
fore lankmg high m South India At the other end of the scale
there were Pariah congregations But the bulk of the conveits
•were fiom the Shanai caste, thepalmyia-clnnbeis of thepiovince,
though many, having become fauly well off, meiely owned the
tiees and let them out to then pooier biethien The Shanars,
and some other Tamil castes, aie counted as Hindus, but ically
are devil-woishippeis , and the religion of Tmnevelly is a com-
bination of that strange and degrading system—if system it can be
called — and the more elaboiato Brahmauism
Pettitt on In his mteiestmg book on the Tmnevelly Mission, | Mi Pettitt
the acces |jhe causes of the considerable accessions to Chn&tianity
siona m
in this province He explains that temporal motives had laige
influence, but believes that these motives were used by the Holy
Spiut to lead on to tiue conversion ol heait in many cases " The
tempoial condition of our people," he writes, " has been decidedly
improved, not by any pecuniary advantages received fiom tho
Mission, for iJierc <we none, but fiom Christian knowledge,
education, deliverance from spiritual slavery, protection, and the
cultivation of mdustiious habits " " Is it to be wondeied at," he
asks, "if many have derived, from seeing the advantage of con-
necting themselves with a united and piotected body like this, an
impulse which their faint peicephons of the truth of Christianity
would not of itself pioduce '? " He fuithei explains that by " pio-
tection " he means that the lowei castes, by joining a homogeneous
body, found remedy and lediebs against the oppieasion of tho
highei castes, particularly though having men of some education
and influence, as the leading catechists were, both to advise them
and to get justice done them Mr Pettitt also discusses the ques-
tion, How far is a missionary justified m leceivnig peisons whom
he knows 01 suspects of being impelled by earthly motives to come
motives? to him? Certainly, he replies, he must never set befoie the
Heathen " the promise of the life that now is " as a leason why he
should come to Christ But, he asks, if a Heathen, meiely seeing
that Christianity is a system of justice and peace, comes foiwaid
as an mquiier, is he to repel or lefuse him ? Is he not nUhei to
leceive him and instruct him and show him what Chn&tiamty
really is ? " It may be," he goes on, " that in the Gospel net we
enclose both good and bad , but the sorting piocess soon takes
place Some we decline at once , some aie cast off foi open am,
* The sandy plains of Turner elly aie coveiod with groves of palmyra trees
This tiee constitutes an impoitant pait of tho wealth of tho district A
Shanar climbs tlmty or foity trees, to a height of sixty 01 eighty foot, tonce
daily, to collect the sap, which in one form is the staple food of the people,
and in another gives consistency to their mortal for braiding The trunk,
the loots, the fibres, tho leaves, of the troo aio also nsed m vanous ways
f Ike Tvnnwdly &fit,mn of tlw 0 M 8 Loiidou, 1851
INDIA * PROGRESS OF T#£ Missions 323
or irregular attendance, 01 relapses into heathenish acts , otheis PAST IT
are driven away by peisecution, 01 withdraw fiom dislike of the i824^
restiamts and lequirements of the Gospel Many, howevei, aie P
retained, and after long and caieful instruction aie admitted by
baptism into the Ghnstian Chiuch " — andhefehcitouslyillustiates
the difference between these " adheients " in the eaily stages of
their adhesion and the &ui rounding Heathen by comparing the
former to land just enclosed foi cultivation, (ind the lattei to the
waste land outside the fence His fuithei account m detail of the
methods adopted foi the " shepheiding" and " feedmg " — to vary
the figure— of these still " silly sheep " is exceedingly instructive,
but must not detain us heie
It will be boine in mind that these remaiks do not apply to the
converts from the higher castes Then case was quite diffeient
"What things weie gam" to them they had to " count loss for
Ohnst " Of the reality of their convictions theie could raiely bo
any doubt Even the Shanais and the lowei castes or out-castes Persecu
frequently had to enduie giievous peisecution Crops weie often convert?15
destroyed, cattle maimed 01 stolen, houses and huts pulled down,
and the people themselves maltreated False accusations, backed
by the unblushing perjiuy which is so common in India, weio
biought against them m the local couits , and the local judges,
who were geneially Biahrnans, weie natuially piojudiccd against
them, and not always fan in then decisions Tho Heathen of
the lo\vei castes, indeed, often suffeied oppie&sion of this kind ,
but the Chustians, in addition, wcie poisecuted for then neglect
of idol feasts and othei observances An association was foi mod
called the Vibuilii Sangu/nt, 01 Sacied Ashes Society, in allusion
to the heathen maiks on the foiehead 01 boast 01 aims, denoting
allegiance to this 01 that god, that are made with the ashes of
sandal-wood, and this society took the leading pait in the
persecution One gieat cause of offence was a family, or small
village community, tiansfoimmg its little devil-temple into a
Christian pi ayei -house — which was frequently done, and the
transfoimed huts were often pulled down in the mght In one
gross case Mi Pettitt appealed to tho magistrate at Palamootta
The mernbeis of the Sawed Ashes Society who had destioyed the
prayei -house pleaded that no such building had existed The
magistrate despatched a polico-omcoi to BOO tho place and lopoit
The Heathen paity instantly sent men to inn all night and reach
the village fust, thirty miles oft ! "When the policeman amvod,
he was shown a bit of ploughed land, with gmin gi owing A
Chuskin bystandei, ho\vevoi, quietly said, "Please, MI, take np
one 01 two of those blades of giam by the loots " The giound
had been ploughed, wateied, and planted m the night, to remove
all traces of tho mined building |
* Thaio ia nothing unusual m this When I was at Pataoottn, a man
In ought nio a lottoi fiom JMouguauapumni, Iwont.y inght miles off, which hu
liad mil all night to dsbvoi early in tlio nuaniug — E H
Y 2
3^4 INDIA , PROGRESS d/< THE MISSIONS
PABI IY One case, m 1846 (to go forwaid a little), was canied to the
p?24"!* highest couit in Madras As usual, the anti-rmssionaiy paity
P among the Emopeans waimly espoused the cause of the
Aneio. peisecutors , but a piolonged trial lesulted m the disgrace and
attackthe dismissal of the local Brahman judges On this occasion the
Mission CMS and SPG missionaries united in a public statement, to
counteiact the evil influence of ceitam Madras newspapers This
c M s an masteily document, while lefuting the calumnies that had been
bine to™* circulated, feailessly avowed that such calumnies weie only what
defend it Was to be expected whenevei success was vouchsafed to
missionary labours The very same ciitics who at one time
would taunt the missionaiies with then lack of lesults would,
when results weie achieved, complain of the inevitable consequent
disturbance of the Heathen mmd " Oui success, however,"
said the missionaries, with admirable point, "is no fault we
laboui with the view of succeeding, and if oui labours aie
toleiated at all, any measuie of success which may follow must
be tolerated also Hindus must either be prevented fiom
embiacnig Christianity, 01 piotected in the piofession of it "
The signatuies to this document show what excellent men thoie
now weie in the Tmnevelly Mission Among the four SPG names
are Caldwell and Pope * Among the fourteen CMS names aie
Pettitt, Saigent, Thomas, J T Tucker, and the brothers Hobbs
The gieat woik of Tucker, Thomas, and Saigent will come before
us hereafter The leading missionaries of the two societies had
at this time been unitedly engaged in making a new translation of
the Piayei-book "We had met," mites Pettitt, "neaily evoiy
month for tluee yeais oui mteicouise had been delightful and
profitable , and we \\eie all sony that tho meetings weie now to
cease Indeed the i egret was so sincere and deep that we
resolved m futine to meet together twice a yeai foi mutual
mtoicouise, and foi the consideiation of niatteis connected with
oui common woik, and the Eev R Caldwell was appointed
secietary to see this airangement earned into effect "]
Another laboui er at this time was Miss C C Gibeine, who had
been in Ceylon as an agent of the Female Education Society, but
m 1844 joined the CMS, and began, on a small scale, the woik
among girls and women which in later yeais has been earned on
with such signal blesbing by the ladies of the Chinch of England
Zenana Society Yet another laboui er was a highly -esteemed
Mr blind Euiasian, W Cuuckghanks, who m 1844 opened what
shanks became the Pakmcotta High School Under him this School
pioduced important conveits, some of whom became catecmsts
and clergymen, notably W T Satthianadhan, aftei wards the
honomed pastoi of Zion Church, Madras
Turning now westward, and crossing the Ghauts, we come to
* Di G U Pope, now so well kno\\n at Oxfoitl, IB tha wolo siuvivoi
| Pettitt'e ItMiiveUy Mmion, p 458
INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS 325
Tiavaucoie The commencement of this Mission was i elated in PAET
the chaptei on Effoits to Bevive the Eastern Chinches, as foi 1824-j
its fiist twenty years it was entnely confined to an honest and
patient endeavour to aiouse the ancient Synan Chmch to self-
lefoimation So paiticnlai were the missionanes not to endangei
the success of the mission they weie sent to fulhi hy any action church
that could offend the most sensitive ecclesiastical piopnety, that,
when Aichdeacon Bobmson of Madias paid them a visit in 1830,
they asked his counsel about building a small chapel for occa-
sional woiship according to Anglican use Foi four teen yeais they
had worked on without that privilege, worshipping always in the
Synan chinches, despite much in the ritual which they disliked
Now, although they had not in any systematic way pieached to
the Heathen, they had a few conveits fiom Heathenism, and they
shrank from subjecting these to the teaching of the ignoiant and
immoial Synan pnests The now hostile Metran, not satisfied
with the better-educated puests produced by the Synan College
which the missionaiies weie still carrying on, had ordained lads
of twelve and fouiteen years of ago to the diaconate, liteially
tempted theieto by the oidmation fee ' and ho encouiaged both
pnests and deacons in every supeistitious usage, especially in
masses foi the dead, these being a profitable souice of revenue
Altogether there was less evidence than ovei of any desne aftei
lefoim and the punfying of the Church
In 1835, Bishop Wilson visited Tiavancoie, and, showing the Bishop
utmost sympathy for so veneiable a Ghnstian community, bent ™v in
all his eneigies to influence the Motran and other leadeis He core
pleached by invitation m the pnncipal Syrian chinch at Cottayarn
befoie an immense concoinse of people The seivice was veiy
olaboiate foity priests and deacons appealed in goigeous
vestments, and mass was peifonned, with n, loud shout of joy at
the end from the whole congregation, and the " kiss of peace "
given all lound from one to the othoi The Bishop pi cached on
the Epistle to the Chuich of Philadelphia— a geneiously-chosen
subject, when undoubtedly Bphesus 01 Thyatua 01 Sardis would
have bettei lepiesented the actual state of the Chinch of Malabar
" I dwelt," he wiote, " on what the Spirit saith, fust as lespects
Christ who addiessed the Church, secondly, as lespects the
Chuich itself , thndly, as to the pioinise made to it On this last
head I showed them that Christ had set befote them n,n open door
by the piotection and friendship of the English Chmch and people
In application I called on each one to keep ChusVs woid, and not
deny His name, as to their own salvation"4" "We wish," he
excknned at anothei gathenng, "that the Syrian Chuich should
shmo as a bight stai in the light hand of tho Son of Man, holding
forth the faithful word "
But it was all in vain In the veiy next yeai, the Metian
D Wilson, vol 11 p 63
326 INDH PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS
PART IV convened a Synod, at which it was finally resolved to i eject all the
I824r4i suggestions that had been made by the English Bishop, and to
!!L. Put an en^ tnen an^ there to ^e influence of the English
Final missionanes in the Syrian Ghmch They accoidmgly retned
theUorid°f k°m ^e College, and with sonow abandoned an enterpnse that
CMS had been faithfully and with much self-denial prosecuted foi
plan twenty years •*
New plans Now, howevei, they were fiee, and they turned to the
Heathen Heathen Bailey continued his translations into Malayalam of
the Bible and Pi ay ei -book, and his punting-piesb, and built a
laige church for Anglican services at Cottayam— " Mr Bailey's
fine, noble church, the gloiy of Travancore," wiote Bishop Wilson
on his second visit , Bakei extended his evangelistic woik and
vernacular village schools m the cential districts of Cottayarn and
Pallam , two younger men of gieat energy and zeal, Joseph Peet
and John Hawksworth, set to work among the Heathen in the
Mavelicaia and Tiruwella districts to the south, and anothei new
man, H Hailey, opened a Mission at Tnchur, in the kingdom of
Cochin, to the north Of all these labours we shall hear moie
hereafter But meanwhile, there were devout and pure-minded
men among the Syrians who deploied the loss of so much holy
influence in their Church, and these could not be entirely deserted
A laige part of the old endowment of the Syrian College raised by
Colonel Munio being awarded to the Mission by a Cotut of
Aibitration, a new College on the lines of the English Church was
established at Cottayam, and the money so awaided applied to
the education of Syrian youths The Rev John Chapman, Eellow
of St John's College, Cambridge, was sent out to take charge of
this new College, and foi ten yeais did splendid seivice The
Good result of its influence, and of the pattern of simpler worship and
effects on puier ^fe now se^ fa ^e iterated Mission, was a spontaneous
the Syrian *• , J . , „ /-n i i i i
Church leforming movement within the Syrian Church, which in later
years has proved a great blessing And although, fiom the first,
pioselytism was anxiously avoided, many Syrians, sick of the
corruptions and superstitions of then own community, openly
joined the Church of England , and seveial of those tiamed m the
College were ultimately ordained to be pastois of the Native
Church gradually being built up out of Heathendom
Madras The need of a supenor Theological Seminary foi South India
logical was moie and moie felt as the Tmnevelly Mission developed and
seminary ^ Tiavancoie Mission got on to right lines, a Seminary to
which the best educated of the catechists could be sent, foi an
English divinity couise In 1838, the Eev Joseph Hemy Gray,
* Canon Batoman says, " Ono unworthy clergyman, a chaplain of the Com-
pany, had travelled through the country telling the people that crucifixes and
prayers for the dead, and all the superstitions learned from Rome, wore right,
and that ths missionaries and doctrines were all wrong" (Life of liislwp
D W daon, vol 11 p 223) " This," adds Whitehouse, "-was not the only case
of the kind " (Liny® mgs of Light tn a Darl Land, p 261)
INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS 327
who had gained high honouis at Trinity College, Dublin, was sent PA*T IV
to Madras to set such an institution on foot It proved con-
spicuously successful Eiom among its alumm came some of the
ablest of the Tamil and Malay alam clergy and chief catechista,
such as Geoige Matthan, of Travancoie, who translated Butler's
Analogy into Malayalam, Devasagayam Gnanamuttu and Jesudasen
John, of Tinnevelly, the lattei the son of old John Devasagayam ,
Joseph Cornelius and W T Satthianadhan, also of Tmnevelly
Subsequently this Semmaiy was superseded for some yeais by
othei institutions established in the two Missions themselves , and
only in comparatively lecent yeais has it been revived in the
present Madras Divinity School
Towards the end of our peiiod, the Society's attention was The
diawn to an important section of the population of South India ^E1
which, so far, had been almost entuely neglected North of
Madias for nve hundied miles, and inland for some three hundred
miles, stretches a country inhabited by the Telugu-speaking
people, numbeung at that time about ten millions f In 1805, m
the very midst of the "Daik Period," the London Missionary
Society had sent two men to Vizagapatam, on the coast , but they
and their successois were mainly occupied in translational and
educational woik, and for thirty years had no convert In 1822,
the same Society had occupied Cuddapah, an important inland
centre, but there also progiess had been slow In 1835, the
Ameiican Baptist Missionary Union had begun a Mission in the
Nellore distuct, which in later years has become famous All the
othei Missions in the Telugu country, SPG, Amencan and
German Lutherans, and Canadian Baptists, aie of later date
At various posts in this terntory theie were, at the period of
Queen Victoria's Accession, a little band of godly Christian
Englishmen, m the civil and military services, who encouraged
one another m good works One of them, Mr John Goldmgham,}
m 1838, addiessed an earnest letter to the C M S Corresponding Appeal to
Committee at Madras, pleading the cause of the Telugu people, §J!irbe.on
and pioposing to laise a fund to start a Church of England
Mission among them This lettei may be iega,ided as an answer
to the piayers of good Bishop Come, who on his death-bed had
laid their case before the Lord The Madias Committee sent on
the lettei to England , but the Home Committee, though leceiv-
ing it with "the most lively interest," weie constrained, m view
of the financial position of the Society, to decline, " though with
most painful feelings, ' ' undertaking the Mission Thereupon some
leading members who were connected with South India, among
them Mr Hough, the foimer Tinnevelly chaplain, Mr Joseph
Fenn, the foimer Tiavancore missionary, and Mr J M Stiachan,
* " Talugu" is not a geographical but a linguistic name
f Now twenty millions
I Twenty years later, Mr Goldmgham became a member of the Committee
at home
328 INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS
PART IY the fomiei Madias tieasuiei , lesolved to try and organize a Mission
1824^41 themselves The appeal, by a lemaikable pi evidence, carne,
Chap 22 nearjy aj| the same time, into the hands of two young men,
giaduates lespectively of Oxfoid and Cambudge, who were
unknown to each other , and they lesponded to it, sepaiately and
independently, with offei s of pei sonal service Meanwhile a fund of
nearly £2000 had been laised by Mr Goldingharn and his fuends
m India, and both men and means being thus piovided, the
CMS Committee at length consented to undei take the enterprise
The two men pioved to be two of the most devoted and
honouied missionaries whose names appear on the Society's loll,
FOX and Eobeit Tuilmgton Noble andHemy Watson Fox Ofthempeison-
Noble ally a f utui e chaptei will speak On March 8th, 1841, they sailed foi
India, and proceeded to Masuhpatarn, the chief seapoit on the coast
of the Telugu countiy It was ananged from the fiist that they
Their should woik in quite different ways, Noble was to open a school
work" on the lines of Duff's College at Calcutta Pox was to be an
itmeiant preaching missionary With unusual self-denial, how-
evei, they attempted nothing for two yeais, but gave themselves
wholly to the study of the language At length, on November 21st,
1843, the English School, as it was called, was opened by Noble,
in conjunction with an excellent Eurasian, J E Shaikey, to
whom the Telugu language was a vernacular The fiuits it
gatheied will appeal heieaftei Pox's health was weak fiom the
fiist, and his penod of actual evangelistic work was buef , but he
laid the foundations of the Village Mission which m later yeais has
gathered thousands of souls into the Visible Chuich
John Anothei veiy important development m South India dm ing
atUMadraa the period now undei leview was the appointment of the Eev
John Tuckei as Secretaiy at Madras Mr Tuckei was a Fellow
of Corpus, Oxfoid, as far back as 1817, and was an intimate
fuend of Thomas Ainold and John Keble " He had had some
yeais' ministerial expenence, and he proved one of the best gifts
God ever gave to the Church Missionary Society He went out
m 1833, and for fourteen years (with a shoit interval) he exercised
an influence which has never been surpassed It was he who
advised Pettitt thioughout the difficulties with Bhemus , it was
he who directed the changes in the Travancoie Mission , it was
he who oigamzed the new Telugu Mission But above all, his
influence over the English m Madras was unique The ciearn
of the civil and military circles crowded to his mimstiy, and
he was pnvileged to lead to Christ, and to confirm in the
faith, high officers in both set vices who became from that
time the staunch friends of the missionary cause, seveial of
whom in after years were prominent men in the CMS
Committee-ioom in Salisbury Square — as Tucker himself did
for a short time as Secretary It is a grievous pity that theie
* " The single hearted and devout " Look's Life of KeUf, p 6
INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS 3^9
is no memoii of John Tuckei , but he left such a positive PAEI IT
piohibition against it that not even an obituaiy notice could i?24^
appeal m the Society's publications His sistei became well iap ,
known by hei excellent little books on Missions, The Eavibow
m theNoith (Kupeit's Land), The Southern Orosi and Soiifliein
Gwwn (New Zealand), and Sunnsc Within the Tiopics (Abeo-
kuta), and in hei memoiy was founded the Saiah Tuckei
Institution at Palamcotta
Mi Tuckei's name introduces an impoitant sub]ect, the ad-
minrstiation of the Society's Missions in India Tn a pievious
chaptei ' refeience was made to the Coi responding Committees The Con-e
foimed m earhei days by Evangelical chaplains like David Biown JgJJ.ding
at Calcutta and Maimaduke Thompson at Madias In 1824, nuttees
when Bishop Hebei -had given m his adhesion to Missions, the
Calcutta Committee enlarged itself into an Auxihaiy Society,
with a constitution bioad and inclusive like the Parent Society,
giving all subscnbing cleigymen seats and votes on the Com-
mittee , and Madias soon aftei followed this example At fiist
this development seems to have been, approved at home , hut in
tune it led to serious difficulties, as the Auxiliary Committeos,
stiong m nurnbeis and influence, woie not willing to bo directed
by the Paient Committee, and mci eased the expenditure moie
lapidly than the funds could beai, not being fettcied by the stnct
system of estimates that has pievailed m latei ye?us , and this
was one principal cause of the financial perplexities that pieseutly
aiose, as we shall see m a futuie chapter Moreover, some of
the chaplains proved to be not at one with the Society m matter s
of missionary policy, and friction wrthin the Auxiliary Committees
themselves resulted from this It does not appear that party
differences m Church matters actually arose, but Edwaid Bicker -
steth foiesaw that these would certainly ensuo some day, and ha
urged the Committee to dissolve the Auxiliary Corarnrttees, and
form new ones, consrstmg only of members appointed by name
from home | The inclusive principle has always worked well in
the Paient Soorety , but obviously the circumstances of Indian
Presidency cities are diffeient Men would assert their right to
seats there who would not dream of asserting it heie , and nothing
but hopeless disunion could be the lesult Naturally, howevei,
the Home Committee shrank fiom so extreme a step as disband-
ing existing bodies, which had iaised considerable local funds,
and were domg good woik The solution of the difficulty, in the
case of Madras, carne through the dissensions within the local
body itself Some of the best members at last resigned, including
the lay secretary and treasurei , and then the Home Committee dissolved
intervened, dissolved tho Auxiliary Committee, and appointed a
* See p 191
•f See Letter from Henry Venn, in Appendix to second edition of tho
HemoM of E Bickersteth, p 452 Venn mentions the fact as an illustration of
Bickorateth'a influence for good m guarding the Society's spiritual principles
330 INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS
PART IV new Coriespondmg Committee, chiefly fiom the old membeis,
1824-43 but liralted m numbei, and at the same time lesolved to seek foi
Chap 22 a clergyman of some standing to go out as Secietary Hence the
appomtment of John Tuckei, who qmckly allayed feeling and
won geneial lespect While holding fiimly the Society's Evan-
gelical pimciples, he undei stood Church prmciples also better
than some of his lay colleagues , and but for him, the difficulty
with Ehenms might not have been so lesolutely dealt with
A contioveisy subsequently ensued with Bishop Darnel Wilson,
on the question of the degiee of episcopal contiol involved m the
acceptance of an episcopal licence , and even Come was obliged to
express his disappiovalof the hne taken by the Madias Committee
But the Madias Committee weie backed by Dandeson Coates
at home, and so the Paient Society became involved m a pio-
longed and senous contioveisy with the Bishop who had once been
its most piomment cleiical membei, to the distiess of both sides
This contioveisy will be fuithei noticed heieafter \ Its effect on
the Conespondmg Committees is all that is before us now The
Calcutta Committee, which comprised Government officials of
high-standing like Sir Chailes Tievelyan, lesented the concordat
ultimately come to between the Paient Society and the Bishop,
and in then action to some extent disregaided it , and good Arch-
deacon Dealtry, one of the Society's best friends, ceased to attend J
Presently they took a step, touching the location of a young
missionary, contiaiy to the wishes of both the Home Committee
and the Bishop, and on the Home Committee expressing dis-
appioval of this, they lesigned m a body Thus at Calcutta also
Calcutta came the opportunity for substituting a nominated Conespondmg
SsaSvSf c Committee for an open one , and this was immediately done
It is noteworthy that the two open Committees, at Madias and
^nnnft* Calcutta, were ultimately dissolved from exactly opposite causes
The Madias Committee weie not sufficiently to be lehed upon m
legard to Evangelical pimciples The Calcutta Committee were
too reluctant to recognize the due authority of Bishops The two
cases well illustrate the difficulty the Home Committee have con-
tinually had to encountei in steeling, caiefully and piayerfully,
between Scylla and Chaiybdis It would be too much to affirm
that they have invariably steered precisely the light course , but
the blame again and again cast upon them by both sides m turn
is a strong evidence of their honest desire not to be guided by
human applause one way or the other
There was another matter in which Bishop Wilson was dis-
pleased with the Calcutta Committee They obtained the consent
of the Home Committee to the starting of a " Head Seminary,"
* See p 252 t See p 423
r J Life of Bwhop D Wilson, vol n p 19 Canon Bateman is not quite im-
partial in his nairative, though generally accmate as to facts The account
in the text corrects him m one or two statements, where the Society s
Mmntes are decisive the other way
INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS 331
similar to the one begun a,bout the same time at Madras But at PA.BT IY
Calcutta there was Bishop's College, and Wilson legaided the 1824-41
new Seminary as vutually piojected in opposition to it The Ghap 22
Home Committee disclaimed any such intention, and passed a Calcutta
resolution recognizing the Bishop's light to make what conditions ^Jinary
he pleased for ordination, so that if he liked to lequne that any Bishop's
candidate foi oideis fiom the Semmaiy should first go for furthei College
study to Bishop's College, they could make no objection But it
must be confessed that the Society had scaicely ever leaped any
benefit from its laige grants to Bishop's College , and theie had
been so much muimmmg in England about those grants that the
Committee had been obliged, yeais befoie, in 1827, to issue a
ciiculai to their friends descanting on the gieat advantages to be
gained from them— which advantages certainly never were gained
The College, in fact, was not a success, as the SPG Eeports
repeatedly and frankly acknowledged , and the great work of the
Principal, Dr Mill, was his Chmta Sangita, a Life of Christ in
Sanscut veise, which made a profound sensation among the
Biahmans But Bishop Wilson gave, one might almost say, his
whole heart to the College From the first, he did all that man
could do to support and foster it When sickness drove professois
away, he would go and take the lectures himself , and he con-
stantly wrote to the SPG Committee to cheei them up about it
"Your noble College is scarcely evei out of my thoughts," he
said in 1834 " The College is my delight I am labouring
with my whole soul to secure its efficiency " ' One thing is
certain the CMS Head Seminary nevei did it any damage
The Seminary was not successful enough itself, and cud not last
very long Like many other plans, it fell through for lack of an
adequate succession of qualified men
During the penod we have been leviewing there was consider- other
able extension of missionary work by various societies m many working8
parts The SPG Missions, both in Bengal and in the South, in Indilu
shared in the progress aheady indicated in connexion with
Knshnagai and Tmnevelly , and m Tan] ore its congregations
were increased by large accessions from Eomamsm ] At Cawn-
pore, that excellent missionary, the Bev W H Peikms, was at
work, and at Bombay the Bev G Candy, " om beloved hi other,"
mote J S S Robertson, the CMS missionary A devoted
young man, the Eev T Christian, had m 1824-7, from Bhagalpur,
tried to reach the Bajmahal Pahan tribes , but his early death
caused the further prosecution of this effoit to wait foi the C M S
Mission begun in 1850 The London Missionary Society was
progressing both in Bengal and m its extensive Southern Missions
* S P G Report, 1835,
t Oaldwell wrote in 1850, "In intellect, Iwbits, and morals, the Eomamst
Hindus d,o not differ fiom the Eeathon m the smallest degioe "— S P Gr
Dfyesf, p 511
332 INDIA PROGRESS OF THE MISSIONS
PAST IY In Mi Lacioix it had piobably the best Bengali pieachei ever
1824r4l known The Baptists had extended in the North, and the
Ch!L22 Wedeyans in the South The Scotch Educational Missions
passed to the Fiee Chinch at the great Disiuption of 1843
Duff, Mackay, and Ewait at Calcutta, John Wilson and Murray
Mitchell at Bombay, and John Andeison at Madras, were all
doing splendid woik with then colleges, and Stephen Hislop
had begun at Nagpore The Basle Mission in Malabar, and the
Amencan Boaid Mission in Madma, began in 1834 , the American
Baptist Telugu Mission in 1835, the Amencan Piesbytenan
Mission m the North-West Provinces m 1836 , the lush. Piesby-
tenan Mission m Gu]eiat, the Leipsic Lutheran Mission in the
Camatic, the Welsh Calvimstie Methodist in Bengal, the Beilm
Mission rn Behar, all m 1841 , Gossnei's Mrssion to the Kols m
1846
Deaths of In the midst of this extension, death closed the careers of two
MaSiiand of the earliest and greatest of English missionaries In 1834 died
man Wrlham Carey, and in 1837 hrs colleague, Joshua Marshman, m
each case after about forty years' untiring labours, Carey having
never once come home They had " expected great things from
God" , they had " attempted great things for God " , and " great
things " indeed had God done for them, and, by them, for the
extension of His Kingdom
Ceylon
Ceylon m A brief note must be appended to this chapter, to prevent Ceylon
thispencd ^pp^ ^ Of om History at this time There is, however,
little to say about the Mission m that Island until a later period
Patient and prayerful work was going on at Cotta, Baddegama,
and Kandy, among the Singhalese, and in the Jaffna Peninsula,
among the Tamils, but the stagnation produced by the old
Dutch policy still continued, although small congregations were
gathered here and there Some excellent missionaries were at
work, m addition to the four who m 1818 had started the
Mission, among them T Biowning, 1820-38, J Barley, 1821-
44, W Adley, 1824-46, G C Tnmnell, 1826-47, H Powell
(afterwards Vicar of Bolton and Hon Canon of Manchester),
1838-45 , J I Haslam (St John's, Camb , 9th Wrangler), 1888-
50, J T Johnston, 1841-49, 0 Greenwood, 1841-50 (when he
was drowned while bathing) , while within this period W Oakley
andE Pargitei began their lengthened careers, the former m 1835,
and the latter in 1845 The first two Native clergymen, Cornelius
Jayesmha and Abraham Gunasekara, were ordained by Bishop
Spencer of Madras rn 1839, and the third, Cornelius Sennanayaka,
by the first Bishop of Colombo, Dr Chapman, m 1846
CHAPTEE XXIII
Off BOTH SIMS THE ATLANTIC ENSLAVED
Continued Slave Trade m West Afnca— Sickness and Sorrow at Sierra
Leone— Progress notwithstanding— Can the Negro be elevated5—
West Indian Slavery — Wilberforce and Buxton — The Parlia-
mentary Campaign— West Indian Cruelties— Persecution of Mis-
sionaries—Trial and Death of John Smith— Oppression of Negroes
in Jamaica— An Amendment at Exeter Hall— Abolition of Slavery
—Death of Wilberforce— "Compensation for the Slave"— The Day
of Emancipation— Missionary Plans for the Negroes— C M S in
Jamaica— British Guiana Mission— Zachary Macaulay
cry cam up wifo (7od ly i co&on of tho ItofiiZoj/o "— Exod 11 23
11 Is not this tlvjast that I IIWL chosen? to loose the baricte of mk'ctes, to
tlw heavy biwdeiu, and to let the oppi e^dgo /j ee, mil that yo 61 ea/c om i/
— Isa Ivin 6
I LiWctf Afnca
;HE Act of 1807 neiihei stopped the West African PAUT IY
Slave Tiiide nor mteifeied with West Indian Slavery
What it did do was to rendoi illegal the kidnapping
of Africans by British subjects The Tieaties of Pans
and Vienna aliocted to a laige extent the tiaffic bj slave
ships undei foieign flags, poiimttmg Bntish ciuiaeis to boaidgifngon
vessels suspected to be slaveis and to hbeiate any slaves found
in them It was this provision that added so largely to tho
population of Siorra Leone, the cargoes of slaves rescued fioni
the slave-ships being taken thither, as before described"" But
French, Portuguese, and American vessels continued to engage
actively m the trade, notwithstanding the profession by Bianco and
the United States of sincerity in attempts to stop it The most
horrible details are given year by year in the Mmonwy R&^ter,
taken from oihcial reports published in the London Gawtfa For
instance, a French captain, having completed his cargo of slaves
m the Old Calabar Erver, thrust thorn all into a space between
decks only throe feet high, and closed the hatches over them In
the morning fifty weio dead Tho fifty bodies were thrown into
the sea, and the captain went ashore to buy fresh slaves to take
their places Other facts given aie too sickening for these pages
And the number of slaves kidnapped was larger than ever It
* See p 94
334 Tff* NAGRO ON BOTH SIDES THE ATLANTIC
PAST IT was estimated that within a few months, m 1821, nearly forty
1824-41 thousand slaves were shipped from the Guinea Coast and what
Chapes we now ]£now ag ^e flhge! Delta Both in that yeai and the
following, at Wilbeifoice's instance, the House of Commons
unanimously adopted addiesses to the Ciown, calling attention to
these facts and encoui aging the Government to exert moie
pressuie on foieign poweis But little came of this , and twelve
yeais latei, in 1835, we find the House again addressing the
Ciown and urging that the Poweis be called upon to unite in a
Solemn League, declaung the Slave Tiade to be Piracy, and
taking effectual measmes to put an end to it But all was m
vain The yeai 1838 was woise than any pievious one More
victims than one thousand a day weie either killed on the African coast, or
1000 a day faft on the voyage, 01 were landed in Cuba, Biazil, &c No
wondei the hateful traffic flouushed, seeing that the American
01 Poituguese tiadei realized a piofit of from 150 to 200 per
cent '
The end was not yet How it was at last brought about will
appeal m a future chaptei But all thiough these yeais many
thousands — though only a small minority of the whole — of rescued
slaves were landed at Siena Leone, and taxed to the utmost the
material and moial resouices of the Colony
Sierra Meanwhile, the " White Man's Gia\e " continued to sustain its
reputation We have alieady seen how both Government officials
and missionaries weie cut off m 1823 ' In 1824 occuiied one
death which was a blow of especial seventy to the Colony Su
Chailes McCarthy, the Govemoi, fell in one of England's "little
wais " with the Ashantis The Butish force was overwhelmed by
a multitude of Ashanti warriors, and most of the officeis weie
killed Sir Chailes, severely wounded, was taken pnsonei, and
immediately put to death Africa never had a truer fnend At
the 0 M S Anniversary m 1821 he said a few words in lesponse
to a vote of thanks for his gieat services to the Colony —
" Witnessing as I have done the sufferings of our black biethren,
and feeling that it is the influence of Christianity alone which can
make them civilized and happy in this life and nappy in a future,
with these impressions I shall shortly letum to Africa , and my
own exertions in this cause, such as they are, shall be continued
to the end of my days " And continued they weie, faithfully, to
the last
The next four yeais saw the deaths of four mote Governors, one
after the othei, viz , Su C Tuinei, Su H Campbell, Colonel
Denham, and Colonel Lurnley t The missionanes, too, continued
to fall victims to the climate As late as 1840, there was a dis-
tressing diminution of their number In January of that year,
* See p 169
f One of the Governors, n littlo later, was Majoi Ottavius Temple, father of
the present .Aichbisbop of Canterbury Ho also died at Sierra Loouo in
1831
ENSLAVED AND FREL 335
thirteen (new 01 returning, and including wives) arrived at Sierra PART IV
Leone Before the end of July five of them weie dead, and five 1-824-41
otheis had had to retuin to England But befoie that, a much GlmP 2a
worse thing had occuired In 1831, one of the most tiusted of A worse
the missionaries, Mr Davey, fell into giievous sin, and hiought ^^&n
the whole Mission into disgrace , and, shortly aftei, theie was a
rumoui that he had been upset on a nvei and been drowned It
is piteous indeed to lead the letters of the biethien at this time
They were ciushed down with sonow , and as to the Committee,
then hearts for the moment sank within them Then, in 1834,
died the last lepiesentative of the eaily bands, J G Wilhelm,
aftei twenty-thiee yeais' unbroken and faithful service "Om
veiy dear, aged, and veneiable bi other," Mi Kis&lmg called him
in sending the news home " Aged and vcnoiablo " in i elation
to the aveiage span of life m Wost Afuca— foi ho was only
fifty-six 1
The lesult of all this was that the Mission could with the
gieatest difficulty be carried on at all Stations weie without
heads, schools without teacheis, congiegations without pastois,
and the attenuated band weie worn out in the vain attempt to
cope with the evei-giowmg work involved in the continual arnval
of fresh cargoes of rescued slaves, ignorant, diseased, vicious,
intractable The marvel is that any good work was effected at all
But the Lord did not forsake His servants He did not buffer
those whom He had taken to Himself to die in vain Notwith-
standing all difficulties and disappointments, the fruits of the
working of His Spnit weie always manifest Externally the
Colony impioved yeai by yeai , and though there was $ad declen- yet the
sion at the very stations, like Begent, which had leceived so mueh ™°^Pr0'
11 j.j. i j -i j.i greases
blessing, yet true conveisions weie icpoited, and theie wcio many
tokens of the steadfastness and consistency of not a few among
the people When Henry Townsend, afterwaids the houotued
missionary of Abeokuta, went out to Siena Leone as a school-
master in 1836, he wiote home enthusiastically of what ho
saw Of his first Sunday theie he said —
"No one amvmg here -would imagine that he was in a countiy the
inhabitants of winch have been accustomed to idolatry, but in ono wheie
Go A had for many yeai s been wui shipped m spu it andmtiuth The
solemn stillness of the day of rest reigns aiomul, arid numbeis of both
sexes ai e seen hastening t< > school to l&u 11 to i uad and be insti noted m the
Christian religion If erory Lout's Day is kept as this ono has been,
it shows that thoy honom God's laws, and tliat the Spirit of God has been
with tlieni, teaching and guiding them in the path of holiness to the piaise
and glory of that grace which has called them from daikness to light " *
And in 1842 a Parliamentary Committee on the Colony gave
this testimony —
" To the invaluable exertions of the Church Missionary Society more
especially— as also, to a Considerable extent, as in all our African settle-
* Soddall's SwnaLLone, p 180
336 THE NEGRO ON BOTH SIDES THE ATLANTIC
PAIIT IV merits, to the Wesleyan body— tho highest piaise is clue By their
1824-41 eflorts, neaily one-fifth of the \vhole population— a most unusually high
Chap 23 proportion in any country— are at school, and the effects are visible
in considerable intellectual, moial, and religious impiovement,— very
considerable under the peculiar circumstances of such a colony "
The Chinch Missionary Society had then some 7000 regulai
attendants at public worship, of whom some 1500 weie com-
municants There were fifty schools, with 6000 pupils The
Wesleyans at the same time had ovei 2000 members, and 1500
childieu at school
Much eaihei than this, the gieat Euiopean moitahty had led
the Society to a deep conviction of the pai amount importance of
Native Agency The old " Christian Institution " had not been
a success The infant Chinch had not then the material for a
Semmai y of picked African youths But m 1827, it was super-
Fourah seded by a new institution established at Fouiah Bay, undei the
CoJege, direction of the Eev C L E Hansel, a veiy supenoi Basle man
01 darned by the Bishop of London He staited with six youths,
and the fiistf name on the loll is the now honouied name of
Samuel Ciowther The Eouiah Bay College, dining its seventy
years1 careei, has from time to time suffered fiom the same cause
as all the other depaitments of the Mission, the sickness and
removal of labourers, and sometimes it has had to be closed for a
time The Principal who succeeded in cairying it on longest
without interruption was the Eev Edward Jones, an American
colouied cleigyman of the Episcopal Church of the United States,
who took up the woik m 1840, and continued in it moie than
twenty yeais And notwithstanding all disadvantages, the Pom ah
Bay College has, as a mattei of fact, educated the majority of the
African cleigy and many of the leading laity In 1845 wag
founded the Giamniai School, which, also under native manage-
ment, flourished and became self-supporting, and a Girls'
Boarding School, afterwards known as the Annie Walsh Eemale
Institution, which likewise has proved a blessing to the Colony
Much discussion went on in England from tune to time as to
whether the African was capable of being raised perceptibly m
the scale of civilization, and in particulai, whether he had intellect
foi anything more than very elementary study In 1829, two
speakeis, at diffeient Anniveisanes, used the same striking
illustration in dealing with this question Eowell Buxton said —
Briton « Some centimes ago, a Roman army, headed by their most illustrious
African11*1 Chief, visited a small and obscure Island in the Atlantic, where the
slaves people were brutal and degraded, and as wild as the wildest beasts , and
the then Chief Orator of Rome, writing to a friend, said, ' There is a
slave-ship arrived m the Tiber, laden with slaves from that Island,
but/ he adds, f don't take one of them thev aie not fit for use ' That
Island was Britain ! Yet Rome has found her rival m Britain , and the
descendants of those Bntish slaves have far surpassed the sons of the
haughty Romans' May not a day amve when the sons of these
AND FREE 337
degraded Africans will run with you the race of i elision and moiahty, PART IT
and even outstrip you in the glorious career ? " 1824r-41
And Di Philip, the distinguished L M S missionary in South p 23
Africa, leferred to the very same incident —
" Calhng one morning on a gentleman, I was shown into his library ,
and while waiting I took up Cicero's letters to Atticus One of the fiist
lettei s which caught my eye was that in which the Roman orator com-
plains of the stupidiby of slaves from Britain Just as I had finished
reading it, my eye lighted on two busts placed on opposite sides of the
room— Cicero and Isaac Newton,— and I could not help exclaiming, ' See
what that Man says of that Man's countiy1 '"*
Eouiah Bay College, and the othei two institutions, did much
to piove that the Afucan was quite able, if only he had equal
advantages, to hold his own with the European
In 1840, the Siena Leone congiegations combined to foim a Sierra
Chuich Missionary Association which remitted to the Society £87 ceMn ASSO
in its fiist year, and in the next thirty yeais raised no less than ciatlon
£7000 foi the Evangelization of the Woild But the furthei
development of the African Church does not belong to oui piesent
period, and heie we must stop for the piesent
II In the West Inclws
While the Fiench, Spanish, and Ainencan slave-tiadeis weie
still lobbing West Africa of thousands of its people, the minds of
Chnstian men in England weie turning to the condition of the
Negio slaves themselves in the Bntish West Indian Colonies slavery
The Act of 1807 had abolished the Bntish Slave Trade, but it had g^
left intact the pioperty of the West Indian planteis in human Weat
flesh and blood There were nearly a million of black slaves in Indies
Jamaica, Barbadoes, Tiimdad, and the othoi islands belonging
to England, and in Demeraia and othei parts of what is now
Bntish Guiana on the mainland of South America Every slave's
child boin into the woild m this population was appaiently
doomed to interminable bondage , but that word " interminable "
the Committee of the Church Missionaiy Society began, m 1823,
to hope might not piove to be applicable " They hegm," said the
Eepoit of that year, " to conceive hopes that eio long they shall
be enabled to blot it out of the Society's recoids They cannot
but anticipate with joy that day when the Illustrious Advocate of
the African Eace shall witness that gieat consummation of his
toil— a public and solemn piovision foi seeming the peisonal
freedom of every African throughout the Butish dominions
tfhe Committee invoke most earnestly the aid of the whole body
of members m this cause "
The " Ulustnous Advocate of the African Eace " had, two years
befoie this, m May, 1821, finding age and mfhmity increasing,
appealed to a young member of Paihament to take up the mantle
, 1.829, p 252,
vor, i
338 THE NEGRO ON BOTH SIDES THE ATLANTIC
PART IV that was falling from him— token though it he, like Elijah's,
°^ lso^atlon an^ lepioach,— and to follow up the Abolition of the
glaye TradQ by the Abolition of Slavery That young membei
was Thomas Fowell Buxton Biought into the full light of the
Gospel, and to unieseived dedication of himself to the service
cau« to of Chiist, undei the mimstiy of Josiah Piatt at Wheler Chapel,
gprtalfields, Buxton had determined to use his pailiamentary
position foi the benefit of the oppressed at home and abroad His
marriage to Hannah Guiney, of Eailham, a youngei sistei of
Elizabeth Fry, had hi ought him into the philanthropic circle
that was then doing so much to lefoim the Ciimmal Law and
impiove the pnsons , and it was a speech of his on Sn James
Mackintosh's Bill foi i educing the numbei of dimes punishable
with death (then 230 I) that led William Wilbei force to make him
his " parliamentary executor " * " Aftei what passed last night,"
wiote Wilbeiforce the veiy next day, "I can no longer foibeai
lesorting to you, and confining you to take most seiiously into
consideration the expediency of your devoting yomself to this
blessed seivice Let me then entreat you to foim an alliance
with me, that may be truly termed holy , t and if I should be
unable to commence the wai, and still more if, when commenced,
I should (as ceitamly would, I fear, be the case) be unable to
nmsh it, I entieat that you would continue to prosecute it " J
Only two months befoie this, Buxton1 s sistei -in-law, Pnscilla
Gurney, had died in his house On her death-bed she called him
to her side and seemed anxious to say something very important ,
but she was too fai gone, and could only pi ess his hand and
murmui, "The pooi deai slaves!" § Wilberforce' s letter, there-
foie, came to one whose heart was already touched , and after
long and prayerful consideiation the " holy alliance " was entered
into
At the beginning of 1823 was formed the Anti-Slavery Society,
Society with the Duke of Gloucester, brother of the King, as President
formed Wilberfoice immediately issued a powerful pamphlet, An Appeal
on behalf of the Slaves, which made a profound impression The
Quakers sent a petition to Paihament, the first on the subject ,
and Wilberforce, in presenting it on March 19th, lemmded the
House that it was they who had, nearly thuiy years before,
given him for presentation the first petition against the Slave
Trade "Was it," asked Canning, then Secretary foi the
Colonies, " his intention to found any motion on the petition? "
"No," lephed Wilberforce, "but such is the mtention of an
esteemed friend of mine", whereupon Buxton, thus publicly
introduced as his successor, immediately rose and gave notice
* Life ofBvrTF Bwtony p 141
f In obvious allusion to the "Holy Alliance *' tlien lately foimed by oertam
of the European Powers
J It/0 of Sir T F Buaiton, p 108
§ Ibid, p 106
ENSLAVED AND FREE 339
of a resolution, which, on May 15th, he foimally moved, as PAST IT
Mows - 1824-41
Chap 23
" That the state of slavery is repugnant to the principles of the British _
Constitution and of the Christian Religion , and that it ought to be Buxton's
gradually abolished throughout the British Colonies with as much
expedition as may be found consistent with a due regard to the well-
being of the parties concerned "
His plan was that existing slaves should be bettei treated, be
allowed lawful marriage, have piovision foi then ichgions instruc-
tion, and oppoitunity to work out their own freedom , and that all
Negio childien bom aftei a ceitain day should be nee — so that m
the course of a few years slavery would automatically die out
No pioposal could be moie moderate, or less i evolutionary The
Abolitionists weie accused of seeking to demoiahze the slaves by
fieemg them befoie they were fit for fieedom , but, as Buxton's
biographei well observes, " it was they who desired to appioach
emancipation by a long senes of prepaiatory measuies, it was
the planters who rejected these preparatory measuies, because
they would lead to ultimate emancipation " But Buxton, in his
speech, was plain enough as to where the right lay to the bodies who owns
of the slaves —
" We have been so long accustomed to talk of lmy slave ' and '
slave,' and what he will fetch if sold, that we are apt to imagine that he
is really yours 01 nune, and that we have a substantial right to keep or
sell him Here is a certain valuable commodity, and here are two
claimants for it, a white man and a black man What is the commodity
in dispute ? The body of the black man The white man says, ' It is
mine,' and the black man, ' It is mine ' The claim of the black man is
just this— Nature gave it him Will any man say he came by his body
in an illegal manner P Does any man suspect he played the knave and
purloined his own limbs P I do not mean to say the Negro is not a
thief , but he must be a very subtle thief indeed if he stole even so ranch
as his own little fingei 1
' Then we come to the claim of the white man You received him from
your father — very good Your father bought him fiom a neighbouring
planter— very good That planter bought him of a trader in the
Kingston slave-market, and that trader bought him of a man-merchant
in Africa So far you aie quite safe But how did the inan-mei chant
acquire him ? Re stole him ' ' *
This inimitable argument— as witty as it was senously ino-
fragable — seems very much a matter of course now It is hard
to lemember that within the lifetime of Queen Yictona theie were
thousands of honourable and respectable Englishmen who declined
to admit it, and who weie stiongly represented in Paihament
The Government, however, proposed to meet Buxton half-way,
by recommending, though not requiring, the local Legislatures to
adopt measuies for ameliorating the condition of the slaves with
a view to their future emancipation , and Canning's amendment
to this effect being earned, circulars in accordance with it were
* Life o/ Bmtont p 114,
z 2
340 THE NEGRO ON BOTH SIDLS THE ATLANTIC
PAST IV addiessed to the diffeient Colonies But the uselessness of such
1824-41 gentle measures was soon apparent The news of the debate
OfapJ3 created the most violent excitement in the West Indies The
indigna- indignation of the planteis knew no bounds, and the lancour of
twnofthe their language is almost inconceivable It was openly proposed
indfan to thiow off the yoke of England and ]oin the United States On
planters ^ ot^er ^^ ^ alaYeg m^g^ that the great King of
England had oideied then fieedom, and that the masteis weie
keeping them out of then rights Some refused to work, and
lesisted compulsion, and some committed outrages on the white
men The distuibances were soon suppiessed, howevei, by the
tioops , and " piessed down and running ovei was the measure
of vengeance dealt to the unhappy Negroes " Moreover the news
of the outbreaks produced a revulsion of feeling m England , the
half-hearted supporters of abolition at once fell away , and Buxton.
was for a time the most unpopular man in Paihament, and
perhaps in England
persecu- The math of the West Indians did not stop at then slaves
SonaneB8" ^or many years, faithful and patient missionaiy woik had been
done among them by missionaries of the London, Baptist,
Wesley an, and Moiavian Societies , ' and upon them fell the
bitteiest reproaches Because, so fai as their little influence
went, they had pleaded the cause of their suffering flocks, they
weie supposed to have fosteied the msmiection In leality it
was then teachings that pievented the revolt being moie geneial,
and led even the slaves who did use to spaie the lives of the
whites that fell into their hands "We will take no life," said
some of the noters, " for our pastors have taught us not to take that
which we cannot give " But in Demeiaia, in 1823, a missionary of
Case of the L M S , John Smith, was tned by court-martial foi aiding and
fiiSth abetting them, and although the evidence showed that he had
been especially earnest in counselling patient obedience, and had
offended the slave-leaders by so doing, he was sentenced to death
The Home Government remitted the capital sentence, but mean-
while Smith had died of the headships he enduied m prison
Great excitement ensued in England Again public opinion
veered round Henry (afterwards Lord") Brougham bi ought f orwai d
Debate m (June 2nd, 1824) a vote of censure m the House of Commons,
meat*" showing that the trial had been illegally conducted, and that
the officers who conducted it were influenced by the violent anti-
negro prejudices of the slave-pi opnetois Dr Lushington and
Sir James Mackintosh supported him in speeches that moved
the whole country Canning, naturally unwilling to condemn
British officers, but seeing duect opposition hopeless, moved
the "previous question," which enabled the Government to
evade the motion But in his speech, he pointedly separated
* The email QMS and SPG- work has been previously mentioned, see
p 218 Their enlarged Missions were later,
ENSLAVED AND F&EE 341
himself from the pio-slavery paity He actually thanked PART IV
Biougham foi his exeitions, he disclaimed any " mdiffeience 18&4-41
to the religious instruction of the slaves" on the pait of the
Government, he piotested against the "monstious doctimes
piopagated by some of the colonists with a view of putting out
the light of natural and revealed lehgion" , and he warned them
against " any attempt in futuie to discouiage religion or molest
its teachers" It was in these debates that Wilbeiforce spoke
for the last time in Paihament speech
Neveitheless, the Anti-slavery leaders were compelled by
Canning's policy of "recommendations" to rest on their oais for
a while , and meantime they set to work to inform the English
people of the real condition of the Negroes, which was little
undei stood No doubt many of those who had property m the
West Indies really desiied that their slaves should be well
tieated, and believed that they actually were well heated, and it
was natuial that they should resent the imputations cast upon
all slaveholder alike But they were sadly ignoiant of the
facts They knew not what their agents and overseeis were
doing They did know, howevei, quite enough They knew, or ill-treat-
might have known, that their slaves woiked on the sugai-planta-
turns nineteen houis a day in crop time, and fourteen houis and a
half at other times , that they were kept at work, the weak and
sickly equally with the strong and healthy, by the tmeat of the
whip , that the slave's " scanty supply of food and clothing was a
source of constant and bittei suffering, that his domestic ties
were utterly dissolved , that every hindrance was thrown m the
way of his education , that his religious teacheis weie peisecuted ,
that his day of rest was encroached on , * that every prospect of
civil nghts was taken away , that however giievous an injury was
inflicted on him, to obtain ledresswas almost impossible, and
that the slightest offences subjected him to the severest punish-
ments, to the stocks, to the prison, to the lash " \ These things
were general, and not senously denied , but the charge of cruel
flogging was denied The returns of punishments, however, given
m by the planteis themselves for the two years 1828-9 showed a
total of 68,921 floggings, of which 25,094 were duly xegisteied as
inflicted on females , and the law allowed twenty-five stripes to
each ordinary "punishment" At this very time the Jamaica
House of Assembly re-affirmed by a laige majority the right to
flog women publicly and indecently Another new law forbad New law
Negroes "teaching or preaching as Anabaptists or otherwise," ^toShy
under pain of " whipping, or imprisonment with hard labour" , tbeKlDK
and also prohibited all religious meetings or services between
sunset and sunrise, which was equivalent to foibidding them
altogether Upon this enactment of a " Christian " legislature
* In one case, a manager put all his Negroes m the stocks on Sundays, to
prevent their attending chapel 0 S Home, Story of tiho L M S , p 161
f Life o/ Bwatfon, p 213
342 THL NEGRO ON BOTH SIDES THE ATLANTIC
PART IY the Home Government imposed the loyal veto , wheieupon the
1824r4l Jamaica Assembly re-enacted it, with seveiei penalties The
Chap_23 King's veto had to be put in exeicise a second time "What
George IY had done, William IV now repeated
But m the meanwhile, not unnaturally, another insuirection
koke out, and was suppiessed with moie ternble seventy than
evei Moieover the missionaries who sought to mimstei to the
Negioes weie bitteily opposed and peisecuted, one Wesleyan
who had disobeyed the law thus twice disallowed by the King of
England died in a horrible dungeon, and many chapels were
destioyed by white mobs, while the magistrates looked on Two
01 three of the missionaries, notably Kmbb, a Baptist, came to
England, and bonified many public meetings by a lecital of what
they and their flocks had endured Of couise then accounts
Lord siigo weie leceived m official cucles with scepticism , but Lord Shgo,
SurtSnl G"overno1 of Jamaica, wiote afterwards (in 1835) to Buxton,—
state-*18 "When I went out to Jamaica I thought that the stones of the
ments ciuelty of the slave-owneis disseminated by your society v\eie
ineiely the emanations of enthusiastic persons, — rathei a caiica-
tuie than a faithful lepiesentation of what did actually take place
Befoie I had been long in Jamaica, I had reason to think that the
-real state of the case had been far understated , and this, I am
quite convinced, was the fact " ^
The opposition was not confined to Methodists and " Anabap-
c Mt^ lasts " There were CMS catechists and schoolmasteis who met
suffer3 with similai treatment Foi when the Bishopnca of Jamaica and
Baibadoes were established m 1824, the Chinch Missionary
Society enlarged the operations it had been carrying on upon a
small scale on tbiee or four of the West India Islands,! though
even then the scale was very small compared with that of the
Nonconformist Missions The work really consisted of suppoitmg
schools, and providing schoolmasters and catechists This was
chiefly upon -estates whose owners did not join m the general
hostility to the religious instruction of the Negroes , I though in
some cases, especially in Demerara, the Society's agents suffered
almost as much as those who were called " sectanan teacheis "
An Amend It was in this connexion that the Amendment to the Annual
Report was moved on the first occasion of the Anniversary
Meeting being held m Exeter Hall, as before mentioned § The
Eeport, as lead, said, " Theie are honourable and bnght excep-
tions There aie among the West-Indian Piopnetors some
Chnstian Men, who have come forward, in the face of much
opposition and reproach, for the benefit of the Slaves on their
* Life of Burton, p 817 t See p 218
£ The S P G , as trustee of the Codrington estates m Barbadoes, was a
slave owner, but acted with so much wisdom and kindness that its Negroes
were virtually enfranchised before the Abolition Act, and formed an industrious,
peaceful, and religious community Seo S P G- Digest, p 202
§ Seep 278
ENSLAVED AND FREE 343
Estates, and who, by impaiting to them the benefits of Christian PABT IV
Tnstiuction, aie matenaUy promoting then spiritual welfare, as 1824-41
well as efficiently preparing them foi the right use and enjoyment hap 23
of hbeity " This sentence, hteially tiue as it was, was objected to
by the Eev S C Wilts, Editor of the Chnstian Observer, for fear
advantage should be taken of it to discount the statements made
legarding the geneial oppiession of the slaves He moved that
these words be added — " But still, such is the powei of the
System, that the very Fuends of the Slaves cannot carry their
wishes into full effect, but aie cramped and cnppled in then
exeitions " This Amendment, 01 lather udei, did not lead to the
upioanous scenes that were witnessed the following day at the
Bible Society's meeting , foi Daniel Wilson (not yet Bishop of
Calcutta) at once lose and seconded it, and his influence was so
great that no furthei discussion ensued, but it was put to the
meeting and carried almost unanimously
Meanwhile the serious proceedings of the white population m
Jamaica elicited from Loid Godench, the Colonial Secretaiy m Lord
Loid Grey's Mimstiy, a lemai&able despatch,! m which he
said —
" Nothing can justify the systematically withholding from any men or
class of men a Revelation given for the common benefit of all I could
not theiefore acknowledge that the Slaves in Jamaica could be permitted
to live and die amidst the daikness of Heathen Idolatry, whatevei
effect the advancing light of Christianity might ultimately have on the
relation of Mastei and Slave Nor am I anxious to conceal my opinion
that a change in this relation is the natural tendency, and must be the
ultimate lesult of the diffusion of religious knowledge among them
So long as the Islands were peopled by importations of Native Africans
who lived and died m Heathenism, the relation of Master and Slave
might be expected to be permanent , but now that an indigenous race
of men has grown up, speaking 0111 own language and instructed in our
religion, all the more haish rights of the Owner, and the blind submis-
sion of the Slave, will inevitably, at some period, more or less remote,
come to an end "
" More or less remote "—that was a cautious way of still appeal-
ing even to the self-mteiest of the planters But it was their
obstinacy that turned the " more " into " less " The Anti-Slaveiy
leaders had ere this come to the conclusion that the gradual
measures of amelioiation which they had advocated m 1823
would be of little avail even if adopted They now saw the
fallacy of their own admission that " no people ought to be free
till they are fit to use then: fieedom " " This maxim," said
Macaulay, " is worthy of the fool m the old story, who resolved
not to go into the water till he had learned to swim " J And m
May, 1830, a great meeting was held in IFieemasons' Hall to
proclaim that the object now to be fought for was immediate and
* See p 2*79 •)• Printed m the Mwwnw y Kepisiar, 1832, p 274
$ Essay on Milton Essays, vol i p 42
344 THL NICRO ON BOTH SIDES THE ATLANTIC
PAST IV unconditional Abolition William Wilberfoice, who had for five
1824-41 yearg retired fiom public life, came forth from his letnement to
Chap23 ^Q ^ ckairj an(J W1th enfeebled frame and weakened voice
dehveied a most impiessive address Biougham, Lushington,
T ^ Macaulay, Buxton, Lords Calthorpe and Milton, Daniel
public Wilson, and otheis spoke , and the gist of the stnng of lesolutions
was that every effort was to be made to ensure "the early
and umveisal Extinction of Slavery in all the Possessions of the
British Crown "
Three more years, however, elapsed , and it is needless here
to detail Buxton's exertions in Parliament in the face of both
open opposition and half-heaited support The thiilhng story of
them is given in full m his Life At length, on May 14th, 1833,
Mr Stanley,] who had succeeded Loid Godeiich as Colonial
Secretary in the Whig Ministry, introduced the Government
Th(! Bill, pioposmg the abolition of Slavery throughout the British
Abolition dominions, but a temporal y appienticeship of the slaves to then
existing masters, as a transition measure, and a vote of twenty
millions sterling as compensation for the loss of propeity The
Bill passed on August 28th Wilberforce did not see that day ,
but he lived to know the Bill was safe "The Moses of
the African Israelites," as Colquhoun observes, waa spared to
witness the children of his watchful oversight ]ust stepping
Death of into their promised land J He entered into iest on July 29th,
waber- exclaiming with fervour on his dying bed, " Thank God that
I skould have lived to witness a day m which England is
willing to give twenty millions sterling foi the Abolition of
Slavery!"
l(The past year," said the CMS Committee in then next
Annual Eeport, "will be ever memorable, in the history of this
Country, for the termination of an arduous and painful conflict
which, m vanous forms, has agitated the Councils of the Nation
during half a century That Veteran Philanthropist of whose
death the Committee feel it is almost impossible for them to
speak, since all hearts feel toward his memory more than woids
can utter, was permitted by Divine Piovidence to live just long
enough to witness the crowning of his labours, and, after a noble
warfare of fifty yeais, to close his eyes with peaceful tnumph and
adoring wonder at the thought that he had lived to see the
day "
The speeches at the May Meetmg&that yeai, 1834, aie stirring
to read, even now , especially Buxton's at the Wesleyan Anni-
compensa- versary At the CMS Meeting, Hugh Stowell dwelt on the
Sfe d!va- *wenty onlhons Compensation " But where," he exclaimed, " is
owner, but the Compensation for the Slave ? " His eloquent periods were
the slave ? # pnni;ed m ^ ^moncery jfornsi&r, July, 1830, p 292 , see also p 216
f Afterwards the Earl of Derby, Leader of the Conservative Party and
Prime Minister He was then a Whig
J Wilb&rforce and his Fnenfo, p 416
ENSLAVED AND FRLE 345
afteiwaids put, says the Missionary Reyistv, by "a delighted PAETIV
hearer," into the following stanzas —
Yes l wisely arid well lias our Senate decided,
And the deed shall a gem in its diadem stand '
By Mercy and Justice its counsels wore guided,
And Slavery's moamngs have ceased m the land
But though Providence thus has yom fiat duected,
One proof of additional zeal I would crave,
Your care has the rights of the Master piotected,
Oh, let Compensation extend to the Slave '
Yet what for his ills can afford leparation,
His spirits restoie, or his vigour renew ?
Golconda's vast wealth were a poor compensation,
Too trivial a boon weie the mines of Peru
Oh ' give him the Records of Light and of Gladness,
The " Pearl of great price " for his portion deciee,
There show him, we all were in bondage and sadness,
Till by Chnst's precions blood we were ransom'd and fioe
Ye have wionged him— ye think on those wrongs with contrition —
Like Zacchgeus a foui-fold requital bestow ,
Send the faithful and good on a meiciful mission,
And lead him the way of Salvation to know
This, this shall be lasting and true Compensation,
More ptue than the ransom that lately ye gave ,
For the Saviour shall speakj through His blest Revelation,
Glad tidangs of Fieedom and Peace to the Slave
The day of emancipation had been fixed for August 1st, 1834 J^Jy °f
It was observed with giatitnde to God by many fnends mmon cp"
England And with much player, for they hardly dared to
whispei to one another then secret apprehensions of what might
be going on that day in the West Indies " "Would not," writes
Button's son and biogiaphei, " the gloomy predictions of the West
Indians be now fulfilled? The bloodshed, the noting, the
diunkenness, the confusion, they had so often foretold— would
not these tainish the lustie of this glorious deed of the British
people?"
"It was therefoie/' he goes on, "with feelings of deep solicitude that
Mr Buxton and his friends awaited the news from the Colonies He
was at Northrepps Hall, when, on the 10th of September, a large pile of
letters came in with the colonial stamps upon them He took them,
still sealed, m his hand, and walked out into the wood , desiring no
witness but One of the emotion and anxiety he experienced He opened
them, and deep indeed was his joy and gratitude to God when he
found that one letter after another was filled with accounts of the
admirable conduct of the Negroes on the great day of freedom
Throughout the Colonies the churches and chapels had been thrown,
open, and the slaves had crowded into them, on the evening of the 81st
of July As the hour of midnight approached, they feu upon then
knees, and awaited the solemn moment When twelve sounded from
the chapel bells, they sprang upon their feet, and through every island
* On August 1st, 1884, the Jubilee of the day was celebrated by a groat
meeting in the Guildhall, the Prince of Wales presiding
346 THE NEGRO ON BOTH SIDES THE
PART IV rang the glad sound of thanksgiving to the Father of all , for the chains
1824-41 were broken, and the slaves were free " *
JL In the Missionary Register t many touching naiiatives of the
observance of the day aie recoided It is mentioned that one of
the hymns sung as the Negioes lose to then feet at midnight,
free men, was Chailes Wesley's " Blow ye the trumpet, blow " —
"which," says a missionary correspondent, "had we ever given
it out befoie, would have subjected us to a chaige of tieason "
The piayeis of some of the people are given , here is one —
" Blessed Lord ! We want tongue", we want word, we want heart, to
praise Dee Debil don't do de good to us, hut Don do de good to us , for
Don put it into the heart of blessed European to grant us dis great
pnvilege 0 clerefore may none of we pooi sinner praise de debil by
makm all de carouze about de street, but fock like dove to deir window
to praise and glorify Dy Great Name ' "
But the Compensation for the Slave of which Hugh Stowell had
spoken — what of that ? It was not forgotten A]! the societies
New Mis- set to work to extend their Missions in the West Indies, and the
sionstothe Government voted laige sums in aid of Christian education foi the
egroes ^6groeg ij\^ g p Q } ai{}e(} by a Eoyal Letter and the Govern-
ment Giants, expended in the next fifteen years £171,000 upon
that object I The Church Missionary Society took counsel with
the Archbishop of Canteibury and the Bishop of London, and the
foimei forwaided memorials from the Committee to the Bishops
of Jamaica and Barbadoes The Society had foi some yeais been
at woik m Jamaica, in Antigua, in some of the smaller islands,
and in Demeiaia on the mainland, and a Chuich Missionary
Association had been formed m Jamaica in 1827, with Sir G H
Eobe as Piesident But now the Committee proposed moie ex-
tended woik, and in doing so, they not only thought of the
immediate benefit to the liberated Negioes, but fully expected
that the lesult would, in couise of time, be the provision of West
Indian coloured missionaries foi Africa With a view to this
especially, the Eev C L F Hansel, one of the ablest missionanes
at Sierra Leone, § was commissioned to go to Jamaica and stait a
Large Normal Institution for Negro teachers The vigour with which
|f *ke new plans 'weie carried out will be gathered from the fact
that in 1838 the Society had m Jamaica, Tnnidad, and Demeraia,
thirteen ordained missionaries, twenty-thiee English catechists
and schoolmasters, seventy schools, 6000 scholars, and 8000
pei sons at public worship Government gave the Society laige
sums to build and maintain schools , and m 1840 a meeting of
"planters, merchants, and others inteiested m Jamaica" was
held at Willis's Booms with a view to getting substantial help for
them, the result of which, " not much exceeding £1000," actually
disappointed the Committee
* Life o/ Jtourtow, p 296 f 1834, pp 464—470
| S P G Digest, p 195 § See p 386
ENSLAVED AND FREE $47
The lesults of the work were certainly not disappointing In PART IV
1840, the Committee reported of Jamaica, " Laige congregations Q?24^
have been gatheied , numbers of the Negioes have been baptized , ap
classes f 01 Conformation have been foirned , a considerable numbei Results
have been confirmed by the Bishop , and of these, many have
become communicants Week-day lectuies, Missionary Meetings,
Sunday Schools, Day and Evening Schools, Infant Schools, &c , aie
earned on " In Barbadoes the Society had intended to woik,
but was prevented by difficulties arising through the Bishop
lequmng missionaries to the Negroes to be undei the authonty
of the rectois of the parishes into which the Island was divided 5
The parochial system, mdeed, was peihaps moie complete in the
West Indies than in any other Colony, owing to the libeiality of
the State piovision of funds , and this subsequently facilitated
the withdrawal of the Society from the Islands altogether The
immediate cause of this step was the alarming condition of the
Society's finances in 183941, of which moie heieaftei The
withdiawal was giadual some of the missionanes were taken on c M s
to the colonial establishments, when others died, their places
weie not filled up , the Noirnal School in Jamaica was tiansferied
to the Tiustees of the Lady Mico Chanty, which has been a gieat
benefit to that island , and by 1848 the last link had been severed
The Society natuially incurred much blame foi having thus put
its hand to the plough and then looked back , but when we como
to the financial position, we shall see that diastic measures sorne-
wheie were inevitable, and it seemed to the Committee that the
West Indian woik, inteiesting and mipoitant as it was, was of a
less definitely missionary character than the woik in Africa, India,
and othei great Heathen fields Meanwhile the S P G and the
Nonconformist Missions continued then operations, and weie the
instruments of great good among the Negio population
To one bianch of the West Indies Mission the Society clung
longer This was the Mission to the Indians of Butish Guiana, British
which had been commenced as an of shoot from Demeraia
With this work one honouied name is connected, that of the Eev
J H Bernau, a Basle man who received furthei training at
Islington, and, having been oidamed by the Bishop of London,
went out in 1835 Eoi eighteen yeais he labomed zealously, and
gatheied a small congregation of Indians of three or foui different
tribes, and his woik at Bartica Giove was watched withprayeiful
interest by many friends in England In 1855 this Mission was
closed, and afterwards came under the chaige of the SPG,
which still labouis m the countiy One of its missionanes, Mr
Brett, did a remarkable woik foi moie than forty years Mi
Bernau, m latei years, was Incumbent of Belvedeie in Kent He
* This was a long controversy, into which, it would be unprofitable to enter
now, as the West Indies Mission did not continue many years The Committee
were at one time troubled by strong articles in the Record against the Bishop,
which they seriously disappioved and publicly repudiated
348 THE NEGRO ON BOTH SIDES THE APLANTIC
PART IY died m 1890, aged eighty-five He was the father of Mis A E
182441 ifouie
Ghap ffl We must not bid faiewell to the West Indian Negro without a
One more tribute to the memory of one man who has not been mentioned in
tain ^s c^aP*er» an^ onty casually m foimer chapters as one of the
' founders of the Church Missionary Society Zachary Macaulay
was not m Parliament , he was not a platform speaker , he was
not m the public eye a representative of the Anti-Slavery cause
like Wilberfoice 01 Buxton But it was he who toiled unceasingly
behind the scenes, wading through blue-books, collating and
grouping evidence, piepanng memorials, wilting pamphlets, and
leady at all times, like a walking handbook or dictionary, to be
lefened to touching any and every detail of the subject , so that
Wilberfoice once said, when mfoimation was wanted, " Let us
look it out in Macaulay " No man knew the Negro as he did
He had passed his youth in Jamaica, as overseer of an estate He
had been Governor of Sierra Leone in the earliest days of the
Colony The lesult was, that, as Colquhoun says,— " One object
filled his eye and engrossed his soul —
j o
" He had heard the bay of the bloodhound
On the track of the hunted slave ,
The lash and the curse of the master,
And the groan that the captive gave
" He had seen in the cane-fields of Jamaica the Negro's weary
step and sunken condition , he had watched him toiling undei
tiopical suns, and engaged though long nights in the intolerable
piessuie of sugai-strammg He had tracked him to his African
home by the steaming nveis of reeds and mangioves , and fiom
the reedy banks be had seen him torn— bound, manacled, and
driven like a beast on shipboard— to be squeezed into a stifling
hold, to die woise than the death of a dog, and to be flung like
carrion into the waves The memory of these horrors haunted
him, and he nevei lested till they were put down " < Outkvmg
Wilberforce by foui yeais, he died in 1838 He is chiefly known
now as Loid Macaulay's father, but if Thomas Babmgton
Macaulay had never been born, the name of Zachary Macaulay
would, on its own account, be worthy of eveilasting remembiance
* FPtZber/orco twitf 1m Jfymda, p 251
CHAPTER XXIV
Qmz, COPT, AmsmAsr, Zrau, MAORI, AUSTRALIA Cta
Malta, Syra, Smyrna— Egypt and Abyssinia S Gobat , Lieder , Isen-
berg and Krapf— The Zulu Mission Francis Owen—New Zealand
First Baptisms, New Missionaries, Extension, Charles Darwin,
Bishop Broughton, Marsden'8 Last Visit and Death— New Hol-
land Mission the Australian Blacks— Rupert's Land the Cree
and the Soto , Cockran and Cowley , Bishop Mountain's Visit
uAnA 0af7iered them out of tlie fandsjiom t7te east, and /row ffre west, /torn f7ie
noitJi, ond/toBtflwsout?t"t-Ps ovn 3
" IF/iosoeve? s/iaZl not icccm i/cm, nor Tiea? i/ou, depart tlmce "— St
Mark vi 11
0 Copi, and tfo Abysstman
[HE eailier history of what was foi many yeais known as PAUT IT
the Meditenanean Mission has been told in connexion 1824-41
with the eftoits to revive the Onental Chinches Cbftp
Those efforts were continued and developed duung the work for
penod now under leview Malta was still the base, so chSs,
to speak, of the enteipnse Jowett continued thei e (with intervals)
till 1832 , * but the leading mind in the very irnpoitant liteiary
woik earned on was Christopher B1 Schhenz, one of the Basic
men, and an accomplished scholar, who in sixteen yoais sent
out from the Malta Press hundieds of thousands of poitions Malta
of Scupture, books, and tiacts, m Italian, Maltese, Modern Press
Greek, Tuikish, Arabic, and Amhanc Puichasers appeared from
all paits of the Turkish Empne— which was then much laigei
than it is now— and Noith Africa Peihaps Schhenz's most
important work was his Arabic Bible and Prayer-book, and
Turkish and Amhanc Piayer-books Introducing the three
latter the S P 0 K. gave pecuniary aid One of his assistants
was a remarkable man whose name became well known in after
years, George Peicy Badger He was a printer by tiade, and
an Islington student He was afterwards oidamed by Bishop
Blomfield and sent by the S P G to Persia , then for some years
he was chaplain at Aden , and in his latei years, which weie
* He went out for the third time m 1829 The Instructions then delivered
to him are a masterly and comprehensive review of the whole position and
ontlook m the Dost , preanmably by Biokersteth, though they read moie like
Pitt's— ^ ho, however, was not thon Secretory
350 GREEK, COPT} ABYSSINIAN^ ZULU,
PART IY spent in the Cape Colony, he was one of the most celebiated of
1824-41 Aiabic scholais, and received the Lambeth degiee of D C L from
Chapj24 A^tohop Tait He died in 1888
The establishment of the Kingdom of Gieece led to high antici-
pations of a general revival of Gieek influence m the East, and
*^e Society, encomagedby the leception given by Gieek bishops
to Mi Hartley, the Oxfoid man who was continuing the travels
and leseaiches among the Onental Chuiches begun by Jowett,
formed plans foi educational work in the interest of those Chuiches
Athens was occupied by the Protestant Episcopal Church of
Ameiica , and the Chuich Missionary Society chose the Island of
Syia, and also Smyiua — which, though in the Turkish dominions,
was one of the most important Greek centres in the East In
1829, a Prussian who had been sent by the Basle Society to Coifu,
P A Hildner, was taken over by the Society, and stationed at
Syia , and theie he lived and woiked for fifty-four years He
camed on a school called the Psedagogion, and gave a sound
Scriptural education to hundreds of Greeks In 1831, J A
and Asm Jetter, who had been invalided from Bengal, was sent to Smyrna ,
Jnor' and in 1835 he was joined by Petei Pjellstedt, a Swede, who also
had been invalided fiom India, having been with Ehenius m
Tinnevelly These two travelled all over Asia Minoi, and the
lattei afterwaids m Bulgaria, distributing Scriptures and tiacts,
and pleaching the simple Gospel of Chust as opportunity offeied
In tunes of plague and choleia, which then alternately ravaged the
Levant, they gave themselves assiduously to the caie of the pooi
and sick For a time they had both Gieek and Turkish school0
at Smyrna, but the hostility of Gieek pnests and Turkish
mullahs was successful in getting them closed, and in 1840 both
biethien were recalled to England, and letrred t In 1842 the
Smyina Mission was leopened by J T Wolters, one of the
Basle men who, like Pfander, Hoernle, and others, had been
driven out of Persia by the Russians,! and had joined the
Church Misfeionaiy Society
and Egypt Two of the Onental Churches, the Coptic and the Abyssinian,
the Society was now making special effoits to influence In 1825,
five Basle men, Samuel Gobat, Christian Kugler, JET Lieder,
Theodor Muller, and W Krusc, weie sent to Egypt , the fiist two
s Qobat with an eye to Abyssinia whenevei the way opened Gobat
(afterwards Anglican Bishop m Jerusalem) was a remarkable man
His fascinating autobiography gives a delightful and ingenuous
account of his eaihei years § He came from Basle to Islington,
]ust when the College was opened, || and though he was only m
* See p 227 His journals are printed at great length in the Register and
aie deeply interesting
f Jetter was the father of Mrs Greaves of the 0 E Z M S
j See p 313
8 Samuel Gobat Sis Life and Woik London Nisbet, 1884
| "I enjoyed," says Gobat, "the society of several of the missionary
students, especially Cockran, afterwards Archdeacon of Rupert's Land, and
MAORI} AUSTRALIAN^ CRLL 351
England a few months, the Committee acquned a high idea of PART IV
both his ability and his devotion Coming fiom the Jura, his 1824-41
vernacular was Fiench, but he knew German and English, Latin, ChaP ^
Greek, and Hebiew, and he was studying Aiabic and Ethiopia
Going to Egypt, and thence to Palestine, is a very simple thing
now, but it was not so then The party weie forty-nine days
getting fiorn Marseilles to Malta , and when Gobat and Kuglei
visited Jeiusalem to consult with some Abyssimans there (who all
died of the plague shortly aftei), they had to letuin fiom Jaffa to
Damietta in an open boat
The woik in Egypt was earned on foi moie than thirty yeais,
chiefly by Lieder, who died at Cauo in 1865 He and his brethien Lieder
itmeiated all over the Delta, into the Fayum, and up the Nile into m Egypt
Nubia, selling and distubuting Scnptuies and tiacts, among
both Christians and Mussulmans, but moie especially the foimer
The Coptic Patnaich and priests weie generally fnendlv though
those of the Gieek Chinch were not Schools also weie set on
foot , and, in particular, a Boys' Boaiding School at Cauo, which
m 1842 was changed into a Theological Seminaiy foi the tiaming
of the Coptic cleigy Many of them leceived m it from Liedei
puie and Scnptural teaching which they could have had m no
othei way, and one of the students aftei waids became Abuna
(Archbishop) of the Abyssinian Chuich Linguistic woik was also
done at Cauo as well as at Malta Lieder revised the Coptic and
the Aiabic New Testament for the S P C K , and he tianslated
into Arabic the Homilies of St Chiysostom, " and some useful
woiks by Macanus, whose authority is much respected by the
Coptic Church, but from whose piinciples that Church has
gnevously declined " *
Abyssinia had been long m the thoughts of the Church
Missionary Society The acquisition by the Society of a valuable
MS of part of the Old Testament m Ethiopia, the ecclesiastical
language of the Abyssinian Church, m 1817, led to the Committee's The Abys-
lequestmg Samuel Lee \ topiepaie a bnef histoiy of that Church ,
which historical sketch is punted in the Appendix to the Eepoit
of 1818 Then the purchase, by Jowett m 1820, of Abu Eumi's
MS version of the Bible m Arnhaiic,} the vernacular of the
countiy, incieased the mteiest Not till 1830, howevei, did Gobat Gobat to
succeed m getting to Abyssinia The account of his voyages down AbysBinia
and acioss the Bed Sea, m open Arab vessels crowded with
pilginns, with only polluted watei to drink, and sometimes none
at all, and he himself suffenng, now with ophthalmia, and now
W Williams, afterwards Archdeacon [and Bishop! in New Zealand Bnt
my chef associate was the gifted and deeply pious Mi 0 Friend, who died m
India on the very threshold of his career " Ibid , p 60
* Annual fteport, 1845, p 48
f The Society's learned prot&j£, who was aftei wards Professor of Arabic at
Cambridge See p 120,
| See p 227
352 GREEK, COPT, ABYSSINIAN, ZULU,
PART IV with dysenteiy, is veiy mteiestmg but veiy painful leading *
1824r41 But still more mtezesting, and still moie painful, aie the
Chop^2i accounts, by himself and his companions and successois, of
the Abyssinian Chuich How low a nominally ChiistianChuich,
still holding the ancient Cieeds, can descend m corruption
of both doctime and piactice, would scaicely be believed,
except on the united testimony of intelligent and tiustworthy
men, men, moieovei, who weie actuated by no meie iconoclastic
zeal, who remembeied the significant cautions of the Committee
not to i ail against unaccustomed usages and ntual,t and who, as a
mattei of fact, constantly tned to find common giound between
themselves and the priests and monks they conveised with Yet
they did find a few " pious, conscientious, upright, and self -deny-
ing pnests, notwithstanding then ignorance of the way of salva-
tion " , and some who were " well acquainted with the Bible, and
with the wiitings of the Eastern Fatheis of the first four centimes,"
but " subtle and acute reasoners who dehghted in metaphysical
niceties rathei than in piactical investigations ' ' { In fact, they were
often encouraged by their mteicouise with the people "Many
Abyssmians changed many of their views for the bettei , and
I observed," says Gobat, "numerous individuals on whom the
tiuths of the Gospel had made a deep impression, though I only
knew foui or five whom I could consider as tiuly converted " §
Gobat himself became so widely lespected, that the Abyssmians
seriously thought of electing him Bishop
But his health failed, and he was compelled to leave, aftei
buiying his companion Kugler, who died of wounds caused by the
Gobat in buistmg of his gun Gobat letumed to Em ope, and when his
ngan health was lestoied, started again for Abyssinia Here is his
account of the " valedictoiy dismissal" by the Committee in
1833 —
"I -went to Sahsbmy Square, where many friends weie assembled
After a short prayer, the too humble Edward Bickeisteth, who had been
appointed to deliver the instruction, rose ' My dear friends,' he simply
said, ' I feel altogether unfit and unworthy to give an instruction to our
brother Gobat, and am conscious that we all need his instruction I
will now request him to impart it to us before he takes his leave ' I was
tlmnderstiuck, but civmg to God foi help, I began to address my
superiors, the Committee and the meeting, scarcely knowing what I was
to say I never knew, in fact, what I did say , I only remember thanking
God afterwards for not permitting me to be confounded " ||
* One voyage, a httle later, is thus desonhed —"We found the boat laden
with gheo 01 butter in large 3ars, and a large number of Negro and Abyssinian
pilgrims Each passenger had his place measured, about five feet and a half
long by two feet broad, over the tops of the ]ars, or rather between them ,
and w this disagreeable position we had to abide twenty-one days, exposed to
the burning sun The excessive crowding, contact with our neighbours, and
the invasions of their minute and all too numerous attendants, effectually
banished i eat "—S Gob&t, p 154
See p 226 IB Gobat, pp 118, 12Q
J&id.p 1QO,
AUSTRALIAN^ CRLE 353
This time Gobat took a ^ife out with him, a Swiss The PART IV
nanative of their tiavels and suffeungs is touching in the extierne 1824-41
Gobat was almost continuously ill, and at last he was foiced to Chap 2ljj
retne altogethei
The next niissionanes in Abyssinia were C Isenbeig and B^ergl
C H BhiHihaidt, and they were ]omed in 1837 byJ L Krapf ,hardt~
and subsequently J J Muhleisen also was sent out All four Krapf
were Basle men Isenberg and Blumhaidt afteiwaids labomed
many yeais in India Muhlmsen letiied, and took the name of
Arnold, and "Muhleisen Arnold" became m aftei yeais a well-
known clergyman m Cape Colony, and a lecogmzed authoiity on
Mohammedan questions t Krapf' s labours and sufferings m
Abyssinia and tne adjoining kingdom of Shoa foi m one of the
most thulhng chapters of missionary history The people of
Shoa piofessed the Chustian faith like Abyssmians, but the state
of the Chuich was woise than evei theie Polygamy pievailed,
and the gio&sest mimoiahty , and the " Chiistian " king had uve
hundred wives
It was Bomanist mtuguos that ultimately put an end to the
Mission French pucsts and tiavolleis on thieo sepaiate occa-
sions proem od the expulsion of the missjonaiics To one of thebo
Kupf had showed much fondness , which kindness wab lewaidod,
not only by one of these hostile mtngues, but also by the publica-
tion of a book m which the FJ enchman embodied many results of
Krapf 's leseaiches without a word of acknowledgment Tho book,
indeed, contained some items of mfoimation which weio certainly
more original as to then souice " Monsiew Krapf," ono day said
the intending authoi, "we must assert that wo have seen the
souices of the Ha wash " " When I xeplied," writes Kiapf, " that
this would not be kue, as we had not seen them, ho lejomed
with a smile, ' Oh, we must be plnlowphcs I ' " An account of the
nvei somces in question accoidingly appealed m the " philoflo-
phei's " veiacious iwnativo
In ono sonse the Abyssinia Mission did not die It developed
into anothei and gieator enteipnse In Shoa Krapf mot with tho
Galla tribes, who weie Heathen , and m view of his dosne to woik
amongst them, the Committee, in 1841, sopaiatod Abyssinia from
the " Meditenanoan Mission," and headed it in tlie Annual Boporfc
" Abyssmia or East Afnca Mission " In the following yeai, ihe "East
name of Abyssinia was diopped, and his last attempt in Shoa was Afrlca "
called the "East Africa Mission," two yeais bofoie what we
understand by the tcim oonimeuced at Mombasa,
II ThoZidu
South Afnca was one of tho eailiosii fields to which European South
misbionancs cained the Gospel Fust, the Moiavians, m tho
middle of tbo oightooiith century Then, at tho beginning of this
century, tho London Missionary Society, the Wasleyans, the
VOL i A a
354 GREEK , CaP25 ABYSS jmAN} ZULU,
PART IV Glasgow Society (afterwards Iftee Chinch of Scotland), the ftench
1824-41 Protestant Mission, the Beilm and Ehemsh Societies - All these
Chap^24 weie at W01k at ^ £ate Q£ Queen Yictoua's accession, among
Hottentots, Pmgoes, Gnquas, Kafiis (then mitten Cafes),
Bosjesmans foi Bushmen), Bechuanas, Basutos, &c , and at many
stations consideiable lesults had been achieved , but the trouble-
some wais between the colonists and the Kafirs had much
inteifeied with the woik m some paits t The famous Lovedale
Industnal Institution had been started by the Scotch Mission
Eobert Moffat was just then in England, aftei twenty yeais'
labouis, delighting the Chiistian public with his thiilhng nana-
tives Among the Zulus (then mitten Zoolahs), two Missions
were ]ust bemg established, one by the Arnencan Board of
Missions, the other by the Chuich Missionary Society
Alien It was Captain Allen Gai diner, E N , afterwards so well known
apiSifto foi his heroic enterprise and tiagic death at Tien a del ITuego, who
CMS called attention to the Zulus In 1834 he visited Dmgain, the
great chief of the nation, the predecessor of Cetewayo, and
obtained leave from him foi missionaries to go to his people,
and then came to England, and earnestly begged the Society to
start a Mission there He was one of the speakeis at the Anni-
versary of 1836 , and in many other ways his zeal and fervoui
were exercised to aiouse sympathy with the fierce Heathen of
Zululand The result was an offer of service fiom the Eev
F Owen Francis Owen, Curate of Normanton, a Cambridge graduate m
land u honouis , and he, with his wife and sistei, sailed on Christmas
Eve in that year The Instructions of the Committee to him {
are veiy interesting, and exhibit stiikmgly the beautiful spirit that
actuated William Jowett, then the Clerical Secietary The
Mission was to be on what may be called New Zealand lines
Agriculture and cattle-breeding weie to be undertaken along with
preaching and teaching , but the over-seculanty that had marked
the earlier efforts among the Maons was to be avoided In
choosing the locality for a station, three things were to be sought
for, — saMbnty, for health's sake, sccuntyioi life andpioperty,
scope for ready and frequent inteicouise with the people
Mr Owen and his party went out with Captain Gardmei On
* The SPG- Lad supplied a few clergymen to minister to the colonists,
but m 1837 had only one on its loll Digest, p 272
f The outrages committed on the Oaffres by the white colonists— chiefly
Dutch, but some English also— aroused the indignation of Fowett Buxton and
the other friends of Africa who had lately won their great victory in the
abolition of West Indian Slavery (see p 344) The result was a despatch by
Charles Grant (the younger , afterwards Lord GUenolg , the excellent head of
the India Office in 1831-33, see p 273), now Colonial Secietary,— which Buxton
characterized as "most noble" and "most admirable," and as "about the
first instance of a stioug nation acting towaids the weak on the prmuples of
justice and Chribtiamty " (life of Buxton, pp 310, 322) In theso South
African matters, Buxton was much guided by Dr Phibp, the very able and
experienced head of the L M S Missions nt the Cape,
| Printed in Appendix to Beport of 18«i7
j AUSTRALIAN, CREE 355
then arrival at Gape Town, a Church Missionary Association for PAHT IT
the Colony was foimed, the Govemor, Sir B D'Uiban, presiding
at the mauguial meeting Then they went on to Poit Natal, and
Mr Owen, after a trying journey across country, auived at
Dmgam's town on August 19th, 1837, and on the next day,
Sunday, addressed the chief and his people at length, pioolaunmg
the true God and His laws, with an outline of the Gospel The
mission station was fixed on a hill neai the capital, Unkunkmglove,
and theie Mi Owen and his family settled in Octobei The
Ameiican Mi&sion, which was theie before him, was settled in
anothei pait of the countiy Owen's journals aie very ciuious
and intei eating , and Bmgain reminds one much of King Mtesa of
Uganda On one occasion, Owen asked foi coitain things to be
done quickly " Why such a hmiy ? " said the chief " Because
life is shoit " "How can that be, since you say we aio all to
wake up again ? " — lefeiimg to the geneial lesurrection
But within fom months all was at an ond A laigo paity of
Boeis came to Dmgam to tioat with him foi settling m the
countiy Without a moment's wainiog, the whole of that pai ty , sixty
Dutchmen and then native followeis, weio massacicd Then tho
native guls who had been given to Mis Owen as seivants cluiged
hoi and hei hubbaud with speaking agamat tho chief — though
then convci&ations WOLO in English, which tho gals did not
undei stand This put their lives m imminent peiil, but ulti-
mately they weio bent out of the countiy Thoy lotued, as did
also the American nnssionanes, to Poit Natal, and muling a
vessel about to pioceed to Algoa Bay, they all sailed in hoi
Captain Gardinoi and his family, who had settled near the coast
at a place he had named Beiua, loft at the same time Toinblo
fighting ensued between the Bocis and the Zulus , and the fond
continued foi many yoai s
In tho meanwhile, tho Society, iguoiant of the bioA-up of tho
Mission, had sent out a lay agont, W llowctbon, and a auigoon,
E Philips, to join Owen Unwilling to lotuni to England, tho
paity losolvod to tiy and get to Mozika, m Bochuamiland, eight
hunched miles inland fiom Ihnhanwtown, a btation that had been
occupied, and abandoned, m succession, by tho Fionch Piotobtant
Mission, and by anothei band fiom the Amoncnn Boaid, and
they actually reached tlio place But tho Society at home had
boon mfoimed that tho Eionch Mission intended ic-oocupying it ,
and umU notions woio thoiefoic bent to Mi Qweu to rotum with End of the
his paity to England And thus ended the fiist and only ontei- Ml8Sion
pusc of tho Chuich Missionary Society in Soutli Afiica In 1859,
tho SPG began woik m ^ululaiid, and it still supports the
Mission thei o undei the Bishop
III T\\A Maori
Wu loft Ni-\v Zealand at the point whoic, aftci yetub of pationt
laboui aiid disti ebbing tuals, the dawn ot a bnghfcex day wits
v a 2
356 GRLLX, COPT, ABI&SINIAN, ZULU}
PAST IV beginning to appeal William Williams joined his brother Hemy
1824-41 m 1826, and then began the forty years' united woik of the two
ChaP ^ leading evangehsts— par w)foZc/m£m?i — of the Maori race But
New Zea- heavy clouds came with the dawn In 1827 the Wesleyan station
brothere* ^ Whangaioa was destioyed by hostile Natives, and the membeis
Williams of that Mission were obliged to leave tho island In the following
yeai, the gieat chief Hongi died duel savage as he was, he had
always befriended the missionanee, and when dying he exhoited
his people to piotect them Indeed he nevei would take the life
of a white man, despite the shocking outrages perpetiated on his
race by escaped convicts and othei reckless adventuieis who
landed fiom time to time But his illness and death and the
confusion that ensued, put the Mission m imminent peril , and
they sent away all books, stores, &c , that could possibly be spaied,
by a vessel just sailing foi Sydney As for themselves, and their
wives and childien, they resolved to chng to then posts to the
last " When the natives," wrote William Williams, " are in our
houses, carrying away oui things, it will be tune for us to take to
our boats " Nay, hearing of two leading tribes preparing for war,
Hemy Williams hastened to the place wheie the two bands of
warnois were encamped and awaiting the signal foi battle, hoisted
a white flag between them, persuaded them to lemain quiet till
after the Ea-tapu (Sunday), held a service for them all on that
day, and on the Monday succeeded m making peace between them
In all missionaiy history theie is no more thrilling incident than
this, which led to what was called the Peace of Hokianga,
Mai oh 24th, 1828 •
Fruits at Meanwhile, many signs appealed that the patient teaching of
lastl the Woid of God was not fruitless It will be lernernbeied thafe
the first baptism, of the dying chief Eangi, had taken place in
1825 Anothei man, Euii-rniiJ showed unmistakable tokens of
the waking of divme giace m his heait , but he fell sick and died
without baptism Many of the Natives had leained to lead, and
in 1827, the amval fiom Sydney of some books in then own
tongue (containing Gen i -in , Bxod xx , Matt v , John i , the
Lord's riayei, and some hymns) caused the utmost excitement
and delight "We have had," wiote one of the rnissionaiies,
" dying testimonies , now we can bless God for living witnesses "
Some of the people began to ask that their childien might be
baptized, though hesitating, or not sufficiently mstiucted, to take
the decisive step themselves , and in August, 1829, four children
Baptisms of a feiocious chief named Taiwhanga weie publicly admitted to
the Chinch, togethei with tho infant son of William Williams
The missionanes littlo dreamed that that infant son, sixty-six
yeais after, would bo consecrated thud Libhop of Waiapul But
six months aftei, on Febiuary 7th, 1830, the fiist public baptismal
* Tho wholo narrative is given in Corloton's Life ofllen^j Wilhams (Auck-
land, 1874), p 69
f Wntten at the tune " Dudi dudi "
MAORI, AUSTRALIAN, CRLL 357
seivice foi adults was held in New Zealand, and one of the candi- PART IV
dates leceived into the Church that day was Taiwhanga himself, to 1821-41
whom was given the name of Eawin (the native foim of David) G1iaP 2J|
An outpouring of the Spuit upon the people followed many
came to the missionanes m deep conviction of sin , cUbses and
pi ay ei -meetings weie ananged, moie books came fioni Sydney,
containing portions ol the Gospels and 1st Corinthians, and of the
Piayei-book and Catechism, and were eagoily devouied , and in
the midst of it all came Samuel Maisden, on his sixth visit Who Maraden's
can descnbe the old man's joyl At the veiy time, on Sunday, J0y
Maich 14th, when a Mcion congiegation, in his piesence, joined
in the Church service, savage nghting wds going on only two miles
off "At one glance," he wiote, " might be seen the miseiics of
Heathenism and the blessings of the Gospel • "
Dining this time the missionanes at woik, besides the biothois A goodly
Williams, had all, except one (Yato ), been lay agents, though
some of these had been nuclei Naming foi a time at Islington
Theie woie, in 1830, John King, one of the two ougmal settlois
(Hall had lately letued to New South Wales, aftoi seveial yeais'
good woik), J Kemp, G Claiko, E DO.VJS, J Hamlm (the lust
Islington btudent), C Bakei, fiom England, and J Shejpheid,
W Fan bum, and W Puckey, flora New South Wales But tho
Rev Alfied N Biown (also 0110 of the fust batch of Islington
students, but ordained by tho Bishop of London), had just in nvcd
In the next twelve joais the following wi'io (jjnong otheis) sent
out T Chapman, J Matthews, J A Wilson, J Moigan, B Y
Ashwell, Eev E Maunsoll (B A , Tun Coll , Dublin), Eev
E Tnyloi (MA, Queens1, Camb), 0 Hadfield (Pemb Coll,
CKfoid), Eev E Btuiows, and S M Spencoi , and G A,
Kisslmg, the Basle man whose health bad failed m West Adieu,
was tiansferied to New Zealand m 1841, aftoi ordination by tho
Bishop of London All these did good seivice—- borne of them, it
may be tiuly said, splendid soi vice— foi many yoais , and soveial
of the laymen woie affceiwaids 01 clamed Most of them novor
once letumed to England It is a fact worth noting tlufc a
Biugeon, wbo may be called tho Society's first medical mmionaiy, The first
Mi S H Ford, went out in 1836, and the Committee's Instme-
tions to him are voiy mtoiostmg But lie witMiow aftoi fom
yeais Heio it may bo mentioned that tho fust death in tho Now
Zealand Mission in twenty-bovcn years occuuod on Fobmaiy Iflt,
1837, when Mis E Davis onteiod into roat, deeply lamented
* Mi Yato was an ablo man, find muoli valuod, and when ho vimtotl
'Riifrlund m 1H34 5 ]io became populai throughout the oonntry On ]m \\t\y
liaok, Bomo oluir^o -\\»ia brought upamHt lum at Sydney, and as ho rlouJmod
invoHtigatittn, ]io waa inhibited by BiHhop Broughton Tho Roeioty thon dia-
tonnocted luni, whoioupou ho lotuinod to England, and published hm
giiQvaucoH So popular a man had a hugo following, and tho GonnmUoo
havo novor m any matter had greatoi tioulilo than in tlufl Prossuro \vaa
brought to bear on thorn from all parts of tho oountiy » bat Yato won not
ionnUto'1
358 GREEK, COPT, ABYSSINIAN, ZULU,
PAST IT The second was a very sad one The Eev J Mason was drowned
1824-41 in ciossmg a nvei, in January, 1843
Chap^2Ji Hitheito the Mission had not gone far fioin the shoies of the
Extension Bay of Islands , hut Henry Williams now planned extension, and
in the next few yeais new stations were planted at Waimate and
Kaitaia, in the north, then m the Hot Lakes distnct, then on
theWaikato Brvei, then on the Bay of Plenty In 1839 two
still moie unpoitant steps weie taken William Williams moved
to the Bast Coast, into the country which afteiwaids foimed the
diocese of Waiapu, and took up his abode at Tuianga, on Poverty
Bay, where the town of Gisboine now stands , and Octavius Hadneld
settled at Otaki, m the south, now in the diocese of Wellington
Both these good men, long afterwards, became Bishops in the
veiy temtones m which they had been the pioneers of the
Gospel Some of these extensions weie due to the zeal of
Maon conveits, many of whom showed real earnestness in
spreading the faith to distant tubes The detailed nairatives,
of tiavel, of the pieaching of Christ, of the tiue conveision of
soul after soul, of the examples of Chnstian life shown by the
A type of Natives, are of exceeding mteiest Nothing m the modem history
Uganda 0| ^ Uganda Mission, — which m so many ways lesembles that
of the New Zealand Mission— is moie thrilling, or affoids more
signal illustiations of the powei of the Holy Ghost W Williams
had completed and levised the Maon New Testament and Piayei-
book, and many thousands of copies had been pnnted and
sold In 1840, the yeai when New Zealand became a British
Colony, theie were thuty thousand Maon attendants on public
woiship
Three Bcfoie this, howevei, the Mission had leceived three impoitant
™ltors and mteiestmg visits In 1835, H M S B&agh, then on its
famous scientific voyage lound the woild, appealed off the coast,
Charles and Chailes Darwin, then a young natinahst, visited the mission
Darwin, g^ion at Waimate, where William Williams, Davis, and Claike
weie at woik Viewing with admiration the exteinal scone
presented, the gaidens, faimyard, cornfields, &o , he wioto,
" Native woikmanship, taught by the missionaues, lias effected the
change The lesson of the missionary is the enchantei's wand
I thought the whole scene admuable And to think that
this was m the centre of cannibalism, murder, and all atiocious
ciimes 1 I took leave of the missionaries with thankfulness
foi their kind welcome, and with feelings of high respect foi then
gentlemanlike, useful, and upright chaiactcis It would bo difficult
to find a body of men bettei adapted for the high office which thov
fulfil"- y
Bishop A second visit was fiom Bishop Bioughton Australia was
" ton, sepaiated from the diocese of Calcutta m 1836, and Archdeacon
* Journal of Researches into the Natura,! Hwtoi y and, Geology of the Qnuntvm
d dtmng the Voyage of BUS "Beaglo" rwnd the Woild By Chailos
Ptvrsvm, M A, FRS
MAORI, AUSTRI LI AN, CRLL 359
Bioughton, of Sydney, was appointed Bishop of the new diocese PART IT
He was the fiist and only " Bishop of Australia," the title being i?24"^
altoied to " Sydney " when othei dioceses weio formed out of his mP_
At the request of the 0 M S Committee ! he visited New Zealand
m 1838, " though at much peisonal inconvenience," oidamed Mi
Hadfield, and counnned seveial candidates, but fewei than there
would have been but foi an outbreak of influenza among the
Natives, and the Bishop's inability, foi want of time, to visit mote
than thiee stations On Christmas Day he pieached at Paihia, not
fai fiom the spot where Marsden had pi cached the fit at Christian
sciinoii m New Zealand exactly twenty-foui yeais before I His
lepoitto tho Society boie high testimony to the reality of the
woik and the charactci of the agents, while faithfully pointing out
featuies susceptible of impiovement, and bogging foi a huge
increase of the staff [
In the same yeai anothci bishop appealed, a French Kornamst,
with two plicate This was not one of om " thiee interesting
visits," fo] they stayed, and stayed, it need scaiccly be addod,
not m the still Hoathen dwtuclK, but close to the existing
Mission Hoie is anothei featmo in winch Now Zealand is like
Uganda— and with still moio unhappy icstilts, as will appear
hoi oaf tei
The thud of the thieo visits— but the second in oidoi of time, Samuel
1837— was fiom Samuel Maiaden Tho old votoian, foi tho SiSSteB
fouiteonth time, sailed acioss tho twelve hundiod milos between Vlsit
Sydney and the JUy of Islands, to pay his seventh and last Msit
to the land and the people foi whom Lo had dono so much At
the ago of sovtmly-two, bowed down by bodily mfumilies he
was canicd in a litter fiom station to fetation m tho noilh by
Maon boaieis who lovod him, and then wont on by soa to tho
oast and the south Wheiovei he wont, ho was mot by ci owds of
Natives, who journeyed long distances to aoe tho bonofaotoi of
then race With humble, lowly thankfulness the aged saint
gazed on tho losults of hw labotus and his piayois, and "with
paternal autbouty and afteotion, and with tho solemnity of one
who felt himself to bo standing on the voi gu of otoi nity, ho gave his
parting benedictions to tho niiRtfionanoB nod tho conveits "^ Ono
night on deck, wioto Mi A N Blown (Juno 8th, 1837), —
"TIo spoke of almost all Ins old fuoiuls having procotlod him to
tho Kiormil W<nld— Bominno, Nowton, the Mihiois, Scott, Rolnnaon,
Buchanan, Goode, Thora.won, Lop;h Richmond, Simoon Ho thun
alhulod in a very touching nutnuoi to IIIH Into wifcj They htul
passed, ho observed, more than foity yoais of their pilgnnwgo in
company, and he felt their seputum more sovoioly as tho months
: oiled on I lomarked that then sopaiation wouhl be but foi a short
poiiod longer 'God giant it,' was Ins icply, and then, lifting Ins
* Soo p 411 t Sao p 209
J Frmtocl in the Appomhx to tho Uojioil of IS'10
§ Minute of 0,M S Oommittoe on (loath of S Marsdon
360 GREEK, COPT, ABYSSINIAN, ZULU,
'ART IV eyes toward the moon, which was peacefully shedding her beams on
1824r41 the soils of our gallant baik, he exclaimed, with intense feeling—
3hap 24
{ Piepare me, Loid, for Thy right hand ,
Thou, come the joyful day ' ' "
iis death it was mdeed " but foi a shoit period " Heieturned to Sydney
in August, aftei six months' absence, and on May 12th, 1838, at
Paramatta, he enteied into rest
TWO of his Fifty-five years after, m 1893, his giand-daughter, Miss Hassall,
ian£n" opened hei own house neai Sydney as the "Marsden Tiaming
Home " for lady missionanes m connexion with the New South
Wales Chuich Missionary Association , and the fiist student ad-
mitted to the Home was her own niece, Samuel Maisden's gieat-
gianddaughter, Amy Isabel Oxley, who in 1896 went to China as a
missionary of the Church Missionary Society " The children of
Thy servants shall continue, and then seed shall be established
befoieThee"
IV The Australian Black
Australian " ^ ^av6 seen ^e misera^^e Afiicans first come from the holds
Aborigines of slave-ships , but they do not equal, in wretchedness and misery,
the New Hollanders They aie the poorest objects on the
habitable globe " So wrote Mr Geoige Olaike, afterwards so
well known in New Zealand, and father of Aich deacon E B
Claike, m 1823 He had been sent out by the Society to ]oin the
New Zealand Mission, but on his way thithei he was detained tit
Sydney by Samuel Marsden, and commissioned to take chaige of
an institution projected by the New South Wales Government foi
the instruction of Austialian Aborigines, 01 (as they weie then
called) New Hollandeis This had been a scheme of Governor
Macquarie's as fai back as 1814, but it was only now about to be
canied out There was to be a farm, woikshops, schools, and a
church , though how fai these designs weie fulfilled does not
appeal The place, about twelve miles from Paramatta, was
called Black Town The exigencies of New Zealand, howevei,
compelled Marsden, aftei a few months, to send Clarke on thithei ,
but a year or two later, W Hall, who, it will be remembered,
was one of the first two settleis sent out, letuined to Sydney, and
took chaige of the institution for a time
CMS In 1825 an Auxiliary Church Missionaiy Society was estab-
from6 °* hshed at Sydney, with Samuel Marsden as President, and Sir
Sydney, Thomas Brisbane, the Governoi, as Patron Its pnmaiy object
was to undertake work among the Aboiigmes or Blacks An
uigent appeal was sent to the Parent Society m England foi
missionaries , and Su T Brisbane piomised ten thousand acres foi
a mission station and farm * Two places were fixed on, Bon Bon
and Limestone Plains, near each other, and both about 120 miles
* Similar grants were made to the London and Wesleyan Missionary
Societies Both began work, but both relinquished, it soon after
MAORI, AUSTRALIAN, CRLE 361
fiorn Sydney A clergyman, J Noiman, and a schoolmastei, PART IY
J Lisk, weie sent out by the Society, both of whom had been at 3824-41
Siciia Leone, but had failed to stand the African climate ChaPj^
Neithei of them, however, actually got into the woik Noiman
was sent by the Governoi to Tasmania as a chaplain foi convicts,
and Lisk was obliged to letuin home on account of Ins wife's
health In 1830, the Home Government, by Sir Geoige Muuay and by the
and Loid Godench, successive Colonial Secretaries, approached £°e™n
the Society, oflenng a giant of £500 a yoai for the suppoit ot two
missionaiies , and in the following yeai two cleigynien, J G S
Handt and W Watson, were sent out, and subsequently anothei
cleigyman, J Gunthei,5 and a fanner, W Poitei Handt and
Watson weie appointed to a Goveinment station for the The Mm-
Aboiigmes at Wellington Valley, two hundied miles inland fiom aion
Sydney In 1836, Handt was sent to Moreton Bay, on the
coast foui hundied miles north of Sydney, wheio theie was a
penal settlement, and whence othei Aborigines could be leachod ,
and Gunthei succeeded him at Wellington Valley For several
years legulai lepoits weio presented l)y the miflsionaiies to tho
New South Wales Government, and pimtcd at Sydney The
extracts fiom these and from tho journals of the bietluen, punUid
in tlio CMS Reports, givo a vivid account of tho toi ublc de-
gradation of the Aborigines— bad enough by natuie, l)ut rendered
ftu woise by the shocking wickedness of the wluto men Novei-
tholess, m tho teoth of almost unparalleled diilicultrcR, good woik
was done Black cluldieu were taken into tlio mission-houses its reuuits,
and taught to lead and wnto, pioviug loally intelligent, and
hundieds of adults, notwithstanding then nomadic habits,
gathered under Ghnstian instruction, joined m Ghnstwn worship,
and gave many signs of gieat improvement It is not, howovei,
iccoidod that any were actually baptised A good beginning was
made in linguistic and translational woik A vocabulaiy and
grammar woio prepared, and translations of thieo Gospels,
portions of Genesis and tho Acts, and a laigo part of tho Piayoi-
book
Some diffoionccs ensued, however, between tlio Society and the1 its end
New South Wales Goveinment, and at length, m tho Annual
Report of 1812, tho following paiagtaph is found — -" No prospect
bomg left of BUI mounting tho iliihcultioa fiom difluient sources in
winch this Mission has for sotno time past been involved, con-
sistently with tho toims on which, at the instance of Hor
Majesty's Government, tho Mission was under taken by the
Society, the Coinmittoo have been loluctantly compelled to
johnqmsh it " And lelmquishod it was, accoidmgly, by tho
Society, though one 01 moro of the missionaries still car nod on
woik among the Natives, the Government continuing its caro of
them Few persons, either m England 01 in Australia, mo now
* Fallioi of tlio present Archdeacon Qtiiithor, of Paromuttu
362 GREEK, COPT, ABYSSINIAN, ZULU,
PART IY aware of the fact that the fiist attempt to preach the Gospel to
1824-41 foe Austiahan Aboiigmes was made by the Chuich Missionary
p Society , and it would he with no little siupuse that they would
lead the more than one hundied and fifty columns of small type
in which the pioceedings of the Mission aie detailed m the C M
Record of 1834-39
Y TJiG Cree and the Soto
LandM8is- ^ie foun^lon °^ wna^ was l°ng known as the North- West
America Mission, in 1820-22, has been alieady mentioned The
i etui n home of Mi West ml 823 left Mi David Jones alone at
cockran the Red Eivei , but m 1825, Wilham Cockian, a stuidy Noi th-
umbnail from Chillmgham, went out, having fiist leceived both
deacon's and pnest's oideis fiom the Bishop of London Thus
began what has been Vvell called " a finished course of forty
years/1 broken only by a few months in Canada , foi Coda an
nevei returned to England
Red River ^Q ^Q^ on the Bed Eiver was among the Cree Indians , not,
however, neglectuig the whites and half-breeds in the employ of
the Hudson's Bay Company The lattei weie mostly at !Poit
Gany, at the ]unction of the Assimbome and Eed Eiveis, wheie
the nourishing city of Winnipeg, capital of the entne Noith-
West, now stands Here was what was called the Upper Settle-
ment The Middle Settlement was a little lowei down the united
nver, as it flows noithwaid towaids Lake Winnipeg , then the
Grand Eapids, a little fuithei , and, a few miles still lower down,
Settlement Cockran founded, in 1833, what is still known as the Indian
Settlement, with a view to inducing the wandering Crees to
settle down and cultivate the ground, and thus remain under
legulai Christian instruction
It is difficult now to conceive the isolation and haidships then
enduied by the little missionary band Their communication
with England was w& Hudson's Bay, by the one ship which each
summer sailed to Yoik Foit with a yeai's piovision, and at once
letuined befoie the ice blocked hei m In 1836, she arnved off
Yoik too late to land her caigo, and, aftei contriving to get the
mail-bags ashore, had to sail back to England, leaving no
supplies to be sent up the Nelson Eiver by the canoes waiting foi
them The missionaries (and the othei Europeans too) got their
letters, but nothing else, and were leduced to great straits , " but/'
wiote Cockran, " we have our Bibles left ! " But then* long and
Fruits patient labours had borne spiritual fiuit, and in 1837 theie was a
community at the Eed Eiver stations of six hundied baptized
Christians The Indians had learned to value their "praying-
masters," and when Jones was letuming to England in 1838, they
wiote the following letter to the Society —
" August 1, 1838
Afl Indian "SERVANTS OF THE GREAT Goi),
" We once more call to you for help, and hope our cry will
avail You sent us what you called the Word of God , we left our
^ CREE 363
hunting-grounds and came to hear it But we cM not altogether like PAET TV
it, for it told us to leave off drunkenness and adultoiy, to keep only one 1824-41
wife, to cast away our idols and all our bad heathen ways , but as it Chap 24
still lepeated to us that, if we did not, the 31 eat God would send us to
the great devil's hre , by the goodness of God we saw at last it was
true We now like the Word of God, and we have left off our sins ,
we have cast away our rattles, our drums, and our idols, and all our
bad heathen ways But what are we to do, GUI friends P Mr Jones is
going to leave us , Mr Cockum talks of it Must we tain to our idols
and gods again ? or must we turn to the Fiench praying-masters ? "We
see three Fiench praying-mantel a have come to the nvei, and not one
for us i What is tins, our friends p The Word of God says that one
soul is woith more than all the woild , surely then, our friends, three
hundred souls are worth one praying-master ' It is not once 01 twice
a week teaching that is enough to make us wise , we have a bad heart,
, and we hate our bad hearts and all our evil ways, and we wish to cast
them all away, and we hope in time, by the help of God, to he able to do
it But have patience, our friends, we hope oui children will do
better, and will learn to read God's book, so as to go forth to then
coimtiy people to tell them the way of life, and that many may be saved
fiom the great devil's fire "
This touckmg appeal was at onoe lesponded to by the going
foith of J Smithnist m 1839 , but, for lack of men, not again
until 1841, when Abraham Gowley, a poUqa of the Eev Loid Abraham
Dynevoi's at Fairfoid in Gloucester shne, was appointed to the Cowley
Mission He was not ordained , but he was sent wA Canada, and
xeceived deacon's ordeia en toute fiom the Bishop of Montreal,
Di G- J Mountain • To get fiom Canada, however, by Lake
Supenoi, to Eed Eiver, pioved impiacticable The dismal plains
and forests of Algorna, thiough which the Inxunous Canadian
Pacific Express now speeds its way, could only then be traversed
with extreme difficulty , and the young cleigyman, finding that
he could get no furthei, letumed as quickly as possible to England,
and was ]ust in time to sail hence by the annual ship dnect to
Yoik Fort
Extension had alieady begun When John West first went
out in 1820, he picked up, dmmg his canoe voyago fiom Yoik to
Eed Eiver, two young Indian boys, and took them with him
They wero the fiist of their nation to be baptized, by the names
of Hemy Budd and John Hope Both became excellent assis-
tants , and in 1840, Budd was vent five bundled miles off, up the
gieat Saskatchewan Eiver, to open a new station in the Cumber-
land district, which he did at a place called the Pas, afterwards
* There were then only two bishoprics for all British North Amenoa, Nova
Scotia and Quebec But dining the lifetime of Bishop Stewart of Quebec, the
Rev 0- J Mountain, son of a previous Bishop Mountain of Quebec, Imd been
appointed a Coadjutor-Bishop ot Montreal Whon Bishop Stewart died, m
1836, Bishop (J J Mountain succeeded to hig jurisdiction, but returned the
title of Bishop of Montreal When the separate Bishopric of Montreal wia
founded in 1850, Bishop G J Mountain assumed the title of his predecessor,
Bishop of Quebec Unless these facts aro carefully borne in mind, the Church
history of Canada IB rather confusing
364 GRE&K) COPT} ABYSSINIIN, ZULU, MAORI ', &c
IT Devon Cowley, on his arrival, was sent to Manitoba Lake, and
^ere ^e ^oun^e(^ a s*a^lon among the Soto 01 Saulteaux Indians,
calling it Fairford after his birthplace The Sotos pioved a far
haidei race to influence than the Crees While Cowley was
soiiowmg ovei his ill-success, Budd was experiencing manifest
blessing , and when a new missionary, James Huntei (afteiwaids
Archdeacon), came out, and pioceeded to the Pas, he found so
many Ciees undei matiuction that foui years later theie were
more than foui hundied baptized Anothei Indian, James
Settee, who had also been a boy under West, was sent still
fuithei afield in 1846, as fai as Lac la Eonge, on the " height of
land " 01 wateished between the livers that fall into Hudson's
Bay and those that flownorthwaids and ]om the gieat Mackenzie
Bishop of In 1844, the Mission had the advantage of an episcopal visita-
Jis°ttrea1'8 *lon Bishop Mountain of Montieal, at the request of the
Society, succeeded in perfoimmg the long land jouiney which
Cowley had been unable to take Canada is so much better
known now, that the particulars of his journey, as surnmanzed
by Di Langtry of Toionto, will interest not a few —
"The whole distance involved a journey from Montreal of about
2000 miles, and it was all accomplished either in bircli-baik canoes, or
on foot They paddled up the Ottawa about 320 miles, then made then
way by numerous portages into Lake Nipissing, which they ciossed
Then down the Fiench River into the Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) , then
for 800 miles they threaded their way though that wonderful Archi-
pelago, containing, it is said, 39,000 islands, to the Sault Ste Marie
Thence, after a long portage round the Sault, they rowed across the
ontue length of Lake Superior to Foit William , thence np to Kemems-
tiquoia , through the Kamy and Wood Lakes , down the Winnipeg River ,
thence along the shores of the stormy Lake Winnipeg to the mouth of
the Red River"
The Bishop was astonished and delighted with what he found
at the Bed Rivei stations, and wiote most warmly to the Society
He consumed 846 candidates, including a large pioportion of
Indians, gave Cowley priest's ordeis, delivered sixteen addresses m
seventeen days, and then started on his long journey back to
Montieal
The Eed River is now the seat of an Archbishopric , and there
aie eleven dioceses in the North-West Territories In this
expansion the Society has taken a laige shaie, as will appeal
by-and-by
* Colonial Clmch Eistonw Eastern Cmada By J Langfcry, M,A ,
D 0 L , Piolooutor of the Provincial Synod of Canada S P 0 K , 1892
FEOM VENN'S ACCESBION TO THE
JUBILEE 1841-1848.
NOTE ON PAKT V
THIS is the shortest of our Parts in regard to the length of tune covered,
comprising baiely eight years, from the spring of 1841 to the Jubilee
Commemoration, November, 1848, though in one or two chapteis the
narrative is necessarily continued a little beyond that epoch The first
chapter, XXV , combines the Personnel and the Environment, intro-
ducing us to the new Secretary, Henry Venn, and his fellow-woikers,
and also noticing vauous controversies at home, and Missions, Protestant
and Roman, abroad It is supplemented by two chapteis which take up
definite subjects, and in doing so show us more of both the Peisonnel
and the Environment Chap XXVI describes the relations at the tune
of the CMS and the Church, and lelates the adhesion to the Society
of the Archbishops and Bishops, the attitude towards it of men like
Blomfield and S Wilberforce, and its attitude towaids the using
Tractarianism Chap XXVII tells the story of the Colonial and Mis-
sionary Episcopate, and, in particular, of the establishment of the
Colonial Bishoprics Fund, of the Now Zealand Bishopnc, and of the
Anglican Bishopnc in Jerusalem , also of the Society's contioversy with
Bishop D Wilson
Then follow three chapteis on the Missions India is omitted m this
Pait, the history of the work there in the 'forties having been piactically
covered in the preceding Part Chap XXVIII gives a full namtive of
the events and controvei flies of the period in New Zealand, with special
reference to Bishop Selwyn and Sn G Grey Chap XXIX comprises
several mteiestmg episodes in the lustoiy of Miswons in Afuca, the
story of Crowtlier, the fust Niger Expedition, the origin of the Yoruba
Mission, and Kiapfs commencement on the East Coast Chap XXX
takes us f 01 the first time to China, and summarizes the events before
and after the fiist Chinese War
The last two chapters of the Part aie special ones Chap XXXI
reviews the finances of the Society, the contributions and the expendi-
ture, diuing the klf-centuiy Chap XXXII describes tho Jubilee
Commemoiation
CHAPTBE XXV
EMRY Vw—m SURVEY OP MM m THINGS
The Year 1841 an Epoch in Church, in State, in C M S —Henry
Venn — Deaths of Pratt and Coates — The Committee, Vice-
Presidents, Preachers and Speakers— C M S Missions and Mis-
sionaries— Missions of Other Societies— Roman Missions— Contro-
versies at Home Maynooth, Insh Church Missions, Evangelical
Alliance — Scotch Disruption — CMS and Scotch Episcopal
Church
"Io, I have given fhee a w$e and an m&erstwamg heaat "—1 Kings ui 12
" Can we faid wch a owe as tlw u, a mn in whow <7ie flpwii o/ God is i"'—
Gen ih 38
[HE year 1841 was an epoch in the histoiy of the State,
an epoch in the history of the Church, and an epoch in 1841-48
the history of the Chuich Missionary Society Eew 0haP 2e
years have had moie fateful issues In the State, the An ~h
year saw the fall of the Melbourne Government, and making
the commencement of Peel's admimstiation In that year Mi year>
Gladstone became a Minister, .and Mi Cobden entered Pailiament in the
Eiom that yeai began the gieat- fiscal refoims which have done State»
so much foi the inateiial advancement of the nation, culminating
in the Eepeal of the Coin Laws and the establishment of Biee
Tiade In 1841, England was engaged in the Afghan and China
wars if the foimei did not open Cential Asia, it indirectly led, d
few yeaislatei, to the conquest of the Punjab, while the lattei
did open to Euiopean influence^ the largest homogeneous popula-
tion m the world In 1841, the stiuggle between Turkey and
Egypt issued m the virtual independence of the vassal state In
1841, the Nigei Expedition ascended that gieat nvei In 1841,
David Livingstone went to Africa In 1841 , steam communication
with India wA the Bed Sea was organized by the P & 0
Company In 1841, the Pnnce of Wales was born
Then turning to the Chuich in 1841 appealed the famous in the
Tract XC , the most daring manifesto of the Oxfoid Movement, m church'
which John Hemy Newman fto adopt the woids of the resolution
of the Heads of Houses atOxfoid condemning tho Tract) " evaded
rather than explained the sense of the Thirty-Nine Articles, and
reconciled subscnption to them with the adoption of the errors
368 HENRY VENN—AND SURVEY OF MEN AND THINGS
PAST V they weie designed to counteiact " In 1841, the Colonial
1841-4& Bishoprics Pund was established, which has had a laiee share in
r^TlftT\ 9r\
g p extending the Anglican Episcopate over the world In 1841, the
Bishopnc of New Zealand was founded, and Selwyn appointed
iiist Bishop In 1841, the Anglican Bishopnc m Jerusalem also
was established
in the Almost all these events, soonei 01 latei, affected the Chuich
Society Missionary Society But the yeai was a maiked one within the
Society itself In 1841, the two Aichbishops and seveial Bishops
joined it, on the addition to its Laws and Eegulations of
ceitain piovisions foi ecclesiastical difficulties In 1841 occurred
various events which led to the Yoiuba, Niger, and East Afnca
Missions , and the futuie China Mission was appearing above the
honzon In 1841, Eobert Noble and H W Fox went to India to
stait the Telugu Mission In 1841, the Society, m the face of
all these openings and possibilities, was in the midst of the
greatest financial cusis in its history, the whole of its leserve
funds having been sold out, and a debt of seveial thousand pounds
being due to the bankeis and private friends
Lastly, in 1841, Heniy Venn became Honorary Secietary of
the Society
The three No name is so identified with the History of the Church
Missionaiy Society as the name of Venn We found, m our
eailiei chapters, the springs of the stiearn, whose winding and
gradually widening couise we have beenfollowmgfiom its source,
m the Evangelical Eevival of the Eighteenth Century , and of that
Bevival, so far as it peimanently affected the Church of England,
the First Henry Venn, Vicar of Huddersfield, was perhaps the
chief piomoter It is true that the Eevival was, in its beginnings,
entuely a Church movement The Wesley s, Whitefield, and all
the othei earher leaders, weie clergymen But the most conspicu-
ous lesults of their labours— paifcly, if not principally, though the
Chinch's own fault — weie ultimately seen outside its pale With
Venn and his more immediate allies it was different They
preached the same Gospel in the power of the same Spirit, but
they submitted to the lestrictions imposed by their parochial
responsibilities, rendeied all loyal allegiance to the Bishops, held
* Bishop Philpotts of Exeter, the most advanced and militant High Church-
man on the Bench, said in his Charge — "The tone of the Tract as respects
our own Church is offensive and indecent , as regards the .Reformation and
our Beformers absurd, as well as incongruous and unjust Its principles of
mteipieting our Articles I cannot but deem most unsound , the reasoning
with which it supports its principles sophistical , the averments on which it
tounds its leasonmg, at variance with recoided facts It is idle to argue
against statements which were not designed for argument, but for scoffing
It is far the most daring attempt ever yet made by a minister of the
Church of England to neutralize the distinctive doctrines of our Church and
to make us symbolize with Borne " (Quoted in Life of Archbishop
vol i p 99 )
HLVRY VENN— AND SURVEY OF MZN AND THINGS 369
firmly by the Piayer-book, steered a middle course between PARTY
the Aiminianism of Wesley and the ultra-Calvini&m of some of J?41"^
Whitefield's followers, and gradually built up the new school of LhaP °
" aeiious clergy " within the Church, fiom which spiang the
Church Missionary Society Then, in the second gcneiation of
Evangelicals, comprising men like Newton, Cecil, Scott, Simeon,
Piatt, and the Milneis, we found that John Venn, Kector of
Clapham, son of the Fust Henry and father of the Second Heniy,
was not only the Nestor of the paity, but the fiist chairman of
the new Society, and the authoi of its onginal constitution And
now, m the third geneiation of Evangelical Churchmen — perhaps
\\e may say in the thud and fourth — reckoning Bickeistcth,
Cunningham, and the first Daniel Wilson as representing the
thud, andMcNeile, Stowell, Close, and Millei, as repiesenting the
fomth— we shall find the Second Homy Venn oxoicismg for thirty
yeais an unique influence as the Society's Honoiaiy Secretary and
virtual Directoi
Henry Venn the youngoi was born at Clapham on February Henry
10th, 1796 The date is notewoithy, foi it was only two days y0e™gere
aftoi Chai les Simoon had opened that discussion at the Eclectic
Society which led to the foimation of the CMS Tn 1814 he
went to Queens' College, Gambndge, of which Isaac Milner, Doan Atcam-
of Cailisle, then an aged man, was still President He came out bridee
19th Wrangler in J818, Lefevio (afteiwtiuls Sir John Shaw
Lefovie) being Senior, and Connop Thnhvall (afteiwaids Bishop of
St David's) also in the list In the following yeai ho was elected,
like his giandfathei, the fiist Homy Venn, a Fellow of Queens',
and was 01 darned by the Bishop of Ely In 1821 he was curate
of St Dunstan's, Fleet Street, and then began to attend the
Committee meetings of the Chmch Missionary Society Only foi
two 01 three yeais, howevei , as m 1824 he wont back to Cam-
budge, and became Tutoi at his college— which at this timo lose to
be third among the colleges m point of numbeis,— and also Pi octal
to theUniveisity An mteiestmg cucumstance connects him also
with Great St Mary's Tho Vicar was then Mr Musgiavc, after-
waids Bishop of Hoieford and Aiohbishop of Yoik Miifegiavo
arianged to stait an evening service foi the townspeople,— a
great novelty m the Umveisity Chinch, although Simeon had
long ago intioduced it, in tho tooth of much opposition, at Tiinity ,
— and appointed Venn to be tho now evening lecturer Shortly
aftei, however, Venn moved to Hull, being nominated by William AtHuU
Wilbeiforce to the then very unattractive parish of Diypooi,
There he labouied six yeais, until, m 1834, he was offeiod by
Daniel Wilson the younger, who had succeeded his father the
Bishop in the Vicarage of Islington, the incumbency of St John's,
Holloway This move brought him back to Sahsbuiy Square,
and he quickly became one of the leading members of Committee
In 1840, William, Jowott resigned his Clerical Secrotaiyfihip,
and in the following year his colleague Vores followed his example
370 HENRY VENN— AND SURVEY OF MEN AND THINGS
PAST V This left the Lay Secietary, Dandeson Coates, sole head of the
1841-48 House - The Rev Eichaid Davies was appointed Oleiical Secre-
Chapjo j.gjy ^ (( m wilomj»' moj^ yenn m aftei yeaiSj « we had a lovely
example of quiet eneigy, a heavenly spint, and devoted love to the
cause " t He continued at his post seven yeais , "but his early
removal from the office pi evented the full ripening of excellent
official qualifications " J No second suitable clergyman was forth-
coming, and m October 1841, Venn was approached, and
" kindly consented, as a tempoiary arrangement, to connect him-
H Venn self officially with the Society, undei the designation of Honoraiy
S°cniles Oleiical Secietary pto tempore " $ He had aheady been vutually
the Society's leader, paiticulaily m ecclesiastical matters In
that very year, as we shall see in the next chaptei, he had been
m no small degiee instrumental, with LoidChichestei, in bunging
about the adhesion of the Archbishops and Bishops to the Society ,
and three 01 four years earliei, he had diawn up that important
manifesto on the relations of the Society to the Chinch which for
neaily forty years was printed, with his initials, in the Annual
Eeportg Now he became the official mouthpiece of the Society
It was at fiist really supposed to be pro tempore Yenn still
retained his Holloway paiish , besides which, he was only just
lecovenng— indeed it was doubtful whether he was leally recover
mg— from a long and senous illness Poi moie than a yeai, in
1838-9, he had been unable to fulfil any of his ministeiial functions
In May, 1841, his medical advisei urged him to give up his paiish
altogether, and allow his constitution two 01 thiee yeais to regain
stiength , but instead of following this advice, he, five months
after, added to his parochial woik the Secietaiyship of the Chmch
Missionary Society One might say that he did not deserve to
last , yet, through the goodness of God, he lasted thirty yeais
He continued at St John's till the end of 1845, and then, at last
finding it impossible to fill both posts efficiently, he resigned the
parish — and the income,— and gave himself fiorn that time, body,
soul, and spirit, night and day, all the year round, to the work of
the Chuich Missionary Society
What was thought of him after the four years' pro tern tenuie
of the office we may see from a letter on the question which office
en Harin£ ^e should retain, wiitten by Charles Baring (afterwaids Bishop
Venn of Durham) to Venn's brother John (afterwaids Prebendary of
Hereford) ||—
" I feel so strongly that the duty of a minister of Christ is to preach
the Gospel, that in almost every case I should without a doubt say, Give
up the Secretaiyship for pastoral work , but your brother is an exception
to this, and I feel as confident that if he were to resign his post in
Salisbury Square he would be relinquishing one of the most important
* See p 262
t Address at Opening of new 0 M House , G K lwtelbgmc& , 1862, p 83
1 Ibtct § Annual Report, 1842
I M ewwHf of Henry Venn, p 124
VENN— AND SURVEY OF MEN AND THINGS 371
spheres for promoting Christ's kingdom, for which the grace of God FAST V
seems peculiarly to have suited him I have now been almost a year 1841-48
and a half in constant attendance at the Committees, and much as I Chap 25
value youi bi other's talents generally, it is only there that his real value
can be seen as a most influential and successful promoter of Ins Mastei's
kingdom His calm judgment and long-sighted views of results, his fiim-
ness and settled opinions upon all doctrinal and ecclesiastical matteis,
his kindness of heart and manner, his straightforward honesty and
candour — all these have won him not merely the confidence of the Com-
mittee, "but have given him a power with them and an authority which no
other secretaiy has befoie possessed Again and again have I heard
from the lips of many of the Committee almost the same language, that
they considered it one of the most maiked proofs of God's goodness to
the Society, the having laised up such a person at a most cntical time,
without whose aid they could scarcely have hoped to have weatlieiod the
storms which were surrounding them "
It must have been a cause of special thankfulness to Josiah
Pratt and Edwaid Bickersteth, the one at St Stephen's, Goleman
Stioet, and the other at Watton, to see such a man m the office
they knew so well Piatt was an old man when Venn first
pined po tern , and at that veiy time was ai ranging to tiansfei to
othei Hands his special child, tho Missionary Register Bicker-
steth was still in the pume of life, but was ]ust then senously ill
He lecovered, howevei, to work foi seven yeais moie with
unabated fervoui in behalf of many a noble Ohnstitin entcrpnse
Pratt1 s home-call canie befoie Venn was permanent Secietaiy
He died on October 10th, 1844, full of years and honouis— if by Death of
honotus we undei stand the i aspect and love of all who knew him,
and the blessing vouchsafed upon the Society he had so devotedly
and so wisely served Two of his funeial sermons were pieached
by Bickeisteth and Venn It was in an Appendix to Venn's
Seimon, when published, that tho hist authentic sketch of the
Society's origin and eaily histoiy appeared And the Seimon
itself mentioned the sinking oiicumsUuoe that while Pratt's first
official act was his being one of the sixteen clergymen who
f 01 ined the Society m 1799, his last one was to second the
resolution in 1841 which modified its constitution and opened the
door for the adhesion of the Heads of the Chuich
Hardly had Hemy Venn enteiod upon tho full responsibilities
of peimanent ofnco, when he lost his ablo and experienced lay
colleague Dandeson Coates died on April 23id, 1846, aftei a Death of
short illness In the Eoport piesentcd at tho Anniveisaiy, only a
few days after, the Committee put on lecord the " self-sacrifice,
zeal, and extraoidmaiy ability with which he conducted the
business of the Society, and tho admuable way m which he
brought tho great pnnciples of the Gospel of tho Giace of God to
bear upon the discussion, of all important questions " His very
ability, howovoi, had sometimes caused diihculty, as indicated in
pievious chapteis, ' but his loss was keenly jolt, and it must
* Soo p 252
n h a
372 HZNRY VENN— AND SURVEY OF MEN AND THINGS
PART T luve been no slight additional tiial in the office when his death
1841-48 was followed, within five months, by the death, af tei twenty-seven
CbaP ^ yeais' faithful service, of the Accountant, Mi Noithover, who was
thiown fiom a pony-chaise and died almost immediately Coates's
Major succegsoi as Lay Secretary was Majoi Hectoi Straith, who had
LaySec been Piofessoi of Foitification at Addiscombe, and who held
office thuteen years He was supeiioi to Coates spnitually, but
not his equal in the conduct of business
All this time there was another officei m Salisbury Square, who,
however, had no part in the general adrnimstiation This was
Mi G C G-reenway, the naval officer befoie-mentioned He
ttTs'cs ac^ as Association Secietaiy for London and the neighbouihood,
and also as a cential coriespondent for the other Association
Secietanes, the number of whom was now mcieasing In 1841
theie were eight In 1849 theie were thnteen Among them at
tins time were Joseph Eidgeway, afterwards fiist Editonal
Secietary of the Society , Geoige Smith, afterwards fiist Bishop
of Yictona, Hong Kong , E "W Foley, afteiwaids Yicai of All
Saints', Deiby, H Powell, afterwards Yicar of Blackburn and
Hon Canon of Manchester, Bourchier Wray Savile, a well-
known wiiter, and Charles and George Hodgson, who woiked
Yorkshire so zealously for many yeais
Sen ai ^ ^G c^elgymen wno joined && Committee at this penod, and
Members were appointed members of the Committee of Coirespondence, the
mos^ impoita^ weie Edward Auriol, Edwaid Hoaie, Chailes
Baling, and John C Millei Auiiol, Eectoi of St Dunstan's-m-
the-West, soon became by far the most influential clencal membei,
and continued so for thnty yeais, seiving as a matter of course on
every important sub-committee Hoaie was Venn's successor
at St John's, Holloway, but he moved soon afterwards to
Eamsgate, and ceased attending Not till nearly thirty yeais
later did he become the power m the Committee-ioom which is
now so well lemembered Baring was Eector of All Souls',
Langham Place, and was a valued membei until his appointment
to a bishopnc in 1856 Miller was Ministei of Park Chapel,
Chelsea , but his removal to the gieat spheie of his usefulness at
Birmingham soon took him away fiorn Salisbury Squaie
New Lay The lay members at this time included seveial men of position
embers an(j lnfluence Qaptani the Hon W Waldegrave (afterwaids
Bail Waldegiave), Sir Harry Yerney, Sir Waltei E Faiquhar,
General Maclnnes, Admiral Sir H Hope, the Hon S E Curzon,
Lord Henry Cholmondeley, appear in the lists , and several of
these were regular and very useful membei s Colonel Caldwell
]omed m 1834, but his continuous membership did not begin till
twenty years later, and then lasted twenty yeais James Faush
and E M Bud repiesented the Indian official element, and
both were highly valued So was John Gurney Hoare, a
* See p 255,
HENRY VENN—AND SURVEY OF MEN AND THINGS 373
regular attendant for nearly thirty years His biothei Joseph PAST Y
was a member foi one year in 1849, but his more impoitant
services belong to a late: period But above all, among the
new members of that time, must be named Alexander Beattio,
who joined in 1842, and was still the Nestoi of the Society forty-
seven years afterwaids He had befoie this been a meichant m
Calcutta, and a membei of the Society's Corresponding Com-
mittee there In after yeais he was a magnate in the lailway
woild
But most of these weie new men at the penod we aie reviewing
The leaders m the Committee-ioom weie, of the clergy, James
Hough, Joseph Fenn, Coinwall Smalley, sen , and (when present)
E Bickeisteth, and of the laity, C Biodnck, W A Ganatt, and
J M Strachan, seveial of whom have been mentioned before
The Yice-Piesidents in 1841 included the Marquis of
Cholmondeley, the Eails ol Galloway, Gosfoid, and Eoden,
Viscount Loiton , Loids Baiham, Bexley, Calthoipe, Glenelg,
and Toignmouth , Loid Ashley, Sn T D Acland, Sir T Baling,
Su T F Buxton, Sir G Giey, Sn R H Inghs, Sn A Johnston,
Mossis W Evans, H Goulbum,J P Plum ptie, and Abel Smith,
HP's, Mi Justice Eifekmo , Di Cotlon, Piovobt of "Woicoskr
College, Oxfoid , Di Symons, Waidcn of Wadham , Di
Macbndo, Puncipal of Magdalen Hall, Dr Lamb, Mastei of
Christ's, Cambndgo, and Dean Pcai&on, of Salisbuiy Botwccm
this date and the Jubilee, the following woie added — The Duko
of Manchester the Eails of Gamsboiough and Eflmgham, and
Eail Waldegiave, Viscount Midleton, Loid Luigan, Loul II
Cholmoiideloy, Loid Sandon (aftoiwaids Eail of Harrowby), Su
Peregime Maitland,- and Mi H Kernble, M P In addition to
those, by the end of this penod the nunibei of Bi&hops who had
joined the Society was thuty-foui , but of them the next chapter
will speak
Tho pimcipal names added to the list of Honoury Govcrnois Honorary
foi Life, on account of then " essential seivicos to the Society, " forVLife°rs
between 1824 and 1848, weio tho following —Pratt, "Woodioflo,
Bickeisteth, Poaisou, and Davies, on their lespeotive letircmonts
from office , Baptist Noel, James Hough, and Jobcph 3?oim, as
leading membois of the Committee , W Dcaltiy of Clapham
(aftoiwaids Archdeacon), C J Hoaic (afteiwaids Aichdoacon),
Charles Budges, Hugh Stowell, Ehincis Close (afteiwaids Dean) ,
Hon J T Pelham (afteiwaids Bishop of Noiwich), and
Chancelloi Eaikos , T Dealtiy of Calcutta (afterwaids Bishop of
Madias) , and Di, Stomkopf, of the Bible Society No leading
layman was added m this penod
The list of pieachors of tho Annual Sermon during tho period £.r|{cher8
contains notable names Fiancis Close's soimon m 1841 has Bride's
alieady been noticed \ In 1842, the pteacher was Hugh Stowell
* See p, 296 j Sou p 280
374 HENRY VENN— AND SURVEY OF MLN AND THINGS
PART Y of Manchestei, who foi so many yeais stood in the front lank of
1841-48^ Exetei Hall orators His seimon was one of gieat importance,
Chap 2o coming ]ust after the adhesion to the Society of the Archbishops
and Bishops , and we shall see moie of it accordingly in the next
chapter Then followed the Hon and Eev W J Biodrick,
afterwaids Viscount Midleton In 1844, Bishop Blomfield of
London, one of the new episcopal patrons, preached, and his
words, too, must be quoted hereafter Then in 1845 carne Hugh
McNeile of Liveipool, unquestionably the greatest Evangelical
pieacher and speaker in the Church of England during this
century , but his seimon, m print at least, does scant justice to
his leputation, and calls foi no special notice, In 1846, Bishop
Daniel Wilson was in England, and was invited to occupy the
St Bride's pulpit He had aheady done so thirty yeais before,
when Mmistei of St John's, Bedfoid Eow , •> and his is the only
name that has ever appealed twice m the famous list His
sermon also will be noticed m another chaptei In the two
remaining years of the period, the preachers weie Charles
Bridges, the well-known expositor, and John Tucker, the Madras
Secietary, who was now at home, and shortly to become a
Secretary m Salisbury Square, but neither of these need
detain us
Speakers at Turning to the Annual Meetings, we find several of the leading
Meetings speakers of the preceding period again prominent In the eight
years, 1842-49 inclusive, John Cunningham again spoke four times
(including the Jubilee Meeting), making nineteen times m thuty-
foui years No other man has ever been so fiequently put
forwaid Stowell spoke thiee times, McNeile once, Close twice,
Baptist Noel thiee times, Bickersteth twice, Di Marsh once,
Professor Scholefield twice The bi other-Bishops Sumner aie
again conspicuous, the Bishop of Winchester speaking three
times, and the Bishop of Chestei three times, — the latter also
piesidmg in 1848 on his elevation to the Primacy |- Bishop
Longley of Eipon, another future Pnmate, spoke in 1842
and 1844, indeed he was almost as frequent a speakei at
various May meetings as his brethren the Sumneis Samuel
Wilberfoice, who had spoken as Archdeacon of Surrey in 1840,
appealed again as Bishop of Oxford in 1846, and also, as we
shall see hereaftei, at the great Jubilee Meeting in 1848 Sn
Bobert Harry Inghs was a speaker foui times m five years So
far as regards those mentioned before as speaking in the preceding
period The new names m this penod include Lord Ashley
(twice), Lord Sandon, Bishop Spencer of Madras, Bishop Perry of
Melbourne, Montagu Vilhers (afterwards Bishop of Carlisle and
Durham), John 0 Miller, H V EUiott, Dr Tyng of New York,
* Seep 113
| Since that time it has been the custom to mvite each new Aiohbishop of
Canteibury to tako the President's chair at the Aumversaiy next aftoi his
appointment
HLNRY VENN— AND SURVEY OF MEN AND THINGS 375
and Dr F Jeune, Mastei of Peinbioke College, Oxford (aftei- PAST Y
waids Bishop of Peteiborough) r?41"^
The missionary speakeis aie again in this penod very few only aP. 5
John Tuckei, Weitbrecht, Benuu, H W Fox, G Smith of
China, W Smith of Benaies, Townsend, and E Jones, the coloured
Puncipal of Fouiah Bay College Otheis, however, were put up
at the Evening Meetings, but these weie then gatherings of a
veiy seoondaiy chaiaclei, without special attiaction, and lately
well attended
So much for the jpc?sowi0Z of the Society at home duimg this
penod What of its Missions and missionaries ?
Hemy Venn came to Salibbmy Squaie not only at an epoch in Thee M s
the Society's history ecclesiastically, not only at a cnsis financially,
— both which will be descnbed in futuie chapters, — but also at a
time when the openings m the mission-field weie inci easing on
eveiy hand Educational woik, mainly with a view to the train-
ing of native teacheis and evangelists, was conspicuous foi its
development "In "West Africa," says the Eepoit of 1841,
"theieis the Fouiah Bay Institution, in Jamaica, the Noimal
School , in Malta, the new Institution , in Syu.the High School ,
in Cano, the Seminary , in Calcutta, tho Head Semmaiy , m
Benares, Jay Naram's School , m Madras, the Institution and
Bishop Gome's Giammar School , in Bombay, the Money Institu-
tion , in Ceylon, the Cotta Institution They constitute the veiy
hope of the future usefulness of the Missions , they leqiure a
laige expenditure , they need also, for theii successful superinten-
dence, the most exalted piety " Some of these did not last , the
list suggests reflections on the failure of the best plans, but
seveial have lasted to this day, and all aie typical of a branch of
missionaiy work which was gi owing in importance, and calling
foi the services of the best men
The same Eepoit mentions appeals befoio the Committee foi
Missions to the Ashantis of West Africa and the Druses of the
Lebanon, to the Himalaya Valleys, and to the Afghan temtones
then (but only tempoianly) occupied by British tioops The new
Tolugu Mission was just being stiuted Knshnagai called loudly
foi development The Nigei Expedition was about to open up
new terntones to evangelization , tho Siena Leone Mission was
sti etching out into the Ternne countiy, and a yeai or two later
came the first ordination of an Afncan cleigyman, and the com-
mencement of the Yoruba Mission Krapf m Abyssinia was
alieady looking southwaid, his move to Mombasa nearly co-
incided in time with Townsend's to Abeokuta , and befoie the
close of our period the gieat explorations of Equatonal Africa had
begun Above all, the long-closed door into China was on the
point of opening , before we complete this section of oui History
we shall find several China Missions established
But the supply of missionaries from the Church at homo was
376 HENRY VENN—IND SURREY OF MFN AND THLVGS
still misei ably inadequate Theie was, howe\ei, some little im-
1841-48 piovement Ina pievious chaptei it was mentioned that in the
ollaP 25 fiist foity yeais of the Society's existence only sixteen Umveisity
Themis men went foith nuclei its auspices Exactly the same numbei,
sionanes Sixteen, went out m the eight yeais now unclei leview The
list begins with the two foundeis of the Telugu Mission, Eobeit
Tuihngton Noble and Ilemy Watson Fox, of Sidney Sussex,
University Cambndge, and Wadham, Oxfoid, lespectrvely It includes also,
men from Cambudge, W G Dudley (Queens'), T G Eagland (Coipus
4th Wianglei, and Fellow), E L Alhuitt (Pctci house), E M
Lamb (Tnnity), M J Wilkinson (Tumty), and B II Cobbold
(Petei house) , fiom 0\foid, J G Seymei (Ch Ch ), C L Eeay
(Queen's), and Geoige Smith (Magdalen Hall, aftoiwaids Bishop
of Victona) , fiom Dublin, E Johnson, T McClatclue, G G
Guthbeit, W Faiinei, and W A Eussell (afteiwaids Bishop of
Noith China) Of these, Dudley and Eeay went to New Zealand ,
Smith, McClatelne, Cobbold, Faimci, Eussell, to China, and all
the iest to India
Islington Of the Islington men of the penod, the most notable aio Ed-
men waid Saigent (afteiwaids Bishop), and J T Tuckei, of Tinner oily ,
Homy Bcikei, 31111, of Tiavancoic, Samuel Hasell, of Bengal
(afteiwaids Gential Secietaiy) , James Hmitei, of Eupcit's Land
(afteiwaids Aichdeacon) , S M Spencei, of New Zealand Of
the Basic men, wo should notice Gollmei, West Ainca, Koelle,
West Adica and Tmkey, Eebmami, East Afuca, Eihaidt, East
Ainca and Noith India , Schun and Fuchs, Noith India All
thc&e weie at Islington as well as at Basle Two othei men,
whose names come on the list at this time, must be mentioned,
viz , Samuel Ciowthei, the hist of the Society's Afncan cleigymon,
01 damed fiom Islington in 1843, and Samuel Wilhams, son of
Aichdeacon Hemy Williams, of New Zealand, who was Uken out
by his paients when a few months old in 1822, was 01 darned m
the countiy m 1846, and still smvives as Aichdeacon himself, and
an honoiaiy CMS missionaiy
.Their Some of these biethien, like those of the piecodmg penod,
accomplished long poiiods of seivieo — Saigont, 47 yeaib, besides
seven as a catechist befoie oidmation , S Williams (to 1898),
51, Ciowthei, fiona oidmation, 47 , Sponcoi, 40 m active woik,
and afteiwaids as mentis, Schuir, 36 , Eihaidl, 42 , Eobmann,
29 without coming homo, Bakei, 35, Fuchs, 32, Eussell, 25,
and seven as bishop , Noble, 24 without coining home Otliois of
the same penod had many yeais too W Claik, 30 , Bildozbcck,
37 , Bomwetsch, 31
P 331
HENRY VENN— AND SURVEY OF MZN AND THINGS 377
China is especially conspicuous It was at this lame that seveial PART Y
of the largest Missions theie were begun , and William Bums, 1841-48
one of the most heioic of missionaries, went out as the fiist repre- Chap 25
sentative of the English Presbyterians m 1847 So did W J
Boone, the fiist icpiesentative of the Protestant Episcopal Church
of Ameiica, afteiwaids Bishop That Church had also, a httlo
eaiher, sent John Payne to Libena, who likewise was sub-
sequently for many yeais Bishop In South Africa, Casalis, of
the Fiench Basuto Mission, and Moffat, of the L M S , had become
celebrated In 1841 went foith David Livingstone, and the
HimonMy Eegister repoits from time to time the pioceedmgs of
"Mr Livingston," and in particular, his dibcovery of Lako
Ngamim 1849 Elsewheie, the L M S had many tuals at this
time The Eussian Government suppressed the Sibena Mission
in 1840 , m Madagascar, the gieat peisecution was at its height,
and news of the Native Chustians only came at uncertain intervals ,
in the South Seas, John Williams was killed at Euomanga, m
1839 , and m 1842'began the Eiench aggiession m Tahiti, which
ultimately drove the Society fiorn the island, and mcidenUlly
bi ought England and Fiance to the vcige of wai • On the othoi
hand, tho gieat Wesleyaii tnumpli in the Fi]i Islands, undci
John Hunt, belongs to this penod , and so does the success of tho
Aincncau Boaid m establishing Chnstiamty in Hawaii This also
is tho date ol the heioic enteipnse of Captain Allen Gaidmci —
whose cnfoiced retucmcnt fiom Zululand wo have alioady soon \
—in Ticiia del Fuego, but his death did not occm till 1851
Medical Missions were still in the futuie , but Woman's Woik was
beginning to extend, particulaily in connexion with tho Society
foi Promoting Female Education m the East, which m 1848 had
about twenty missionaries in India, Ceylon, China, Palestine, and
South Afnca
The period was also one of gieat activity in Eoman Catholic Roman
Missions This was mainly due to the oneigy of a now voluntaiy MlS8ions
society, not woikod by "the Chmch," although pationizcd by the
Popes, which had been founded at Lyons m 1822 by u a few
humble and obscme Catholics " (to use then own woids), with
the title of tho Institution for the Piopagatiou of the Faith | The Lyons
From 1842 onwaids, foi ton or twelve years, the repoits of. this Institutlon'
society aie summaiiHed in the Mi^wnaiy Ewiistw, with considei-
able oxtiacts, which aio oxtromely intoiebtmg In tho fiist yeai
* "I aia glad," said Lcmia Philippe to Lord John Russell, "that oui
negotiations on Tahiti teimmatod favoiuably I should IIUVB boen grieved to
do any injury to your capital, but I was advised to make an attempt on
London, and I should have boon successful " bifo of Lord tiliafteabwih vol u
p 91 " Toiminated f avoidably "—booauao ISnglaiid cared littlo for n Clmstian
stato which was the fruit of Missions, and lot tho Fionch havo thon way
LordAahloy's "grief and indignation" aie expressed m strong terms in his
journal Hud , p 16
f Soo p 355
j Not to be confounded with the College of tho Piopaganda at Homo,
378 HZXRY VLXN—AXD SURVEV OF MLN AND THINGS
P4ET Y (1823) it collected, chiefly horn among the shopkeepeis and
1841-48 ai titans of Lyons, about £1900 In 1833 its income \\as £13,000 ,
Ohapja m 1843> £141,000, m 1852, £200,000 In 1843 it claimed to bo
assisting 130 bishops and 4000 pnests, belonging to \aiious Eoman
oideis and societies This ongmally humble voluntaiy society
^ as in fact at this time enabling Eome to gndle the globe with
Missions One of the lepoits contracts with much complacency
the economy with \\lnch theu opeiations weie conducted Vvith
(( the extiti^agant salanes allowed the loidly inissionanes of the
Anglican Chinch m the East and West Indies, the immense sums
swallowed up by the Methodist Pioconsulb who mle it o\ei the
Kings of the Southern Ocean, and the mnumeiable hawkeis of
Bibles, whose piudent zeal extends no fuithei than to mtioduce
along the coasts of China, with smuggled opium, the fcacied
wntings which they piofaue "
Romish Piotestant Missions soon felt the effects of this new eneigy of
JrStaTt Soman Catholic Fiance In 1839 the CMS Eepoit noticed the
Mission- tt cjI1GCt aricl undisguised hostility to Piotestant Missions which
Eome was showing m India, in New Zealand, in the Levant and
Abyssinia, and among the Eed Indians )J But it was added, " It
is an axiom established by the histoiy ol the Gospel, that wheievei
the soil has been best cultivated, and wheievei the hopes of a
futuie haivest aie most piornismg, theie the enemy will be the
most busy m sowing taieb " Again, in the Eepoit of 1817 —
t( E icli successive yoai aflouls fiesli pioof of the waihke activity m
the Eonn&h camp, and sees tlio multitudes sent out on Foioi^n Missions
who have been kamed m the College of the Piopa^ancla In numbeis
and activity they fai outdo the advocates of the Tiuth While we aio
meditating to send a cattclust to a distant tube of Noith-West Anieiicau
Indians, 1000 miles fiom the headquaiteis of both paities, we lieai that
fom Romish pnests aie ahoady among them ' While the Clniich of
England foi a whole yeai seeks in vain foi one im&sionaiy to China, the
Romish ii^ent at Hong Kong negotiates foi a contiact with a Steam
Navigation Company to cauy to China 100 pncsts within the yuu !
The intiusions into otu Missions in Kiishnasjai and New Zealand
aie but faint skiinushes, to be munbeied among the many si^us wlnoh
•unequivocally proclaim that the battle between Popoiy and Pioto&tant-
i&m must be fought on the Mission- held no loss than at home "
Romish " No less than at home " These woids contain an allusion to
England1" ^ie Bowing activity of Eome m England at the time, oncouuged
by the Tiactanan secessions In 1845, Peel had earned his bill
giving fuithei giants to Maynooth College,1 despite an out-
buifet of Piotestant feeling Then came the gieat In&h famine
which led to the Eopeal of the Coin Laws This gave Christian
people in England an oppoitumty to light Eomamsm in Ii eland
with spiiitual weapons The chanty of England, which saved
* On iccount of win oil Mi Ghdstono left fhe Mnn4iy Cinioiisly enough
it wis Mi G-Hdbtouo'b Lish GkuicJi Dibo&tabli^huioufc Bill u£ 1809 tliat
aboh-shocl tho Aliyuooth subsidy
HLNRY VENN— AND SURVEY OF MEN AND THINGS 379
thousands of lives of Irish Eoinamsts, predisposed them— just as PABT V
similar chanty dispensed by missionaries among famine-stricken 1841-48
people in India piedisposes them— to listen to the message of
free salvation fiom their benefactois Hence the lush Ghuich
Missions, into the cause of which Edwaid Bickersteth flung him-
self at this time with chaiacteustic aidoui " "While Englishmen
m general," mites his biographer, Professor Bilks, "felt the
plain duty of relieving tempoial distiess, theie weie a smallei
number of earnest Christians who saw in this visitation of God
a still louder call to caie foi perishing souls, and to laise them
fiom the daikness of sin and supeistition into the glorious liberty
of the Gospel of Christ" "The false benevolence which pie-
tended to heal the misenes of Ireland by an amplei supply of
Popery at the expense of the State [alluding to Maynooth] called
for vigorous efforts of leal Chnstian love m a moie earnest
diffusion of the Gospel, the only true remedy foi Iieland's distie&s
and moral degradation " • To this woik the leadeis of the
Church Missionary Society, nevei too much absorbed with then
own oigamzation to caie forothei Christian entei puses, gave their
warm co-opeiation , and the MISMOIUU ij Rcyibtct legulailyiepoited
its progioss
Concerning anothei movement of the day— also ansmg m part
out of the Maynooth contioveisy— they weie not unanimous
This was the Evangelical Alliance Poi some years, Mr The Evan.
Haldano Stowait had bought to heal the divisions within the Eilance
Evangelical lanks, to which refeienco was made m a pievious
chapteij by issuing annually an Invitation to United Piayer, for
the Chuich and foi tho World , but m 1845, at the instance of
ceitam Scotch inmisteis, a confeience was held at Liverpool
which issued, m the following yeai, in the formation of an
organized body, uniting Chuichmen and Dissenters, called the
Evangelical Alliance Of this body Edwaid Bickersteth was one
of the chief foundeis and leadeis At the time, a Btiong anti-
Staie-Chmch movement was spieadmg among the Dissenters,
and Bickei steth hoped that the Alliance might at least cause the
views they honestly held to be moie gently and charitably pro-
mulgated But some of his biothien took a cliffeient line, and
feared, by joining the new oigamzation, to encourage the Chiuch's
opponents Josiah Piatt was now dead , but he had not appioved
of the preliminary steps taken two 01 thiee years eailier Hugh
McNeilo wrote to Bickei steth, " I am convinced that youi ardent
and loving spirit will meet with a distressing disappointment m
the issue of the Alliance ", and the Ghnsticm 06&mier decidedly
condemned the^ scheme The same diveisity of opinion legard-
mg the Alliance has pievailed in Evangelical cncles ever since ,
but no one can doubt the good it has done by its influence upon
Protestant movements on the Continent
* Memoir of J2 Bwlersteth, vol n p 363*5 | Scop ^85
380 'HLSRY VLN^—AND SURVEY OF MCN AND THINGS
PART V It has been said that the definite move towards foimmg the
184.M& Alliance was made from Scotland In fact it was, in one aspect,
ap^o an attempt to heal the dissensions vhich had been at first the
Disruption cause, and then still moie the consequence, of the Disruption of
of scotch jg^ mft fj^g secessiou of a Luge pait of the Scottish people, and
of seveial hnndied of the best ministers, from the Established
Presbyterian Chinch That gieat event could not be viewed with
indiUcience in England The strong ailection of the Evangelicals
foi the union of Chinch and State pi evented then approving the
formation of the Free Chinch , and yet then naiuial sympathies
wont with its leaders, Chalmers, Candhsh, and others, who mainly
represented the evangelical side of the Knk Pratt regarded the
Secession as "a noble sacrifice to what was conscientiously con-
sideied to bo absolute duty " , but he was " not com meed that the
sacrifice was called for by a right sense of duty " Bicker stuth
took a more sympathetic view he regretted the separation, but ho
thought the contention of the Establishment party was " a virtual
denial of the visible Church as a distinct ordinance oi Christ "
Episcopal Another series of events m Scotland, though less important in
m scot!5 itself, touched the Church Missionary Society more closely The
land Scottish Episcopal Chinch had a Communion Seivice differing
from that of the Church of England, and on this account seveial
congregations of an Evangelical type had always kept aloof from
it, and v\ ere m mistered to by clergymen m English orders, and
these congregations had d certain legal status nuclei an old Act
of Parliament About this time, hov\e\ei, some modifications m
the terms of subscription of the Scottish Episcopal Church had
opened the dooi for then adhesion to it , and seveial of them took
advantage of this, to gam the benefit of episcopal countenance
Unfortunately, two o± the Scotch Bishops subjected the con-
gregations of this type at Edmbiugh and Aberdeen to high-
handed treatment, m the one case foibiddmg pi ayei -meetings, and
in the other case excommunicating the mmistei foi using the
English Seivice Both congregations at once seceded, and at
Edinburgh a new chinch was built foi the minister, the Eev
DTK Dmmmond, an excellent and faithful clergyman , and
a few other congregations followed suit Natui ally enough, this
brought upon them the fulmmations of High Chinch organs in
England, \\hileonthe other hand, the Itccoid, whose chief pi o-
pnetoi and virtual dnectoi, Mi Alexander Ilaldano, was a Scotch-
man, throw itself into the conflict \\ith the encigy, and, it must
be added, bitterness, that m those clays so maikedly chaiactoii/ed
it Now the old English congregations, both those thai adhciod
to the Scotch Chinch and those that held aloof, weie the
Perplexity suppoiteis of the Chinch Mi&sioiiaiy Society in Scotland, and a
of c M s qll0btion arose as to what churches and chapels a deputation horn
the Society might preach m The Committee of the Edmbuigh
* Lottoi to Bi&hop oi Calcutta, in JLTcwiot? oj Pwtt} p 359
VENN- — AND SURVEY OP- AfEir AND THINGS 381
C M Association weio mostly men "who clave to Mr Drummond , PART V
and there was no doubt that the best spiritual life of the Church 1841-48
was then in the sepaiated congregations On the othei hand p
their position -was regarded by some of the Society's leading
friends in England as iriegulai, if not, as High Chuichmen said,
schismatical , and aftei piolonged discussions the Committee in.
Salisbury Squaie, unable to ignoie the stiong representations
made to them fiom. eithei side, lesolved that the official deputa-
tions should attend meetings only, and not pi each at all
The contioveisy continued foi many yeais The Committee,
aCter two yeais, allowed the deputations to preach in the English
Episcopal Chapels, as they were called Indeed most of the
suppoit came from them This, however, did not satisfy the
fi lends belonging to them These fuends wished the Committee
not only to allow deputations to pieach in the English chapels,
but also to foi bid then preaching in the Scotch Episcopal Churches
33ut the Committee maintained an impaitial attitude, lef using to Attitude of
make any lestiictions eithei way , and of couise both sides weie c M s
dissatisfied In la,tei times, the circumstances alteied considci-
ably , but this does not belong to oui present subject
Such were the men, and such the suiiotindmgs, of Henry
Venn's fiist seven yeais as Secretaiy OL rather, some of thorn
Foi othei most important features of the environment of the
period have yet to be noticed We shall see the Society's Laws
modified to open the dooi foi the adhesion of the Heads of the
Church We shall see the Archbishops and Bishops joining it
We shall see the extension of the Colonial and Missionary
Episcopate We shall see the bittei contioveisies that chistered
lound the Tiactanan Movement We shall see the Society in the
most serious financial crisis it has ever known, and soe how it
was dehveied Then, in the foieign field we shall soe the
opening of China, the commencement in East Afuca, the extension
of the West Africa Mission to the Yoruba countiy, the first
attempt to navigate the Niger in the mteiests of commeico and
Chtistiamty Thus the seven years from Venn's accession to the
Jubilee, from 1841 to 1848, weie a period of impoitaiit events at
home and abioad , a period of much testing of faith and of
principle, a period in which, veiy emphatically, the Society could
say, "The Loid of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our
refuge I "
CHAPTER XXVI
SOCIETY m m CHURQS
Improved Condition of the Church— Church Unions— H Venn's
Defence of C M S — " Sanction of Convocation "— F Close's Ser-
mon—Bishop Blomfield's Proposals for C M S and S P G ~
F Close and Lord Chichester on the Proposals— Revision of C M S
Laws— Archbishops and Bishops join CMS —Hugh Stowell's
Sermon, and Bishop Blomfield's— Results, Expected and Actual—
SPG and CMS —Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford his
Career and Influence—] B Suraner, Archbishop of Canterbury—
Tractanan Controversies and Secessions— Attitude of C M S
" The hand 0} the Lord, was wtft them Then ti&wigs of these things came
owto the ea/rs of tlie 0/ww ch and they sent forth Barnabas
when he came, md had seen the gme of (?od, was glad "—Acts n 21-28
PART Y " If^^HE two great Missionary Societies of the Chinch "
1841-48 K| ml is a very common phrase at the piesent day The
two aie' of COIUS6) 8 P G and C M S But slxty
yeais ago, if the expression had been used, it
would not have meant these two It would have
meant S P G and S P C K Not that the S P 0 K has lost
giound in the interval On the contrary, it nevei did so gieat and
beneficent a work as at present But it is not usually thought of
as a missionary society , and on the other hand, the C M 8 has
won for itself a recognition which in the fiist forty years of the
century it did not enjoy
But about the time of Queen Victoria's Accession, the
fctiurch vigour of the Chinch of England, and its consequent efficiency,
tits- weie rapidly increasing, and the clergy generally weie becoming
much more alive than before to the need of fostering and support-
ing Church Societies for various objects It is customary to
attribute this growing energy and efficiency to the influence of the
Oxfoid Movement Evidence has been given in a previous
chapter" showing the fallacy of this view No doubt the
Movement had, subsequently, a great effect upon the Church,
transforming the old-fashioned country parson into an aident and
haid-working parish puest But the improvement, as we have
seen, was marked and widespread before that, and while the
Movement was still m its infancy In particular, some of the
new bishops were raising the standard of episcopal woik to a very
* See p 274
REV HUGH M'NEILE
REV HUGH STOWELL
ARCHBISHOP SUMNER
DEAN CLOSE
BISHOP JS vVlLBERFORCE
eilo, T) T> , Livei pool
Stowell, Mmitheptci
•-"
THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH 383
diffeient height from what it had formerly been Conspicuous PART V
among these were Bishop Eyder at Chester, Bishop Blomfield at p?^~1£
Chestei and London, Bishop Ottei at Chichestei, and the two p
Sumnei s, at Winchester and Chestei Samuel Wilbeif 01 ce' s tenure working
of the Diocese of Oxford, which unquestionably raised still higher Biah°Ps
the standard of a bishop's activities, and did much to form the
modern idea of the bishop as the working captain of both clergy
and laity m his diocese, did not begin till 1845 , and Wilberfoice,
in the earlier years of his episcopate at least, was very fai from
being one of the Oxford School
One lesult of the growing energy of the Church was the
remaikable progiess of the S P G , which has been noticed befoze
The S P C K , the Cleigy Aid Society (now the Additional Cuiates church
Society), the Church Building Society, and the National Society, Societ*ea
were also being vigorously worked At the same time, the old
office of rural dean was revived, and run-decanal meetings began
to be held, which Josiah Piatt, old man and conservative as he
now was, welcomed as the beginning of moie effective Chmch
organization— while he deprecated the unofficial gatheimgs of
olencal fi lends for spiritual exeicises being given up m con-
sequence One lesulfc was a pioposal in some quaiteis to
combine the five Societies just mentioned in a Chuich Union, for Church
the deaueiy 01 some laiger ecclesiastical area Then, m places Union8
wheie some of the cleigy weie favouiable to the C M S , it was
suggested that it also should be included , and the Jews' Society
and the lecently-foimed Pastoral Aid Society weie sometimes
mentioned too Samuel Wilberfoice, then Aichdeacon of Suney,
proposed to combine seven Societies, viz , the five before mentioned
and the CMS andCPAS
The CMS Committee saw clearly that this kind of union, why
well-meant as it was, would be moie likely to strangle the objected
Societies than to give them fiesh life , and ]ust about the time
that Henry Venn became Secretary, a Circulai was issued on the
subject, in which it was pointed out that, even taking the lowest
financial ground, the step was unadvisable A man who would
subsciibe a guinea to the Chuich Union might piobably subscnbe
a guinea each to the diffeient Societies if approached on their
behalf separately, 01 at all events to more than one Besides
which, the proposal ignored, said the Circulai, " a deep-seated
principle of human nature-— a legitimate principle as legauls
charitable donations—that to him who gives, it belongs to
deteimme how his gift should be applied, whereas the
Societies it was proposed to combine all differ from each other,
eithei as to the opoiations which they undertake, or as to the
spheie m which they carry on these operations, or as to both
these particular " In short, the plan was not good for any of the
Societies The SPG,, for instance, would get less out of a
* Afemoir, p 854,
384 THE SOCIETY AND HJE CHURCH
PART V Chuich Union compiling also the S P C K , the A C S , and the
rvf41^ National Society, than it would if sepaiately worked How could
p_? a pieacher 01 speaker interest his auditory in all foiu at once ?
And obviously the difficulty would be far greatei in the case of
Societies avowing distinctive principles, whethei Evangelical 01
any other
c M ASSO- The Chuich Missionary Society's Associations thioughout the
intacT" country were theiefore dnected to maintain themselves intact,
and it was from the discussion of this subject that the piactice arose
of not sending deputations to joint meetings The Cncular of
1841 fully recognized the light of a parish clergyman to divide his
collections in any way he thought best, and to combine any
number of Societies, CJVE S included, in any kind of Union, if he
pleased It only observed that the Society's official deputations
could not be " expected " to be at the service of such panshes
This regulation no doubt woiks haidly heie and there , but the
principle involved in it is one which, upon the whole, has been
for the advantage of all the Societies
It will be readily understood, however, that the lefusal to be
included officially in the Church Unions gave a handle to the
many Churchmen who disliked the Society, and weie not sorry to
haye fresh ground for denouncing it as " not a Church society "
In fact, the very cnticisms that have still to be met in some
quaiters had then to be met much more frequently They came
Puaey and most persistently from the rising Tractanan School Di Pusey
Sumner kimself t preaching for the S P G at Weymouth, made a vehement
attack on the Chuich Missionary Society Moreover, the cry
began to be laised that Missions should be woiked by "the
Church in her corporate capacity," and that all societies weie, to
say the least, an anachronism This view was dealt with, and
opposed, in admnable fashion by Bishop J B Sumner of Chester
(afterwaids Aichbishop of Canterbury), m a speech at the C M S
Anniversary of 1840
The Chuich Missionary Society, m fact, was now too laige
and important to be ignored But it could still bo assailed
And it was assailed— as it sometimes is still— with a singular
ignorance of its actual history and work, 01 of the actual history
and woik of the varied organizations which, on diffeient sides,
were invidiously compared with it
H Venn's This seems the right place to notice the famous document drawn
ceMns,eof UP by Henry Venn (before he was Secretary), known as the
Appendix to the Thirty-Ninth Eeport There has been a soit of
tradition that its immediate occasion was the settlement of the
controversy about licenses with Bishop Daniel Wilson , but in
point of fact its date is more than two years after that settlement,
and although it notices the arrangement with Bishop Wilson as
an important illustration of some of its statements, its scope is
actually much wider It was m reality a public vindication of the
Society from criticisms current among Churchmen at home , and
THE SOCIETY AND ruz CHURCH 385
the occasion of its being wntten was a request fiom Ckailes PAET V
Bndges foi an answei to various objections be had met with on ^i?41"^
deputation tours * Its title is a conipiehensive oiiQ—llEemaiks c ap 6
o?i the Constitution and Piactice of the Chinch Mmwnaty
Society, with Reference to its Ecclesiastical Relations " Such
portions of it as apply to the relations between the mission-
aries and the bishops abioad will be more conveniently noticed m
the next chapter, m which the contioversy with Bishop Wilson
will be lefened to At present we have to do with those paits
that are concerned with the general lelations between the
Society and the Church at home The paper begins with an-
nouncing its object, viz , " to show that the constitution and constiiu-
practice of the Church Missionary Society are in stnct con- c M°s
formity with Ecclesiastical pimciples, as they are recognized in
the constitution and practice of the Church of England", and
then pioceeds to distinguish between the Church's temporal
and spnitual functions, the piovinces respectively of Laity and
Cleigy —
"Throughout the system of the Climcli of England thoie is a
recognised co-oporatioii of tempoial and spnitual functions in matteis
Ecclesiastical , that is, the Laity and Clergy have not only thuir sepaiate
and distinct piovmcep, but, m many important respects, they unite
then agency for the accomplishing of Ecclesiastical acts "
Illustrations of this aie given, such as Lay-Pations, Chinch-
wardens and Sidesmen, the Ecclesiastical Comts, and tfre
Soveieign as Chief Kuler Then —
" Keeping the foregoing distinction in view, the Church Missionary
Society may be legauted as an Institution foi dischaiging tho temporal
and lay offices necessaiy for the preaching of the Gospel among the
Heathen It is strictly a Lay Institution it exercises, as a Society,
no spiutual functions whatsoever "
" Such," the papei goes on to say, " being the constitution of
the Society in theory — aie its proceedings conducted in conformity Functions
with this theory, and with the Ecclesiastical pnnciples of theofCMS
Church of England ?" These pioceedings aie then stated to be
the following —
"I The collection of the Homo Kevenue, and the Disbiusemeiit of it
abroad
"II The Selecting and Educating Candidates for Missionaiy Em-
ployment
"III The Sending Foith, to particular Stations, the Missionaries
thus ordained, or other Clergymen who have bean previously
ordained
" IV The Superintendence of Missionaries m their labours among the
Heathen "
Of these, No lis declared to be " altogether within the province
of Laymen " Under No 2 it is explained that the Society no
* Seo a biographical sketch of C Bridges, evidently by H Voniij in tho
/trwiftan 06sm»n of Juno, I860
VOL I, 0 C
386 TtiL SoClLlY AND THE CtlURCti
PABT Y more encioaches upon " spmtual functions " than do the Colleges
1841-48 ^ the Universities, which are " Lay-Coipoiations ", also that in
Ohap^26 prac|jlcet the examination and tiaimng of the Society's candidates
are conducted by cleigymen And tho Bishop of London's
sanction and appiobation of the tiaimng at Islington is referred
to Under No 3 is noticed an objection, based on the use of the
The true woid "sending foith," which, it \\as said, was the piovince of
3 .'±1 to Bishops ~
ing forth " ti jjow> ^^ an objection against the Society lias been founded on the
use of the term { sending forth ' — it sounds hke an exeiciso of ecclesiastical
power But, Ecclesiastically speaking, the Bishop of London ' sends forth '
every Missionary 01 clamed by him Tho Law of the land has sanctioned
the two Aichbisnops, and the Bishop of London, in ordaining persons
to ofhciate abroad The Secietaiy of the Church Missionary Society
lequests, by Letter, the Bishop of London to oiclam, in conformity with
tiie provisions of the Act of Parliament, such and such persons, whom
the Society is willing to support m some Foreign Station The Bishop,
by the imposition of hands, gives them authority to pi each the Gospel,
with a view to their Foreign location In the case of persons aheady in
Holy Orders, who may join the Society, they may be said to go forth
by their own voluntaiy act , but their Letters of Orders, given by a
Bishop of our Church, are their mission and commission, Ecclesiastically
speaking
" Hence, to call the acts of the Church Missionary Society— in selecting
the Station, paying the passage-money, and agreeing to piovicle the
Missionary's salary—to call thoso acts a sending foith of troacheis, m
an Ecclesiastical sense, is to confound names with things, and to lose
sight of all true Church pimciplos "
No 4 takes us into the mission-field, and must theiofoie be
consideied in the next chapter The lemaiks upon it occupy the
laigei pait of the paper
Three concluding observations aie made, — (1) that although
missionary opeiations aie, flora the natuie of the case, in a sense
anomalous in the system of the Chuich of England, they aie
analogous to voluntary agencies and woik at home , (2) that they
aie teinpoiaiy in character, having m view the building up of the
futuie Church m Heathen lands , and that, m such a time of
transition, it is natural that difficulties and perplexities should
arise , (3) that all must really depend upon a good undei standing
and mutual confidence between the Ecclesiastical Authouties and
the conductors of a voluntaiy society
Pending On the fiist of these thieo points, there is an important lefeience
convoca-f to " a duly-assembled Convocation" The Convocations of the
twn, ail Chuich of England had been suppiessed since the reign of Queen
alike es Anne, and when Henry Venn wrote this document there was no
p10spect of then levival How it came about that they weie
levived we shall see heieaffcei But it is interesting to see Venn's
opinion that if some day Convocation should take it m hand " to
decree and to regulate missionary operations," they would have
to do it on much the same lines as those alieady laid down by
the Church Missionary Society Also it will be observed that
THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH 387
there is a passing hint con acting the idea that S P G , or any PART V
other society, was more the official representative of the Chuich l?41-48
than CMS - ®^?
" And heio it may be observed that nothing less than the sanction of
a duly-assembled Convocation can moie fully identify the acts of any
Missionary Society within the Church of England, with the Church
(The American Episcopal Church has, in Convention, thus identified
itself with a Mi ssionary Society ) Without such sanction, all associations
of Churchmen must stand in the same position Still further, not to
notice the piesent abeyance of Convocations, it may be asserted, that
even if the Church weie to assemble m her Provincial Convocations,
and to decree and to regulate Missionary operations, such proceedings
could not essentially add to, or alter, those important particulars which,
undei present circumstances, entitle the operations of the Chuich
Missionary Society, to be regarded as Missionaiy operations of tho
United Church of England and Ireland "
These " Beraaiks " were printed as Appendix II of the Thiity- Appendix
Ninth Eeport In the following yeai a buof extract from it was \^[y
printed as a Note to tho 29th Law, which provides foi the going "inth
out of candidates, " oidtuned or unoi darned, at tho discretion of ep°
the Committee " The Note begins thus — " The Bishops of the
Chuich of England, under the authonty of the law of the land,
ozdain and send foith [ecclesiastically speaking] the Society's
missionaries " The rest of it has to do with licenses, and touches
points belonging to oui next chaptei Ifiom 1842, the " Bemaiks M
weio printed in full in every Annual Eeport until 1877, when they
were withdrawn because they had failed to meet the case of tho
Colombo difficulties But foi the most part they must be
acknowledged to be of permanent value It is interesting to
find in tho St Bnde's Sermon preached by Fiancib Close of
Cheltenham in 1841 — the very Sermon in which, as mentioned in
a foirner chapter,1 the Society was fiist definitely called an
"Evangelical Institution" — a paiallel passage, but fullei, to Francis •
Venn's allusions to the suspension of Convocation, and the volun- convoca
tary chaiacter of S P G , and a le-afhrmation of Venn's statement ti°n»
as to who "sends forth" tho missionaries in an ecclesiastical and8 °n8'
sense — c M s
" Let me observe, that this Society does not assume to represent tho
Church , nor can any Society assume this, without presumption Wo
are, alas I m such a situation in the Chuich of England, that we cannot
move as a Church— we have no Synod , wo have no Convocation , we
have no General Assembly And it was this very destitution that gave
birth to the Venerable Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and
that for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts theso are voluntary,
independent Institutions, conducted by members of tlio Church of
England— by the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and Laymen— but only m
their individual capacity !For if every memboi of the Church of
England, Cloncal and Lay, should ]om those Societies, they would still
be out voluntary Chantable Associations, and would full to loproseut
* SOG p 289
THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH
PART V the Chuicli of England —in fact, a Chuich Society is a contiadiction m
1841-48 terms , a voluntary Association of Church members cannot be 'the
Chap 26 Church ' The utmost, therefore, that we can hope to do, undei theso
— circumstances, is, to be caiefu] that our Voluntary Institutions for any
spiritual object should be conducted by Christian men, members of our
Church, and, as far as possible, m strict accordance with her doctrines
and her discipline This character we claim for the Chuich Missionary
Society, in common with the elder existing Institutions
" How shall I establish this claim * Brethren, the time would fail me
to adduce the abundant evidence "Whether I look abroad or at home,
1 see the marks of Apostohcity m every act of this Institution
CMS " But it may be replied that all this, and much more of a similar kind,
"°aeBnd0t mav k0 true, and yet the important link may be wanting to connect
forth mis your Missionaries with the Apostolic Church Well aware of this, we
sionanes " scruple not to confess oui faith, that the Church alone can send out
Missionaries , and we repel the accusation, that this Institution sends
them forth 1 Our ordained Missionaries are not commissioned by a
Committee, or by Manageis, whethei Lay or Clencal, they are sent
forth by the Bishops of the Anglican Church Our Missionaries are
ordained, by the justly-respected Lord Bishop of this Diocese, upon a
Missionary Title for Orders , or they receive Holy Orders at the hands
of Colonial Bishops and thus the exact position in which we are placed
is fully recognized The Society is but as the Patron of perpetual
Advowsons in distant lands, nominating the Incumbents , as the parent
of a youth, presenting him to the Bishop , as the College in which he is
educated, claiming Holy Orders and while the Society, standing in the
position of the Patron, the Parent, or the University, determines, as
they all do, the special location of the Minister, it is the mission of the
Bishop by winch he is sent forth , and under the license of the Bishop
he is placed, wheiever he is found in Ins work How idle it is, to tell
us that onr Missionaries are not EpiBcopally sent forth , or that our
Society is wanting in a true Church character I
" To such captious cavillers we are ready to reply Are they Episco-
palians ? so are we Are they Apostohcals ? so are we Aie they lovers
of order, and Church Authority ? so are we , and so were we—it may be
added— before ancient novelties were revived I Whatever they are, as
Churchmen, so are we Nay; like the Apostle, we may say, We a) e moi e
Who originated Episcopacy in India p— Buchanan, and others, who weie
the Founders of the Chuich Missionary Society Who conveyed the
first Bishop to New Zealand ? *— the Church Missionary Society 1 And
if, in that interesting colony, thero soon be placed a Bishop, it will be
through the request, and at the expense, of the same Institution !"
A few hues fuithei on in the same Seiinon we find these
words — "We have every reason to believe that, ere long, the
Fatheis, the revered Fathers of our Church at home, will take
us to their piotection and cherish us with their favour It
is delightful to look forwaid to this opening prospect " These
Bishop woids were an allusion to Bishop Blomneld's public proffer of
*^e ri&^ ^an^ °^ fe^ow^P* ma^e onty S1X ^ays before To this
we now come
* This reference IB not to Bishop Solwyn, but to Bishop Broughton of
Australia, who visited Australia at the Society's request and expense in 1838
In the next hue the leference is to the pioposed Bishop of New Zealand, i e , In
the issuo, to Selwyn
THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH 389
The Society had already heen recognized as at least an existing PART Y
fact by both the Primate and the Bishop of London The former, 1841-4$
Dr Howley, when himself Bishop of London, had appioved the p ^
Islington College and ordained the students, and so had Ins
successoi , Bishop Blomfield As Pnrnate he had been consulted by
the Society fiom time to time, partictilaily on the West Indian
questions But both felt that something moie was now desirable
The Society's concessions to Bishop Daniel Wilson, as embodied
in the " Eemaiks " above noticed, had been much appioved , and
so had the " Eemarks " themselves geneially Moreovei, m 1840,
Bishop Blomfield put forth the pioposals which led in the
following year to the establishment of the Colonial Bishoprics
Fund , and as the Society's co-operation in the woik to be done
by that Fund was desned, it became important to bring it, if
possible, into closei connexion with the heads of the Chuich
And it was not the Chuich Missionary Society only that was
to be approached The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, s P G
though commonly regarded as much more ecclesiastically conect, !?8p0ptoe
was essentially also a voluntary Society , and it had not been, "^dectioft
and with the coming increase of the Colonial Episcopate was
not likely to be, without its own difficulties in the perplexing
circumstances of Chuich woik m new countries Moieovai,
notwithstanding Di Pusey's advocacy of the SPG, some of the
Oxford Tiactanans weie attacking both it and the S P C K One
of their leadeis, the Rev William Palmer, author of Ongmc^
Liturgiccs, used very stiong language at the annual membeis*
meeting of the S P C K m 1840 He called it a " congregational
society," a " joint-stock club " The S P G , he affirmed, was as
bad, because the Bishops, under its chartei (as it then was) were
not ex officw members of the governing body, but had to be elected
"What," said Mr Palmer, "would be thought of guinea sub-
scribers in the eaily Church inmting the Apostles to become mem-
bers of their Committee ? " " The Societies should change then
rules so as only to lay their offenngs at the feet of the Apostles, to
collect money for the Bishops " -1 This reads veiy curiously now ,
but it enables us to understand why the S P G as well as the C M S
was to be brought into closer connexion with the Episcopate
Private prelimmaiy negotiations had been going on some time
between Bishop Blomfield on one side and Lord Chichester and
H Venn on the othei The first public reference to the mattei Biomfidd1*
was made by Bishop Blomfield at the memorable meeting of jSSJ&J*
April 27th, 1841, which mauguiated the Colonial Bishoprics Bishoprics
Fund, That meeting and its pioper object will come under om mce ng
notice m the next chapter But Bishop Blomfield, in the course
of his speech moving the fiist resolution, said —
" I have always been of opinion that the great missionary body ought
to be the Chuich herself It seeras to me to follow, as an inevitable
* From a nearly verbatim report of tho prolonged discussion, m the Rccoi I
of May llth, 1810
390 THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH
PART Y consequence, from the very definition of tho Church, that all operations
1841-48 which are to be performed for the advancement of the Saviour's King-
Chap 26 dom upon earth should bo the Church's operations At the present
moment, as I have obseivecl, those operations are carried on by two
Societies, both in connexion with the Chuich, one which has now for
nearly a century and a half directed its principal attention to the
maintenance of tine religion amongst the settlers of Great Britain in
distant parts , the other, which is of more recent origin, devoting its
eneigies and applying its resouices to pleaching the Gospel to the
Heathen, both most important blanches of Christian chanty, the
compaiative importance of which I will not, on the present occasion,
stay to consider But there has not been that perfect unity of operation
between them—at least, not that uniformity— which ought to charac-
terize the proceedings of one undivided pure branch of Christ's holy
Catholic Church Now it does appear to me far from impiacticable that a
plan might be devised which should remove the evil and do away with the
seeming anomaly — if it be not a real anomaly — which now I know, from
my own experience, necessarily impedes the progress of both Societies
and m *k° k°ly work which they have in hand I think that, under your
t0 Grace's sanction, means might be devised, and those not of a complicated
under the nature, by which both Societies might be induced to carry on their
Bishops operations under the same superintendence and control, I mean the
superintendence and control of the heads of the United Church of this
Kingdom When I use the word { control,' I do not mean a control
which shall be exercised in the way of invidious or captious interference
—I do not mean a control which shall limit, except within certain
recognized bourn d, the operations of either Society , but I mean simply
that kind of superintendence and control which, with the willing co-opeia-
tionof both Societies, shall secure for both a strict and regular movement
•within the limits of the duty which they owe to the Church I forbear
from specifying particularly the details of the plan to which I allude ,
it may be sufficient to say that, if it were earned into efiect, it would
leave both Societies at perfect liberty to prosecute the holy work which
they have in hand unimpeded and uninterrupted , while at the same
time it would prevent the deviation of either from that straight lino of
spiritual policy which seems to be maiked out by the veiy principles of
the Church itself I think it is impossible not to perceive that the
present time, when we are preparing to extend the full benefits of 0111
ecclesiastical polity, in all its completeness, to all the dependencies of
the empire, seems to be a peculiarly appropriate moment for taking
this work in hand, and for making provision for the time to come, that
the Church, in her foreign and missionary, as well as in her domestic
operations, shall present an united front to the world, and shall not
leave it m the power of her adversaries and traducers to say that we
differ amongst ourselves upon the voiy first principles of our duty "
|£ersdtecrhl" The Earl of Ghichester, who, as President of the C M S , had
responds been invited to second the resolution, at once lesponded coidially,
intimating "his great satisfaction with the Bishop's suggestion
as to the necessity of a perfect uniformity of action with regaid
to religious Missions "
CMS This was on Tuesday On the Monday following, Francis
Close preached the great seimon at St Bride's already quoted
s from Next day, at the Annual Meeting in Bxetei Hall, the
^icipated with gladness the coming concordat, while
THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH 391
taking occasion, m obvious leferenee to the Tractanan movement, PAET Y
to avow feailessly the Society's loyalty to the doctrines of the
Refoimation —
" To preach Chnst, and Him crucified, has been the gloat end pioposed While
to and by your Missionaries, in accordanco with, and submission to, the hSdmg to
Ecclesiastical order and polity of tho Church This object and those Gospel
principles your Committee trust will bo handed clown, undefilod and P"ncJptes
imimpanea, fiom yeai to year As legards Ecclesiastical questions, tho
Committee have always considered that it was no pait of thoir province
to settle them In all such matters they were desirous to conform to
the laws of tho Church, but as, in applying those laws to Missionaiy
exertions, new and doubtful questions must arise, the Committee would
hail with satisfaction the adoption of measures by which such questions
might be satisfactorily adjusted And if, in connection with such
measmes, the f ullei sanction of the Heads of the Church to the operations
of tho Society may bo obtained, your Committee would rejoice them-
selves, and would feel that the mombeis of the Society would have fi esh
cause for thankfulness At the same time, tho Committee trust that it
will always bo maintained by tho friends and suppoitcis of the Church
Missionary Society, that the SAVIOIU alone is tho groat Fountain of Life ,
and that Ecclesiastical discipline, howevei valuable, and however dear to
them, is but the channel through \vhich the waters of hfo should flow to
tho perishing nations of mankind And they trust that ncithei faith,
nor watchfulness, noi prayoi, will bo wanting, that the principles of the
Society may nevoi bo compuvmised , and that it may continue to bo tho
honoiued instrument of sending forth tho puio Gospel of Gluisfc, as it
was preached by Cranmoi, and Latimoi, imd Ridley, and tho Maityis
and Kefoimors of oui Chinch "
Natuially, seveial of tho speakeis rofouod to the gieat question
now m the thoughts of all The Piesident himself enlaiged upon Lord Chi
j. A cheater
1B commends
" I would call your attention to the suggestion made by our respected
Diocesan, the Bishop of London, and, as I understand, with the full
sanction of tho Archbishop, that if some arrangement could be mado by
which tho two Societies could agioe to icfoi all mattois of an ecclesiastical
nature to one and the same recognised authority, consisting of a Coimcil
of Bishops, that, if this could be done, both Societies might expect tho
full and public sanction of his Lordship and tho Aichbishop I am sine
that I should not bo doing instice to my own feelings, if I merely said
that I most thankfully iccoived this proposition as a niemboi of both
Societies As a member of tho Chinch Missionaiy Society, with whose
proceedings and principles I am much moio intimately acquainted than
with those of tho othoi, I am not only thankful, but I most cordially
appiovo of tho pioposition as m perfect haimony with the spirit of oui
Rules, and with the principles and practice of the Society evei since my
connexion with it, Most eat neatly do I pi ay to the groat Head of tho
Church, whose Name is Counsellor nntl the Prince of Potice, that His
wisdom, and peace, and tiuth may direct and accomplish the woik thus
happily begun, that tho arrangement of the details maybe found as
easy m execution as the abstract piopositionis simple, and aound, and
catholic m its clmractei I rejoice m the prospect of this result, because
I believe that, among other benefits, it will place the Bishops of our
Church in what T humbly conceive to bo then legitimate position in
regard to both Societies It will enable both the clergy and the laity to
392 THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH
PAST Y plead the cause of either Society, under the known sanction of their
1841-^8 respective Diocesans It will secuie, I trust, the joint and steady
Chap 26 progress of both Societies through our land, without rivalry and without
collision It will enable their Missionaries abroad to pursue with
renewed vigour their present course of brotherly co-operation in the
several departments of Christ's vineyard to which He has called them
"And, Gentlemen, I lojoice to think that all this may, under God's
blessing, be effected without any change in the principles, or even the
system of our own Society For although I love to see union and
catholicity in all our lehgious proceedings— though neither from prin-
ciple noi by disposition am I opposed to useful reforms, nor any stickler
for old forms and practices merely because they are old,— yet do I think
that we should prove ourselves unwise stewards of the trust reposed in
us, ungiateful and forgetful servants of the gracious Master "Who for
forty years has so remarkably preserved and blessed and honoured this
Society, if, in the matter of its principles or its constitution, we were
found to be given to change "
Bishop 0 Sumner of Wmchestei, whose identification with the
Society was witnessed by the fact that this was his ninth speech
at an Annual Meeting, warmly endoised Loid Chichester's words ,
and Bishop Denison of Salisbury, who spoke foi the first and only
The f time, regarded the pioject as equivalent to " the Church becoming
"ownhcon ^ei own Missionary Society," acting by " her own constituted
stftuted^ organs " Edwaid Bickersteth " coidially concuried " in the
or?ans President's view of the matter, and "rejoiced in our more direct
connexion with the Episcopate of oiu beloved Chinch " But
the concordat, although projected, was not yet airanged, and
B Noel's Baptist Noel, who was the last speaker, called on the Committee
cautions ^o act wi^ cau|.lonj p01ntmg Out that the Society was " invited to
enter into ceifcam lelations, not with any living individuals, but
with a succession of official peisons," and mgmg that nothing be
done "which might bear the effect of fettering our missionaiies
in pleaching the Gospel," or impair the security for sending out
" no missionaries but those who believe and love the Truth "
Very soon Bishop Blornfield sent in his definite proposal, which
Biomfaid'a was a simple but an important one It was that one new Law be
8rc nTs added to the Society's existing Laws, in these woids —
"That all questions i elating to matteis of Ecclesiastical Order and
Discipline, respecting which a difference shall arise between any Colonial
Bishop and any Committee of the Society, shall be referred to the
Archbishops and Bishops of the United Church of England and Ireland,
whose decision thereupon shall be final "
The Committee thought this too comprehensive if standing
alone, and after much consideiation, and several interviews
between Archbishop Howley and the Bishop on one side and Lord
CMS Chichester and Venn on the other, it was arranged that another
Law should be added, in order to secuie (inter aim) the procedure
already agieed with the Bishop of Calcutta —
" The object of the preceding Law being only to provide a mode of
settling questions relating to Ecclesiastical Order and Discipline, as to
THL SOCIETY AND PHE CHURCH 393
wliich no provision has yet been made by the Society, it is not to be so PAST V
construed as m any other lespect to alter the pnnciples and practices 1841-48
of the Society as they are contained in its Laws and Regulations, and Chap 26
explained m Appendix II to the Thirty-Ninth Report -
"The pioposed leferenco shall bo made thiough his Gh ace the Primate,
by the Committee, accompanied by such explanations and statements as
the Committee may doom advisable , and tlie Committee will be bound
so to refer all questions falling within the scope of the Rule so nuclei-
stood as aforesaid, which the Colonial Bishop shall requue them to
lefei
"While all decisions of the Bench of Bishops on questions so refeired
will be consideiod by the Committee as binding on them and their
agents 01 repiesentatives, the Colonial Bishops or othei Ecclesiastical
Authoiities, unless concuumg in the reference, cannot pioperly bo con-
sidered as so bound " *
The Committee further arranged to altei Law II , which £lte*tlonB
leguUtes the Pationage of the Society Hitheito Bishops and *&* ron
Peeis had been Vice-Pations, and othei distinguished peisons
Vice-Presidents , but it was thought well that a single separate
office should be reseived for the Archbishop of Canteibmy To
this office the title of Vice-Pattou was now allotted , and all othei s
weie to he equally Yice-Piewlents The office of Paiion was
still to be leserved foi a membei of the Royal Family
On July 27th a Geneial Meeting of the Society was held at J1^ g
Exeter Hall to consiclei the alteutions in the Laws pioposod by General
the Committee A gieal concourse assembled In opening the Meetin£
proceedings Lord Ghichostei alluded to the fact of the Bishop of
London's pioposals applying, not to the CMS only, but to the
SPG also —
"The object is to bring this and another body of nearly sunilai
cluuactei, the Society foi the Piopagation of the Gospel in Foreign
PuitSjinto diiect and immediate connexion with tlio Established Church
'of Gieat Biitam and Ii eland
" The solo object of his Giaco and the Rt Rev Prolate is to raise the
importance and extend the usefulness of the two Societies by affording
to their opeiations the countenance, sanction, and suppoit of the spiritual
Heads of the Chmch
"This cannot fail to piovo highly beneficial to this Society But
it will still moio have an important boaiing in another lespect —the
junction and avowed connexion of these two Societies will tend to
impart genoial stability to tho Chinch itself "
The Resolution moving tho L.UVS was entrusted to Loid Ashley
(afteiwaids Loid Shaflesbmy), who stiongly advocated the adop-
tion of the proposal Josiah Pi alt seconded it, as the oldest and
most influential of Ihe original members present He said —
"If this arrangement woie to be pmchased by any sacrifice on tho
part of tho Sonoty I would coitainly demur I have seriously and second* »*
anxiously consideiecl this question, for it is one that ought to be
* The slight differences m those two Laws as thoy now stand anao from
alterations made m 1877, with tho approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury
and the Bishop of London
394 THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH
*ABT V thoroughly examined, whether any sacrifice ought to be required of the
841-48 Society, more especially at this time, when it is clear that the principles
hap 26 of this Society, which are thoao of an Apostolical Chinch properly
earned out, have been the great cause of its success If, then, the least
sacrifice of those principles weie to he made, to effect this object, I
would protest against it, and rather leave the Society than continue in
it if it were to lose its great characteristic and vital principle of up-
holding the great doctrine of justification by faith m the Lord Jesus
Christ as the ground of a sinner's hope for salvation with God But
there is no fear of that I think that the blessing of God is with the
Society, and that He has led the Archbishop of Canteibuiy and the
Bishop of London to see that theyaio called upon by their connexion
with the Chinch to sanction its operations , and I hope this course will
not be legarded as any sacrifice, but as a defeience paid to the honour
and usefulness of the Chinch, and to consistency of principle "
He concluded with some lemarkable woids "We have no
hope," he said, "of our Church acting as the Church of Scotland
does " (i e the Established Piesbytenan Chuich) " That," he
continued, "is the only Chinch establishment which acts as a
Missionaiy body/1 lefemng to the fact that the Scottish Missions
ate the official woik of the whole Chuich acting thiough its
Geneial Assembly But he went on — " Since we cannot act as
a missionary body, let us take this couzse, and at least be ex-
ternally united in the woik of Missions This is the only union
that can be formed at piesent for that end, and I think it is a
union which, with the blessing of God, will effect that end "
This is only one of many notable signs that meet the leader of
the speeches and papeis of that day, that the idea of the Chuich
as a whole carrying on its own Missions was not an unwelcome
one to the Evangelical leadeis, and that they legiettod its
impracticability
i amend- An amendment was moved^by the Yicar of Fanfoid, Gloucestei,
Mr Bice (afterwards Loid Dynevor), to the effect that the
refeience of any dispute should be, not to the whole Episcopate,
but to such Bishops only as weie members of the Society Ho
expiessed great fear lest the adoption of the pioposition as it was
should completely hand over the Society to the contiol of the
Bishops.and he quoted some words spoken to him by Dr Pusey,
who was, he said, a connexion of his, and whom he " esteemed
very highly as a conscientious person " Dr Pusey had said that
the Society should collect funds and hand the money to the
Bishops foi disposal Cues of " No," "No," very natuially arose
at this quotation, and Mi Bice pioceeded to say that he feaied
that as the Oxford men had failed in their previous attempts to
destroy the Society by sayang it was not a Chinch of England
Society, they were now endeavouring to gain it ovei to theii
own paity He further thought it very unfair that missionaries
should be exactly in the situation of cuiates in this country,
whose license might be withdrawn without any reason being
assigned for it
THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH 395
The amendment was seconded by the Bev S Glynn, but no PABT T
other speakei suppoited it Baptist Noel, B Bickersteth, and 1841-48
J W Gunnmgham spoke warmly in favoui of accepting the Ghal^2Q
Bishop of London's pioposal, and other cleigymen from the Leaders
country followed on the same side They pointed out that what- n&y
evei inconvenience might anse from the dependent position of
missionanes in a foreign diocese, neithei the lesolution nor the
amendment would in any way affect it, and that, in point of fact,
the pioposal was foi the Society's benefit, in that it pioyided a
light of appeal against the unlimited powei of Bishops abioad
All the speakeis expressed in stiong terms then deteimmation to
stand liim to the Society's principles, and then entne disappioval
of tho Ttactauan teaching, but mged that neither one noi the
othei was involved in the proposition befoie the meeting Mi
Bice again and again declined to withdiaw his amendment,
although generally pressed to do so But he at last gave way, The new
and withdiew it, amid gieat applause from the meeting, and the adopted
lesolution was then put and cained unanimously
Immediately on the adoption of the Laws by the Geneial
Meeting, Aichbishop Howley and Bishop Blomfield ]omed the
Society, and Aichbishop Haicomt, of Yoik, and six othei
English Bishops, at once followed then example It may
be well heie to put on lecord the names of all who had pined
befoie They were (not m chronological older), Sumnei of
Wmchestei, Sumnei of Chester, Byder and Butlei of Lichfield,
Otter and Shuttlewoith of Chichester, Bmgess and Demson and
of Salisbuiy, Bathuist and Stanley of Norwich, Ward an
Bowstead of Sodoi and Man, Pepys of Sodoi and Man and CMS
Woicester, Copleston of Llandaff, Longley of Bipon, also
Archbishop Tiench, of Tuam Those who now joined, besides
the two Archbishops and the Bishop of London, were Law \
of Bath and Wells, Monk of Gloucester, Musgiave of Here-
foid (afterwaids of York), Kaye of Lincoln, Davys of Petei-
boiough, and Short of Sodor and Man In the next seven
yeais these weie followed by Gilbeit of Chichester, Lonsdale
of Lichfield, Wilberforce of Oxford, Prince Lee of Manchester,
and Eden of Sodor and Man There weie also two Irish
Bishops, Daly of Cashel and O'Brien of Ossory, and several of
the new Colonial Bishops to be mentioned by-and-by Even
tho militant Bishop Philpotts of Exetei became Patron of the
Devon Association, though he did not join the Patent Society It
may be added that Dr Hook of Leeds joined at the same time as
the Aichbishops, and pieached foi the Society in his parish church
* Sic m the flccoxl'u leport of the mooting Bub was it not tho late Rev
Can J Glyn of Dorset ?
I* This was tho Bishop Law who, when Bishop of Ohostei, had been so
hostile to C M S deputations See p 134 Ho was tho fathoi of Dean
Henry Law, of Gloucester, a pi eminent E\ angelical in later clays
THE SOCIEM AND JME CHURCH 397
and is noteworthy for having for its text the veises in Isa hv PART V
which aie for ever memoiable as the text of Carey's famous
sermon in 1792 It is very faithful m its lefeience to medieval
daikness, when, aftei the eaily eneigies of the Chmch m " en-
larging the place of hei tent," m "lengthening hei cords and
strengthening her stakes," " the scene " (says the Bishop) " was
sadly changed " —
"The efforts of Satan to legam a portion at least of the dominion,
which had been won from him by the noble army of martyrs and con-
fessors, were but too successful Heiesy and schism weakened the
stakes of the tabernacle , supeistition removed them, and substituted
for them false and unsubstantial supports, and then its cords were
slackened, and its curtains were shaken and torn by the blast, and
many cities were reduced to spiritual desolation , and the awful waimng,
which the Spmt sent to the Chinches, began to receive its fulfilments,
and the witnesses were slam , and the Church hei self was duven into
the wilderness , and it was no longer a question whethei she should
enlarge the place of her habitation, but whether she should have any
earthly habitation at all, except in name and shadowy form Then
might she have taken up the complaint of Jeremiah ' My tabernacle is
spoiled, and all my cords are bioken my children arc gone f oith of me,
and they are not, there is none to stretch forth my tont any more, and
to set up my curtains For the pastois are become biutish, and have
not sought the Lord therefoie shall they not proapei, and all their
flocks shall be scatteied ' "
Then, aftei lefernng to latei effoits in the cause of evangeliza-
tion, and lamenting their inadequacy, he enlarges on the new
schemes for Colonial and Missionary Bishoprics (of which our
next chapter will treat), and gratefully notices the Society's
co-operation m them
Apparently, a great deal more was expected from the altoiation
m the Society's constitution and the adhesion of the Heads of the
Church than has ever been realized Foi one thing, it was was
supposed on all hands that the Archbishops and Bishops would
have much more influence in the direction of the Church's by the
Missions than before Some of the secular papers made merry Bishops?
over the ease with which they had contrived— so it was said — to get
possession of the Chinch Missionary Society In point of fact,
the new Laws have never once, in more than half a century, been
acted upon Not that their value is the less on that account
Perhaps their very existence has obviated the necessity of appeal-
ing to them -1' $01 another thing, it was supposed that there
would be a large adhesion of the moderate cleigy who had always
put forward the lack of episcopal pationage as their chief ejection
Church by assisting it, and by co operating with it as far as I can, than by
retiaung the stops I havo takon , nor do I doubt but that its loading members
are actuated by an honoat doaire to conduct tho Society's operations upon
sound Church principles "— Af otiwi of IHdiop Blo/n$el&i vol 11 p 86
* The instances of loi'eronco to coitain Piolates, as in the case of the Coylou
and Palestine controversies, wero not formal rofeiencos under these Laws,
though, no doubt in coufoimity withtho spirit of thorn
398 TIIL Soc/Lfy 4tfD IHL CHURCH
PAST Y to the Society Foi anothei thing, it was supposed that the t\\o
1841-48 Societies, CMS and SPG, weio now to be m a sense united ,
nof. c|epliyec"[ Of then sepaiate and independent positions and
functions, but to be like two aims dneoted by one head, the
andfsSp G ^P1300?^8 Josiah Piatt himself so legaided it In a pnvate
united? J lettei he wiote —
"The union foimed with tho Piopa^ation of the Gospel Society is a
union in that which tho uulei and discipline of the Chuicli lequuccl in
01 dei to 2,1/0 us the full benefit of hci action, so fai as she can (without an
act of Convocation) »ivc it to us , yet leaving us to the full m tho inde-
pendent piu suit of out coin so, as to all those views of Evangelical tiuth
winch fust knit us togetlioi, and winch aie the life and soul of our body "
Piactically, no such lesultb ensued Pnst, theie was no
"iush" into tho Society at all, as some had actually feaied,
lest the wiong men should got the uppei hand The cleigy who
held aloof fiom the Society, landing then pimcipal icason foi
doing so gone, easily found othei icasons as satisfactoiy to them-
selves As foi the Bishops, they woie— - as they aie still— much
too busy to undeitake the detailed admmistiation of complicated
machines like societies having agencies and agents in all paits of
Relations the woild , and both SPG and CMS continued to be dnected
loonies0 by then le&pective Committees, that is to say by cleigymen and
laymen having leismc foi such woik The two Societies went
then seveicT,! ways, m fuendly occasional communication if the
mteiests of eithei, 01 the common mteiests ol both, lequned it,
but with little that could bo called co-opciation, and ceilamly with
nothing that could bo called union , and with what came to be
almost inevitable uvahy in the countiy, the fiicnds and suppoiteib
of each being on neithoi bido always geneious, 01 even ]iist,
to wauls the othei bide Piobably, beanng in mind what human
natuie is, theie would iiave been thib kind ol nvaliy even if theie
had been no Tiactanan movemont , but that tho Ti detail an con-
hovel sy gieatly embitteied it theie can be no question Not that
tho meV)onty of S P G buppoitcis woie Tiactananb , veiy fai fiom
it 3 but a young paity is always active, and the Tiactaiians, few as
they woie comparatively, wcie untiling in then etioits to take the
lead wheie they could
The SPG at that time was a voiy clobo coipoiation The
numbei of sub&cnbing "associate membeis " was giowmg
lapitlly with the extension ol the Society's influence, but the
nuinbei of mcoipoiated membois was limited, and the election
was vigilantly guaided, while the "nauow1' CMS had an
open constitution which admitted oveiy subscubing cleigyman
Evangeh automatically Leading Evangelical cleigymen of many yeais'
5vaCand standing as subscubois to S P G could not obtain election into
tanansjn the body of iiicoipoiated mcmbeis, but the young Tiactanans
contiived to get in, and made themselves conspicuous m the
Monthly Meeting , as also m those oi the S P G K , as aheady
mentioned m this chaptei In 1843, Piatt, Bickcisteth, and
THE SOCIETY AXD HIE CHURCH 399
others, who were not only subscriber, but supporteis of S P G m PART V
their own neighbourhoods, wei e contemplating withdiawal, because 1841-48
the Standing Committee felt unable to give them a pledge that ChaP 26
men of the new School would not be sent out as rnissionanes should
To us now it seems surprising that such a pledge should have £ ^ &
been expected The SPG has always professed to pass no s P Q ?v
judgment, as a society, on a man's theological views His
oidination by a Bishop is accepted as a sufficient guarantee in
that lespect " None are excluded whom the Church would admit,
and none admitted whom the Church would exclude " That is
a perfectly intelligible and legitimate principle, and well undei-
stood Why then did Pratt and Bickersteth expect such a pledge ?
The answei is that they legaided the Tractanans as outside any
possible area of selection Tract XC had been solemnly and
officially condemned at Oxfoid Most of the Bishops had
" charged " against the new teachings, which were avowedly in
many lespects identical with those of Borne Both Archbishop
Howley and Bishop Blomfield had written and spoken strongly
against them How could members of such a party be sent forth
as missionanes by an Anglican \ Church society? Howevei the
SPG Secietaiy did give an assuiance that the Society would
" adheie to the plain sense of the Articles and Litmgy as their
lule of examination", and both Pratt and Bickersteth gladly Pratt and
continued membeis " It IB a serious matter," wrote Bickeisteth,
" to cripple a Society that has done so much foi God, and I do not s P G
feel justified in so doing " He pleached foi SPG from time to
time m various places, both while he was CMS Secietaiy, and
afterwaids
The question may be asked, What came of Bishop Blomfield's SPG
pioposal to bring the SPG also into closei connexion with
the Episcopate 9 The answei is no doubt to be found m the fact
that in 1846 the Society resolved that m future its Examining
Board should be appointed by the two Archbishops and the Bishop
of London [
At this point a great man may most conveniently be mtioduced,
whose name has been alieady once 01 twice mentioned, and will
fiequently appear m subsequent pages— Bishop Wilbcrfoice He
. J .r£:, , i ,1 11 i i T ii /-ii i n/r Samuel
was not yet a bishop when the ri elates joined the Church Mis- wuber-
sionary Society, but was appointed to the see of Oxford m 1845 force
The month of November in that year saw two events piegnant
with important issues for the Church of England On All Saints'
* SPG DKjffltft, p, 8i3 But the Society, propeily, raseivos the right to
accept, 01 loEuso, 01 disconnect, a man 011 other grounds, ancf tlioiulos aio
very precise Ibid
f The use of the woicl " Anglican " is not so locont as is somotimos supposed
Tho C/w isfacw Obwruw of this period constantly UHCB it It was in no sotise
then, opposed to the word " Protestant "
J S P G I>w*t> p 842
400 THE SOCIEIY LVD rtiE CHURCH
PAKT Y Day, John Hemy Newman was foimally iecei\ed into the Roman
1841-48 Chinch by Di (aften\ aids Caidmal) Wiseman OnSt Andiew's
a^ Day, Samuel Wilbeifoice was conseciated Bishop of (Moid His
paientage, his education, his eaily friendships, his mauiage, had
all helped to identify him with the Evangelicals , though fiorn the
fiist theie was combined with his undoubted peisonal piety a
ceitam keen sense of the gicatness of "the Chinch " which foie-
bhadowed the caicei of the man vvho was to become the undisputed
leadei of what may be called the Anglican Paity in the Chinch of
England His eloquence as a pieachei and speakei, and his
untiling mdustiy in woiking to a high ideal of clencal life, weic
the admuation of all who knew him , and the hopes entei tamed by
the Evangelical leadei s that the son of Wilboifoice was destined to
exeicise commanding influence on then side in the Chinch aie
illustrated by the offei of St Dunstan's, Fleet Stioet,piebsedupon
him when imdei thuty yeais of age by no less a peison than
Chailes Simeon Had he accepted it, he would piobably have at
HIS love once become a powei in Sahsbiny Squaie He was aheady a
forCMS feiyenjj advOGate of the Chinch Missionaiy Society He had
published a pamphlet in its defence , he had pieached and spoken
foi it in many paits of the South of England (he was then Vicai
of Bnghlstone m the Isle of Wight) , and in Septembei, 1833, he
wiote | —
"We have been busy setting up Chuich Missionary Associations heie-
abouts with much piospoct of usefulness It is my favounte society, so
thoioucfhly Chuich of England, so eminently active and spuitual, so
impoitant foi a maiitime nation who&e tommei.ee has loci lici to cany the
Devil's rm&sionaiies eveivwliue "
Begmald Hebei,| howevei, he clcsned to sec the CMS
and SPG united , not, it is evident, to lob the one of its spuitual
pimciples 01 the othei of its bioad basis and ecclesiastical status,
but so to combine the best qualities of both as to foi in an mstiu-
rnent foi the evangelisation of the woild woithy of the Chuich oi
England It was— and such a pmpose always is1— a noble ideal ,
but the leahties of om impeifcct state aie against it, as has been
shown befoie in the pages of this Histoiy Samuel Wilbeifoice,
being poisonally intimate with good men m both societies, \\ as
tiymg haid, in 1832-3, to bung them togethei , but Lho attempt, ]t
is needless to say, failed " Unhappily failed/' wntes Wilbei-
foice's biogiaphei , ^ " happily failed," latliei, if we con&idei the
whole ciicurastancos of the Chuich in the last sixty yeais
Both societies have done moie good sepaiatoly than they could
have done united In 1838, Wilbeifoico, evei busy and lesouiceful,
planned a memonal to the Chuich Mis&ionaiy Society, to be
* Having "boon pioviously, on Octobci 8tli, loconocl puvalcly l>y Father
Dommic
f Life o/ BiJinp TViZ&Pi/ouc, vol i p 68 \ Soo p 151
§ Cauou Abli^oll, ituthoi oi >ol i P 14
THZ SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH 401
largely signed by clergy and laity, calling upon it to " send out
The Ghuich, and not mciely instowtums about tehgwn" "If,11
he writes to a friend, " we can get up a stiong memorial from lay
and clencal subscribers, we shall foice the Society, whose Com-
mittee is very Low Church, to do something" No further
allusion to the proposed memonal occuis in his Biography , and
no tiace of its reception appeals in the Society's minute-books, so
piesumably it fell thiough Again, in 1843, he wrote to Lord
Chichestei on the case of the Society's Associations in Scotland,
aigumg against the Committee's neutiality in the controveiay t —
that very neutrality which so offended the Eecord and a section of
the membeis from the opposite point of view As usual, the
Committee weie between two fires But it is noticeable that
Wilbeiforoe in this letter identifies himself with the Society,
speaking of "our taking a line," " our decision," &c [ He was
then Archdeacon of Suruy , and it was at this time that he was
planning the Chuich Union befoie alluded to, in which the C M S
and the Pastoial Aid Society were to be included His published
seirnons, too, were being highly commended by the Chnstian
Qlsei VGI
It was at this time also that he fell into a mistake very strange HIS
foi so able a man At an S P G meeting at Yoik, m 1844, he
,
based his praise of the Society on the fact that it did its woik|0£0*
more economically than the C M S , foi its expendituie, he said, c M s *n
was £200 a year per raissionaiy, whereas the C M S spent £1000 a
year per missionaiy Which society was really the moi e economical
at the time is a problem beyond solution, so diffeient was the
work, so different were the methods The point as that the basis
of Wilberforce's comparison is an absurd one In fact, the
higher the expenditiue per missionary, the laiger is the work
done If in one parish with thiee cleigymen £1000 a yeai is spent
on all chinch objects, and m anothei pansh with thiee clergymen
£5000 a yeai is spent, that only means that more woik is done in
the latter than m the foiinei, Theie were other errois in Aich-
doaoon Wilberfoice's aigumeni. , all which weie pointed out in
an admirable lettoi to him from Henry Venn § "Wilberforce at
once fzankly and gracefully acknowledged his mistake and with-
drew his comparison But if such a man could fall into such a
mistake, how can we wonder at the blunders of inferior men ?
In the eaily days of his episcopate, Bishop Wilberfoice was Bishop
sevoie on the Tiactanans He suspended Dr Pusey foi a time ^eaTnd
But though he was always Anglican and anti-Eoman, he became church
more and more alienated fiom the Evangelicals He continued to parties
be invited now and then to their platforms, and to speak He
spoke at the CMS Anmveisaiy in 1846, at those of the Jews'
Society and the Pastoral Aid Society in 1847, and at the C M S
* Life of Bishop Wilb&ifoiM, vol i p 129 -| See p 381
t Li ft (ifBinUop F»Z6fir/orcc, vol i p 294
§ The correspondence is prmtod m the M&noit offteniy Venn, p 4/72
VOL I D d
402 THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH
PAST V Jubilee Meeting in 1848 , but m 1852 he wrote, " I had a satis-
1841-48 factory ordination not one Low Churchman in the set " -"
P He was nevertheless always sensitive to Evangehcal opinion of
him, and often writhed under the Record's lash It was mercilessly
laid upon him, and sometimes far from fairly On one occasion
the Bishop wrote privately to the editor to expostulate, but was
told m leply that he was " a Papist m reality," and that " the
salvation of his soul was jeopardized " t On another occasion he
appealed to Bickersteth, and on yet another to Archbishop
Sumner, believing that they could influence the paper { The idea
that either of them would have been listened to for a moment is
simply comical
Commence f£ere ^ may conveniently be mentioned that the Guardian was
of "The started on January 1st, 1846, by a small band of able and resolute
Guardian "men 0£ ^ a^vance^ Anglican school, particularly F Rogers
(afterwards Lord Blachford), J B Mozley, Mountague Bernaid,
and R W Church (afterwards Dean of St Paul's) It had a hard
struggle for existence in its early years, but gradually gained
immense influence
bishop ^ne elevation of Bishop John Bird Sumner, of Chester, to the
Sumner primatial see of Canteibury, m 1848, on the death of Archbishop
Howley, was a cause of great ]oy and thankfulness to the
Evangelicals His gentle and conciliatory spirit, his faithfulness
to the truth, his sound and quiet Churohmanship, gave great
promise of a successful Primacy He did not prove a strong
Aichbishop , but it may fairly be questioned whether a masterful
man on either side of Chuich controversies would have been more
useful It is inteiestmg to observe that Bishop Wilberfoice was
a member of the C M S Deputation that presented the Society's
address to him on his appointment Under the revised Laws
the Archbishop, being aheady a Member of the Society, was
Yice-Patron if willing to be so , § and of course so old and tried
a friend had no hesitation in accepting the office
The Tree- No one can read the contemporary evidence without seeing how
greatly the Oxfoid Movement fostered division and bitterness on
all sides at this time This, of course, is not necessarily to its
condemnation Our Lord Himself, m one sense, " came not to
send peace, but a sword " But the fact is so The vehemence
of the contioveisial publications and utterances was of a kind
raiely seen now On the one side, the Tractanans, many of
whom weie brilliant writers, heaped contempt upon the " ignorant
prejudices " of everybody opposed to them, by no means excepting
the Archbishops and Bishops, and, through the younger Mr
* Life of Bishop Wdherjarce, vol n p 152
f liwi., vol n p 223 J Ibid , vol n p 199 , vol i p 501
§ The corresponding office of President in the SPG did not fall to him
thua automatically He had to be elected by the Incorporated Members, and
the election IB recorded in the Report of 1848 This has been altered since
The Primate is now em ajicio President of S P G
THE SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH 403
John Waltei, they enlisted the Times in their favom— the leading PABI V
aiticles of which had little of the dignity that now characterizes !84l-48
them On the othei hand, even the decoious Chnstian Observer, Ohfllp ^
though its aiticles on the Tractarian controveisy are veiy able,
indulged in language which no one would now justify The new
school were not only called Puseyites, but, after the old Nonjuiors
whom they resembled, Sacheverellians and Altitudinarians
The Evangelicals were of course branded as Puritans— the
infelicity of which name Dr Overton has shown, as mentioned
befoie Some of the new practices most bitterly contested have
long since been generally adopted as real improvements, or are
regarded as indifferent, for instance, of the foimer kind, the
weekly offertory, and of the latter kind, the surplice m the
pulpit But much giaver matters than such as these were at
stake, as was shown when we were viewing the first rise of
Tractanamsm, and it was only upon these giavei matters that
the Chuich Missionary Society uttered its voice Indeed the Attitude of
transition from the aveiage pamphlet 01 magazine aiticle 01 c M s
newspaper leader of the period to the Chuich Missionaiy Reports
is most startling Very little is said, it is true Henry Venn
and his colleagues weie " doing a great woik," and could not
" come down" even to solemn and serious contioveisy At the
very time that Newman's secession to Borne was shaking the
whole Church, the CMS Eepoibs took not the slightest notice
of the subject, but dwelt on the calls for men and means from NO mere
Africa and India and New Zealand But when Evangelical polemic8<
principles are mentioned, there is no mistaking the Committee's
meaning External things they never lefei to What they stand
by are the fundamentals of the faith
For example, m connexion with the alaimmg crisis m the
Society's finances in 1842, the Committee solemnly appealed to
the country to come to the Society's help, on the distinct ground
that they looked for the Divine blessing only upon " the faithful,
plain, and full maintenance of the great principles of ' the tiuth ' but fidelity
as it 'is in Jesus,' by all the agents and missionanes of the
Society, without compromise and without reserve" — on "the
sustentation of a Scriptural, Protestant, and Evangelical tone
throughout all then mimstiations "— on "the upholding of the
Bible, and the Bible alone, as the foundation and rule of faith "
So, in 1841, Josiah Piatt wrote to his son in Calcutta (after-
wards Aichdeacon Pratt), — "The Chuich Missionary Society is
becoming more than ever the refuge of Apostolical and Keformation
Truth , and by the giace of God it shall so continue " And John
Cunningham, in one of his greatest speeches, at the Annual
Meeting of 1842, exclaimed, "We will preach Chust and Him*
ciucined— 01, we will hold our peace ' "
D d 2
PABT?
1841^8
Chap 27
Colonies,
but no
CHAPTEE XXVII
Tm COLOWAL Am MmiONAnr EPISCOPATE.
SPG Appeals in Eighteenth Century— First Bishops for America
and Canada— The Colonial Episcopate at Queen Victoria's Acces-
sion—Growth of SPG —The Colonial Church Society — The
Colonial Bishoprics Fund, i84i-Attitude of CMS— New Zea-
land Bishopric -C M S Relation thereto -Bishop Selwyn— Stowell's
Sermon— Other new Bishoprics— Jerusalem Bishopric— Bunsen,
Lord Ashley, Gladstone— The First Bishop consecrated— C M S
Controversy with Bishop Daniel Wilson— The Concordat and
H Venn— Case of Mr Humphrey— Bishop D Wilson's Visit to
England— His CMS Sermon
" Tale he& -unto ymselv&t and io rill Ike Jlocfc, in tlio which the Holy Ghost
Htli made you hsJiops, tn feed, the 0/wti ch rf God, iilwh He purchased, with His
oo, bW- Acts xx 28 (RV)
NGLAND had been colonizing foi two hundied yeais
befoie the Chinch of England sent a bishop beyond
the seas But this was not the fault of the Chinch ,
ceitamly not of the English Episcopate It was
the fault of the State, that is, of the successive
raisej endless political obstacles The Chinch
of England, as an Established Chinch, is necessarily restncted
m its action by Acts of Pailiament, or by the lack of Acts of
Parliament, and not until that wonderful yeai 1786, which
saw the beginning of so many movements that have combined
to produce Modern Missions, ' did the British Government, at
last, peimit the Aichbishop of Canteibttry to consecrate a
bishop foi foreign parts t
The compiler of the valuable SPG Digest gives a most
curious and interesting account of the efforts made by Chuichmen
through no less than one hundied and fifty yeais to obtain a
bishop OL bishops for the Colonies— and made in vain } Aich-
bi&hop Laud seems to have been the first to move, m 1634-38
Efforts of The Society foi the Propagation of the Gospel, to its honour, did
to obtain fiom its veiy first establishment in 1701 agitato foi the removal
bishops °* ^e anomaty °^ m Episcopal Church being obliged to leave
* Soo p 57
f The consecration was on February 4th, 1787 , but tho Act enabling it
belongs to 1786
{ See also Bishop S Wberforoo's flwton/ of the American Qhwrch (London,
1846) , chaps iv , v
THE COLONIAL IND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
~^^^^^^^^^r"
tens of thousands of its members without the advantage of the PAKT Y
Three Ciders of its Ministry To us it seems an intolerable p^41^
scandal that a man in the Ameucan Colonies seeking 01 donation iap
m the last century should have had to cioss the Atlantic to obtain
it— a voyage the perils of which in those days we can now
scarcely leahze At fiist the SPG only ventuied to pioposc
the appointment of an itinerant Suffragan " to visit the seveial
Churches, to oidain some, confirm others, and bless all ", the
very titles being suggested which the now famihai Act of
Henry VIII provided for sumagan bishops, and which in our
own day have been adopted at home— Colchestei, Dovei,
Nottingham, Hull Negotiations went on foi some yeais,
obstacles were gradually overcome, and in 1714 success was
almost attained But the death of Queen Anne put an end
to this as well as to other piojects for the greater efficiency
of the Church , and for seventy yeais nothing was done The
SPG raised funds , Archbishops and Bishops, as well as
wealthy laymen, gave large donations , prelates of high repute
like Bishop Butler, Bishop Sherlock, Bishop Lowth, and
Aichbishop Seckei, piessed the Geoigian Mmistnes again and
again with plans foi sending bishops to Ameiica , but no response
could be obtained, even to so touching an appeal as this from
New Jsuey -
"Iho Poor Church of God here in ye Wilderness, Ther's none to Amcnca
Guide her among all ye sons y* she has brought forth, nor is there
any y* takes hei by the hand of all the Sons y* she has brought up
When ye Aptles heard that Samaria had received the Word of God,
immediately they sent out 2 of the cheif , Peter and John, to lay their
hands on them, and pray that they might receive the Holy Ghost,
they did not stay for a secular design or salary , and when the Aptles
heard that the Word of God was pleached at Antioch, presently they
sent out Paul and Barnabas, that they should go as fai as Antioch to
confirm the disciples , and so the churches were established in the faith,
and mci eased in number daily But we have been here these twenty
years calling till our hearts ache, and ye own tis the call and cause of
God, and yet ye have not heard, or have not answered, and that's all
one"*
It was because John Wesley despaired of the Church of JJEJSSw
England ever sending bishops to America that, immediately aftei bishops
the Wai of Independence and the establishment of the American
Eepubhc, he, on September 2nd, 1784, at Bnstol, " set apart,
by the imposition of hands, Thomas Coke, to be supeimten-
dent of the flock of Christ " This act of Wesley's, done m an
emergency " for the piesent distress," piovod momentous in its
results It was the real foundation of the Methodist Episcopal
Church of the United States, perhaps the most vigorous and
influential of all the Christian organizations m Ameiica, and now
one of the most extensive and aggressive missionary organizations
in the woild
* S P G Dipiit, p 745
406 THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PAET T But this great event in the history of Methodism only
1841-48 preceded by a few weeks the gift of the historic Episcopate to
-!Lr Amenca It was the sepaiation of the United States from Great
First Britain that forced the Government to action " The same stroke
wSo0?? r wai°k severed thirteen colonies from England set the Church free
the tf s to obtain for herself bishops of hei own " * Samuel Seabury, (t a
godly and well-learned man" who had been one of the SPG
clergy in Amenca, being elected by his biethren, came over
to seek consecration The Government, afraid of offending the
new Republic, declined to bring m a bill to enable the Aichbishop
of Canteibury to conseciate him , and he therefoie appealed to the
little struggling, but independent, Episcopal Church m Scotland
On Novembei 14th, 1784, that Church had the honour of pi ovidmg
the first Bishop of the Anglican Communion in foreign parts
But the Church of England, though stepping more slowly m the
fetters of hei State connexion— not the less galling sometimes
because felt to be of the highest value upon the whole — quickly
followed suit Laigely through the influence of Gianville Sharp
— Wilberfoice's coadjutor in the Slave Trade campaign— an
Act of Parliament was passed, as already mentioned, in 1786
(26 George III e 84), empowenng the English Archbishops, with
the assistance of othei Bishops, to consecrate persons who are
sub]ects or citizens of countries outside the British dominions ,
and the American Minister in London heaitily concurring, two
clergymen of the American Church, Wilham White anfl Samuel
Provoost, weie consecrated m Lambeth Palace Chapel on Febiuary
4th, 1787 One other similar consecration took place in 1790 , since
which the Church in the United States has gone forward without
English assistance, and its foui bishops have become eighty
The Colonial Episcopate propei began at the same time On
First August 12th, 1787, Di Charles Inghs was consecrated first Bishop
bishope °* N ova Scotia, his jurisdiction including all the Bntish possessions
in North America , and in 1793 he was relieved of the overwhelm-
ing charge of Upper and Lower Canada by the establishment of
the See of Quebec, to which Dr Jacob Mountain was appointed
So stood the Colonial Episcopate when the Church Missionary
Society was founded, and when the new century opened
Bishops for The next extension was to India In obtaining this, a leading
part, as before related, \ was taken by the Church Missionary
Society The S P C K used its influence to the same end The
SPG, which then had no interests in Asia, was not concerned in
the project But it was the influence of the S P G , in the mam,
that obtained two bishoprics for the West Indies in 1824, Jamaica
and Barbadoes, \ and the bishopric of Australia in 1836 , while
all thiee societies combined in the leiteiated appeals to Govern-
ment which led to the foundation of the Sees of Madras (1835)
and Bombay (1837)
3 H W Tuckfji, The ftnghrft Ohwch in Other Lamia, p 22
I Bee p 101 J See p 842
THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE 407
Thus, when Queen Victoria ascended the thione, theie were PAET V
only seven bishoprics in the Butish dominions abroad, viz , two 1841-48
m Noith Amenca, two in India (Calcutta and Madias), two in the QhaP ^
West Indies, and one m Austiaha , seven in all Five months seven
after hei accession the first Bishop of Bombay was conseciated bishoprics
mr , i i , r J abroad
That made eight at Queen's
In that same year, 1837, the SPG issued an able and com- Acce8SiQn
prehensive statement on the condition of the Chuich in the
Colonies, which Josiah Pratt, tiue to "his unvarying policy,
immediately published in the Missionary Rcgistei The SPG Growth of
was now in the full tide of its lapid progiess at home and abroad s p G
Its voluntaiy contributions, which we have seen were only £1340
m 1820, rose to £11,475 in 1837, to £16,082 m 1838, to £22,821
m 1839, to £38,730 in 1840 , t and it was largely extending its
work m Canada, in the West Indies, m India, and m Australia
In 1837 it had 177 agents abroad, clergymen, schoolmasteis, and
catechists , within seven years the number more than doubled,
being 378 m 1844 A large proportion of these, of course, were
not supported wholly by the Society Its system has always been,
to a laige extent, one of grants-m-aid to local funds or to
supplement Government subsidies , but the rate of pi ogress is
astonishing
In 1838 was founded the Colonial Church Society It had
existed two years before that, as a small oigamzation for supply-
mg Church oidinances to Western Australia , but at its second
anniversary it extended the sphere of its operations to the Colonies
generally It undoubtedly owed its origin to the desire of
Evangelical Churchmen, who had little influence m the counsels
of the S P G ,{ to stietch out a helping hand to their biethien m
the Colonies , but, like the C M S , it was intended to be not a
rival of the older society, but a fellow-labourer One of its leading
promoters wrote —
" The Church Missionary Society directs its labouis to the Heathen,
and lias declined applications from the Colonies for immaterial assistance,
leaving this to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel To that
Venerable Society, which it is admitted has not resomces equal to its
demands, the one lately established is not a nval , but it is hoped it -will
prove, as the spirit in which it has originated plainly indicates, a faithful,
disinterested, courteous Auxiliary m the blessed work in which it is
engaged, viz , in planting the Church of the Living God in every Colony
of the British Empire "
That the statement was true that the S P G had not resources
—rapidly as they were growing— sufficient for the calls upon it is
evident from the fact that at this very time, owing to the with-
drawal of Government aid, it had to close many schools in New-
* M B.1887, p 529
f The lloyal Letters (see p 148) were continued, about every three years
The last was in 1854, and produced £28,000
| Seep 398
408 THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PAET V foundland and dischaige the masteis and catechists ^ There was
1841-48 then existing a Newfoundland School Society, which had been a
Chap 27 Bpeclai chid Of Daniel Wilson's before he went to Calcutta , and
the Newfoundland clergy (many of them on the S P G loll) applied
to this society for assistance, and it piovided teacheis at thirty
places which had been suffeiers It was afterwards amalgamated
with the new Colonial Church Society , which is the reason for
mentioning it here
We now approach that great date m the history of the Church
Colonial of England,! the year 1841 Theie wore then ten colonial
bishoprics, Toionto and Newfoundland having been added since
1837 Bishop Blonifiold, m May, 1840, addressed a lettei to the
Primate, suggesting the foimation of a Fund foi endowing Colonial
Bishoprics , and on April 27fch, 1841, was held the gieat and
memorable meeting at Willis's Booms, at which the Fund was
foimally established, and at which also, as befoie related ,| Bishop
Blomfield made that public offei to the Church Missionary
Society which resulted in the concoidat under which the Primate
and other Bishops joined it The names of the spealseis at this
meeting are woith recording Archbishop Howley piesided , and
the resolutions weie moved and seconded by Bishop Blomheld
and the Eail of Chichester (Piesident of CMS), Mr Justice
Colendge and Bishop C Sumner of Winchester, Mr John
Laboucheie, the banker, and Aichdeacon Manning (afteiwaids
Roman Caidmal) , Mr W E Gladstone, M P , and Archdeacon
Eobinson of Madras § Laige subscuptions were announced, in-
cluding £10,000 horn the S P C K , £5000 fiorn the S P G , and
£600 a year from the C M S towards the support of one bisho'pnc,
that of New Zealand— of which more presently
The foui Archbishops of the then United Chinch of England
Bishops &nd Ireland, and twenty-five Bishops, then issued a manifesto,
embodying the following proposals —The first bishopric to be
established was New Zealand The next was to be one for the
British possessions in the Mediterranean Sea, with jurisdiction
ovei the Anglican congiegations m Spam, Italy, &c This was
intended to be at Malta, where Queen Adelaide, widow of William
IV , was building a church at her own expense , but in the event
Gibraltar was selected instead as the seat of the bishopric Then
were to follow New Brunswick, the Cape, Van Diemen's Land
(i e Tasmania), and Ceylon The claims were also mentioned of
Sierra Leone, British Guiana, South Austiaha, Port Philip (i e
* See Nismonani Regular, 1838, p 229 Tho fact is not mentioned m tlio
SPG Diflrcrf, or m the S P 0 K Hibtoi y of the Oliutch in Qana, la
t See p 367 t See p 399
§ In 1891, the Jubilee of the Colonial Biahopncs Fund was celebrated by a
mooting at whioh Mi Gladstone a^am spoke after the fifty years' interval,
and Sir John Konnaway spoke as representative of the Ohuroh Missionary
Society
THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE 409
Melbourne), Western Australia., Noithern India (where a See of PART V
Agra was contemplated), and Southern India (foi Tmnevelly and 1841-48
Tiavancore) The bishoprics actually founded between 1841 and 0haP ^
the CMS Jubilee weie New Zealand, Tasmania, Antigua,
Guiana, Gibraltar, Fredencton (New Brunswick), Colombo, Gape
Town, Newcastle (N S Wales), Melbourne, and Adelaide , also
Jerusalem, undei special circumstances to be presently noticed
What was the relation of the Church Missionary Society to this Relation of
extension of the Anglican Episcopate ? §ienK>ve°-
There is a widely-current notion that the Society, though not ment
openly objecting to bishops as such, would not be sorry to be
without them , that the Committee and the missionaries alike use
their best endeavours to prevent the establishment of the Episco-
pate in countries in which the Society's Missions are earned on ,
and that when it is a/nwi accompli, they submit with a bad grace,
and render the bishops as little deference as they decently can
Such a notion could haidly pievail so widely as it does if there
were no foundation for it at all What, then, is the truth of the
inattei ?
First of all, it cannot be doubted that the absence of the whw
Episcopate for so long a period in so many of the Missions — in supporters
West Afnca nearly forty years, in Ceylon thirty yeais, in New aiatsticthu"
Zealand and North- West America nearly thuty yea^s — did
accustom the rank and file of the Society to Missions without
bishops, and therefore that they weie slow to see the need of
them, except perhaps occasionally for confirmations and ordina-
tions Then secondly, when a large extension of the Episcopate
was contemplated, they could not but feel that the choice of men
for bishopncs would he, in the main, with those who had little
sympathy with the Society and its work , and it is not unnatural
that some nervousness should have been manifested Thirdly, it
cannot be denied that, in the event, such apprehensions did not
prove, m some cases, to be unwarranted Fourthly, such
tiemendous claims to unchecked power came to be put forward
on behalf of the Episcopate, particularly by the Tractanans —
though they themselves set a poor example of obedience to
bishops, — that a natural reaction took place in the minds of moie
moderate Churchmen When it was laid down m intolerant tones
that a Church Mission could not even be begun without a bishop,
men could not but ask themselves whether the Spirit of God was
absolutely tied even to His own ordinances, and whether tho
blessing which had, as a mattei of fact, been granted to many
Missions before any bishop appealed did not cleaily prove tho
contrary
To this extent, theie has unquestionably been some foundation But the
foi the current belief But while the Society has never piofessed ""
to attribute to the Episcopate such an exclusive virtue as would
render Missions deprived of its advantages useless,— and while
among some of its meinbeis there has certainly been a disposition
410 THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PARTY to undervalue those advantages themselves,— it is equally tiue
1841-48 that the responsible leaders of the Society have nevei failed to
Chapj7 YQQogoizQ the importance of the Chuich being repiesented abroad
in its full organization, to value highly the actual benefits of the
Episcopate, and to render due respect and deference to individual
bishops — who have proved, after all, to be but fallible men The
large share which the Society has taken from the fiist in promoting
the extension of the Episcopate, again and again finding both men
and means for the purpose, ought to have saved it from the
invidious lernarks often made by those who substitute for a leal
knowledge of the facts the imaginations of a piejudiced mind
Let us now look at the Society's official utterances at the epoch
we aie leviewmg, and to the acts by which the sincerity of those
utteiances was pioved
and, . The active pait taken by the Society in the establishment of the
worked •"•__--•/_ . •' ,, ,
actively to Episcopate in India has been described in a foimer cnaptei * In
get them, ^335.3^ as WQ ghgjj gee presently, the Committee were earnestly
considering how to get the advantages of a bishop's work and
influence m New Zealand In 1839, a whole yeai before Bishop
Blomfield's fiist move for the formation of the Colonial Bishoprics
Fund, the Committee, in concluding their Annual Eeport, men-
tioned as a "ground of congiatulation" "the extension of
Episcopal Authority and Influence m those legions wheiein the
Missions of the Society are situated " " It is true," they go on,
" that no new Diocese has during the past year been cieated in
foieign parts, though more than one be called for , but the benefits
of Episcopal Superintendence have been, during this yeai,
increasingly felt m various parts where Dioceses, moie or less
new, had previously existed " This lefers, no doubt, mainly to
the three Indian sees , possibly also to Jamaica , certainly also to
the visit of Bishop Broughton of Austialia to New Zealand in the
preceding year Again, m the Eeport of 1840, the Committee,
after expressing "heartfelt joy " at the mci eased zeal for church
building at home and abioad, and other Christian enterprises,
— say," Noi less do they ie]oice m the fact of the extension of
Episcopacy in the Colonial Possessions of Britain At present
there are iime Colonial Bishoprics , and there is a strong desne,
as well as a pressing want, for more " In fact, the Society's
leading friends had urged this extension long before the authorities
others of the Church saw its importance "We greatly rejoice," wrote
moved an Evangelical editor at this ]uncture, " that the highly-important
duty of adding largely to the number of bishopncs m our Colonies,
which we repeatedly urged many years ago} when the proposal was
reprobated as unnecessary and} as ' mafo/ng bishops too cheap,' and
lowering their secular dignity, has now strongly commended itself
to the rulers and clergy and laity of our Church, so that before
long, we trust, every British Colony will en]oy the benefits of con-
firmation, local ordination, and episcopal jurisdiction " t
* See Chapter IX f Christian Otsewer, May, 1841
THE COLONIAL AND MJSSIONAKY EPISCOPATE 411
So much for the Society's general view of the matter Let us PART V
now come to the definite question of a bishopric for New Zealand, i?41"4^
which was the Society's special mteiest, and concerning which p
very strange misconceptions have long been current The New c M s and
Zealand Mission was undertaken thirty years before the Islands {Jjy Zea"
were annexed to the British Empire , and no one in those days bishopnc
dreamed of an English bishop being sent outside the Empire
The Act of George III above mentioned would not have applied
to the case Even Australia, which w as British, was included in
the Diocese of Calcutta I In 1824, it was constituted an Aich-
deaconry, and the Eev W Bioughton was appointed Archdeacon
by Bishop Heber Bishop Daniel Wilson used to send him
instructions regularly In 1836, as befoie mentioned, the new
Diocese of Australia was foimed, and Archdeacon Broughton,
being ni England, was consecrated to be the first bishop New
Zealand was not included m his diocese, but did the Church
Missionary Society therefore do nothing? Let us see
In the Life of Bishop Sehoyn it is stated that the Bishop " made
an offei "to go to New Zealand, but that the 0 M S Committee Current
" had giave doubts about the legality and validity of episcopal J^to^68
functions exeicised beyond the Imnts of the Empire and of the c M s
area assigned to the Bishop by letteis patent", and that theattltude
Bishop "represented that while undoubtedly he had no legal
]unsdiction in New Zealand, his spmtual office might be exercised
vahdly m a country which formed pait of no diocese " Now
see what the contemporary documents state At the first Com-
mittee meeting after Bioughton's consecration, it was resolved to c M s
wait upon him and lequest him to give such episcopal countenance g,YS**
3 , ,, \r ° i i r TT* , T , Bishop
and supervision to the Mission as was possible He had, however, Broughton
to go off suddenly, and m fact he actually sailed the day after the
Committee met Then they communicated with him thioughland
Mr Cowper, the chaplain at Sydney, who was Secretary to the
Corresponding Committee there which Marsden had formed foi
the administration of the New Zealand Mission The Bishop
replied in due couise with the " offei " to go himself to New
Zealand The legal difficulties supposed to be involved were not
new to the Committee They had before had to face the question
in the case of Travancoie, where the Society's missionaiies had quc8tlons
been unable to obtain the advantage of the Bishop of Calcutta's
license, as his jurisdiction did not extend into the native states
Nevertheless, they needed no reminder from Bishop Broughton
that there are " functions inherent m the Episcopal office, inde-
pendently of the preiogatives attached to it by the law of
England "—which are the very words of their resolution
(December 6th, 1836) —
"That though the Committee are advised in reference to the
Travancore case that a Colonial Bishop cannot giant Licenses m extra-
diooesan stations, nor execute his office to the same extent there,
nor with the same authority and legal sanction, as within the
412 THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PABT Y limits of his patent , yet that it is nevertheless desirable that the
1841-48 Missionaiies and Native Converts m such stations should, wheie prao-
Chap 27 ticable, enjoy the full privileges of a Christian Church, by participating
in the benefits of the exercise of the Episcopal omce, so far as circum-
stances may permit , especially the rite of Confirmation, the conferring
Holy Orders and the exercise of pastoral encouragement, <idmointion,
or counsel, these functions being mhei ent in the Episcopal office^ indepen-
dently ofthepreioyatives attached to it by the law of England '
The Committee, therefore, had no " doubts " at all They
knew perfectly well that the Bishop's legal juusdiction did not
extend beyond his assigned diocese , but this did not make them
the less desuous that the missionanes and converts should
" enjoy the full privileges of a Christian Cmnch, by participating
in the benefits of the exercise of the Episcopal office so far as
circumstances might permit " In fact they rejoiced to find a
Colonial Bishop who did not mind doing a spnitual work which
was extia-legal With strict accuracy, theielore, the Eeport of
1838 said that " the Bishop of Australia has, at the uquest of the
Parent Committee, undoi taken to visit the Mission ", and again,
the Eeport of 1839 (presented befoie it was known that he had
gone), that the Committee had " opened a communication with the
Bishop of Australia, with a vieio to acqim e for the Mission, through
his instrumentality, such an exeicise of the Episcopal functions as
the nature of the case would admit " Indeed, at the very time
that the Bishop was sailing from Sydney (Decembei, 1838), they
had been further considering how to overcome the obstacles to
the possession of episcopal supei vision for the Mission When
they heard of his visit they again (August, 1839) expies&od their
" deep sense " of the need of a cleigyrnan in the Island " invested
with ecclesiastical authority," "to legulate the ecclesiastical
pioceedmgs of the Mission in oonfoimity with the discipline of our
Chiuch " If a bishop could not be obtained, peihaps an aich-
deacon or a commissary might be of partial use
CMS On leceivmg Bishop Bioughton's lepoit of his visit, tho
calls for a -, ,, °, . if ° * '
bishop for Committee wrote as follows —
New Zea-
land " The Committee most coidially concw in the judgment of his Loicl-
slup, 'that the Chuich of England refmnes to be planted in New Zealand
in the full inteffiity of hei v/atem This consideration induced tho
Committee to request the Bishop of Australia to visit the Mission,
anticipating such information and suggestions as would promote that
object Since the receipt of the Bishop's lettei, otho steps have been
ta/^en In} the Committee du eeted to the same end Should it please Divine
Providence to favour their views, and to raise up an individual eminently
devoted, and thoroughly iight-mmded, to exercise his paternal authoiity
in the midst of this infant flock, the blessings to bo anticipated to Now
Zealand would bo truly groat " *
What were these " other steps " ? The Committee went to
the Bishop of London, to see what chance thoio was of obtaining
* Htwionary Rcyistci , 1839, p B52
THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE 413
a bishop for New Zealand itself On December Sid, 1839, the PAET V
President and some leading membeis waited on Bishop Blom- n?41"^
field He encomaged them to approach the Government, while ai>_
he himself went to the Aichbishop The veiy next day Loid CMS
Chichester interviewed Loid John Eussell, who was then
Secretary for the Colonies Lord John said a bishopric was
impossible until New Zealand was annexed to the Butish
dominions The Archbishop thought a bishopiio should be
pushed for, but said a special Act of Paiharneuti would be
necessary Thereupon the Committee asked Loid John Eussell
to giant them another interview , but he declined, saying it was
useless
Early in 1840, Bishop Blomfield put forth his proposals for a
Colonial Bishoprics Fund, and the Committee at once promised
" coidial co-opeiation " " so- fai as concerned the New Zealand
or any other CMS Mission " " They urged that a bishopric was
also needed for West Afnoa, and again the Archbishop and Lord c
John Eussell weie approached on this point Just then, news
arnved m England of the pioclamation of the Queen's soveieignty
in New Zealand , and Loid Chichestei and Mr Coates went to
Loid John to pi ess the establishment of both bishoprics Lord
John asked if the Society would endow them He was informed
that there was no power to do this, but that the Society would
support the bishops until an endowment could be obtained The
Sierra Leone Bishopric had to wait for ten years yet , but the
New Zealand one was pushed forward, and in the Eeport of 1841
the Committee said —
" Of the Seos which it is designed to erect, New Zealand comes
among the foiemost And tlio Committee, on principle, and fiom a
deep conviction of the necessity of tho moasiue for then missionaries
in that island, have undertaken to aid largely m providing the endow-
ment fiom the lands held by the Society m the island, and until
those lands can be mado available foi the purpose, the Committee have CMS
engaged to contribute towards tho salary of tho Bishop, an amount K
j. l nnrv\ n £600
not exceeding -€000 per annum '
The Society's proceedings in this matter have been given in
detail, because the recital proves to absolute demonstiation how
utteily groundless aie the statements to be found m some
modern books Thus, in Dean Jacobs's Church History of
New Zealand, it is said that Bishop Broughton, before visiting
the Mission, " obtained the hesitating, not to say hardly-given, More
consent of the CMS"! And the Life of Selwyn has this
statement — " The idea of having a resident bishop among them
was distasteful to the majority of the Church Missionary cleigy,
* To this an allusion (not qnite accurate) occurs in Bishop Sainttol
Wilborfoico's journal, Maich 24th, 1840 —"Tho Oh Miss Soo havo jnst
offered to endow a bishopnc with £1000 ft yoai, and land hereof ioi, if Up of
London will consecrate, foi Now Zealand This is a groat beginning "
•f Colonial Church 1/tiionw #e« Zealand, p 70
414 TffE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PABT V and was loudly condemned by the Secretary at home "*' Who
1841-48 C0lli<i » the Secretary at home "be? Jowett and Voies were just
Chap ' leaving , Venn had not yet come into office Is Ooates referred
to? Remembering his independent lay view of things, one
might imagine him in some private circle drawing a picture of
a possible High Chuich bishop set over a long-established
Evangelical Mission, and "loudly condemning" his anticipated
proceedings But we have seen that Ooates went to Lord
J Eussell to piess the establishment of the bishopric 1 How-
ever, suppose that some such thing did occur, the obitei
dictum of an individual is not the official utteiance of the Society
Attitude of With regard to the othei assertion, that "the majority of
*he missionary clergy " disliked the idea of a resident bishop, it
is quite a mistake There were at the time six " missionary
cleigy " m New Zealand, viz , Henry Williams (afterwards
Archdeacon), William Williams (afterwards Archdeacon, and then
Bishop), A N Brown (afterwards Archdeacon), E Taylor, E
Maunsell (afterwards Archdeacon), and 0 Hadneld (afterwards
Bishop) Of these, the brothers Williams had both expiessed
in the strongest terms then desire for a bishop So had
Hadfield, who had only lately arrived Half the number there-
fore are accounted for at once Whence come " the majority " ?
Moreover, no one who knows the history can suppose it hkely
that to Maunsell the idea of a resident bishop was distasteful Of
the views of Brown and Taylor there is no evidence On the other
hand it is very possible that the remark may be true of some of
the lay catechists and settlers, who weie disposed to presume a
little on the position in which the sudden growth of the
Mission and the paucity of clergy had placed them |— though
Bishop Broughton had written very favouiably of them on the
whole But then how could lay catechists and settleis be " the
majority of the missionary clergy " ? In fact, William Wilhams's
own statement some years aftei is decisive " The appointment of
a bishop had long been desired by the members of the Mission
The Christian Church had grown to an extent which made it
inexpedient that it should be left under the management of local
committees It needed a piesiding authority, to which all could
look with confidence, together with the exercise within it of those
ecclesiastical functions which are essential to its complete
efficiency " }
So far we have only considered the bishopric What of the
bishop ? New Zealand was not then, as now, a delightful and
flourishing colony There was nothing m a country inhabited by
a people only just emerged from cannibalism to tempt a clergyman
to desire lawn sleeves The popular ideas of the place may be
* Life of Btsknp Selwyn, vol i chap 3
t See a letter m Cnrteia's Bishop Selwyn, p 79
| Bishop W Williams, Qlvrwttanity among the New Zealanfyis, p 296
THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE 415
gatheied from Sydney Smith's witticism—" It will make quite a PART V
levolution in the dinners of New Zealand ttte d'EvAqw will 1841~^
be the most rechercU dish, and your man will add, ' And there is p **
cold clergyman on the side-table ' " * The most natural course in
such circumstances would have been to select for the bishopric
one of the six clergymen already m the colony They knew the
people, and the language , four were University men, and a fifth
had been a naval officer, and was a bom leader , so it cannot be
said that there were none fit to choose from But they had one
fatal disqualification They belonged to the Church Missionary
Society And although the heads of the Church had ]ust ]omed
the Society, and the Society had voted £600 a year towards the
episcopal stipend, the appointment, nominally that of the Crown,
was virtually m the hands of the new Colonial Bishoprics Fund ,
and although that Fund was doing nothing for the support of
the Bishopnc— as the other half of the stipend was to be paid
by Government— its chief promoters were in the van of the
general movement, and had to find bishops for the new sees
They did not even consult the Chinch Missionary Society at all
It is an incongruous spectacle Yet the providence of God was
not withheld , and the choice ultimately fell upon a man whose choice of
name will be honoured for all time as— with all his faults, and he
had faults— one of the greatest bishops m the whole history of
the Church
George Augustus Selwyn was a brilliant Etonian and Johman
Born in the same year as Mi Gladstone, he was an intimate friend
of the future Premier at Eton , and another schoolfellow, E Harold
Browne (afterwards Bishop successively of Ely and of Winches-
ter), wrote of him, " He was always first m everything , and no one
ever knew him without admiimg and loving him " At Cambridge
he was second classic of his year, and rowed in the 'Varsity Eight
on the first occasion of the Inter-University Boat Eace He was
a strong Churchman , not stiff and inelastic like the older High
Church School, and not enamoured of Roman ways like the new
Tractanans , but one who thoroughly believed in the Church as a
Divine institution, and had lofty ideas of the pait she should play
m the world When an Eton tutor and curate atWmdsoi, he
formed one of the Church Unions before referred to,t comprising
four societies, viz , S P G , S P C K , Church Building Society,
and National Society As a clergyman he regarded himself as a
subaltern in the Church's army, bound to go wheiever his com-
manding officer sent him , and when he received the offer of the
Bishopric of New Zealand, he wrote to Bishop Blomfield,—
"Whatever part in the work of the ministry the Church of
England, as lepresented by her Archbishops and Bishops, may
call upon me to undeitake, I trust I shall be willing to accept
with all obedience and humility I place myself unreservedly
* £t/6o/Bi8/ioj5 Wilberforcet vol i p 203 f Seep 383
4i 6 THE. COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PAET Y in the hands of the Episcopal Council, to dispose of my semces
1841-48 ag they may think best foi the Chuich "
ChapJ? ^^ so ft came j;0 pags t]^ Seiwyn was conseciated on Sunday,
Seiwyn Octobei 17th, 1841, at the age of thirty-three But he did not
and the \^Q the pait taken by the Ciown lawyeis m the matter They so
lawyers ^ . *• •> , .,J ^ , ^
drew the letters patent as to make the Queen " give him power to
ordain " Against this he protested, very natuially If a bishop
has any mheient authoiity at all, he ceitainly has authonty to
ordain His protest, howevei, was unsuccessful, but he did
succeed m getting the appointment of aichdeacons left to him
Against one cunous blundei he did not protest By madveitence
his jurisdiction was made to extend fiom 50° South, not to 34°
South, as intended, but to 34° North, thus giving him a large
part of the Pacific Ocean , and this mistake led long afterwards
to his undertaking the Melanesian Mission
Although the Church Missionary Society had not been con-
sulted m the choice of a man who was to be bishop ovei its
Sed<?M s Mission, fuen(Hy relations were at once enteied into with him
He accepted the Yice-Piesidency He came to Salisbury Squaie
and had an interview with the Committee which gave them (in
their own words) " lively satisfaction >J And he spoke, with
Bishop Blomfield, at a 0 M S meeting at the Mansion House,
piesided over by the Lord Mayor In the next Annual Eeport
(1842), the Committee said, —
w The necessity for Episcopal Superintendence has been long felt both
by the missionaries and the Committee, m the advanced state of the
Mission The Committee can now report that New Zealand lias been
erected into an Episcopal See, and that the full benefits of our Eccle-
siastical Constitution have thus been provided for the mf ant Church m
those Islands " [After referring to the consecration of Bishop Seiwyn]
t( In several communications with the Committee, his Lordship manifested
a lively interest m the Society, and kmrlly expi eased his readiness to render
the Committee every assistance in his power toward carrying out then
plans with respect to the New Zealand Mission "
And Venn wrote out to the semoi missionary about the new
Bishop as follows —
"I must congratulate you and the rest of our brethren upon the
appointment of a bishop I regard this event as the consummation of
all our missionary schemes for New Zealand, and as an answer to the
prayers which we have long been offering up that the Lord would foster
and confirm the infant Church Though the selection of the individual
to fill the office was made independently of the Society, we trust that it
has been guided by a gracious Providence for the best interests of the
Church of Christ I have had several interviews with the Bishop, and
indulge the best hopes from his Christian devotedness, his zeal, his
talents, and his large experience in the work of education I trust that
the whole of our missionary biethren will receive him with the confi-
dence becoming the paternal relation in which he now stands toward
them"
In the remaikable Annual Sermon of that year, which has
COLONIAL AND MISSION \RY EPISCOPATE 417
already been noticed and quoted fioni, Hugh Stowell m eloquent PART V
language dilated on the new Colony and Diocese of New
Zealand -
a The Apostles did not, m the outset, map out the Heathen World £uffhii
into skeleton dioceses, and plant a Bishop at Ciete, at Ephesus, at NewZea-
Antioch,— no , but they themselves, first of all, ' went everywhere preach- land and
mg the word,' and they sent forth chosen evangelists to proclaim the
unsearchable nches of Christ and when the Loid had given testimony
unto the woid of His grace, when multitudes had been gathered from
among the Heathen, when pastors had been set over the infant chinches
thus gathered, and when those pastois themselves needed chief shepherds,
then at length, when a fixed Episcopacy was required, and when the
Apostles, thitherto the itinerating Bishops of the Umvei sal Chinch, weie
about to entei into their lest, they instituted and added Diocesan
Episcopacy, to consolidate, peipetuate, and govern the Church , and so
Timothy was appointed to Ephesus, Titus to Crete, and Ignatius to
Antioch
" Thus has it been in oui modern Missionary progiess This Society The
did not tarry — to instance a beautiful existing ilmstiation of oui meaning |^S
— till haply there might be a Bishop set over the wild Western Isle of bishop
New Zealand , but she at once introduced, amidst the feiocious cannibals next
of that seemingly inaccessible land, the inessengcis of grace and peace
and love, and they, pieaclung Cluist crucihod, were though giace
enabled so to subdue many a savago spmt and soften many a stony
heart, that nuineious flocks weie gathered fiom among the fell natives,
pastors were multiplied ovei those flocks , the island began to wear
a general aspect of Chustiamzation , the Episcopate was now called
foi, to give order and perpetuity to the woik, and, lot as tlie result
of our labours, a Bishop has been consecrated to the fan Western
See
u In this way the Church Missionary Society has had the blessed
privilege of welcoming to a gaiden, which she had been the honoured
means of winning from the waste, this master husbandman in the vine-
yaid of God and such is the maturity of the work m the once bnibarous
Isle, now lovely in grace as she is beauteous in nature, that it only needs
the parochial system of our Church to be fully introduced, m order that
we may withdraw our Missionary labours from her shoies, and turn them
to new wilds in the wilderness, where we may hope to add fresh spheres
to our Primitive Episcopate, and fiesh trophies to our Scriptural Church
—but all foi the glory of Christ Jesus Blessed fruit of our weak CMS
endeavours 1 expressive pi oof of our fidelity to om Chinch ' Foi can it
with fairness be denied, that as this Institution, under God, has mainly England
helped to annex to the Crown of England's Queen tho faiiest province andto the
in her \vide dominions—the fairest, because unstained by the blood of
conquest, and neither wrested by violence nor filched by fiaud fiom the
aboriginal tnbos, but vanquished by the Sword of the Spirit, and led
captive by the cords of love, until the nation has virtually said to hei
Benefactress, as did the Moabitess to Naomi of old, ' Thy people shall
be my people and thy God my God '—can it be denied, that as this
Society has thus helped to add the fairest province to the Empire of our
Queen, she has also aided largely in adding the fairest Diocose to
the ample fold of our Chuichp — the fairest, because the brightest
modern evidence of the apostohuity and catholicity of oiu Church, of
the soundness of her faith, and the energy of her obatuonce, of the
* Seep 396
VOL I Be
4i8 THE COIONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PAST Y power of her love, and of the abiding of the Spirit of Christ with her
1841-48 Ministers and m her ministrations— a living Epistle, known and read of
Chap 27 all men"
Bishop And Bishop Blomfield, in his CMS Seimon m 1844, befoie
noticed, thus refened to the Society's pait in both the evangehza-
tion of New Zealand and the establishment oi the Bishopric —
" That remote Colony of New Zealand, where this Society, having
been the honoured instrument of displaying the light of the Gospel to
those who were m darkness and the shadow of death, Juu> now been mainly
imtmmental m placing that light upon the Church s golden candlestick,
m its Apostolical completeness "
But the CMS was not now to be the only Church Society
labouimg m New Zealand To it was still left the Maon woik ,
but in view of the lapid colonization of the country, both the
s p 9 i SPG and the SPG K gave the Bishop large assistance in
now eps ppQ^^jjg clergy, churches, and schools foi the white settleis,
and he took out with him, as a beginning, thiee clergymen and
fom students for holy orders, besides two new CMS missionanes,
one from Cambridge (Dudley) and one from Oxfoid (Reay)
The announcement in the SPG- Eeport contains what seems to
be the first refeience to the C M S in an S P G official publica-
tion —
" The erection of an Episcopal See m New Zealand must be consideied
as an eia m the history of that interesting island , and the Society aie
piepared to exert themselves to the utmost in older to render every
assistance which may be required of them by the Bishop At the same
time, they wish caiefully to abstain from intruding on the neld aheady
occupied by the missionaries of the Church Missionaiy Society, and will
take measures for pieventmg misapprehension on this subject "
We must not now follow Bishop Selwyn to New Zealand We
shall meet him there by-and-by
other new The majority of the other bishoprics founded between 1841 and
is op cs -j^g were |Q1 c0iomes m wnich the Society was not at woik
But it had Missions in the new dioceses of Guiana and Colombo ,
and Bishops Austin and Chapman at once became Vice-Piesidents
and expressed cordial feelings towards the Society Of the latter
the Beporfc of 1845 said, — "The Committee anticipate much
benefit to the Mission from his spiritual direction and paternal
supenntendence ovei the Church m this interesting Island"
[Ceylon] The Society's interest, however, was not limited to its
own spheres of labour The new Bishop of Barbadoes, Di Pany,
was invited to be a "Vice-President, and consented When Bishop
Gray was consecrated to the new diocese of Cape Town m 1847,
he too accepted the same office , and his appeal for South Africa was
piinted m the M^sslona/^ty Register with a sympathetic commenda-
tion* Another bishop, consecrated on the same day, Charles
* M U , 1847, p 301
THZ COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE 419
Perry of Melbourne, the Senioi Wrangler of his year, who had PART Y
been an influential Evangelical clergyman at Cambridge, was an p^1"^
ardent fuend of the Society, and long afterwards, when he retned p
after a nearly thuty yeais1 episcopate, became a leading member
of the Committee In the decade following the CMS Jubilee,
the Society was concerned in the formation of six new bishoprics,
as will appeal hereaftei
Another Anglican Bishopric was founded m 1841, at the same Bishopric
time as that of New Zealand, but under very different cncurn- Jerusalem
stances This was the Bishopnc in Jeiusalem
Eefeience has been made in pievious chapteis to the visits of
Mi Jowett and Mr Connoi to Palestine m 1816-19 Prom
time to time, also, American missionanes, Piesbytenan and Con-
gregationalist, essayed to work among the Onental Christians,
but did not settle m the country The London Jews' Society state and
made various attempts, fiom 1820 onwards, to establish a Jewish of the Holy
Mission , and from 1835 its agents succeeded in making good Land
then footing in Jeiusalem Con verts from Judaism weie gathered
into the Chinch, despite bitter peisecution , and the sympathies of
Chustians at home weie laigely drawn out towaids the woik
Plans weie foimed foi building a church on Mount Zion, Anglican
m the fiist instance, but with a view to its becoming the head-
quaiters of an independent Hebiew Christian Church Eoi the
study of prophecy at this timo, to which refeience has befoie beon
made,-1 had led men like Edward Bickeisteth, Dr Maibh, and
Lord Ashley, to expect the eaily letuin of the Jews to then own
land In 1839, all Syna was m confusion, owing to the revolt of
Egypt against Turkey and the victories of Mehemet Ah ovei the
Ottoman forces The Powers at last interfei eel— except Fiance,
which sympathized with Egypt— and diove Mehemet Ah out of
Syiia by foice This was one of Loid Palmerston's gieat coiys
as Foreign Secretary , and the Life of Loid Shaftasbicry shows us
Lord Ashley (as he then was) pushing Palmerston on, hoping
thus to clear the way for the Jews to seUle in the Holy Land |
As soon as peace was made, King Fiedonck William IV , who King of
had just come to the thione of Puinsia, sent Ghevahei Bunsen to rop
England with pioposals foi securing from Tuikey gieatoi freedom
for the Christians in Palestine, and, with this pmpose in view,
for sending out an Anglican bishop who should act as the head of
the Protestant community and represent it befoie the Porte
This fell m with Lord Ashley's Jewish piospocts, and he warmly
seconded Bunsen's efforts Mi Gladstone and Aichdeacon Churchman
Samuel Wilberforce also took an aclive pait m suppoiting t
scheme [ The latter (and very likely the foimei) leally believed
that the alliance of the English Chuich with the Geiman Lutheian
* See p 283 (• Life of Lord Bla$Q&wyt vol i ehaps 8 and 9
j1 In the Life of Ca?cZmo,Z Jfannuij, Mr Gladstone is represented as having
opposed the Bishopric But Loid Ashley's diary at the time is decisive the
other Y, ay
B 8 2
420 THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PART V Church would pave the way for the lattei piesently receiving the
histouc Episcopate * The Tiactanans weie furious t Aich-
bishop Howley and Bishop Blomfield, who were sympathetic, were
beset with their piotests, Di Pusey loudly complaining that
" foi the first time the Chuich of England was holding communion
with those outside the Chuich " But S Wilberforce wrote,—
"I confess I feel fuiious at the ciaving of men for union with
idolatious, matenal, sensual, domineering Rome, and their
squeamish, anathematizing hatied of Piotestant Reformed men " \
But while the King of Prussia was thinking of an alliance
between the two Churches, and of a moie recognized status for
Geiman Piotestants in Palestine, and while High Chmchmen
weie divided on the ecclesiastical questions involved, the thoughts
The real of Lord Ashley and the Jews' Society lan chiefly in quite different
an?n°de- channels To them the Jeiusalem Bishopnc was the revival,
pendent aftei long ceutunes, of the " Diocese of St James at Jerusalem "
ChurST St James the Just was pai axcdUiice the Apostle of the Circum-
cision, and the aident imaginations of the fuends of Isiael looked
now to a Chuich of the Cucumcision, presided ovei by a Christian
of Jewish race, and to which an Apostle to the Gentiles, such as
(say) the Archbishop of Canteibury, might peihaps one day
indite a new Epistle to the Hebrews And when Loid Ashley
obtained the appointment for the Rev Michael Solomon Alexander,
a Jewish conveit,^ the ]oy of men likeBickeisteth knew no bounds
An extiact fiom Bun&en's diary will perhaps best illustrate the
geneial tone of feeling —
(July 19th, 1841)— "The successor of St James will embark in
October He is by race an Israelite , bom a Prussian m Breslau , in
confession belonging to the Church of England , ripened (by haul work)
m Ii eland , Piofessoi of Hebrew and Arabic in England (in what is now
King's College) So the beginning is made, phase God,foi the i estimation
ofl&\a&r\\
But before the consecration could take place, an Act of Paiha-
ment had to be obtained, the Acts befoie lef erred to in this
BIII to chapter not covering the case Chiefly through Loid Ashley's
establish effoits, a Bill was introduced, " empoweiing the Aichbishops of
Canterbury and Yoik, assisted by othei Bishops, to conseciate
* Life of Bishop Wilberfor&e, vol i p 200 See a curious proof that thero
was some ground for this hope, in Chapter XLI of this History
+ But Manning and Pahnei seem to h&\ o been favourable See Life of Lo<> d,
Shajteslw {/, vol i p 378 Manning's biogiapher, however, throws doubt on
this
J Life of Bishop Thibet face, vol i p 213
§ The story of Alexander's conversion is very interesting As a young Jew,
he was living m Lambeth with a Boman Catholic who was studying for the
priesthood Two young ladies visiting in the district persuaded the Romanist
to accept and read a Bible It brought both him and the Jew to Chust One
of those young ladies was Ellen White, afterwards Mrs Ranyard, founder of
the London Bible Women's Association , the other was Martha Edwards,
afterwards Mrs Weitbrecht of Burdwan
|| Life o/ Lord STia/fes&wy, vol i p 371
THF COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE 421
Bntish subjects, or the subjects 01 citizens of any foieign kingdom P^BT V
01 state, to be Bishops m any foieign country, and, within certain Q^1-S
limits, to exercise spuitual jurisdiction over the ministeis of ap ..
British congregations of the United Chmch of England and
Ireland, and over such othei Protestant Congregations as may bo
desnous of placing themselves undei the authonty of such
Bishops " On September 14th, 1841, Lord Ashley wiote —
" The Bill for creating the Bishopric of Jerusalem passed last night ! Lord f
May the blessing of the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the j0y ey s
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with it now and for evei
Under God's blessing,^/? a maynafta '
The Act has evei since been commonly known as the Jerusalem
Act, but theie is no mention of Jerusalem m it It is genoial in
chaiactei , and undei its piovisions all Bishops foi countries
beyond the British dominions have since been consecrated (if
consecrated m England), the Crown giving its mandate to the
Archbishop, and citing the Act as its authority foi doing so
If the Act had been passed a year or two earlier, the Bishopric of
New Zealand need not have waited foi the annexation of tho
Islands to the British dominions It is a curious circumbtanco
that an Act which has so laigoly contributed to the extension of
the English Episcopate should be so entirely anathemu to High
Churchmen generally They ne\er tire of denouncing it, but
they use it whenever they require it
The endowment of the new bishopric did not come fiom tho
Colonial Bishqpucs Fund Even the influence of Bishop Blomlield
and Mr Gladstone would no I have procured it in that quarter
Without a struggle The King of Prussia promised £600 a year ,
and a capital sum sufficient to give a like income was raised by
subscription, the London Jews' Society giving £3000 Tho
nomination was to ho with the Crowns of England and Prussia
alternately , and England had tho hist turn and appointed Dr
Alexander He was consecrated on November 7th, 1841, Ono Bishop
of the prelates who laid hands on him was Bishop Helwyn, whoso conse" er
own consecration had only taken place Ihroe weeks bofoie , and cratcd
Bicker steth wrote,- -"Perhaps a inoio solemn effect was never
produced than when the Bishop of Now Zealand selected
Acts xx , and read the passage, ' And now I go bound m tho
spirit unto Jerusalem/ &c The Bishop of London was in teais M •
Selwyn's biographer apologises for his presence on the occasion,
saying, " Tho circumstance caused some surprise to his friends,
and the mention of it now may be a matter of regiot to those
who heie learn it for the fust time " I In fact, it was one of the
many instances in which Sclwyn proved himself superior to the
prejudices of his own party A curious illustration of similar
breadth of view occurs in Lord Ashley's journal, in tho notice of
* Momw of JS Bid,fistetlit vol n p 182
f LI/C ofBvilinp Selteyn, vol i p 81
422 THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATL
PAST T a dinner at Bichmond shortly before the consociation, at which
1841-48 Bunsen enteitamed Di Alexander and several fnends —
Chap 27
( " Gladstone stripped himself of a part of his Puseyite garments, spoke
dinner1*'8 ^e a P10US man> reJ°lced i31 the Bishopnc of Jerusalem, arid proposed
party the health of Alexaiidei This is delightful , for he is a good man, and
a clevor man, and an industrious man *
All readers of J H Newman's Apologia will remember that he
mentions the Jeiusalem Bishopric as the last stiaw m the buiden
of his dissatisfaction with the Chinch of England , although he
did not go ovei to Borne until foui years latei It is a stiange
instance of the vicissitudes that Time bnngs, that in our own
day, while the revival of the bishopric was secuied by Evan-
gelical influence m the teeth of the vehement opposition of
Canon Liddon, its veiy name has since come to be a red rag
to many conscientious Protestant Chmchmen, while it is now
enthusiastically suppoited by the very party that forrneily
detested it
c M,S not The Church Missionary Society had no connexion, as a society,
concerned with the establishment of the Jerusalem Bishopnc It had then
Jerusalem no TV01^C m ^a^6S^ine » I" an^ although it had previously sought
bishopric, the levival of the Eastern Churches, this was not the particular
purpose of the bishopiic That purpose, as already indicated,
was the formation of a Jewish Church , and this lay outside the
range of C M S objects Still, the promoteis of the scheme were
suppoiteis of the Society Of the hve trustees of the fund, foui
weie Vice-Presidents, viz , Loid Ashley, Sn T Baring, Sir B H
Inglis, and Sir G H Bose, while the fifth, Mi John Labouchere,
was one of the Society's bankeis So the Committee, in the
Bepoit of 1842, noticed the Jerusalem Bishopnc and the pioposed
butrejoic- Ghbraltai Bishopric together, designating them as " events which
ngatlt would form a glonoua epoch in the history of missionary
operations ", and they presented an addiess to the King of
Prussia on Ins visit to England at the time, referring to the
Society's past indebtedness to Beihn for missionaries, and to the
" paternal and beneficial influence " which the new bishop might
exercise over the C M S Missions in Egypt and Abyssinia In
after years the Society's Palestine Mission brought it into closer
lelations with the new see , and theiefore it has seemed desirable
to give this brief account of its establishment
Relation of Before closing this chapter, it is necessary to notice the relation
bishops ° of the Society and its missionaries to the bishops m dioceses
abroad abroad This can best be done by a further leference to the
famous document by Henry Yenn which formed the Appendix
to the 39th Bepoifc It has already been summarized, and quoted
* Life of Lm d Sliajtesljwii, vol i p 377
f Mr Hodder says it had, but lo is mistaken (Ltfe o/ Lord
vol i p 366 )
THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPAL 423
from, m connexion with the geneial question of the relations PART V
between the Society and the Church , but of its four divisions,
one remains for notice heie This is " The Superintendence ot
the Missionanes and their Labours among the Heathen "
We have seen that the first Bishop of Calcutta, Middleton,
declined to recognize niissionaiies by giving them episcopal
licenses like other cleigymen , and that his successor, Heber,
on the othei hand, did lecogmze and license them On this
question of licensing a contioversy aiose between the Society and £n*fBsigho
Bishop Daniel Wilson soon after he leached India The Bishop D wusonP
desued not only to give the missionaries licenses, but to give or
withhold them at his pleasuie , while the Committee urged that
this would put them too much m the uniestncted powei of
whoever might be bishop foi the tune being In short, the Bishop
wished the missionaues to have a status similai to that of cuiates
in England, while the Society wished them to have a status as
neaily that of incumbents as the very diffeient cncumatances of
the Mission-field would permit The dispute lasted for thiee
yeais, and the Bishop had much coiiespondcnce, not only with
the Committee, but with individual membeis of it Foi example,
Powell Buxton wrote to him, " Foi God's sake, and for the sa,ke
of the pool heathens, do not let yom love of the Chinch obstruct
the diftusion of Christianity " , to which Daniel Wilson lejoined,
" For God's sake do not let your dread of the Church obstiuct the
diffusion of Chnstianity " At length the whole mattei was
refened to thiee friends— Dean Peaison of Salisbury, Di
Dealtry of Clapham, and J W Cunningham of Harrow Ulti-
mately, at then instance, the Committee gavo way, and conceded
the mam point to the Bishop \ The ariangement was embodied
m the foui following Eules, drawn up by the Bishop himself —
1 The Bishop expi esses— by granting or withholding his license, in The con-
which the sphere of the Missionary's labour is mentioned— his cordat
approbation or otheiwiso of that location
2 The Bishop superintends the Missionanes afterward, as the othoi
Clergy, in the dischaige of then Ecclesiabliual duties
3 The Bishop receives fiom those—the Committee and Secretaiy—
A* ho still stand m the lelatioii of Lay-Pations to the Missionary
such communications lespecting his Ecclesiastical duties as may
enable the Bishop to dischaige that paternal supoimtendence to
the best advantage The Aichdeacon of Calcutta or Bombay
acting under the Bishop's immediate dnection when ho happens
to be absent
4 If the Bishop 01 Archdeacon fills, at the request of the Society, the
effaces of Pation, President, Vico-Piosidont, Treasurer, Secre-
tary, &c , he leceives, further, all such confidential infoimatuw,
on all topics, as the Bishops officially neither could wish nor
properly ask (to receive)
* Soe p 385
f Sou Life oj Bishop D Wilson, vol h p 17 , also Meinow of Henfn Pewi,
2ud edition, p 114, whoro thoiois a letter on tho subjool from Sir Chailes
Trevelyon, who had boeu a member of the Calcutta Conospoiiding Committee
424 Tin COLONIAL AND MISMONIRY EPISCOPATE,
PAST V These rules form the basis of Venn's statement in the fourth
1841-48 section of his document He goes on to embody in very plain
Chap^27 wor^s the Bishop's view of the matter as in the end adopted by
Venn's the Committee "The Society," he says, "has recognized the
comments uncontrolled disci etion of the Bishop to grant 01 withhold his
license, and the propriety of specifying in such license a paiticulai
district as the field of laboui , so that a missionary cannot be
lemoved from one district to anothei without the sanction of the
Bishop " And again, " The Missionaries, thus licensed, stand
towaids the Bishops in the i elation rathei of Stipendiary Curates
than of Beneficed Cleigymen " These sentences so entirely
concede Bishop Wilson's point, that we can scarcely be surprised
that the Calcutta Committee, consisting of laymen in high
Government office, rebelled, as we have befoie seen •* Nevertheless
Venn's papei was regarded fox neaily forty years as the charter
of the Society's liberties But the Ceylon Controversy of 1876
brought up the whole question again The Society's Law was
then altered, with the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury
and the Bishop of London, and the famous " H V " document
was dropped
The controversy with Bishop Wilson properly belongs to an
earlier section of this History Its settlement was in 1835-6
But notice of it has been deferred until now, partly because this
Venn's chapter is a suitable place, and partly on account of Venn's share
influence m ^ie ma^er, ^ g^^ personality havrng only risen up befoie us
in the present sectron It rs very significant that he was not in
attendance at Committee meetings durrng the greater part of the
three years that the dispute lasted, as he was then at Hull , that
within a few months of his return to London and to Salisbury
Square the dispute was settled by the Committee giving way,
and that he, though not then a Secretary, was chosen to embody
the arrangement, and the Society's general ecclesrasticalprrncrples,
in an important paper The inference rs obvious regarding his
gieat influence and the drrectron it took Then in 1841 comes
the addition to the Society's Laws whrch enabled the Heads of
the Church to pin it, and the grant to the New Zealand Bishopric ,
and rmmediately afterwards Venn becomes Hon Secretary
Agarn, the mfeience rs obvious
But Venn was no servile worshipper of ecclesiastical authority
It was he who led the Society to decline a place in the Church
Unions befoie mentioned, and as regards the power of the
Society over its mrssionanes, a case arose at the very trme he
became Secretary, which caused much anxious discussion, tested
the new concordat with the Archbishops and Brshops, and gave
the Society an opportunity, after having done so much to satisfy
the authorities of the Church, of asserting its own just rights
A young missionary in the Diocese of Madras, Mr Humphrey,
*Seop 330
THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE 425
drew plans foi a new chuioh, and sent to fueuds in England an PART V
appeal for funds to build it This chinch was to be so built
as to be the outward and visible sign of what is known as the
" doctime of reseive " The chon was to be foi " the faithful,"
the transepts foi "catechumens" and "penitents" lespectively,
and the nave, separated by an oigan-scieen, for the heathen , and
the teaching was to be giaded accoidmgly, the " mysteries of the
faith " being concealed fiom the Heathen In latei times these
principles weie avowed by some few High Chinch cleigymen in
India, and were strongly opposed in an able pamphlet by Bishop
Caldwell, of the S P G Tinnevelly Mission But m 1841 such
views weie quite a novelty, and the Madras Corresponding
Committee, With then Secietaiy, the Eev H Cottenll (then an
Bast India chaplain , afteiwaids Bishop of Giahamstown, and then
of Bdinbuigh), condemned them at once, and affirmed that any
man holding them was disqualified fiom being a missionaiy To
this the Bishop of Madias, Dr Spencei, objected He did not
discuss Mi Humphiey's paiticulai views he meiely challenged
the right of the Society to disconnect a missionary holding his
license The case was not lefened to the English Episcopate
under the new Law XXXII , because the Committee consideied
that Law XXXIII distinctly excepted it , but they nevertheless
submitted it in a less formal way to the Aichbishop of Canteibuiy
and the Bishop of London They disavowed a paifc of the
proceedings of the Madras Committee, but they successfully
maintained the Society's light to close connexion with any
missionary, while disclaiming the right to judge his qualifications
for othei service m the Church The dispute did not alienate
Bishop Spencer He had been a good friend before, and he
continued a good fuend afterwards
This chaptei may fitly conclude with one moie reference to
Bishop Daniel Wilson In 1845 he paid his one only visit to B"»h°p D
England during his quaiter of a century's episcopate He was England0
now on the old affectionate terms with the CMS Committee,
and was leceived by them with all honom It was while he was
m England that Samuel Wilbeifoice became Bishop of Oxfoid ,
and it is inteiestmg to see that when "Wilson had his farewell
interview in Sahsbmy Squaie befoie lelmnmg to India, it was
Bishop "Wilberforce who, aftei Venn's official addiess, delivered
the Committee's Godspeed to the departing veteran, in a speech
" subdued, affectionate, dignified, and full of heait " | But it
is the St Bride's Sermon of that yeai, 1846, that is especially Hl8 s»«t
woithy of notice The fact has been already mentioned that
Daniel Wilson's name is the only one that occurs twice in the
list of ninety-eight pieachers The seimon was a. great one It
occupied an hour and a half in delivery The text was, "They
* See Vol III , Chapter LXXYI
f Life of Sw/iojp D Wilson, vol n p 270
426 THE COLONIAL AND MISSIONARY EPISCOPATE
PAET Y overcame him by the blood of the Lamb " (Eev xii 11), and the
keads ^eraj1) "The Mighty Foe," (2) " The Means of Eesistmg
him," (3) " The Issue of the Conflict " The Bishop gave a solemn
testimony against Romanism and Tiactanamsm, and made a
most powerful appeal for men to carry to India the pure and
uncorrupted Gospel His final words were a touching farewell to
a great assembly of friends who would never see him again —
" Brethren, 1 have done I commend the sacred cause of Missions,
and especially in India, to your prayeis I am re-embaiking, if God
permit, for the scene of my duties, baptised for the dead Keceive, I
pray you, m love, this my last testimony to the blood of the Lamb
•' I shall see you no nioie at our Anniversaries But we shall
be assembled before the judgment-seat of Clmst Let each of us see to
it, that we meet there on safe ground Satan's widespread empire is
made up of multiplied individuals Let us take care that Satan is cast
out from the heaven of our heaits , and that we believe foi ourselves,
each of us, in the blood of the Lamb, and bear our testimony to it, each
m our sphere, even unto the death
" Then may we humbly hope that, being washed, covered, plunged,
hidden m the blood oj the Lamb, we shall pass, as one of our Com-
mentators [Dr Gill] sublimely speaks, 'under that purple covering
triumphantly to glory ' I
1 Deo soli pei Cknsti
Sit gloria in sempitermmi '*"
God giant that the doctrine, the principles, the spirit of this
great sermon may moie and moie be the doctime, the principles,
the spnit, of oui Colonial and Missionary Episcopate I
ARCHDN H WILLIAMS
REV S MARSDEN
BISHOP W WILLIAMS
MRS W WILLIAMS
IIem\ Williams Missioning m New Zealand, 1 822 1 SG7
Samuel Muisdeu, Oliapliuu , New South Wales, Foundei of New Zealand Mibsiou
G- A Selwsu hist Uishop ot New /onlund
Willitun A\ illiims ilissiou!U\ 111 New Zealand 1 923 1873, Fiist Bibliop ot "Yv ainpu*.
Mis W Williams, T\ ife ot ditto (sui\ u cd to 1800)
CHAPTEE XXVIII.
NEW ZULASD Tm BISHOP, THE COLONY, AND
MISSION
Advent of Colonists— Annexation of New Zealand— Arrival of Bishop
Selwyn his Testimony, Travels, and Trials— His Difficulties
with CMS —His tardy Ordinations— Colonial Encroachment and
Maori Discontent— Governors Fitzroy and Grey— The Missionary
Lands Question— Grey's Secret Despatch— Archdeacon H Wil-
liams disconnected and reinstated -The Maori Bible— Romanist
Mission— Extension and Successes of C M S Mission— Sir G
Grey's Testimony— The Melanesian Mission
as hvag Zowfo ouo? Softs Uentage, bwt foiiij enmiples to tfwjlod "
-1 Pet v 3
" In penis ly mwe otin counti i/men "—2 Oor xi 26
" Questions and sin/03, wlw eof comei/t ovil sw nustnjjs "—1 Tim YI 4
3? chionological order be observed, the words of the title PABT V
of this chapter must be transposed They should be 1841-48
" The Mission, the Colony, and the Bishop " The
Mission, however, has aheady been introduced, and
its histoiy sketched thiough thirty years , * and in
this chaptei we have to do principally with its relations to the
Bishop and the Colony
Eefereuce has alieady been made to the trouble caused by
runaway convicts and other reckless and unprincipled people who New «
settled neai some of the Mission stations, set up scores of giog-
shops, and tempted the Native women into sin The evil glow so
rapidly that in 1833 Government sent out a Eesident, Mr Busby,
to keep order But the Consul had no foice behind him, and his
"moial suasion " was simply disregarded and laughed at Then
as news leached England of a beautiful country with a healthy
climate being now accessible, and of the once-ferocious Natives
having been tamed by the missionaries, the rush of settlers began
A New Zealand Association was foimed, which sought parliamen-
tary powers for regulai colonization This scheme was opposed by c M s
the Church Missionary Society, Daudeson Ooates thiowmg all his ££
great energy and ability into the struggle It is easy now to see
that opposition in such a case was hopeless, and therefoie in-
expedient, but the Committee had before them the cases of
aborigines elsewheie, who had been barbarously treated by
colonists, driven from then lands, and mercilessly slaughtered, as
* In Chapters XVI and XXIV
428 NEW ZEALAND
PART V in the old American Colonies, in the West Indies, in South Afuca,
1841-18 and in Australia, and they lesolved to hght foi those whom they
Ohap^28 aaftu-gjjy now iegaided as then Maori children Their petition
CMS to the House of Commons in 1838 gives a stukmg account of
?2rSa° t0 ^e ex^ernal results of the Mission It mentions the thuty-two
ment agents, the 2500 Natives in the congiegations, the 1500 in school,
the iTvide obseivance of the Loid's Day, the leduction of the
language to wilting, the Bible tianslations, the punting-press, the
farm, the watei -mill, ( the intioduction into the island of cattle and
sheep and hoises, also of new plants and seeds, the influence of
the Mission in checking war and cannibalism, <tc , &c
The opposition was successful, and the bill was defeated , but a
STund new k°^y came m^° existence> the New Zealand Land Company,
Company which proceeded, without a chaitei, to send emigiants out, and
agents to puichase laud from the Natives The people thus sent
out were mostly lespeotable labourers, and upon the whole this
branch of the colonization was fairly well conducted The southern
distucts of the North Island pnncipally were selected, and the
piesent capital of New Zealand, Wellington, was founded by the
Company's colonists The testimony of Colonel E G Wakefield
-—a famous name in New Zealand history,— who was the chief
agent, to the character of the Maoris m those districts, is very
striking —
" The whole of the Native population of this place profess the Christian
idligion, ami though there are no missionaries among them, they are
strict m the performance of their religious exercises As is to be
expected, they are but imperfectly acquainted with the doctrines of
Chiistiamty, and are superstitious in many of their observances But,
compaiecl with what they must have been before—and this is obviously
the true standaid of comparison— the improvement effected by their
conveision to Christianity is most stoking " *
New Zea- The annexation of New Zealand to the Butish Dominions now
baecomes a became an absolute necessity if law and order were to pievail , and
colony m ^^' Government sent out Captain Hobson, E N , to negotiate
witfr* the Maori chiefs for the establishment of the Queen's
supremacy over them They weie very reluctant to sunender
any of their rights, but they trusted the missionaries, and on
Henry Williams assuring them that in no other way could they be
protected from the immigrants, they snteied into the negotiation
The French Boniish priests used all possible influence to get them
to refuse, but m the end the famous Tieaty of Waitangi was
signed, on February 6th, 1840, by forty-six chiefs Moie than four
hundred others in all paits of the country afterwards signed, chiefly
through through the instrumentality of H Williams, who travelled for
influence tnree months to interview all the tribes The New Zealand
nonanea Company's agents, who were at Wellington, weie very angry,
regarding the treaty as impeding their proceedings It contained
* Quoted in Bishop W Williams's Christianity awing the New Zeuland&ij,
p 272,
THE BISHOP, rus COLONY, AND THL MISSION 429
three ai tides, (1) ceding to the Queen full soveieigaty ovei the PART V
Islands, (2) guaranteeing to the various tubes all territorial lights, Q?41"S
with the light of pie-emption of lands leseived to the Ciown, (3) ap
extending to the Natives the lights of British subjects Inan official
letter Captain Hobson warmly acknowledged the " efficient and
valuable suppoit," the "very zealous and effective assistance/' of
the missionaries, in bringing the negotiation to a happy conclusion
The Government then formally proclaimed New Zealand a
Butish Colony, and nominated Captain Hobson the first Governoi ,
and he at once appointed one of the C M S lay agents, Mr George
Clarke, to the office of Piotectoi of the Abongmes
The way was now clear, as befoie explained, foi the establish- Bishop
ment of a bishopnc , and in due course amved the Bishop arrives*
introduced m the pieceding chaptei On May 30th, 1842, Selwyn
landed at Auckland, the infant capital, and on Sunday, June 5th, he
preached in the couit-house, foi lack of a chinch, on the words of
Ps cxxxix 9, 10, " If I take the wings of the moinmg, and dwell in
the uttermost parts of the sea , even theie shall Thy hand lead me "
In the afternoon, to the astonishment of all, he conducted a sei vice
in the Maon tongue, so quickly had he learned it while on his
voyage out A few days aftei, he sailed noithwaids foi the Bay
of Islands, and on the evening of June 20th, affcei daik, Heniy
Williams, while teaching his Bible-class at Paihia, had a cat dbi ought
to him bearing these woids, " The JfSJiop^of Ncio Zealand on
the beach " Hunymg down, Williams found Selwyn and one of
his cleigy diaggmg up a boat, having steered then coiuse to the
shoie by a pocket-compass The Bishop quickly chaimed every-
body " I am quite afiaid," mote Henry Williams, " to say how
delighted I am "
Selwyn himself was not less pleased " I have imbibed," he Selwyn
wrote to the Society, " the strongest regaid foi the Native people, wfththe
and a very highiegaid and esteem for the rnembeis of the Mission Miasion
in geneial " And in a pnvate letter, — " I am much pleased with
the missionary clergymen whom I have seen heie They seem to
be very zealous and able mimsteis, and I think myself happy in
having undei me a body in whom I shall see so much to commend
and so little to repio\e The state of the Mission is really wondei-
fully good " On June 26th, he pieached a seimou at Paihia m
which occur his oft-quoted and memorable woids —
" Christ has blessed the work of His ministers in a wondeiful manner His
We see here a whole nation of pagans converted to the faith God memorable
has given a new heart and a new spirit to thousands after thousands of ea mony
oui felloHf-creatuies in tins distant quaiter of the earth A few faithful
inun, by the powei of the Spnit of Gotl, have been the means of adding
anothei Christian people to tho family of Gocl Young men and
maidens, old men and children, all with one heart and one voice praising
God , all ofleimg up daily their morning and evening piayeis , all
* Curteis's Life of Seluyn, p 63
430 NEW ZEALAND
PART Y searching the Scriptures, to find the way of eternal life , all valiung the
1841-48 Word of God above every other gift , all in a greater or less degree
Chap 28 bringing forth, and visibly displaymgm their outward lives some fruits
of the influences of the Spirit Where will you nnd, throughout the
Christian world, more signal manifestations of the piesence of the Spirit,
or more living evidences of the Kingdom of Christ ^ " *
s«iwyn at The Bishop took up his residence at Waimate, in the north of
aimate ^ y[OT^ jsiand, that his headquaiters might be among the
Maoris, lather than at Auckland, which was the seat of Govern-
ment, or at Wellington, which belonged to the Company and
where theie was a growing population of settleis He occupied
one of the Church Missionary Society's houses , and hard by he
staited " St John's College," foi the tiammg of both English and
Maon divinity students Here, within a few months, died one of
the men who had come fiom England with him, the Eev T 0
Whytehead, Fellow of St John's, Cambudge, whom he looked to
being his right hand, and the loss of whqm he deeply felt Heie,
on Febiuary 23rd, 1843, he held his fiist confirmation, laying his
hands on 325 Maons " and a more ordeily and I hope more
impressive service," he wrote, " could not have been conducted in
He ordains any church in England" Here, on Trinity Sunday, Eichard
{J^8 Davis, one of the lay catechists, oiiginally a young farmer in
England, was ordained, aftei twenty yeais' faithful and un-
interrupted seivice , and on September 24th, S M Spencer, a
new ainval, oiiginally an American t In the following yeai he
oidamed five other of the Society's lay agents, J Hamlm,
T Chapman, W Colenso, J Matthews, and C P Davies He
appointed Alfred N Brown to be Aichdeacon of Tauianga, and
He ap- William Williams to be Archdeacon of Waiapu Of the latter he
Jpjjj1! wiote, m a letter to the S P G , " He is a man universally beloved,
men Arch- and one who, during twenty yeaisof lesidence ma savage country,
deacons ^ag j^ nothmg Of fl^ n]gh ton6 Of feehng which distinguishes
the best class of English clergymen " And, a little later, he
appointed Henry Williams Archdeacon of Waimate With until -
mg energy he ti availed over the whole country, either on foot, 01
coasting m miserable trading schooners Concerning the lattei he
only said that a Government brig which brought a new goveinoi
was " a floating palace " m comparison " He has laboured hard,"
wiote Henry Williams, " and set us a noble example He does the
work of the best two missionaiies I have ever known " His very
HIS first visitation, in 1842-3, lasted six months, m which he travelled
journeys «jg2 miles on foot, 86 on horseback, 249 m canoes or boats, and
1180 in ships , total 2277 miles { " When I form my plan for the
* This is a longer extiaot than has been published for many years It
is partly from the CMS Report of 1843, and partly from Carleton's Life
of Hwry Williams, yol n p 53 It is entuely omitted m both Tucker's and
Cnrteis's Lives of Seiwyn , but part of it appears in Dean Jacobs's Church
History of New Zealand) and one Bentence of it in Tucker's English Ohwch
%n Other Lands
f Who died April 30th, 1898 J Life of Bishop Sdwyn, vol i chap 6
THE BISHOP } THE COLONY, ANJ> THE MISSION 431
summer," wiote the Bishop himself, " I write down all the days PART T
in my journal, with c D v ' against the name of the place which I Q-?41""^
hope to reach on that day If I succeed, I add a ' D a / to the ap
name Almost all my maika of ' D v ' have this yeai been
changed into ' D a ' "
Eveiy where the Bishop found the happy lesults of the Mission
Of one Sunday on his toui he wrote, —
" We enjoyed anothei peaceful Sunday The morning opened as Among
usual with the morning hymn of the birds, which Captain Coolc com- Jjha"j£an
pares to a conceit of silver bells, beginning an hour before the sun rises,
and ceasing as soon as it appears above the horizon When the song of
the birds ended, the sound of native voices round our tents earned
on the same tribute of praise and thanksgiving , while audible murmurs
on every side brought to our ears the passages of the Bible which others
were reading to themselves I have never felt the full blessing of the
Lord's Day, as a day of rest, more than in New Zealand, when, after
encamping late on Saturday night with a weary party, you will find
them, early on the Sunday morning, sitting quietly round then fires,
with their New Testaments in then hands " *
Even where old tribal feuds weie langmg piofessedly Christian Between
Natives in hostile camps, their religion was not forgotten For J^1*
instance, hearing of a piobable war between two tubes, Selwyn
hastened (as Henry Williams had done befoie I) to the place,
and, aniving on Satuiday, pitched his tent between the two
parties, and prevented the fighting —
" On the next morning, Sunday, the whole valley was as quiet as in
the time of perfect peace, the Natives walking about tmaimed amongst
the cultivations, it being perfectly understood that neither party would
fight on the Lord's Day Going early in the morning to one of ihapahs,
I found the chief leading prayers to nis people As he had just come to
the end of the Litany, I waited till he had concluded, and then read the
Communion Service, and preached to them on part of the lesson of the
day, ' A new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another '
I spoke my opinion openly, but without giving any offence , and the
chief, after the service, received me in the most friendly manner "
The Mission had been entuely confined to the North Island,
the Maoris being few and scattered in the otheis, but when
Selwyn visited the coasts of the Middle Island, and even the in the
small South Island, he found every little Native settlement pro-
fessmg Christianity No missionary had gone there, but two
young chiefs from Mi Hadfield's station at Otaki had travelled
southwaid a thousand miles in an open boat to cairy the Gospel
to them all , and the Maoris at every settlement attributed then
conversion to these two zealous volunteei evangelists All this
while, the pages of the C M Eecoi d and the Missionary Rtgist&i
were filled with the most touching and delightful narratives of
* From Miss Tucker's Southern Ciow and Southern Crown, p 231 Other
books give part of the extract Lady Martm says of Waimate, " It was grand
to hear the people repeat the responses all together m perfect time It was
like the loai of wares on the beach "— -Our Mauna, p 34
f See p 356
432 NLW ZEALAND
PART V conversions, Chustian lives, and peaceful deaths It would be
1841-48 impossible in this History to give even specimens of them , u but
P no Mission m any part of the world has witnessed more conspicuous
illustiations of the powei of Divine grace One feature of the
work, howevei, must not be omitted, so stukingly similar is it to
what we have seen in lecent yeais m Uganda E Tayloi, one of
the ablest of the missionaries, wntes as follows in his mteiesting
book, Past and Piesent m New Zealand (p 20) —
Features of "I was piesent when the fiist case of Maori New Testaments sent to
Chi?" Tauranga arrived, eaily in ]839 The whole stock was at once disposed
tiamty of One man said he had now a telescope on boaid his ship which would
enable him to see the locks and shoals afai off Old men of seventy
learned to read, whenever they had a spare moment, they might he
seen clustering round some one who was reading "
Then of his own Wanganui distinct, a few yeais later —
"It was wonderful to see how many could lead, and wiite likewise
Every day generally bi ought its Maon mail, with letteis on all subjects
one asking for books 01 medicine , anothei from a teacher, giving an
account of his last seimon, and the heads of it, asking if he had tieated
the subject pioperly , some inquning the meaning of texts, or as to the
right line of conduct under certain circumstances "
Tayloi also mentions that many could read a book upside down,
owing to then habit of sitting in a small cncle with a book open
in the middle This also is like Uganda
seiwyn'B Thus all began happily for the new Bishop But difficulties
cuities soon arose between nim an(^ the Society It does not seem
with necessary to adjudge blame now It would be easy to make out
c M s a case against the missionanes, or against the Committee at home,
or against Selwyn himself In fact, difficulties weie piactically
inevitable m the circumstances They would arise from very
small causes Little varieties in worship, or even in phraseology,
are always apt to nutate A good deal is revealed m a casual
sentence m an unpublished letter from a missionary, that the
Natives " did not undei stand the Bishop's fast-days and saints'
days " The Bishop, m his strict observance of them, was only
following the Church rules he was used to , while the Maons m
the simplicity of a religion whose ecclesiastical correctness had
been confined to Sunday observance and the regular use of the
Prayei-book in its plainer outlines, would quite naturally be per-
plexed But m fact theie were more serious causes of difference
than small things like these The Bishop would not ordain the
About English lay missionaries unless he might also locate them without
locations, reference to the Society, and he required them to sign a pledge to
go wherever he told them , and as this would have been contrary
to the procedure aiianged with the Bishop of Calcutta and
embodied m the "E V " document,! the Committee would not
' ' present ' ' candidates while that condition was insisted on Here,
* See, however, Chapter LXYII \ See p 423
THE BISHOP ', UIE COLONV -, /)#/? /v/z, MISSION 433
again, it may fanly be said that the Bi&hop, legardmg himself as PAST V
the general of an airny, would natuially expect to post his clergy
out accoidmg to his discietion , while on the othei hand the
Society would natuially desne to woik its Mission on its own
plans, as it was doing in othei paits of the world The Bishop,
again natuially, piefeued the SPG ariaugements, which gave
him unconditional giants of money foi cleigymen of his own
selection The two systems aie both legitimate enough Both have
then rneiits, and both have then disadvantages Why should
it be necessaiy to cuticize eitliei Society ? The diifeience with the
CMS was settled by the foimation of a Central Committee of
rnissionanes, with the Bishop as chairman, to which was com-
mitted the oidmaiy airangements for location, subject to the
control of the Home Committee in cases affecting the general
policy of the Mission But again, when the men had been
01 darned deacons, this still left laige distucts unpiovided with
ministers who could admimstei the Holy Communion , and the About or-
Bishop, with his high ideas of the office of a priest, requued for dmatlons
oidrnation to itamoie advanced scholaiship than could be attained
by men in middle life who had been labouring foi yeais as lay
agents among a baibaious people, and knew a gieat deal more of
Maori than of Latin 01 Gieek We can appieciato the Bishop's
desiie to maintain the standaid of leaimng among his presbyters,
while we can see the disadvantage of his policy in an infant
Church scattered ovei a countiy as large as England , a policy
which not only limited the number of English clergymen in full
01 dei s, but resulted in the postponement foi many years of theHUback-
ordmation of Maoris even to the diaconate Selwyn was ten
yeais in his diocese before admitting an English deacon to puest's
orders , eleven years before ordaining the first Maori deacon , |
twenty-foul years before giving a Maori pnest's orders The
dilemma applies to all successful Missions You cannot main-
tain anything like an English standard of scholarship for
oidination, and at the same time provide a lapidly -growing
Native Church with clergy who are eithei of the Native lace
themselves or at least fluent in its language Bishop Selwyn
chose one alternative Other bishops have chosen the other
It is always a difficult task to steei between Scylla and
Charybdis
On the general question of episcopal authonty in details, the
* One man from Sydney, Mr Pu^keVj was never even oidamed doacon, but
laboured faithfully foi fifty-five yeais as a humble lay agonfc Yet the Bishop
chose him as one of a Committee of foni to leviso the Moon Prayer-book,
because of his mtimato knowledge of Maori idiom
f " The step was taken with small encouragement from the majority of the
oldei missionaries" (Life of8eboynt vol 11 p 19) Pages could bo filled with
contemporary letters disproving this lemark , even on the vory opposite page
of the same woik is a letter from Aichdoacon Abraham, saying that " one or
two of the Chuich Mission clergy pressed on the Bishop vory much the
impoitance of making a beginning "
VOL I F f
THE BISHOP, THE COLONY, AND THE MISSION 435
Captain Hobson had died in 1848, and was succeeded by Captain PART V.
Fitzroy, E N , art excellent man and good friend to the Mission 1841-4&
His appointment was a happy response to the following delightful p
letter from the head chief of one of the tribes — Maori
appeal to
" GOOD LADY VICTORIA,— How farest thou * Gieat is my love to you, t"e Queen
who are residing in your country My subject is, a Governor for us and
the foreigneis of this Island Let him he a, good man Look out for a
good man— a man of judgment Let not a troubler come here Let
not a boy come here, or one pufled up with pride We, the New
Zealanders, shall be afiaid Let him be as good as this Governor who
has just died Mothei Victoria, let your instructions to the foreigner
be good Let him be kind Let him not come here to kill us, seeing
that we are peaceable Foimerly we were a bad people, a murdering
people now we are sitting peaceably We have left off the evil It was
you appointed this line of conduct, and therefore it is good to us
Mother, be kind
" Fioni me,
" WJSROWERO "
All this time, the lelationa between the colonists and the Maons Colonists
weie becoming moie and moie strained Disputes about pui- Maoris
chaset of land weie incessant , and the coinmi&sioneis appointed
to see justice done found the native customs of tenuie exceedingly
complicated, while the Maons fietted at the consequent delays
Then some of the settleis whose unprincipled designs weie thwarted
by the Tieaty of Waitangi tried to piejudice the Maons against the
Treaty and to stn them up to disloyalty Drink and immoiahty,
too, were bunging the inevitable misery and bloodshed m then
train " The influence of the immoial English living in the land,"
wrote the Bishop, " is the gieatest difficulty I have to contend
with ) as the Natives continually object to me the lives and conduct
of my own countrymen " * The evil was enhanced by the
piosperity caused by the sudden and laige demand for labour, and
the ready maiket and high puces for produce to be obtained at
Auckland and Wellington But it is touching to fand the Christian
Maons who were engaged m the growing tiafnc doing then best to
keep out of the way of ungodly Bmopeans In this they weie
assisted at Auckland by Mr (afterwards Su W ) Maitin, the Chief
Justice, and Mr Swamson, the Attorney-General, who put up huts
round their own dwellings, wheie the converts could sojouin in
peace and engage in daily worship according to their custom |
But all Englishmen who befriended the Maoris became unpopu-
lar with the bulk of the settlers , and most unpopular of all weie
the missionaries, especially the Bishop and Archdeacon Henry
Williams "You will not be deeply affected," wrote Selwyn,
" by the report of my unpopularity The real subject of grief is
the injury done to religion by the un-Chnstian feelings and
language which many permit and justify in themselves "
* Curteis's Li/e of Bislwp Seltoj/9?, p 73
f Southern Cross and Southern Qioun, p 228
TO f Q
436 NEW ZEALAND
PART Y At last outbieaks occuned In the south, the accidental
1841-48 shooting of a Maori woman led to a massacie of white men by
Chapes gjjjj heathen Natives by way of lepusal, amid shouts from the
The first chiefs of " Faiewell the light 1 Faiewell the day 1 Come hither
outbreaks nignt j " anfl m ^e north, a wailike chief named Heke cut down
the flagstaff at the settlement of Koioiaieka as a piotest against
Biitish rule This lattei incident led to a little local wai , and it is
Heke's noteworthy that Heke was nnally defeated by the English tioops
War through then attacking his foitihed pah on a Sunday, while his
men inside weie engaged m Ghnstian woiship Moieover, when
the Maons captuied and burnt the town of Koioiaieka (March,
Forbear- ]_Q45) they behaved with a foibearance that would have done
Maons ciedit to Euiopean tioops, and was in striking contiast to their
own customs only a few yeais before The Bishop thus described
it —
" Two ofhceis captuied and sent back unhurt , one woman taken and
sent back with an escort nuclei a flag of truce , the bodies of the slam
respected, the inhabitants of the town allowed to land cluimg the
plunder and take away such portions of then propel ty as they wished
The wounded and the women and children allowed to embark
without molestation , after the explosion of the fortified house, the
whole foice suffered to retreat on board the ships without a shot being
filed , guards placed to protect the houses of the English cleigyman and
the French bishop "
But the respect paid by the insurgents to the missionaries only
made the lattei moie suspected by the colonists and by others
Lieutenant Philpotts, a son of the famous Bishop of Exeter, "to
whose hasty and ill-judged older to fire upon the town the
disasteis at Koioraieka appear to have been in a great measuie
wEna <^ie)" " ca^ Aichdeacon Henry Williams "Traitor" to his
misjudged face, when, at the risk of his own life, the Archdeacon was
conveying the wounded captain of the ship from the shoie in a
boat The lieutenant was killed m the same wai , and "Williams,
again at personal risk, went into the native pah, and though not
allowed to take away the body, cut off a lock of the dead man's
hail and sent it to his fnends } Higher officeis thought differently
of the Aichdeacon Governoi Fitzioy, who had laboured bard m
the cause of peace and justice, indignantly repudiated the charge
of treachery which some weie copying the lieutenant in suggesting,
and called Williams "the tried, the proved, the loyal, the inde-
fatigable "{ And no wonder, for Williams and his brethren
undoubtedly saved the Colony from destruction At one point
of Heke's War the British troops were defeated with heavy loss,
and for some months the white settlements were practically
defenceless The excitement among the Maons was great , and
they could easily have overwhelmed by the mere foice of miners
the scattered and discouraged colonists What was it that warded
* Dean Jacobs, Church Hts/ory of flwv Zealand, p 137
f H»nZ , p 138 I Life ofH Wdbams, vol u p. 106,
THE BISHOP, ML COLONY } AND PHE MISSION 437
off so disastrous a stioke 9 It was Chiistiamty The same gentle, PART V
unobtrusive, yet poweiful influence which piepaied New Zealand 1841-48
for colonization, pieserved the infant settlements fiom destruction iap
The missionanes unceasingly exeited themselves to tianqinlhze
the vanous chiefs , stiongly tempted as they weie to join Heke,
they lemamed loyal to the Queen and to the Church, Heke
was left alone, and was easily crushed when remfoi cements
anived
Peace was lestored , but the little wai had called the attention New z«a-
of the British Paihament to New Zealand, and a Select Com- in Par
mittee, piesided ovei by Loid Howick, pionounced, by a majority ment
of one, against the Treaty of Waitangi, to the dismay of the
Chmch Missionaiy Society, the Bishop, the Governoi, and all
who valued the cause of fan and truthful dealings with the Maoris
The Society made a stiong piotest to Loid Stanley (afterwaids
the Earl of Deiby, and Piemiei), then Colonial Secietary, and
he practically thiew over the Select Committee's Eepoit But
Fitzroy was lecalled, and Captain (afteiwaids Sir) Geoige Grey
sent out as Goveinor England has nevei had an ablei pro-
consul m hei colonies than Sir Geoige Grey, and to this day he Sir o
IR justly honomed But he began unfoitunately in New Zealand Grey
He came at once undei the influence of the New Zealand Com-
pany, level sed many of the best acts of his piedecessor, gave
ciedence to the jealous and bitter accusations hi ought against the
missionanes, and chaiged them—especially Henry Williams — with
being the real cause of Heke's "Wai He indited a " seciet
despatch " to Mr Gladstone, who had succeeded Lord Stanley
as Secretary foi the Colonies, embodying this and othei seuous
charges against them
In the very month when this despatch was wiitten, June, 1846,
Peel went out of office, the Whigs came in undei Loid John
Eussell , and the Colonial Office was given to Eail Giey, the very Earl Grey's
Lord Howick who had earned in the Select Committee the con-
demnation of the Treaty of Waitangi He at once pioceeded to
carry out his own views and those of the New Zealand Company
A new Chaibei foi the Colony was sent out, with certain famous
Instructions appended, which virtually took the gieatei part of
the lands that belonged to the Native tubes and weie guaianteed
to them by the Tieaty of Waitangi, and made them Ciown lands,
saleable to the highest biddei foi the profit of the State Details,
of couise, cannot be explained here, but this descuption is
substantially coirect The right-minded paib of the colonist
community weie aghast , the Chief Justice, the Bishop, the
missionaries, all piotested, Aichdeacon H Williams declaied
that the Instructions gave the lie to all his assurances to the
chiefs which had induced them to acknowledge the Queen's
sovereignty , and the Bishop said he would no longei be identified
with the Government by taking a salaiy from them Mi Joseph
Hume, the economist MP, called him a "tuibulent puest "
438 NEW ZEALAND
PABT Y Loid Giey, indeed, sent him out a peisonal complimentary
1841-48 message, but he mote, "I would lather he cut me m pieces
Chopjs ^an infl_ueea me |jy compliments to lesign the Natives to the
tender meicies of men who avow the right to take their land, and
who would not sciuple to use force for that purpose " ! He and
the missionaries, however, did their best to leassme the alarmed
Maoris, and thus aveited anothei wai , and Goveiuoi Giey found
himself obliged to let the Instructions lie dormant, and not act
upon them at all
Meanwhile, the action of Governoi Grey and Eail Giey in
auothei mattei brought fiesh and serious tiouble upon the
Mission , which brings us to the Missionary Lands Question
The Lands The question arose m this way The New Zealand Mission
Question was from ^he fl^t m a totally different position from those in
tiopical countries, in that the climate was one in which the
missionanes might expect to live m health without fuiloughs in
England, and in which their families could be brought up with
a view to the peimanent settlement of succeeding generations
It will have been seen fiom pievious chapteis in this History
that even m India and Africa a consideiable proportion of the
early missionaries lived and died m then fields of labom
without evei coming home , but, except in very few cases, they
could not settle their children there New Zealand was different
Kid -^e S°ciety> indeed, undertook to care for such children as
mis- might be sent home , but the parents very reasonably pieferred
m°NewS to bring them up there Then the healthy climate and the
Zealand temperate habits of the missionaries natuially resulted in the
L>dCpro- real ing of large families , and this pioved a gieat advantage to
$,ekfor the using Colony, providing it with young men and women
children? brought up under Ohustian influence and teaching, many of
whom came m aftei years to be m the fiont lank of the
colonial population The Williams families, m paiticulai, have
grown in seventy years into quite a clan, and rnaay of the
members are now amongst the most highly lespected in the
country and the Chuich But how weie the childien piovided
foi in the first instance ? The Society, accoidmg to its practice,
made small allowances foi them during childhood, but as the
boys grew up, how were they to be occupied ? A few became
mission teachers and ultimately missionanes , but naturally the
majority needed secular occupation Trades and professions had
little opening in the eaily days, but the vast stretches of un-
cleared land invited the industrious settler and f aimer The
Settle them natural and the right couise was to place the young people
upon the land , and the land had to be bought from the Maori
owners At this point, lather than copy from the statements
on the subject from tune to time put forth by the Society, it will
It/s QJ Bishop Selioyn, vol i p 275
THE BISHOP } THE COLONY, AND THL MISSION 439
be well simply to extiact the explanation by an impartial water, PAET Y
Dean Jacobs '— 1841-48
Chap 28
" Who shall say that [the parents] were blameworthy if in preference
to seeking for their sons any chance employment that might be found m
the vitiated atmosphere of the nregulai settlements that fringed the
coasts, they desired to settle them upon the land, and tiam them up as
useful colonists, practical teachers, and patteins of civilization to the
surrounding Natives ° Had they taken advantage of their position and Did the
influence to possess themselves of an exorbitant quantity of ]and, they Jjjg"011"
might well be deemed deserving of censure , but if the amount acqtmed defraud the
by them seemed large m the aggregate, it was simply because the Natives ?
families of the missionaries had so increased as to form no mconsideiable
portion of the community In 184-4 the families numbered twelve, and
the children [and grandchildren] one hundred and twenty It should
be borne in mind also that the missionaiy purchases were made at a
time when the colonization of New Zealand was not dreamt of
" But what was the case m New South Wales P There, in an already
thriving colony, we find that no lands were purchased by the clergy ,
but that was for a very sufficient leason the Government made a free
grant to its chaplains of land at the aveiage late of 1000 acres for each
child—a very much latgei nmount than was ever claimed by any nns-
sionaiy in New Zealand, and very nearly double the quantity unanimously
awaided by the council under Govoinoi Fitzroy to the Rev Henry
Williams
" If, again, they had abused their opportunities to acquire land at an
unfair puce, they would have been entitled to no meicy But so far
from this being the case, it was proved upon inquiry that they gave foi
their land more than thirteen times as much as the agents of the
Government gave at a latei period, when, owing to colonization, land
had grown in value , and no less than eighty times as much as was given
by the New Zealand Company Neither was the land they pui chased
specially good , it was mostly bush land, which had been cultivated and
abandoned by its original possessors, as supposed to have been worked
out Besides all this, it must be added that in no sohtaiy instance did
the Natives complain of being unfanly dealt with by the missionaries "
It will be gatbeied fiom tins extract that complaints had been
made of the amount of land that had been pui chased by the
missionaries This was so , and the Society at home had had -phe real
to publish a full explanation of the circumstances, and had also the case
issued, when the Colony was first established, and befoie the
Bishop went out, stringent regulations for the missionaries'
guidance In two or thiee cases, individuals among them—
one especially, a lay agent from Sydney, not known personally
to the Committee— had pui chased tiacts of land at the request
of the Natives, with a view to the settlement of quarrels
among them This, though done with the best motives, was
not approved by the Committee, being likely to mciease the
hostile feelings of the colonists In 1843 a Court of Land
Claims was established by Governor Fitzioy, which heard all
complaints, and the result was that the various cases were
easily and satisfactorily settled The quantity of land the pos-
* Church Bisto1) y o/ New Zealand, p H2
440 NRW ZEALAND
PAST 7 session of which by CMS missionaries was confirmed by the
1841-48 Gouit came out less than half what was allowed in New South
OJiap 28 Wales for gnls and less than one-fourth what was allowed foi
boys, and it was shown that the aveiage price they had paid
for it was 3s Id pei acie, most of the pm chases having been
made long befoie the Colony was established, and while wai and
savageiy still pievailed But the regulation puce fixed when the
Land Comt was formed, and which was paid by many pmchasmg
colonists, was theepence an acu Heie the narrative ought to
stop The upright and honouiable dealings of the missionaiies
had been vindicated, and there should have been an end of the
complaints But the young men, their sons, to whom the vaiious
holdings were now transfeired, weie industrious and clever, and
farmed them so successfully that they weie becoming piosperous
men This caused jealousy, and the great tiouble was yet to
come
Eaily m 1847 the C M S Committee weie startled and shocked
Governor by a communication from Loid Giey, enclosing the "seciet
ttscret3 despatch " from Governor Giey alieady alluded to This " seciet
despatch despatch" stated that the land claims of seveial influential
persons m New Zealand, some of them Government officials and
some of them missionaries, weie " not based on substantial justice
to the Aborigines or to the Bntish settlers "—although they had
been finally settled by the Land Court three yeais before And
further, that, on account of the discontent of the Natives, the
claimants could not " be put in possession of the lands without a
large expenditure of Bntish blood and money" — whereas they
were at the very time m quiet and undistuibed possession " The
only step/' justly obseives Dean Jacobs, "which could possibly
have led to bloodshed would have been an attempt by the Govern-
ment to eject them " — so popular weie they among the Natives
Alarm of But the CMS Committee natuially gave credence to official
committee statements, and were gieatly alarmed They immediately sent
the copy of the " seciet despatch " out to New Zealand, and gave
positive orders that every missionary was at once (1) to accept
the joint decision $1 the Governor and the Bishop as to the
quantity of land he was to retain for himself, (2) to transfer the
rest absolutely to his children or otheiwise dispose of it, (8) except
as to any portion claimed by the Natives, which was to be given
up entirely
These weie no doubt excellent instructions, but they were based
on insufficient knowledge East, there was no portion disputed
by the Natives , secondly, the possessions confiimed by the Land
Court had mostly been alieady all transfened to the childien,
some of whom weie now manied men with families of their own
The receipt, therefore, of the lesolutions caused the missionaries
no difficulty Aichdeacon H Williams expressed entire agreement
with them, and declaied that they would not requne the award of
the Governor and the Bishop, as they would letam nothing for
THZ BISHOP, THE COLONY, AND TUTL MISSION 441
themselves, but tiansfei all that had not been tiansferied already
But he and his biethien weie indignant at the imputations of the
" seciet despatch," and still more so when it came out that the
Goveinoi had mitten again to the Colonial Office, and also to the Henry
Society, charging the missionaries with being the chief cause of
Heke's War, and affirming that "unless some of them weie
removed, there would nevei be peace in the North ein Distiict "
"The rmssionaiies," wiote the Aichdeacon, " shimk with honoi
fiom such a charge, and are piepaied to lelinqmsh their claims
[i e the lands in possession , theie were no new claims'] altogethei,
upon it being shown that these claims would rendei the possibility
of such an awful en emu stance as the shedding of one diop of
human blood "
Natmally the Archdeacon, foi himself and his biethien, de-
manded an mquny into the tiuth of such senous chaiges
" Should I fail to scattei them to the winds," he wiote, " I will
resign my duties in New Zealand " He appealed to the Governor
the Goveinoi did not answei his lettet He appealed to Loid
Giey Loid Grey refused, saying that an mquny would be an
affront to the Goveinor He appealed to Loid Chichostei, as
President of CMS , but the Committee daied not oppose the
Colonial Office, and said it was " impossible to institute inquuies
on the subject " He appealed to Bishop Selwyn, who had hitherto
defended the missionaries on this land question , and the Bishop's attltude
action it would take much space to explain We must in justice
to him beat in rnmd that he did not like the possession of land
by the missionaries and their families at all For one thing, he
desued to attiact the young men to his college, in hopes of tiammg
them for seivice m the Ohm oh , and then, as befoie stated, he
wished them to be at his own disposal, to be sent to any pait of
the country at his discietion, and obviously the possession of
land by them would to some extent hinder1 this What he did
was, fiist, to appeal to the missionaues to teach then sons "to
i enounce the ban en pude of owneismp foi the moral husbandry
of Ghnst's Kingdom in the hai vest-held of souls," uigmg that
" theie is a Christian meekness and an active fleal by which the
Christian may inhent the earth, though he have no other posses-
sion in it than a grave" Admirable counsel for a missionary;
yet if a young man is not a missionary but a fairaei, who would
think of laying it upon him as a Christian duty that ho should
abandon his farm ? It is no discredit to him to keep ami to use
what has come to him in a legitimate way It wa& one thing to
offer to abandon just lights if by keeping them the peace of the
country was endangeied , it was another thing to bo expected to
do so without a shadow of evidence that theie was any such risk,
and in the teeth of a refusal even to mquiie concerning it Thou
the Bishop mteipieted the Society1 siesolutionsm a sense diifeient
from that understood by the missionaneR, and ceilainly difteient
from what the Committee intended , and theieupon he called on
442 NEW ZEALAND
PABT Y them to dehvei up the title-deeds unconditionally, and accept
Gh41"^ whatever the Governor might aftei wards allot to them
p Some of them now gave way rathei than have fmther con-
tioversy, but Aichdeacon H Williams declined, so long as the
giave chaiges against the biethien, and himself in paiticulai, weie
neithei pioved noi withdiawn With hnn it was no longer a
question of propeifcy, but of chaiactei In the case of one of the
lay agents, Mi G Claike, the Goveinor sued him befoie the
Supieme Oouit He dechned to defend the action, but quietly
awaited the lesult , and the Chief Judge decided in his favour !
Meanwhile, the lefusal of Henry Williams to hand over the title-
deeds had been communicated to England, the Bishop had
mitten to the Society strongly against him , the Colonial Office
was pressing Loid Chichestei , and on November 20th, 1849, the
Committee, in deep soriow, but distracted by the contraiy opinions
expiessed on all sides, and determined at all costs to set the
Henry Society right with the Government, passed a lesolution dissolving
Son?8 then connexion with Aichdeacon Henry Williams
nected jjug is but a very brief and condensed account of a long and
Who was painful controversy Henry Williams' s biogiapher, Mi Carleton,
to blame? a jjew Zealand gentleman, aftei wards Yice-Chancelloi of the
New Zealand Umveisity, devotes almost one whole volume to it,
and defends him at eveiy point, blaming severely the Goveinoi,
the Bishop, the Colonial Office, and the CMS Committee
Dean Jacobs substantially endorses his view Mr Tuckei,
Selwyn's biogiapher, passes ovei the contioveisy, but quotes the
Bishop's advice to the missionoiies above referred to In this
Histoiy we are only concerned with the Society and its agents
On the geneial question of the lands enough has alieady been
said As regards the chaiges against the missionanes of en-
dangering the peace of the country, they can only be chaiactenzed
as utteily absuid , and it is a mystery how Governoi Grey came
to make such statements That Archdeacon Williams was
justified in the position he took up, and fiom which he nevei
moved, that the charactei of himself and his brethren was at
stake, is beyond doubt , but it is generally a hopeless task to bring
to book persons in official position— 01 indeed any othei position—-
who make accusations without supplying the evidence Nothing is
haider to beai , but most of us have had to bear it in some foim
Henry Williams would perhaps have won a greater victory than
he ultimately did (as we shall see) if, instead of vindicating himself
and censuimg his accusers in caustic and vehement letteis, he
had ignoied the chaiges and left the Lord to plead his cause
As for the Society, it is impossible to feel that the Committee
were right thioughout A careful perusal of the Minutes for
several years, with side-lights from letters, &c , shows the extreme
* This decision was reversed on appeal to the superior court in England ,
but subsequently the reversal was itself reversed
THR BISHOP, THJ: COLONY, AND THE MISSION 443
perplexity they were in, and their anxious desue to be just , but PART V
they were ceitainly misled as to facts, and peihaps unduly ready
to defer both to the Government and to the Bishop, as well as
over-sensitive to public opinion The " man in the sheet," the
ordinary newspapei leadei, of couise believed the official de-
spatches , and the Committee, foi the credit of the Society, shrank
from shielding missionaries from censme which only a close and
caieful inquiry could prove to be undeserved
But the time did come when light was done In oidei to finish
the narrative, it is necessaiy to go forward a little into suc-
ceeding yeais Hemy Williams' s biothei, Archdeacon William William
Williams, came to England, to explain matters to the Committee defend™3
His statement in refutation of Governor Grey's charges was Henry
conclusive,- and the Committee, in May, 1851, passed a stiong
lesolution entnely exoneiating the missionaries fiom them, and
lecognizing to the full the value of their services to the Colony as
well as to the Maons But they could not see then way to
lemstatmg Hemy Williams In their judgment he had done
wiong, and there was "no sufficient leason" foi lescmding the
lesolution disconnecting him The opinion, howevei, of many
leading fi lends in the country began to change The facts
gradually became known , and the Committee weie beset with
appeals fiom all sides foi a leconsideiation of the Aichdeacon's
case At length an oppoitunity came for lestonng him giacefully,
In 1854, Su Geoige Giey (as he now was) and Bishop Selwyn Seiwyn
both came to England The chief subjects of their intercourse Jroeiiito
with the Society will come befoie us hereafter Here it need CMS
only be said that Sir George, without confessing his mistakes—
that was too much to expect— did his best to remedy them by
warmly testifying to the high character and good influence of the
missionaries, and that the Bishop expressed a peisonal wish that
the Aichdeacon should be lemstated | The Committee theieupon,
on July 18th, unanimously passed a lesolution reamimmg their
" confidence in Aichdeacon Hemy Williams as a Chustian mis- Henty
sionary," "rejoicing to believe that eveiy obstacle is pioviden-
tially lernoved against his leturn into full connexion with the
Society," and asking him, "leceiving the resolution in the spint
in which it is adopted, to consent to letmn," so that " all peisonal
questions on every side may be meiged m one common object of
strengthening the cause of Christ in the Chinch of New Zealand "
And in forwaiding the lesolution Henry Venn wrote, — "Be
assured that if the Committee have in any lespect misunderstood
* This most able document is printed at length in the Life of H William*,
vol 11 p 261
f In the published resolution, only tho Bishop's wish is rofoned to The
biographer of Henry Williams comments on what qoems the significant absence
of Sir 0- Grey's name , and Dean Jacobs only "presumes" that the Goveinoi
must have ooncnned Bnt the original Mnuites record that the request was
made by both the Bishop and the Governor
444 NEW ZEALAND
PAET Y youi actions or mis-stated facts, it has been unintentional on their
18J-W8 par^j as they aie most desiious of doing full justice to youi
Chap chaiactei, and to the impoitant services 'which you have lendeied
to the cause of Christ " Thus the veteian missionary was
vindicated and lestoied, to the satisfaction of all who knew him in
New Zealand He nevei letuined to England, but laboured on
with unchanging devotion till his death m 1867
It has been felt necessary to nairate these facts, even so long
afterwards, paitly because theie are still allusions in cunent
books to the supposed land-gieed of the New Zealand missionaries,
and partly because excellent lessons foi om own or any othei
time may be diawn fiom the nanative Moreovei, theie has
probably been no mattei in the whole history of the Society that
has given the Committee rnoie tiouble, and this woik would
theiefoie be quite incomplete if it were passed ovei
It is right here to say that Su Geoige Giey, though undoubtedly
he fell into mistakes m this mattei, proved himself upon the
whole a hearty friend to the Mission, and an upholdei of the
Treaty of Waitangi and the lights of the Maon people The
CMS reports and periodicals at the time frequently spoke
warmly and justly in his praise, and we shall see by and by
that he afterwaids deserved, and leceived, still nioie confidence
and commendation
To reveifc to the Mission itself Two featuies of the woik must
Maon not be passed ovei One is the Maon Version of the Bible and
Prayer? Prayer-book In 1836, William Williams had completed the
book translation of the New Testament and the Morning and Evening
Services , and a printing-press was busy, under a prmtei sent out
by the Society, Ml Colenso, m pioducing thousands of copies
Then came Robert Maunsell (afterwards LL D , and Aichdeacon),
who began the Old Testament, for which Ins Hebiew scholarship
specially qualified him When Bishop Selwyn went out, he
foimed a Bevision Committee, combining with W Williams and
Maunsell two lay agents who had a singulai famihanty with
colloquial Maon, Hamlm and Puckey At a period latei than
that now under leview, further levision was undei taken by the
same two leaders, with William Wilhams's son Leonard (now
Bishop of Waiapu), and two Wesleyans , and Mrs Colenso, a
daughter of one of the lay agents from Sydney, lendered great
service, being " a very able and intelligent Maon scholar "
The other feature of the period calling foi notice is the attempts
* Tfc should be added, to make the story complete, that two lay agents had
also been disconnected one of them, the Sydney man alluded to on p 439,
some years before , and the other Mr Geoige Clarke In the latter case also
theie waa misconception The Committee thought he had " litigated," m
order to keop Ins lands , hut in reality it was the Governor who sued 7nw, as
"before mentioned, and he did not e~\on defend the action, yot the decision waa
in his favoui Ho'ne^er fcho Government gave him an mipoitanf; post, so ho
did not ie]om the Society Ho waa the father of Archdeacon E B Clarke
THE BIMIOP, FHL COLONY, AND THE MISSION 445
of the Fiench Romanists to peivert the Maon Chnstians Bishop PAEI V
W Williams gives an account of them, and the journals of the 1841-48
missionanes at the time aie full of lefeiences to them The Gliapj2
policy of Borne m the nineteenth centuiy is the same every wheie French
It is to assail Chiistian conveits rathei than go to the un- R°^^hdl
evangelized Heathen In New Zealand the French pnests hadturbthe
two great advantages First, they could with tiuth affirm that no
land-grabbeife 01 tioops weie behind them " Heke ' " said one of
them, addiessmg the msuigent chief when the little wai was ovei,
"the Queen first sent you teacheis, and then sent soldieis to
debtioy you " Secondly, they could, as in othei lands, allow the
maintenance of heathen usages which the Protestant missionaries
discouiaged The nominal Christians, theiefoie, who weie now
becoming numeious, fell an easy piey to them at fiist But as
the people became familial with the Maori Scuptuies, the pnests
found themselves foiled with a weapon that nevei fails At
Waimate the Fiench Bishop said to a Maon Ghiistian, "The teaching
rmssionaiies have houses, and wives, and children , all then love
is for them , but we have none, therefore our love is for you "
" Is it then wicked," asked the Maori, " foi a missionary to have
a wife and children? " " I am an apostle and bishop of Chnst,"
was the reply, " and I tell you it is " " But," repined the Maori,
" St Paul also was an apostle, and he said a bishop ought to be
the husband of one wife " | A French priest challenged William
Williams to the oideal by fire, proposing that they should both
walk into flames, and see which of them God would keep intact
The Maoris eageily collected wood for the purpose, expecting him,
as the challenger, to try first , but this he declined to do The
apparent success of the Fiench Mission was short-lived Very
few Maoris permanently joined the Roman Church, and the
victory was unquestionably due to the widespread knowledge of
the Woid of God The indirect influence of Rome in later years
in aiding the lapse of a part of the nation into semi-Heathenism
will come before us hereafter
A much more serious obstacle to the growth of true spiritual Growth
Christianity was the rapid development of the Colony, with the colony
increase of wealth, particularly when the gold discovenes in "J°« d
Austraha caused a sudden demand for agricultural produce New °
Zealand could supply the gold-diggeis with food The gold-
diggers pcXid for it with gold Both settlers and Natives m
New Zealand found themselves getting rich , and the grog-shop
furnished an easy way of spending money A younger generation
of Maorrs was growing up, and falling a prey to the new
temptations "Why," ask the critics of CMS, "were the
young neglected? Why was an ' emotional relrgion ' considered
sufficient, without systematic teaching and strict discipline?
among the New Zealand $, pp 263, 280, 334, <feo
f Bishop W Williams, Ibid , p 381
446 NEW
PABT V Why weie the confirmees piesented to the Bishop mostly middle?
a£ Pe°P^6j wnue ^6 la^s an(^ lasses were running wild ? And
why was only lehgion taught and not industry too ? " Heie is
Bishop William Williams' s reply —
"The charge of an immense district was often left to one indi-
vidual The case would be somewhat parallel if a clergyman were
required to itinerate between London and York on foot, and then
between London and Southampton, officiating at places on the road
varying in distance fiom ten to twenty miles, and then, when he is
at home, having chaige, in addition to othei matteis, of three hundred
candidates for baptism, and of seven bundled legular attendants at
Bible-classes, who had been left in the interval, not to the care of
competent curates, but to teacheis who themselves required to be
taught the first principles of the oracles of God " *
And, as he goes on to explain, notwithstanding these difficulties
and disadvantages, schools were, with Government aid, being
established, and these were definitely industrial schools, with
faims attached, and the boys weie taught ploughing, reaping,
thieshing, carpentry, &c , and the girls piepaied for domestic life ,
— but unquestionably it was all on an inadequate scale
Flourish- The Eastern District, which was William Williarns's own spheie
EMUuadin °^ work> >vas the most piosperous spiritually, ]ust because it was
South- furthest removed from the colonial settlements , but the Western
west District (as it was called, i e the far south-west) , under 0 Hadfield |
and E Tayloi, afforded conspicuous examples of high Christian
character At Christmas (the New Zealand midsummer), 1846,
cSrthm *ke collvei^s' to the number of 2000, gathered from all parts of
Maoris Mr Taylor 's district to Wanganui Next day a missionary meeting
was held, and two Christian chiefs volunteered to carry the
Gospel to a hostile and still heathen tribe They went, and were
both cruelly murdered, and soon afterwards then places were
taken by two others At the Chrrstmas of 1848, seven hundred
English settlers gathered at Wanganur for horse-races They
were puzzled at the absence of the Maoris The Maoris, two
thousand of them, were at church, 710 remaining for Holy Com-
munion At the neighbouring English church, the communicants
numbered fifteen \ The general results of the Mission are nowhere
sir G better summarized than in an address by Sir George Grey to the
testimony CMS Cornmrttee when he came to England m 1854 The
official minute, revised by hrmself, rs as follows —
"Sir George Grey stated that he had visited neaily every station of the
Society, ancf could speak with confidence of the great and good work
* Oft,ns<icwuij/ among the New Zealand&rs, p 846
•| Hadfteld -was gieatly beloved by Bishop Selwyn, and frequent warm
notices of him occur in the pages of both Lives of the Bishop But both omit
the fact that he was a 0 M S missionary He afterwards became Bishop of
Wellington and Primate of New Zealand
f These and many othei remarkable incidents, and a vast amount of
valuable information, tuo given m Mr Taylor's two works, The Past and
Premit o/ Now Zealm*, and Telka a- Haw, o , New Zealand and its Inhabitant*
THE BISHOP, rnx COLONY^ AND THE MISSION 447
accomplished by it in New Zealand , that he believed that out of the PABT Y
Native population, estimated by himself at neaily 100,000, there weie 1841-48
not more than 1000 who did not make a piofession of Chmtiamty , that Chap 28
though he had heaid doubts expressed about the Christian character of
individuals, yet no one doubted the effect uf Christianity upon the mass
of the people, which had been evidenced in their social impiovement,
their fnenclly mteicourse with "Europeans, and their attendance upon
Divine worship , that theie was m many places a leadiness on the pait
of the Natives to contnbute one-tenth of the produce of their labour for
the support of their Christian teachers, and to make liberal grants of
land f 01 the endowment of the schools , that some of the Native teachers
were, and many, by means of the schools, might be, qualified for acting
as Native pastors, if admitted to Holy Orders, and might be trusted in
such a position to carry on the good wuik among their countiymen, and
even to go out as Native missionaries to othei islands of the Pacific ,
that the great want in the Native Church at the piesentwas a con-
solidation of the woik, and its establishment upon a basis of self-support ,
that it was impossible for a single Bishop to accomplish such a work,
fiom the extent and geogiaphical isolation of the difteient parts of the
diocese , that he understood that it was the opinion of the Bishop that
there should be foui Bishoprics m the Noithein Island, in which opinion
he concurred, that the most suitable peisons to be appointed to the
new sees weie those he understood to have been lecomm ended by the
Bishop, namely, tluee of the eldei missionaries of the Society, who had
commenced the work, and hi ought it to its piesent state that the
appointment of these gentlemen would, he believed, give satisfaction ,
that he believed nothing could induce the missionaiies to desert the
Natives , that they would lather give up thou salaues and thiow them-
selves upon Native lesources , that they possessed the full confidence of
the Natives, and were thoioughly acquainted with then character but
that, if the Society were now wholly to withdraw fioni New Zealand, the
work would, he believed, fall to pieces, and the Mission do an urjuiy to
Christianity , whereas, if the work should be consolidated and peifected,
as he hoped, the conveision of New Zealand would become one of the
most encoui aging facts in the modem history of Christianity, arid a
pattern of the way m which it might be established m all other heathen
countries "
All this time Bishop Selwyn was displaying the most unbounded
eneigy, travelling all over the country, ministering to both colonists
and Natives, never spaimg himself, and, while often unpopular
with the foimer, umvei sally honoured by the latter, and also by
the missionaiies, notwithstanding the occasional differences of
opinion His two greatest works, however, weie the organization
of the New Zealand Chuich and the foundation of the Melanesian The
Mission The foimei will come befoie us hereafter The latter
properly lies outside the range of this History , but it is impossible
to pass over without notice one of the most mteiestmg missionary
enterpuses of modem times Seven voyages did Bishop Selwyn
make to the Melanesian Islands m five yeais At first it was very
perilous work , but he so completely succeeded in winning the
confidence of the islanders that on the seventh voyage he visited
fifty islands in perfect safety He brought several lads, of different
tribes and languages, to be trained at St John's College , but tho
448 NE w ZEALAND THE BISHOP, THL COLONY, AND THE MISSION
PART V climate of New Zealand pioved too cold foi them, and it was not till
1841-48 some yeais latei that Patteson's plan of gathering them in Norfolk
Chap 28 isian(3_ met .y^h m0re success But what gives special impoi-
tance to the Melanesiaii Mission is that Selwyn designed it as an
outlet for the foreign missionary zeal of the New Zealand Church
" It seems to be an indisputable fact," he said in his fiist episcopal
chaige, "that h&ivevei inadequate a Chutch may be to its oivn
internal wants, it must on no account suspend its missionai ij duties,
i&aiona.ry that this is in fact the en dilation of its life s blood, which would
urc lose its vital poiuet if it nevet flowed foi th to the extieimties, but
cut died at the lieatt " If only every Church, however small, and
every parish, howevei poor, would act on the giand and true
principle thus set forth so foicibly by Bishop Selwyn, the whole
life of the whole Chuich would be quickened and invigorated as it
has never been yet since the days of the Apostles
A living
Church
must be a
CHAPTER XXIX
Nm SmRPKiBEa m AniOA , NIGER EXPEDITION, YonusA
MISSION, EAST GOAST
Story of Adjai the Slave -boy— Fo well Buxton's New Plans— The
River Niger— Prince Albert's First Speech— The Expedition of
1841— Its Failure and Fruits— Buxton's Death— The Returning
Egba Exiles— S Crowther's Ordination— Townsend and Crowther
to Abeokuta— Krapf m Shoa— His Voyage to Zanzibar— Mombasa
—Death of Mrs Krapf— The Appeal of her Grave
" Thou host Ixouyht a line out of Egypt T7i<w httst cast out the fleatheti, anfl,
planted it She sent out kef loughs unto the sea, and her brunches mto the
"— Pa Ixxx 8,11
|B are now approaching the penod of modern African PAST Y
exploration But the gieat discoveries that have
been so brilliant a feature of the geogiaphical hiatoiy
of the last forty yeais, and of which three CMS
missionaries were the pioneers, do not come within
the field of vision just yet The course of the most important
exploratory expeditions was, ultimately, not from West to Bast,
but from Bast to West But this was not expected in the
'forties , and the West Coast is still, in oui present period, the
piracipal object m view In this chapter impoitant enterprises west
in West Africa come before us, while befoie we close it, wejjjfjj*
shall have just a preliminary glimpse of the wondeiful scenes
presently to be revealed on the eastern side of the Dark Con-
tinent
The West African events of this penod, m their missionary A Negro's
aspect, group themselves about the life-story of one remarkable Ilffi-8tory
man— a Negro, a slave, the first African clergyman of oui day,*
and the first African bishop
In the reign of George III there was, about one hundred miles
inland fiom the port of Lagos, a town called Oshogun The
hmteiland of Lagos is inhabited by the Yoruba nation, numbering
some millions of souls, and consisting of several distinct tubes,
Egba, Jebu, Ondo, Ibadan, &c , all speaking the one Yoruba
language Prom this country a considerable proportion of the
victims of the slave-trade were drawn , and not a few, therefore
of the liberated slaves at Siena Leone belonged to one or other
* " Of our day "—not to forget or ignore Philip Quaquo, the S P 0- African
clergyman m the eighteenth ecmtury See p 24
450 NEIV ENTERPRISES IN AFRICA
PARTY of the Yoruba tnbes In 1821, the town of Oshognn was
] 841-48 destioyed by Fulah slave-hunteis, and the Egba inhabitants
Chap 29 carrled away captive Among the captives were the wife of an
Th^b^ Egba who (it is supposed) fell fighting in defence of his home,
Adjai kid- and their thiee childien, a boy of eleven yeais and two younger
nappe , ^ ^^ ^ ^^ was ^ ^^ Bishop of the Niger
Durnig the next few months little Adjai, separated, of couise,
fiom mother and sisters, was the pioperty m succession of five
masteis, being bartered geneially for tobacco and rum One
dreadful fear haunted him though all these changes, and this
was lest he should be sold to the "white men," the Portuguese
slave-tiadeis on the coast The veiy thing he so much dreaded
was ordained by Him who governs all things according to the
counsel of His own will, to be the means of opening out to him a
caieer of liberty and usefulness fai beyond his wildest imagina-
tions His fifth mastei sold him to a Poitugueae trader at
Lagos, and there he was chained in the old lam acoon or slave-
shed upon the site of which now stands St Paul's Chinch, until
shipped as the day when he was shipped as one of 187 slaves forming the
a C| caigo of a vessel bound for Cuba or Biazil *"
ieBri§shby ^e very next ^ayj ^e B^aver was seized by H M S Myrmidon,
ship, s belonging to the British squadion then patrolling the coast, and
commanded by Captain (afterwards Atonal Sn Henry) Leeke \
One of hei young ofliceis who took pait in the lescue was after-
waids Commandei Smith, E N , and his son, Lieutenant Geoige
Sheigold Smith, was the leadei of the first missionary party to
Uganda in 1876 Sometimes we aie permitted to see the links
that make up the wondrous chain of God's providential dealings
Have we ever seen one moie touchmgly significant than this ?
The father is engaged in suppiessing the slave-trade on one
coast of Afnca, and helps to dehvci a little Ncgio boy who be-
comes tne gieat pioneer missionary of that side of the continent ,
the son, fifby-foiu yeais after, becomes the fiist messenger of the
Cross to penetrate Africa fiom the other side,— on a mission, too,
which has resulted in an immen&e extension of Butish influence
m Afnca, and the consequent suppiession of the slave-tiade ovei
vast teintones J
On June 17th, 1822, the slaves tescued by the Myrmdon were
landed at landed at Siena Leone, and distnbuted among the villages The
boy Adjai was allotted to Bathuist, and fiom the veiy fiist day
of his being put to school, he evinced a leady intelligence which
was unusual in the miserable victims of the slave-tiade One of
the schoolmasteis he was undei, an industrial mstructoi, was
J W Weeks, afterwaids the second Bishop of Sierra Leone
One future bishop taught the other future bishop the use of the
* The Portuguese ship was (happily) called tho
f In after years Bp Crowthor knew Admnal Leeke well SeeVol II p 114
j Another interesting link is that Commander Smith became in after years
agent of the Devonshire estates of Sn John Kennaway, now CLM S President
NIGER EXPEDITION, YORUBA MISSION, EAST COAST 451
plane and the chisel But in a higher kind of knowledge still PAST Y
young Ad]ai soon purchased to himself a good degiee He ^41~48
learned to know the Only True God, and Jesus Ohiist whom He ff_
had sent, and having given ample evidence that his heart as
well as his mind had embraced the Gospel, he was baptized on baptized,
December llth, 1825, and named after a veneiable cleigyman m
England, whom we have met with befoie as one of the early
members of the Church Missionary Society, * Samuel Ciowthei
In 1826, one of the schoolmasteis came to England, and
brought Crowther with him , and foi a few months the lad
attended the Parochial School m Liverpool Eoad, Islington He
returned to Sierra Leone in the following year, just when Mi
Haensel was oigamzing the Eourah Bay College , and the veiy
first name on its roll of students is that of Samuel Crowthei He first
soon became an assistant teacher , then a schoolmaster at Begent lay*
(W Johnson's old station) under Weeks , and afterwards again a student,
tutor at the College, undei the Eev G A Kisslmg (afterwaids
Archdeacon in New Zealand) In the published reports fiom
1830 onwaids, his name frequently occurs as that of a faithful and
efficient agent of the Mission , and that of his wife appeals as mamed
" Susanna Ciowther, school-mistress " But the memoiable yeai
1841, which we have befoie noticed as so gieat an epoch in the
history of the Chuich, was the yeai that witnessed Samuel
Ciowthei 's first step towards the high position he afteiwaids
occupied
When Eowell Buxton had achieved the great tuumph of his
life by the abolition of West Indian slavery m 1893-34, he tinned
his energetic mind to Afnca itself The slave-trade was still slave trade
rampant Not that Wilbeiforce's victory m 1807 had been JJJ}tram"
aboitave No British ships were now engaged in the traffic But
Spanish, Portuguese, and Brazilian vessels were still caiiymg
cargoes of Negroes acioss the Atlantic, and though the Bntish
cruisers caught some, the majonty succeeded in eluding them
What was to be done ? Eaily one moining m 1837, ]ust befoie
Queen Victoria's accession, when staying at Eailhain (the well-
known home of the Guineys, near Norwich), Buxton walked into
a room wheie one of his sons was sleeping, and told him ho had
been awake all night thinking of the slave- tiade, and "had hitFoweii^
upon the true lemedy for that poitentous evil " 1 It was this — femedy 8
" The delweiance ofAfiica is to be effected by calling out Jier own
lesources "
To the matuung of a plan for working out this principle he now
devoted his time and thought , and after months of study and
inquiry, he pxmted a pamphlet in the foim of a Letter to Lord
Melbourne (then Piemier), which he afteiwaids expanded into his
important work, The Slave Ttade and ^ts E&tudy It set forth
See p 70 f Jh/fl of Bwtnn, p 368
G g2
452 NEW ENTERPRISES IN AFRICA
PART Y startling evidence of the immensity and the horrois of the existing
I84l-i8 slave-trade , it urged the strengthening of the British squadron,
Chap_29 and the negotiating of treaties with native chiefs, and then it
proceeded to enlarge on the capabilities of Africa, and the possi-
bilities of developing her mineral and vegetable lesources The
Government was to do its part , commeicial companies were to
do thens , missionary societies were to add the work of evangeh-
The Bible zation "It is the Bible and the Plough," said Buxton, "that
plough mus* regenerate Africa "
Only seven years befoie this, an event had occurred which
much helped to secure favom for Buxton's pio]ects The course
The Rwer of the Eivei Nigei had, in 1830, been deteimmed by Landei The
Niger history of this discovery is curious That there was a gieat river
somewhere in the Western Soudan was known m the pievious
centuiy, but m the edition of the Encyclopedia Bntanmca
published in 1797, it was confounded with the Senegal, which
flows westwaid into the Atlantic Ocean It was, however, on
July 21st of that very year, that Mungo Park struck its upper
watei a near Segou, west of Timbuctoo ' ' I beheld, ' ' he says, ( ' the
long-sought-for majestic Niger, glittering in the morning sun, as
bioad as the Thames at Westminster, and flowing slowly to the
eastward " But still no one guessed wheie its Miibouchuie was to
be found Paik was killed m the attempt to complete the ex-
ploiations , Clapperton died in making a similar attempt, and not
until 1830 did Lander, having fa availed overland from the Slave
Coast to Boussa, wheie Park had met his death, succeed m
descending the stream until he emeiged, by one of the mouths
that form the Nigei Delta, into the Gulf of Guinea Most great
rivets have been discovered at their mouths, and their course
tiaced up-stream The Nigei was known at its uppei watei s long
befoie the tracing of its outflow into the sea
Although a commeicial venture up the nver, made by that
peiseveimg friend of Africa, Mr Macgiegoi Laud, in 1832, had
proved a failure, the more intelligent of the Bntish public fully
believed m the great opening for geographical and meicantile
Buxton's enterprise furnished by Landei 's discovery Of this feeling Buxton
proposals t00ic advantage Armed with his pamphlet, he approached the
Government, and urged the fitting out of an expedition to go up
the Nigei, and make a systematic beginning m the promotion of
such commerce and civilization as would, m the long run, destroy
the slave-tiade The Colonial Secretary in 1838 was Lord
Glenelg, the youngei Chailes Grant, whose excellent work when
at the India Office we have before seen, "I ought to know
something of Colonial Secretaries," wrote Buxton,"1 " for I have
woined each of them in succession for twenty years There
is not one of them who, in my estimation, has acted more con-
scientiously, or of whose anxiety to do justice to Negroes, Caffres,
* Life, p 366,
NIGER EXPEDITION, YORUBA MISSION, EAST COAST 453
Hottentots, and Indians I feel more assmance than Loid Glenelg "
Then also Sir James Stephen, son of the James Stephen whom we
have seen as one of Wilbeiforce's associates and one of the
founders of the Church Missionary Society, and who was Hemy
Venn's brother-in-law, was Permanent Secretary of the Colonial
Office, so everything was favourable to Buxton's plans Loid
Glenelg brought them befoie the Cabinet, the Cabinet unani-
mously approved them, and Buxton wrote to his son-in-law
Andrew Johnston, "Thank Godl I say it with all my heait,
thank God!" -1 But approval and action are not quite the same
thing Lord Glenelg retued from office, possibly Loid Melbourne's
celebrated question, "Can't you let it alone? "was put in this
case as in so many others, and things did not move rapidly
Besides which, it was not sufficient to convince the Cabinet a
gieat part of the work was to be done by private enterpuse , and
this enterprise had to be set on foot and organized
At length, in July, 1839, a new Society for the Civilization of
Afuca was inauguiated, Bishop Blomfield, Loid Ashley, Sir
Eobeit Inghs, and other influential men taking part , and Samuel
Gurney, Dr Lushington, and Mr Gladstone joining " Quito an
epitome of the State," wrote Buxton , " Whig, Tory, and Radical ,
Dissenter, Low Chuich, High Chinch, tip-top Oxfordism, all
united " f The movement now grew apace , and on June 1st, Great
1840, one of the greatest meetings ever held in Exeter Hall pushed
it into the front rank of the topics of the day Por Prince Albert, Jj"c 1Bt>
who had been married to the Queen not four months before, was x
in the chair, supported by some five-and-twenty peers and bishops,
and a host of M P 's and leading laymen and clergymen In
this his first speech before an English audience Prince Albert Pnnce
B13 r ° Albert's
said,— SpCCCh
" I have been induced to preside at the Meeting of this Society from a
conviction of its paramount importance to the gieat interests of
humanity and justice I deeply regret that the benevolent and per-
severing exertions of England to abolish the atrocious traffic in human
beings— at once tho desolation of Africa and the blackest stain on
civilized Europe— have not as yet led to a satisfactoiy conclusion I
sincerely trust that this gieat country will not relax its efforts until it
has, finally and for ever, put an end to a state of things so repugnant to
the principles of Christianity and to the best feelings of our nature I
do trust that Providence will prosper our exertions m so holy a causo ,
and that, under the auspices of our Queen and her Government, we may,
at no distant period, be rewaided by the accomplishment of the gi oat
and humane object, for the promotion of which we have met this day "
Buxton himself moved the first resolution , and he was followed
by Samuel Wilberforce, then Archdeacon of Surrey, with his
hereditary right to a foremost place on such a platform, and with
an eloquence even more captivating than that of his illustrious
father Then came Sir Eobert Peel, the leader of the Conservative
* Jtyv, p 373 f IM , p 380
454 NEW ENTERPRISES IN AFRICA
PART Y Opposition, to suppoit a scheme promoted by the Whig Ministry ,
18-iMS the Bishops of Winchester and Ghichester, the Eail of Ghiohestei,
OhapJ9 presl(}ent of the CMS , the Marquis of Northampton, Lord-
Ashley, Sir T Dyke Acland, and several others It was shortly
after this meeting that Fowell Buxton was created a baronet *
Govern- Meanwhile the Government were not idle They weie building
jSaSs three new iron steamers expressly for the expedition, two of
which, when launched, received the names of the Albeit and the
Wilbeiface, the third being christened the Soudan Lord John
Russell, who was now Golonial Secretary, and Lord Palmer stem,
who was Foreign Secretary, entered warmly into the plans , and
the former wrote officially,—
"It is proposed to establish new conimeicial relations with those
African chiefs and powers within whose dominions the internal slave-
trade of Afiica is earned on, and tlie external slave-trade supplied with
its victims To this end, the Queen has directed her Ministers to
negotiate conventions or agreements with those chiefs and powers the
hasiaof which conventions wouklte, fiist, the abandonment and ahsolute
prohibition of the slave-trade, and, secondly, the admission, for con-
sumption in this country, on favourable terms, of goods, the produce or
manufacture of the territories subject to them "
Several scientific men were engaged by the new African Society
to accompany the expedition, and an Agricultural Association
organized by Buxton with the help of the Gurneys and some
other Quaker friends, raised £4000 to start a "model farm"
The somewhere on the Niger These plans called forth a good deal of
criSed criticism The Twios distinguished itself by its vehement attacks
on the whole scheme , and the ISdinbwyh Review followed suit ]
But Prince Albert was not moved from his attitude of hearty
approval He visited the three ships m the Thames before they
sailed, and narrowly escaped drowning from an accrdent to his
boat { As for Buxton, the motto of his family had been, " What-
soever thy hand nndeth to do, do it with thy might," and the last
live words of this text was the motto attached to the arms which
he bore as a baronet
G.MS But what had the Church Mrssionary Society to do with all
this ? From first to last it was rn close alliance with Buxton in
his plans The Niger would be a highway for the Gospel as well
as for legitimate trade If " the Bible and the Plough " were to
combine to regenerate Africa, and if the new Agricultural Associa-
tion was to provide the plough, it was plainly the part of the
Church Missionary Society to provide the Bible Accordingly
the Committee obtained leave to send two mission agents with
* Anothei interesting fact about this groat mooting is that David Living-
stone was present Ho was thon a young student undoi the London Missionary
Society — Blaibe's Personal Life of Livingstone
t Diokens's clever caricature of the scheme, m his picture (m Bkaft House)
of Mis Jellyby and Bomobooln, Gha, will of course be remembered
J Life of Bunion, p 443
NlGLR EXPEDITION) YoRUBA MlSS10N} EASt COAST 455
the expedition, and for this service they selected J 3? Schon, a PART v
German missionary at Sierra Leone with special linguistic gifts, /JT841"^
and Samuel Ciowther Gh^J9
The expedition sailed on April 14th, 1841, and entered the Niger EX
mouth of the Nigei on August 20th Through the slimy man- pe^itlon
grove swamps, with then fever-bi ceding miasma, for the first
twenty miles — then thiough a region of dense tropical forest,
palms, bamboos, and gigantic cotton- tiees— then past the first
plantations of plantains and sugar-cane, with here and there a
mur1 hut — the thiee vessels slowly steamed up the principal
cnannel of the river At Abo, a hundied miles up, and again at
Idda, another hundred miles fiuther, treaties weie concluded
with the chiefs foi the suppression of the slave-trade and of
human sacrifices, and for the promotion of lawful commerce
Important infoirnation was collected touching the condition and
capabilities of the country , and Schon gathered much linguistic
material which aftei wards proved valuable But the expedition
closed in soiiow and disappointment A deadly fevei struck the its trials
'ciews, and forty-two white men out of one hundied and fifty died
in two months Only one steamer, the Alba t, got as fai as Egan
(pionounced Egga), the highest point leached, some 350 miles
from the sea, the other two having been sent back full of invalids ,
and the Albert itself had at one time only thiee white men with
stiengfch enough to work the ship The proposed " model farm "
was started at Loko]a, but eie long the men in chaige had to
leatfe in shattered health , and almost the only immediate result
of the first gallant attempt to " regenerate Africa " was the publica-
tion by the Church Missionary Society of Schon and Crowther's
Journals, which pioved a valuable book, and most useful in aftei
yeais
The failure of the Niger Expedition as distinctly killed Fowell its failure,
Buxton as the Battle of Austeilitz killed Pitt He 'survived it
three yeais, but he was never the same man again " He raiely
spoke of the Expedition," says his son and biogiapher "his
giave demeanoiu, his worn pale face, the abstraction of his
manner, and the intense fervoui of his supplications that God
would 'pity poor Africa/— these showed too well the poignancy
of his feelings " ' On the other hand, the Times was triumphant ,
the very name of the Niger Expedition became a bywoid and n.
proverb to express hopeless failure , and for twelve yeais public
opinion toleiated no further attempts to utilize the nvei The
piomoteis did not loso all heart they held another meeting, to
which Lord John Eussell, now leader of the Opposition (Peel
having come in), had the courage to come and speak, boldly
asserting, against all cavils, the soundness of Buxton' s schemes,
and piophesymg that the failuie was only tempoiary, and
Samuel Wilberforce again eloquently pleaded for pei severing and
* Life of JBitfftofl, p 466
456 NEW ENTERPRISES IN AFRICA
PAET V patient effort in behalf of Africa Buxton was not well enough
1841-48 to be present , but in 1843 he was able to take part in the dissolu-
Ohap 9 tion of the Company " I feel," he said, " as if I were going to
attend the funeral of an old fnend " His own funeial was not
Death of long delayed He died on February 19th, 1845 But he was not
Buxton forg0tten No less than fifty thousand Negroes in Africa and the
West Indies subscribed to the fund for a monument to him , and
the statue in Westminster Abbey is the result Moreovei, his
name and chaiacter and influence have been perpetuated m sons
and daughters, giandsons and granddaughters, great-grandsons
and great-granddaughters, who have been, and still are, the
friends of Africa and of every good and holy cause at home and
abroad
Bjrtw^'t And Lord John Eussell was right The failure of the Niger
a " ure Expedition was not final In His never-failing wisdom, God
permitted it, perhaps as a lesson on the unceitainty of human
plans Few projects for the benefit of mankind succeed, when
they aie usheied m with a flouiish of tiumpets It pleases God
to choose the weak things of the world to confound the mighty
The day came when the Negro teacher who occupied so humble
a place in the Expedition became Bishop of the whole Niger
territory The day came when English ladies of refinement
found that they could live and labour on the banks of the
fever-stricken nvei The day came when a gieat Gharteied
After days Company not only developed the liver district itself, but delivered
the great Hausa nation, in the heait of the Soudan, from the Fulah
slave-kidnappers who had oppiessed them so long, and pio-
claimed the entire abohtion of slavery in the vast region under its
control
Sierra Leone was now a prosperous settlement The West
African is not great at agriculture, but he is a bom tradei , and
many of the rescued slaves had become flourishing traffickers
along the coast In 1839, a few of the most enterpnsing, who
belonged to the Yoruba nation before mentioned, pui chased from
Government a small slave-ship which had been captuied, named
her the Wilberforce, freighted her with English goods likely to
attract buyers, and set sail for what was then known as the Slave
Goast, a thousand miles to the east of Sieria Leone, and the gate
into their own Yoruba country Lagos being in the hands of a
hostile and slave-kidnapping tribe, they landed at Badagry,
quickly disposed of their cargo, filled their little vessel with the
produce of the country, and returned to Sierra Leone, and a
brisk trade speedily spiang up A few yeais before this, the
remnant of the scattered Egbas whose lands had been ravaged
by the Fdah slave-raideis, as before mentioned, had come
together again and settled round a high isolated rock called
Olumo , and a great town of probably 100,000 souls was tfte
result, to which they gave the name of Abeokuta, or Under-stone
NIGER EXPEDITION, YORUBA Missrojv} EAST COAST 457
The Sierra Leone traders heaid of this revival of the Bgba power, PART V
and some, who belonged to that section of the Yoruba people, 1841-48
emigrated to Abeokuta These had not been the most religious of UaP ^
the professing Chnstians at Sierra Leone , but in a wholly sierra
heathen country they began to long after their old church services, j£d«B at
and they sent to the Sierra Leone missionaries, begging them to Abeokuta
come and provide Christian ministrations for them and teaching
foi the Heathen population
In the meanwhile, God was prepaung the instiurnent for this
extension of the work The CMS Committee had been so
struck by the tone and intelligence of Samuel Crowthei's journal
of the Niger Expedition that they sent for him in the following
year, 1842, to come to England, placed him in Islington College,
and in a few months found him qualified for presentation to the
Bishop of London as a candidate for ordination On Trinity
Sunday, June llth, 1843, twenty-one years (less one week) after
the poor frightened slave-boy was landed by H M S Myrmidon at
Sierra Leone, he was duly admitted to the ministry of the The Rev
Church , - and on October 1st in the same year he received priest's crowthe
orders Of couise he was at once in demand as a preacher , and
it was a touchingly significant scene when he stood up m the
pulpit of Northiepps Chuich m the piesence of the veteran
benefactor of his race, Thomas Powell Buxton It was at the
very next Anniversary that Bishop Blomfield pleached the
Annual Sermon, t and m the couise of it he said, — ?n°the
" What cause for thanksgiving to Him who hath made of one blood all
nations of men, is to be found in the thought that He lias not only
blessed the labours of this Society by bringing many of those neglected
and persecuted people to the knowledge of a Saviour, but, from among
a race despised as incapable of intellectual exertion and acquirement,
He has raised up men well qualified, even in point of knowledge, to
communicate to others the saving truths which they have themselves
embiaced, and to become preachers of the Gospel to their brethren
according to the flesh ' "
Saturday, December 2nd, 1843, was a great day at Sierra
Leone On that day, the " black man who had been crowned a one
minister," as the phiase was, disembarked fiom the ship that had
brought him from England, amid the welcomes of hundreds of
those who, like himself, had once been slaves but now wore fieo
— many of them free with the liberty of the children of God
The next day, "the Bev Samuel Crowlher" preached to an
immense congiegation from the words, " And yet there is room,"
* An interesting incident happened at the oidination When the candidates
for deacon's orders were to go np to the Bishop, an awkward pauso occurred
Tho Englishmen, by a sudden and simultaneous instinct, waited for the Negro
to go nrst, while ho was sitting with his eyes on the giound, unconscious of
tho precedence they wished to accord him At last, suddenly ssoing that all
eyes were fixed on him, ho qnietly arose, went forward, and knelt before bho
Bishop
t See pp 396, 418
4$8 NEW ENTERPRISES JN AFRICA
PAST V and afterwards administered the Lord's Supper to a laige number
1841-48 of Negro communicants This service was, of couise, in
Ohap^29 English, the lingua fuwca of the Colony , but " Adjai " had not
forgotten the native Yoruba of his childhood, and in a few days
he conducted another service in that language, foi the benefit of
the laige section of the population whose vernacular it was
This, it may bo piesumed, was the first Christian service ever
held in Africa m the Yoruba tongue , and it is not surpiising
that at the end, after the benediction, the whole congregation
burst forth with the cry of KG oh shah, " So lot it be 1 "
But Crowther was not to be long in Sieira Leone Before
TownBend this, while he was in England, Henry Townsend, the young
Abeokuta schoolmaster from Exoter who was already giving promise of
great efficiency as a missionary, had made an expedition in the
little trading-vessel Wilb&rfoi M to Badagry, and had actually
gone up to Abeokuta He had been wairnly received by the
principal chief, and invited to return and live there He returned
at once to England and leported this remarkable opening for an
entirely new Mission a thousand miles beyond Sierra Leone, in
the very country which had been so ravaged by the slave-trade
An active Methodist missionary, Mr Freeman, had anticipated
Townsend, both m visiting Abeokuta, and in reporting on it in
England , and both the CMS and the Wesleyan Society were
already keen to enter so inviting an open door Townsend re-
ceived holy orders from Bishop Blornfield on Trinity Sunday,
1844, ]ust a year aftei Crowthei , and then he leturned to Africa,
commissioned, together with Crowther and with a young German
The new missionary, the Rev 0 A Gollmer, to commence a Mission in
tne Yoruba country
Towards the end of 1844 -a year memorable also for the hist
commencement of work on the East African coast, as we shall bee
presently— the party sailed for Badagry Theie, however, they
wero detained a year and a half, owing to the death of the friendly
head-chief of Abeokuta, and the road thither being closed by local
wai s At length the way opened to go for wai d, and on August 3rd,
1846, Townsend and Crowther (Gollmer being left at the coast)
entered the great Egba town, amid joyous welcomes from chiefs
and people
The Yoruba Mission quickly took a foremost place in the
interest and sympathies of the Society's circle of frrends , and for
some years no Mission was watched more eagerly or prayed for
more fervently Wo leave it now for the present, proposing to
return to it m a future chapter, when we shall see something of
the blessing which God graciously vouchsafed to it
Meanwhile, we will cross over to the other side of the Dark
Continent, whore we left the intrepid Johann Ludwig Krapf facing
perils and privations innumerable m what proved to be vain
attempts to establish a Mission m the kingdom of Shoa, and
NIG&R EXPEDITION^ YORUBA MISSION, EA±T COAST 459
among the Galla tribes, south of Abyssinia • He had now (1842) PAST y
a young wifo to share his wanderings , a lady from Basle, whom 1&H-48
he had married at Cauo Rosina Krapf was a brave and devoted p a9
woman , and needful it was that she should be In the dry bed
of a torrent, between locky hills, with no tent, or nuise, or
surgeon, her child was born " In the Shoho wilderness," wrote
Krapf, " my beloved wife was prematurely delivered of a little Birth and
daughtei, whom I chustened ' Eneba,' a tear I had to bury the the desert
dear child, foi she lived only a few hours, under a tree by the
wayside, and her mourning mother was obliged to piosecute hei
journey on the third day, as the Shohos would not wait any
longer, and theie was no village where she could have found rest "
Krapf had asked leave for the Society to go southwaids, and
try and leach the Galla tubes another way , and at Aden, whither
— being finally driven out of Shoa— he now pioceeded, he found
letteis sanctioning his proposal He and his wife accordingly, on Krapf goea
November llth, 1843, set sail in an Arab trading-vessel bound foi sou™
Zanzibar The miseiable craft, leaky and ill-found, tossed about
foi four days, and then began steadily to sink There seemed no
hope of escape, and the husband and wife together commended
themselves to the Loid, and awaited death calmly, when
suddenly a boat unexpectedly appealed, and took them off, only
a few minutes before the vessel tuined over and went down
They were put on shoie again at Aden, and in a few days started
again in another trading- vessel going to various ports on the East
Coast of Afiica It is worth noting that this voyage, so piegnant
with great issues, was being taken at the very time that the newly-
01 darned African cleigyman, Samuel Ciowther, was sailing from
England for Sierra Leone
The Arab vessel took two months to complete its voyage to Krapf on
Zanzibai At several ports Krapf inquired about the interior, of African8*
which nothing whatever was then known to geographers He Coast
was told of " Ohagga" and "Umamesi" (as he spelt it) — names
familiar to us now, — and that in the lattei country there was " a
qtGat lake " This is the first mention of that inland sea which
Spoke discovered fouiteenyeais afterwards and named the Vic-
toria Nyanza On January 3id, 1844, Kiapf enteied the harboui
of Mombasa Here we catch a glimpse of the Divine Hand
oidermg by its invisible governance the couibe of this woild
Had the first vessel fiom Aden not foundeied, it would have taken
Krapf straight to Zanzibai, and he might never have visited
Mombasa at all— which would have altered the whole history of
African geogiaphical and missionary enterprise
Only for a few houis, howevoi, was Krapf at Mombasa on that
3rd of Januaiy , though this was enough to suggest the place to
his mind as a base for future travels and labours It was to
Zanzibar that he was now going
The island and town so named held even then an important
* See p 353
460 NLW ENTERPRISES IN AFRICA
PART Y place m the geogiaphy of the woild as the capital of the great
1841-48 Aiab potentate, Sultan Said Said As Imlm of Muscat m Arabia,
Qlmp Said Said had extended his dominion all down the East Afucan
Zanzibar coast, and then had tiansferred the seat of his empire to Zanzibar
luft^n The Arabs are great traders, and the place became a centre of
widely-extended commeice Some hundreds of Banians, the
trading caste of Gujeiat m Western India, had settled there, and
brisk was the tiaffio acioss the Aiabian Sea, wafted by the steady
tiade- winds "In the autumn, the sailors have but to spread
their broad lateen sails to the north-east monsoon, to be driven,
faster than any but the fastest steamers can follow, [from the
Indian] to the African coast There they have only to wait till
the summer season brings the south-west monsoon, to be wafted
back with equal ease and swiftness to the shores of India " •
These Banian traders being British sublets, an English Consul
had been stationed at Zanzibar Not, indeed, for their protection
only England had akeady done something towards at least the
diminution of the East Afucan Slave Tiade A tieaty limiting its
aiea and scope had been concluded with Said Said as far back as
1822, and though the result was but small, this gave the Consul
something to do
Krapf received a cordial welcome from Captain Hamerton, who
was then Consul, and from the Sultan himself The former asked
him "to remain in Zanzibar, pleaching on Sundays to its few
Krapfat Europeans, working amongst the Banians fiom India, founding
anjE1 ftr schools for the Arabs and Swahihs (coast people), and pieparing
books " But Krapf's heart was with the Gallas, and he declined
the work which, many years after, was so efficiently taken up by
the Universities' Mission The Sultan, therefore, gave him a
letter, which ran as follows —
"This comes fromSaicl Said, Sultan , greeting all om subjects, friends,
and governors This letter is written on behalf of Doctor Krapf, a
German, a good man who wishes to convert the world to God Behave
well to him, and be everywhere serviceable to him "
The Mohammedan potentate, it will be observed, was quite
willing that a Christian missionary should go to Heathen savages
It did not occur to him that the Christian message was for him
too
In the first week of May, 1844, just when, m Exetei Hall, the
CMS Committee were reporting that they had given Dr Krapf \
leave to visit the East African coast, he and his wife settled at
Krapf at Mombasa This place also, like Zanzibar, is both an island and a
Mombasa ^^ ^ j^ no^ ^Q ^anzibar, an island fifty miles long It is a
small islet in the estuary of a small river It was one of the
Portuguese settlements in the seventeenth century, and the old
* it/e of Sir Bwtk Ft ere, vol i p 600
\ The degree of Ph D was conferred on him in this year, 1844, by the
University of Ttbingen
NIGER EXPEDITION^ YORUBA MISSION, EAST COAST 461
fort around which the town clusteis hears the date of its erection PABT V
by Xeixas de Cabreira, 1635 Mombasa is the Portuguese form 1841-48
of the name, but Krapf wrote it m the Arab form, Mornbaz, and GhaP 29
the former has only been revived in the past twenty yeais The
inhabitants were chiefly Swahili, a mixed race lesulting fiom the
mingling of the Aiabs with the Natives , but on the mainland was
the baibarous Wanika tnbe "
With charactenstic energy, Krapf at once flung himself into the
study of both languages, and within a month, on June 8th, he
actually began an attempt to translate the Book of Genesis into
Swahili, assisted by the Mohammedan Cadi (judge) of Mombasa
Scarcely, however, had he begun, when the great trial fell upon
him which was to be the first of a long series of illustrations of
that key-text of African missionary history, " Except a coin of
wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone , but if it die,
it bnngeth forth much fruit " On July 13th, death took his wife
from his side
Eosma Krapf had alieady, as we have seen, laid one child m
an African grave On July 6th a second infant daughter was Birth and
given to her Nothing moie touching has ever been written than JjJJfjJ
Krapf s diary of the next seven days \ When it became clear
that she had not strength to thiow off the fevei, Mis Kiapf called
the Mohammedans who had been attending on them around her
and told them, "with decision and force, that no Saviour butRosina
Jesus Ohust could support them in the hour of death " Then she ^Sg8
turned to her husband — message
"She told me that I should never forbear speaking to the people
about Christ, and His being the only and true Mediator between God
and man Though my woids might be forgotten, yet they might at the
hour of death recur to the mind, and then be a blessing to the hearer ,
Chnst being able to pardon a trembling, contrite, and believing
Mohammedan as well and as easily as He had pardoned herself
Furthermore, she said I should not spend my time in mourning for her,
but stnve in good earnest to fulfil my duty and woik while it is day "
Then Krapf himself was attacked by the fever, and when his
wife breathed her last it was only by a great effort that he was
able to rise and satisfy himself that she was really dead At hei
own express wish she was buried, not on the island of Mombasa,
J)ut on the mainland opposite , and, a day or two aftei, the
motherless babe was laid beside hei "My heart and body,"
wrote Kiapf ma pnvate lettei, "wept for many days " Yet he
could see m that grave the pledge of future triumphs of the
Gospel m Africa, and he wrote home to the Committee his
memoiable and oft-quoted message — Krapf s
" Tail our friends at horn that thwa is noio on the East African Europe
coast a lonely missionai'y grave This is a sign that you Haw
* Swfthiliia from s&liel, Arabic for "coast" Krapf wrote BooaMee and
Womca
| Printed in the 0 K Record, of Apnl, X846, and in
462 NEW ENTERPRISES IN AFRICA NIGER EXPEDITION, <5r*c
PART V commenced, the stmggle with this pat t of the world , and as the
1841-48 victories of the Church ate gained by stepping ovet the graves of
Ohap 29 jiei mf>moG']S) yOU may JJQ fly* mote convinced that the how is at
hand when you ate summoned to tJic conveision of Africa from its
eastein slioie "
He little thought, indeed, that on the veiy plot of land m which
he laid the lemains of his beloved Rosina would, thirty years
after, rise a famous missionary settlement and a Chuieh of the
what came Living God But he did begin to ponder on the future, and to
oflt foim large plans for extended missionaiy operations Thiee ideas
shaped themselves in his mind (1) a chain of stations to stretch
right acioss the continent , (2) a colony foi fieed slaves similai to
Siena Leone, foi which colony, he wiote, " Mombaz and its
environs would be the best site", (3) in his own words, "A
black bishop and black cleigy may become a necessity in the
civilization of Afuca " Theie was small prospect of either then ,
yet Krapf lived to see the Cential African Missions of our own
day, and Frere Town, and the Bishopnc of the Nigei
But this was not yet For two yeais the solitary missionaiy
toiled at the Swahih language, compiling a giammar and dictionary,
and tianslatmg the whole New Testament , occasionally visiting
the Wamka on the mainland , and prosecuting geographical and
ethnographical inquiries m all directions At last, in June, 1846,
Krapf and he was Coined by a fellow-labourer John Rebrnann, like him, was
& "Wurtembuigei and a Basle student , but, unlike him, had taken
the divinity com.se at Islington and leceived English ordeis at the
hands of Bishop Blomfield Then, like St Paul when Silas and
Timotheus ]omed him at Cormtrr, Kiapf was "piessed in the
spnit ", and very soon weie begun those wonderful exploiations
which, m their issue, opened up all Bquatonal Afuca, and led to
the vast development of Eiuopoan influence and Ohnstian enter-
prise which aie among the glones of oui day
CHAPTER XXX
Onmm QI CHINA
Nestonan and Roman Missions in China— China in the First Report
of C M S —Morrison, Milne, Gutzlaff— E B Squire's Attempt—
The Chinese War—Lord Ashley and the Opium Trade— New
Moves Forward—Vincent Stanton— The CMS Mission— The
First Missionaries— Bishop George Smith
Re sau> tfa mltMo&t He was mmiL vnth compassion on tfam "—
St Matt it 36
"1 7tave set be/ore tlwc an open door "— Eev m 8
BOOK, Rock, when wilt thou open ? " said the Jesuit, PART T
Vahgnani, as his wistful eyes looked towaids the
long-closed Celestial Empire on his way to Japan
" 0 mighty fortress, when shall these imponetiable
gates of thine be bioken through ?" His pie-
decessor, Jiancis Xavier, had aheady died m his rude hut on
another little banen island, gazing acioss the narrow strait at
the long-closed mainland of China But Xavier did not die
despauing With his last heath he lepeated the familiar closing
words of the TG Deum, " In te, Domme, speiavi, non confundai
in s&teinum ", and the trustful hope of the Chuich of God, as she
has knocked at the gate of China, has not been " confounded foi
ever"
Not that Chustiamty had then nevei entered China The
famous inscription at Si-ngan-fu is to this day a witness that
m the seventh centmy AD the Nestonan Missions had spiead
"the illustrious religion" m every direction, and m the thir- Mtasions
tenth century the great Taitar potentate, Kublai Khan, sent
fiom Pekrng to the Pope foi teacheis • John de Monto Corvmo,
the Franciscan, wielded gieat influence at the Court of Peking,
translated the New Testament and the Psalms into Chinese, and
baptized six thousand souls But for the next two cenkuies
the history is an absolute blank After Xavier's death, however,
the Eoman missionaries, backed by the powei of Poitugal, and
winning then way by their scientific attainments as weS as by
their undaunted courage, established themselves within the
"mighty foitress" The success achieved by Matthew Eicci
* Soe Chapter II,
464 Tffs OPENING OF CHINA
PAST Y and othei zealous and learned pnests was considerable, largely
1841-48 through their viitnial sanction of ancestral woiship in the form
ChaP 3Q of masses for the dead, and the close lesemblance of the
externals of their woiship to the idolatry of Buddhism and
Taoism Then frequent interference with politics, however, as in
other parts of the world, repeatedly aioused the fears of the
Chinese Government, and led to ternble peisecutions In the
chns eighteenth century Ghustianity became a piohibited religion,
though the many thousands of Chinese heieditary Christians
scattered in small bands over the vast empire weie too little
distinguishable from the Heathen to be seriously molested The
Romanist headquarters weie at Macao, the island off the Canton
Eiver belonging to Portugal
The very fiist Repoit of the Church Missionary Society, dated
May, 1801i* devotes two of its twelve short pages to China The
Report words aie worth recording here —
"The extensive Empire of China, which is stated to contain three
hundred millions of inhabitants, has hitherto enjoyed no share of the
Missionary labours of the protestant churches A zealous dissenting
minister, the Rev Mi Moseley, has, however, of himself conceived the
design of printing part of the Scriptures in the Chinese language, and
circulating the work in that populous country Extracts from the
Moseiey'B valuable Memoir, he has printed upon this subject, are subjoined to this
pamphlet Report To carry his design into execution is, however, a work more
adequate to the united efiorts of a society than to the exertions of an
individual He has therefore expressed his wish, that this Society
should undertake the important woik he had proposed, and has promised
to give into its hands a considerable pecuniaiy aid winch had been
promised to him The Committee are fully impressed with a sense of
the importance of the pioposecl work, but they are aware of its
difficulties The want of a sufficient fund, the natmal difficulty of the
Chinese language, the little acquaintance with it which Europeans
possess, form obstacles not easily to be surmounted The Committee,
however, have determined to open a separate fund for this puipose , and
should that fund be adequate to the necessaiy expense , and should
tbey also obtain sufficient evidence of the fidelity and elegance of the
Chinese MS Chinese version of part of the New Testament, now in the British
part'erfthe Museum, or should the Committee find the means of obtaining a
New Tea faithful and elegant translation, they will direct their attention to this
important subject At the same time, tbey earnestly beg it to be
understood that a work of this magnitude and importance cannot hastily
be executed , and they deprecate tbe idea of holding out sanguine or
arrogant expectations of speedy success iri it "
Turning to the Appendix, we find nine more pages devoted to
extracts from Mr Moseley's pamphlet He gives a brief sketch of
the Roman Missions, their eaily successes and subsequent troubles ,
and then describes the Chinese MS , which he had discovered in
the Bntish Museum, and which had been brought to England by
Su Hans Sloane in 1738 It contains, he says, St Luke's Gospel,
the Acts, and St Paul's Epistles, and he earnestly appeals for aid
* flee p 74
THE OPENING OF CHINA 465
in punting it foi cii dilation How this woik caroe into tbe hands PABT V
of the S P C K , and fiom theirs into those of the newly-formed
Bible Society, has already been i elated The thoughts of the
Ghuich Missionaiy Society meanwhile turned to Africa, and
China was for the time forgotten
But it was the interest excited by Moseley's pamphlet and the
Chinese MS that led the London Missionary Society to send Momson
Robert Moinson to China in 1807 The Northumbrian lad was to Chma
self-educated like Caiey , but, like Caiey, he became celebrated in
after yeais for his Onental learning His own nrst thought was
of Africa could he not go to Timbuotoo, then lecently levealed
by the tiavels of Mungo Park ? But God wanted him for special
service m China, just as, thirty-four yeais after, God wanted
Livingstone, who had thought of Chma, for special seivice m
Africa It was, howevei, — as we have seen regarding other
Missions, — one thing to be appointed to Chma, and quite anothei
thing to get there The English trade was m the hands of the
East India Company, and no passage foi a missionary could be
obtained in then: ships So Momson ciossed the Atlantic to New HOW he
Yoik, and thence sailed in an American vessel icund Capo Horn got CTe
and acioss the Pacific, with letteis to the Amencan Coiuul at
Canton There ho landed on Septombei 7th, 1807, eight months
after leaving England— a quick voyage consideiing the loute and
the period,
Again, it was one thing to reach China, and anothei thing to
live andwoik there as a missionary "first of all, Chinamen
were forbidden by the Government to teach the language to any
foreigner, undei pain of death Secondly, no one could leinam in
Chma except for puiposes of trade Thirdly, the Roman Catholic
missionanes would be [and weio] bitterly hostile " | How ^°Ynhc
Morrison lived in an American house, unable to walk the shoots, worfn
and unable to leave his Chinese books about , how he piesently
donned Chinese dress, grew long fingei -nails, and cultivated a
queue , how he af berwaids abandoned this plan, as useless m the
circumstances , how he hired a single room to live in, and wag
cheated and ill-tieated by the Chinese landloid , how he tued m
vain to tame and teach tluee wild Chinese lads , how he labomed
and laboured at the language , how af tei two years he was engaged
by the East India Company as their tianslator, and thus obtained
a secure position , how, aftei infinite toil, he produced a Chinese
giammai and dictionary, the lattei of which cost the Company
£12,000 to punt and publish in six quarto volumes with 4GOO
pages, how he also, with the aid of Robeit Milno, who went out His
in 1813,1 pioduced the whole Bible in Chinese in 1818, how in BibieMe
* See p 74
JOS Home, 8tm y of tlte & 3T S , p 12-1
I It was Miluo who said that "to atquno Chinese is a woik for men with
bodies of brass, lungs of steol, heads of oak, hands of spring-steel, eyos of
eagles, hearts of apoatles, memories of angels, and lives of Methuselah I "
VOL I H h
466 THE OPENING OF CHINA
PAST V 1814 he baptized one Chinese convert, and nine otheis m the next
1841-48 twenty years, how he and Milne founded an Anglo-Chinese
chaP 3Q College at Malacca, being British territory , how Milne staited a
magazine there called (of all names t) the Gleanet , how Milne
died, and Mis Milne, and Mrs Moinson, leaving Morrison m
1822 once moie the sole Protestant missionary in China , how he
visited England m 1824-5 , how he went back to more tioublous
surioundings, hostile English officials and Romish conspnacies
against him , and how on July 31st, 1834— the very day on which,
fai away on the other side of the globe, the West Indian slaves
His death weie joyfully awaiting the midnight that would usher m then: new
fieedom " — he entered into rest, at the ago of fifty-thice — all this,
and much moie, has often been told, and was told, year by yeai,
by Josiah Piatt, in the pages of the Hisstonwy Register
In the very mst volume of the Regtstei, foi 1813, occui two
notices regai ding China Momson's labouis are briefly lef erred
to m an account of the London Missionary Society , and in
N*W edict the Decembei numbei is given a new Lnpenal Edict issued
from Peking against Christianity " Such Europeans," it says,
» as shall privately print books and establish preachers in order to
pervert the multitude the chief one shall bo executed " — and
otheis should be imprisoned or exiled
America was not content with having helped Mornson to get
to China In 1829 began the noble succession of Arnoncan
missionaries who have done so much f 01 the evangelization of the
Celestial Empire In that year tho A B C E M , the Society
constituted with a broad basis like the L M S in England (though
vutually Congregationalist), sent out Elijah Bridgrnan and David
Abeel,t and, three years later, S Wells Williams, afterwaids well
known for one of the bost books on China, The Middle Kingdom
They, however, weie as closely confined to the foreign tiadrag
factories at Canton as Moinson and Milne had been But at this
time, also, occuried the tiavels of a very rcmaikablo man, Chailos
Gutzlaff
Gutzlaff was a Prussian agent of the Netherlands Missionaiy
Society, an accomplished scholar, a qualified doctoi, and a man
of extiaoidmary enterpnse and rosource His propel mission-
field was Siam, but m 1831-5 he made seven jouineys up and
down the coast of China, sometimes accompanying foreign trading-
vessels as surgeon and interpreter, and sometimes m Chinese
mnks , ascending the livers, landing here and theie at the risk of
his life, pursued by pirates, harassed by the police, stoned by the
mob, haled before the magistrates, but giving medicine to crowds
of sick folk, and distributing kteially hundreds of thousands of
tracts and portions of Scripture His method was much cnticized,
* See p 345
t It was Mr Abeel whose appeals m England in 1831 for the Chinese women
led to the foimatiou of the fcJociety foi Promoting tfemale Education m tho
East
THE OPENING OF CHINA 467
but his adventures excited unbounded inteiest in England and PART V
America, and certainly gave the Chnstian public a new idea as to p,841~£?
the possibilities of missionary work in China "Are the bowels ap_
of mercy of a compassionate Savioui," he wiote at the close of was china
his third journey, "shut against these millions? BC/QIC Sim, reallyshut?
China is not shut ! He, the Almighty Conqueroi of Death and
Hell, will open the gates of heaven foi these myriads He has
opened them When we arrived at Fiih-chow, on om return, my
large store of books was exhausted, and I had to send applicants
away empty-handed " " " Two friends," stnred by his nariatives,
issued in 1834 a lousing " Appeal to the Butish and Amencan
Churches," pointing out that " the Buddhists of the fiist century
found the door of China open f 01 their Idolatry , and the Nes-
tonans of the seventh century, for then Heiesy, and the
Mahomedans of the eighth century, foi their Koian, and the
Papists of the thirteenth century, for their Mass " — why not, then,
the puier and fuller message of the Gospel? " Whenever," they
go on, "Invemam mam aut /ocwmhas been the maxim of any
sect or system, they have scaled the impenal wall, and penetrated
fai enough into the Celestial Empne, to prove that neither was
impassable "
The natuial result of these efforts followed The Chinese
Government woke up, and issued a new edict "Some English Another
ships," it said, " have passed along the coasts of China, and have edS e
distiibuted some European books, and as tJiese books exhort to
believe and to venerate the Chief of that tehgion, named Jet,us, it
appeals that this religion is the same as the Chnstian Eeligion,
which has been piosecuted at different tunes and banished with
all ngoui " " The Christian lehgion," it goes on, " is the ruin of
morals and of the human heart , therefore it is piohibited " |
After Momson's death, the L M B work was carried on with
difficulty by his son and W H Medhurst, and though the
Americans were not molested, it was little that they could do
Neveitheless, three other Amencan societies sought to entei the
field, the Baptists, the Presbytenans, and the Piotestant Episcopal American
Chuich The Episcopal Chmch sent two men in 1835 to Smga- Mianon
pore and Batavia, for piepaiatory study and work, and they were
followed in 1837 by W J Boone, M D , afterwards the first
Protestant Bishop in China
Although m the first two yeais of the existence of the Church
Missionary Society, when no Protestant missionaries had yet
attempted to enter China, the possibility of sending men there was
several times discussed by the Committee, the other enterprises
to which the Providence of God called them entirely diverted
their attention for many years* In 1824, when Morrison was in
England, he was received by them, and asked them to send a
* Uuswnwy Register, 1835, p 85 (- Ibid , 1837, p 90
E h 2
THE OPENING OF CHINA
PAUT Y Mission , but the \vay did not open, and m 1832 wo find a resolu-
r?^~tn k°n' m iePty *° a suS§es^lon fr°m friends to the same effect, that
ai3 the financial position precluded the Society fiom undertaking such
CMS, an enterprise In 1834, howevei, the Committee were again
GutSaff1' Discussing the openings indicated by Gutzlafl's journeys They
wrote out to him foi mfoimatiou, and actually made a grant of
£300 to him m mitheiance of his woik His leply plainly told
of the difficulties and dangeis which Euiopeans in China would
encountei He mentions his own tiials, but adds, " Neveitheless
I am still alive, and can in much weakness cairy on the woik of
God" "Neithei the Apostles noi the Beformers," ho writes,
" waited until G-oveinments were favouiable to the Gospel, but
went on boldly in the strength of the Lord " What sort of
missionanes should go? "We want heie," he says, "no gentle-
men vmsMono/nes " Gonsideung that when gentlemen by bnth
and education have gone to the mission-field, they have for the
most part set a biilhant example to others of leadmess to enduie
hardship — just as they do m the airny and navy, — this remark is
at first sight startling , but evidently his lefeience is lather to
those who, whatever their origin socially, desire to live as
" gentlemen " and not nsk their precious lives For he goes on —
"but men who aie at all tunes ready to lay down then- lives for
the Saviour, and can wandei about foigotten and despised, without
any human assistance, but only the help of God !> t
aendsSE B ^uc^ ^ one ^6 Committee hoped they had found in Edwaid B
squire Squire, an officer m the Indian Navy, who offeied to the Society
at this time , and on June 28th, 1836, they bid him farewell with
an admirable paper of Instructions drawn up by William Jowett \
He was to make Singapore Ins headquarters, and thence make
such ]ouineys to Chinese ports as he might find possible " View-
ing the enterpuse in all its difficulties," said the Committee m the
Report that had just befoie been presented, " they are constrained
to exclaim, With man this is impossible 1 Their only ground, yet
a sure ground, of encouragement is that with God all things are
possible t " Neither the hour nor the man, however, had coxne
yet Mr Squire, excellent as he was, did not get beyond Macao
o^ium and Qne difficulty was that the Opium Traffic was now in full swing
The abolition m 1833 of the Bast India Company's monopoly of
tiade m the Bast had been followed by an immense increase of
the expoit of Indian opium to China Every ship to a Chinese
* Printed m tho Missionar y Eepisitr, 1837, p 326
f In after years there seemed good loason f 01 not entirely trusting Gut/lafE* p
accounts of lus work in China H Venn's Private Journals are much
occupied with this question m the eaily 'fifties King Frederick William
of Prussia bolioved in GutzlafE, and on Bunsen infoimmg him of the doxibts
of experienced men in England, he (tho King) "mote a letter of sixteen
pages, uigmg Bunseu to arouso the Bishops and clergy of the Church of
England to more vigoious action for the evangelization of Chmo " Private
Journal, October llth, 1860
t Printed m the Appendix to the Report of 1837
THE OPENING OF CHINA- 469
poit earned the drug , every ship, therefore, was legaided by the PABT y
Chinese authonties as bunging into the countiy something worse
even than Chiistiamty , a missionaiy coming in au opium-vessel
was an enemy to the Empire , and piactically all aggiessive woik
was suspended Then came the fiist Wai "with China, and
missionaiy woik of any kind being for the time hopeless, Mi
Squne letmned to England " The many millions of China,"
said the Bepoit of 1841, " are not foi gotten by yom Committee ,
noi aie they inattentive to the gieat political events which are
taking place in that countiy , but should God m His piovidence
again open the door foi missionaiy opeiations, your Committee
feel that gieatly enlaiged lesomces must be piovided, to justify
them m lecomrnencmg a Mission which foi its successful piosecu-
tion would demand a scale of opeiations in some measuie corn-
mensuiate with the magnitude of the undeitakmg "
It was the Wai that opened China to the Gospel We have The war
seen how in New Zealand the missionary led the way, and the china's
English colonist and soldiei followed In China the soldiei led gates
the way and the missionary followed It was on this wise The
Chinese Government, senously alaimed at the quantities of opium
now pouung into the countiy, took stnngent nieasuies to stop it
Commissionei Lin, at Canton, insisted on whole caigoes being
forfeited, and more than the value of one million pounds steilmg
was actually destioyed Angry disputes followed , and piesently
the question became one, not of opium merely, but whethei the
English would be allowed to trade with China at all Ultimately,
in 1840, open wai ensued— a wai which, on England's side, it is
haid to justify on any nghteous principle of national conduct, and
yet a wai which undoubtedly lesulted m great benefit to China
Of couise the Butish tioops were every where easily victorious
They captured the island of Ghusan , they captured Nmgpo , they
captured Amoy, they threatened Peking itself, and at length
the Chinese sued foi peace on any teims that England would
grant The principal conditions were— the cession to England of
the island of Hong Kong, the throwing open of five "tieaty
poits" to foreign tiade and residence, viz , Canton, Amoy, Fuh- First open
chow, Nmgpo, and Shanghai, and a heavy money indemnity ports
The Tieaty of Nanking, which imposed these terms, and m the
framing of which Mormon's son took an active part, was
concluded m 1842
An extiact from Loid Ashley's journal at this point will show Lord
what the feelings of many thoughtful Chustian men were at the
time \ —
"Nov 22nd, 1842 Intelligence of great successes in China, find con-
sequent peace I rejoice in peace , I lejoice that this ciuel and debasing
* He was af tot-wauls oidamod, and wai Vicai of Swansea foi thirty yeaia
\ Life of the Marl of /S/w/ftesZwy, vol i p 410
470 THE OPENING OF CHINA
PART V war is terminated , but I cannot rejoice— it may be unpatriotic, it may be
1841-48 un-Bntish— in oui successes We have triumphed m one of the most
Chap 30 lawless, unnecessary, and unfair struggles in the records of History , it
was a war on which good men could not invoke the favotu of Heaven,
and Christians have shed more Heathen blood in two years than the
Heathen have shed of Christian blood in two centuries
"Nov 25th The whole world is intoxicated with the prospect of
Chinese trade Altars to Mammon are rising on every side, and
thousands of cotton children will be sacrificed to his honour * The
peace, too, is as wicked as the war We refuse, even now, to give the
Emperor of China relief in the matter of the opium-trade "
These last words prepaie us for Lord Shaftesbury's life-long
protest against the Opium Traffic Early in the following year,
1843, Mi Samuel Gurney and Mr Fry approached him with a
view to his taking up the question m Parliament The War had
not compelled the Chinese Government to legalize the tiaffic To
do that, indeed, they positively lefused But they saw that open
resistance was impossible , and the sm of forcing the drug upon an
unwilling nation— a nation conscious of its lack of moial strength
to lesist the temptation to opium-smoking, yet conscious also of
the disastrous consequences of yielding to it— has lain heavy on
the minds of Christian men evei since What could be done?
Without entering into the details of the question, which are veiy
Lord complicated, it may suffice to quote the resolution moved by Loid
opmm °n Ashley in the House of Commons on April 4th, 1843 —
"That it is the opinion of this House that the continuance of the trade
m opium, and the monopoly of its growth in the territories of British
India, are destructive of all relations of amity between England and
China, injurious to the manufactunng interests of the country by the
very serious diminution of legitimate commerce, and utteily inconsistent
with the honour and duties of a Christian kingdom , and that steps be
taken as soon as possible, with due regard to the rights of governments
and individuals, to abolish the evil r
Timea " ^1S 9Peec^ m movmg this resolution occupied seven columns of
on'opium Z%8 Twm next day , and that paper, in a leading article, pio-
nounced it " grave, temperate, and piactical," and " fai moie
statesmanlike in its ultimate and geneial views than those by which
it was opposed " Moreover, The Times held up to scorn the chief
argument on the other side, as in essence this — that morality and
religion and the happiness of mankind were very fine things m
their way , but that we could not afford to buy them at so dear a
price as £1,200,000 a year of the Indian revenue It is clear that
on some giave questions our public instructors have not grown
wiser m half a century At the earnest request, however, of the
Premier, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Ashley did not divide the House,
being assured that the resolution would hamper the Government
in their negotiations with China on the subject, and understanding
by private communications from the Board of Trade that Govern-
* Referring to the child labour in the Lancashire cotton-mills, not yet
regulated by his Factory Acts
THE OPENING OF CHINA 471
menb were m earnest, and glad to be pushed on by the moral PABT V
influence of the debate -• But whatevei good intentions Ministers J?41^
may have indulged in at the time, nothing came of them The aP_.
Opium Tiaffic grew, and grew, until its piofit to the Indian levenue Growth of
was not one million but eight millions , and the debasement of the "
Chinese people so increased that, to meet the demand for opium,
the poppy supplanted cereals in extensive boots of country that
never before displayed what Aichdeacon Moule calls " its baneful
bloom "f
The Missionary Societies now prepared to move forward The Mkr*ions
L M S removed its Anglo-Chinese College, of which Dr Legge $
had become Piincipal, from Malacca to Hong Kong , while Med-
huist and Di Lockhait— the first medical missionary in China-
established themselves at Shanghai Other Missions were started
at Hong Kong, and also at Amoy and Ningpo The Eemale Edu-
cation Society sent a lady to Shanghai , and anothei lady, who did
a gieat woik, Miss Aldersey, settled at Ningpo At Hong Kong,
twelve missionaries met and made arrangements foi a revised
veision of the Bible, delegates being appointed foi the work In
1844 there weie thirty Piotestant missionaiies, at vanous poits
In 1846 Di Boone, of the Arnencan Episcopal Chinch, was
conseciated Bishop, and settled at Shanghai A cleigyman whose
name should ever be affectionately lemembeied by the Chmch
Missionary Society, the Rev Vincent J Stanton, went out in 1843
as Consular Chaplain at Hong Kong , and it was he who founded
St Paul's College theie He had gone to China during the war as
a voluntaiy and unattached missionary, and had been seized and
confined m chains for four months On bis release he returned to
England , and when Hong Kong became a British possession he
was appointed chaplain §
What was the Ohuich Missionary Society doing ? The opening could
of China was coincident with the seiious financial crisis which has g0in?
been befoie alluded to, and which will be inoie fully noticed in a
future chapter , and when the Tieaty of Nanking was concluded,
all the Committee could do was to put on record their deep sense
of the impoitance of the opportunity, and expiess then readiness
to ]om in taking advantage of it whenever men and means should
be forthcoming A statement to this effect was issued, to meet the
appeals that at once came fiom all paits of England, piessmg the
Society to undertake a China Mission The news ot the Treaty
reached England in November, 1842 In December the Committee
* Life o/ Lot A Shaftesbwy, vol i pp 466, 475
| Story nfthe Clieh Jfiftawj Mission, p 5
I Afterwards Professor of Chinese at Oxford
§ Mi Stanton was in after years Rector of Halesworth, and a munificent
supporter of the CMS Mrs Stanton, who was with him in China, was a
cousin of the Gurueys, Frys, Barclays, &o Their son IB now Professor of
Divinity at Cambridge The chains worn at Canton by Mr Stanton are to bo
seen at many of the Missionary Exhibitions
472 THF OPENING OF CHINA
PABT V passed then resolution on the subject In January their statement
1841-48 waa issued In March came the first token that the Lord would
c^ap answei the piayers going up from the whole CMS cucle A
The money friend feeling himself to be "less than the least," andtheiefore
mednthc caUmg himself 'KAa^tcrrorcpos instead of giving his name, sold out
£6000 Consols and handed the pioceeds to the Society as the
nucleus of a China Fund Befoie long, two cleigymen came foi-
waid to undertake the Mission the Rev Geoige Smith, of
Magdalen Hall, Oxfoid, who had been a zealous and successful
Association Secietary of the Society, and had also had a parish in
Yorkshire , and the Rev Thomas McClatchie, of Tnmty College,
Dublin, who was curate of Midsomer Norton They weie cordially
accepted, leceived their Instructions at a Valedictory Meeting on
May 29th, 1844, and sailed on June 4th for China
GmiTand Smith and McOlatchie weie instructed to visit all the five Treaty
i£ctatchie Poits, and Hong Kong, and repoifc upon then lelative advantages
for the new Mission This commission they fulfilled, and their
leports and letfceis, punted at gieat length in the G M Record, are
exceedingly interesting, especially as read m the light of the
immense development of missionaiy woik in China since then It
was only m the Ports themselves that any definite agencies could
be set on foot A tieaty obtained by the United States immediately
after the British one gave tie light, within the Ports, to build
chuiches and hospitals , but no Eiuopean could go more than half
d day's ]omney beyond the city walls, as he was obliged to be back
by nightfall But the Mandanns weie veiy courteous, and seemed
ready to pay respect to any leligious teachers At Amoy, foi
instance, the five chief Mandai ins invited all the missionaries there,
dm ing Smith's visit, to an enteitamrnent, and placed them m the
seats of honom, complimenting them on bunging a leligion tending
to the peace and harmony of mankind Euh-chow seems to have
impressed Smith moie than any other of the Poits , but there were
exceptional difficulties in the way of getting in theie Canton,
Amoy, and Hong Kong, were alieady occupied by other Missions
Shanghai and Nmgpo, therefoie— though the former was aheady
occupied,— weie leported as the most likely places McClatcHie
quickly took up his permanent residence at Shanghai , but Smith's
health failed, and he returned to England after two years' absence
The Society published his Nairative of Travel in China, which had
a laige sale, and did much to mteiest the Christian public m the
Celestial Empire t
The Committee now issued an earnest appeal for more mission-
aries, and particularly foi Univeisity men Again it pleased God
to give them the encouiagement of a speedy response Two
* Speech of the Rev G Smith at Exeter Hall, May, 1847 Missions y
Register, 1817, p 370
f A good summary of lus travels and expenences is given by Miss Headland
in her biographical sketch of him, in I?) lef Sketches of 0 M 8 Workers
(Nisbet, 1897)
THE OPENING OF CHINA 473
Dublin giaduates came forward, William Aimstiong Bussell and PART V
William Farmer They leceived some furthei theological mstruc- 1841-48
tion at Islington College, and weie ordained by the Bishop of Q}iaP 3Q
London on May 13th, 1847 In Octobei they weie admitted to
pnest's ordeis and taken leave of, and on Novembei 10th they
sailed foi China And a thud man went with them, Eobeit Hemy
Cobbold, a double-hononi man from Peteihouse, Cambridge, who
had had thiee yeais' nunisteiial expeneuce, and was cuiate of
Melton Mowbiay Pannei was to ]om McClatchie at Shanghai,
and Russell and Cobbold weie to start a new Mission at Nmgpo Russell
To have a Mission manned entnely by Univeisity men was a new c"bboid
thing foi the Society , but the mteiest aioused m China at the
time was gieat, and the Committee indulged in high hopes of
operations on an unusually extensive scale Smith's book
exercised considerable influence , and his speeches also biought
the claims of the newly-opened Enipne bcfoie mmieious
Christian circles At the Anmversaiy Mooting in 1847 he said,—
"The opening in China will absoib, foi many ycais to come, all
the matenals foi missionaiy strength and effectiveness at the
disposal of the Committee "
Two further developments of C M S woik must be noticed m
this chapter, as they just fall within the piopei limits of the
present section of our History On Pebiuary 12th, 1849, it was
announced to the Committee that the Bev Geoige Smith, the Q Smith
pioneer missionary to China above refeiicd to, had been appointed
to the now Bishopnc of Victona, Hong Kong The establishment
of this see had been stiongly inged upon the Government by Loid
Chichester and Henry Venn, and an endowment was piovided, in
the main, by the hbeiahty of an anonymous dpnoi, a fuend of the
SPG and SP OK The SPG also made a giant Venn's
influence with Aichbishop Sumner, and with the Colonial Omce,
piocuied the appointment of Geoige Smith, and he was con-
secrated ! on Whit Tuesday, May 29th, 1849, togethei with Bishop
Anderson foi Bupeit's Land — anothei new see stiongly piessed on
the attention of Government, and of the Colonial Bishopncs Fund,
by the Chmch Missionary Society Both Smith and Anderson
weie men of a true missionary spirit, and both did adnuiablo woik
We shall see nioie of them both by-and-by
The othei move foiwaid was the lesolve to stait a Mission at Fuhchow
Fuh-chow This was mgcd by Bishop Smith, and it was anangcd
to send a lemfoicement out to China with him, two membeis of
which should proceed to Fuh-chow Again, Uinvasily men weie
appealed for, and again God laised them up Anothei double-
honour Cambridge man offeied, I1 3? Gough, Scholar of St
John's, and Curate of St Luke's, Birmingham , also a Cams man, MOM men
W Welton, a qualified surgeon as well as a cleigyman, from
Suffolk, also a Dublin graduate, E T B Moncneft, Curate of
* In Cautoibnry Calhedial Roe Yol II p 313
474
THE OPENING OF CHINA.
PABT V
1841-48
Chap 30
CMS
not in the
front in
China
Achurch, Oundle Gough was instructed to join Eussell at
Ningpo, Faimei having left China invalided, and having died on the
voyage home , Monciieff was to accompany the Bishop to Hong
Kong as tutoi in St Paul's College theie, a new institution founded
by the effoits and the liberal gifts of the chaplain hefoie mentioned,
Mr Stanton , and "Welton, and an Islington man, E D Jackson,
weie appointed to Fuh-chow On November 5th, 1849, they all
sailed with the Bishop Anothei Islington man, John Hobson,
had sailed eaiher in the yeai
So the outlook was piomising But the CMS China Mission
has nevei been in the front rank of agencies in the Land of Simm
India and Africa have generally claimed the laigest places in the
Society's thoughts , and it is only quite lecently that its China
Mission has much expanded The London Missionary Society,
and the Amencan Societies, have always taken a moie important
pait in the work, and of course in later yeais the China Inland
Mission has far exceeded all otheis in the numbei of its laboureis
and the extent of its operations But the work is one , Christ's
servants are one, the spiritual Church into which so many
thousands of Chinamen have been admitted is one , the Faith in
which they have lived and died is one , the Home into which they
aie gathering is one Many legiments are at work in China , but
they aie one Airny, undei one Divine Captain
CHAPTEE XXXI
Tm
Earliest Contributions—The Associations m 1820— London and the
Provinces m 1848— Comparison with the Present Time— A Mis-
sionary-box at Sea— The Expenditure of the Half- Century— The
Financial Crisis of 1841— Plans of the Special Committee— What
are the "Talents" given to a Society?— An Income Tax for
CMS —An Appeal on Protestant Principles— Its Results
conc0wi«0 the cdledm "—1 Cor xvi 1
" It is required iw steward, tftai a mm IB found, /rt/ul "—1 Cm iv 2
T this point it seems desirable to give a brief account of PAUT V
the Society's funds during its fiist half-century, how 1841-48
they weie laised, and how they weie expended Ohap 31
In the fiist five years of the Society's existence, Early free
its funds weie derived entnely fiom what may be™Illoffer
called in the fullest sense "freewill offerings" No money m
was asked foi m the first instance , and the donations (" bene-
factions" as they were, and still are, called), with two or
three hundzed annual subscriptions, mostly the time-honoured
guinea, which came in unsought, and amounted in the five
years to a total of £2461, sufficed to pay the piehmmary
expenses and the earliest charges foi the fiist two missionaries
Indeed almost from the beginning the Committee began to invest
surplus monies, and thus to " put by foi a rainy day ", and seven
East India 10 per cent bonds of £100 each, purchased out of the
above-mentioned total, foimed the fiist leserve fund Consols
were afterwards bought , and the balance-sheet of 1807 lecoids
theieceipt of dividends " less twpei cent Piop&ty Tax " In the
spring of 1804, when two missionaries had actually sailed, a
circular was issued to fnendly clergy asking for contributions, and
particularly foi congregational collections The lesponse was First
immediate "Within a few weeks, twenty-six parishes had made
11 t 11 111 ir ir i ,
collections, either in chinch or by* personal canvass Most of
these were in small towns and villages , but St Mary's Chapel,
Birmingham (Eev B Burn), heads the list with £58, and Holy
Trinity, Cambridge (C Simeon), stands next with £50 In the
following year, Bentinck Chapel (Basil Woodd) stands first with
£240 , and this West End congregation kept the lead for many
yeais In 1804 the fiist legacy was leceived, £20, fiom a London
476 THE SOCIETY]S FINANCES
PABT V man , and on Chiistmaa Day, 1808, the fiist Sunday-school
1841-48 collection was nia.de at Matlock (Bev Philip Gell), £4 11s M
p 31 Piogiess, howevei, was slow, and £3000 in one yeai was not
Sudden reached till 1812-13 But m the following yeai, that amount was
wardf°i8i3 quadrupled, £13,200 being leceived This was due to the establish-
ment of Associations, and the journeys of Basil Woodd, Legh
Bichmond, Daniel Wilson, and otheis, all over the country, as
descubed in oui eleventh chaptei So successful weie these new
effoits, that the Income foi a time grew fastei than the Expendi-
ture, and m 1816 the Committee congratulated then friends on
the "pleasing circumstance " that the Expendituie was "keeping
pace with the Income"! It leally needed expanding woik to
effect this , foi the Income not only suddenly leaped m 1812-13
fiom £3000 to £13,000, but lose in 1817-18 to £24,000, and m
1819-20 to £30,000, thus mci easing tenfold in seven yeais
The new Let us see what the financial lesults of the new Association
ttonsf a system weie, moie m detan1 , and let us take as a specimen the
year 1819-20, when the system had been at woik seven years
The total collected in that yeai, thiough the Associations, and
excluding contubutions sent direct to the Society, was £25,000
in London, Of this amount London stands foi just one-tenth, £2500 St
John's Chapel, Bedfoid Bow (Daniel Wilson), stands fiist with
£563, then Clapharn (Dealtiy), £383, Peicy Chapel (Haldane
Stewait), £302 , Bentmck Chapel (Basil Woodd), £259 , Wheler
Chapel (Piatt and Bickersteth), £147 The fiist thiee of these
items account foi one-half of the whole sum The only parish
chuiches, besides Clapharn, that did anything substantial, were
St James's, Cleikenwell, £128, and Ghnst Chuich, Newgate
Sheet, £79 Kensington does not appeal at all, nor Marylebone ,
Paddmgbon is lepresented only by Bentmck Chapel, Islington by
a ladies' association laising £57, Harnpstead by one guinea
subscriber, and " a few childien, £2 85 Of? " South of the Thames,
except Glapham, there are only Southwaik, £172 , Konnmgton,
£58 , Bnxton, £7
m the Then, leaving London, and beginning with the Northein
0 ' Counties, we find a Newcastle Association, which comprises both
Northumbeiland and Durham, and sends £300 (Durham city
£20) , Cumbeiland contnbuting £276 (Caihsle, wheiePawcettwas,
£226), and Westmoreland £160, Kaikby Lonsdale, undei the
influence of the Carus Wilsons, standing foi £100 of this
Lancashire's total is £940, of which Manchestei supphes £452
(St James's £157, St Clement's and St Stephen's also m
front) , Liverpool £325 (St Andiew's £153, and St Maik'a £80) ,
and Preston £136 Yoikshire beats London, with its £3070, of
which £710 came from York, £553 from Hull and neighbomhood,
£542 from Leeds, £200 each fiom Sheffield and Huddersfield,
£153 from Knaresboiough, £148 from Halifax , while Dewsbuiy,
Doncastei, and Biadford follow Choslme sent £506, of which
£204 came fiom the village of Latchfoid
Tun SOCIETY^ FINANCES 477
Coming into the Midlands, we find Lmcolnsline sending £338 PART Y
(Gainsborough standing foi £121), Notts, £410 (Nottingham 1841-48
£255), Deibyshne, £720 (chiefly Deiby, Ashboume £173), Ch^31
Staffordshire, £770 (North Staff , £300 , Tamworth £260) , Shiop- lnthe Mid
shire, where John Langley was at work, £622 (Wellington £127, l£ind8'
and Madeley £117 , the rest chiefly Shiewsbury) , Herefordshne,
£379, Worcesteishne, £342 (Woicestei £114, and Bewdley
£93) , Warwickshire, £894 (Biimmgham £636 , Coventry £120) ,
Leicesteishne, £827 (due to Vaughan's influence) , Rutland, £38 ,
Noithamptonshne, £430 (Cieaton £173) , Gloucestershue, without
Bustol, £840 (North-east Forest of Dean Association, £190,
Campden £113) , Oxfordshue, £118 , Berks, £368, Bucks, £210,
Herts, £13 , Beds, £107
In the East, thoie aie Norfolk, £776 (chiefly Norwich, but Lynn in the East
and Wyrnondham contributing), Suffolk, £443, Cambndgeshne, andSouth
£276, Essex, £570 (Colchestei leading) In the South, Kent
stands for £303, but of this £187 is from Blackheath , Stiirey (not
including Clapham, &c ) for £350, of which £81 is from Rich-
mond , Sussex foi only £167 (mostly Cmchester and Hastings) ,
Hants foi £510, more than half of it fiom the Channel Islands,
but Poitsea stands foi £93, Doiset for £353, Wilts for £71,
Someiset for £754 (Bath £334, Yeovil £187) , Devon foi £477
(Devonpoit £140, Teignmouth £92) , Cornwall foi £195 Bustol,
reckoned always as a separate county, heads all other Associations
with £1755 Hunts and Monmouthshire do not appear at all
Wales sends £247, of which £152 is fiom Glasburv The in Wales,
Edinburgh Association stands foi £300, and Ireland for tneiound irce°iandd'
figuie of £2000, evidently the sum i emitted within the year, but
not necessarily corresponding exactly with the amount collected
The Isle of Man is down for £5
It will be seen that the gieat wateiing-place Associations are NO great
conspicuous by their absence Theie aie no Bnghton 01 Worthing JJJJcea"*"
or Eastbourne , no Bambgate 01 Margate or Dover or Folkestone ,
no Southsea or Sandown or Bouinemouth, no Ilfracombe or
Weston-supei-Mare , no Southport or Blackpool , no Scaiborough
or Ciomer, no Hanogate 01 Leamington or Timbndge Wells
Bath, Cheltenham, Torquay, Teignmouth, and Hastings, seem the
only representatives m the list of this fuutful class of contributing
towns, though Clifton was an important pait of the, Bristol
Association
Coming foiwaid into subsequent years, we find the Associations The ABSO-
growmg, but somewhat mteimittently Between 1824 and 1834,
they wont up and down between £35,000 and £45,000 In the Pentjd
year of the Queen's Accession they reached £61,000, and m the
'forties they averaged about £75,000 Let us take the yeai before
the Jubilee, 1847-8, and again examine the details
In that year, London—which was defined as within five
miles of St Paul's— still kept its place as coutnbuting (though
478 THE SOCIETY^ FINANCES
PART V Associations) about one-tenth of the Association income, £7200
1841-48 There was then a City of London Auxiliary, which had been
Chapel foimdefl m 184Q at a meeting at the Mansion House, summoned
City by the Loid Mayor in response to a lequisition signed by seven
Auxiliary hundied citizens When its first annual meeting was held, again
at the Mansion House, on November 2nd, 1841, it was found
that £1700 had been laised by it in the yeai On this occasion,
Bishop Blomfield, who had just joined the Society, and Bishop
Selwyn, who had just beenconseciated,f were among the speakeis
The contributions, howevei, did not keep up at that level, and in
the year we aie now leviewing, 1847-8, the amount was only
£434 But this consisted mainly of a gieat many guinea sub-
scriptions fiom City films, which, evidently, weie regularly
canvassed
London Among the other metropolitan Associations, the most con-
spicuous feature is the rise of Islington, which, with only seven
chinches, stands foi £1500, St James's being first, as it has
been ever since The other chief figuies aie, Clapham, £528,
Chelsea (three chuiches), £534, St John's Chapel, Bedford Eow,
£478, Noith-Bast London, £406, Cambei well, £886, Eampstead,
£373, St Geoige's, Bloomsbury, £325 Kensington is again
conspicuous by its absence Padington— Bentmck Chapel having
disappeared— is only lepresented by Bayswatei Chapel (the pie-
Thepro cuisor of the piesent St Matthew's), £130 Proprietary chapels
etuflSi Qae s^ (DalLin£ Islington, Clapharn, and Bloomsbury) the
ape s centres of evangelical life Besides those above-mentioned:, we
find Chailotte Chapel, Pimlico, Paik Chapel, Chelsea, Christ
Chapel, Moida Hill, Chapel of Ease, Islington, Pentonville
Chapel, Gray's Inn Road Episcopal Chapel, St John's Chapel,
Hampstead, Barn's Chapel, Homeiton, Lock Chapel, Eaton
Chapel, Belgrave Chapel, Peicy Chapol, Long Acre Chapel,
Bridewell Chapel, Fitzroy Chapel, St James's Chapol, Maryle-
bone, Holland Chapel, Bnxton, Camden Chapel, Camberwell,
Stockwell Chapel, Carlisle Chapel, Kennmgton, St Mary's
Chapel, Lambeth A few of these still exist, but most of them
have long since been replaced by conseciated chuiches But m
1847-8, there were collections foi the Society in only twenty-two
regular churches, mostly of very small amounts The cleigy of
London whose congregations did the most were, Baptist Noel at
St John's, Bedford Eow, Montagu Yilhers at Bloomsbury,
Sinalloy at Bayswater, Iftsk at Maida Hill, Griffith at Eomerton,
E Montgomery at Peioy Chapel, Daniel Mooie at Camden
Chapel, Jowett at Clapham , D Wilson, Hambleton, Mackenzie,
Sandys, and E Hoare, at Islington, Cadman, Niven, and
Burgess at Chelsea
The Proceeding into the Provinces, we find Yorkshne easily fiist,
counties ^ jgggQQ^ and Lancashire next with £6575 No other county
* Soe p 396 f Soe p 416
THE SOCIETY^ FINANCES 479
exceeds £3000 Between £2000 and £3000 we find, in older, PART "V
Somerset, Sussex, Stafford, Wai wick, Suffolk, Kent, Hants 3841-48
Between £1500 and £2000 are Norfolk, Gloucester, Cheshire, ohaP 31
Suney, Bristol, Lincoln, Devon Between £1000 and £1500,
Dei by, Essex, Notts, Leicester, Shropshire, Woicestei Between
£800 and £1000, Durham, Dorset, Cambudge, Wilts, Beiks,
Heifcs, Noithampton, Middlesex (outside London) Between
£500 and £700, Oxfoid, Bucks, Cumberland, Northurnbeiland,
Hunts, Cornwall Below £500, Herefoid, Monmouth, Beds,
Westmorland, Isle of Man, Butland Wales stands foi £1542 ,
Scotland foi £643 , Ireland for £1300
One cannot compare these figures with those of the present The» and
time without being stiuck by the i datively gieat advance in later
years of the Southern Counties, especially those neai London, in
comparison with that of the North Taking the two ecclesiastical
Piovmces of Canteibury and York, we find that the foimei,
although hampered by the slow progiess of some midland
counties, has increased by about 155 pei cent , while the latter
has increased by only about eighty-five per cent Yorkshire
in paiticulai has increased by only thirty-four per cent In
1847-8 Yorkshne contnbuted neaily twelve per cent of the
whole, now, only seven per cent Great towns like Hull and
Huddersfield have actually gone back On the other hand,
Middlesex, Herts, Essex, Kent, Suney, Sussex, Hants, which
m 1847-8 contributed togethei twenty-five per cent of the
whole, now contribute thirty-six per cent Ii eland has multi-
plied its contnbution by twelve it then gave one and two-
thuds pei cent , now it gives eight and a half per cent This
is the most striking feature of all in the compauson Next to ib
is the use of the watering-places as contributor The five
watei ing-places (not reckoning Clifton) mentioned above as con-
tributing m 1819-20 sent then together £600 The same five, m
1847-8, sent £2900, and thirteen of the others mentioned sent
£2800, Brighton leading with £1335 The five, in 1896-7, sent
£6000, and the thirteen £14,000 , while Bournemouth, Southsea,
Sandown, Worthing, Folkestone, Blackpool, which do not appear
m 1847-8, added £4000 in 1896-7, making a total of £24,000 from
twenty-four watering-places, 01 ]ust twelve pei cent of the whole
Association Income But a leference to the present day is
scaicely relevant m this ohaptei
Begular Parochial Associations under the cleigy were much ^leBt^ods of
more common in 1848 than in 1820 The old non-parochial funds
Ladies' Associations for a whole town, howevei, were still
numerous, and did a laige part of the best work Organized
Juvenile Associations raiely appear in the lists, and the Lanca-
shue Sunday-schools are not so prominent as in subsequent
years Sales of woik also are few , but one at Yoik, m 1839,
realized £1000, including a gift of £10 from Queen-Dowagei
Adelaide A much laiger piopoition of the contributions in most
480 THE SOCIMTY^S FINANCES
PART V Paushes seems to have come fiom oidmary guinea subscuptionsi
1841-48 That is to say, othei sources of income had not been much
Chapel cuitivated, while this one was well woiked by the lady collectors
Penny-a-week collections, also, fiom house to house, weie then a
common method of laismg money
The Association Income in those days was a moie important
element in the Society's Funds even than it is now Instead of
pioviding thiee-fifths 01 two-thnds of the total as at present, it
piovided foui -fifths 01 even five-sixths Benefactions and sub-
scriptions paid dnect to headquarters supplied about one-tenth
of the whole, and legacies not moie than one-twentieth But
on two occasions laige legacies weie received In 1835, Mr
Legacies Cock, of Golchcstei, bequeathed his estate to various institutions,
and the Society's shaie leahzed over £5000 , and in 1846 a legacy
fiom Mr John Scott realized over £7000 Apart fiom the lattei,
the aveiage from this souice in the 'forties was under £4000
The missionary-box was fiom a very eaily period an impoitant
means of collecting small sums Some pleasant incidents of zeal
and self-denial in connexion with boxes are lecoidod fiom time
to time One incident, of a different kind, should bo recoided
A mission- Biuing the shoit war with the United States in 1812-14, an
saveB°a Amencan pnvateer captured a small Welsh colliei m the lush
8hiP Channel The captain of the pnvateei, noticing in the cabin a
skange little box with a sht in it, asked what it was " Ah 1 "
leplied the Welshman, " I and my pool fellows diop a penny
apiece into that box every Sunday, to help to send missionaries
to the Heathen " " Indeed," exclaimed the American, "that's a
good thing ! " A brief pause ensued, and then the victor suddenly
said, " I won't touch yoiu vessel, nor a hau of yoiu heads " , and,
summoning his men, he returned to his own ship, leaving the
colliei with the missionary -box to go its own way fiee ' "
views of In Henry Venn's Private Journal, theie is an account of the
•tiSn°secre- Annual Conference of the Society's Association Secretaiies in
January, 1850, shortly after the Jubilee The unanimous judg-
ment of tho Association Secietanos was " that the Society's
Income might be sustained at its present point, but that thore
was no piospect of increase " Has theie ever been an Annual
Conference at which the sanio opinion has not been expi eased ?1
And yet — I
We must now turn to the Society's Expenditure A glimpse of
the way m which tho early funds wore spent on the first mis-
sionanes going to West Afnca was given in the curious entries
quoted in oui Eighth Chapter j Tho sudden mci case m the Income
m 1813, and its lapid growth for seveial yeais afteiwaids, duo to
* Hwstoncwj/ Register, 1814, p 514
\ Until 1898 In January, 1898, tho Reports of tho Association Secretaries
marked by a hopeful tone qmto different from that of previous years
Soe p 87
THE SOCIETY'S FINANCES
the establishment of the Associations, enabled the Society to PABT Y
start and develop the Missions m India, Ceylon, the Mediter-
ranean, and New Zealand The India Missions soon accounted
for a third, or two-fifths, of the whole foreign Expenditure , indeed,
of the whole £1,500,000 spent (exclusive of local funds) in the dlture
mission-field in the Society's fiist half -century, India and Ceylon
togethei absoibed ]ust one-half The cost of the Hew Zealand
Mission also became heavy, exceeding £16,000 m 1839 In the
same yeai the West Indies work cost £19,000, but towaids this
the Government gianted £2000 for schools The cheapest of all
the Missions (except the tentative efforts in South Africa and
Austialia) was that in Bupert's Land, its cost at that same date
not exceeding £1000
Of each pound steilmg of the total Bxpendituie of the fiist
half-centmy, about 14s 45 was mcuried diiectly foi the Missions ,
Is M foi disabled missionaries, caie of childien, &c , Is Id foi
training of missionaries , and 2s 11^ foi home charges propei,
including collection of funds, publications, and admmistiatioia It
ought, indeed, to be borne in mind that "Publications" then
included tianslations and linguistic works , but even allowing foi
this, the peicentage of home expendituie was consideiably higher
than at piesent
The expenditure on reports and periodicals was very high in the Cost of
'forties The Arinual Eepoit cost on an aveiage nearly £1300 a Sons0*"
yeai, or two-thnds what it does now, although it was not half
its present size, and the circulation many thousands of copies less
The periodicals •• averaged £2500 a year in cost, of which about
£150 was got back m sales The conesponding periodicals now
cost over £5000, but almost the whole of this comes back in sales
The average numbei of papers circulated m the 'forties was about
a million a yeai, chiefly small papers, and the nett cost (ex-
cluding Annual Keports) was neaily £3000 a year The number
now is foui or five million, neaily half of it substantial magazines,
and the nett cost is £2500
For many yeais fiom 1813 onward, the Income so much ex-
ceeded the Bxpendituie that substantial amounts were invested invested
m Government secunties, and foimed a useful woibng capital funds
In the later 'twenties, the expansion of some of the Missions—
especially in India, wheie the Conesponding Committees kept
di awing on the Society beyond the amounts sanctioned, — and the
establishment of the College at Islington, encioached laigely on
this leserve, and in 1830 a Committee of Investigation was ap-
ppmted, which led to some economies, and to the starting of a
Fund foi Sick and Disabled Missionaries, as by tins time the
buiden of providing for them was pressing on the Society At
the same time, however, it was found necessaiy to mciease the
Expenditure on Home Organization with a view to extending the
* Boo Chapter .XXXV
VOL I 11
482 THE SOCIETY'S FINANCES
PAET V Associations and so raising largei funds The effoit was success -
1841-48 M j and m 1836 the Society had £30,000 invested m Government
GhaP 31 stocks, while the Committee weie largely mcieasmg its responsi-
bilities in India and New Zealand, undertaking extensive work in
the West Indies, and planning the shoit-hved Australia and South
Africa Missions The result, especially of the West Indies Mis-
sion, was speedy financial embarrassment , and this culminated
The great in a seiious crisis m 1841-2, the very year of the adhesion of the
SjSi °f Bishops and of Henry Yenn becoming Secietary On March 31st,
1842, the Society had not only used the whole of its leserve, but
had had to obtain loans from mernbeis of the Committee to the
extent of £11,500, while considerable debts were due to trades-
men There was the Disabled Missionaries' Fund, then £17,000,
which could not be touched , and there weie the College piemises
that was all— for even the House in Salisbury Square was only
lented
The Appendix to the Beport of that year contains valuable
leports from successive sub-committees appointed to investigate
Special an^ considei the whole position The last of these sub-com-
Committee niittees consisted of four influential bankers not actively engaged
in the Society's administration, viz , Sir Waltei E Farquhar, the
Hon Arthur Kinnaird (afterwards Lord Kmnaird), Mr H Sykes
Thornton, and the Society's Treasuiei, Mr John Thornton
Drastic Very drastic measures weie proposed, and adopted by the Com-
proposa & m^Q geverai Missions were to be given up, including all those
m the Mediterranean and the West Indies, the smaller work m
Australia and South Africa, and North-West America, and by
this means £22,000 a year was to be saved Then, no new
missionaries weie to be sent out, except to fill vacancies in the
Missions to be maintained, and no new students to be admitted
to Islington, except, in like manner, to fill vacancies Then, all
legacies, and all benefactions over £5, were to be applied to the
payment of the debt, and to forming giadually a capital fund of
£30,000 To this end, also special contubutions weie invited,
and Lord Bexley, the forrnei Chancellor of the Exchequei, to
whose suggestion this plan was due, started the fund with a
donation of £100 Finally a Finance Committee was to be
appointed, without whose sanction no expense of any kind was to
be incurred But in one dnection, the expenditure was to be in-
creased The Home Organization was again to be extended,
That, the Committee knew, was spending a little to pioduce
much
£nbeCS!-s *n *k0 course of these reports, some important principles are
served laid down Fust, that buildings foi public worship in the
Colonies, eg in Sierra Leone, ought to be provided by the
Response Government " This obhgation, indeed," say the Sub-Committee,
Govern- "nas keen uniformly acknowledged by successive Colonial
meat, Secietaries, but they have not hitherto fulfilled the obligation "
Like the son who said to his father, "I go, sir," and went not
THL SOCIETY* s FINANCES 483
A modern Colonial Secietary would be more likely to lesemble PAST V
the o-thei son, who said, " I will not " , and it would be surpnsmg 184M8
indeed if he " afterward lepented " Secondly, " It is obligatory *•
on a Chustian Government to take measmes for the endowment.
and establishment of a Native Chuieh " The recital of this
pimciple and the preceding one significantly illustrates the change
of feeling in half a century Then, thirdly, the local contribu- of friends
tions of friends in India and elsewhere ought to provide all a road>
buildings, such as churches, schools, and other institutions, and
the repairs of them, — except what might be done by Government ,
and also maintain all orphans and other children in boarding-
schools, — the Society's funds being only drawn upon for the
maintenance of " seminaries," i e divinity schools and other
institutions foi tiaimng native agents This is a principle of more
permanent value, though it is acted upon now less regulaily
than m those days Fourthly, in. these reports we find the first of Native
clear enunciation of the principle of the self-support of Native Chri8tian8
Churches —
"All missionary operations should, from the first, contain within
themselves the germ of the self-supporting principle Native con-
verts should be habituated to the idea that the support of a Native
Ministry must eventually fall upon themselves , as, in their heathen
state, they have been accustomed to bear the expense of heathen minis-
trations It is not meant that Native converts should contribute
toward the maintenance of European agents , but it may be reasonably
expected that they should, from the first, bear some portion, however
small, of the necessary expenses of Native ministrations, and of the
Christian education of their children
" The Society would be thus effectually preparing the way for the
transf ei of such Native Christian congregations to the regular Ecclesias-
tical Establishment , and leaving itself at liberty to go forwaid in the
work of breaking up the fallow-giound of Heathenism, which, is the
peculiar province of a missionary society "
Once more, fifthly, a principle that has often been set forth is
very well expi eased by the four bankers ,—
" It appears to us that the golden rule and principle of restricting Relation of
expenditure within income, equally applicable to communities and to
Tifi i> i T *• i i ii „ i i tun, to
mdividuals, ought, m a religious society, to obtain in a far higher
degree, inasmuch as its aim and end aie sacred It is called upon,
indeed, to occupy diligently with the talents committed to it , but not
to aim at occupying with more talents than Q-od in His wisdom has been
pleased to dispense and therefore it is our full persuasion that the
Divine Blessing cannot be expected without a nrm adherence to this
sacred principle "
Yes, admirably stated , yet two things are forgotten One is But what
that the " talents" which God gives a missionary society are, not
the money, but the men , and if He sends the men— not other-
wise—it is only reasonable to believe that He will send the
money for their support Our responsibility lies in taking
measures to secure that the men accepted are truly sent by Him
I i 2
484 THE Sac/en's
PABT V Then again, even if the Society's income be taken as the
1841-48 "talent,'1 it is not a fixed amount It is not like a dividend on
ChapjJl m mYestment, which can be counted on It is impossible to
know what the year's Income will be till the year is finished
Therefore, the only possible way of observing the rule laid down
m the words quoted would be to incur no expenditure till a whole
year's income is in hand, and then to regulate it accordingly
Apiam ijke four ba.^^ recommended that the Society's expenditure
be limited to £85,000 , but how could they tell that £85,000 would
be received ? All depended upon God inclining the hearts of His
psople to give , and why should it be supposed that He would do
this to the extent of £85,000, neither more nor less ? In fact the
pimciple laid down is in the highest degiee excellent , but it is
usually applied, and was applied by them, m a way that involves
fallacies which aie quite obvious when faiily looked at
In then own Annual Report, the Committee, while accepting
An appeal^ the pioposals made to them, appealed eainestly for fresh support
testant" to enable them at the same time to go forward in Africa and
principles jj^ ^nd they based their appeal distinctly upon their Evan-
gelical principles, thus showing that the Society's new eccle-
siastical position was not to involve any compromise of them —
" Let not this appeal of the Committee be mistaken Let it not be
supposed that it is on gold, or silver, or patronage, that they found
their hopes of success God forbid 1 It is the faithful, plain, and full
maintenance of those ^reat principles of the truth as it is m Jesus, by
all the agents and missionaries of this Society, without compromise and
without resei ve— it is the sustentation of that Scuptural, Protestant, and
Evangelical tone throughout all their ministrations— it is the upholding
of the Bible, and the Bible alone, as the foundation and rule of faith—
upon which the blessing of God has rested, does rest, and ever will rest "
Never before had the Committee spoken so plainly They were
Henry Yenn's sentences, in the first Report that he wrote With
this unmistakable language did the man who had been the chief
instrument in bringing the Society and the Bishops together
mark his accession to office
Striking At the Annual Meeting, J W Cunningham was commissioned to
speak on the financial position, and an admirable speech he dehveied
What would be thought, he asked, of the Committee being locked
up m the King's Bench (i e m the debtois' prison at that time) for
spending too much, not on themselves, but on the salvation of the
woild 1 One of his suggestions is interesting That was the year
when Sir Robert Peel first imposed the Income Tax, sevenpencem
the pound " "When we first heaid of it," said Cunningham, " we
were all confounded , and people began to look anxiously at their
account-books But we have been able to accommodate ourselves
to our circumstances We don't like it, but our faces aie not
now 8° l°nS about it as they were Well, what the Society
,/. ° . n T\ T» i ni .in
Tax for wants from you is an mcm&-tax, Sir R Peel says Id in the £
c M Si will produce £4,000,000, Now supposing every one of us, as we
THE SOCIETY'S FINANCES 485
have gradually made up our minds to the 7d m the £, weie only PART V
to add anotkei halfpenny in the pound for mmwna,} y objects % "
It does not appear that this suggestion was adopted 1 But
the Committee' s general appeal was not in vain When May, 1843, The
came lound, they had to repoit the receipt of the largest income
evei, up to that time, received by any religious society, £115,000
All the debt except £1000 had been paid off, a good beginning had
been made in the foimation of a capital fund , the special gift of
£6000 Consols had been made to begin a Mission in China , and
although laige reductions had been effected, as lecornmended, in
some of the Missions, there was good hope of being able to
continue some of the Mediterranean stations, and Butish Guiana,
and North-West Amenca The Repoit began— an unusual thing
in those days—with a text " The Lord hath done great things
for us, wheieof we are glad " And the Committee thus refeued
to their declaiation of pimciples a yeai before —
" Taking then stand upon the Protestant and Evangelical principles
by winch the Society had ever regulated its course, [the Committee]
awaited the result of the tual whethei a Society, cleaving humbly but
faithfully to these pimciples, would be rescued from its peril, 01 be
allowed to sink undei pecuniary embanaBsmeuts "
And again, m 1844 —
" Upon those principles the Committee took tliou stand in a season
of jeopaidy , upon these pimciples they made then appeal foi special
assistance , and to these principles, under God, they owe their pieseut
prosperity Therefore they regard themselves aa bound, by new and
most cogent obligations, to guard with the utmost vigilance against all
sunenclei or compromise of punciple throughout the various ramifica-
tions of then* widely-extended agency that as fai as human means can
provide, the Gospel preached may not be ' another Gospel/ but the very
Gospel of the grace of God, published m and by the open volume of in-
spiration , such as the Reforming Fathers of our beloved Church exhibited
in then lives, illustrated in their writings, and testified with then blood "
Duiing the foui or five succeeding years, the Income varied aa
usual , but the general improvement in the financial position was
maintained, and in 1847 the Capital Fund had reached £30,000, the
new Special China Fund had leceived £15,000 , and theie was no
deficit " Amidst the many special mercies," said the Committee
m then Jubilee Statement, "which mark the history of the
Society, this providential lelease fiom senous financial embarrass-
ment is not the least remarkable " And similar experiences have
attended the later history, as we shall see Again and again have in later
pecuniary difficulties been encountered Again and again have years
the Committee "asked the Loid, and told His people" Their
faith has often been severely tried But God's faithfulness has
never failed Just in so far as we have been able to trust Him,
m that piopoition have all our needs been supplied
CHAPTER XXXII
3mm
Europe and England in 1848— Survey of the Half- Century's Work-
Jubilee Tracts— Jubilee Services and Gatherings— The Great
Meeting Lord Chichester, Sir R Inghs, Bishop Wilberforce,
Cunningham, Bickersteth, Hoare— Observances in the Provinces
and in the Mission-Field— Death of H W Fox— The Fox Sermon
at Rugby— The Jubilee Fund— The Queen becomes a Life
Governor— Fox's Jubilee Hymn
11 Ye Bldl hallow tie Jiftwtft year tf sM l& o> juMo unto you"—
Lev xxv 10
" Qpiaw the Loid foi Ei& flww/ttZ fonttos IB &LBT more awi more
fouwft iw "-ft cxvii 1, 2 (P B V )
V IPRWP^ Eldest was the first announcement of the advent
1841-48 Au[4| of ti16 Society's Jubilee Year It would almost seem
Chap 32 RkW^II as if its approach had been unexpected We have
The — [y|]mi before seen that for at least forty years after the
jubilee not ^^^^ Society was founded, the real date of its foundation
was not generally recognized The Eeport presented at the May
Anmversaiy of 1847 is called the Bepoit " foi the Foity-Seventh
Year" Duimg the next twelve months, however, the truth
seems to have dawned upon the mind of Salisbury Squaie, for
the next Report, presented May, 1848, appeared with no cone-
spondmg figure, "for the -- Year," but opened with the
following paragraph, intimating, in the quietest and most un-
exciting language, that the year juat closed was not the Forty-
Eighth, but the Foifcy-Nmth, and that therefoie the Jubilee Year
was now commencing —
tt The present is the Forty-eighth occasion on which the Committee of
the Church Missionary Society have met their constituents to render an
account of their trust But as the Society was instituted on the 12th of
April, 1799, and as the first Public Meetmg was deferred till the close
01 the second year from the formation of the Society, there is a very
special mteiest attached to this epoch, as the commencement of the
Jubilee an- Fiftieth Year of the Society's existence—the year of Jubilee according to
flounced ^e reo]j0mng Of a j)ivme ordinance under the old Law "
The chairman at the Anniversary Meeting at which this
announcement was read was not the President, Lord Chichester,
but the new Archbishop of Canteibury, John Bird Sumner, who
THE JUBILEE 487
had only succeeded to the Primacy a few weeks before It was a PABT Y
happy augury for the Society that its Jubilee Year should 1841-48
commence under the auspices of one whose piesence, as the P 92
Eeport proceeded to say, "combined the encouragement of a
long-standing attachment to our principles with the sanction of
the highest ecclesiastical authority "
The last of the four Eesolutions submitted and adopted that
day, which was moved by Fiancis Close and seconded by Edwaid
Bickersteth, stated that a review of the Society's fifty years'
history presented "both a pressing call and a fitting occasion
for prayer and praise," and instructed the Committee to anange
plans for suitably commemoiatmg the Jubilee
The speeches at the Meeting, however, were largely inspired |fcfc of
by other considerations For the Society, which had sprung into thelSvo-
existence m almost the daikest period of modern history, was lutlon8
attaining its Jubilee when Euiope was once moie in the thioes of
revolution The sudden overthrow of Louis Philippe, his flight
from Paris, and the proclamation of the Eiench Bepublic, in the
February of that year, had let loose the spirit and the foices of
anaichy all over the Continent Several of the great capitals
were m the hands of revolutionary mobs , empeiors and kings had
abdicated , Borne had risen against the Pope Men's heaits were
failing them for feai, and for looking after those things that seemed
to be coming on the earth, and many students of unfulfilled
prophecy announced that "the great tribulation " was at hand
England, almost alone, remained at peace, Queen Victoria's
throne, almost alone, remained unshaken Yet there weie grave
causes of anxiety at home Ii eland, which had lost one-fourth Perils at
of its population, by death or ermgiation, in and after the terrible home
potato famine of 1846, was seething with discontent , and a fatuous Irish
insurrection bioke out under Smith O'Buen, only, however, to be fcmine
speedily suppressed In England itself, the Chartist agitation chartist
suddenly came to a head, and terrified the nation Two hundied asltatl°a
thousand citizens of London were enrolled as special constables ^
to protect the city on the dreaded 10th of April , and the Duke of The ioth of
Wellington kept large bodies of troops ready, but wisely hidden Ap ' l848
from the public view The day, howevei, passed quietly, the
gigantic procession that was to storm Parliament melted away ,
the Chartist petition reached the House of Commons in a cab ,
and nothing more was ever heard of the movement After all,
the Chartist demands do not now seem so dreadful Some of
them— notably voting by ballot—have long since become the law
of the land But the alarm at the time was genuine, and in
view of the condition of the Continent, reasonable And when
three weeks after that memorable 10th of April, the CMS
Anniversary was held, it was natural that God's infinite and
distinguishing mercy to the Bealm and Nation of England
* Among 'whom weio the students m the C M College
488 THE.JUBUEE
PAET Y should be uppeimost in men's thoughts Indeed a deep sense
of solemn thankfulness peivaded the May Meetings of the year
geneially Loid Ashley mote m his diary —
Meetinn " The speeches have "been altogether of a deep and feeling character
well suited to the tunes we live in The efiect of this month of May,
with all its attendant ceremonies, is indescribably beneficial it is a
species of salt, and preserves, by the purification of the atmosphere,
even those who do not come m contact with it " *
"To some," mote Edwaid Bickersteth at the time, in a tract
to be mentioned separately, " it might appear as if the present
shaking of all the kingdoms of Etuope, and the vast troubles of
eveiy kind, social and commercial, of famine, and of appioachmg
cholera, | lendered this an inexpedient time foi enlarged mis-
sionary exeitions A Scriptural judgment leads to an opposite
conclusion ' famine, pestilence, and eaithquakes m diveis places,'
maik the very time when the ' Gospel of the kingdom ' shall be
' preached for a witness to all nations ' When God's judgments
are abroad in the earth, is the time when the inhabitants of the
world shall learn righteousness" And he goes on to exhort
Christians to tuin from " the intense political excitement of this
remarkable time to the more hidden and spiutual comse of mis-
sionary labour," reminding them of Elijah's experience at Horeb
"After the " It was only when the wild tumult of the elements had passed
Small 8tU away that Elijah had communion with his God, and a fiesh
voice " commission from Him It was then that the ( still small voice '
sounded "
caches koid ^nicnes^e1' too> m nis sP6eon ^ the C M S Anniversary,
ter's ea" lef erred both to the troubles of the time and to the Jubilee —
speech
"We know that when the stoim anses— when the vessel is threatened
by danger, when tho hoaits of the ciew are failing them for fear, they
must come unto the Lout m their tiouble, foi He alone can deliver them
from the hour of their distress But though it is to Him that \vo must
alone look, we may derive comfoit under such circumstances, when we
know that whothei it ism the State 01 in tho Ohuich theie are cool
heads and brave heaits at the helm, and many bended knees amongst
the company of the ship
" We aie now commencing our Jubilee Year There is something to
me peculiarly beautiful and touching in that ancient institution of the
old dispensation There is something peculiarly grateful in the manner
in which Almighty God commanded that jubilee to be observed It was
pioclaimod, as you know, m the day of the Atonement, and the celebra-
tion of it was a celebration pmely of an Evangelical charactei And
when He who was the gioat antitype of all those great and merciful
institutions came into the woild, He was said to be anointed to preach
glad tidings to the meek and lowly of heart, to bring comfort to the
spirit-broken and oppressed, and liberty to the captive, and to open the
prison doors of those who were bound Oh 1 that you, my Christian
* Life of the Earl of Slwftesburj/) vol 11 p 250
f In the following year vrfts the second great visitation of cholera m
England
THE JUBILEE 480
fi if nds, might, in tins our Jubilee Year, manifest more of that Evan- PART V
gehcal spirit that desires to lighten all burdens, to bieak every yoke, and 1841-48
to deliver some of those captives in Afuca and Asia, who aie still Chap 32
groaning in the chains of darkness, and bring them to know the Savioui
whose ' yoke is easy, and whose burden is light I ' "
" Libeity, Equality, and Fiateinity " was the cry of the Conti-
nental i evolutional les , but they knew nothing of the liberty with
which Christ makes His people free, nothing of the equality
which lejoices that " the same Loid over all is rich unto all that
call upon Him," nothing of the fiateimty involved in union with
the One Elder Bi other undei the One Father But in these tiuer
senses "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" was the message of
the Chinch, and of the Chuich Missionaiy Society This then
was the very time to proclaim it
The Society had now, foi the fiist time, to take a systematic
leview of its past history, and m due course Henry Venn
produced a valuable summary of it, under the title of the Jubilee Review of
Statement, which occupies ninety pages of the Jubilee Volume
The lesults it lecoids seem small now, but they must be
judged from the point of view of 1848, and with due legaid to
the whole cnciunstances of the fifty years, and then they aie seen
to justify to the utmost the profound thankfulness expi eased in
the Statement The Society had sent out fioin Euiope 350 mis-
sionaries , v but the effectiveness of this band was not lepiesented
by the figuie 350 No less than 83 had died, aftei an average
service of six yeais, 140 had retired, chiefly fiom failuie of
health, with an average service also of six years, and the
remaining 127 still on the staff had not yet attained an average of
ton yeais' service With tins foice, 102 Mission stations had
been established, in Afuca, Asia, America, and Austialasia, 1300
Native teachers and evangelists had been tiamed foi work among
their fellow-countrymen, and twelve of them had received holy
orders , 13,000 communicants could now be icckoned, " gatheied,"
says the Statement, " from the highways and hedges of the woild,
but mtioduced as guests to the rnamage feast,— beside the laige
number who had departed in Christ, and been admitted into tho
immediate piesence of the Lord of the feast above1' , and probably
100,000 soula were undei Christian instruction
*' If we pause," continues the Statement, " to consider the infinite The real
benefits bestowed upon each soul bi ought out of darkness into light— reaults
the sources of misery closed— the sources of life and happiness opened,
—then the statistics of 0111 Missions, the leport of tons of thousands
biought to acknowledge Christ, and of thousands becoming intelligent
partakers of His Holy Sacraments, will reveal such a rich treasury of
spiritual and etemal benefits, that to have borne the humblest part in
communicating them will be esteemed a high honour, and an abundant
ground of praise and thanksgiving "
* The immbur on the loll to the date of tho Jubiloo Mooting is 387, but
this nuJudoJ some who had joined m tho mission Hold
490 THE JUBILEE
A survey of the mission-field itself was still more encouraging
^^e ^ommi^ee>s preliminary Circular, issued m anticipation of
the Statement, draws the following striking contrast between past
survey of and present —
' " We may contrast the facilities for carrying out the design of the
Society m its early days with those which now exist Then, all Europe
was at war with England , India was virtually harred against mission-
aries , New Zealand was shunned for its inhuman cruelties , the Medi-
terranean Sea was occupied by hostile fleets and armaments , in the
West Indies, the minds of the degraded Negro race were crushed with
their bodies One spot, the colony of Sierra Leone, invited by its
openness, but repelled by its insalubrity, the benevolent enterprise of
the Fathers of the Church Missionary Society
" Contrast, with these recollections, the present openness of the whole
world to Missionary enterprise— the easiness of access— the frequency of
communication— India not only welcoming the arrival of Missionaries,
but reproaching our slackness in not sending more The fiagrance of
the first-fruits gathered on her soil, and already waved as a wave-
offering befoie the Lord, invites us to reap the abundant harvest New
Zealand has been won by Missionaries to the Crown of England and to
the visible Church of Chust The West Indies, having anticipated their
Jubilee, permit us to withdraw our forces to conquer new countries
From all parts of the world invitations arrive, which the Society is
compelled to decline "
and of the The Statement itself leviews the fields of labour one by one
wor In Sierra Leone, the work for the rescued slaves had resulted m
ten thousand souls, once degraded beyond conception, in regular
attendance on public worship A promising Mission had been
begun m the Yoruba country , and on the East Coast of Afnca
two intrepid pioneers weie discovering now territories and reducing
new languages to writing In the Mediterranean, the Society's
efforts foi the enlightenment of the Eastern Churches had not
been successful , but there were still three 01 four labouiers at
Smyrna and Caiio, and a C M S missionary (Gobat) had become
Anglican Bishop at Joiusalem In India, Tmneveuy and Krish-
nagar had yielded nch fruit , Travancore was becoming promising ,
at Calcutta, Bmdwan, Gorakpur, Benares, Agra, Meerut, Kotgur,
Bombay, Nasik, Madras, and Masnlipatam, good work was going
on, though some of these stations showed disappointing results, —
as also did Ceylon New Zealand was the brightest spot in the
circle of Missions, despite — as we have seen in previous chapters
—many grave difficulties Ifrom New South "Wales, Zululand,
Abyssinia, and the West Indies, the Society had withdrawn , but
British Guiana was still occupied, with fair results In Bupert's
Land (" North- West America "), the work was on a small scale,
but had been much blessed Half a dozen picked men had been
sent to China, but the Mission there was still in the earliest
prepaiatory stage
That was rj^ wag a]j ^ we w^0 ^VQ keen fcmnjt Q-^ foe history
know at what cost these results had been achieved, We have
seen also something of the " earthiness " of the "vessels" en-
THE JUBILEE 491
trusted with the Divine " treasure," and we can understand the PAST V
Committee's grateful exclamation, " Not unto us, 0 Loid, not
unto us, but unto Thy Name give glory, for Thy meicy and foi
Thy truth's sake "
In nothing is the immense difference between the period of the
Jubilee and the present time more strikingly manifested than in
the "hteiature" which was prepared for the commemoration,
compaied with what would now be thought necessary This
"literature" consisted of ]ust thnteen tracts and leaflets, of thetnwta
plainest and (as we should now say) most old-fashioned "tiact "
type, some being m foolscap octavo and some smaller No 1 was
the Committee's official Circular No 2 was a 4-page leaflet,
mitten m a more popular style by H W Fox No 3 contained
seven original hymns and three original piayeis the former by
James Montgomery, George Pettitt of Tinnevelly, T E Burks
(aftei wards Piofessor at Cambridge), and the young " Eev E H
Bickeisteth" (now Bishop of Exeter) , and the latter by Edwaid
Bickersteth, Haldane Stewart, and John Tucker Of the hymns,
one, by E H Bickeisteth, " 0 brothers, lift yota voices," has
lived, and is well known in C M S circles No 4 was a " Practical
Address to Buksh Christians," by E Bickersteth, which is cer-
tainly one of the most effective missionary appeals ever written
No 5 was a sketch, by H Venn, of " The Founders and the First
Five Years " No 6 was an Address to Christian Ladies, by
E Bickersteth, No 7, a "Mother's Appeal" for education for
missionaries' daughters, signed " L W " (Mrs D Wilson of
Islington) , No 8, a leaflet with a small missionary map, by
" S T " (Miss Sarah Tucker) , No 9, a " Conversation with a
Little Boy," by George Pettitt , * No 10, an Appeal to the Clergy,
by the Eev John Hambleton, of Islington The remaining three,
not numbered, were a " Letter," by W Jowett, on the general
progress of Missions , a tiact on the Uses of Gold and Silver, by
the Bev W Tait , and a leaflet called « The Whole Jubilee Day,"
showing the hours in diffeient longitudes corresponding to mid-day
on the Jubilee Day, and containing also a remaikable hymn by
H W Fox, " I hear ten thousand voices singing," which will
be found appended to this chapter \
The Committee did not defei the actual commemoration till the
Society's half-century was completed They regarded the Jubilee
* In this " Conversation," the little boy is represented as saying, "How I
wish that Queen Yiotona may reign fifty years, and that I may bo alive at
her Jubilee I am sure I would go to church and sing piaises to God with, all
my heart "
t These Tracts, though they now seem to us inadequate, were' quite up to
the Btandaid of the time, even in external " get up " I personally can never
forget the extreme interest with which I read some of them as a boy There
was another tract circulated with them, which is not m the collection, but
which gave mo my first conceptions of the four chief founders, Thomas Scott,
Chailes Simeonj Jolin Yenn, and Josiah Pratt —1 S
492 THE JUBILEE
PART V year as beginning dnectly the forty-ninth year, completing the
pi841"™ seven sabbatical periods of the Mosaic Law, was ovei They
*L therefore fixed the date foi the chief celebiation m the middle of the
AU Saints' fiftieth yeai, on All Saints' Day, Novembei 1st, 1848, "being a
Day> l8^ day," said then Resolution, " which the Church of England has
dedicated to the commemoiation of the 'one communion and
fellowship ' in which the rnembeis of Chiist's mystical body are
knit together "
The airangernents made foi the obseivance consisted of five
sermons and thiee meetings, and two breakfasts —
(1) On Sunday, October 29th, Canon Dale, who happily was
Oanon-m-Besidence at the time, pleached a special sermon at the
oidmary afteinoon seivice at St Paul's In those days all the
services weie held in the choir, which was quite cut olf fiom the
dome and nave by a gieat oigan scieen , and the congiegationg were
not laige Dome services (except for the chanty children once a
year), and evening services, woie quite unknown in the national
cathedial Canon Dale's text was Phil n 10, 11, " That at the
name of Jesus eveiy knee should bow," £c , and from these
verses he based a veiy powerful and impiessive sermon on behalf
of the Society—" a gieat national society," he called it, " engaged
m what ought to be a gieat national woik " — as one instrument
foi hastening the time when the giand piomiso of the text shall
be fulfilled
Bicker- (2) On the Tuesday evening, Octobei 31st, Edwaid BickeistetL
nl™ln «* pleached at St Anne's, Blacfinais, the old chuich m which the
Bciuion at A ' '
st Anne'a earnest Annivorsaiy Sei vices weie held His text was Bev xiv
6, 7 — the angel with the everlasting Gospel , and his sermon was
one of the gieat pulpit efforts of which we have so few examples
m the present day It occupies sixty pages of the Jubilee Volume,
and must have taken ai long a time to deliver as his Amnveisary
Seimon m 1832, and its intense earnestness will move any
reader even now He dwelt on the Gospel as " eveilastmg " (1)
"in contrast with perishing empnes" — a peculiarly appiopriate
thought at that time , (2) " in contiast to the pietensions of vain
philosophy", (3) " m its suitableness to the most m gent wants
of mankind " , (4) " in the eteinal blessings it conveys " , (5) " in
the obligation of eveiy Christian to diffuse it " Then he enlarged
on "its wide diffusion in the last days", undei which head he
poured out of his wealth of first-hand knowledge whole pages of
details on both the woik done and the work waiting to be done
Then he expounded at length on the message announced by the
angel, "Fear God," &c , and finally he appealed to mimsteis,
rulers, heads of families, women, children, young men, to be up
and doing,— closing with these words —
rt Brethren, by all the interesting recollections which crowd around
this Jubilee , by the memory of all who have gone before us , by the
* Soo p 261
THE JUBILEE 493
fervent prayeis offering up m all the Chxirrhes through the world at this PAST T
season , by the wants of perishing millions , by the best interests of 1841-48
your countiy, your Chmch, and yourselves, by the everlasting miseries Chap 32
from which the Gospel saves us, and the everlasting blessedness to which
it brings us , by the solemn and last command, the dying love, the
constant intercession, the faithful promises, the speedy return, and the
eternal glory of Immanuel , — I beseech you, now afresh consecrate your-
selves and all you have to God youi Father, your Saviour, and your
Sanctifier, in advancing the wider diffusion of the everlasting Gospel
through the world "
(3) The Jubilee Day itself was also devoted to church services , Breakfast
but it began with a Breakfast at the Castle and Falcon, in the JjVStfe and
loom in which the Society was born on April 12th, 1799 The Falcon
piopnetoi of the hotel, Mr Woods, himself gave the breakfast ,
and the gathenng was addressed by the Bev John Eawcett, of
Gaihsle, one of the few ougmal membeis still surviving
(4) At eleven o'clock, the pnncipal seimon of all was pleached Archbishop
at St Anne's, Blackfnais, in the moining, by the Archbishop of Bennonrat
Canterbury himself Di Suinnei, of couise, could not cornpaie st Anne's
in eloquence with Dale, or in knowledge of the subject or intense
fervoui with Bickersteth , and his seimon is as shoit as Bicker-
steth's is long But it is good and sound and earnest, on
Piov xxiv 11, 12— " If them forbear to dehvei," &c "I spent
an horn," wiote Bickeisteth, " along with two 01 three fnenda,
with the Archbishop after his seimon, and thanked God for the
remarkable spirit of meekness and wisdom which God has given
him " *
(5) In the afternoon, Bishop Blomfield preached at St other
George's, Bloomsbuiy His seimon is not extant sermons
(6) The same evening, Aichdeacon T Dealtry, of Calcutta (after-
waids Bishop of Madias), preached at Chust Church, Newgate
Stieet, on the "jubilee" of Lev xxv This sermon is excellent,
though without any pietension to exceptional power, and the
preachei's peisonal expenences m India aie rafa.odu.ced with good
effect
(?) Of the thieo Meetings, the fiist, on the afternoon of October Valedictory
31st, was a Valedictory Dismissal of missionaries It was thought
well to include in the Jubilee functions one of the Society's
oidmary proceedings, as a kind of object-lesson It was indeed
quite an oidmaiy meeting, and different fiorn the ciowded Vale-
dictoiy Meetings in JFieemasons' Hall as far back as 1814 , lor it
was held, as had come to be a frequent practice, m the old, ugly,
inconvenient parish schoohoorn of Islington, which seated at a
pinch three 01 foui hundred people on bare un-backed forms |
There was nothing very lernaikable, moreover, m the pioceedings
of the meeting No band of Univeisity men was going to India
* Ktwotr, vol 11 p 403
f This flohoohoom was afterwards altered and enlarged to become the
Bishop Wilson, Memorial Hall, a fairly comfortable room, since superseded by
the pro^out handsome hall
494
PART T or China ; no well-known hero of the field was returning after
Oh41^ Plough , no new and important enterprise was being inaugurated
p Of the eight new missionaries taken leave of, three bore names
which in after years came to be held in honour in 0 M S cncles,
viz , David Hinderer, James Eihardt, and Julia Sass All three
went to Africa (Eihardt afterwards to India) , and their periods of
seivice proved to be respectively 28, 42, and 21 years But there
was nothing remarkable about them then There was als"o a young
African named T B Macaulay, who had been an Islington student,
and who afterwards married Bishop Crowther's daughtei, and
became Principal of Lagos Grammar School The Instructions
dehveied, and the Valedictory Address by Mr Jowett, are printed
in the Jubilee Volume
(8) The great Jubilee Meeting itself was held in Exetei Hall on
Thursday, November 2nd, the day following the Jubilee Day Of
this more directly
Breakfast (9) On the !EViday morning, there was a Breakfast at the
College College foi old and present students, at which Mr Ohilde and
Mr Venn spoke, and William Smith of Benares, to represent the
missionaries trained in the College
Young; (10) In the evening of the same day, there was a meeting, in
Meeting Ireemasons' Hall, of what was then called the Church of England
Young Men's Society for Aiding Missions at Home and Abroad ,
of this meeting the only record is that many young men were
present But the rank and file of men and women in London
were then almost untouched, and evening meetings weie unusual
The Young Men's Society that arranged this one might perhaps
have become a power in after years if it had retained its distinctive
title and definite purpose , but in 1857 it dropped the " Aiding
Missions," and subsequently it was distanced in the lace of use-
fulness by the Young Men's Christian Association
great The Jubilee Meeting calls for fuller notice The great Hall was
Meeting of course filled, and the President was supported on the platform
by several of the Vice-Presidents and other influential friends
One of the original members of the Society in 1799 was present,
and, as far as was known, only one— the Eev John Eawcett of
Carlisle, who had spoken at the Breakfast on the previous day
The " Old Hundredth" was sung, af ter which John Tuckei ofeied
the familiar CMS prayer, with additions for the occasion, and
read Ps, Ixxii Lord Chichester then spoke from the chair,
humbly, quietly, and with deep spirituality, as always —
" This Jubilee of ours is indeed a happy season for those to whom
CHchea- QO(J |lfls g7&i a capacl|y for gjjoh enjoyments— for those who know the
speech, blessedness of pardon and redemption— who know enough of the love
of Christ to rejoice in His work, and to long for a fuller manifestation
of His glory Many thousands of souls thus blessed were yesterday
engaged in the work of prayer and praise--praying for the same bless-
ings, praising God for the same mercies The sun of yesterday, in his
THE JUBILEE 495
circuit through the heavens, dawned on many a band of happy Converts PAST Y
thus engaged— bright spots in the midst of Pagan darkness, lie distant 1841-48
and scattered watch-fires in a starless night May we not suppose, my Chap 32
fnends, that those beloved biethren, the fruits of our pool unworthy
labours, were engaged in praying to God for us, as we were praying for Joining on
them , that they were praising Sod on our behalf, as we were praising bands of
Him on theirs P We may depend upon it that such players and praises conv?jjj
are heard in heaven , that such songs from ransomed smneis, wafted by worid e
the intercession of our Immanuel, ascend unto the eais of the Lord of
Sabaoth But, alas ! my friends, this woild below has as yet no ear for
such music Theie is nothing, I think, in Good's creation that affoids
such a melancholy subject for our thoughts as that mass of darkness
and sin which still covers this miserable world For eighteen hundred
yeais the heralds of Christ have been proclaiming His message and His
Kingdom For eighteen hundred years the King Himself, our groat
High Priest, has been pleading before His Father's throne But as yet
the world in general is alike deaf to His message, and dead to H.IS love
This is indeed an oppressing thought , sad enough to crush our hopes
and our energies, if we did not remember the name of Him who is
called ' Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace', that the government of this appaient chaos is
committed to His shoulders , and that, by His Word, by His Spirit, by
His judgments, and at last by His coming, He will at length subdue
every enemy, and restore peace, and light, and joy to this lestless and
wicked world "
An abstiact of the Jubilee Statement was ihen lead, not by
Henry Venn (whose voice never enabled him to read his own
Reports), but by G F Ohilde, Principal of the College The fiist
Resolution was moved by Sir Robert Harry Inghs, M P for Oxfoid Sir R H
University He was a fine specimen of the old English gentleman, JJSSSl"
a strong Chuichman and Tory, a familiar figure in the House of
Commons, a man of wide culture, and a very warm fiiend of the
Society, who had several times spoken at the Anniversaries * There
was one very felicitous passage in his hearty speech Referring
to the fact that the previous day, the Jubilee Day proper, was
All Saints' Day, he reminded the meeting that that day, the day
then present, was, in the Roman Calendar, All Souls' Day, when AII Souls'
the dead are specially prayed for "We enter not," said he, Dayl
" into Rome's worship , we have nothing to do with her doctrines ,
but let us nevei forget that in immediate juxtaposition with the
Feast of All Saints is the Feast of All Souls , and though we dare
not pray foi the souls of the dead, we may— we «MW£— pray and
labour for the souls of all kmng " This first Resolution was
seconded by Mr J M Strachan, the much-respected member of
Committee who had been treasurer of the Society at Madras
Then arose the Bishop of Oxford to move the second Resolu- |*sjj°P
toon It was a courageous thing on the part of the Society to force's
invite Samuel Wilberforce By this time he was identified in 8pwch*
the minds of all men, not indeed with the Tractanans, but with
* A charming sketch of Sir B H Inghs 10 given by J C Oolquhoun m his
graphic book, Willum Wilberforee cwid his Friends But Inglis belonged to a
rather younger generation
406 Tun JUBILEE
PJLBT Y that moie advanced section of the High Chuich Paity which
looked upon them with favour, and his frequent speeches in
behalf of S P G- weie not always without invidious companions
with CMS"" But the Committee well knew his old love f 01 the
Society, and to him they committed the task of making the
gieat speech of the day And a gieat speech it was The hall
lang with applause, as one eloquent sentence ponied forth aftei
another, and especially when he lefened to his fathei's woik in
the abolition of the slave-trade, and to " that saint of God, John
Wesley " A sentence or two may be quoted —
The « When I fix my mmd on the humble loom in which, fifty years ago,
room fifty were gathered togethei that little company of overworked paiish priests,
years be- labouring togethei day and night in their holy vocation, in the midst
of tlie almost overwhelming multitude of the world of this metropolis,
and call to mind what glorious thoughts were then struggling in their
souls—what mighty impulses God's Spuit was woikmg in their hearts —
as I look back to that scene, I feel humbled with admiration and
wonder at the means then used for producing these gieat results I
haidly know of any period since the time when the whole Church of
Christ was gatheied to;ether m that upper chamber, with the door shut
upon them foi feai of the Jews, when mightier issues were stiugglmg m
fewer minds It was puiely and entirely a work of faith They under-
took that work, not as shallow and capricious men often undeitake
benevolent beginnings, to lay them aside at the first blast of a strong
opposition, but gravely and thoughtfully, as men who knew that it was a
great thing to labour for God, and a mighty trust to begin anything m
furtherance of His Kingdom They saw the Chinch slumbering m the
midst of the world, anil, all unlikely as it seemed to them that they could
The men arouse its slumbering heart, they said, ' Neveitholess, if God be willing,
and tive ^e will go forth m this undertaking '
period "Many were the difficulties that arose m their onwaidpath There
was first the difficulty which always waits on any mighty work of God—
the certain opposition to it always stirred up by the great enemy of Christ
and man, and exhibited m the hatred— m the direct opposition— in the
mocking scorn, and often m the cold and pietencled sympathy— of the
world around them But this was not their only difficulty There was
still a greater difficulty to be met and oveicome Not only weie they
met by the opposition of the world, but by the uttei coldness and apathy
of the Church herself The beginning of this work was in what was
perhaps the tlaikest and coldest time in the whole history of the Church
of England— a penod of coldness and of daikness of which we m these
days, and with oin knowledge of what now exists, can haully have a con-
ception, without going patiently back and inquimig into the events and
circumstances of that time, ana comparing the pimciples of action in
eveiy single department of Christian woik, Chiistiau laboui, and Christian
self-denial then current, with those which aie now admitted and acted
upon by all mon They lived at the close of a period when the Church
"was so apathetic, that not only had she done nothing towards her great
work of evangelizing the Heathen, but allowed her influence at home to
withei and decay in her hand, leaving om own increasing population
to grow up in heathenism, and only showed her semi-vitality, or rathei
her anti-vitality, by casting out from her bosom that gieat and good man
—that saint of God— John Wesley
* Boo p 401
THE JUBILEE 497
" It was at the close of such, a period as this, when all was darkness PABT V
around them, that Godput these thoughts into the hearts of these men 1841-48
They knew that Glad's Word remains sure, and they determined to act Chap 32
upon it , and so the blessing which waits always upon faithful en-
deavours was vouchsafed unto them— not given at once, not given without Ji^ng
days of waiting, without nights of prayer, without self-denial, without given
the fiown of the world, without 'fightings without/ without 'fears
within ', but given in God's time, given surely, given abundantly Surely
we may thank God heartily that He gave them the zeal, that He pve
them the wisdom, that He gave them the ability, to lay these foundations,
upon which others since have built , that He suffered them in that day
to freight their vessel with His truth , that He allowed them, in the
daring of true faith, to set it upon the tides of His mysterious provi-
dence, leaving to Him to guide its course, leaving to Him to accomplish
its adventure "
Then came John Cunningham of Hariow, the most frequent JohnCun-
JJ-L-IJ i i^Ti/ra j. u T_* ninghfun'a
and trusted speakei at C M S meetings, as we nave before seen speech
His part was to set forth once moie the gieat principles of the
Society, which he did with perfect plainness, as legaids both its
mingling of the lay with the clerical element in the Executive,
and the Gospel which its founders designed the Society to
proclaim On the lattei point —
" Led, as we cannot doubt, by the Spirit of God, to discern the desti-
tute and perishing condition of the heathen woi Id— without a God, a
Saviom, 01 a Bible— they set to work to find the appropriate lemedy
for this large amount of moral disease and physical wietchedness
Theie could be but one— the Gospel of a Crucified Saviour And they
not only adduced this remedy, but they lesolved to administer it in its
utmost simplicity and purity They lesolved to follow the example of
the first Fathers on the English Keformation , and were not satisfied to
give to the Heathen a mere system of Christian ethics— a set of well-
constructed ordinances— but they sought out the great fundamental
truths of the religion of the Cross— the election of grace — original cor-
ruption—justification thiough faith — regeneration^ conversion, sanctifica-
tion, by the Spirit of God— good works as the fruit of sound faith— and
they resolved Knowingly to send out no one missionary who should not
carry to the war with idolatry these truths written with the blood of a
Saviour, and, if I may so speak, verified and sanctified by their all-
powerful influence, wherever honestly promulgated by the messengers of
religion The ' first Fathers ' of our Institution believed, with Bishop
Wilson, that ' a Qhristless missionary is no missionary at all ' "
The thud Eesolution appioved of a Lettei being sent fiom the Letter to
Meeting to " the much-loved brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ,
gathered out from among the Heathen and Mohammedans in
Africa, Asia, &c " Archdeacon Dealtry, of Calcutta, whose
sermon we have already noticed, moved this, and George Pettitt,
of Tinnevelly, seconded it, repiesentmgiespectively the numerous
Native Christians of North and South India Both their speeches
were full of encouraging facts
Then, to move the last Eesolution, arose Edward Bickersteth Bicker-
Seizing the platform-rail with both hands, he burst forth
accents of holy and ecstatic ]oy which none who heard
VOL L E k
498 THE JUBILEE
PAST Y that day could evei forget,—" Glory be to God, om Heavenly
1841-48 Father, for the scenes which He nas permitted us to witness
GhaP 82 during the last few days I" The speech, if lead now, seems
fragmentary and lacking m point, but m fact Bickeisteth was
overcome by his emotions, and it was the spmt lathei than the
matter of what he said that was lemembered by his heaieis
E Hoare'a The last speech was a maiden one at a gi eat CMS meeting,
spee3F ky a clergyman who, at the age of thirty-six, was still young for
the honour of taking part on such an occasion This was Edwaid
Hoare, then Incumbent of Christ Church, Eamsgate, and afterwards
the levered Canon Hoare of Tunbndge Wells His closing
sentences are perhaps the most interesting to us now, at the close
of anothei haft-century, and theiefoie the most worth quoting, of
any that were spoken that day —
" And now, after the thankful retrospect of the past, it may be well,
before we part, to look forward for a few moments to the futuie, and to
consider what will be the state of things should this Society evei witness
The next another Jubilee What changes will have taken place eie then ! There
Jubilee t -RrjU have been a vast change in our Missions By that time, possibly,
Dr Krapfs grand idea may be realized, and the little Mission of
Eastern Africa be enlarged till it meet in the interioi the widely-
spreading Churches from the West And what will be the state of
things at home ? Where will be England's throne ? May it stand fast
through God's blessing, and may all remember that its one security is
in the truth of God ' Who will then be Archbishop * May the Lord
grant that he may be like-minded with him whose appointment to that
high office now fills our hearts with joy! And the Meeting—who will
be there P Pew, if any, of those who are present now will be privileged
to be there The speakers of to-day will all be passed away Some of
those dear children just mentioned by Mr Bickersteth may be here to
take his place, but the voice of the beloved father must be silenced
And what is the conclusion ? That we all remember that tune is short
We must be like the drops of the rainbow, each in himself a nieie drop,
and each falling, but each reflecting the Lord's light in the brief moment
of our rapid fall, so that the whole combined should form the bow
between earth and heaven, the standing testimony to the covenant of
God
But will "But will the world ever see another Jubilee P And may we not
there be venture to hope that ere another fifty years be passed we shall have
one reached the Jubilee of Jubilees, and been permitted to witness the
glorious advent of the Lord of Glory ? I know we should speak trem-
blingly on such a subject , but our Lord has said, 'When these begin to
come to pass, then look up, for your redemption draweth mglr We
are not to wait, then, till we see the elaborate fulfilment of the whole
page of prophecy , but are to look up in hope, even at the outset of the
great events of the latter days When, therefore^ we see the powers of
heaven shaken, and upon earth distress of nations with perplexity j
when, at the same time, we see the missionary spirit rising in the Church
like the streak of early dawn preparing the way for the rising of the sun,—
we venture to hope that we may regard these things as tne harbingers
* Bickersteth wrote to a fnend, "I never spent such a remarkable four
days as the Jubilee days m London It was really heaven upon earth "
Mmow, vol. 11 p 403
THE JUBILEE 499
of glory, as a token that the day is not far distant when the kingdoms PAET V
of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ 1841-48
And what a day of jubilee will be then ' Now we meet the citizens of Ohap 32
one city, though uniting in a sympathy of praise with the people of God
m almost all the nations under heaven, but then shall be gathered
together into one, all things in Christ Now we meet, the men of one
generation, to commemorate fathers that are departed, and to hand on
their work to children that are to come , but then shall be assembled the
whole company of God's elect, of every land and every age Now the
sun, pursuing its course, has gathered up the praises of successive lands ,
but then all shall be united m one glorious anthem m the actual presence
of the Sun of Righteousness May God grant to us and to our children
that we may then ' be found m Hun, not having our own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith 01 Christ, the
righteousness which is of God by faith ' ' "
No woids could moie fitly have woundup such a Meeting as
this , and none could moie suiely have led the assembly to nse,
as they did, in the spirit of Humble praise, and sing the grand and
ever- welcome hymn which has so often filled the gieat hall with the cios-
solemn and yet joyful strains — "All hail the power of Jesus' Ing hyran
Name!"'
It was not only by the Committee officially that the Jubilee was
observed Many special sermons weie preached, and meetings
held, which weie locally ananged, m various parts of London and
the Piovmces The Aichbishop of York both pleached and The
piesided at a meeting, m that city The Bishop of Chestei did the fifth"
same, in his city, the Cathedral and the Assembly Booms being Provinces
both " crowded to excess " The Bishops of Hereford, Norwich,
Eipon, Salisbury, and Winchestei, the Archbishop of Dublin, and
the Bishop of Deny, all either preached, or piesided, or both
Bishop Wiberfoice preached at St Mary's at Oxford, whence John
Henry Newman had so recently retired , and also took the chair
at a crowded meeting in the Town Hall At Cambridge, some
four hundred persons, a large proportion of them undergraduates,
attended what the Jubilee Volume, using language not so common
then as now, calls " an early celebration of the Holy Communion,"
at Trinity Chinch, the scene once of Charles Simeon's ministry,
Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, and Bristol were conspicuous for
then enthusiasm One of the most interesting functions was a
sermon preached m Eugby School Chapel, by the Head Master,
Di A 0 Tait, but its special interest aiose from anothei on-
cumstance, to be mentioned presently
Still more interesting was the commemoration of the Jubilee in The
the Mission-field At seveial of the villages in the Colony of in the*
Sierra Leone, services and meetings were held; and also
* I cannot refrain from mentioning the fact of my own presence, as a boy
of twelve, at this Jubilee Meeting My recollection of it is vivid , pai
tocularly of Sir B Inghs's reference to All Souls' Bay, Bishop Wilberfoice's
to John Wesley, and B Bickersteth's opening words of joyous thankful-
ness— E S
Kk 2
500 THE JUBILEE
Y Abeokuta la India, there were various gatherings at Calcutta,
1841-48 at four centies in the Krishnagai distuct, at Benares, Agra,
c 2_j Simla, Karachi, Bombay, Malegam, Poona, Madias, Masuhpatam,
and many stations in Tinnevelly and Tiavancore In Ceylon, at
Cotta, Kandy, and Jaffna , in China, at Shanghai , in Jamaica and
British Guiana, at Smyrna and Jerusalem, m New Zealand,
at Auckland, wheie the announcement of the Jubilee was only
received fiom England twenty-four hours before the day appointed,
and where Bishop Selwyn composed a special prayei for the occa-
sion , and at Bed Biver, in North-West America, though, on the
very day, "the winter set in furiously " Moreover, the day was
sympathetically observed by Continental Pi otestants at Amsterdam
and Basle , by the Basle Mission in Western India , at sea, by a
band of missionaries on boaid ship , and on the banks of the
Indus, by a numbei of devout British soldieis on then maich to
the seat of war in the Punjab
Two specimens of the observances maybe given, one fiorn West
Africa and one fiom Tinnevelly From Fieetown the Eev J
Beale wrote —
At Sierra « The 1st of November was observed much as a Sabbath Few of the
Leoae people came to market from the villages, and very little business was
done here At seven o'clock a m we had a prayer-meeting, when the
whole congregation were present, attired in their best clothes I com-
menced by giving out the Bev B H Bickersteth's hymn, —
"Lord Jesus, unto Whom is given
All power on earth, all power in heaven",
which was sung with the deepest f eehng by the whole assembly We
then united in prayer and thanksgiving , the latter was the most hearty
and deep-felt Such prayers and thanksgivings I have scarcely ever, if
ever, witnessed
"At the Grammar School, also, the day was commenced by suitable
prayers, and by readme portions of Scripture adapted to the occasion
At ten o'clock the pupils marched, three deep, with banners, from Begent
Square to the Mission Church, Freetown Here the Bev T Peyton
preached an excellent sermon, from Isaiah Ixu 1, to a very large
congregation The Acting-Governor and the other Europeans were
present
"In the evening his Honour the Chief Justice presided over a full
and overflowing meeting, which was one of the most ordeily ever
witnessed withm any church
" I do believe the Jubilee will be the means of bringing down from
heaven a larger blessing than we have hitherto received "
And the- Bev John Devasagayam thus wrote from Kadatoha-
puram —
At John "We celebrated our Jubilee on the 1st, with, we trust, a piayerful
SSJJJft and a thanlrful spurt The school-children commenced the day at 8 a m
Christian with singing praises to the Lord m the Jubilee hymns The people
assembled m very good time, and were in number more than 1200, For
their accommodation we had erected a temporary shed I commenced
the legular Divine service a little before eleven o'clock I preached
from a verse in the Second Lesson, Heb xii 2, ' Looking unto Jesus '
THE. JUBILEE 501
I gave a short account of the Society's commencement, then? several PABT V
Missions, and their present prosperity in Tmnevelly and other parts of 1841-48
the world I told my people, also, how the children of God, in England Chap 82
and in India, contributed to oui Society, and how it was ow duty to — *
come before the Lord this day with thanksgiving and pravei and
offerings "While I offered, before the General Thanksgiving, the
valuable prayer provided us by dear Mi Tucker, and the people re-
peated it after me, we longed that our hearts might be truly united in
its spint
"At five o'clock the infant-school children went around the street,
singing the Jubilee hymns, and the people were much delighted and
gave tnem presents, which they bi ought again foi the Jubilee Fund
We had also regular evening service
" It pleased the Lord, on the evening of the Jubilee Day, to call ft^^Sn011
Daniel, our schoolmaster at Neijayapooram, to the heaienly Jubilee, by day "
cholera When I visited hun, aftei evening piayers, he could only
answer my inquiries by asking- me to pi ay for him A short time after
this he left us for his heavenly rest He was a truly devoted Christian,
and has been, out of love, administering, during the last month, cholera
medicine to fifty people, without fearing f 01 himself "
Theie was one event of the Jubilee season which, like the death
fiom choleia mentioned in this last extiact, lemmded the Society's
circle of what John Devasagayam called " the heavenly Jubilee "
. V
Henry Watson Fox died a fortnight befoie the day He had lost Another
his wife at Madias, and one child at sea, m 1845 , he had biought fja$ Fox
the othei two childien to England, spoken at the Annual Meeting
of 1846, and letmned to India , but aftei anothei yeai's woik, his
health had quite failed, and he leached home again in April, 1848
He was then appointed Assistant Secietary, John Tuckei being at
the same time appointed Seeietary to woik alongside Verm Fox
began his duties with gladness and enthusiasm, and enteied with
especial zeal into the piepaiations foi the Jubilee , and it was
now that he wrote the hymn aheady lefened to But he was
not permitted to share in the commemoiation He entered into
rest on Octobei 14th Foity-seven years aftei, his son, Henry
Elliott Fox, became Hgnoiary Seeietary of the Society
It was in connexion with Fox's death that Dr Tait pleached ut'8er"
that sermon in Eugby School Chapel on the Jubilee day , and ever
since then, it has been the custom foi a seimon to be pleached in
the Chapel on All Saints' Day, with a collection in aid of a fund,
started at that tune by the Eev F Gell (now Bishop of Madras),
for marntauiing a "Eugby-Fox Mastei" m Eobeit Noble's
College at Masulipatam Many leading men have preached that
sermon among them Benson and Temple (afterwaids Arch-
bishops of Canteibury), Goulburn (afterwaids Dean of Norwich),
Claughton (afterwards Bishop of Bt Alban's), French (aftei wards
Bishop of Lahoie), Eoyston (afterwards Bishop of Mauritius),
Hodges (now Bishop of Travancore and Cochin), Percival (now
Bishop of Hereford), Bishop Jayne of Chester, Bishop Parry of
Dover, &c Among the missionaries who have held the post of
Eugby-Fox Master have been John Sharp (now Secretary of the
502 THE JUBILEE
PABT Y Bible Society) and A W Poole (afterwaids first English Bishop
1841-48 m Japan) About £350 a yeai is still raised foi the Fund, to
Ghapffl w]llcjlj Bmce iQ5oj no ieBS than £13,675 has been contributed
The It lernains to notice the Special Jubilee Fund The Committee
IfjJSf* invited thank-offerings foi foui definite objects, viz , (1) the
augmentation of the Disabled Missionaries' Fund , (2) a Fund to
piovide a Boarding School foi missionaries' ckddien , (3) a Fund
to assist infant Native Chinches to laise endowments , (4) a Fund
foi mission buildings All these would leheve the General Fund,
and enable it to be used moie entirely m dneot evangelistic work
The total amount specially contubuted was £55,322 11$ Id ,
up to June 30th, 1860 A few small sums weie added in the next
yeai or two , and the accruing interest exceeded £2000 The
List of Contributions occupies sixty four-column pages, similar to
the familial pages m the Annual Eeport They came from all
parts of the country, and indeed of the world, m laige and small
sums Bristol sent £1625, Yoik, £1318, Biimmgham, £1141,
Bath, £863, Liverpool, £766, Manchester £717, Hull, £663
In London, £7500 was laised, of which Islington gave £1490, and
Clapham £679 Among individual chinches, St John's, Bedford
Bow, stands foi £484, and St Geoige's, Bloomsbury, foi £425
These nguies, of couise, do not include the donations and collec-
tions sent direct to Salisbury Squaie, which amounted to £11,300.
There weie two gifts of £1000 each, and thiee of £500 each No
less than £2647 was lemitted from the mission-field, of which
£1900 was fiom India The Siena Leone congregations sent
£164 The nussionaiies in New Zealand sent as then peisonal
contribution £101 But of all the benefactions, the one which
The most giaiafied the Society was £100 fiom the Queen and Prince
Quetribu Albert, paid thiough the Windsor Association It is in virtue of
t£n U" this gift that Hei Majesty's/ name has stood evei since in the
Eeport at the head of the List of Life Governois
Disposal of In due course the Committee apportioned the money as follows
the Fund _to the Dlsakiea Missionaries' Fund, £20,000, to the Native
Ohuiches Endowment Fund, £10,000 , to the Mission Buildings
Fund, £17,000 The remaindei, after payment of about £2000
for expenses (which may be said to have been covered by the
interest), was applied towaids the building of the new Childien's
Home, of which we shall hear by-and-by All proved of great
service to the Society All was actually spent within a few years,
except the Disabled Missionaries' Fund, the principal of which
always remains intact, and now stands at £49,000, providing some
£1500 a year towaids the expenses on account of disabled
missionaries and of widows and children
Results of The financial lesult of the Jubilee was theiefore not small
the jubaee j^ ^e u^eot results were greater The Society took a position
before the whole Church which it had never attained before The
general interest in Missions was undoubtedly widened and
THE JUBILEL 503
deepened New friends and supporteis were secured Childien PAST V
received impressions into their young hearts which fifty more years
have not effaced God answeied the prayers of His people, and
poured out a blessing which has lasted to this day.
H TP Fox's Jubilee Hymn
I hear ten thousand voices singing
Their praises to the Lord on high ,
Far distant shores and halls are ringing
With anthems of their nations' ]oy —
" Praise ye the Lord 1 for He has given
To lands in darkness hid His light ,
As morning rays light up the heaven,
His Word has ohased away our night "
On China's shores I hear His praises
From lips that once kissed idol stones ,
Soon as His banner He upraises,
The Spirit moves the breathless bones—
" Speed, speed Thy Word o'er land and ocean ,
The Lord m triumph has gone forth
The nations heai with strange emotion,
From East to West, from South to North "
The song has sounded o'er the waters,
And India's plains re-echo ]oy ,
Beneath the moon sit India's daughters,
Soft singing, aa the wheel they ply —
" Thanks to Thee, Lord ' foi hopes of glory,
For peace on earth to us revealed ,
Oui cherished idols fell before Thee,
Thy Spirit has our paidon sealed "
On Afhc's sunny shore glad voices
Wake up the morn ot Jubilee
The Negro, once a slave, rejoices,
Who's fieed by Christ is doubly free—
"Sing, blethers, sing1 yet many a nation
Shall hear tho voice of God and live
E'en we are heralds of salvation ,
The Word He gave we'll freely give "
The sun on Essequibo's rtvei
Shines bright midst pendant woods and floweis ,
And He who came man to deliver
Is worshipped in those leafy boweis—
" 0 Lord i once we by Satan captured,
Were slaves of sm and misery ,
But now by Thy sweet love enraptured
We sing our song of Jubilee "
Fair are New Zealand's wooded mountains,
Deep glens, blue lakes, and dizzy steeps ,
But sweeter than the murmunng fountains
Eises the song from holy lips —
"By blood did Jesus come to save us,
So deeply stained with brother's blood ,
Our hearts we'll give to Him who gave us
Deliverance from the fiery flood "
504 THE JUBILEE
O'er prairies wild the song is spreading,
1841-48 Where once the war-cry sounded loud ,
Chap 32 But now the evening sun is shedding
EUs rays upon a praying crowd —
"Lord of all worlds, Eternal Spirit !
Thy light upon our darkness shed ,
For Thy dear love, for Jesu's merit,
}?rom joyful hearts "be worship paid "
Hark 1 hark ' a louder sound is booming
O'ei heaven and earth, o'er land and sea ,
The angel's trump proclaims His coming,
Our day of endless Jubilee —
11 Hail to Thee, Lord ' Thy people praise Thee,
In e\ery land Thy Name we sing ,
On heaven's eternal throne upraise Thee ,
Take Thou Thy power, Thou glorious King " Amen
END OF|VO£iI
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