A SHORT HISTORY O F WESLEYAN FOREIG N MISSIONS
A SHO RT HISTO RY O F
EVAN METHODIST
FOREIGN MISSIONS
A . HN TE L FO R D B . JO ,
‘ ’ ‘ AU THOR OF MAKE RS OF O U R mss x ou s , W O ME N I N THE ms s ro u ’ ‘ ’ FTE LD P P L R HI RY F W E L E YAN M ETH DI S T m s O TC . , O U A STO O S O s T Ns , E
3 0mm
E C HA R L E S H. K L L Y
P R E F A C E
TH I S History appear s at a moment wh en the mission ar y spir it of M ethodism has found memor able ex p r ession in the r emoval of a bur densome debt and a lar ge addition
The fa in to the annual income of th e Society. cts given this volume abundantly ju stify the confidence o f our
r and s w h a sa r fi s h as m r i Chu ch, ho t t the c i ce it ade du ng the last centur y and a qu ar ter for the spr ead of the gospel ar e bear ing fr uit for w hich w e can never cease to
r e o be g at ful to G d .
' ‘ I f the fifzszory helps in any measur e to supply fuller kn owledge of th e w or k and w or ker s of the past and th e
asks of r s w r i e r w be w r w ar fo r t the p e ent, the t ill ell e ded the enor mou s labour involved in pr epar ing such a r ecor d . Th e histor y of ea ch missi on can be tr aced ch r ono logically by follow ing the r efer ences given ih th e I ndex . The penny f fistory of M issions may also be of ser vice for m r r a str on o e gene l di ibuti .
r - n The p o of sheets have bee r ead by the Revs. J.
M Br ow n W H d a M A an H r Ha F . . d ilton , . . in l y, , en y igh, to whom th e author is g r eatly indebted for many val uable
r r s and s s M ss H ier has a s co ection uggestion . i ell l o
’ k d r s the assa o Wom n s A ux ar in ly evi ed p ge ab ut the e ili y. Any help towar ds making the volume mor e complete and r at an o n w w m eliable y p i t ill be elco ed .
C O N T E N T S
C HAP TE R PA G E
’ M ETHODIST M ISSI ONS IN WESLEY S LIFETI ME 3
’ FR OM W ESLEY S DEAT H TO TH E C EYLON
O 1 0— 1 8 1 2 M ISSI N , 7 9
THE FO RMATI ON O F LOCA L M I SS I ONARY
SOC IETI ES
’ ’ OM C OK S D ATH TO ICHA D WATS O S FR E E R R N ,
1 8 1 4— 1 83 2
P B Z B THE SECRETARYS H I O F JA E U NTING ,
1 83 3— 1 85 1
TW TY Y A S O P OG SS 1 8 2 — 1 8 1 EN E R F R RE , 5 7
OU R OWN TI MES
’ R - E YE V W O R M O A BI D s I E F OU ISSI NS .
TABL S O DAT S AND I COM TATISTIC E F E N E S S,
LI STS O S C TA I S AND T A SU S F E RE R E RE RER ,
W O O K . F THE R , ETC
vii ' I n this w a y our o w n w or k is h elped by th e missio nar ie s w or k even h e th eir s Th e tw o w or k s a r e ita connec ted : a nd e en as w e lp . v lly v a fa r Off w e may mak e o ur ow n in some sense th e tr iu mph a nt w itne ss f i e Th e Ch r istia n L ife is one : th e Ch r istia n Bod O th e miss on fi ld . y is one As w e e ach str i e to fu fi th e function a ssi ned to u s c onse . v l l g , r atin h e r esour ces w hich ar e o ffer ed for ou r u se w e d o in C h r ist c g t , m h e ar th ll th a t Chr ist d oes h er e or to th e u tter ost ar t o f t e . a , p ‘ Thu s th e occa sion of ou r ser vic e to - da y br ing s u s a gr ea t Oppor I t unit I t c ommend s to u s th e fu mea nin o f our w itness . t y. ll g r esents th e etition of th e w or d th e so emn cr Of h eath enism p p l , l y . Co me o er a nd h e u s a cr in ife if no t in w or d s w ith co nstr a in v lp , y l , n e i n I t mak i f r b h e infl ence o f co mmon i r su as e ess . es t e a s o u s t u g p v y , y fee in b th e sense o f o th er su ica tio ns oined w ith our ow n b the l g , y ppl j , y for etaste O f a s ontaneou s u nit b th e e ner o f a ca th o ic ow er p y , y g y l p h ith er to faint r ea iz ed to co - o er ate a s w e h a e not et d o ne w ith ly l , p , v y , ou r for ei n mission ar ies in th at w or k w hich r esents to u s in the most g , p im r essi e for m th e tr u e idea o f our ca in I f each con r e ation p v l ll g . g g a mon u s w er e to c a im for itse f so me fr a me nt o f th e mi h t fie d g l l g g y l , h o w ever sma ll ; if it ma d e it its o w n by pr a y er s and a lms ; if w e w er e bold to l oo k to th e end s of th e w or ld for lesso ns of p atience a nd lessons ’ of h o e th e comin o f C hr ist s kin d o m for w hich w e r a w ith p , g g , p y ’ a u e w or ds w ou d not be fa r O ff v g , l . BI SHOP W E S T L ess n m 2 TCOT o s r o W . 2 6 . , f p C HAPTE R I M E TH O DIS T M ISS IONS I N W E S LE Y’S LI FE TI M E
C HAPTE R I
M E TH ODIST MIS S I O NS I N W E S LE Y’S LI FE TI M E
E EY o f m W SL came a stock that loved issions , and would gladly have devoted their lives and gifts to the uplifting and salvation o f Missionar y S ir it of th e the heathen . The first John Wesley p
wealeys‘ ( 1 6 36 grand father of the founder
s to r Of Methodism , felt a strong de ire labou in
1 6 0 r Surinam , a settlement founded in 5 by F ancis
r o Lor d Willoughby . When this pu pose had t be
s abandoned , he wi hed to go to Maryland ; but
r his f iends opposed the project , and the expense and difficulty o f removin g his family to America
He no doubt made the plan impossible . had to
be content with home missionary labour, into
which he threw himself with apostolic devotion .
so n u His , Sam el Wesley, when between thirty
O f C and forty years age , herished a scheme for
missionary service in I ndia , China , and Abyssinia , f which was never realized , and in the last year o his life he regretted that he was not young e nough to g o to Georgia . METHODIST MI SSIONS
’ O ne incident Of Susannah Wesley s life shows how missionary devotion enriches Christian work
1 1 2 Su sannah at home . I n 7 , when her husband s giggfigf was attending Convocation in London , mesmm ies ' she was greatly quickened by reading
o o f r an acc unt the young Danish missiona ies ,
Plutsch o r Ziegenbalg and , whom Frede ick I V o f Denmar k had sent o u t to work among the
r . heathen in M alaba Emily Wesley , who was
s then nineteen , found the mi sionary narrative in ’ M r s . r s her fathe s tudy . Wesley had never seen
o t h e r r . it, and g daughte to read it to her She
" : w a s o r f says I never, I think , m e a fected with
r o o f r s anything than with the elati n their t avel , and was exceedingly pleased with the noble
design they were engaged in . Their labours
refreshed my soul beyond measure , and I could not for bear spending good part o f that evening in praising and adoring the divine goodness for inspi r ing those good men with such an ardent
zeal for His glory, that they were willing to hazard
is their lives , and all that esteemed dear to men
r in this wo ld , to advance the honour Of their
r Maste , Jesus . For several days I could think
f i - C o r speak o little else . At last t ame into my
mind , though I am not a man nor a minister
of the gospel , and so cannot be employed in
such a worthy employment as they were, yet, if
my heart were sincerely devoted to God , and if 4 IN WESLEY’S LIFETIME
fo r His I were inspired with a true zeal glory, and
so did really desire the salvation of uls , I might
e do somewhat mor than I do . I thought I might live in a more exemplary manner in some things
e I might pray more for the people , and sp ak with more warmth to those with whom I have an
o f . Opportunity conversing However, I resolved
o w n to begin with my children , and , accordingly , I proposed and Observed the following method I take such proportion Of time as I can best spare
a every night to discourse with e ch child by itself,
’ on something that relates to its principal concerns . Ho w much that meant for Methodism is shown
’ by Wesley s request to his mother when he was
‘ Fellow o f Lincoln College : If you can spare me only tha t little part Of Thursday evening which you formerly bestowed upon me in another
n t a s manner , I doubt o but it would be useful now for correcting my heart as it was then in
’ ’ forming my judg ement . Mrs . Wesley s service s in the rectory kitc hen also gained greatly by this
uick e ni spiritual q ng x
O n 1 6 1 6 January , 7 3 , the oldest English
‘ n for Missio ary Society , The Society the Pro
’ a ation o f th e o e p g G spel , h ld a meeting Wesley a Missmn the m ' at which Bishops Of London , Lich
field and Coventry, Rochester, and Gloucester , A were present . memorial was read from the
s the of r eco m trustee for Colony Georgia, who 5 i METHODIST ‘ MISSIONS
‘ ’ mended the Rev . Mr . John Wesley to take the
Rev w h o place Of the . Samuel Quincy, wished to
‘ e w s r leav the colony . I t a ag eed that the Society
“ r r do app ove O f M . Wesley as a proper person to
r r 0 be a Missiona y at Geo gia, and that £5 per
r annum be allowed to Mr . Wesley f om the time
’ ’ M r s . Quincy salar y shall cease . Wesley r eached Savannah the month after this m He inute was adopted . hoped that a way
‘ would Open fo r labour among the Indians : But
o f o ur upon my informing Mr . Oglethorpe design ,
o he bjected , not only the danger Of being inter c e ted o r r p , killed by the French the e ; but much
o o f m re , the inexpediency leaving Savannah
’ o f r ou r na l destitute a ministe . His j bears witness to the eagerness with which the Oxford Fellow and Tutor sought to understand the beliefs o f the Indian warrior s who came to the
‘ s settlement . All , except, perhaps , the Choctaw ,
r r were gluttons , drunka ds , thieves , dissemble s ,
r liars . They are implacable , unme ciful ; murderers
r s r O f o s r s o f of fathe , mu derers m ther , mu derer
’ r o w n r thei child en . Wesley thu s s too d o n the verge Of thi s mi s sio n
field , but was not allowed to enter it . I n View
O f s o his uch t il mother said , Had I twenty sons
s o o I h uld rej ice if they were all so employed . ° \ r o vide nce led We s ley back from America that he t might be a missionary o the heathen at home . 6 IN WESLEY’S LIFETIME
’ O n Charles Wesley s return from Georgia in
I 6 7 3 , he dined with his uncle , Matthew Wesley , the L t o f ondon doctor , who bes owed abundance Wit on John Wesley and his apostolical work in
‘
o . Ge rgia Charles says , He told me the French , if they had any remarkably dull fellow among them , sent him to convert the I ndians . I checked his eloquence by those lines of my brother
To distant r e a ms th e a ost e ne ed not r oam l p l , Dar kne ss a as ! and h a h ns r m e t e a e a t h o e . , l
o f He made no reply, and I heard no more my
’ ’ r brothe s apostleship . Wesley set in motion the mi ssionary wor k o f
o n 1 1 8 r M ethodism January 7 , 7 5 , when he p eached a t O f Wandsworth in the house Nathaniel Mr Gilb . ert “ Anti ua“ i o f As g G lbert , Speaker Of the House
‘ sembl o f y in Antigua . Two negro servants his
and a mulatto appear to be much awakened . Shall not His saving health be made known to all nations ? ’ The following November Wesley
rode to Wandsworth and baptized tw o o f Mr . Gil
’ ‘ O ne o f bert s negro servants . these is deeply convinced o f sin ; the o ther rejoices in G o d her
r is s Saviou , and the fir t African Christian I have
s o ur known . But hall not Lord , in due time , “ ” ’ have these heathens also for His inheritance P
r 1 60 . Mr. Gilbert retu ned to Antigua in 7 H e urged John Fletcher to go with him as a
o r missi na y , but Fletcher, who had only recently 7 METHODIST MISSIONS
‘ r a n sufii ien been o dained , felt th t he had either c t
’
e . z al , grace , nor talents for such labours He
‘ wished to be certain that he was converted
er himself before he left his conv ted brethren , to
’ convert heathens . Failing other helpers , Mr . Gilbert himself became the first Methodist mis
sio nar . 1 y to the negroes When he died , in 7 7 4 ,
r 2 00 s the e were Methodist in Antigua . I n 1 7 68 Wes ley was urged to send a preacher
‘ to New York . I f the right man came such a fi rst flame would soon be kindled as would never stop till it reached the great 1 7 63 ’ : South Sea Richard Boardman and
‘ ’ o Joseph Pilmoor were willing to g , and became
’ the first missionaries of Methodism . About this
‘ time Thomas Bell wrote from Charlestown : Mr . Wesley says the first message O f the preachers f is to the lost sheep O England . And are there none in America ? They have strayed fr om
England into the wild woods here , and they are
running wild after this world . They are drinking
their wine in bowls , and are jumping and dancing ,
and serving the devil , in the groves and under
And the green trees . are not these lost Sheep ? And will no ne Of the preachers come here ? ? Where is Mr . Brownfield Where is John Fawson ? Where is Nicholas Manners ? Are
’ they living, and will they not come ? The providence that had allotted Wesley his 8
METHODIST MISSIONS
‘ TO ALL THE REAL LOVERS O F MANKI ND The present institution is so agreeable to the finest feelings o f piety and benevolence that little need be added for its recommendation ; The candid o f ever y denomination (even those
ar e e r who nti ely unconnected with the Methodists , and a r e determined so to be) will acknowledge the amazing change which our preaching h as
r w ought upon the ignorant and uncivilized , at least thr oughout these nati o ns ; and they will admit that the spirit of a miss ionary must be o f
o s - the m t zealous , most devoted , and self denying
r kind . Nor is anything mo e required to con stitute a missionary for the heathen nations than
r good sense , integrity , g eat piety , and amazing
zeal . Men possessing all these qualifications in h a igh degree we have among us , and I doubt . no t but some o f these will accept o f the arduous
cl undertaking , not counting their lives ear if they m ay but promote the kingdom of Christ and
the present and ete rnal welfare o f their . fellow
r . w e creatu es And trust nothing shall be wanting,
fa r a s as time, strength , and abilities will admit, to give the fulles t and highes t satisfaction to
o f o n r o f the promoters the plan , the pa t
s Your devoted ervants , ‘ HOM S K E T A CO , ‘ H T O MA S PARK ER.
‘ Those who are willing to promote the institu
I O r o f tion are desi ed to send their names , places
su m . . abode, and Subscribed to the Rev Dr Coke ,
- o r . at in London , Thomas Parker , Esq , Barrister
’ Law, York . The following April Coke consulted with Wesley
h 0 t e o f . O n 1 as to needs America September ,
1 8 S u er in 7 4, Wesley ordained him p 001mm Amer ica" o f s tendent American Methodi m , with
Fr ancis Asbury as his colleague . Richar d What coat and Thomas Vasey were ordained elders , and the little band set o ut to care for the Methodists whom the separation from the mother
‘ country had left as poor Sheep in the wilder
’ ness . Whilst he was abroad on his histor ic errand
‘ : Wesley wrote to Mr . John Stretton Last autumn , Dr . Coke sailed from England , and is now visiting the flock in the midland provinces
o n Of America , and settling them the New
to w Testament plan , which they all illingly and
n b one r joyfully co form , being all united as y Spi it so o n o r in e b dy . I t ust they will no mo r e want
’ o a s a r e r such Past rs after God s own heart . Afte he has gone through these parts , he intends , if
to see God permits , the brethren in Nova Scotia , probably attended with o ne o r two able Preachers
r who will be willing to abide there . A day o two
r ago, I w ote and desired him , before he r eturns to to u England , call upon o r brethren also in
I I there likewise . About food and raiment we take
ur no thought . O H eavenly Father knoweth that e we need thes things , and He will provide . Only let us be faithful and diligent in feeding His
’ flock . Your Preacher will be ordained . Coke returned to England in the summer o f
r 1 7 8 5 . He p eached to crowded congregations in
‘ all parts of the kingdom , and endeavoured to awaken in their bosoms those sentiments Of mercy for the world at lar ge which were daily exerting
r a more powe ful influence in his own . These
appeals he followed up by personal application , in
a nd r fo r r public p ivate , gifts and offe ings to create a fund to be devoted exclusively to the new ’ missionary enterprise . Coke had fo r some time been weighing the f possibility o a mission to Africa . H e had still
T/ze min larger visions . A r ia n M ag a z ine Pr op osal s for ‘ a m t o I 2 fiifii? for 7 9 contains a Copy Of a letter to
the Rev . Dr . Coke , from a respectable “ gentlem a n in the East I ndies (it 15 dated M a ldai
r 1 Feb uary 9 , respecting a mission thither .
Coke had written Mr . Grant , of the East India
Company, father Of Lord Glenelg and Sir Robert
1 8 ‘ Grant , in J anuary, 7 4 , as to the conversion Of
’
o . the Gentoos to the faith f Christ . Mr Grant
o f replied that in the course twenty years, during IN WESLEY’S LIFETIME there should have been no public in stitution for
o n h carrying suc work , must doubtless have been
’ o f w as matter regret to many . He willing to
‘ support a mission if it were o n princip les entir ely
’ ’ TO catholic . C oke s inquiry, What are the dis
o o f p sitions of the Hindoos, and the probability
’ ‘ ‘ their conversion ? he answered : With respect to
“ the probabilities o f conver ting either the Hindoos
r or Mahometans, I am so ry to say that, humanly
’
r to . speaking , they appea be very small An experienced Ch r istian long familiar with the Danish Mission on the coast o f Corom a ndel assures him
‘ o f there is no hope instructing , converting , and
s s ta ndin mission baptizing the native , without a g , that is , a fixed establishment, with some means belonging to it not only because as soon as a poor native resolves to turn Christian he is Cast Off by
d r for his ea est relations ever, obliged to forsake
C to wife and hildren , denied work , left perish for
o w n want , if not killed by his kinsmen ; but because they are the poor , the distressed , the
low disabled, those who are brought through affliction that will first relish the gospel doctrine
e t and such persons will n ed ei her employment, by
n or C which they may ear a maintenance, harity whereon to subsist ; and from hence arises the necessity Of some resources and funds which can
’ only consist with a fixed establishment .
f n 2 Coke replied rom Southampto , J anuary 5, I 3 METHODIST MISSI ONS
o ur r 1 7 86 : At present openings in Ame ica , and the pr essing invitations we have lately r eceived
r f om Nova Scotia , the West I ndies , and the States ,
“ call fo r all the help we can possibly affo r d o ur brethren in that quarte r of the world . M r . Wesley is O f o pinio n that no t less than half a dozen
’ r o n s Should be at fi st sent uch a mission . Coke
‘ a s r r adds , As soon the p esent ext aordinary calls
r from America are answe ed , I trust we shall be
’ to able to turn our thoughts Bengal .
1 86 In March , 7 , Coke issued a letter to his E nglish supporters ‘ EA R LY BE LOVED I N THE ORD — D L , Some time past I took the liber ty of add r essing you in behalf o f a mission intended to be establi s hed in the British dominion s in A s ia ; and many O f yo u very gene r ou s ly
r ente ed into that important plan . We have not ,
o f o n indeed , lost sight it at present ; the contrary, we have lately r eceived a letter Of encou r agement fr om a principal gentleman in the province of Bengal . But the pr ovidence o f G o d has lately opened to us so
r s r r many doo nea e home that Mr . Wesley thinks it
to o f imprudent hazard , at present , the lives Of any our preachers by sending them to so gr eat a
so distance , and amidst many uncertainties and
f s f di ficultie , when so large a field of action is a forded u s in countr ies to which we have SO much easier admittance , and where the success , through the
’ O f G o d r o r blessing , is mo e less certain . I 4 r s o f . Wesley exp es ed his warm approval Dr .
’ ’ is Coke s plans in a prefatory note . I t not easy,
‘ r he added , to conceive the ext eme want there is,
r in all these places, of men that will not count thei
s so lives dear unto them elves, they may testify the
’ -O o gospel f the grace o f G d .
w as C o as The door to the East l sed yet , but
r s r Coke was not idle . Emig ant f om England and New York had planted Methodism in Nova
00 Scotia , where there were now 3 white members
200 and negroes in the Methodist Society . I n
‘ 1 86 September, 7 , Coke sailed from Gravesend — for Nova Scotia with three preachers Messrs .
r Hammet , Warrener , and Cla ke . A series Of gales drove their vessel to the West
o n s 1 86 Indies , and Chri tmas morning, 7 , the
r r n missiona y pa ty la ded at Antigua . Cok e lands ’ mA mi ua r O f g ° In the st eets St . John s , Coke met John Baxter o n his way to preach to his negro
o u t congregation . He had been sent from Chat
1 r ham in 7 7 8 as a naval shipw ight , and had taken ove r the car e o f the soci ety formed by Nathaniel Gilber t and kept together a fter his death by tw o female slaves .
In a the chapel , which B xter had largely built
‘ w o w n ith his hands , Coke says , I read prayers , r r p eached , and administered the sac ament . I had o ne o f s saw the cl eane t audiences I ever . All the
r neg o women were dressed in white linen gowns, I S METHODIST MISSIONS
petticoats , handkerchiefs , and caps ; and the men a o s nea tly . I n the aftern on and evening I had ’ very large congregations . " Ten days later he reports , I have preached in this town tw ice a day the house full half an hour befo r e the time . O ur Society in this island is near but the ladies and gentlemen Of the town have so filled the hou s e that the poor dear negroes who built it have been almost entirely shut out ,
’ s his except in the morning . Coke and companions were invited by the company of merchants to dine with Pr ince William Henry (afterwards William I V)
o f r o n who was in command a f igate that station . A gentleman intimated that he would provide
00 £ 5 a year if Coke would stay in the island , but,
G o d he says , be praised , a year would be
n to me a feather , when opposed to my usefulness i
’ r the Church Of Ch ist .
Coke was invited to visit the other islands .
Messrs . Baxter, Hammet and Clarke went with
r . him . Mr . Wa rener was left at Antigua Mr .
e r r Clarke was stationed at St . Vinc nt , whe e seve al
r r Of the chief residents promised thei suppo t . The ne groes wer e over j o yed These men have been
‘ r C r as impo ted for us . Coke felt the call as lea
’ if it had been written with a sunbeam . Mr .
’
w as . Hammet fixed at St Christopher s, where Coke had had a war m welcome from the pr incipal
’ inhabitants and the clergyman Of the parish .
I 6
METHODIST MISSIONS
‘ says Dr . Coke, an answer has been given from heaven to the petitions Of many thousands in
England , who at one time , with great fervour,
’ r spread his case befo e the Lord .
’ O n Coke s departure fo r Charlestown his black
- friends loaded him with seed cakes , sweet biscuits,
’ r o anges , bottles Of jelly, in such profusion that he and his seven fellow- passenge r s had not consumed
o half f them when they reached the mainland .
Coke remained in America till the end Of April ,
1 8 7 7 , astonished and delighted to find Methodism
w a s Spreading th r o ugh the States . He able to give a glorious repo r t to Wesley and the Irish Conference in Dublin . All recognized that the time had come
s r s to undertake mi sionary wo k in the We t Indies .
s s r r to o Coke begged ub criptions f om doo d o r . He then went with Wesley and eleven Irish preache rs
r r to the Conference in Mancheste , whe e he was able to announce a member ship o f in America
s and in the new mi sions . Dr . Coke had now begun that systematic cou r se o f application
O f for pecuniary help to the cause missions, in the fulfilment Of which he stands u n r ivalled among the
’ agents o f Chr istianity . The funds thus Obtained
1 8 8 enabled Mr . Wesley in 7 to send preacher s to IN WESLEY’S LIFETIME
landed at Bridgetown , Barbados, with Mr . Pearce .
o n Mr . Lumb and Mr . Gamble went to St . Vincent.
Some soldiers whom Mr . Pearce had Second Visit known in Ireland had secured a large to West
Indi es’ room for services . There Coke preached
00 to 3 people, about twice as many being unable to get in . The merchant who lent this place had frequently heard Coke preach in Maryland , and four o f his black servants had been baptized by the
r Methodist bishop . They met f iends everywhere w ho promised to support Mr . Pearce in his work . l Coke went on to St . Vincent, where he exp ored
r the Carib settlement with Mr . Baxte , Mr . Gamble ,
o and Mr . Clarke . The narr w paths over the
o ne mountains were almost impas sable . I n place some Caribs had to lend them cutlasses to cut a
w as pathway . Below the g reat mountain a beautiful plain , seven miles long and three wide , which was washed by the ocean Here the Caribs chiefly dwell . They are a handsomer people than the ‘ s negroe , but have a warlike appearance . The very
o r women carry cutlasses, naked knives , at their
’ sides . Mr . Baxter had a lready taken meas u r es fo r
s f o the establi hment O schools am ng them . He had
o f won the affection the people, and gained c o n sider able r o knowledge Of thei language . C ke urged
r a him to spend two yea s among them . Gre t a s the cross was to that good man , who expected to return to his beloved Antigua , he immediately METHODIST MISSIONS
’ C consented . The hief entertained his visitors with
s - r a large dish of egg , cassava b ead , and a bowl of
. E n u ir punch William Carey says , in his famous q y
in to t/ze bli a tions o Ch r istia ns to use M ea ns or O g f , f
‘ tne Conver s ion of t/ze Hea t/tens The late
M r . Wesley lately made an effort in the West
o O f r r no w I ndies , and s me thei ministe s are labour
o r s r ing am ng the Ca ib and neg oes , and I have seen
’ s s o f r s plea ing account thei succes .
’ r o f o r r The f uits the year s w rk we e encou aging . Ther e w a s an increa se o f a thou sand members
’
00 . r o . . in Antigua, 7 at St Ch ist pher s At St Eustatiu s the Council had threatened any one
r o r f r r who p eached , even Of ered p aye in public ,
s with fines , impri onment, flogging, and transporta
to . 1 0 r tion Coke ventured baptize 4 membe s .
r 2 C The e were 5 8 meeting in Society lasses . C oke
r o n r p eached the Sunday , but had to p omise
so that he would not do again . Having nothing
r d o o f mo e at present to in this place tyranny,
r r to . s we etu ned St Kitts , bles ing God for a
’ s r British con titution and a B itish government . Ever ywhe r e else he w a s received with the utmost
s . s to r s kindne s Before he cros ed Cha le town , mis si o nar y agencies had been set in oper ation
O f s in ten the island , which had inhabitants .
r r r As he etu ned f om America some weeks later , a mong tne I ndia ns in N or t/i
‘ ’ Coke great entertainment . He thought much o f the loss Of life and inju r y to the morals Of the natives th r ough o u r voyages
‘ r s fo r Of discove y , but added that if mission the establishment Of the gospel were set o n foo t and through the blessing of God succeeded , there would be compensation indeed . Even Coke did not dream O f the coming transforma
o f tion Fiji .
C HAPTE R H FRO M W E S LE Y’S D To THE E ON S O N C YL M IS I , 1 790—1 8 1 2
FROM WESLEY’S DEATH TO
o 1 o S ciety in September , 7 9 5 . The B ard Of
Directors considered a message from Dr . Coke,
‘ Missions m and wrote him that it was the pur ’ e Eig lifiiaenth pose Of this Society to act as brethren cent“ ? towar ds missionar ies from other de
r nominations . The fi st mission party sailed for
1 6 O n 1 2 1 Tahiti in 7 9 . April , 7 99 , the Church Missionary Society was founded at a meeting
Of sixteen clergymen and nine laymen , at the
s s Ca tle and Falcon , Alder gate Street, London .
C John Venn , Rector Of Clapham , was in the hair .
o ut 1 0 The first agents were sent in 8 3 . The Methodist Missionar y Society was not formed fo r some years after the great sister
o S cieties , but Methodist Missions are much
s r Older than the Methodi t Missiona y Society .
Dr his o . Coke made first voyage acr ss the
1 8 Atlantic in 7 4 , eight years before the Baptist
r Missionary Society was born , eleven yea s before
o r o the L ndon Missiona y S ciety was founded , and fifteen years befor e the Church Missionary
Society s tarted o n its course of blessing .
1 0 o f s Up to 7 9 , the burden the mi sions rested
’ ‘ On Dr . Coke s shoulders . The missionary enter p r ise began to stir the conscience Of
Missionar y the Chu r ch ; and in th e Methodist communion it took this year some
a n thing like organic form , by the appointment Of a corpo r ate body who should be charged
2 6 THE CEYLON MISSION w ith its administr ation — the fi r st Methodist “ Missionary The minute Of Co n
‘ ference appointing it r eads : The Committee for the management Of o ur affairs in the West
: Indies Thomas Coke, Alexander Mather, Thomas n Ranki , James Rogers , Henry Moore , Adam
r Clarke, John Baxte , William Warrener, Matthew
’ r Lumb . There were nineteen missiona ies at eleven stations in the West Indies , Nova Scotia , and Newfoundland , with members . Metho dism was the first church that regarded its missiona r y work as an integral part o f its
a system , s directly under the rule Of the
Conference as its home work .
1 0 his I n October , 7 9 , Coke was again on way to
s the West I ndie . He had been sixteen months in
England begging for the cause that Th e
car ibs' SO his Tw o ne w lay near to heart .
Mr . helpers , Lyons and Mr . Worrell , sailed with
r him . Mr . Pearce had built a Chapel in B idge
00 . town to accommodate 7 . Mr Lyons was left
r . there to help him . When Coke eached St
s Vincent he vi ited the Societies , and rode to
- the borders Of the Carib land . Mr . Baxter had found the people SO unresponsive that he had
‘ reluctantly withdrawn from the mission . When
Mr s . Baxter took her leave o f some Of them sh e wept bitterly, and prayed that they might have another call , and accept, and not reject it, as FROM WESLEY’S DEATH TO
’ o ne they did the late . Others were more
‘ w as r enlightened . There a p ospect of a great
flame throughout the island . Even many of the Roman Catholics prefer o ur missionaries to
r r thei own p iests , and have sent for Mr . Baxter
’ r r to baptize thei child en .
1 8 . Coke had visited Jamaica in J anuary , 7 9 Fou r o r five families o f some social distinction
r Relig ion m eceived him with much kindness , and J amaica" pr omi sed a cordial reception to a ny
u mis si o naries who were sent o t . The need was
’ r o f u gent . Sunday , the day the public market ,
s s s O u w a s pent in bu ine s and recreation . t of a p o pulation o f scarcely 500 entered a place Of worship . William Hammet w as a p
to his r r pointed Kingston , but soon after a ival violent Opposition br oke out . His life was
r endange ed . The planters and white people , who
s o f were living in a tate open immorality , threatened to pull d o wn the lar ge Chapel erected
r r o n the parade . St ong f iends came forward to
r M r Suppo t . H am met , but when Coke arrived he lay ill with fever and ague, worn almost to a skeleton with labour and anxiety . Coke ventured to r eopen the chapel o n the evening Of his arrival , and had a large audience . The only
’ Ha mme s hope o f Mr . t recovery was to get him
‘ r to a cooler climate . Coke says : I dete mined
to take him with me to America . He has been
2 8 THE CEYLON MISSION employed in the most arduous undertakings in
tw o o these islands . The m st flourishing Societies
in the West I ndies , Antigua excepted , were raised by his indefatigable labou r s ; and there a r e but few in the world with whom I have been acquainted that possess the p r ope r apostolic
’ r spirit in an equal deg ee with him .
n ow r Coke p oceeded to Charlestown , where he
’ o f met Bishop Asbury . The news Wesley s
s death made him ha ten to England . Pr og r ess “, w e“ Indies The Conference Of 1 7 9 1 appointed : him its Secretary and delegate to the West
Pr Indies . The esident and eight other ministers
‘ fo r were the committee examining accounts , letters , missionaries that are to be sent to the
’
& c . r o islands , Wilbe f rce had now come for
a s O f ward the champion the Slave, and the
r interest in the West I ndies was g owing . The
s r Methodist had seized the p ovidential moment, and their mission to the negr oes excited general interest and sympathy . The change in the negroes gave strong evidence
r r Of the eality O f the wo k . Dr . Coke r efers with
‘ ’ g r eat thankfulness to the happy deaths o f some
r Of the conve ts , and to their patience under suffer ing and trial . The missionaries exerted a whole
O n r some influence the slaves . Forme ly during their saturnalian holidays s trong military guards had s been needed to pre erve the peace . No w such 2 9 FROM WESLEY ’S DEATH TO
precautions were unnecessary . When the Fr ench
to threatened invade Tortola , and the whites we r e to o r feeble to defend it, the Gove nor asked the m r r issionary whethe the neg oes might be trusted .
M r . Turner pledged himself for their fidelity ,
and consented to go with them to the field . The French squadron was amazed at the Show o f force, and retired after cutting two vessels
Th e G r r o ut o f the bay . ove no of the Leeward I s lan ds was no t sl o w to discer n the value Of this new arm O f defence . He called upon o u r
’ r r A missiona ies in St . Ch istopher s and ntigua to report the numb e r o f slaves who co uld bear
r o n arms , and they were p omptly enrolled the
r o f military force . I n ecognition this service the
English Gove r nment o ffer ed passages to o u r missionaries in the Falmouth packets for Ber m ud a and J amaica ‘ without payment of the king ’s ’ head money . Yet even the manifest service rendered by the Mission could not reconcile some o f its enemies
. r . s to its progress Ha dly had Mr Stephen on , o ne Of the p r eachers sent o ut by favour o f the
r Government , ar ived in Jamaica than the local
1 autho r ities bestirred themselves . In 800 a law was passed by the legislatu r e Of Jamaica for bidding any one to pr each unless he belonged to the Chu r ch o f England o r the Church Of Scot
Mr land . . Stephenson was cast into prison for 3 0 THE CEYLON MISSION
’ disobeying this law . O n Dr . Coke s appeal the law was disallowed by the king in council , and
r o Mr . Stephenson released f om pris n , but he
his r never recovered strength . Seven yea s later a law was passed in Jamaica forbidding any
‘ Methodist missionary or other sectary to instr uct
o r o C s slaves, receive them into their h uses , hapel ,
’ o f r or conventicles any sort . This Opp essive
enactment was repealed after eighteen months ,
n o appeal to the Home Government . Towards
1 8 1 f the end of 5 the chapels , some o which
s r had been clo ed by law for ten yea s , were
‘ allowed to be reopened , and the people, with
joy sparkling in their eyes , and feelings O f gratitude vi s ibly portrayed o n thei r co unten
ances , came up once more to the house Of the
’ Lord .
O n 1 1 2 set o ut o n September , 7 9 , Coke his fifth
voyage across the Atlantic . He attended the
r Gene al Conference at Baltimore , and Per secution 0
i i o n 1 2 . in th e sa led for St . Eustat us December There the little Methodist Society had
almost dwindled to nothing . I t had its heroines . Two negresses had been publicly flogged for attend
‘ - ing a Methodist prayer meeting . While under
r the seve e lashes Of the common executioner, and when great furrows we r e made in their bleeding
backs, they triumphantly told the multitude that they preferred their tor ments above all the gold 3 1 FROM WESLEY’S DEATH TO
and silver in the world . In short , they gave such
o f o f proofs the power religion , Of patient suffering
r and victorious faith , that some p incipal gentlemen who were present ac knowledged it was a thousand pities they should suffer at all . But nothing could
’ move the Gove r nor .
At St . Vincent also persecution had broken
Mr . o ut . Coke found Lumb confined in the common
a f r r j il o p eaching . The legislature had passed an
r o n e Act fo bidding any to preach without a licence , and as s uch a licence w a s only gr anted to those who
r had esided twelve months on the island , it struck
s a har d blow at the Methodist mis ions . There were
r . now neg o members in St Vincent . The
r w a s r r . wo k sp eading ove the group By February ,
1 r r 7 9 3 , the e were twelve p eachers in the West
o O f I ndies , and members , m st whom were
n r . r eg oes After visiting Ba bados and Jamaica ,
Coke sailed for England . His vessel had a narrow
s r r e cape f om a French p ivateer, which was gaining
’ on it apace when Lord Hood s fleet , bound for
‘
r . o the Medite ranean , appeared in sight J yfully
s o u r did we sail into the mid t Of friends , while the
r o f r privatee made Off towards the coast F ance .
u s Thus did Providence deliver . Then praise the O ’ Lord , my soul .
dis After due inquiry, the English Government
o f o f . annulled the Act the Assembly St Vincent ,
‘ and tho se Neros in miniature who had imprisoned 3 2
FROM WESLEY’S DEATH TO
’ Whitfield . Henceforth the collection was made every year . Coke now planned an industrial mission to settle
r r . in the Foulah count y , beyond Sie ra Leone He
r took g eat pains in selecting its members , Sier r a Leone 0 a nd th e 1 U nfo r s i i n 6 . who a led February, 7 9
01ap h am S6 0t . tu na te l y, they quarrelled , and the colony had to be abandoned . Methodism was thus linked
r r to Zacha y Macaulay , William Wilbe force , and othe r member s o f the Clapham Sect . When Zachar y Macaulay was o n his way to Sierra Leone as G o v e r nor he wr o te I am pestered almost
’
Dr his . to death with . Coke and missionaries
s fo r Coke also enli ted the help Of Wilber ce , who
r was Often amused by the Oddities O f the docto .
’ When the account O f Coke s visit to Ame r ica in
’ s L e r ou Wesley if was ead to him he said , S they
o r never could have seen the d cto . I wish I could
o r f rget his little ound face and shor t figure . Any one who wished to take O ff a Meth o dist could not have d o ne better than exactly co py his manner
r and appearance . He l o oked a me e boy when he w a s r o o tu ned fifty, with such a sm th apple face ,
r r and little ound mouth , that if it had been fo gotten yo u might have made a s good a o ne by th r usting
o see in your thumb . He was waiting once t me in a room , into which some accident brought Bankes .
The doctor made, I suppose, some strange demon
’ str atio n fo r , he sent Bankes to Milner s room , 34 THE CEYLON MISSION
“ saying in amazement , What extraordinary people Wilberforce does get around him Wilberforce i gave £50 for the Foulah miss on , and when things turned out badly he wrote to Zachary Macaulay
n 1 6 . o July 4 , 7 9 Yet we must not be discouraged
’ But this e ve nt confi r ms me in the wish to set up an institution for educating and training missionaries
r of which a few of ourselves should be the manage s .
n 1 O November 9 , 7 97 , he writes in his journal Dined and slept at Batte r sea Rise fo r missionary
— s meeting Simeon , Charle Grant , Venn . Some
’
t . o s bu . thing, not much, done Sime n in earne t
M inu tes o Con er ence fo r 1 6 In the f f 7 9 , below the
o fo r r r o entry Missi naries Af ica , Archibald Mu d ch ,
’ William Patten , we find it noted that Dr . Coke
his r u reported failure, and afte prayer and mat re consideration , the Conference unanimously judged that a trial should be made in that par t of Africa on the proper missionary plan . The two brethren above - mentioned having voluntarily offe r ed them
r selves for this important wo k , the Conference
r solemnly appointed them for it , and ea nestly recommended them and their great enterp r ise to the public and private prayers o f the Methodist
’ Society .
’ Dr . Coke s strength and time had been largely devoted to the home work du r ing the anxious
r pe iod that followed the death Of Wesley . In 1 6 August , 7 9 , he sailed for Baltimore to attend the 35 FROM WESLEY’S DEATH TO
General Conference . There he proposed to labour
’ o r as Asbury s colleague , visiting the West I ndies
r France when he could be spa ed . Asbury was delighted , but the English Conference asked Coke
to to r etain his relation it , as he had often been a peacemaker in the anxious years that followed
o f w a s the death Wesley , and greatly needed in
s a the disturbed t te o f the societies .
1 Coke returned to England in March , 7 97 , and
w a s elected President of the Conference at Leeds .
America I n Aug ust he crossed the Atlantic again .
w C°k °' ants His vessel w as taken by a French
r p ivateer, and the President of the Methodist
Conference became a pr isone r . He regained his liber ty in time to attend the November Conference
r r s in Vi ginia . He eported that the Engli h Con ference could not affor d to give up its missi on ary bishop to Amer ica . There were then more than
r r t avelling and local p eachers in the States , so o that Bish p Asbury sorely needed his colleag ue . No other helpe r s could be appointed till the
’ 1 General Confe r ence o f 800. When that drew near the English Conference of 1 7 99 wrote : We a r e satisfied that the wo r k o f God and the good o f
s r for the Church , con ide ed at large, call his
’ (Dr . Coke s) continuance in Europe . The West Indian miss ions have flourished under his super
o ur intendence beyond most sanguine expectations .
“ About ha ve been added to the Church 3 6 THE CEYLON MISSION
o f God among the poor negroes in that part o f
the world . But there is no person , at present, to
fill his place , and raise the necessary supplies .
r We, indeed , help him in a deg ee but are satisfied that the w o r k o f God in those i s lands would receive ' ’ r essential injury on his secession f om it .
n O e little incident belongs to this period .
. 1 8 Mrs Fletcher, in 7 9 , offered Coke the remaining
’ C o f s L a G r a t e et la opies her hu band s poem ,
‘ N a tu r e , with her wish that the profit should be
’ r pe sonal . The doctor asked her to send them to
Mr . Bruce, the bookseller in City Road , my agent
’ for all my little matters , who would bind a hundred
‘
. : a s copies He says Whatever I can spare myself, well as receive from others , I apply to the carrying
O f r G o d on the g eat work Of among the negroes ,
’ a work which particularly lies upon me .
1 In 7 99 Dr . Coke devoted much attention to a mission among the Irish peasantry . Charles
O usele Graham and Gideon y were two of Mission in I reland‘ the first missionaries . They wore velvet caps , and preached on horseback in the fairs and
‘ ’ ‘ ’ . o r r markets The Black Caps , Caval y Preachers , were soon well known in Ireland , and many of the ignorant and supers titious were led into the light of the gospel .
Mr . Etheridge says the work in the West I ndies
‘ had now attained such a mas sive impor tance as to involve a vast amount of pecuniary care . To 3 7 FROM WESLEY’S DEATH TO
meet these responsibilities , Dr . Coke not only
r his o w n r r d ained p ivate esources , but toiled
r Cok e finds f om day to day like a common “ Vim ’ r 8 . 1 0 mendicant At B istol in 5 , he
Paw so n o f asked John , the superintendent the
v o f circuit , to gi e him the names any who were
‘ ’ P so n . . aw likely to help him Why , said Mr ,
‘ s Hot there is a lady now taying at the Wells , w ho s o u , I hould not wonder, would give y some thing handsome ; and , if you like , I will show
’ o u is y myself where She lodging . To his delight
s r and astoni hment , Miss Smith p omised that She would give him £ 1 00 if he could call at her
o home in Bradford (Wilts) . When the d ctor
sh e 20 went made it £ 0 . H e had fo und a
r w o n kindred Spi it , and soon her consent to
r his sha e life and labours .
Coke publi shed no missionary balance - sheet
1 1 0 between 7 94 and 8 3 . Whilst he was o ut o f
1 80 r Missionary England in 3 , his accounts we e in o f the hands the Book Steward , who got them hopelessly mixed with his o w n accounts .
J abez Bunting , then a young minister in London ,
: w as called in to help . He writes All next week
s my places are to be upplied , that I may be at libe r ty to attend to the affairs o f the missions and
’ o o f o f the Book C mmittee . I n the middle that
2 8 1 80 o r : week , December , 3, he rep ts I am quite tired of the cares of business , and should be glad 38 THE C EYLO N MISSION
o s instantly to return to my accust med dutie . I
so find bustling a life, spent in such employments , not very favourable to my spiritual interests . . ’ r Pra y for me . I neve needed help more . The London ministers formed a Committee o f
‘ o f Finance and Advice , consisting themselves and f lay members o f the Committee o Privileges .
r Mr. William Ma riott was treasurer, Mr . Joseph
1 80 Butterworth secretary . The Conference of 4
‘ dissolved this committee , as they choose to
m ss o ns manage the i i in future , only by their
General Superintendent, and a committee chosen
’ r o w n r r o ut Of thei body . A ministe ial treasure
r and sec etary , Robert Lomas and Joseph Entwisle ,
r s fo r were appointed , and ule were adopted the
o f s n management the mission . It was arra ged to publish annual accounts . Jabez Bunting greatly r egretted that laymen were not allowed to o n w as r Sit this committee , but he egarded as a dangerous innovator .
’ Coke s letters still bea r witness to his zeal as
. o r 2 6 a collector Fr m Boston , on Septembe ,
1 80 2 s 4 , £ 1 0 . . he sent 3 to the Rev Cok e as a
. o O n R Lomas , the B ok Steward .
‘ October 2 he for wards 1 00 fr om Hull : I have
’ ‘ ’ r r 0 o f O h on bo owed above £3 this . , go , he pleads ,
‘ ou s I will beg hard for y , as far as is nece sary .
r I will , if necessa y, God willing, raise for you
’ the ensuing year . At Hull he collected 3 9 FROM WESLEY ‘ S DEATH TO
200 more than £ , and hop ed to get as much at
r B istol . He asks the committee to deal kindly with a mis s ionar y who had not obeyed instr uc
‘ r has tions . Brothe Shipley done more in the
way and spirit of martyrdom than , perhaps , any
other man in the Connexion would have done . He nu r sed that blessed wo r k in D o minica till the
0 Society sprang up from 5 to To do this ,
he endured the yellow fever four times , and his
o n wife twice . When he was the point of dying, his physicians urged him to se t O ff instantly with
his r o r the fleet to native count y, he must die
o ff quickly . He went , instead of going , to Nova
o u Scotia . Very probably y would have done the
sam e . We have no right to punish him . Do
let him go to Nova Scotia . He may then go,
n whe perfectly recovered , back to the dear
’ negroes .
r r 1 1 Dr . Coke visited Pa is in Septembe , 7 9 , in the hope of secu r ing a foothold fo r Methodism
Meth odism in the French capital . The state of mpmnce ' the city made it neces sary to abandon that design . A modest beginning of mission work
w a s o in Normandy , h wever, made the same year .
A Jersey layman , John Angel , visited that region , where he found some Protestants without M a pastor . William ahy was sent from Guern se r y to care for them , and labou ed here until 1 808 1 8 ‘ . I n 04 Jabez Bunting wrote : We have 4 0
FROM WESLEY’S DEATH TO
s r fo r o ne them alone . I wi h the e were twenty o f them ; we sh o uld have fewer court - martials
’ r r o ut in the ga ison . Persecution broke a few
r 1 1 1 80 yea s later, and on July , 3 , five Methodist soldiers in Gibr altar we r e condemned by a court martial to r eceive 500 lashes each fo r attending a
r r r r Methodist se vice . The co porals we e educed , and r eceived 2 00 lashes each ; the other thr ee men were pardoned .
1 80 r s o f In 4 , in esponse to the reque t some
‘ o o r s M M ullen Meth dist s ldie , the Rev . J ames was sent a s o u r fi r st missionary to Gibraltar . He
r his a rived with wife and child in September, when yellow feve r had desolated every hou se
o r . His h ld . He only p eached once child caught
r o u t the fever, and the father , wo n with nursing,
o n fell a victim to the disease O ctobe r 1 8 . H is
r r wife died a few days late . Thei child was
r spared to retu n to England , where She became
o f . o the wife the Rev J hn Rigg , and the mother
f . D w a s o . D the Rev . J H . Rigg, . The station left 1 8 08 r f without a pastor till , when William G i fith
r w a s came to take charge . P ovidence Chapel built
1 8 1 1 r r in , and Gib altar became the head quarte s
o f r r Methodism in the B itish A my . The Abolition Bill o f 1 807 brought to an end
r the legalized t affic in slaves . The Conference
‘ of that year dete r mined that none o f o u r
preachers employed in the West I ndies, shall be 4 2 THE CEYLON MISSION
w ho at liberty to marry any person , will not previously emancipate , in the legal methods , all
o f she the slaves whom may be About,“ of
Slave Tr ade ‘ possessed : and if any Of our brethren
r r o r the e , already married , have, by such mar iage,
a n r r o f in y othe way , become prop ietors slaves , we requir e those brethren to take immediate and
’ effectual steps for their emancipation . A copy of this minute was to be sent to every preacher
r in the West I ndies , with instructions that a repo t should be given next year Of the way in which
s it had been obeyed . Mo t of the white people who were C lass - leader s in the West I ndies we r e
- s r slave holders . The missionaries were in t ucted
‘ to promote the moral and r eligious improvement
o Of the Slaves , with ut in the least degree, in public
’ o r r . in private , inte fering with their civil condition
o They never taught the Slaves to expect freed m , but trained them to be patient and faithful to duty .
1 08 s f r In 8 Dr . Coke i sued an appeal o a missi o n f to Africa . Some o the negroes who had helped
o f to form the colony Sierra Leone Sierra in 1 7 9 2 were Methodists from Nova
Scotia . When they reached Africa two or three o f a s r them served local p eachers, and others as
- s r . clas leade s Congregations grew, and a chapel was erected to hold four hundred people . I n the
1 8 1 0 winter of Coke met George Warren , then FROM WESLEY’S DEATH TO
r a local preacher in the Helston Ci cuit, who felt
‘ o r Fo r himself called t work in Af ica . a long
’ ‘ s sea on , he told Coke , his mind had been so deeply impr essed that it was his duty to go that he would pre fe r the station to any other .
o r At the same time C ke hea d from Mr . Nelson ,
o f then superintendent at Dewsbury , three young
r men , Mess s . H adley , Hurst , and Rayner , who
r o we e willing to go o ut t Afr ica . They were
o f examined by a committee the Leeds District , a nd sent to an academy to p r epare for educational
r work in Sierra Leone . The four missiona ies
o r o 8 1 1 o n 2 1 1 . sailed fr m Live po l September , The people o f Liverpool gave 200 Bibles and
s r 2 Testament , the Bible Society p esented 5
2 2 Arabic Bibles , 5 English Bibles , and 5 English
Testament s . Great w a s the rejoicing in Sierra
o . M r Le ne when the missio n party ar rived .
r o o n o l o f Go d n , wh se shou ders the burden the
Methodist settlement had rested , was engaged
r in fishing, so that he was f equently absent from
o f home . When he called at the house the merchant where the missionaries were enter
‘ t a ined w a s , and introduced to them , his heart
r for seemed to ove flow with joy . Astonishment , a few moments , suppressed every other feeling .
r At length , after recove ing a little from the
r o f transpo t his amazement , he exclaimed , with a degree o f rapturous pathos which no a r t can
4 4 THE CEYLON MISSION
’ “ imitate , This is what we have been praying
no w L for so long , and the ord has answered o ur Mr . Warren had expected to find
1 1 0 . 50 members , but there were in the Society
His ministry was greatly blessed , but after eight months ’ labour he fell a victim to malignant
2 8 1 2 w s o n 1 . a fever J uly 3, He the first
r o f h missionary marty West Africa . He ad ‘ laboured even more than perhaps would have
’ his o w n been prudent even in country . The work at Sierra Leone w as now left without
1 8 1 a head , but in February , 5, the Rev . William
h is r Davies and wife ar ived from England . Within
M r s . ten months Davies fell a victim to fever , the
’ first o f the missionaries wives who have laid down
r W their lives fo est Africa . Death mowed down
o ne worker after another . Six missionaries and
’ two missionaries wives died within Six months , yet volunteers were always ready to fill the
posts o f danger . Native missionaries were being
trained , schools established , chapels built , not
r only in Freetown , the capital , but in other pa ts
o f the colony . Coke managed to raise more than a year for missions by subscriptions and the general
collection . He was unwearied in his Cow ma n ”
. O n 1 1 8 10 efforts J anuary , , he writes
‘ r : f om Wakefield I f my accounts be accurate ,
8 1 s o u . r I have sent y £7 4 3 since the Confe ence . 4 5 THE CEYLON MISSION
I have no doubt I shall make U p this sum to
G o d before the Conference, if it please
that I live and am well . Then you will have the public collection s throughout the kingdom ; so that we Should not impede this glor ious wo r k
’
r . in the least deg ee . Jehovah J ireh
‘ r r r 2 8 1 8 1 2 s F om Tru o , Janua y , , he write , I
s 200 have ent by this post £ , which will be
00 hO e 2 00 r £ 5 in all , and p to send £ mo e
r o D. V . Pe n f om Plym uth . I intend to be , , at z a nce next Sunday , at Redruth the Sunday
o o r f ll wing , and at Plymouth the Sunday afte . I am pr epa r ing a French ser mon to p r each to
fis ne r s r the p o . But nothing shall inte rupt my
M r lab o urs in begging . When I received . Blan
’ r o shard s last lette , inf rming me that the fund w a s above in debt , it robbed me of my r est for two nights . And I could not pacify myself till I had resolved to sacrifice all my
te r r s li a y labour , and to be nothing but a
r r r p eache and a begga , and to beg morning
r r r and afte noon . I felt the sac ifice ve y great, because I am so foolish a s to think I could do
s is some good through the Pre s . But all over . I will never r est till I have liquidated all
’ your debt . CHAPTE R I II
FORMATI O N O F LOCAL M IS S I ONARY S OCI E TI E S
FORMATION OF L O CAL
the Gove r nment in I ndi a would prosecute us if we
s established a mi sion in I ndia, but would connive
’ s r at o ur proceeding . The f iends agreed that the best place for the mission would be among the
r - r o n o f r Sy ian Hindu Ch istians the coast Malaba , who number ed These pa r ticulars are
‘ r s 1 8 given in a lette dated Hel tone, December , C o l o nel Sandys pr o mi sed a handsome gift to sta r t the miss io n and a liberal co ntr ibuti o n
r s his afte wa r d . Coke and wife Offer ed £50 a
‘ r n o t yea , and if this be sufficient, we will lay
s o f o u r r o n out ome p incipal joint annuities,
1 00 o r 200 er . and give £ , £ , p annum I have no
’ o doubt many will j in us liberally . Colonel
’ Sandys p r esided at the S o ciety s anniversa r y in
1 8 2 1 o f s , when the dreams earlier day had been
glor iou sly realized . C o ke took every opportunity of consulting men
- - as . r o in who knew I ndia , such Mr Mo t n , father law
o f Dr Dr . r r . Beaumont and Mo ison of China , and Hi Dr . s r r . Claudius Buchanan inte cou se with
Dr . Buchanan convinced him that Ceylon was the
r best field for an Eastern mission . The e wer e
r s nominal Ch i tian inhabitants , with only
two ministers . English , Dutch , and Portuguese
so were spoken widely in the island , that the missionar ies might be usefully employed whilst
r . they were lea ning the native tongues The Hon .
s s o f Sir Alexander John ton , Chief J u tice Ceylon , 5 0 MISSIONARY SOCIETIES
visited England in 1 809 . He told William Wilberforce o f the ho r rible condition of the heathen and the low state o f r eligion among the nominal
Christians . Wilberforce warmly commended the
r o f s missiona y work the Methodist , and advised the Chief Justice to Open negotiations with them
o r r as to a mission to Ceyl n . Wilb e fo ce mentioned
r k Co n this to Adam Cla e , but at that time the ference felt unable to incur fr esh bu r dens . Coke was so much bent o n a mission to the East that he actually offered himself to the Government to fill the proposed bi shopric for India . He said he would resign all his p r ospects Of usefulness at
r home if only that Opportunity were g anted . ‘ Could I but close my life in being the
r means Of raising a spi itual Church in India , it would satisfy the utmost ambition Of my sou l here
’ below . His removal would , he thought, render
fo r O f o others more zealous the good Meth dism .
o w as He had a f rtune Of about a year, and r to eady to devote his whole str ength the work .
fo r fo r Happily himself and Methodism , nothing
o came Of this p r O p sa l.
Coke w a s now shut up to Methodism . O n June
2 8 1 8 1 r r . , 3,he w ote from Dublin to his f iend Mr
r o Drew, who had u ged him t give up the plan
‘ o n account Of his age and other difficulties : I have laboured in the begging way since the last Co n feience r r mo e arduously than eve , except about 5 1 FORMATION OF LOCAL
r a month o six weeks , when I swam in waves Of woe o n account o f my late precious wife . I am
o r now dead to Eu r ope and alive f India . God
s G O so Him elf has said to me , to Ceylon I am fully convinced Of the will o f God that methinks I had rather be set naked o n the coast Of
o o Ceylon , with ut cl thes and without a friend , than
w as r r r no t go there . He a dently lea ning Po tuguese, which he was convinced that he should master befor e he reached Ceylon . A month later he stood in the Liverpool Co n fer ence pleading for Ceylon . The burdens Of the Connexion made its wisest counsellors Cok e p lead s for Ce lon in i W i y hes tate . Joseph Benson declared , th f con erence ' r g eat vehemence , that the scheme would
s be the ruin Of Methodi m . J abez Bunting , Reece,
’ r and Atmo e , however, pleaded warmly for Coke s
r O o sals p p . The debate was adjourned . As Coke
o n . returned to his home , leaning the arm Of Mr
- r of Clough , almost broken hea ted with his burden
r s unce tainty , he actually wept in the treet . Next
day , when Mr . Clough called , he found that the doctor had s pent most Of the night o n the floor
r in prayer fo I ndia . That morning his thrilling speech and his mu nifice nt O ffer o f fo r the commencement of the mission subdued all Opposi
‘ ’ o u ‘ tion . I f y will not let me go, he said , you will break my heart ! ’
The Conference authorized and appointed Dr . 5 2 MISSIONARY SO CIETIES
Coke to undertake a mission to Ceylon and J ava, and allowed him to take with him S ix m iss ionar ies
f r exclusive o f one o the Cape O f Good Hope .
. o u t Dr . Coke called Mr Clough of the Conference ,
t o u and said with a full heart , Did I not ell y that ’ God would answer praye r ? He was soon wholly
‘ I n engrossed with preparation for his departure . case of his death he left all his property to the
’ - Worn out Ministers Fund .
George Morley, then Superintendent in Leeds ,
‘ had seen how many were discouraged , and some
’ i absolutely terr fied , by any attempt to Leeds forms send a mission to the East on account O f a Missionar y some”
the exhausted state Of the funds . It had been resolved to diminish the number Of ministers
at home rather than let the opportunity slip . He
determined , there and then , to propose some extra
in ordinary effort his circuit . H e consulted his
Pilte r colleagues , J abez Bunting and Robert , who
warmly supported him . All to whom the matter
w as mentioned were ready to assist . A consulta
tion was held at Bramley, and the ministers there
heartily end o rsed the scheme for a Leeds meeting .
When James Buckley and Richard Watson , then
travelling at Wakefield , were invited to the ff inaugural meetin g, they Offered to join in the e ort . An address was issued propos ing the formation Of a Methodist Missionary Society for the Leeds
‘ o District . It dwelt n increasing opportunities of 5 3 FORMATION OF LOCAL
evangelizing heathen nations , the excellent example
r s o f Of other Ch istian societies, and the lo s the
h s r o . C s a pe sonal exerti ns of Dr oke , who for year
r r stooped to the ve y drudge y of charity , and has gr atuitously pleaded the cause Of a perishing world
r . s o u r f om door to door Whilst, therefore, he lead little band Of missio naries against the idolatr y Of
o ne the East, and whilst more than hundred Methodist mi ssionaries in different parts o f the world are immediately engaged in the same
s o o f r conte t with the p wers da kness , it devolves upo n us w ho r emain at home to give effect to
r the necessa y financial arrangements , and to
’ furnish the sinews of this holy war .
M r O n o r 1 8 1 . Oct be 5 , 3 , Buckley preached at
. o r Armley The following m ning, at Albion Street . W o r Chapel , Leeds , Richard ats n delive ed his
‘ ’ se r mon on Ezekiel s Vision O f the Valley Of Dr y
’ ’ w o . t Bones The same day , at O clock , a public
O ld r meeting was held in the Boggard House, afte
’
r . r r wards eplaced by S t Pete s Chapel . He e Richard Bo a r dman and Joseph Pilmoor had
r f r r voluntee ed o America . The galle y w a s filled
. M . P. O f by ladies ; Mr Thomas Thompson , , Hull ,
w a presided . H e said he s present at the Confer
1 8 h ence Of 7 7 held in that chapel , w en a most inte r esting discussion to ok place o n the p r opr iety Of sending missiona r ies to the coast Of Guinea to preach the gos pel to the debased and degr aded 5 4 MISSIONARY SOCIETIES
Afr icans in the very face o f the slave trade . After a debate which lasted several hours , a young man , apparently far advanced in consumption , rose and Offered to Spend the remainder O f h is days in
w a s r o that bless ed work . This p bably James
‘ o f r Gaffney , a young man conside able abilities ,
’ e r r r s wise abov his yea s , whose Obitua y appea in
r s r . O ne 1 7 79 . Eighteen e olutions we e adopted
r r r Of the speake s was William Wa rene , who had
r s w a s r returned f om the West Indie , and labou ing
’ w a s r in Selby . William Dawson s speech elect ical ,
r r C and d ew tears f om the eyes of the hairman . Henceforth the missionar y platfo r m was another
r s th one for Dawson . T he most famou and effective
‘ ’ o Of his speeches was the telesc pe Speech , which
Dr . Benjamin Gregory heard at Pontefract . Dawson coiled Up his r esolution into the shape o f - a Spy glass , and described in the most animated ,
o f energetic , vivid style , characteristic scenes
‘ r — heathenism , asking before each desc iption What ? ’ do I see Then , turning in another direction , he
‘ s demanded , But what do I ee in the distant
’ prospect ? descr ibing the most graphic scenes of
millennial peace, and love , and glory . Jabez
- fir st s Bunting was thirty in the list of speaker .
fe w He only said a words , but when o ne o f the local secreta r ies Of the London Mi ssi o nary Society expr es sed a desire that all Chri stians s h o uld r egar d
themselves as one body in missionary enterprise , 5 5 FORMATION OF LOCAL
. r out Mr Bunting felt it necessa y to point that ,
s o ne though the cau e was , it was promoted by
o f distinct Societies , each which had its distinct
and separate fund . Richard Reece preach‘ed in the evening to a
r NO crowded cong egation . collection was made at
O f any the services .
‘ Richard Watson p r epa r ed An Address to the
’ o Public , showing that the Connexion had ab ut Sixty mi ss iona r ie s labou r ing among the I r ish papists
r and in fo eign lands . The exact statistics were
0 1 . 3 mission stations , 5 agents , and members
’ Many thousand copies Of Watson s address were
r ci culated , and within twelve months was remitted from the Distr ict to the treasurer in
‘ o L ndon . Jabez Bunting wrote : I believe in this
’ circuit we shall get annually more than even Dr . Coke has Obtained by his occasional applications
u nds o r . once in two three years And not only f ,
but missionaries will , I trust, be multiplied by the fr equent appeals which the Society will make by its
r o n annual meetings , sermons , and eports , behalf f ’ O the perishing h eathen . Benson felt that the plans had been laid with
‘ great judgement as well as zeal . I agree with
o u o ur y that you had no alternative , to prevent
’ people s money being diver ted in a line in which it
e so no r is n ither much needed , will , as far as we
d o o s s . can judge , much good These mission to 5 6
FORMATION OF LOCAL
r James Lynch , William Ault, George E skine ,
. u a nce William M Harvard , Thomas H . Sq , and
’ Benjamin Clough were Coke s co m Th e fir st " ’ s s r igéi fif panions . They we e ordained at Lam fi ’ o r s —in - - s beth , St . Ge ge the Ea t , and G r eat Queen Street When they met at the
r o t r Bush Hotel , Po tsm u h , Coke rose f om
‘ h is ix r . r a r e r e G o d s chai He e we all befo , mi ssio na r ies and two dea r si ste r s ! M r s Ault and
M r s r r no w r o n . Ha va d! , emba ked the most
impor tant and most gl o r iou s w o r k in the world .
o r s r His ss Gl y be a c ibed to ble ed name , that He h a s given you to be my compani o n s and assist
in r r s ants ca ying the go pel to the Asiatics , and
ha s r r r that He not suffe ed pa ents , nor b others ,
n o r r r s an siste s , nor the dea e t friends , to stop y " O n o f yo u fr om going with me to India .
0 1 8 1 r r December 3 , 3 , the party sailed f om Po ts
o r m uth . Coke p eached his farewell sermon in
’ r r ! St . Pete s Chapel , Portsmouth , f om the text Ethiopia Shall s oon stretch o ut h e r hands unto
’ w a s r O f God . I t a sum ma y the deepest thoughts
‘ f his r o . and yearnings hea t He said , I t is of little consequence whether w e take ou r flight to glory
u r r from the land Of o nativity , f om the trackless
’
o r o f . ocean , the shores Ceylon Strong in this
o n his . confidence , he started last voyage
Coke lost no time in resuming his studies . I n two his charming cabin , with large windows opening 5 8 MISSIONARY SOCIETIES
o n out the sea , he employed himself in reading
r and w iting Portuguese . His heart was full Of
’ ‘ r fo r boundless cha ity divine . The passion missions has seldom glowed more fervently in
‘ ’ ‘ any human breast . I want , he said , the wings
o f Of an eagle and the voice a trumpet, that I may p r oclaim the gospel through the East and
’ the West, the North and the South . God seemed to have bidden him to go to Ceylon . A clergyman was not permitted to preach o n a ship belonging to the East India Company ; but
’ ‘ the passengers , who had heard Of Coke s Com
’ mentary, asked him to give them some readings
r o n w a s f om it Sunday evenings . He as eager as ever to do good to all who sailed with him .
The future was always in his thoughts , and he sent home from the Cape a detailed account O f his plans Of wo r k .
Meanwhile his health alarmed his friends .
Mr r . Clough t ied to make him take some r w a s f elaxation , but it di ficult to draw
r r his the eage student f om Portuguese .
O n r May 2 Mrs . Harvard was dist essed by his a wavering step and h ggard look . That night he sang
To me r e ma ins nor ac e nor time pl , M y c ountr y is in e v e r y c lime I c an be c a lm a nd fr e e fr o m ca r e O an sh or e since od i r n y , G s the e . 59 FORMATION OF LOCAL
0 Th ou b on e x e r ie n ce tr ied , y l g p , N ear w h om no g r ief ca n lon g a bide M G od h ow fu of sw e et conte nt y , ll I pa ss my ye a r s Of ban ish ment !
All scene s alike e ng a gin g pr ov e To sou l s inspir ed w ith h ea v enly l o ve ’ Wh e r e er th e d w e the dw e in Th ee y ll y ll , In h e a en in e a r th o r on th e se a v , , .
C ou d I be ca st w h e r e Th ou a r t not l , Th at w e r e inde ed a dr eadful lot ; But r e ions n on e r emote I ca g ll , S e cur e of findin G od in ll g a .
si Mr . Clough wished to t up with him , but the doctor assured him it was unnecessary , and
o - r said he hoped to be better t mor ow. The morning came ; his faithful fr iend knocked at his door, but received no answer . Coke lay lifeless o n the floor of his cabin . It was a sore
fo r 165 C stroke the little band , thus suddenly to
r thei head . They had scarcely a guinea among them , and when they landed , three weeks later , at Bombay , were unable to pay for their first
’ r meal at the inn . Thei leader s death seemed to leave them utterly destitute . With aching hearts they committed the body of the missionary bishop to the mighty deep .
’ News Of Dr . Coke s death reached London in
1 8 1 November, 4 , in time for insertion in the
M et/zodist M a a z ine r r g for Decembe , which ca ried the tidings over the Connexion . The Report
‘ for 1 8 1 5 refers tenderly to Our orphan
60 MISSIONARY SOCIETIES
’ ’ ‘ n missionaries . Glorious intelligence soo came , however, which , Jabez Bunting thought , would
’ convince even the most sceptical that Dr . Coke s
‘ s zeal was not always enthusiastic , and that thi
’ o ld mission had the sanction Of G o d . The
s — veteran , Thoma Taylor im mortalized in the
’ ' v s o the E a r l M et/i oa ist P r ea cner s Li e f y , and in James Montgomery ’s
Se r ant of G od w e d one ! v , ll Re st fr om thy lov ed employ
confessed , when the Birmingham Missionary
Society was formed , that he had thought the
‘ mission to Ceylon a hopeless scheme , and seemed j ustified in my opinion by the death
Of that indefatigable labourer in the great work ,
h s Dr . Coke ; but the success with which it a
’ been crowned has Silenced my fears .
Coke, like another Moses , had gone when he
seemed most sorely needed, snatched from his
Pisgah Vision to the heavenly rest . H is feet never touched the Shores o f I ndia ; his tongue never
o f o proclaimed there the message life . This j y was not gr anted him ; yet su r ely his was a
fo r nobler lot . H e died India ; and dying, left the East a s his legacy to the little band o f
o w n r companions who shared his ardou , and to
the Methodists Of both worlds , who are pledged
’ by Coke s heroic life and death to know no rest
r o ut till I ndia st etches her hands to God . H e
6 1 F ORMATION OF LOCAL
r had p eached at Hinde Street , London , where
O ld . o f his host , Mr Calder , lived , on the eve his
‘ ’ r : ! U depa ture Death he said , leaping p in the
‘ to s pulpit, death ! what is it the Chri tian ?
o s o ut o f Why , it is nly tepping time into eternity ! ’
Dr to s . Smith pays a noble tribute the mi sionary
‘ bisho p : He o rganized and extended the Metho dism o s r of America f te ed , defended , and promoted the missions to B r itish America and the West I ndies ; gave a mighty impul se to the p r omulga tion o f the gospel in the m o st destitute par ts o f
r r England , I eland , and Wales ; labou ed to introduce an evangelical agency into France and Gibraltar ;
r r and , finally , inaugu ated a g eat and effective
r o n s missionary agg ession Asia ; and , be ides all
to e this , paid constant attention the gen ral inte r ests o f the Connexion and the religious
o r o r conditi n Of the wo ld ; and lab u ed , in season a n d o u t s to r o s O f his Of eason , p om te the cau e Savi o u r and the extension o f the kingdom of
’ Christ . The Annual Rep o r t o f the state o f the m iss ion s
a r e r o n which ca ried both at home and abroad ,
Missionar y by the Society late in connexion with 1 3 3 1m m1 8 3 ‘ the Rev . John Wesley ; addressed in particular to those generous supporter s who have
r cont ibuted to their support , and to the benevolent
’ w a s er public at large, published at the Conf ence
6 2 MISSI O NARY SOCIETIES
1 8 1 r r ss Office in 3 . I t gives pa ticula s of the mi ions in Antigua, St . Christopher , Nevis , St . Bartholomew ,
Tortola, St . Thomas , and the other Virgin Islands lately captured , St . Eustatius , Dominica , St . Vin
a cent, Barbados , Grenada , Trinid d , J amaica, the
Bahamas , Bermuda , Nova Scotia and New Bruns
’ wick , Newfoundland , and Prince Edward s Island .
r r o r o It epo ts the growth of the w k in Sierra Le ne ,
‘ r s and says , Lately we have lea ned , with the keene t
’
r r is . M r r so row , that Mr . Wa ren dead . Rayne was to take his place as Superintendent . The Society at Gib r altar had incr eased fr om 4 2 to
1 2 e o r 7 , and the chapel erect d only two years bef e was so c r owded with respectable hearers that an
w a s s r r s enlargement neces a y . The I i h and Welsh missions were prospering , and Mr . Toase was doing a good work among the French prisoners in England . The total amount Of subscriptions
s was 9 . and Of public collections
’
os 1 1 a . u . Fitting o t missionaries cost
6 1 2 6 £ 5 3 ; West Indies , Nova Scotia , £ ;
1 1 8 1 r r 8 2 Bahamas , £ ; Bermuda , £ 4 3 ; Gib alta , £4 ;
o r r r s r s r r w k among F ench p i one , £ 599 Sie a
r r Leone, I eland (in the I ish language) ,
£ 8 s 5 5 ; home mission , miscellaneous ex
‘ 68 . is penses, £ 7 I t noted that Dr . Coke makes no charge fo r his travelling expenses o n account
’ Of the mission . Total expenses leaving
due to the treasurer . 63 FORMATION OF LOCAL
o n Whilst Dr . Coke was his voyage the fire
r s was Spreading th ough Engli h Methodism . The
se t Missionary example by Leeds was widely “ mumsm o 1 8 1 followed . Bef re the Conference of 4 , meetings were held and missionary societies formed
r f New in the Yo k , Hull , She field , Cornwall , and
s r s castle District . The fi t missionary meeting for Londo n was held at City Road Chapel in
1 8 1 . December , 4 The Manchester Missionary
o n 2 2 1 8 1 Society was formed February , 5 that at Birmingham in June . Collectors Offered their
r se vices in all directions, and the diffusion Of missionary intelligence rais ed U p fr iends and helpers everywhere . The first meeting at Hinde
r o n O 2 1 8 1 6 r en St eet , ctober 5 , , c eated such
’ th usiasm that the Leaders Meeting feared that their scheme for grappling with circuit debts
r would be impe illed , and passed a resolution that no o n e should be allowed to subscribe to the missionar y work who . gave up his subscr ip
o . ti n to the Chapel Fund The following week ,
w a s r r s when Jabez Bunting in the chai , this e olu
r tion was rescinded . Many timid people fea ed that missionary meetings wo uld destroy the Sim plic ity Of Methodism and lead to a fea r ful
‘ reaction . They were actually regarded as a device o f the devil to mar Methodism in all its
’ agency . I t was soon found that they spread abroad a knowledge Of the world ’s needs and 64
LOCAL MISSIONARY S OCIETIES the number Of missiona r ie s who may " co mme nd the guide of you r youth and the h O p e Of yo ur futu r e years to myriads who wander without a guide and witho ut a God? Join hand s with your
e r r o r o r eld r b eth en , y u fathers , y ur ministe s , with
r s o the whole Ch i tian w rld , in extending the
’ kingd o m o f your Lord and Saviou r . The
. r yo ung men at Hull paid in £8 4s . at thei fi r st
’ o s 2 1 1 2 s a m nthly meeting, the young ladie £ . 9 .
M iss iona r N otices fo r 1 8 1 6 o The y May, , ann unce that a J uvenile Mis s iona r y Society had been fo r med fo r the Leeds Circuit at the reques t and suggestion Of a few pious young men . The O ld Methodi s t Ch a pel w a s crowded for the fi r st
1 meeting on April 6 . Next month a Similar
o r society was f med at City Road , London , and
r s s s r s o f u r othe oon p ang up in all part the co nt y , to the gr eat h e lp a nd encou r agement Of all the
r r wo ke s . DE ATH TO RIC HAR D W ATS O N ’S 1 8 1 4— 1 832
C HA PTE R I V
FRO M CO KE ’S D E ATH TO RICHARD
’ W S O N S 1 8 1 — 1 8 2 AT , 4 3
THE time w as no w ripe for further organization . The Conference of 1 8 1 7 directed that a missionar y society should be formed in every Dis General Missionar tr ict . A scheme for a General Missionary y 8 0mm
Society, in which laymen should have
their place , was drawn up by Richard Watson , and
r approve d . Premises were to be secu ed in London
1 8 1 6 for a mission house . I n September, , J abez
‘ Bunting writes : Yesterd ay we agreed to take for o ne year two rooms o n the first floor o f
’
. o ur Mr Bruce s house (4 , City Road) for mis sio nar y Office . We are to pay £ 24 per annum .
A clerk is engaged , who is to assist the secre
’ r fo r fi v e 1 s . ta ies hours every day for 5 . per week
. M P Mr Thomas Thompson , . . , the first lay
r r t easu er , presided at the first annual meeting
o n 1 8 1 8 of the Society , held May 4 , , in City R . S ix oad Chapel I t lasted hours , and then
to had be adjourned to the following Thursday . Jabez Bunting delivered a statesmanlike plea for 69 FROM COKE’S DEATH TO the extension o f Methodist missions in continental
I ndia .
s Whilst the meeting w a in progress Dr . Clarke
r o S ir w h o r eceived a note f m Alexander Johnston , had just arrived in England with two Ar r ival of tw o Bu d d h ist yo u ng Buddhi st pr iests who W ished to
Pmm '
be instructed by the Methodists . That
r n r announcement made a p ofou d imp ession . The collections at the public services and meeting
800 o f amounted to more than £ , with a profusion
- s fin e r - n s ear ring , g ri g , silver and gold trinkets
’ s thrown into the box be ide .
r r ir r Next day D . Cla ke met S Alexande
o s o r e to O f J hn t n , who Offe d pay half the cost the
r o f r . t aining the p iests A committee , held at the
n new mission house , arra ged that they Should be
. fdr placed under the care Of Dr Clarke , and two
years they lived with him at Millbrook , near Liver
r o n pool . The docto f u d them delightful pupils , and in due c o u r se they were baptized at B r unsw ick
r . O n r r o Chapel , Live pool their etu n to Ceyl n they
r r joined the Chu ch Mission , but they emained
r r faithful to their Ch istian p ofession .
o f r Thomas Thompson , of Hull , member Pa lia
fo r r r O f th e ment M idhu st, the lay t easurer
w a s o Th e first Society , an intimate friend Of J seph u Treas rer‘ Benson , who owed much to his sagacious
o o c unsel in many important connexi nal matters ,
’ “ and the o f M etnoa ist M a a z ine also in conduct the g , 7 0 RICHARD WATSON ’S
Of which Benson was editor . Richard Wats on s ays that Mr . Thompson had been greatly indebted to
’ Benson s ministry at an early period Of life , and was largely imbued with his fervent piety and zeal
o f for the salvation men . He published a volume
1 8 Fr enc/z P niloso n in 7 9 entitled p y , giving par ticular s O f o f infidels the lives French , which showed
’ that their pr inc iples did not support them in facing death . This was of considerable service in those
M r anxious times . . Thompson also stoutly opposed
’ Lord Sidmouth s Bill fo r restricting the religio us
o f s liberty Di senters , and took an active part in
’ supporting William Wilberforce s effo r t to Obtain permission for Christian work in India . He asked
’ Mr . Benson to notice Wilberforce s published
’ oa i a a i speeches in the M etn st M g z ne . He was
O f very anxious for the success the magazine ,
‘ and wrote many o f the controversial articles in
’ r it during the ea lier period Of Mr . Benson s
’ editorship .
r o f 1 8 1 After the Confe ence 7 , 7 7 Hatton Garden
became the first Mission House . The region
’ took its n ame fr om Q ueen Elizabeth s Mission 11 r s r Chancello and favourite, Sir Chri tophe 52530? G d n r ar e Hatton . It had fo med part Of the
garden Of Hatton House . Evelyn tells us , in his
‘ Dia r o n 1 6 y , that he went J une 7 , 59 , to London ,
O f r see to take leave my b other , and the foundations now layin g for a long str e ete and buildings in 7 1 FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
‘ fo r t H atton Garden , designed a little own , lately an
’ a mple garden . In the days o f the Old Mission House Me thodism
s pread from Ceylon to continental I ndia . William Shaw started thence o n his way to lay the
foundation - stone o f Methodism in Grahamstown
r and in Kaff aria . Barnabas Shaw had landed in
1 8 1 s Cape Town in August , 4 , and his early labour
among Bushmen and Hottentots , and his work in
Cape Town , brought great rejoicing to Hatton
r Ga den . When Samuel Leigh came home with
his o f 1 8 20 story the Maoris , in , the Mission House
was soon crowded with ploughs , saws , axes , and
other material needed for the Maori Mission , New
Zealand . From Hatton Garden the first Methodist mis sio na r ies r s we e Sent to Au tralia, and , in
John Thomas sailed , amid ferven t prayer, to begin his s apostolic labours in Tonga . Six year after he reached the Fr iendly Islands eight to ten thou sand savages had renounced idolatry fifteen hund r ed O f
O f them were members the Methodist Society . I n
1 8 r 34 fou thousand members were gathered in .
King George had become a local preacher . The
1 8 pioneer missionaries landed at Fij i in October, 3 5 , ’ P i P . oor and the Rev James Watkin s appeal , ty
‘ Fi i s o j , oon laid hold Of Meth dism . John Hunt ,
J ames Calvert, and T . J . Jaggar sailed for the
o n 2 1 8 8 . Pacific April 9 , 3 7 2
FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
f there was no di ficulty in understanding them .
to Ro w v H e had preach at Wilderness that e ening ,
w as n o u t saw o ne and as he givi g , the hymn he after another O f the secretar ies and committee walk
in . Next mo r ning he w a s asked whethe r he had an
o f affection the chest , but the Rev . John James ,
‘ w a s who always a friend Of young men , said
’ r o r E d w a r s s B the d chest is as Sound as a bell . I n his rapid utterances he does no t give him self time to b r ing o u t distinctly the last word s O f his s ent e nce s ; he will get cu r ed of He w as
’ f r o Of e ed a single man s station in N rth America ,
a s w a s to r r r but , he engaged be ma ied , he prefe red to wait until there was an o pening fo r a mar ried
1 8 1 m an . In 3 he returned to London , staying 6 2 with Mr . James at , Hatton Garden , till a Ship
w as r o w S ° he eady t sail for Algoa Bay . It a t custom fo r all the young missiona r ies to be at
’ Hatton Garden at eleven O clock every morning, to
ne see if they had to preach that evening . O morn
Dr not o f ing . Townley told him he did know any
r wo k , adding We are all going to the Zoological
’ o Gardens , and you can g also, and have a holiday .
M r s r . Edward was leaving the ga dens , tired out
- with sight seeing , when he met the Rev . Thomas
s s o r s r Edward , one Of the mis i na y ec etaries , who told him that he was expected to preach at South
w r r a k Chapel that night . He d ove Off in a cab at
breakneck speed , and managed to get into the 7 4 RICHARD WATSON ’S
w pulpit in time . Mr . Ed ards took lessons in print
M r . ing at the Offices Of Mr . Roche and . Nichols
‘ ’ 1 1 8 1 w a s O n December 3 , 3 , when burking the
o . nightmare Of L ndon , Mr Edwards went to help
Joseph ~ Entwisle in the W a tch night Se r vice at
City Road . When Mr . Entwisle found that he was
r alone , he arranged that Mr . Edwa ds should speak
first, and provided two men to take him home to
r A S M r t 2 . . o 6 , Hatton Ga den soon as James g back fr om the service he had been attending and
w as s found that Mr . Edwards afely in bed he
‘
. ! No exclaimed , Good Mr Entwisle doubt he
’ ’ E dw a r ds s r f . O has saved Mr life . Some pa t the
‘ ’ r w as r . s sa w oute dange ous , and Mr Entwi le that
’ f r the young man ran great risk o being bu ked . Its efforts fo r the spread o f the gospel in heathen lands gave Methodism new dignity in the eyes
of all thoughtful men . When President Inter est of m” Ch m s“ 1 8 2 1 Bu ntin al er of the Conference in , Jabez g
dis met Dr . Chalmers in Scotland , who seemed
if to r posed , a fit opportunity occurred , p each for
the Methodist Mi ssionar y Society . He said he
U S would vastly like to do justice, by showing that we deserve as much credit for o ur missionary
t as r opera ions the Mo avians , whom everybody
a r e panegyrizes , while we comparatively over
w s looked . I a glad to hear this sentiment fr om
a s him , he has himself eulogized the M o ravians
’ very highly . FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
Laymen now took thei r fitting place in the
o f management the Society . Joseph Entwisle had
to 1 8 1 : Laymen written Jabez Bunting in 4
‘ ’ see Miggigggr y I don t that any danger would m 00 mit‘ee' a r i se fr o m a few respectable laymen in
o ur o f Committee Management, as it respects
’ r eceipts and expenditu r e ALO NE Think o f this .
o f Bunting had long thought it . He says in
‘ 1 8 1 6 : I still think we might safely, and must
U Co m ltimately , admit laymen into the Executive
’ mittee under ce r tain modifications . The same year he adds ° We want nothing but more
r fe w missiona ies , a laymen to add greater weight
r o u r and spi it to Managing Committee, and more
o f O f r o u r the blessing God , to ender missionary
r system a praise in the ea th . I more decidedly than ever think we ought to have some laymen at
o u r ma na in s least in g g Mis ionary Committee .
’ I am s ure both the tenep or a ls a na spir itua ls of that cause would be better for their active
’ c o - o operati n . At the Confer ence o f 1 8 1 8 it was resolved that ‘ it is expedient to adopt some plan by which the piety, talents , information , and influence Of some of our respectable friends , members Of the Wesleyan
r r Society not being t avelling preache s , may be bro ught into co - oper ation with the exertions of the preachers a s members Of the E x ecu tive Mi ssionary
D Committee in London . The Laws and Regulations 7 6 RICHARD WATSON’S of the General Wesleyan Methodi s t Missiona r y
r co - n Society , in which the p inciple Of lay operatio
o s o was contained , were adopted , and J eph Tayl r was appointed as the fi r st secretar y who gave his whole time to the Society . He was o ne Of th r ee young men who had stood in Carlisle market waiting to be hired as
r fa m servants . All became Methodist J oseph of Ta lor preachers . Taylor was a convert y , s c ’ e retam Bar r itt s a s o Mary , were Robert Newt n ,
M r . o o . . William Daws n , and Th mas Jackson . P W Bunting says that he strongly resembled Napoleon in appearance , and had the same untameable energy of will . Dr . Clarke compared his preaching
’ w a s to a tailor s goose, hot and heavy but it both
Spiritual and instructive . H e had been eight years a missionary in the West Indies . Taylor proved just the man the young Society needed fo r its early struggles, and laboured at Hatton Garden
six r for yea s with unceasing devotion .
M . P. Joseph Butterworth , , became lay treasurer
’ 1 8 1 - in - in 9 . H e was Adam Clarke s brother law, and a prosperous law bookseller in J osep h o Butter w or th Fleet Street . H e belonged t the Great
“ o Queen Street Society . His s cial
o f s s position , and his zeal in the cause mi sion ,
made him a model treasurer , and he rendered inestimable se r vice at this formative stage o f the
7 7 FROM COKE’S DEATH T O
W hilst the se r . events we e taking place at home
ss r s r to iiin r the mi iona ie we e g b avely in Ceylon . When they examined Coke ’s papers at Beg inning of th Ce on o e yl their hotel in B mbay, they found MI SSI On . noth ing that wo uld enable them to d r aw m o ney in h is name o r that o f the Mi ssiona r y
o r S ciety . They p ayed together as only men in
s e r r uch an xt emity could p ay . When they stated
r s r o o thei ca e to Captain Bi ch , the c mmander f
s the ve sel in which Coke sailed , he introduced
r them to Mr . Mony, a banker, who gene ously
r advanced whateve they needed . When they r eached Ceylon S ir Rober t B r own r igg se t the G overnment House at Point de Galle at
r r o thei se vice , and Lord M lesworth , who com h ma nde d r r s t e . the ga i on , met them at jetty He
r . S u a nce g asped Mr q by the hand , and said he had long been pr aying that missionar ies might be sent
o w r o s l O n t . India . He Sho ed them g eat h pita ity the fi r st Sunday ser vices were held in the Dutch
r o f s r s s chu ch . Most the Engli h e ident attended ,
’ o r S ua nce s s . the s ldier we e marched in , and Mr q
’ ser mon w a s the means Of Lord Molesw o r th s co n
v a version . He stole away that e ening from party at his house and asked the missionaries to spend a
o r r little time with him in prayer . Bef e they ose from
’ their knees he fo und a clear s e nse o f G o d s forgiving
h is s i i l o ve and poured out soul in thank g v ng .
1 8 1 The vessel in which he left India in May , 5 , 7 8 RICHARD WATS ON ’S
o o f was wrecked o n the c ast South Africa . He marched about the deck s pointing all to the
O f r s k Lamb God , then he and Lady Moleswo th an ,
’ r r locked in each othe s a ms . Three stations we r e occupied in the south
o ne Colombo, Galle , and Matara ; at Jaffna in the
north ; anothe r in the east at Batticaloa . J ames
u a nc e to Lynch and T . H . Sq went Jaffna ; William Ault to Batticaloa ; Geo r ge E r skine to Matara ;
. r r Benjamin Clough to Point de Galle The Gove no ,
r r r Gene al Sir Robert Brown igg, offe ed each missionary a certain stipend for teaching the English language to the C hildren Of the principal natives
o f in some the most important towns , and this
o d offer was gratefully accepted . Thus G raised up fr iends and helpe r s for His se r vants in
necessity .
r O f Mr . Ha vard took charge Colombo, where he found a zealous helper in the Govern ment school
s r s master, Mr . Armour . The mi siona y oon won
C the confidence Of the soldiers and ivilians , and befo r e long w a s able to preach both in Sinhalese
r O f 1 1 and Po tuguese . Before the close 8 5 he had
s o f r a clas fifteen membe s , and next year a
r comfo table chapel was erected . Schools were
r - se fo med , and a printing press t up .
At G alle Mr . Clough conducted services in the
r Dutch chu ch and formed a Methodist Society .
" HWh e n he moved to Colombo to assist Mr . Harvard , 7 9 FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
Mc Kenn John y took his place, and built the first
a Methodist chapel there . At J ffna Mr . Lynch and
Mr . S qua nce were deeply moved by the super
stitio n and degradation Of all classes . The descendants Of the Dutch and Po r tuguese seemed
to need the missionary as much as the natives .
Services were held at a Dutch church in the fort ,
then a chapel and school were built . Native
r r assistants we e trained , and the wo k rapidly
extended into the adjacent villages . The Rev .
. S u a nc e r r o . o T H q began se vices at P int Ped , which soon became the head of a separate mission
William Ault was stationed at Batticaloa, beauti
fully situated o n the borders o f a lake . His wife had died o n the voyage to I ndia six weeks after
r leaving Po tsmouth . He was prostrated by attacks of o n r 1 1 8 1 r fever, and died Ap il , 5 , the fi st Victim of the climate in our I ndian missions . The bass
‘ o ur viol brought out by Dr . Coke, for common
’ ’ r r ec eation , was sold after Mr . Ault s death , and the proceeds given a s a subscr iption to the Galle
Chapel . The fi r st ten years o f the Ceylon mission were a f time of much activity , but as the di ficulty Of winning India fo r Christ was r ealized the ardour
r at home somewhat cooled , and the wo k languished .
r r Yet g eat things were done . Robe t S pence
1 82 Hardy, who reached Ceylon in 5 , found
o f Christianity rooted in the South the island,
8 0
FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
woman was married to seven brothers . Gambling,
ss a nd . l r unk enne . G o er d , other vices abounded Mr g y
but found the people eager to be taught, it was not possible to visit places twenty - six miles o r more fr om his mission station when the b r idges we r e broken down and the roads infes ted by wild
elephants . The gospel won a notable triumph
r r at Negombo . The converts who we e too poo to give money set apa r t more than fifty cocoanut trees for the benefit of the mission .
r e r l w a s s Ka l u 1 2 M . G o t r a I n 8 8 g y tationed at . He got the masters Of five of o u r Sinhalese schools to stay with him for a month , and taught them
a s arithmetic , even a slight knowledge Of that sub
e c t r d j would do something to unde mine Bu dhism , which w as in sepa r ably connected with an e r r oneou s
r r system Of geog aphy and ast onomy . The people
o r s O f w shipped demon , and Vice every kind was R almost uncontrolled . In the whole Of the yg a m
r r G l r . e Ko le the e was sca cely a single Bible . Mr og r y soon had a congregation Of from thi r ty to a hund r ed
adults . H e laboured with great success throughout
r his long minist y . He remodelled the schools ,
trained teachers , evangelized the villages , preached
fluently in Sinhalese and Portuguese, and made
r himself a maste of Pali and the Buddhist writings . H is I nstitu tes of C/zr is tia n ity in Sinhalese made Such an impression that the Buddhist priests began a
bitter agitation to prevent the progress Of the gospel .
8 2 RICHARD WATSON’S Another noted Ceylon missionary was Robert
Spence Hardy, grandson of Robert Spence , the
famous York bookseller . Coke once Rober t smnw m u met him . when he Visited York, and
was greatly interested in the boy . H e placed his hands o n his head and prayed that he might
1 8 2 . become a missionary . I n 5 he sailed for Ceylon The work in the south of the island was then
making steady progress . Chapels had been Opened , and a s yo u t r avelled th r ough the lovely scene r y the
o r slow tolling Of some distant bell , the busy hum
Of some village school , showed that the new religion
w as w a s making itself felt . There much yet to do .
1 2 - When stationed in 8 9 at Kornegalle, twenty two
r M r r r miles f om Kandy, . Ha dy w ote Satan here
o f his reigns triumphant . By the power crafty wiles he has lulled a whole nation into a state of
r O f carnal security, and the apathy and igno ance the people a r e only equalled by the depth o f their
’ ’ r moral degradation . After eight yea s labour Mr.
Hardy Visited England . Then he spent twelve
r l . G o e more years in Ceylon . When Mr g y died he went ou t for the third time as Chairman of the
' r South Ceylon Dist ict , and continued in Office for
His r three years . fame as an o ientalist was wide
spread . The Royal Asiatic Society made him an
e his o o n honorary memb r, and bo ks Buddhism and Eastern Monachism took rank as standard FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
1 8 1 Methodism gained a footing in India in 7 , when James Lynch went to Madras in response
o f Madr as and to the request some English Metho mr e Ba‘ng ‘ ‘ dists who were living in the city . He
his had mastered Tamil at J affna , and faithful preaching made a deep impression in Madras, where he erected a chapel at Royapettah , and
in another three miles away Black Town , the l chief centre Of population . Elijah Hoo e joined w 1 8 2 2 . as Mr . Lynch in The work growing
a s steadily . When T mil service were held at
o n Black Town Friday evenings , the doors and wind o ws we r e filled by Hindus who we r e eager
to hear the message , though unwilling to enter
the chapel . Mr . Hoole made preaching excur
r e sions into the Tamil count y, and everywh re
r found the people cou teous , and anxious to listen
O f o ur to the gospel . He translated some hymns
into Tamil , and soon had the pleasure of hear ing the natives Sing them to the tunes used in
The England . H indu festivals gave many o ppo r
tunities r r to p each and dist ibute tracts . I n
1 82 December, 5 , a bungalow was secured in
Black Town for Tamil preaching . Hundreds Of
heathen Of all classes heard the Word , and the
native converts were roused to increased zeal .
The Rev . W . M . Harvard , who was detained
’ at Bombay after Dr . Coke s death, made the
C best use Of his enforced stay in that ity, and 84 RICHARD WATSON’S his preaching led to an earnest request for a
I n 1 1 . m . 8 8 missionary , the Rev John Ho er and his wife landed there, and next year Joseph
Fletcher joined him , but failure of health and other difficulties led to the mission being reli u quished in 1 8 2 1 .
Negapatam , where Methodist work began in
1 8 2 1 2 00 , was a busy seaport , miles south Of
Madras , with inhabitants . The Rev .
. S u ance T . H q soon gathered a good English
r congregation , and held Portuguese se vices at the mission house, and Tamil services in the
f r villages . Elijah Hoole was here o a few
1 20 months after his arrival in the East in 8 .
Mr . He and and Mrs . Mowat began the mission
at Bangalore, the most populous and important
1 8 2 1 . city Of the Mysore , in J uly, H eathen
o h rrors met them at every turn . Fanatics had iron o r wooden spikes bored through their
cheeks and tongues , carried lighted fires on their
heads , and had iron frames riveted round the
s neck , and Spikes thickly et in the soles Of their
’ sandals to tear the wearer s feet . Seringapatam ,
the r e at O f Ti once g stronghold oo Sahib, was g pp
1 8 2 1 . visited by Titus Close in May , A little chapel had been built by some Christian natives
r who were eager to have a missiona y . Mr . Hoole
Visited them once a quarter , and several converts
. a n d were baptized Mr . Hoole Mr . Mowat 8 5 FROM COKE’S DEATH T O
were unfo rtunately called away to supply
vacancies at Madras and Negapatam , and these
great cities could only receive occas ional visits .
I n 1 82 6 John F . England was stationed at
r Bangalo e , where he established schools and
r 1 8 2 formed a chu ch . He bought , in 9 , the site
s r o n s in Ea t Pa ade, which a Methodi t chapel
w as 1 86 o ne built in 3 , which is Of the finest in
r r r o f I ndia . Thomas C ye Spent here th ee the
r f h i happiest and most successful yea s o s life .
r 1 2 Dr . Coke had been u ged , as early as 7 9 ,
1 806 and again in , to begin work in Bengal ,
1 8 2 8 r A Mission but it was not till that Pete
in calcutt a ‘ Pe r cival was sent from Trinco malee
l r w as o to Ca cutta . He e he joined by Th mas
r r Hodson , a young missiona y f om England .
They gathered an English congregation , and
s built a chapel and chool for the natives, but financial r easons led to the withd r awal o f o u r
1 a gents in 1 83 .
o i s r M eth dism had begun t work in South Af ica .
’ 1 8 1 r O n . August 7 , 4 , th ee months after Dr Coke s
d ea th Mc Kenn Pir st Wor k in , John y landed in Cape 8 mm Afma ' o u t Town . He had gone at the earnest request Of a la r ge number Of British soldiers
s stationed there, and , be ides labouring for them and the settlers, it was hoped that he might give special attention to the Slaves , among whom Muhammadan prie sts were winning many p r o 8 6 RICHARD WATSON’S sel tes y ; but the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset ,
‘ ’ s refused to let him preach . The oldiers , he
‘ said , have their chaplains , provided by Govern
o u ment, and if y preach to the Slaves the ministers of the Dutch Church may be ’ M f . c Kenn o fended Mr . y was only able to hold a few p r ivate meetings for conversation
w as and prayer . Under these circumstances he
r instructed to proceed to Ceylon . Furthe information Showed , however , that there was a pressing call for missionary work in South
r 1 1 6 8 . Af ica, and in April , , the Rev Barnabas
Shaw landed at Cape Town . The Governor w refused to allow him to preach , but the follo
s His ing Sunday he began without permis ion .
o f congregation consisted mainly soldiers , and for a few months he acted almost as a milita r y chaplain .
1 8 1 6 set o ut a ma ualand I n September, , he for N q , where he was assured that he would be warmly
O n welcomed by the natives . the way he met the chief of the Little Namaquas coming to seek a teacher , and agreed to accompany
Lil fo ntein o n him to his mountain home, y ,
Ka miesb er g . This was the first M ethodist
s mi sion station in South Africa . Mr . Shaw and his wife lived in a native hut Shaped like a beehive, and covered with rush mats . He had
o n so been brought up a Yorkshire farm , that 8 7 FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
r he was well equipped fo his work . He taught
the ‘ as the people the use of plough , which did
’ r a s se t to much wo k ten wives , and himself evangelize and civilize the tribe . He had to
r preach through an interprete , as he did not understand the Hottentot language . A modest chapel and mission house were built, and when
s the Rev . E . Edward arrived from England
Mr . Shaw visited the Bushmen , and steadily kept in View the exten s ion Of the mission . For ten
K a mi sber O f years he lived at e g . The murder
r his young colleague, Mr . Th elfall , and two native
r 1 8 2 teache s in 5 by some thievish B ushmen , who
r w killed them as they Slept, was a g eat blo to
1 8 2 the infant mission . In 3 Great Namaqualand , from which the agents of the London Missionary
r Society had been compelled to retire , th ough
r b r o ur . t i al wa s , was occupied by society
1 82 Barnabas Shaw visited England in 7 , and raised £7 00 for the erection o f a chapel in Cape
r Town , where Mr . Edwa ds had begun services fo r the coloured people in an U ppe r room in
1 8 20. The chapel in Bury Street was built in
1 8 0 3 , a chapel for the natives in Sidney Street
1 8 1 8 in 37 , a third in Hope Street in 57 , and
r r 1 8 8 o f the Met opolitan Chu ch in 7 , at a cost
1 8 Mr . Shaw died in 57 , having been spared to s ee Methodism fi r mly r ooted in the
colony. 88
FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
r ff r r Af ican a ai s , and his advice was eage ly
! O ne sought by the colonial authorities . of
his colleagues , William Shepstone , the mission
K a ffir s ary to the , erected mission stations and
r schools, translated the Scriptu es , and gained an un r ivalled knowledge Of the natives and their
s . 1 8 cu toms He died in 7 3, at Kamastone , the
station where he had spent half a century .
William B . Boyce began his missionary life
1 8 0 o ne O f in November, 3 , at Buntingville ,
’ r William Shaw s K a ffir stations . Fou years
K a ffir w a r o r O f o u r later the broke u t. Th ee
missionaries , Shepstone, Boyce, and Palmer , who
r s r hazarded thei own live in the attempt , we e largely instrumental in gaining favou r able ter ms
f r K a ffir s f o the . Mr . Boyce had set himsel to
s r ma te the language, and compiled the first
K a ffir r o fo r gramma , which laid the f undation
r r future g amma ians and writers . He spent
u r thirteen years in So th Af ica . This missio n to the K affir s was a great
r r favou ite with Richa d Watson , who told
Mr . Kay , with deep feeling , when he started N ‘ W for Little amaqualand , ere I as young as
’ r l r you , Af ica shou d be the field Of my se vice .
1 8 2 1 Re r set o ut I n the v. S . B oadbent from
L il fo nte in y to form a mission in Bechuanaland .
He was joined by Rev . T . L . Hodgson . They
o n r crossed the Vaal together afts , and tried 9 0 RICHARD WATSON’S
ss o o o to form a mi i n am ng the Bar longs . It
1 8 2 r e had to be abandoned , but in 5 it was
at Plaatber r established g , whe e a school Bar olong s and B w s asu ’ was started , and a good work done . When the Bar olongs moved their settlement in 1 833 to Thaba Nchu to secure a better water supply, the Methodist missionary went
r with his people . Mr . Hodgson had begun wo k
G r i uas 1 8 2 8 among the q at Boetsap in , and
Lishu a ni his when they moved to , Successor ,
Mr . Edwards , went with them . They did not
Lish uani settle at , but Mr . Edwards devoted
to Ma n a te es himself the Basutos and t , where fr uitful w ork w as done till the need for retr ench ment compelled the withdrawal o f the missionaries
1 8 about 59 . A mission o n the Gambia was begun by the
. 1 8 2 1 r Rev John Morgan in , five yea s after an
r o English settlement for the supp essi n Th e Gambia Of the slave trade and the encourage M‘SS’M" ment Of commerce had been fo r med on the island Of St . Mary , near the mouth Of the great
. ItS w as s river chief town Bathur t . The mission
r r prospe ed f om the beginning , though fever made havoc among the agents . The Rev . William
of 1 8 1 Moister, who took charge the work in 3 ,
s found him elf the only minister in the colony,
his w as and wife the only E uropean lady .
9 1 FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
’ McCa r th s 200 station at y I sland , miles up the
r rive . I t was h o ped that this would prove a valuable centr e for a mission to the Fo ulah s and
w a s h Mandingoes , and much good done , thoug at a heavy cost of life . A chapel was erected at
1 8 o ut- Bathurst in 35 , and , as time passed , stations
’ o o n were f rmed in the villages Of St . Mary s and
’ M c a r h s the mainland . C t y Island was afterwards
r abandoned , but has been recently eoccupied . A lar ge number o f escaped slaves find their way
r to the island , and from these Ch istian workers
might be raised up, whose familiarity with the language and customs of the interior would be o f r r r g eat service in pionee wo k . West Indian Metho dism continued to make rapid
r r 1 1 Wr p og ess . When Wesley died in 7 9 there e e
1 2 r Prog ress in missiona ies and communicants ; w e“ Indies“ ’ 1 8 1 in 4 , at the time Of Coke s death ,
there were 3 1 missionar ies and communicants . The tran sformation in Jamaica was little Short of a
s miracle . When the mis ion began a clergyman
expressed his conviction that the difficulties in . the way of making the natives Christians were insur
mountable . By degrees , however, the savage orgies
in s r which the black delighted we e abandoned .
o f Methodist hymns took the place negro songs .
s The Sunday carnivals , with their riot and Obscene
r s p ocession , became a thing of the past ; Sunday markets were abolished ; the whole population
FROM COKE’S DEATH TO was almost flogged to death for“ being a Methodist and fo r praying .
w as The Rev . William Turton stationed at New
r 1 80 . P ovidence , in the Bahamas , in 3 Methodism
r Th e Sp ead till every island , settlement, village, mas Bah a : and town o f any importance had its
r r chapel . A general efo mation followed . Arch deacon Wakefield bore witness long afterwards
fo r that , had it not been these ministrations , almost the enti r e colony beyo nd Nassau would have been
w r r apped in heathen da kness , superstition , and
’ r s avage y .
r w r to Mis M . Butter o th had announce at the sio na r y Anniver sary in 1 8 26 a gr eat disaste r which had befallen o u r West Indian missio n Loss of th e ’ ‘ r i r s r r Ma a. the p eviou Feb uary . A pa ty of - Mail boat . i i r i W i ir W i five m ss ona es , th the ves and
r . r r r three children , sailed f om St Ch istophe afte the Distr ict Meeting . Stormy weather drove them
s to Montserrat , where they pent a happy Sunday . Next day they took passage in the M a r ia mail
s boat for Antigua , but when in Sight Of that i land ,
r n thei r vessel st uck o the reefs . All the mission M r r s . o o ne party we e lost save J nes , who had Spent
r h er r yea Of happy toil with husband at Pa ham .
r r r r She etu ned to England and ma ied Mr . Hincks
f so r Hinck s ma n O . n man , Preston Her , Majo , was o ne Of the most attached supporters Of the
Society . RICHARD WATSON’S
This meeting at City Road was the last Mr .
2 6 o n 0 1 8 . r w . Butte orth attended He died June 3 ,
Lancelot Ha slo pe succeeded him a s Treasurer .
‘ He was converted as a young man th r ough the
’ agency of Methodism . He took an Lancelot Ha slo e active part in the formation Of the p .
Tr easur er ’
General Missionary Society . I n preach
‘ r ing his funeral se mon Dr . Bunting said that but fo r the unwear ied kindness and perseverance and
l o f influence employed by Mr . Ha pe in aid the
o f accomplishment that Object , it would not have
f n o r r a been e fected ; at least , at that time , pe h ps
’ s r for many yea r s afterwards . H e had e ved in the
r r West Indies as a soldie , and took a keen inte est
s r r in Method i m the e . I n eve y department Of
mission wor k he proved a wise counsello r . He
r o w a s r r fo r lived at H ighbu y L dge, and Treasu e
r f the t ustees o City Road Chapel .
1 8 2 . . I n 4 the Rev W Dodwell , Vicar of Welby,
O f Lincolnshire, left the Society a legacy He was a personal friend o f John Wesley and a
o f Dr liberal helper . Coke and o f the Society after
his death . The spiritual destitution Of o u r colonies early
awoke the sympathy o f Methodists in England .
I n. Newfoundland there were Colonial r s o people without eligiou instructi n , and
r othe colonies were in a similar state . Lawrence FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
1 0 M c e Newfoundland in 1 7 6 5 . I n 7 9 John G ar y
r s r was sent by Wesley . The mission p o pe ed
r n r o greatly . Godly emig a ts int oduced Meth dism
o 1 2 r int Nova Scotia in 7 7 , and , in esponse to
r s thei appeals , We ley asked Asbury to send two
r p r eacher s fr om Ame r ica . Freebo n Gar retson and
r r James Cromwell we e the pionee s . Dr . Coke sailed with a par ty o f three missionaries in the
O f 1 86 r autumn 7 , but a t emendous gale drove them
to Antigua .
1 2 w o r r I n 8 9 the k extended to Cape B eton . A missi o nary w a s se nt to New B r unswick in
r 1 1 r e r Septembe , 7 9 ; to P inc Edwa d Island in
1 807 .
' Methodism was introduced into Canada by the coming o f Paul and Barbara Heck from New York
s r in 1 7 74 . Bishop A bu y sent a minister to labour
1 1 . ar ound the Bay of Quinte . I n 8 4 the Rev John Strong was appointed to Quebec a s the first
English missionary . I n 1 840 three missionar ies wer e sent from England to labou r among the stations o f the
’ r Hudson s Bay Company . Two othe s joined them
from the Canadian Conference . The mission won
many converts , and a general improvement in the
sub condition of the I ndians followed . I t was
sequently handed over to the ca r e Of the Canadian.
Conference . The colonies which are now federated as the Dominion of Canada all had the Methodist
FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
’ s r o u t for the go pel . He p eached in the homes
of the settle r s with the happiest r esults . The
o f r work spread , places wo ship were built , and
Methodism began its great mission in the colonies .
VVa tS fo r d r The Rev . John went to labou in
r e 1 8 0 . B isbane , Que nsland , in 5 The fi r st meeting eve r held fo r public worship in
r u r Victo ia was cond cted by the Rev . John O ton on
’ r 2 6 1 8 6 r o a k - r Ap il , 3 , unde an t ee on Bateman s
o f Hill , where the city Melbourne now stands . He had been instructed by the Missionary Society
to care fo r the aborigines . Two missionaries were
appointed , but the work had to be abandoned
s after ten years Of almo t fruitless toil . In 1 84 1
w a s Melbo u r né the Rev . S . Wilkinson appointed to , and the call for worker s became louder and more
r u gent . A local preacher delivered the first sermon at
r 1 8 . Adelaide, in J anua y, 37 When the little colony w as r feeling keenly the need Of a Ch istian minister , w . as r the Rev W . Longbottom Shipw ecked o n the
1 8 8 passage from Tasmania to Swan River, in 3 , and found such eager co ngregation s that he made arr angements to stay and build up Methodism in the colony .
M r . e his Longbottom had be n on way to Perth , in response to a reques t made by the settlers fo r
r a Wesleyan ministe . His place was taken next RICHARD WATSON’S
r for sixteen yea s . Methodism kept pace with the
o f formation new colonies , though that involved a
o n its r constant strain resou ces . The first Australian
1 8 Conference met at Sydney, in 55 , and the missions in Fiji and the Friendly I slands were transferred to its care .
. Car vo sso o n The Rev . B , who visited Tasmania
1 8 20 his way to New South Wales in , found the
r people spi itually destitute . H e preached smani a Ta . o r ften du ing his stay at Hobart Town , and his report led the Committee in London to
s . . r 1 2 1 end the Rev W Ho ton to labour there in 8 . Some Methodist soldiers of the 4 8th Regiment had
meanwhile formed a class , and a chapel was built
Mr a r vo ss r 1 8 2 2 . . C o in became its pasto , and
r r laboured he e for five years with g eat success .
Methodism spread through the island , and a blessed work was done among the convicts sent
’ Die men s a s w a s to Van Land , the island then
called . Our first mission in New Zealand was begun
W a n ar o a among the Maoris at g by the Rev .
Samuel Leigh . H e came to England in Th e Maori
M18 81“ : 1 8 0 2 , after Visiting the islands , and per su aded the missionary committee to undertake a
O f Maori mission . There was a debt o n
’ the Society , but Mr . Leigh s appeals for funds met FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
r i le me n s m t f axes , and othe p Two Maori chiefs , who arrived while Mr . Leigh was in England , t added greatly to the in erest . The M issionary Committee made each o f them a pr esent of a chest
’ f o r s fo r his o . carpenter s t ols , and a d e s wife One
’ o f o his r them , H ngi , took up esidence with Mr .
' I n Leigh , whom he had met in New Zealand .
r 2 2 1 8 2 2 . Februa y , , Mr Leigh arrived in New
w a r o u t o Zealand , but broke and spoiled the missi n .
r r The chief whom M . Leigh had bef iended proved
r s r r evengeful and ambitious . The t ibes were catte ed
w as and devastated by the war, but there one com p e nsa tio n the captives sent to the Bay of I slands
o n u attended the mission schools , and their ret r n home spread the truth among their neighbours .
r M . Leigh and his wife passed through many dangers until the failure o f her health compelled
r thei return to New South Wales .
e l o f Nathani Turner took charge the mission ,
’ 1 8 2 but in 7 Hongi destroyed the station , and the work had to be abandoned . I t was resumed
1 8 2 8 W a n u n u r in at g g , forty miles f om the first
C O f r station . The first lass five membe s was
1 for med in 1 83 . Then the spirit Of inquiry
. O ne 1 8 8 1 Spread Sunday in 34 , converts were
1 8 baptized . In 37 Sixteen chapels were built,
and when the Australian Conference was formed ,
1 in 8 5 5 , there were Maori members ,
adherents, Sunday scholars .
FROM COKE’S DEATH TO
2 S e minister till 1 8 1 . Then he was wholly t
Six apart for years to the missionary work .
His home was in Wellington Street, Pentonville . Joseph Taylor lived at the Mission House in
Hatton Garden . Jabez Bunting was editor and
Missionary Secretary .
’ Ric a r a Wa tson /t . Mr . Brailsford says ( , p 7 3)
‘ I n his relation to the missionaries in the field ,
’ s the brotherliness of Wat on s nature revealed itself.
H e knew them all , and the vineyards in which
r they toiled were eve before his eye . Their names and needs were on the breastplate Of his
daily intercession ; and it is in his regular , free, and copious correspondence with them that we see most clear ly the features of his saintly and
r lovable characte . He toiled incessantly and
’
no t . with all his might, and in vain One passage fr om a letter to Elijah Hoole
’ will Show Watson s zeal for missions . I t is
2 1 8 2 . e dated January 9 , 3 A fter som fatherly
advice about mingling exercise with study , he
‘ : Y O U no t says feel , I doubt , the pleasure and
O f . profit Madras ; but, when Mr England arrives ,
we really think you ought to lay hold , fully and
o f i finally, Ser ngapatam ; and let it no longer be
tr ifled with . I t is certainly to be preferred to Bangalore ; because the missionary may be work
ing while he is gaining the language ; and , when
r r Bangalore can be Occupied by anothe , a egular
1 0 2 RICHARD WATSON’S
exchange may take place . Suppose a good native assistant could be g o t fr om the north Of
o u Ceylon to go with y , it might be Of service ; unless that kind o f help can be more u sefully
o ut employed at Negapatam , to push the work
h o f into the neighbour ood . The people the Old
o f Danish mission , who are in some state pre
ar ation p , will , I hope, be gathered in by us
I mean , those Of them who are as sheep having
’ no Shepherd . ‘ ll m M A u . Another letter to the Rev . D . , M . D ,
' 1 8 2 O f in September, 3 , speaks a mission to
r r Jerusalem , which was unde the conside ation Of
‘ r U the Committee . It is fo ced pon us by the prayers Of the pious , and the contributions Of w the generous . We have never put it for ard to excite interest ; and yet we are constantly
’ getting money with this designation . The idea was to have a mission house in Jerusalem , with a married and an unmarried missionary . Watson
‘ ‘ M Allu m s r r wanted to lead thi g eat wo k , looking
to s r forward Syria and Le ser Asia, and backwa d
U pon the Euphrates and Armenia, as scenes to
’ w r hich his labou s may extend . He would have to train agents . The Rev . Charles Cook was sent to see what hope there was of a successful
s mission , but it was never established . Wat on looked on all the world as the parish o f the
CHAPTE R V THE S E CRE TARYS H I P OF JABE Z B 1 —1 1 UNTI NG, 833 85
FE W the 1 8 2 A months after Conference Of 3 ,
w o f the Missionary Society lost t o its secretaries .
o n 6 John James died suddenly November , Death of ‘ 1 8 2 - six J l a l d 3 , at the age Of forty , in the g figggoli ’ prime Of his gifted manhood . Richard
w ho Watson , had been for five years in circuit work , and was reappointed Missionary Secretary
1 8 2 o n 8 1 8 3 , closed his noble life January , 33,
fi - r o f ft ne . at the age y o Mr . B ailsford says He lived long enough to see the tentative thread Of
‘ a first mission ary society spread its n etw o r li. Of
or ganization all over the land . I nstead Of a hired room for the first General Committee
Meeting , there was a Mission House in Hatton
The Garden . sixty missionaries Of the first report f had multiplied to two hundred . The o income had increased to and ther e we r e converts speaking in their o w n tongues ’ 1 the wonderful works o f G o d . THE SECRETARYSHIP OF This double calamity made all eyes turn to
’ r his D . Bunting . He preached friend s funeral sermon at City Road . Next morning at ten , he
‘ says , a deputation came to me, consisting of
Ha slo e Messrs . p , Rance, Marsden , Lessey, and
r Beecham , to info m me that , at a very full
o f r meeting the Missiona y Committee on Thursday , they were unanimously appointed to solicit my consent to thei r requesting the Conference to place
’
f M r . me in the O fice vacant by . Watson s death
r r r They were ve y kind , ve y u gent, and made out a case which certainly had much weight . They
o r stayed with me an hour more , and we had ,
’ o f r s r cou se , a e ious conversation . H e told them fr ankly that he sh o uld prefer to go to Leeds as he had promised , but that he would consider
his the matter , consult with friends , and return an answer in a few weeks . The Confe r ence of 1 8 33 appointed Bunting to
o the Missi n House . He had already rendered constant service to the cause fo r twenty Bunting ma de years while actively engaged in ci r cuit Secr e r ta y . Fo r i work . the next e ghteen years the Mission House had the inestimable benefit of Jabez
’ Bunting s service . H e might be called the child
’ Of missions . His mother had been converted at
1 6 o f Monyash , in 7 9 , under a sermon Richard
’ Boardman s , who was making his way from his
o f circuit in the dales Yorkshire to Bristol , where
THE SECRETARYSHIP OF
‘ was compelled to lay it aside . The die is
’ ‘ cast , he wrote ; if I give to our missions the
n o r r atte ti n they equi e , I shall not have any time
’ hereafter for literature . Jabez Bunting had a great zeal fo r the exten
r sion o f the work . When the income eached he suggested th a t it Should be raised to A gentleman who sa t on the City
o r o f R ad platform , a true f iend missions , was s o much stagger ed by this propos a l that he
‘ r r : do tu ned to a neighbou , and said I think
’ you ought to check that man s impudence . I
’ r Dr never heard so impu dent a p oposal ! . Bunting lived to hear it proposed that the income Should be raised to Jabez Bunting came into o ffice o n the eve o f
the emancipation Of the slaves . Methodism had had a glorious share in secu r ing tha t Emanci p a tion of th e r u t iumph . O t Of Nonconformist
Slaves. S ignatu r es to petit ions to Pa r l iament in
o r r o f its fav u we e those Methodists . I n
1 8 w a s r May , 33, it esolved that slavery should
be fo r eve r abolished thr oughout the B r iti sh
o n 1 1 8 . colonies August , 34 was now
r o u t r aised to send eighteen new missiona ies , and make good losses s ustained in Jamaica during
r u r r the recent iots . O Chu ch had reason to be proud Of its black children whom it had t r ained
o f in the graces forbearance and Christian patience . JABEZ BUNTING
‘ NO Methodist slave was ever proved guilty Of incendiarism o r rebellion fo r more than seventy ’ — 1 60 1 8 . be years , 7 34 Despite their prudent haviour the missionaries did not escape per
i n . secut o Chapels were destroyed by the mob ,
preachers were tarred and feathered , and attempts
were even made to set them o n fire . The neg r oes laboured faithfully at thei r tasks
O f o n 1 1 8 till the usual hour rest July 3 , 34 . At
’ C ten O clock they streamed to the hapel s . All Of
no t them were Christians , but all came to the
s services . A few minute before midnight the
s r a s congregations knelt in ilent p ayer , then ,
r the hour Of freedom st uck , free men poured o u t their souls in the doxology
r aise G od fr om w h om all b e ssin s flow P , l g . Friends and relatives fondly embraced each other and r eturned home thanking G o d that they had
lived to see the day of liberty . The people now
enjoyed full religious freedom . The congrega
tions largely increased . New chapels had to be
o n built, and Old ones enlarged almost every
station . I n one C ircuit new members were
r gathered in du ing a Single year .
r The glo ious work in the Pacific , which was to
r fill the Christian wo ld with joy and amazement,
’ r had begun before Richa d Watson s death . I n THE SECRETARYSHIP OF W stationed in New South ales , sailed from Sydney with his family to see what prospect
r mg ht m the e was of success in Tonga . He h ug e“ landed in August , and was received with great heartiness by the chiefs and people, who p r omised to send thousands of children to the schoo ls . The p r ospect was SO encouraging that
r o fo r r Mr . Lawry w ote h me helpe s and Supplies .
’ After fourteen months labou r the delicate state
’ s o f M r s . Lawry health led her husband to r eturn
r r to New South Wales . Two Eu opean a tisans
r who had come with Mr. Lawry emained on
r the island , but the wo k languished until the arrival o f the Revs . John Thomas and John H utchinson and their wives fr om England in
1 8 2 6 . J une,
The first station was at Hihifo, but after a while the fickle people turned against the mission , and did all they could to hinder its
1 8 2 Tub u . o success. I n 7 light began to break , chief of Nukualofa, gave up his gods and built a chapel for Christian worship . In 1 8 2 8 Nathaniel Tu r ner and William Cross came to wor k among
’ s Tubou people . I t was impossible to meet the
r s demand fo mi sionaries .
r a s A notable chief, afte wards famous King
r O f r Geo ge , the Friendly Islands , came in pe son to Tonga to seek a teacher . His u r gent reques t could not be granted for some time , but he at
1 1 2
THE SECRETARYSHIP OF
1 8 I n J uly , 34 , whilst a native local preacher was
’ Speaking at Utui o n Christ s compassion for Je r u
salem , the whole congregation was moved to cry
fo r r . 00 me cy Next Sunday , at another village, 5
o f s the natives joined in eeking salvation . The in
fl n e r o s ue c sp ead fr m i land to island . The school
to U six r r - s had be given p , and p aye meeting a
fo r s I n day we r e held inquirer . Vavau membe r s we r e added to the 800 al r eady meeting
his ss . in cla King George and queen , who had
r r n o w long enounced idolat y, were truly con
ver ted . Similar scenes were witnessed at Lifuka
o n r and at T nga . Ki g Geo ge became a local
r r p eacher, and exe ted himself to raise the moral
and social s tatus Of his subj ects . He issued a
o f s code law , and his clemency to the Tongan rebels whom he conquer ed made a deep
n s imp r ession o his enemie .
r During the great revival in the F iendly Islands,
r o a vessel arr ived there f m Fiji . A chief was o n
r boa d , who gave an appalling account Of a recent
2 00 1 00 cannibal feast , at which men and women
had been killed and eaten . The wor k in the F r iendly I slands was taxing the mission staff to the utmost ; but ever y o ne
Th e Mission felt that the awful heathenism of Fiji
mm”: made a loud call o n their pity and
a , help . The District Meeting at Lifuk in
1 8 r r o December, 34 , ar anged that William C ss 1 1 4 JABEZ BUNTING and David Cargill Should begin a mission in
1 2 1 8 r On Monday, October , 3 5 , the mission pa ty
r O ff of ar ived Lakemba, one the most easterly
o f Bla ck islands the group . The captain of the
’ oir a was afr aid to sail through the narrow opening
r in the coral eef, but sent the two missionaries
r ashore in a boat . Two hund ed armed natives
- stood near the landing place . Their faces were
o r . painted black red , and all were nearly naked
r o w n The king received his visito s at his house ,
for and promised to give them land a settlement ,
erect mission houses , and protect their lives and
property . Before night fell the mission party
o n were in their temporary home, a canoe house
. c the shore On Sunday Mr . Cross prea hed to
seventy Fij ians and a s many Tongans . Services were held at first in the open air ; then a little
o n r 2 0 1 8 6 chapel was erected ; and Ma ch , 3 ,
- a O f thirty two adults , who all g ve evidence change
Of heart, were baptized . The king and his brother tried to stop the work
c r o in Lakemba by fier e pe secuti n , but it daily
’ r r 1 8 took deeper root . Befo e the fi st year closed 3
adults and 53 children had been baptized , and
2 0 r 5 boys and gi ls were attending school . I n
1 8 a ne w December, 37 , Mr . Cross formed mission THE SECRETARYSHIP OF
The native teache r s from - Tonga had a large
r 1 8 8 Share in the conve sion Of Fij i . I n May , 3 ,
six o eli a party of , among whom was the noble J
to o r . Bulu , came reinf ce the mission These men counted not thei r lives dea r to them and spared
r no toil o r sac ifice to spread the light . Miss
G o r d o n- Cumming was introduced to this fine Old
n sh e Tongan chief whe visited Bau . She says
‘ His e a r e o r r f atures beautiful , his col u clea Olive,
h a s r r and he g ey hai , and a long Silky grey
r is bea d . He j ust my ideal Of what Abraham
r must have been , and would be wo th a fortune
’ r to an a tist a s a patriarchal study . She had
r r so SO a ely met any man perfectly Simple, or
w a s unmistakably in earnest . He once attacked by a Shark whilst bathing ; but as the monster opened its jaws he sei z ed its tongue by the root
r o ut e and st uck for shor , dragging the Shark
r afte him . When he reached the bank he fell
r r O f down utte ly exhausted . He bore the sca s
r that encounter to the g ave . He died in May,
1 8 w a s O ld r 7 7 , and buried beside his f iend , John T . h a ko mba u his s H unt and family, who e special
r chaplain he had been , followed the vete an to
- his resting place .
r A powe ful and pathetic appeal by the Rev .
P i P oor F i J ames Watkin , entitled ty ij , produced
on a profound impression English Methodism ,
- 1 8 8 and in April , 3 , John Hunt, J ames Calvert,
THE SECRETARYSHIP OF
children amused them selves -with mutilating the
r dead body of a little gi l . Human entrails were floating down the r iver in front o f the mission
premises . Mutilated limbs , heads , and trunks of human corpses were seen in many places o n the
’ o r banks f the iver between Bau and Rewa . About this time a canoe was wrecked o n an
uninhabited island near Lakemba . The men were Six hours in the water ; they managed to
r fo r r o ne float nea each other praye , and when o f r thei comrades was tired , the rest put the
e r piec s Of wood , by which they suppo ted them
s c. r so selve , n a together that the exhausted man
might rest awhile . The chief and his nine
r a companions were Ch istians , but they knew the f te
s r Of hipwrecked sailo s , and durst not approach
r o ne Lakemba . At last, pressed by hunge , Of them swam to that island . He invented some story to account for his state, but after a time
r ventured to tell the truth . Th ee canoes were immediately sent o ut to rescue the men . They had entrenched themselves on a hill top , and
o were armed with clubs . Great was their j y when they found that they had fallen among
Ch r istians . Grace was working mightily among these savages .
The gospel meanwhile made steady progress .
a nd O no was a new world . Lakemba all its T dependenci es welcomed Christianity. he chief JABEZ BUNTING
barr ier to the complete victory Of the truth was
f . r Th akombau o . , king Bau Mr Calve t set his
o n heart . winning this redoubtable chief, but
Th ak o mbau refused to listen to his pleadings . When his father died he took an active par t in ld ’ strangling the O chief s five wives . Yet two years later he was brought by per sonal troubles
r and pe ils to s ee that he must lead a new life .
1 8 He became a convert in 54 , and three years
later was publicly baptized . The natives thus felt
that the new faith was victorious . They had
’ fo r Th ak o mba u s s waited deci ion , and now that he had lost faith in the Old gods they were eager
to abandon them . The cannibal tyrant became a pillar and an
r o nament to the Methodist Church . He was a
stately and imposing man , with clear penetrating
eyes . Those who heard him pray in his last days in the Church at Bau remembered it as long
as they lived . Methodism has w o n no more glorious triumph i than that among the cannibals Of Fij . Miss
‘ Gordon -Cumming says : Every family in the length and br eadth Of the eighty inhabited i sland s begins and ends each day with the singing Of
r Christian hymns , eading the Scriptures in their o w n ff tongue , and devout prayer o ered by the THE SECRETARYSHIP OF
O f I doubt if there be any other . corner the world from which the outgoings Of morning and evening waft to heaven so united a vo ice o f prayer and
’ r p aise .
1 2 I n 8 4 the Rev . John Keeling was appointed to r w a s Malta, whe e the work continued till
1 8 44 , when n umerous changes among Malt a . the Euro pean residents and the military
f 1 86 led to the withd r awal o o ur agent . I n 9 the place was reoccupied as a military station . Methodism w as not yet in a pos ition to do
much for the continent of Europe , but a bold
o r effort was made t sp ead gospel light in Spain .
’ Dr . 1 8 2 to Rule s work in Gibraltar , from 3 1 8 2 tO 4 , was specially fruitful . He was able
r r t u le ih secure an orde f om General Lord m Sp a : - in - 1 8 H ill , Commander Chief in 39 , that
‘ ever y soldier should have full liber ty to attend the worship Of Almighty God according to the
r O f forms p escribed his own religion , when military
’ duty does not interfere . Dr . Rule had a Sharp struggle to get this order Observed ; but his
boldness and pertinacity conquered , and the Methodist soldiers w ere regularly m a rched to
their o w n church . I n 1 8 35 and 1 836 he visited various towns in
Spain . The principal schoolmaster at Gibraltar
1 8 6 was sent, at the end of 3 , to Open a mission
’ He in Cadiz . visited the English ships, taught
1 20
THE SECRETARYSHIP OF discarded for ever the last relics Of Popish
’ superstition . Memorable work was being done ’ in Western
s Afr ica . The Gold Coast mi sion owed its origin
Th e Gold to a few native youths who had learned “ as“ to read the Bible at the Government
School at Cape Coast Cas tle . They formed a
r Bible Club , and asked Captain Potter, the maste o f r to r f a B istol Ship , procu e them copies o the w Scriptures in England . He a s himself a Wes
his leyan , and not only fulfilled commission , but called at the Miss ion House and Offered to take
o u s o r r O f . t a mis i na y f ee cost . The Rev Joseph
Du nw ell r r 1 a ived at the new station on January ,
1 8 i 3 5 , and laboured with much success till Jur e ,
o f r when he died malignant fever . Othe workers followed , and , despite the fatal climate , Methodism became firmly rooted . Mr . Hayes remembers the anxiety in the Mi ssion House when the West African mails arrived with news o f o ur agents
stricken down by fever . Thoma s Birch Freeman to ok charge o f o u r
1 8 8 . se t mission at Cape Coast in J anuary , 3 He out a year later with the hope Of planting
1 2 s Methodism at Kumasi , 4 miles di tant . He
‘ ’ O f 1 entered the city blood on April , and had
an interview with the king . The horrors which he witnessed with his o w n eyes made him the mor e eager to introduce Christianity without
1 22 JABEZ BUNTING
delay . The Missionary Committee regarded his
v scheme with much fa our, and he was called to
England in 1 840 to make arrangements . The
r deepest interest was felt in his sto y . Five thousand
r e . : pounds we e rais d . Dr Beecham wrote Never w a s a mi ssionary party dismissed from the shore s Of England with a mor e intense feeling o f interest
’ O n 1 1 8 1 and sympathy . December 3 , 4 , Freeman w a s again in Kumasi . He won special favou r
from the king , and after a few weeks left Mr .
Br oc kin r f g in cha ge o the station . But the king
s r proved jealous of the mi sion , and it neve gain ed strength in the capital , though it did good service in the country around . The Ashanti War Of 1 87 4 brought it to an end for more than twenty years .
The work in Abeokuta was begun by Mr .
1 8 2 Freeman in 4 , in response to the urgent
n request of the liberated Africa Christians . He received a warm greeting from the enlightened ruler and his people . Shouts of welcome greeted him as he passed through the streets . H e also
s vi ited the king Of Dahomey in his capital , and secured permission to Open a mission in f that country . The etish priests became jealous ,
mis and a great persecution broke out. The
sio nar ies were banished for ten years , but the fire THE SECRETARYSHIP OF
Ac r oss the Atlantic a notable w ork was also
’ carr ied on among the C r ee Indian s in the Hudson s
r Bay territo y . Five missionaries were appointed to labour in this immense region . The work in Ceylon made steady pr ogress ’ l r . s r . e r during D Bunting secr eta iat Mr . G o g y
w a s r Pr og f ess m t aining teachers , preaching in
C°y1°n ' the heathen villages , translating and
'
r r . p inting the Sc iptures , and winning all hearts Rober t Spence Hardy was rapidly gaining a repu
ta tio n r Dr . as an o iental scholar . Kessen , who
a t had been trained the University Of Glasgow ,
o ut 1 8 0 went in 4 , and gave himself to educa tio nal r work . He rende ed valuable service to the Government a s principal Of the training college
r r for native Ch istian schoolmaste s , to which post
1 8 he was appointed in 4 5 , and as head master
O f r O f Colombo Cent al School . There thousands the brightest youths O f Ceylo n came under his
r r ca e, and the hou Spent each morning in Bible teaching and p r ayer leavened their minds with
Christian truth . When his health compelled him
1 8 to leave Ceylon in 57 , all classes regretted his
departure, and the Government conferred on him
a pension in recognition o f his s ervices . The Bishop of Colombo Visited Batticaloa in
1 8 6 r 4 . He found a heathen temple the e left
‘ unfinished . I ts Supporters were reduced , by the
one effor ts of the Wesleyan missionaries, to
THE SECRETARYSHIP OF about a year at Gubbi when William Arthur
1 8 . r r joined him , in October, 39 The e we e about
twenty places in the circuit, including Tumkur,
r about twelve miles away . Mr . Arthur apidly
r acqui ed a knowledge Of Kanarese, and preached
s in the treets and at the door s O f the temples .
His o r w a s w s study d o al ay open to inquirers , and his who le so ul was in his work ; but his
o Sight failed , and he was c mpelled , with breaking
to r for o n 20 1 8 1 heart, emba k England April , 4 .
I n 1 8 s r r 3 5 a mi sion was sta ted in Manna gudi ,
r o f Ne a a m thi ty miles to the west g p ta . Thomas
s o n r 2 6 Cryer and his wife found them elves , Janua y ,
1 8 4 3, surrounded by heathen temples and by idol
o s and devil w r hip . The town then had
o f o r . inhabitants , wh m were B ahmans The eight tower s Of the great temple to Vishnu were
o plainly Visible fr m the mission compound . Idol p r o c e ss io ns disturbed the s er vices in the littl e
r o r un o ut chapel , and the cong egati n would to
r s r se e any f esh ight , yet the people had neve M SO r r o . r s. r been eage to hea the g spel C yer, the
‘ f o r ss - field r o : saint o u Indian mi ion , w te British Christians have no idea what idolatry is ; what h for . O it does , in , and by, its votaries , it is an
’ awful masterpiece Of Satan s policy , by which he ’ is holding millions spell -bound ! Her life in
n s India o ly lasted a few month , then , at the age
- l ne s e . Of thi r ty o , h fell a victim to cho era
1 2 6 JABEZ BUNTING
r In Cape Colony Methodism was steadily g owing . The mission to the K a ffir s was much hindered by t r ibal wars . A notable addition Cap e Colony r and th e was made to the staff in Novembe ,
1 8 0 . 3 , when William B Boyce arrived ’ ‘ o e K aflir at Buntingville, n of William Shaw s
fir St K affir r stations . He compiled the gramma , and for thirteen year s r endered invaluable service . James Archbell went fro m Kaffra r ia w ith a mili
1 8 1 r s tary expedition in 4 , and fo med a mi sion at
Durban , in the newly annexed colony Of Natal ,
1 8 2 r w a s in 4 . Four years later an ent ance gained
r . to Maritzbu g The Rev . W . C . Holden began
1 his fruitful work at Durban in 847 . A chapel
1 was built there in 8 58 .
r Ralph Stott , who forme ly was a missionary
s o f among the Tamils and Veddah North Ceylon , did good work among the I ndian coolies settled in the colony and among the Zulus . Elij ah Hoole was appointed assis tant Miss iona r y
r 1 8 tw o r s r Secreta y in 34 , and yea late became one
Of the General Secretaries . He had s pent eight years as a missiona r y in
’ - I ndia, and now gave thirty eight years service at the Mission House . H e gained a high reputation as an oriental scholar, and was an honoured member Of the Royal Asiatic Society and other learned bodies . He wor ked on to the end Of his THE SECRETARYSHIP OF William Arthur served the Mission House as
r 1 1 Secreta y from 8 5 1 to 867 . He had aroused
a dvo William great enthusiasm as a missionary Ar t h ur a s a o n h is r r i Missionary cate etu n from I nd a , when for three years he was under the dir ec
tion o f the Missionary Society .
The Gledhow Breakfast at Leeds , which was first held in connexi o n with the Mi ssionary
r r 1 8 o Annive sa y in 49 , was a noble eff rt , made
r o f to s by a pa ty laymen , tand by the Society
in time of misr epres entation . O n the evening Of
r 2 1 8 o n Octobe 9 , 49 , the day which it was first
M r . held , Arthur delivered an impassioned address
in Brunswick Chapel . I t dealt with the watch
‘ r o f O f wo d the extremists the day , Stop the
’ ’ supplies . He spoke O f Dr . Bunting s sacrifices
’ r Hoo l s D . e and service for Methodism , and Of refusal to accept a Professorship o f Tamil from the East India Compa ny wor th £800 to W ’ per annum . hat, he asked , would the faithfu l toiling missionaries o n the foreign field say to “ ” c r O f o ? the y St p the supplies Wil liam Shaw,
o r s a ? Of S uth Af ica , what y you Shall we stop
? o u sa the suppl ies Thomas Freeman , do y y, “ ” o S U lies ? NO St p the pp , but as you value the
o f salvation Of human souls , and the peace human
incr ea se hearts , the supplies . And the Spirit o f ? - J ohn Hunt He was my fellow student, and — if he were now listening to my voice per naps
THE SECRETARYSHIP OF provided fo r the South Pacific at a cost O f and about was used for payment O f debt and providing mission premises ; was spent in the pu r chase and alteration of the
City Of London Tavern , which , after undergoing
r extensive imp ovements and additions , was opened
r 1 8 1 — ln in Janua y, 4 , with religious services which
Dr . Bunting , Dr . Newton , and Richard Reece
r r took pa t . The Hatton Ga den premises had long been found inadequate for the growing
new business Of the Society . The premises , the
r Wesleyan Centena y Hall and Mission House, at last gave ample r oom for a work which had
- becom e world wide . Provision was also made for
Methodist committees Of every kind . The Upper m Roo at Bishopsgate, at which public meetings had been held , proved a splendid hall for mis
o na r r si y ordinations and fa ewell services . The
’ President s missiona r y sermon used to be a
r g eat event , which drew together the chief families of our Church . The Methodists Of the Centenary time proved their fine business instinct when they secured such a Site . Their property is now
o worth a quarter f a million sterling .
1 8 1 new In 4 , when there was fear Of a debt f being added to the burdens O the Society, f Dr . Bunting suggested that each child o Wes leyan par ents Should give or collect one shilling
r as a juvenile Ch istmas Offering . It was hoped 1 3 0 JABEZ BUNTING
to raise but was sent in , and a
new source Of income discovered .
’ n 1 8 1 O Dr . Bunting s retirement, in 5 , unbounded gratitude was expressed for his noble service . The
Committee recognized that the public Reth emeh t of D B m n un‘ g ' confidence reposed in the Society, and the liberal pecuniary help it had received , were
‘ largely due to his U nrestrained disinterested
’ ness and zeal . They felt that his name and influence had been o f the highest service in critical negotiations with the Government , and
‘ rejoiced in the triumph Of Ch r istianity exhibited in the maintenance Of the missions in the West Indies during the trying period Of negro Slavery ; the abolition Of that iniquitous system , and the
’ subsequent enlargement of the Society s operations in the West I ndies the extension Of the missions in India , in western and southern Africa , in the
o f vast regions Australia and Polynesia, and in
’ o ther parts Of the world .
of I n the promotion all these noble tasks ,
Dr. Bunting had taken an active and prominent part for forty years . The income o f the Society
1 2 1 1 was more than doubled between 83 and 8 5 .
C HAPTE R VI TW E NTY YE ARS OF P ROGRE S S 1 85 2— 1 87 1
THE toil Of many years was now bearing fruit . Missions that had been nursed with loving care
fo r - were becoming ripe self support and Results of th w ’ k e m ' - 1 8 2 self government . I n 5 the French Conference was formed ; in the next two o r three years o ur missions in East Canada and in the North- West Territories were handed over to the
Canadian Conference . Robert Young brought a glorious report on his return from the South Seas
1 8 in April , 54 , and before that year closed came news that heathenism in Fiji had lost its chief prop
Thako mba u Austr a by the conversion Of . The first lian Conference met at Sydney in 1 8 5 5 . Fij i and the Friendly Islands were transferred to its care . The Friendly Islands work was no longer a mission
1 to the heathen . The report for 8 58 rejoices that the day of visitation has come to Fiji . About one fourth o f the entire estimated population o f the o g roup have aband ned heathenism , and earnestly TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
’ -Six C Christianity . Thirty hapels had been built
during the year . t These were glorious results . The repor for
‘ 1 8 53 speaks O f peace in Tonga ; extensive pros p e r ity in Fij i ; hopeful efforts in Australia ; new openings on the Gold Coast ; the extensive r e nu nciation o f idols at Sierra Leone ; the gracious
’ revivals in Canada and New Brunswick . Greater w tasks ere in store . China, I taly, and a new district in India were within the next few years
’ added to the Society s area Of operation . I n 1 8 5 1 the joi n Wesley brought a shipload Of shells, corals , clubs and weapons given by native 8 converts in the South Seas, and £49 was raised
1 8 2 . by their sale . I n 5 Mr Thomas Marriott left
to the Society . Betw een 1 835 and 1 843 the number o f our
1 missionaries increased by 1 01 . The report for 8 53
‘ : — Rapid says This rapid extension without Ex ‘ensmm example, we believe, among Protestant missionary societies— caused an additional outlay which greatly exceeded the additional income, and debts accumulated upon the Committee, which notwithstanding many instances of truly Christian liberality, have up to the present time hindered extension , beyond that necessary to keep what had already been gained ; yet even thus the missionaries Of the Society are this year 1 01 more than in The Society ’s missions in 1 36
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
M issiona r N otices A paper in the y for October,
1 8 2 5 , describes the spirit in which the great
mission to China was undertaken . I n Th e Opp or tunity 1 836 the Em peror o f China forbade the profession Of Christianity under the
o f severest penalties . The Government China
1 8 gave permission , however, in 4 5 , that every form o f Christianity might be professed , and by later orders the term O f travel into the interior for a missionary was extended from twenty - four
to o f hours several months . Agents the London Missionary Society visited places fifty miles from
the five treaty ports , preaching and distributing
books freely .
‘ mei Figures were quoted that Our friends y,
at leisure , familiarize their minds with the immensity Of human want represented by the “ word China . The population was estimated
at 4 50 millions . The London Missionary Society
1 80 . had been at work since 7 , when Dr Morrison
went o ut . Before Methodism began to take its share in the vast task 1 50 men had been sent 88 out by various Societies ; were Americans ,
1 . 4 7 Englishmen , 5 from the Continent Of Europe
7 3 missionaries were now at work . J ust at the time the door was opened into China our Society had been making exertions O f an extraordinary
for kind Africa, the West I ndies, and the South
of Seas . After the emancipation the slaves , the TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS missionaries were largely increased in the West
Indies, the new and costly mission to the Gold
Coast and Ashanti was established , and the cry
from Fiji was responded to, with, at the same time , considerable extension in New Zealand ,
’ South Africa , Australia, and I ndia .
But it was no longer possible to hold back . Many hearts were greatly stirred by the vast opportunity Of winning China for Christ . Zeal for Ch ina“ O ne Richmond student was so anxious
‘ to join Mr . Piercy that he would gladly have
so o f done , without promise sustenance, in the hope of finding some situation whereby to support himself. Another young minister had for years
’ s had his heart et U pon China . Both begged the
o u . mission authorities to let them go t. Mr Farmer had already Offered £ 1 00 a year for ten years for a mission to China . He had paid Six instal ments , and said that the day the two missionaries sailed he would give the other £400 and £ 1 00 a year . The Committee felt this a providential call . They accepted Mr . Piercy as a probationer ,
o n 20 1 8 o ut and J anuary , 53, sent the two young
ministers , William R . Beach and Josiah Cox , w W anno o ur ith Miss p , a trained teacher from
Westminster College . Mr . Piercy had Opened a
1 8 school in Canton , and in June, 53, began to hold TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
Society, allowed Leang Afa , - the first convert Of
Protestant missions in China, who had been
1 8 1 6 baptized in , to preach once every Sunday in the Methodist chapel . The little society at Hong Kong had been much reduced by removals
SO and various causes , that the work was left to the charge of other missionaries who were o n — the Spot. Three additional missionaries Samuel
Hutton , Samuel J . Smith , and John Preston 1 8 were sent out in February , 5 5 . They made the voyage from Gravesend to Hong Kong in eighty
nine days . Meanwhile, Mr . Beach had joined the
Church Missionary Society . A member of the English Episcopal Church Offered a donation o f 00 o u an e £5 if two more men were sent t, d tli
1 offer was accepted . Between 847 and 1 850
8 1 3 . £8 4 4 had been subscribed for China, and in 1 8 5 1 - 3 During the Crimean War £20 was received from Methodist soldiers in
Balaclava .
1 8 6 . Cox I n March , 5 , Mr and others visited three considerable C ities and several Villages
o f J osiah Cox within fifty miles Canton . They in canmm distributed hu ndreds Of tracts , and
out New Testaments . When war broke with
England the mission party removed to Macao .
Mr. Cox stayed for a while in Canton . When it was no longer safe to remain there he Visited the Chinese settlers in the British possessions in
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
o - o f our c operation . A plot ground was secured
fo r mission premises . Mr . Cox had visited the
‘ ’ - Tai Ping revolutionists , but found that it was
not wise to begin a mission among them .
. . o n 1 0 Dr J Porter Smith sailed December , 1 86 3 , to start a medical mission in Hankow . Addresses were given to the patients before
. saw w as Dr Smith them , and whilst he busy in his dispensary those who waited in the chapel
r we e spoken to by Mr . Cox and his helpers . William Scarborough and David Hill were stationed
1 . 1 8 . r at Hankow in 864 I n 66 F P . Napie joined the Canton Mission , and Silvester Whitehead
. 1 86 was appointed to Fatshan In March , 7 , a native house was rented in Wuchang. A hall which held about thirty persons occupied the centre, with two rooms on either Side for the two missionaries . There was also a small dispensary .
A description Of the region by Dr . Mullins , o f is the London Missionary Society , quoted in
‘ the Rep or t for 1 868 : Hankow is indeed H w ank o .
. is a noble city It , in name and reality , ” the Heart o f the Empire . Its streets are well made, well paved , and full of good shops, exhibiting excellent goods ; the population is closely packed , and the streets, great and small , are always w b crowded . A beautiful vie of oth cities is
Obtained from the hills Of Wuchang . Wuchang 1 4 2 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
’ lies at one s feet, divided by the ridge into two parts, and clear to the eye are the wide parade f ground , the public o fices, the long street for
u - b siness, the rows of dwelling houses , the ruins o f temples , and the city walls , ten miles in circuit, which even now enclose people . Across the river on the south is the little walled city o f
Hanyang . Next is a lofty bluff which overhangs
its the stream , and by Side , running far into the
O f interior, is seen the narrow stream the Han ,
O f - covered with a crowd j unks and river boats, which have brought down the produce o f distant provinces , and are transmitting it to the seaports .
" To the north o f the little river the crowd o f white roofs , densely packed , and stretching for three
of - tse miles along the bank the Yang , forms the
o f town Hankow . Numerous steamers lie at
is the wharves , and at the northern end seen the
English settlement , with its substantial , handsome
- houses, and its wide , level road . The Yang tse
itself, broad , placid , yet alive with moving boats ,
and stretching far away both north and south ,
’ divides the two great towns . Dr . Smith left 1 8 0 Hankow in 7 , his place being taken by Dr .
E . J . Hardey . During his first year out in- 1 1 and 9 3 patients were relieved . I n 87 there
1 2 2 8 1 were members, 34 scholars, 0 missionaries TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
harvest as yet was small , there was much to encourage the workers .
’ Dr . Coke s wisdom in venturing on work in
Ceylon had long been justified by results . The
Re or t 1 8 1 Pr og r ess ih p for 5 draws attention to the
ceyl°n' fact that Dr . Kessen had returned to Colombo as Principal Of the Government College
‘ fo r W training natives as teachers . hilst he devotes his energies to this sacred Object, he is laying wide the foundations Of the Christian
Church in that heathen country, and deepening the impression which has already been made o n many professed followers of Buddha and worship pers of the devil . These systems O f superstition
’ are now shaken , and are tottering to their fall .
G o e r l At the mission press Mr . g y was busy in getting o ut an edition of New Testaments and Old Testaments . The young converts
Of the mission showed great zeal . They go from
o f house to house , speaking a Saviour able and
ow n willing to save , and stating their experience
’ Of H is abounding love . The Tamil work in North Ceylon was steadily growing . Seventeen teachers were studying at
’ 1 r the Training I nstitute in 8 54 , and the gi ls schools were prospering . The Rev . John Walton
on a nd began a Tamil service Sunday evenings,
8 . built a High School in Trincomalee in 1 53. Mr
Kilner reported that nine adults, were being prepared
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
to pour unmingled curses and contempt o n the mis
sio na r y and his message , the marvel is , nowadays, to meet with a man who will set himself seriously
’ o r to maintain heathenism refute Christianity . In
‘ Jaffna symptoms of the decay O f heathenism as
a religion , or as a system commanding the respect
’ of the intellect and the confidence o f the heart
were plain for all to see . The religious element
had vanished from the feasts .
6 1 86 2 o r l O n . G e September , , Daniel J g y, the
venerable Chairman of the South Ceylon District, died after more than forty years o f D. J . “ er g m Re or t 1 86 service . The p for 3 says
‘ The annals of this Society contain not a few
fdr th illustrious names , but not one that will call
more sincere admiration and regret than his .
His r O f his g eat powers mind , vast acquirements , his unwearied diligence , his diversified services ,
- and his life long devotion to missionary work , have
o e r l of secu r ed for Mr . G g y that amount esteem and respect which was their due not only within ,
his o w n but around , and beyond the limits Of, community ; while his labours for the spread o f Christianity and the overthrow Of the Buddhist superstition present a striking and instr uctive instance Of the power o f concentrated and ’ persevering effort . The Buddhist priests had Shaken O ff their lethargy and formed a society to carry their 1 46 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
message from house to house . I t was a great relief to the Committee when Robert Spence
o f Hardy consented to take charge the South
ceY1°n° South Ceylon District for a time . The Buddhists had attacked Christianity in the Press
had and at public meetings , but this controversy led to a clearer separation between Christians and
heathen , and wise discipline had given a healthier
Wi esin h a tone to our work . Mr . j g , the first native
o ne O f preacher Of pure Sinhalese descent , and 6 1 8 . the early converts in Ceylon , died in 4 H e
1 8 1 became an assistant missionary in 9 , and his consistent life made a deep impression o n his
heathen neighbours . Mr . Parys, another veteran ,
w as died about the same time . He a Romanist
o f French descent, and a solicitor, but he gave up his profession to become a catechist in o ur
mission . H e preached with great power and
acceptance both in Sinhalese and Portuguese, and under his ministry all his family were converted
‘ ’ to Protestant Christianity .
. 1 6 Mr Hardy returned to England in 8 5 . The more searching discipline which he had introduced had borne fruit in growing vigour, intelligence , and liberality . The native preachers and laymen now realized their responsibility and did excellent service . John Scott (B) became General Super intendent . He found there had been many con
Mor otto versions at Colombo, Galle, , and Matara 1 4 7 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
1 66 d uring the year . In 8 a missionary was
O f appointed to Kandy, the ancient capital
Ceylon . In 1 86 5 Edmund Rigg went o ut to North
o n Ceylon . When Mr . Kilner came to England
o furl ugh he acted as Chairman , and maintained
o n and developed the work every side .
’ n Kilner 1 O Mr . s return to Ceylon in 867 he
r 2 repo ted that there were 9 day schools , with 5 5
‘ teachers and scholars . H e arranged a dis
’ tr ic t meeting of the native pastors , at which the various agencies and spheres Of labour were reviewed and adapted to the needs Of the mission . A memorable sentence in this report Shows how wisely the mission was being cOn
‘ ducted : By degrees the financial responsibility o f the pastorate, the schools , and the chapels , is being placed U pon the native churches ; circuit stewards and poor stewards have been appointed ,
’ ’ and leaders meetings regularly held . An
w as o n impression being made the population , and the zeal for heathenism was manifestly waning . I n South Ceylon the contributions O f the members for their own circuits rose from £367 to £44 1 ; £2 20 w as also contributed by those
n t 1 8 1 who were o members . I n 7 there were
2 1 8 6 1 members , an increase Of , with 7 On trial ; children were in the day schools . 1 48
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
Funds were not available for carr ying o ut such
as w a policy, but the Committee hoped that kno ledge about I ndia ‘ as the largest Open field for missions among the heathen in the whole world ’
r grew , there would be la ger liberality and more
Re or t 1 8 2 devoted enterprise . Meanwhile the p for 5
’ refe r s to the growing favour enjoyed by the girls school at Royapettah and the opening in the same
’ r O n city of a supe ior boys school . this station ,
o n and all the other stations in India , the mis sio nar ies are turning their attention from merely elementary schools for young children to the formation O f institutions in which a higher edu cation can be given to pupils Of more advanced
is immediafel age . I t hoped by this means more y to influence their character when they enter o n
’ Re or t of the business and duties Of life . The p
1 8 2 5 states that the Rev . E . J . Hardey had moved from Bangalore to open a station in the city Of
Mysore , and pleads for three additional mis siona r ies in order that proper attention might be
given to that important station , with its population
O f and to Seringapatam and Ganj am , nine
o r miles away, which had fifty sixty thousand
inhabitants . Thomas Cryer died of cholera in Madras o n
1 8 2 - October 5 , 5 . H e had been twenty two years
‘ in I ndia . Few Of his fellow missionaries ex TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS and effect with which he exposed the Sophisms
O f Of a Brahman , in the hearty indignation his invectives against the corruptions of Th oma s c o r ryer' heathenism , in searching and per
’ suasive appeals to the conscience . He had made
o ne himself with the natives , and came into constant and close contact with their daily life . I n 1 8 54 the directors O f the East India Com pany began to pursue a more enlightened policy
‘ Of towards the noble exertions societies Sch ool s in 8 r e of Christians to guide the natives Of MY ° '
’ India into the way Of religious truth , and ex pressed their satisfaction a t the success of mis sionar y education among the Tamil people Of
O ur f . Mysore . schools were growing more e ficient The education given in physical science did much to expand the mind and correct innumerable false notions derived by the Hindus from their sacred books . Mr . E . J . Hardey brought to England in 1 8 53 a petition for the establishment o f a school in Mysore City Signed by persons . 200 £ was given him for the purpose in England . O n his return to I ndia he arranged for a meeting o f Mysore gentlemen , Hindu and Muhammadan ,
1 20 at which £ was raised . One rich merchant rose and Offered £400 if the Bible were not intro duced into the school, but Mr. Hardey said he ‘ would not touch a farthing Of their money without a clear and distinct understanding that the school 1 5 1 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS Should be conducted as all other missionary ’
. r schools A hot discussion a ose, but the merchant w a s a nd . defeated , left the room
William O . Simpson spent the first part Of his missio na r life 1 8 y at Royapettah in 5 5 . The chapel
W was in the mission compound , and T. Simp sm almost close to it stood a mud - walled
r r - st uctu e thatched with cocoa nut leaves , used for the school . Behind the mission house was a large
’ r ga den , and beyond it the girls boarding and
M r s . day school . Dr . and Jenkins lived in the
s house , al o the Rev . Arminius Burgess , who had
’ Special charge O f the boys school . The English chapel at Black Town was three miles distant . O n the ground floor were the Sunday schoolroom
w as 00 and vestries , above a lofty chapel seating 4
’ to 500. Mr , Simpson s first sermon made a great impression , and he was much moved when he attended the Tamil service in the Royapettah chapel by the hymns sung to English tunes .
About two hundred persons were present . Mr . 6 1 8 . Simpson moved to Negapatam in February, 5
He had also to Superintend the work at Mannargudi ,
r - S ix o ut thi ty miles away . Before the year was
r he was appointed to T ichinopoly, where he spent the next four years , working with great devotion W in his school and as a Tamil preacher . hen the Mutiny broke out Trichinopoly was a post Of special danger. I t had native troops and 1 5 2
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS matter of sense ; Muhammadanism and Brah man asm stand out befo r e the world in their true
’ O u r characters . missions in the Madras Presi de nc y were outside the circle of the great tornado . The report O f our Madras Missionary Auxiliary
‘ 1 8 8 is for February , 5 , says , Perhaps there not a single Protestant Society, except our own , that is
U a not called pon , at the present se son , to mourn
O f its over some agents , victims to Hindu and
r Mussulman barba ity . But we , confined to
Southern I ndia, where happily licentiousness and cruelty have been restrained and moderated
r O f th ough the benign influence Christianity, have
r r o ne labou ed o n in uninte rupted security. Not
O f o u r dis stations has been , even for a moment, tu r bed o ne o f o ur r O ff not b ethren has been cut , nor has any unusual opposition been manifested
’ to the preaching Of the Cross . The Committee had long felt that , amid the claims Of other parts
Of the world , I ndia had not received its proper share Of attention . It resolved to send o ut ten additional missionaries as soon as fund s would allow . Meanwhile Methodist people took their part in helping the I ndian Relief Fund , for which upwards O f was collected in Methodist chapels , in addition to large amounts contributed in other ways .
Dr. Jenkins was now Chairman Of the Madras
o ut 1 8 District . He had gone to I ndia in 4 5 , and TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS after three years at Mannargudi and Negapatam
had been stationed at Madras in 1 848 . H e
worked zealously as a Tamil evangelist, Dh J enk ins m dms m a ' and made a great reputation at Black
n Town as an English preacher . O Sunday even
u ings the chapel was frequently crowded . Armini s
1 8 Burgess , who joined him at Madras in 53, says that he almost revolutionized their missionary
O ne policy. man was made pastor Of the English
the set congregation , and rest were free for work among the heathen It was resolved at the
1 8 District Meeting in January , 59 , to give increased attention to itinerant preaching. Several places within forty miles Of Madras were visited repeatedly . Five additional mis sionar ies were sent to the Mysore District in
1 8 SO 59 , that some fresh fields were entered . There were openings o n every side for new stations . The Bangalore press issued
1 8 pages during the year 59 , including pages Of the Scriptures and a new and enlarged
’ o f K a na r ese Dictiona r edition Reeves y, edited by the Rev . Daniel Sanderson . John Shaw Banks was stationed in the City
Of 1 60 Mysore in 8 . He sent an interesting account Of his evangelistic work . The Opposition had not been so bitter as he expected , though TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS o ur i — sin work to nsist and atonement, repent
s ance and holines , commend themselves to reason
r and conscience . Many listen to this with inte est, a s to new, undoubted truth ; some with emotion ,
’ r and many exp ess their assent .
After the Mutiny the Society turned to Bengal .
The Rev . Daniel Pear son reached Calcutta in
r r 1 860 r Cal cutta and Feb ua y , , and began wo k among E °mb y° a Bar r ack ur the soldiers at p . He strongly urged that the mission in Calcutta should
O f be begun again , both for the sake civilians and soldiers . He was warmly supported by the military authorities , and the room taken
00 for services , which held 3 , was soon crowded ' to the door . Genuine conversions were frequent , and much interest was awakened in religious
‘ r things . The result is visible not only in f equent meetings for prayer, and in the demand for profitable reading, but in the marked diminution
n Of crime . O e colonel said that the change in his men Since they came to Bar r ackpur was almost incredible ; instead O f for ty o r fifty
- soldiers in the guard room , there were scarcely any . There was a growing conviction that the con version O f I ndia was almost hopeless unless something were done for the soldiers and
Europeans . The requests for missionaries for
Calcutta were importunately repeated .
B A . 1 862 . . I n September, , J ames H Broadbent, ,
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
I n 1 87 1 there was one English circuit in the
C Madras District , and nine native ircuits , with six
Mh d ms and teen preaching places . The attendants M s°r e y ° on public worship were about
There were children in the schools . The schools and the open - air preaching largely occupied
the attention of the missionaries . I n Trichinopoly more than 800 services a year were held in the
streets . The Mysore District had eight circuits ,
2 8 - 2 8 with preaching places , and boys and 7
Re or t 1 1 girls in its 36 schools . The p for 87 says that above Sermons had been preached to the
heathen during that year .
A substantial and well - built chapel was opened
1 866 . at Bangalore in January, I t cost
w a and most Of the money s raised at once . Ground w a s purchased for a wayside preaching - room and vernacular school in one Of the most important thoroughfares , and two Sites for mission buildings were given by the Government . Faithful work in all departments was bearing fruit . O n the west coast Of Africa there was continu
us o advance . At Sierra Leone a great revival
1 8 Sierra took place in 53, and many abandoned Le°ne ° their idols . Native ministers had now
SO E been trained , that fewer nglish missionaries were required for this deadly coast . Thomas
a n ss 1 8 Ch mp e went to Sierra Leone in 57 . H e 1 86 worked there and in Abeokuta till 3, when he TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
was driven home by repeated attacks Of fever . The love Of Africa was a passion in his soul to the end . C hapels and schools were built in Sierra
1 8 1 Leone, and in 7 there were nine missionaries ,
members, and day scholars . I n 1 8 52 England made a treaty with the king O f
w ho Lagos, promised to put down the slave trade , abolish human sacrifices , and receive Lag os
Christian teachers . M any slaves returned
Old from Sierra Leone to their homes in Lagos .
1 8 Wesleyan missionaries were sent in 54 , and gradually established stations in almost every village . Thomas Birch Freeman , who had been
1 8 8 in Africa Since 3 , greatly helped the young mission . His father had been a Slave , and he himself married a Gold Coast woman . H e
‘ ’ used to say, I am a child Of the sun , and the climate, which proved fatal to others , never seemed to sap his energy . H e retired from the ministry for a time and cultivated a large tract of land near
1 8 Accra ; but in 7 3 he returned to the work , and for thirteen years rendered valuable service to the whole district . During this period the work in the West Indies a was prospering gre tly . Mark B . Bird laboured for forty years in Hayti among r evo lu West Indies“ tions, hurricanes , and fires with heroic
1 8 devotion , retiring to Jersey in 7 9 . During the Civil war o f 1 869 half of the city of Port-au- Prince I S9 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
w a s . O ur burned down chapel , school , and par
so na e . g , which had cost were destroyed But the mission had a warm place in the hearts
of English Methodists , who nobly came to its help .
I n South Afr ica there were serious difficulties .
r After the native wa s Mr . Whiteside says a chill
r South of discou agement fell on missionary Afr ica“ effort in the eastern districts of Cape
‘ r r Colony . Mo ley, S hawbury, and Butte worth
r r we e left without pastors . Butterwo th was deserted
r r for years , and the chu ch , school oom , and mission
o h use were heaps O f blackened ruins . The church
r at Cla kebury, for want of repairs , fell into decay .
sav a eism Converts were scattered , g once more r r r e a ified uled the land , and c uel superstitions g ’ 1 r r r 1 thei fo me power . I n 8 54 there were two mis sio na r ies with an assistant and a catechist where ther e had been seven missiona r ies and seven lay helpers . These faithful men worked o n till a
r 1 r bette day began to dawn . I n 866 a g eat revival broke out . William Taylor, then famed for his
o w rk in California , landed at Cape Town in
March . H e held evangelistic services there, and
r his to g adually worked way the mission stations , where thousands of the natives were brought to
r . o f Ch ist The labours the past now bore fruit .
‘ ’ O f The wall heathenism went down at a blow .
saw The missionaries took new heart . They also
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
M iiller died in 1 8 58 . Dr . W . B . Pope and
Mr . Boyce Visited the mission , and found that
‘ o n f a good work was going , though it Su fers greatly, both as to depth and extension , through
o f o ur the disuse ordinances , and the lack Of
’ pastoral supervision . The evangelists only need the ‘ Supervision of a recognized ministerial head
’ to become agents in a gr eat and prosperous work . D D The Rev . John Lyth , . . , Offered his services, and w a s 1 8 appointed in 59 . He fixed his residence at
Stetten , near Cannstadt, and set himself to form classes and secure a band Of local preachers . He
: wrote I am in the centre Of a fine field of labour ,
not fr iendl but and the clergy around me are only y, . as Visit me a brother . The plans we have set in oper ation seem to be working beyond my
’ expectations .
Dr . Lyth had Sixty places under his care , scattered over an area o f fifty miles by forty . A commodious room was rented for services in
1 860 Stuttgart in . Dr . Lyth rented suitable
n 1 86 premises at Waibli gen , and in 3 was able to repor t that in every circuit there had been con
o n versions and crowded meetings . The increase 00 the year was 3 members and 600 hearers . I f the chapel had been twice as large it would have
. 1 filled I n one quarter there were 50 conversions .
Dr . Lyth did Splendid service in Germany for 1 86 six years . I n 5 John C . Barratt, formerly TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
i . as m ssionary in St Vincent, was appointed his successor . There were then members , and
f r 2 2 5 candidates o membership . Five additional preaching- places had been Occupied during the year. When the French Conference was formed in
1 8 2 5 the English church in the Rue Royale , Paris , remained under the care o f o ur Mis F n ra ce ' sionar 1 862 y Society . I n the present e church was built in the Rue Roqu pine, and William Gibson began his memorable work in
France as its pastor . Methodism entered Switzer
1 86 land in 7 , and a handsome chapel and college for training ministers were erected in Lausanne as a memorial Of John Fletcher . At Gibraltar the English work and the day
Schools made special progress . When the Rev .
George Alton returned to this country sh ah , and “ mu “ in 1 8 58 his place was taken by Joseph g
Webster . He found the commodious chapel filled
’ with soldiers , and his weekly Soldiers Bible Class was well attended . Spanish services and a Spanish
- class meeting were held in Gibraltar . There were
1 6 o f 9 children in the schools, mostly Spanish , and
Roman Catholic parentage . Mr . Alton went to
Cadiz , but found that evangelistic work was severely repressed by the authorities . When Mr. Webster
1 86 . had to return to England in 3, Mr Alton
s m re u ed his work in Gibraltar . 1 63 TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
Robert H . Moreton was appointed to Oporto in
1 8 0 7 , to minister to the congregations formed by
. 2 . Mr Cassells . He had 350 hearers and 8 members
- I n 1 8 59 Mr . Allen reports that fifty four soldier members had been taken from his class at Malta by the removal of three regiments, but there were sixteen left, and forty to fifty attendants at the public services . Garibaldi ’s triumph opened the door for Pro testant missions to Italy . Methodism eagerly
fi r W rk embraced this opportunity . The Rev. mst o nam Richard Green began the mission in
1 860 r , and next yea he was joined by the Rev .
. . uar er s H . J Piggott M ilan was chosen as head q f , and the work spread to Florence and other towns .
’ I n Milan premises were secured for a gi r ls
- boarding school , and a chapel was built . Mr . Piggott sent an ex - priest to labour at Intra among the workmen employed by the cotton manufacturers , and Secured the upper half Of a disused convent church at Parma for services ,
o f 2 which had a regular attendance 50.
w as f The work surrounded with di ficulties, but
‘ 1 868 : Mr . Piggott wrote in We have churches Of truly con verted men and women ; we have ministers called Of G od to their work and Office ; we have the beginning Of that organization which ’ we love best and believe most scriptural . Padua t had become the head quarters in the nor h, and
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS
’ e and unfailing friend . I n Jam s Heald , Of Parr s 1 862 Wood , who was appointed Lay Treasurer in , our missions found another princely supporter
and wise counsellor .
on 2 2 1 8 6 . Dr . Beecham died April , 5 He
1 8 1 became Secretary in 3 , and his quiet energy and perseverance were o f untold h r . B c m ‘ ee h a : worth to the Society . I n the course of years the value Of his services became more and more apparent as new occasions arose to
test his peculiar powers . He was careful to inform himself correctly before he committed
himself to an opinion , quick to discern the
o f leading points a question , discriminating in
’
his judgement, calm in his temper, but tenacious
in his grasp Of great principles . H is corre spondence with missionaries was extensive and
laborious , and , in order to make it useful , he took pains to make himself acquainted with the
circumstances and duties of his correspondents .
S O successful was he in this respect , that a highly esteemed and intelligent missionary once “ declared that he believed Dr . Beecham knew his circuit almost as well as as he He was
f e 1 President o the Conferenc in 8 50. When David Livingstone returned from Africa in 1 8 57 our Committee voted £2 5 towards the public subscription raised to mark the national gratitude to the man w ho had opened up TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS new fields of enterprise in Africa to the Christian
Church .
Rev . . the The . W B Boyce was appointed to
H 1 8 8 Mission ouse in 5 , and for eighteen years his vigilance and business skill did much to secure
our the growing success Of missions . He spent
1 88 . his last years in Sydney, where he died in 9
1 860 The Blake System , introduced about , now
o ur began to bear a rich harvest for missions , and enlisted an army O f young friends and helpers .
1 86 The Missionary J ubilee in 3 , fifty years
after the historic meeting in Leeds, yielded
for missions . came Missionary J ubfl ee 1 363 from the mission field ; Ireland con - ' ' tributed which was expended by its o w n
Jubilee Committee . Richmond College became the property O f the Missionary Society o n pay ment of to the Theological I nstitution
funds, and was invested for its main
tenance was reserved as a capital fund , the yearly interest being appropriated in aid o f
mission workers and their families . Grants were
: made as follows West Indies , India,
France and Switzerland , Italy,
Southern and Western Africa,
China , The Missionary debt Of
O ff set was cleared , and apart as a
1 67
CHAPTE R VI I
OU R OW N TI M E S
THE Repor t for 1 87 2 refers to the purchase o f o f a large building in the heart Rome, form ing an angle to two great thoroughfares , and the building o f a chapel and school
‘ : ur in Naples . I t adds O Italian mission was commenced in fear and trembling : its success
o has far exceeded ur anticipations . Italians preaching the gospel , the valuable educational establishments at Padua , and the progress Of the preaching and educational work , are reasons for thankfulness and hope . Three years ago the expression Of a determination to place a mission ary at Rome was struck out Of the rough draft
o f Of the Report the Society as too sanguine, and as savouring o f presumption ! But what hath God wrought ! Rome is now open to s the teaching Of Protestantism , the Bible Society has held its first public meeting , and questions never mooted before have been discussed by the
’ sanction Of the authorities themselves . OUR OWN TIMES
’ o ur the beginning . I n hall in Via de Barbieri , the first Protestant baptism in Rome and the
r r fi st Protestant ma riage took place . Success
attracted opposition , and a bottle filled with gunpowder and pieces of iron was exploded in the vestibule Of the hall at the close Of the first
’ celebration O f the Lord s Supper . The extension o f the work led to the formation Of two Districts — 1 8 . Rome and Naples, in 7 4 The new church
1 8 and schools in Naples were Opened in May , 7 4 , and though ‘ various and most iniquitous attempts
’ were made to endanger those working on them , there was no serious accident during the course
O ne of the building . of the Opening services was
‘ ' taken by the Rev . Luke H . Wiseman , whose
’ brief visit left an indelible impression .
1 8 The new church in Rome was opened in 7 7 ,
r and at once att acted good congregations . Signor
’ S c ia r elli s Thursday lectures attracted from 1 50
2 00 1 20 to persons , and Signor Capellini had communicants among the troops quartered in
Rome . At his Easter Communion in 1 880 at
1 0 least 5 soldiers were present . Christian soldiers were continually passing from Rome to all parts
r undenomina O f the country . The wo k was tio nal , though conducted by a Wesleyan minister . He maintained an active correspondence with each company through o ne o r other Of the most trust
O f worthy the converts belonging to it . Mrs . and 1 7 2
OUR OWN TIMES
U 1 this had to be given p in 886 . The union o f
1 0 has 9 5 , however, given us a footing in Florence . Much fr uitful work was done o n the Shores
o f r Lake Maggio e . A new chapel was Opened
r 1 Re or t 1 8 at Int a in 89 3 . The p for 94 says that
se it completed the t of mission premises , which
’ r included minister s esidence , schoolrooms, an
’ orphanage for forty to fifty children , porter s
lodge, recreation ground , and stable for the circuit
horse .
set 1 8 6 The Papal revival , which in before 9 , made our work in Italy appreciably harder in
some places, but patient and steady toil has not
r failed to bear f uit .
n 2 8 8 . Signor Capellini died o July 7 , 1 9 The last g r eat gathering of the Military Church w as
held on the day before Good Friday . I t was
’ the twenty- fifth anniversary O f the Soldiers
‘ Church . The service had been o ne Of great solemnity and joy . The evangelical soldiers had assembled in force ; the number o f new com mu nicants was encouraging ; even Of the veterans
r r fe w Of that fi st celeb ation , half a jubilee ago, a had come to br eak bread with the new recruits o - f to day . Capellini himself was radiant ; many foreign fr iends Of the work were there to rejoice
’
. o ut with him He was Of health , but persisted in v isiting the soldiers at the summer encamp
. The ments Then he returned to Rome to die . OUR OWN TIMES Military Church has increased in prosperity under
of the care his successors , though the popular
Ver a R ain a newspaper , , has made it a target
s for it weekly attacks .
At Bologna in 1 898 a beautiful ex - Roman
r o ne Catholic oratory was secured , f onting Of
the principal thoroughfares . The Swiss Protes tants Of the city have been faithful adherents
Of our cause .
o f Naples had twice the population Rome .
his Mr . Jones an d helpers were ministering to the spiritual awakening Of nearly o n e half
Naples. o f l the I talian peop e , and the half which had been most terribly cursed in the past by most
u lmo st debasing s perstition , and by the fearful political and religious tyranny that Europe has ever known . The city , stretching along an unbroken h o use-line that girds the bay from ten to eleven miles , embraces within easy reach
’ ’ O ur souls . church was within a stone s
o l throw o f the d Bourbon palace . About half an
’ r hour s walk f om the palace, in the centre of the
Of Old city, the corridor an infamous convent had
- been turned into a Methodist preaching place, and four cells once used by the nuns became class
’
&C . rooms , A children s home was opened at
o n-tesanto M , the schools prospered , and Methodist OUR OWN TIMES
n towns , good work has bee done despite bitter
s r Oppo ition f om the priests . The most important
is w station in Sicily that at Palermo, hich had
— o ne two centres in the principal street, the
r r other in an impo tant subu b . New premises
1 8 8 were Opened in 9 , and by the union with the
‘ ’ Italian Evangelical Church our positio n has
been greatly strengthened . Signor G r isa fi laboured with much success among the Italian colonists in Alexandria .
B A . The Revs . H . J . Piggott , . , and T . W . S . o f Jones , who had been in charge North and
South I taly for nearly forty years, became super
1 2 nu mer a r ies in 90 . Great changes had come
O f ‘ over Italy during their term service . The darkness o f a dominant Romanism was giving
’ place to the dawning light Of a gospel day, and they had the joy Of feeling that their work had
r largely cont ibuted to this result .
The Rev . William Burgess was appointed General Superintendent Of the wo r k in I taly
2 1 0 in 1 90 . I n 9 5 a union with the Italian
Evangelical Church was happily accomplished . I t has given Methodism not merely an increas e
r in members and in p operty , but a position and influence in I taly such as it has never had before . During the war Of 1 87 0- 1 the French Societies suffered much distr ess : was subscribed in England for their relief. The Rev . William
OUR OWN TIMES
inspired all his fellow labourers . The Rev . George
Whel to n our p became his successor , and French work , together with some stations started by the
1 8 French Conference, was in 94 placed under the direction of a committee representing the Mission
House, the French Conference, and the District itself. In 1 87 1 there were regular Methodist services in 1 56 towns and villages of Germany and
. Wiir Germany and Austria The Toleration Act Of ma ma “ tember g in 1 87 2 secured religious
no w liberty for all Nonconformist Societies , recognized by the State as legal corporations . Methodists were no longer compelled to go to
fo r the Lutheran churches the sacraments . We had members and 8 54 scholars under our care . There was much opposition from those who regarded Methodism as an interloper, but this led to more intelligent and earnest attach ment o n the part Of the German Methodists The new chapel in Cannstadt w as opened by
o n 2 1 8 Dr . Osborn August 4 , 7 3 . The head quarters o f the mission were transferred from
1 8 Waiblingen in 7 5 , and a commodious house was secured for the recently established Training
I nstitution , with its seven students . Every year
1 8 6 there was steady growth . I n 7 nearly
o ur persons were attending services . Methodist periodicals and tracts did much to leaven the 1 78 OUR OWN TIMES
O n empire with evangelical truth . September 7 ,
1 8 7 9 , an attractive new church was Opened in the centre Of Stuttgart, and the congregations
. . G . s steadily increased The Rev . J. Ta ker was appointed in 1 880 to take Charge o f the Theo logical Institution and the English work in
Cannstadt and Stuttgart . The Opposition of the
Lutheran clergy no w became more bitter . The
‘ Rep or t fo r 1 88 1 says : We have been denounced from the pulpits and through the Press ; the prestige and the authority Of the clergy in many individual cases , and also in formal deliberative assemblies specially summoned for the purpose , have been unsparingly used against us ; children o f our members have been threatened and warned against us ; local preachers and hearers have been amerced for uniting to worship God according to
r their conscience and their prefe ence, and some who were engaged in collecting for o ur foreign missions have been fined and the money they had
’ collected taken away . I t needed no little moral courage for any o ne to declare himself a Methodist,
o ur 1 88 1 but people stood firm , and in 34 5 new members were received . The conversion Of the Baroness von Langenau in 1 890 was a notable event in the history o f
Methodism in Vienna . She lent her Baroness van u Lang ena : for a t saloon meetings, which were OUR OWN TIMES
many Of the nobility . Then the baroness opened her house for a Sunday school , which had an
r average attendance Of over 1 20 child en . She
’ also e stablished a Child r en s Home and Deacon
’ r esses Institution . Persecution soon a ose . The
s r ordinary ervices we e prohibited , and the Society had to meet for devotional exercises in the house o f one of its members .
r on The Rev . John C . Ba ratt died at Cannstadt
1 8 2 . November 4 , 9 At the close Of a busy day he
Rev J ohn O sat down to prepare for the pulpit . . . Em a“ : After w r iting a few pages he laid aside
s his the pen , ank back in chair, and passed away , leaving up o n his desk an unfinished sermon from “ the wo r ds Blessed are the dead which die in the Du r ing the twenty -seven years that he spent in Germany the seven chapels increased
- r to twenty two, most Of them with pa sonages attached ; the number o f preaching - places grew
r 8 1 r f om 9 to 9 7 , membe s increased from to Sunday scholars from 7 38 to
w as The Rev . Edmund Rigg appointed Super
’ inte nd en Bar r att s t . Of the mission after Mr death ,
1 8 and laboured with great devotion till 97 , when o ur churches were united with the flourishing missions Of the Methodist Episcopal Church Thirty - one ministers and members were thus transferred . Some natural regret was felt,
both in England and Germany, at the severance
1 8 0
OUR OWN TIMES
by a few pious Methodists , who had to face
much persecution . The day schools are besieged
00 o f by applicants , more than 3 whom are waiting their turn to enter , yet we cannot affor d to hire larger premises o r employ more
r teache s . The mission - hall in Lisbon is a transformed
00 - incon warehouse, seating 4 , low roofed and v e nient o n , but the people crowd the place
r F iday and Sunday evenings . It was opened on r 1 1 1 8 Februa y , 99 , and the Rev . A . H . Wilks ,
r the fi st minister , reached the city in December. The day school and Sunday school prospered
r 1 0 1 g eatly . In January , 9 , the Papal authorities r r t ied to stop Methodist p eaching . The services had to be held with closed doors , and no notices could be put in the newspapers , but the Pro testants Of the city stood firm and the storm blew over . The Repor t for 1 87 2 Showed that in South
- fifths Ceylon , which included nearly four Of the
o 2 2 r 80 p pulation , we had ci cuits, with about
- preaching places . The greater number Of stations were among the cocoa- nut groves on the west and south coasts . A few were in inland villages
-fields o r o n surrounded by rice , and four five the central mountain ranges . The local con tr ibutio ns fo r 1 87 1 were The contr ibu tions for the support o f the native ministry had 2 1 8 1 86 1 1 8 1 risen from £ in to in 7 . The Tamil District Of North Ceylon had a similar
o story t tell . The needs of the heathen population around 1 8 were not overlooked , and in 74 six new
stations were formed in South Ceylon . South ce l Wesley College was established at y ‘m' Colombo in 1 87 4 in addition to the I nstitution at
r Richmond Hill , Galle . The Object was to b ing the best scholars under Christian influence . A few students for the native ministry were trained there . Every year has seen it grow, and it now
0 O f has more than 5 5 pupils , about half whom
its are Christians . It has been hampered by location in the O ld mission premises adjoining
now the Pettah church , but suitable buildings are
‘ being provided , and it will become a Leys School
’ for Ceylon Methodists . 2 A new chapel was opened on November 9 ,
1 8 1 7 , at Kandy, the Old royal capital , which has
- a large English Speaking congregation . 8 1 8 . . I n 5 the Rev W . H Rigby began a mission in the central province Of Uva, in the f midst of a group o large Villages . Not a thousand women in this district o f square
o . . miles could read r write . The Rev S Langdon 1 88 took U p his resid ence in the region in 7 . OUR OWN TIMES
established , with day and Sunday schools , which w did excellent ork . A hospital was built for women and children at Welimada . A Mission
‘ Extension Fund was started . Persistent and
’ wisely worked schemes o f local extension bore witness to the zeal Of o u r people both in North and South Ceylon , and in some cases half and
- r o f two thi ds the outlay was raised locally . In 1 8 8 5 South Ceylon was divided into three Dis tr ictS — Colombo, Kandy and Negombo, Galle and Matara ; but these are now reunited into o ne
South Ceylon District .
’ John Kilner s work in North Ceylon laid a strong and b r oad foundation for future pros
er it w a s 1 8 Nor th p y. He able to report , in 7 5 , that there were twenty- Six circuits
th e o f in District, an increase twenty within
r ten years . The local cont ibutions were rising every year . Mr . Kilner trained the people to rely o n their ow n effor ts and to support their own ministry . The schools trained above
children and had a staff of 1 2 5 teachers .
A remarkable letter fr om Mr . Kilner appeared
‘ in the Report for 1 87 6 . Year after year the Old body Of the people ’s life seems to become
e o f more and more fe ble . Caste has less authority ; the priesthood less o f power ; the Brahmanic anathema leSS Of terror excision from family and home less Of awe . A process Of 1 84
OUR OWN TIMES
e done amongst them . The V ddahs believe in evil
- spirits , and several devil priests were settled in
their village . The boys and girls have been taught
in the mission schools . The huts have been
improved , and good water supplied from the
mission well . A stable , intelligent church is
of being built up , and the progress the work
astonishes all who know it . The Rock Veddahs at Kalodai were saved from starvation by the
r 1 8 8 effo ts Of the Rev . Joseph West in 9 , and a mission settlement was formed among them with a resident catechist and a Christian Veddah
Ka la nk er ni from ve .
1 8 1 — I n 7 the three Districts in India Madras , — 2 6 0 Mysore, and Calcutta had 9 missionaries , 7
members , and children in the schools .
I n Madras, with its population Of half a million ,
four Methodist circuits were now flourishing .
Large, and not infrequently noisy, con
Madr as. g r eg ations were addressed in the public
- - thoroughfares, and house to house Visitation was
carried on with success in some Of the circuits .
Many high - caste Brahmans received these visits
2 cordially . The Royapettah High School had 35
1 8 0 Re . v . . scholars in 8 . The G M Cobban was
O n appointed to Madras in 1 87 6 . leaving Head l ing ey College he became a colleague Of the Rev .
W . O . Simpson at Bradford , and was led by him to Offer for missionary service . He soon OUR OWN TIMES
attained a remarkable influence over the H indus .
- His chief delight was in open air preaching, and for
‘ he ‘ w a s this peculiarly fitted . With a fine voice, a
bold and manly bearing, a ready wit , great tact
and patience, and an even , happy temperament , he
- was a singularly effective open air evangelist . The
natives , educated and uneducated alike, were
greatly attracted by his preaching . He had a genius fo r dealing with large crowds composed Of f ’ representatives o many sects . He saw a great
r 1 8 ingathe ing in North Madras in 8 4 . Whole
His villages were won for Christ . energies were taxed to the utmost to provide pastors and
1 8 2 teachers . H e returned to England in 9 , and
1 0 died in 9 5 .
on f o f The Rev . George Patterson , then the sta f
the Madras Christian College, exposed the trickery Of the Theosophists by the publication Of a series
Of letters written by Madame Blavatsky , which
proved that the SO - called phenomena were nothing more than cunningly devised and skilfully executed
tricks . During the severe famine Of 1 87 7 —8 the
Rev . Henry Little founded the orphanage at
Karur, forty miles west of Trichinopoly . It has grown till its buildings cover an acre and a quarter of o O f r gr und , and the number indust ies taught is OUR OWN TIMES
An Industrial Hostel was opened in February,
1 8 1 1 9 8 . I n 90 1 as many as 50 workers were sometimes employed . I n Mannargudi the Findlay College for higher education has attracted many Brahman students ; some of its converts have become native Mannar g udi Re or t 1 1 and ministers . The p for 90 states
Neg ap atam. that In the previous year the numbers o n
2 8 26 the roll of the college had risen from 9 to 4 . The new buildings had only been in existence two
r years , but we e already found utterly inadequate . The compound was crowded with thatched sh ecis
U hastily run p to meet the emergency . The Inspector said that the college promised to becom e
‘ r r l o ne Of the fo emost in Southe n I ndia . On y those who have seen for themselves can realize what a lar ge place in the life o f the town and
r neighbou hood the college is already filling , and how inspiring and hopeful is the promise fo r the
’ O n w as future. the spiritual side also its influence
becoming more deeply felt . The high school at Negapatam is proving a
great success , and the medical mission at Mannargudi
. 1 8 founded by the Rev . Dr Hudson in 9 3 has done
splendid service . H e had a branch dispensary at 1 8 Tiruvallur worked by an efficient assistant. I n 94
cases were dealt with , and the most bigoted
homes were thus opened to the Bible women . I n
’
1 1 . 90 Mr . Hudson s successor, the Rev Elias Daniel,
OUR OWN TIMES a cost O f about The premises provided
00 . . r for 7 pupils Mr Cooling was p incipal , but 8 1 8 . . in 7 the Rev A S . Geden , M . A . , became his successor, and did valuable service fo r three years .
The Rev . William Goudie, who landed at
r 1 882 Mad as in March , , after some time in
r English wo k there , devoted his energies to
r the pariah villages a ound Tiruvallur . Mr udie’ . Go s Wor k among I n 1 889 he became res ident European e Pm ah s th '
missionary at Tiruvallur . The first baptisms had taken place eleven years before at Ikkadu and two adjoining villages . The mis sio nar ies had visited the region , but it was felt that f it needed closer attention . The wisdom O the
w a s appointment shown by the fact that , in about
r o f a yea , the number baptized adherents rose
2 0 . from 00 to 33 , and Of members from 5 3 to 87
1 o n 1 888 There were 9 members trial in , 94 in
1 889 . More than a hundred converts were baptized ,
v fi e new schools opened , and four new stations
’ G oudie s occupied . Mr . circuit had eight small
no n - s indigenous societies , Of extremely poor, ca te
Of people , and four smaller groups Christians
‘ o f belonging to the families agents . About ten families hold small plots of land in their o w n names , and pay their taxes direct to the
Government . I n most cases, however, the land is quite inadequate to the demands Of the 1 9 0 OUR OWN TIMES
family. Next below these are the families who
- at- cultivate land as tenants will to caste men .
These make a very uncertain livelihood , and are oftenthrown ou t o f land and living for the f sole crime o being Christians . At the bottom of o r the scale are the servants , serfs , who are
- labourers to the caste men , employed by the day or the month , and always paid in kind . These ,
o f as well as members the class above , are often
o f mortgaged for some small advance money , an d serve as slaves for many long years without
’
o f . hope redemption . The Rev Marshall Hartley
1 8 found , in 99 , few sights more touching or more hopeful than these pariah congregations, assembled
o f o r r in the plainest buildings , beneath the sta s , and
’ bringing their humble offerings to God s treasury .
O ne 2 8 of these village churches , measuring feet
1 8 by 4 , with mud walls feet high , and roof of
1 0. bamboo and thatch , costs about By the f o . generosity Mr Solomon Jevons , a new ward
1 1 was added in 90 to the hospital at I kkadu , but even then Dr . Wood found there was not room enough for her patients ; and two wings have since been added as a gift in memory o f
Lady Stephenson , by her daughters . A lace class
was formed at I kkadu , for which Mr . May, of
Bristol , and his family provided a beautiful and c ommodious home in 1 90 1 . OUR OWN TIMES
in Madras . The Rev . F. W . Kellett arrived in
1 8 2 I ndia in February , 9 , to take up his work W as Professor of History in the Madras E . Rene“ Christian College . I nto twelve years ‘ he compressed labours and achievements that would have given distinction to a long lifetime , and won a position o f un r ivalled influence and
u n usefulness . The unassuming simplicity and sparing devotion o f his character contributed to this result even more than his scholarship and
’ o f brilliant gifts . H e died malarial fever when
2 1 0 o n furlough in England on June 9 , 9 4 , saying
‘ for I have given my life I ndia , and I do not
’ regret it .
s ° of The Hyderabad Mi sion , in the territory the Nizam (area square miles , population
Th e ” dew was begun by the Rev. W . ssmn bad Mi ' Burgess at the close of 1 87 9 in a district
r o f villages . Wo k was at once started among the
’ r r soldie s at Secunde abad , which was the largest e military d pot in South I ndia . There were about
1 0 e o 5 declared Wesleyans in the d p t , and Wesley Church was opened in 1 883 in the middle o f the
’ cantonment, and a Soldier s Home adjoining it in 6 1 88 . This was enlarged to three times its original
1 - dimensions in 890. I t is self supporting . The first Telugu congregation was formed at
Chudder haut g , a suburb of Hyderabad City, in 1 8 7 9 , and the first Methodist chapel in the
OUR OWN TIMES
‘ ’ o ne The lady doctors , some said to Mr . Pratt,
‘ hold the heart o f Medak in the hollow o f their
’ - es hands . Lace making workshops have been tablish ed at Secunderabad , and carpentry shops
‘ o r at I ndur . In this District is the great pp o
’ t unit y of the Society . Methodism has to itself this field o f square miles and
o f r people, all them eadily accessible, and willing,
1 00 often eager, to hear the truth . I n 9
r converts we e baptized . The tragedy o f the Hyderabad Mission was
o f M r s . the loss . Burgess and the Rev Joseph
- LOSS of th e Edge Malkin , a devoted and well trained volun young minister , who had just
’ fo r Rou ma w a teered Hyderabad , in the steamship ,
o ff which went on the rocks Peniche , near Lisbon ,
2 1 8 2 . r s o n M . October 7 , 9 Burgess had done
a great work among the soldiers at Secunderabad ,
and could speak fluently Tamil , Telugu , and
Hindustani . Her little boy and a Christian ayah
perished with her . The Hyderabad District
‘ Synod paid this tribute to her memory : Her
enthu rare gifts, marvellous energy, and intense
sia sm were all consecrated to the service o f Christ .
Some departments o f missionary toil Mr s . Burgess
has made peculiarly her o w n . She was the
o f pioneer female education in these dominions , and w a s for emost in every effort to ameliorate
the lot of I ndian women . By her charm of OUR OWN TIMES
manner she won all hearts , and was known and loved alike in the palaces o f nobles and the hovels o f the poor . British soldiers have lost in her a devoted friend , and in British canton ments throughout the world her name will be
’ held in grateful remembrance . Thomas Hodson laboured in the Mysore till
1 8 8 7 , when he became a supernumerary, and settled at Mansfield , where he died in Th e Mysore Dietr ich 1 882 . These are the chief facts of his
. 1 8 2 missionary life H e landed at Calcutta in 9 , and was appointed to begin Kanarese work in
1 8 1 8 8 Bangalore in 33 . I n 3 he removed to the city of Mysore, where he enjoyed the friendship
1 8 of the Maharajah . His health failed in 4 3, and compelled him to come to England ; but
1 8 . in 5 3 he returned to the Mysore Mr . Hodson
‘ ’ was now the Nestor o f o ur mission s in the
East . As a pioneer he commenced mission work at various stations in the province, inaugurated the great work of English education amongst the natives, rendered valuable contributions to the
o f literature the country, assisted in the establish
o f has ment the first press, and been a regular and systematic preacher o f the Cross to the people
’ amongst whom he has lived . H e had been nobly
ff o n supported by Mrs . Hodson , whose e orts behalf OUR OWN TIMES
1 86 who had been in Bangalore . since 4 , had already won the confidence o f his brethren by his faithful
and efficient service . He became Chairman of the
1 District in 87 8 . H is educational work brought under his influence large numbers o f men who subsequently held high positions in Government
‘ service . To his students he seemed the most impressive embodiment they had ever seen o f
strong , pure , and symmetrical manhood , and he acquired a position of unique influence in the State
which succeeding years confirmed and enhanced . He administered the affairs o f the District with conspicuous and unbroken success till his death
1 in 896 .
ss The Rev . Henry Haigh established a mi ion
press in Mysore City, and the newspapers issued
' ‘ ‘ r z zta ma were eagerly read in the villages . The V
' P a tr zlee was a constant ally in introducing the
evangelist to the people, and in providing suit
o f able subjects conversation . When any false statements were published about the work it formed
a valuable medium for confuting them . The
u Hind Tract Society, through its publications and
preachers , abused the missionaries and their religion , f but Mr . Haigh was able to make e fective reply in
of 1 8 1 his paper . During the Dasara festivities 9
people came into Mysore from all parts, and some most interesting and amusing visits were received from natives who wished to see the press where
OUR OWN TIMES
’
. . S aw da s The Rev G W . y work at Tumkur, forty three miles from Bangalore , laid hold on every side
o f the life of the people . A large native
r chu ch was formed , with flourishing
’ r — schools . Du ing the famine o f 1 87 6 8 a boys orphanage was established , which has extensive workshops, and three village settlements . Mr . Saw
o n 1 8 8 day returned to England furlough in 7 . He had spent nine years in Tumkur working
‘ breathlessly all through , but neither hurriedly nor impatiently . Results surround him . The membership of his church h as more than doubled the chapel has been greatly enlarged , and even so is often filled with worshippers, and the native
’ ' r pasto is now almost supported by his flock . The
1 0 Orphanage, with its 3 boys , proved a great
’ M r aw a s n S d . strain o . y resources He was
‘ farmer, builder, mechanic , ropemaker, and school
master by turns , and elder brother always to his
’ boys . He formed two villages surrounded by
M r s lands tilled by young Christian farmers . . Saw
’ day cared for the women and for the girls schools ,
’ and w as a constant helper in her husband s work .
S aw da 1 00. Mr . y returned to the District in 9
’ A gi r ls orphanage was opened at Hassan by
Riddett 1 8 6 . . the Rev. A . P . in 7 The Rev Ernest
six W . Redfern spent years of abound H ss a an.
ing activity in Hassan , and when he cam e home o n furlough in 1 902 the n eeds of the OUR OWN TIMES
District filled his heart and brain . He wished to build a hospital for women and children at Hassan , and the necessary funds were given him , but he .
o n 2 8 died in the Bangalore City Hospital March ,
f - 1 0 o . 9 4 , at the age thirty four
1 8 1 w as Banaw a r I n 7 a mission begun in , a
of Kor a mas village converts from the , a gipsy tribe w ho bore an evil name for theft and WOI’ l l mg o f Ifitfigfi crimes violence , and were not allowed i si s G p e . to move the ir encampment W ithout a
1 police permit . I n 897 Mr . Dumbarton reported the baptism of fifteen persons and the building, near
of Tarikere, another Christian village , which was
’
S at a ur a o f . named y p , the city truth There was much sickness in the settlement in 1 89 8 . This was ascribed by the H indus in the neighbouring villages to the malignity o f a demon who resided in a banyan - tree which was cut down when the village was formed . Such an explanation appealed strongly to a people naturally credulous , but they maintained
d ue their Christian faith . The colony was to the
of Banaw ar labours the first converts at , and they next set themselves to visit and teach their relatives
la or a mavu . at S Four of them were baptized , and it was said that the rest were only held back by
the opposition of o ne o f their number .
Bar r ack ur o f p , sixteen miles north Calcutta , is
the cleanest, most beautiful , and most English OUR OWN TIMES
i . station n Bengal The Rev. George Baugh pur
in 1 8 8 chased the mission house 7 , and from that
Th e Calcutta time the work has prospered and ex msmc‘“ tended . The English chapel in Station
1 Road was erected in 884 . Many mills have been
Bar r ack u r built at p in recent years , and have attracted a large Hindu population . Caste is yielding, and there is a fine field for the preaching of the gospel . The Zenana Mission in Calcutta was started
1 8 8 w as in 7 , and the lady worker courteously
R 1 8 she welcomed . The eport for 7 9 says that
‘ already had access to thirteen zenanas . She never disguises her evangelical purpose, and yet has more invitations from Hindu families th'an
’ sh e can possibly accept . The missionaries on the ground at this time were all young, and were zealous vernacular preachers , who lived for weeks
‘ among the people, dwelling in tents , moving from village to village, to command market days
’ and fairs . They found a ready hearing, and a good sale for their books . I n 1 87 6 two men were appointed to vernacular work in Bengal, and the following year a station
co alfield was opened at Raniganj , a , railway, and manufacturing centre . A leper asylum and orphanage were established here at a later date,
O ur and are doing good service . mission in Calcutta owes much to the eighteen years ’ over
OUR OWN TIMES
Mr . Frater . Native work was begun by the i Fe nt ma n 1 8 . 1 88 Rev . A . in 7 3 I n 3 a substantial
bu ildin Th e Luek new g was acquired for a middle ma m“ ’ class boys school in the Sudder Bazaar ;
1 88 r in 5 a District T aining Institution was opened , also a substantial church for the Hindustani con
r e a io n 1 8 1 g g t . In 9 a boarding and day school
r w a s provided for Ch istian boys .
o f Faizabad , with a population was occupied a s a military station in 1 87 6 Two . ’ s years later Mr . Carmichael built a small Soldier
r Chu ch , and also began vernacular preaching .
r The Rev . Joseph A . Elliott took up the wo k
‘ O 1 88 . in ctober, 3 H e was an Irishman , born
’ w a s o ur t in I ndia , and received into minis ry
1 o f in 87 6 . His unrivalled knowledge I ndian dialects gave him eno r mous power in dealing
with the natives . Gradually he came to be
o f known as Padri Elliott Faizabad . That place
- was his home for twenty two years . He died
1 when on furlough in England in 905 . He was
o f a prince vernacular preachers , who won the
o f hearts the people wherever he went . H e built at Faizabad o ne of the finest churches in North
I ndia, two bungalows for the missionaries , and a
’ r - gi ls boarding school . Twelve flourishing village
o f r centres were formed , and a large staff worke s
r drawn together . A school for native Ch istian
w as 1 8 0 girls opened in 9 , and has supplied a OUR OWN TIMES
great need . The orphanages at Jabalpur, Benares,
and Akbarpur are doing admirable service .
Th Rev Fentiman 1 8 e . A . began work in 7 9
o f at Benares , the sacred city the H indus , which
has a quarter o f a million inhabitants . The
’ native church is fairly healthy, and the boys
orphanage and industrial school promises well .
1 The chapel was built in 884 . The Rev . Edward
’ Solomon s work in the city, where he preached
r o f daily in the streets , and eceived the natives
all ranks into his house , made a deep impression .
‘ : . ! A bigoted Hindu said Mr Solomon , ah that
oh ou man ; , if y had a hundred such missionaries
in our big cities, the conversion of India would
’ be near at hand .
Re r The v . G . W . Clutterbuck wo ked in Bombay
1 88 1 8 0 from 7 to 9 , with much courage and enter hi prise . H e lost s life in the wreck B mba o y. o f S tella 0 1 8 the , M arch 3 , 99 , when
n o his way to Guernsey a s missionary deputation . The English work in Bombay and the Marathi
ne w w a s church are both prospering . A church
1 8 o f built in Bombay in 94 , at a cost Rs .
largely through the persistent efforts o f the Rev .
. . Mr s . G C and . Walker
W lver hen the Rev . G . W . O visited I ndia
one o f of as the Secretaries the Society, he found that missionary methods were far more OUR OWN TIMES
of supposed . They employed every kind evan
elistic g , philanthropic, and educational agency used
Mn omp e in England , together with methods Vigit w mdia ' ada pted to the special circumstances
‘ is of India . The gospel preached in churches
balls and , in streets and bazaars , in villages and by the roadside ; to Christian congregations , to inquirers , and to the utterly careless and
- ignorant ; to keen , quick witted hearers , and to the all but hopelessly dull ; to the Brahman and
r the pa iah ; to old I ndia in its superstition , and
’ i s to young I ndia in t scepticism and conceit . The school and the press were also used to influence the life o f the country and leaven it
missiofis with Christian truth, whilst medical , industrial settlements, and visits to the Hindu and Muhammadan homes were breaking down the prej udice against Christianity . The work of native Bible- women in India was rapidly developed about the year 1 894 . The
1 8 I ndian Bible Report for 9 5 says that seventeen of “ men these agents were employed in the
Mysore District . Six o f them were in the Banga lore (Kanarese) Circuit . They paid visits during the year and read and explained the gospel to more than women . There were twenty -six Bible -women at work in the N eg apatam
- 1 8 . District . I n 99 there were thirty eight
OUR OWN TIMES had reached Mandalay three weeks previously as
Wesleyan military chaplain . A fine site, five and a half acres in extent, was bought , and a substantial mission house of teak erected . I n
September two Sinhalese youths , trained in
’
Ceylon , came to Mr . Winston s help . A school was Opened and a modest beginning made in
Bes all . . t vernacular preaching . The Rev . A H
’ r 1 88 ar ived as Mr . Winston s colleague in 7 , and has laboured in Burma with growing success .
H e opened a new station at Pakokku , with a
o f 1 888 population in the latter part of ,
w n f and o the confidence o the people . Here a chapel was erected . A good chapel was built
1 8 0 s at Mandalay in 9 , and another at Kyauk e,
- o f twenty nine miles south Mandalay, which is the centre of the most fertile di strict in the
r country . I t was a neat b ick building two storeys
60 0 high , measuring by 3 feet , with a porch at
n the orth end . I t had also to be used as a
1 8 school , and it was not till 97 that a church used solely for public worship was built in the
South Mount Road . Evangelistic work was carried o n in the streets and the homes o f the people .
‘ 1 88 : ur . O Mr Winston said , in 9 principal problem is how best to create an interest in the true religion . The Burmans are not accustomed to enter any building regularly for worship or ih
-to - struction , and only by house house visitation
2 06 OUR OWN TIMES
Th e can we reach them . preachers could always get fifty to a hundred people together by singing a Burman hymn at a street corner, and all listened attentively . When the mission was somewhat established
Mr . Winston turned his attention towards the lepers . The Chief Commissioner welcomed the
scheme . He said there was nothing like it in
all Burma , and he not only gave the site but
started the subscription list with a hundred rupees .
w o f King Ed ard VI I , then Prince Wales , was appealed to as President o f the National Leprosy f o 80. Fund , which made a grant £ The first
o f 1 8 1 . ward the home was erected in January , 9
o f I t had teak posts , a floor boards, walls made
o f . bamboo matting , and a thatched roof The
bungalow had accommodation for fifteen inmates ,
and on the first day seven lepers were admitted .
Other buildings were added . Before the year
closed there were 50 patients . Daily worship was
as conducted in the home . The attendance w
Fo r voluntary . more than three years there
was little response to the appeals , but at length a leper was so grateful for the skill with which his diseased leg was amputated that o n his recovery he embraced Christianity and began
1 8 to speak to the patients about religion . I n 9 5
o f forty them were Christians, and had a daily OUR OWN TIMES
Scotland in 1 896 gave 75 I 50 to provide increased accommodation for women in the Home for
‘ ’ Lepers . The Perth Ward is an abiding memo rial o f this generous deed . A lady in England
1 20 Bestall also sent £ , which enabled Mr . to open a separate orphanage where the healthy children o f lepers might be saved fr om contamination by
1 8 1 1 leprous surroundings . I n 9 8 there were 5
of leper inmates , and the list baptisms in seven
1 years had reached 04 . A site was purchased at Monywa in 1 89 3 and o n this a temporary mission house and school chapel were erected .
1 - Bestall T/z e Old a nd I n 894 5 Mr. translated
‘ N ew Tesla mem S tor ies ublished b , which were p . y the Christian Literature Society of India .
n I n China there has been steady advance . O
1 8 8 . his visit to Canton in 9 , the Rev Marshall
Work in Hartley found that catechists and Ch ina " teachers could not be trained quickly enough in the Theological I nstitution to supply the demand . There are four day schools, and
’ ’ 1 00 the Soldiers and Sailors Home, opened in 9 in Hong Kong , is doing well .
1 88 1 I n Dr. Wenyon opened a hospital in a rented building in Fatshan , the Birmingham of
China, about fifteen miles above Canton , with half
1 8 0 o n a million people . I n 9 a new building, the opposite side of the river, was bought . More than
OUR OWN TIMES
main street . He made evangelistic tours among 1 8 the villages near the Yangtse , and in 7 3 was
David Hill ’s sent to Kuang Chi and Wusueh to care
W°r k ° for the work in that region . Wusueh is a hundred and twenty miles farther down the river than Hankow . For six years Mr . Hill lived here in two rooms and preached in the villages around . When famine broke out in Shansi he made his way to the province to minister to the starving inhabitants . Prejudice was conquered by these deeds of love, and a great door was opened for the gospel .
After a visit to England , which sensibly quickened Methodist interest in China, David
1 8 82 Hill was reappointed to Wuchang in . Whilst he was in England a colporteur had begun work in Teh Ngan , a hundred and twenty
- miles north west of Hankow . The purchase of land there at a later stage caused a riot, in
o ut . which the missionaries were driven Mr .
Hill went to their help , and the work took firm root . Dr . Morley opened a hospital in the city
1 8 8 . in 8 , which has rendered great service Dr . Barber began the high school at Wuchang in
. f 1 88 . o 00 4 Dr James Wood , Southport, gave £5
’ for a chapel , day school , and native preacher s house in Hankow . David Hill devoted himself and his fortune to China , and long before his OUR OWN TIMES
as the saint and hero o f the China mission . The Blind School at Hankow is his abiding
memorial. The Central China Lay Mission , which
1 88 he instituted in 3, proved a powerful agency for
o u l evangelizing the inland provinces . The j yf
N ew s agents shared these dangers and triumphs .
William Argent, their first martyr, was killed
o n 1 8 1 . by the mob at Wusueh June 5, 9
1 I n 89 5 Mr . Hill effected a settlement at
o f Kung Tien , a densely populated part Hankow .
‘ There Hill immersed himself in the ocean o f
native life which flowed in full tide around him ,
and more than ever sought, by personal inter
course and conversation , to win those with whom
’ he came in contact .
1 2 o f In 90 the great military province Hunan , where hatred of the missionary had been most
intense, was entered . The South African Conference was formed in
1 88 . 3 Its stations cover Cape Colony, Natal, what was known as the Orange Free South Tembuland Afr ican Con State, , Pondoland , and Gri 3 fer ence, 1 88 . ualand miss n natlves q . I t has w s to the
of within its boundaries . The work north the
Vaal is carried o n by ou r Society . The Rev . John Walton was the first President of the
w as South African Conference, and elected again
1 88 . ith in 4 He and the Rev . J m Spencer went out to the Cape in 1 87 8 and rendered
2 1 1 OUR OWN TIMES
- conspicuous service . The Wesleyan High School
1 8 0 at Grahamstown , founded in 8 , is a monu
’ ment to Mr . Walton s energy and skill . Methodist children had previously been sent to
Anglican and Romanist schools, where their loyalty to their own Church was seriously
. f endangered Mr . Spencer was President o the
1 South African Conference in 889 . The first Methodist worker in what has now become the Transvaal and Swaziland D istrict was
M a atta David David g . H e was a native of M a‘' f t Me a liesber gfeelfgf the g g , but was taken captive S m tr °° ° by the Matabele, and became a personal
M s lek o e atse . attendant of their chief, When the Boers attacked his master David fled to Thaba
Nchu , where he was converted at the Wesleyan
M e aliesber church . He returned to the g g to tell
f o f them o Christ, but could not find any his
kinsmen . He settled at Potchefstroom , and allowed no native to leave the town without making the gospel known to him The Boers were indignant
’ that a nigger should presume to preach , and, by
o w a s . order f the landdrost , he flogged and banished u H e met Mr . Kr ger on the frontier, who listened to
his story , and gave him a written permit to
for return . H e laboured in Potchefstroom many
- - years , holding prayer meetings and class meetings
Blencow e 1 8 1 regularly . Mr . visited him in 7 , and
OUR OWN TIMES
Mr . Watkins was to be the first Chairman . The war which broke o ut in December delayed opera
tions , but as soon as it closed Mr . Watkins came to
r 1 88 1 . P etoria in Little churches , founded by
devoted natives , who had been converted at Wes
leyan services in Natal or Cape Colony, were dis
in r o f covered va ious parts the country , and a chain o f stations was formed stretching from Lyden
burg on the south - east almost to the Limpopo
’ o n - M an . sim the north west Daniel g , who fifty years before had gone as a boy with one o f the Natal missionaries to form a mission among the
r wa like Swazis , offered himself as a missionary to his own people at the time Mr . Watkins came w to Pretoria . His faithful work was blessed ith abundant fruit . Mafeking and Bechuanaland were added to the District, and soon showed large increase . The Potchefstroom native circuit grew and extended till it had members , and its farthest outpost was a hundred miles distant
r f om the circuit town . When gold was discovered o n the Witwatersrand
1 88 in 4 emigrants flocked in . A colonial local
J eh ennee_ preacher among them held the first bu rg ' Methodist service, and the work spread
- from end to end o f the gold bearing reef. Johannes
1 our burg leaped to life in 886, but Church kept pace with its growth , and sent minister after
-
e. minister to labour among the people . The hug OUR OWN TIMES
circuit was divided into three, and a great impetus
was thus given to aggressive effort . Meanwhile evangelistic work was zealously ca r ried o n among v the nati es attracted to th e mines , many of whom
heard the gospel for the first time . The District
1 8 6 . had adherents in 9 The Boer War,
1 8 — 1 02 99 9 , gave a serious check to the mission , but it has since more than regained its hold o n
. out the population The Rev . Amos Burnet went
o f 1 02 as Chairman the Transvaal District in 9 , f and a wonderful era o expansion began . Method ism is finding its way into every place in the
region , and the natives welcome it as earnestly
as the European settlers . The Rev . M arshall
1 Hartley visited the District in 903 . H 1 8 1 o n . Early in 9 the Cecil Rhodes, on behalf
o ur of the British South Africa Company, offered 1 00 Missionary Society £ a year towards Meeh ene _ m a the expense of a mission station in the
area over which that company had jurisdiction .
1 8 1 In June, 9 , Owen Watkins and Isaac Shimmin started from the north of the Transvaal o n a tour o f inspection . They reached Fort Salisbury, now
of on 2 the capital Rhodesia, J uly 9 , where land was selected for a mission station ; a farm was also
o ut o n 1 . pegged at Umtali , and December 5 Mr
u Shimmin marked o t a new mission farm , H l ar t e ton of . y , within ninety miles the Zambesi 1 8 2 On June 5, 9 , a comfortable brick chapel was 2 1 5 OUR OWN TIMES
t e of opened at Fort Salisbury, h first place worship
. 00 in Mashonaland I t cost £3 , and all the money
w a s given by the residents . The Rev . G . H . Eva
s r took pastoral charge , and oon e ected a second
chapel , the first built for the natives in Mashona
land . Eight native teachers came up from the
r Transvaal , and three important stations we e
— six occupied Epworth , miles from Salisbury,
r r w a s 1 8 Har tle to n whe e a chu ch built in 93, y ,
’ M a un i s and Lo g d .
I n 1 89 3 war broke out with the Matabele .
r All our stations in Mashonaland were w ecked ,
r and we had to begin wo k anew. For a year or two the r e was much restlessness but g r adually old h stations were reoccupied , new stations establis ed ,
churches and schools built . Mr . Shimmin secured
Bulu w a o o f a fine site in y , once the capital
00 1 8 o n Lobengula , for £9 , in 9 5 , and built this the
first Wesleyan church in Matabeleland , which was
1 1 8 . opened on October 3, 9 5 The Mashona rebellion in 1 896 put an end to o ur work at
’ M a undi s Lo g for a time . Two native evangelists and a local preacher were murdered . After a year o r o ld two stations were reoccupied , new stations diffi established , churches and schools built . The c ulties of pioneer work have now been surmounted , and despite the tr ouble caused by natives o f doubtful character from Cape Colony who resort to
- these up country towns there is s teady progress .
2 1 6
OUR OWN TIMES its pupils capable and domesticated Christian
women .
f . The visits o the Rev . W . H Findlay to West Africa in 1 903 and 1 9 04 have been o f untold benefit in regard to the health o f our missionaries
1 0 and the oversight of the work . Since 9 3 Wesley deaconesses have been employed in West
Africa . Three are at work in the Sierra Leone and Gambia District and two in the Gold Coast
District .
Mr . Freeman , who had retired from the ministry
for a time, and cultivated a large tract of land
1 8 near Accra , resumed his ministry in 7 3, and for thirteen years rendered valuable service to the whole District . I n 1 87 7 the stations n ear to Lagos were formed i nto the Yoruba and Popo District , under the
o f Lag os and charge the Rev . John Milum . The th e metric“ natives showed great zeal and generosity ,
r and the wo k in Lagos spread rapidly . Lagos is a fine centre for evangelizing the interior . Yoruba, with inhabitants , stretches from the Bight o f Benin to within forty miles o f the
- Niger . Caste is absent , open air services are unmolested , compounds may be freely entered . I n some parts o f the country Muhammadanism is evidently and ominously spreading . Ibadan , with inhabitants , among whom David OUR OWN TIMES his wife laboured with such devotion from 1 8 5 3 to
1 86 o ne o f o f 9 , is the largest towns Yoruba, and
.o f indeed Africa, but we have only one native
O o minister and teacher at work . y has people, and there we have a substantial church . At I lesha the king has helped to build the
o ld e Methodist chapel , and young and hav vied
so with each other in learning to write, that they may study the Gospel s for themselves . Ijebu is
o f one our youngest fields , into which M ethodism
Ade mu iw a was introduced by Prince y , who sent two native agents there at his own cost in July , 1 8 2 9 . At Ago there has been quite a hunger for the truth . A native evangelist began the work , and , though stoutly opposed at first, the young men were gradually interested , and some of them have been sent out to visit the villages , in more than forty of which services are held . The people may be seen in streets and market- places trying
out a . to spell the Bible mess ge Bryan Roe, who gave nearly ten years ’ heroic service to West 6 on 2 2 1 8 . Africa, died at Quitta February , 9 I n 1 88 5 our oldest missions in the West Indies seemed strong enough to claim inde
endence p . Two Conferences were Th e West ma ies' formed . The Western Conference had three Districts in J amaica, together with the Hayti and Santo Domingo District ; the Eastern
of . Conference was composed the St Vincent, 2 1 9 OUR OWN TIMES
British Guiana , Barbados , Trinidad , Antigua, and
St . Kitts Districts . A Coke Memorial College
’ fo r r was founded at St . J ohn s , Antigua , the highe education of boys and the t r aini n g of West Indian
r ministe s .
r r n r s r The wo k was ca ried o with g eat pi it .
o r r r r Meth dist newspape s we e sta ted , the membe
r r s ship g ew , and in all depa tments faithful ervice was done . The Centenary of Methodism in the
s 1 West Indie was kept in 886 with much rejoicing .
s The meetings were well attended and howed that, notwithstanding the change in the ci r cum stances o f r the people, the e was no decline in their attach
ment and loyalty to thei r Chu r ch . The visit of . ‘ r M A ula the Rev . Alexande y and Mr . Sampson
1 888 r in was highly app eciated , and the evan g e listic se r vices they held r esulted in the awaken
r s r ing and conve sion of many . New mission we e
A r inc a begun in St . Lucia , and at , a town with
r inhabitants , in T inidad .
r d e r es Earthquakes , tornadoes , and comme cial p sion made it expedient for the West I ndies to return to the care of the Missiona r y Society in
1 0 o f January, 9 4 . A special fund to relieve the trust proper ty from its burdens w a s
' a h o me started , half to be raised t and half in
r the West I ndies . The Rev . J . M . B own visited the islands in 1 90 5 and inspected the ci r cuit and
r r trust accounts . He exp essed his admiration fo
OUR OWN TIMES
bull fights which were then in vogue . He
mastered Spanish , and translated the Gospels
o f and other books into Maya , the language the I ndians of Yucatan . The neighbourhood is
o f a stronghold Romanism , and the priests endeavour to keep the people away from the
light , but Methodist services are held in English and Spanish in Corozal and three Indian
villages . The work among the Caribs at Stann
o n -six f Creek , the coast, thirty miles south o
Belize, has lifted many from deepest heathen
o f darkness into the light God . The visit of
1 e n the Rev . W . Perkins in 899 did much to courage the people and increase the influence
of Methodism in Honduras .
The Bahamas District, like Honduras, remained under the charge of our Missionary Committee
Th e after the West Indian Conference had
Bah amas' been formed , as communication between those islands and the West Indian group is very
f of di ficult . The islands , which lie in a crescent abou t six hundred miles in extent to the east
of Florida and Cuba , were ceded to England
by treaty in 1 7 83 . Half the population were
slaves , and Methodist work had to face much
o f opposition in early days . The only means passin g from island to island is by sm all
o r schooner sloop, and a journey of thirty miles OUR OWN TIMES
o f three good churches in Nassau , the capital a the B hamas . The coloured people there are the
f Re e v. most int lligent o their race . The Henry
E o f leby , who was Chairman the District from 1 868 1 8 8 to 7 , transformed the Methodist pro
o r perty, building improving at every place .
o u t a s The Rev . George Lester went Chairman
1 8 1 six in 9 , and spent years in building up
Methodist work with happy results . The Rev .
Ble f E . b o . W . H . F y, grandson the Rev H . leby ,
who wrote many books on the West I ndies , is
now Chairman . Missions in other parts of the world which have now passed from the care o f the parent
Society are still prospering .
When the Australian Con ference was formed , 1 8 in 55 , the missions in Fiji passed to its charge , and right nobly has the work been carried o n .
The Rev . F . Langham was for some years
Superintendent of the mission , and , since he left the islands, has done valuable translation work . A gentleman in Adelaide has presented a steam w launch to the mission , hich has been christened
The La n a m g fi . There are now church members in Fiji , with on trial . The college at Navuloa furnishes a good supply o f
trained men for Fiji and New Guinea . A high
1 0 school established in 90 is a great success , and similar schools ought to be provided in other 2 2 3 OUR OWN TIMES
centres . There are I ndian coolies in ff Fiji , and a great e ort is being made to win
r them fo Christ . Fijian Christians have shown a noble zeal for
s the conversion of the savage of New Guinea . W Fijians a s hen the Rev . George Brown was his pe r ilous mission to
1 8 that island in J une , 7 5 , nine native teachers volunteered to join him . They were reminded
‘ o f of the dangers , but replied , We are all one mind ; we know what these islands are . We have given ourselves to this work . If we get killed , well ; if we live, well . We have had
r u s eve ything explained to , and we know the ’ i danger . We are willing to go . They d d not for get the debt they owed to those who had brought light to them in their darkness , and
r they were eager to make some eturn . Other
o f 1 8 1 8 1 parties Fij ians followed in 7 7 and 9 , and they have had no small share in the victory
o n the gospel has w in New Guinea . When the
1 886 Rev . J ames Calvert visited Fij i in he was
‘ greatly pleased with the native students . They are very true , ready to go forth and brave the hardships and exposures of New Guinea , where some o f them have perished in the work ; but others are baptized for the dead , and cheerfully
’ ready to fill their places .
The Rev . P . Turner began a mission in Samoa
OUR OWN TIMES siasm o f and anxiety , but with a sense conflict as
w as if himself in the battle . H e thus in the midst f o two struggles . He was in the distant and
o f glorious strife the faith , and he was in the near
o f and worrying strife administration , and the double contest exhausted and hastened the fall o f
’ this great and noble soldier That is a passage which describes the experience through which the long succession o f missionary secretaries has passed . I n o ur own time the problems caused by I ndian famines , Chinese outrages , West I ndian disasters , and the Boer War have sorely taxed the friends and officers o f the Society . The Mission House has had a successipn o f eminent missionaries o n its staff who were able to bring their personal experience to bear o n Officml Visits t o th e i i the wor k o f administrat on . The pol cy
Mission Field . of personal inspection of the m iss ion field by o ne of the General Secretaries has also been a marked feature of recent years The Continent o f
Europe has been constantly Visited by the Rev .
F . W . Macdonald and others responsible for the work . The Rev . G . T . Perks paid a visit to South
1 8 Re 1 880 6 v . Africa in 7 , and the John Kilner in ;
Re v. . l e r the G W . O v made a tour in India and
1 8 2 Ceylon in 9 the Rev . Marshall Hartley visited
1 8 - China, Ceylon , and I ndia in 9 8 9 , and South
r 1 0 v . Af ica in 9 3 the Re . W Perkins visited OUR OWN TIMES two journeys to the West Coast of Afr ica in
1 0 1 o f 1 900 and 9 , and a tour inspection in I ndia — 1 0 . . and Ceylon in 9 4 5, i n company with Mr J
Vanner Early and Mr . R . W . Booth . The
Rev. J . M . Brown rendered special service to the 1 R West I ndies by his visit in 905 . The epor t for
’ Olver s 1 893 thus refers to Mr . visit to the East .
‘ Some o f the greatest difficulties in the way o f successful administration in the m ission field arise from mutual misunderstanding caused by di ffer
ences o f race , education , and national sentiment It is not to be supposed that great chasms are
o f r bridged over by the amenities a single visit, o
by brief intercourse, however profitable and pleasant .
w o ne of But something is accomplished hen Mr .
’ Olver s o f experience and weight character, able at
once to teach and to learn , can go among the infant
of churches heathen lands , strengthening them by
o f his counsels and his prayers , and adding bonds personal sympathy and goodwill to the links which already unite the East with the Christianity of the
’ West .
o f I n his account his tour in the East, Mr . Hartley
says I t is my honest conviction that, as a body , our , Mr Har tle : missionaries both for ability and . y
piety, stand at a high average ; while as W W W “ o f to their methods work , though I have
s f of ought, I have ound nothing to complain , nothing
that I would abandon , nothing that I would alter . 2 2 7 OUR OWN TIMES
i i l s r nc e of . In this I speak ofp p , methods Here and there in detail some modification may be advisable but o ur missions rest upon broad and solid founda
tions , and are being wisely built upon right lines by men and women whom the Church may fully ’ trust . The Treasurers of the Society have worked with
as 1 a s keen a devotion the Secretaries . Since 837
e Mieeieh er y there have b en only three ministerial T reasurers “ — Treasurers John Scott , Dr . Jobson , and
- Dr . Rigg each of them a tower of strength to the B w h . ud ett o Mission House . J ames S g , succeeded
1 8 James Heald as Lay Treasurer in 7 4 , remained
throughout life a princely supporter . He died in
1 M ‘A r h 06 . t ur 1 88 9 Sir William took office in 3 , and held it with great advantage to the Society till his 6 1 Re or t on 88 . death November , 7 The p for
‘ 1 888 says : A hand has vanished that knew no stint in giving a voice is stilled that never faltered when it pleaded the cause of the distressed or bore
’ testimony for the Master . Mr. T . Morgan Harvey
1 888 was appointed Treasurer in , and for ten years devoted time and wealth to promoting the work o f
M inu tes o f 1 8 8 t the Society . The 9 contain his reso lutio n The Conference receives with sincere regret
o f o f the resignation the Lay Treasurer the Society,
Mr . T . Morgan Harvey, who is compelled by the state of his health to relinquish his office . For ten
OUR OWN TIMES to the power o f the Press in awakening interest and spreading information . From the Thanksgiving Fund ( 1 87 8—1 883)
was given to foreign missions . The
‘ ’ o f 1 8 — Mieeieh er y Special Effort 9 5 7 cleared the Fun“ debt o f and provided
o fo r buildings in vari us parts o f the mission field . was raised for the I ndian Famine Fund in
— o f 1 00 1 899 1 900. The Twentieth Century Fund 9
o f yielded for missions , which half was at once spent on the erection o f buildings and the
rest set apart as a Plant Fund . I n 1 89 8 sixteen additional men were sent to
o f various parts the field , but the Missionary ' o f 1 00 De ye ef Synods 9 sent no fewer than Ad ance v ' eighteen requests for additional men .
The missionary fire was burning more brightly,
1 00 1 88 and in 9 , for the first time since 4 , the home
r six cont ibutions for foreign work reached figures .
1 00 o f The deficit for 9 , due to loss income during
- war time in the Transvaal and to troubles in China,
was met by generous friends o f the Society . The
1 0 1 income for 9 showed a decline , and this fact, together with the publication of a searching paper
by the Rev . John H . Greeves, led to much heart
o f 1 02 searching . The May Anniversary 9 was quick with the throbbings o f new aspiration and
’ consecration . The Manchester Conference pledged itself to a more energetic and aggressive missionar y OUR OWN TIMES
e policy. Twelv conventions were held in various centres for the deepening o f the missionar y spi r it
o f during the presidency Dr . Banks , and the districts not then visited had their conventions
’
during Mr . Hartley s presidency the following year . The following programme o f advance was adopted
1 . To respond to an appeal of the North Ceylon
to mission that has been six years repeated , enable them to set free an experienced man fo r itinerant
evangelistic work around their stations .
2 ff o f . To add to the sta the Hyderabad mission , where the rapid ingatherings are overtaxing the
r powers o f our missiona ies .
. o f 3 To provide for the appointment a man ,
o fo r if the right man can be f und , evangelistic
r s work among the educated classes in Mad a , among whom there is splendid opportunity for bringing to fruition by special agency the missionary
influence of our schools and colleges .
4 To provide a Principal (if, again , the right man can be found) for a Theological Institution designed fo r the service o f all o ur churches in
West Africa .
. 6 5 and . To reply to the cruelties inflicted o n
Christians in China, and to the hopes o f the
- Dowager Empress to suppress Christianity, by increasing the missionary staff in both our Chinese
i i m ss ons . OUR OWN TIMES
7 . To enable the Bahamas mission , which has fought a good fight for God in those sequestered islands with little money help from us , to occupy in force another important island o f the group .
8 . To reoccupy San Pedro Sula in the Honduras
o f o f District, the scene one the most beautiful and most tragic sto r ies o f heroism in o ur recent missionary history . w 9 . To strengthen the meagre force hich in Rhodesia is longing to push its campaign towards the Zambesi and gather the natives o f that great region into the kingdom of Christ . I f the Trans
o n vaal does not appear this list, it is because the time is not yet ripe for planning the great extension o f ou r operations for which we confidently expect to
is find opportunity, when order restored in that
’ distracted land .
1 0 1 T he Mission House was pulled down in 9 .
1 0 The new building was opened in 9 3. By letting
o f the largest part the basement, the Th e new 1111 i ground floor and first floor, the ent re 1133;c o f cost rebuilding, will be met within twenty years, and a handsome yearly
2 income provided for the Society in 1 9 4 . This notable result is largely due to theskilful management o f the Lay Treasurer, Mr . Williamson Lamplough . At the fi r st floor handsome iron gates shut o ff the missionary premises from the business part
OUR OWN TIMES
the value of endeavouring to enhance . their services
’ by combination and system . A Ladies Com mittee has been organized for the purpose o f more effectually promoting the wo r k o f the Society
in reference to female education , to the supply o f clothing to stations where it may be needed , and to many other subsidiary matters by which the comfort and usefulness o f missionaries and their
wives may be largely enhanced . To those friends
who have originated this organization , as well as to those who in various parts of the country have
co - promised it their operation and support , the Committee beg to offer this expression o f their
’ sincere gratit ude . This was the modest origin ’ u o f the Women s Auxiliary . I t was soon fo nd that doors of usefulness are open to women in
the East, which are rigidly clos ed to men . The Auxiliary thus began to find a glorious Sphere of
service . Its chief work has been in India, Ceylon ,
and China, where more than fifty English ladies are employed in teaching and superintending
schools, and in zenana visitation . Others are
village evangelists, and seventeen are engaged
2 0 in medical work at eleven centres . About 5 Eurasians and natives are employed as Bible
women , zenana visitors , and hospital assistants .
There are also many school teachers . The medical
a work is becoming more and more import nt .
’ The Women s Auxiliary was o ne o f the earliest OUR OWN TIMES societies to undertake m edical work which it began 1 8 in India in 8 3 . I n Italy help has been given to the I ntra
Orphanage , the day school at Spezia , and that at Iselle for the children o f the Italian navvies working at the Simplon tunnel . Schools in Spain
r and Af ica are supported . The first worker was
1 sent to Burma in 900. Help was given to
1 88 Mrs . Piercy in Canton , and in 5 Miss Sugden went to Hankow as a lady doctor . The Hospital
1 888 . there was Opened in Dr . Margaret Bennet went o ut at her ow n cost in 1 899 for medical work in Wuchang, and other ladies have followed in her steps . The medical work in Medak and
I kkadu has been o f unspeakable value . The
’ 80 Women s Auxiliary helps to support 4 schools ,
o f th e for girls . More than half schools
o f are in Ceylon . Above forty them are boarding schools . Methodism has more schools in that island than all other Protestant Missionary
o u t o f Societies together, yet villages only ’
00 . 7 have a Protestant school . Mrs Wiseman s appointment as Foreign Secretary o f the Auxiliary
in 1 87 7 led to great developments . She enlisted l f the he p O others, and every year has seen
further extension and consolidation . Her visit to I ndia in 1 889 led to the development o f OUR OWN TIMES
- - now thirty six orphanages. and boarding schools
o f 2 for the children native Christians . I n 1 90
. on ou Mrs Wiseman visited China, and her t ward journey opened the new hospitals at Indur
- o and Medak , and laid the foundation stone f
’ o f Wiseman Hall , an enlargement the Girls
- 1 06 Boarding school at Secunderabad . I n 9 seventy lady missionaries from England were at
o o f w rk , whom seventeen were engaged in medical
service . Fourteen other ladies were local helpers ,
o f and these two were qualified doctors . At
Hassan and Mysore hospitals were built , and a Rescue Home for w idows was established in
Bangalore . Mr . Solomon J evons provided hospital a and orphanage buildings at Welimada, B tti
caloa, Ikkadu , Trichinopoly, Medak , Hassan , and
o f Jabalpur . Other friends like spirit have nobly
’ helped the Auxiliary . The urgent demand for girls
schools in China, I ndia, and Ceylon , and the call
- for Bible women , which far exceeds the supply , are increasing the opportunities and responsibilities
’ o f the Women s Auxiliary at an alarming rate . Some of the most important work on the mission
field can only be done by women . The way in which the zenanas o f the East are open to Christian ladies gives unbounded opportunity for influencing
o f the wives and mothers the future, whilst the lady doctor is o ne of the most precious gifts o f f G od to multitudes of the sick and su fering .
C H APTER V I I I
A BI RD S -E Y E V I E W OF O U R M IS S IONS
’ A BIRD S a EYE VIEW
strength . Churches in Florence, Milan , Palermo, and some smaller stations chiefly in the manufac turing district north o f Milan have been taken over . The work stretches from the Simplon tunnel to Palermo . In Rome we have a good
o n church , and a strong hold the military .
The schools in Spezia , the Italian arsenal , have long been regarded as a national benefit . A new church was opened at I ntra in 1 903 . It seats
2 00 , and its tower shows up well as you cross
Lake Maggiore . There is a day school and an orphanage , liberally supported by the Protestant
o f o public . Many the cott n operatives at I ntra
s are attached Methodi ts . I n Milan we have a
o ' chapel in a thickly p pulated suburb, and a large
o n e church in of the principal thoroughfares .
This is a splendid evangelistic centre . In Naples o ur fine church is the centre Of a growing work . I n the villages of the Abruzzi ,
o f Basilicata , and the mountainous regions Calabria we have met with extraordinary opposition from
s the priest , but this has only given force to the reform movement .
r I n Aquila the e is a central chapel , and nine other preaching- places a r e scattered over the mountainous district . Every month our agent travels a thousand miles , visits thirty places, l and ho ds seventy meetings , attended by to persons . OF OUR MISSIONS
Palermo is a prosperous station . Since the
of union with the Free Church I taly, three
ed different congregations have been unit , and form the largest Methodist congregation in the w Italian Mission , for hich a new church is greatly needed . Barcelona is the most important manufacturing w centre in Spain . A plain door ay leads from
our . the busy street to chapel The spamand Pm u al g ' schools are the finest in the country .
1 0 00 I n 9 3 they had 9 scholars , and an income 68 of £5 from fees . At Clot, an industrial suburb ,
1 0 premises were purchased in 9 5, and the school i 0 . has 3 5 scholars At Rub , a manufacturing
village, twelve miles away, premises were also
1 0 bought in 9 5 . We have promising stations
in the Balearic Isles . That at Palma , the capital
of Majorca, is flourishing, and there are two stations
in Minorca . Oporto has a population o f We have
- five been here thirty years , and it is hard to find room for the people who wish to attend o ur
services . Even the stairs are crowded . I t is
among the best Protestant work done in Portugal .
. I n our Lisbon services are held in a rented hall , and the schools are so full that children have
to be refused .
e our C ylon is oldest Eastern mission . The ’ A BIRD S f EYE VIEW
into the South Ceylon District . The Colombo section was never so flourishing . I t includes an
of South area square miles , with a ce mn y ‘ u of pop lation nearly a million , of whom
1 6 2 per cent . are Christians , 7 per cent . Buddhists , 6 4 per cent . Hindus , per cent . Muhammadans . Ten years ago the Sinhalese church in Colombo decided to undertake the support o f its o w n
r ministe , and has continued to do this ever since .
- I t is a self supporting circuit . It maintains and
manages all its schools , and pays a catechist . The laymen take a lively interest in the affairs o f
r the church . Three other circuits in the Dist ict
'
Support all the , work administered by their
Qua r terly Meetings . Kandy has o ne o f the largest English - speaking
r Methodist cong egations in Ceylon . The Kandy
Section includes Kandy, the Uva mission in the
o f . centre Ceylon , and the Negombo Section The day and Sunday schools in the Uva Mission have done good service , and the hospital at Welimada is
‘ a blessing to the whole region . The conditions under which work is carried on in the three sections vary considerably . There is as great a difference “ between the character and habits o f the low country Sinhalese o f the Negombo Section and the Kandyan o f the other two as there usually is between the dwellers in two different countries .
Then , too , the problems to be solved differ . I n
’ A BIRD S ' EYE VIEW
1 1 one o f o f Matara in 8 4 , but it is the strongholds
o f Buddhism , and in the section country round
o u t 800 00 it, of villages , there are more than 7
r is no t whe e there a single Christian . Methodism
is 1 8 trying to reach these places, and in 94 twelve
new stations were opened .
The North Ceylon District has members ,
0 o as with 80 n trial . Trincomalee h become self
Nor th supporting , and Point Pedro has ceylm almost reached the same position . The generosity o f the people gives abundant proof o f
their sincere devotion . There is a complete net
o f work schools , in which more than boys
and girls are taught . The Wesley Deaconess ' is I nstitute at Puttur being developed , and the Soldiers ’ and Sailors’ Home at Trincomalee does
valuable service . The Medical Mission at Batticaloa and the Kalmunai Industrial School are prosperous . The mission to the Veddahs is doing well . Madras covers twenty - seven square miles and
h o ur as a population o f about half a million . It is
Me dr ee oldest mission in continental India . mam“ James Lynch landed there in 1 8 1 7 H e
i i built the first chapel at Royapettah . The mun c pal area stretches for nine miles along the coast and for
three miles inland . Royapettah is near the centre .
‘ : s The Rev . Robert Stephenson says It include OF OUR MISSIONS
su r bazaars , and many English residences , each rounded by its ow n compound— a n Indian term conveying the idea o f something more than a garden and less than a park Scattered through o ut the district are clusters o f native cottages hidden among overhanging foliage . A little
’ - i distance to the south west s St . George s Cathe
dral , a noble building, famous for its interior
o f fo r walls polished chunam , and the beautiful
’ o f statues Bishops Heber and Corrie . Wesley
h as 00 College, Royapettah , more than 7 pupils and a home for Christian boys studying there,
1 0 which was enlarged in 9 3 . Between Royapettah and the sea is the district
o f Triplicane , inhabited largely by Muhammadans .
‘ . : Mr Findlay says Nowhere in India , perhaps , is clustered a community with so high an average o f education and o f brains as in this official
f O ur and university quarter o Madras . High School is a warren o f native houses in which
00 5 students , mostly Brahmans , are crowded , even
the flat roofs holding classes , only screened by palm -leaves from the blazing sun or drenching
’ o f w a s rain . I n 1 90 5 a suitable block property f purchased in the heart o Triplicane, and a missionary appointed to work among the students
‘ for and educated men . The I nstitute Educated
’ so H . . . indus , for which Mr F W Kellett did ’ A BIRD S ' EYE VIEW
‘ its task of unsurpassed importance for the
’ kingdom o f Christ .
Mr . Subramanian , brought to Christ as a 0 ’ lad by W . . Simpson , has built a women s
o f hospital in Madras , in memory i the debt he
r owes to Methodism . A school for Indian Ch is
w a s 1 02 tian girls opened at Black Town in 9 ,
1 0 and a new church erected in 9 4 at Egmore , to f take the place o the old Black Town chapel ,
At Madurantakam , a country town fifty miles
of south Madras, we have a school for boys and
’ - five girls and a little Children s Home , where thirty
small pariahs are cared for. There are converts
in twenty villages and preaching in eighty others , ' 00 but 4 villages in the circuit are untouched . The mass movement among the pariahs is bearing
much fruit in the country ci r cuits round Madras .
o u t o f At Guindy , six miles Madras , we have
a training institute for Tamil evangelists , where
- about twenty four men are in residence . f I kkadu and its of shoot, Nagari , are thirty and
sixty miles west of Madras . The two circuits
cover square miles , with half a million
- - w a s villagers . A mud and thatch hut in I kkadu
the earliest place of worship when Mr . Goudie
1 began his work in 888. This was followed
by a brick shed in the mission compound , with
thatched roof, which did duty for many years .
I n 1 903 a beautiful red - brick church was erected
’ A BIRD S ' EYE " VIEW
carrying water and toddy ' chatties (earthenware
o f su n vessels), all in the light a setting , har
moniz in of g with the red surface the road , the
dark foliage, and the varied costumes, furnished
my vision with a perfectly Oriental scene, and
’ fulfilled many preconceived pictures .
20 Negapatam is a busy seaport, 0 miles south
o f Madras, with inhabitants . The South
I ndian Railway workshops are here . Th e r i i I t was o u second stat on in I nd a ,
1 2 and w a s occupied in 8 1 . We have
a flourishing high school . Nearly thirteen
hundred children are taught in seventeen schools , and eight Bible - women and seven evangelists are
at work .
o f Mannargudi , thirty miles west Negapatam ,
is a purely Hindu town , pleasantly situated in
a very rich agricultural district . A fine street extends from the bridge across the Pamani to
the temple . The Medical Mission , for which
Dr . Hudson did a great work , is very strong . The Findlay College is o ne o f the chief educa tional establishments o f South I ndia . I t began
1 8 . in Negapatam in 8 3 , when Mr Findlay was
its first principal . I t was transferred to Mannar
now . gudi in 1 89 8 . I t has 543 pupils Our
missionaries first visited the town in 1 834 . Two
years later Mr . Kindersley gave the mission a OF OUR MISSIONS
’ M r s . Cryer died here , and it was W . O . Simpson s
1 - 2 home in 86 1 . Here the spirit o f the work
‘ o n laid hold Dr . J enkins : Mannargudi made
’ me a missionary . The large temple, with eight
e massive tow rs , attracts visitors to its annual carnival .
Trichinopoly, where Schwartz began a mission
1 6 for in 7 7 and laboured twelve years, and Bishop
is cit ~ in Heber died , the largest y the Presidency next to Madras , with inhabitants . The rock o f hard granite which rises 2 7 3 feet above the surrounding plain , attracts all eyes , and a
i s Hindu temple clings to t slope, with a large
r a tificial lake at the foot o f the rock . In a house 8 by the lake Clive once lived . There are 47 girls
’ o ur n - in schools . A new girls boardi g school was opened in 1 905 . The mission in the K o ng anad country round
is o f Karur also doing good service . A network schools and evangelism is being spread over the whole area .
o f Karur, forty miles west Trichinopoly , is perhaps the largest and most advanced industrial settlement connected w ith any I ndian mission . I t grew out of the Orphanage established during
- the famine o f 1 87 7 8 . I ts workshops cover l an acre and a quarter, and provide a Sp endid ’ A BIRD S ' EYE VIEW
1 i I n 87 9 the Rev . Will am Burgess went to
r Secunde abad with o ne lay agent . I n 1 905 there
Hyderabad were seven circuits in the Hyderabad Dism t c ‘ District, with nine English missionaries ,
r eleven lady wo kers , three medical missions , five
86 2 I ndian ministers , native evangelists , 4 Bible
1 1 2 women , 9 7 schools , teachers , Christian
2 2 scholars , 3 Christian villages, members , and a Christian community numbering of
whom are children under fourteen . The
converts are chiefly agricultural labourers . From
o w n ten to twenty per cent . farm their small
holdings , the rest are day labourers . The area
o f r o ut the Dist ict , which includes three Of the
’ o f iz a m s r is eighteen divisions the N territo ies , about square miles ; more than souls
are eager for instruction . Hyderabad and Secunderabad practically form
o ne o f city, with a population One missionary has the oversight o f the three head
’ ‘ O ur quarters circuits . operations are carried
o n in two languages , Telugu and Tamil ,
and from two centres, one in Secunderabad and f Chadar h t o . the other in g a , a suburb Hyderabad The institutions served include a most efficient
- for for boarding school Christian girls , a hostel
Christian boys , seven schools for H indu girls
a and three for boys, and vigorous n tive churches
’ A BIRD S a EYE VIEW I ndur has an industrial school for training artisans .
‘ The missionary force is utterly out o f pro
’ portion to the needs of such centres as Secunder a
bad and Hyderabad . There and in the villages
the chief bar to progress is the inadequate staff.
The Mysore Province is an elevated plateau ,
o r two three thousand feet above the sea, with
Myeer e rocky hills divided by deep ravines . mam“ Many o f these hills are crowned with
ruined fortresses once regarded as impregnable .
I n Bangalore, with inhabitants , there are — — three circuits Kanarese , Tamil , and English all
strong and growing . The Tamil circuit is especially o prosperous . East Parade Chapel is an imp sing
’ building, with the Soldiers Hom e at its side .
There is a high school in the mission compound . 00 A handsome church , to seat 3 , was built at
’ Th er . is 1 88 . e St . John s H ill in 9 also a beautiful
o Hudson Memorial Church . Two r three evange
- fields lists are at work in the Kolar gold , fifty
s miles distant , where more than native are exposed to the most power ful temptations to
drunkenness and immorality . Over Tamil
-r s c o olies have emigrated there in the last ten yea .
- - o f In Mysore City, eighty seven miles south west OF OUR MISSIONS
province are trained here . A hospital , in
f . memory o Mrs Holdsworth , was opened in the 1 6 0 . city in August, 9 The mission press is a source of strength to the whole district, and was never more prosperous .
1 0 - In 9 4 new plant was obtained , and the half tone block apparatus is used to illustrate books and newspapers .
f - e m - Tumkur, orty thre iles north west of Banga
- 1 0 lore , has twenty four day schools , with , 59 boys
1 8 6 and girls . The orphanage for boys , founded in 7 ,
o f is one the finest industrial settlements in I ndia . An orphanage for gi r ls was founded at Hassan at
. f the same time . The Rev E . W . Red ern secured a fine site for a women ’s hospital in
o f f Hassan , and the foundation stones this Red ern
1 0 . Memorial Hospital were laid in December, 9 5
w o f At Gubbi , t elve miles west Tumkur , a church
1 0 of W was erected in 9 3 in memory illiam Arthur,
1 8 - 1 who laboured here in 39 4 .
o f t e Calcutta , the city palaces and h metropolis
o f o f . India , lies on the banks the Hugli It has
o ne million inhabitants . Our English Th e Calcutta
Dismct ' - church , with its school hall , parsonage,
- and school house in Sudder Street, is in a central position about three-quarters of a mile from Fort ’ A BIRD S a EYE VIEW
are four elementary school s and growing Bengali
and Hindustani churches at Dum Dum , the
of military station seven miles north Calcutta . Our work there is chiefly among the soldiers and
those employed at the Small Arms factory . The
r present mission house was secu ed by the Rev .
J . M . Brown . The missions in the outlying
villages are very encouraging .
Bar r ack ur p , sixteen miles north of Calcutta, is our
oldest station in Bengal . Daniel Pearson began
work here in 1 8 59 . The mission house was bought
in 1 87 8 by the Rev . G . Baugh . The English
chapel in Station Road , which is an ornament
1 88 to . the town , was built in 4 We have an ’ r - o o excellent gi ls boarding sch l . Calcutta, D um
Ba r r a c k ur r Dum , and p form the easte n section
of the District ; Bankura , Raniganj , and Saringa
r the weste n .
1 20 Raniganj , miles from Calcutta , has a great
- coal field and many industries . The English
church is strong . The leper asylum has 1 50
o f inmates . Most the expense is born by the
Mission to Lepers in the East . The o r phanage
a r e . has 60 children , who taught trades There
is another leper asylum at Bankura , thirty miles 80 south o f Raniganj . Its inmates are lodged
o f in blocks cottages ranged over the field , four
lepers in each block . I n the midst stands their ow n chapel . The money for their support 2 5 6
’ A BIRD S ' EYE VIEW
1 8 At Jhansi , 3 miles from Lucknow, we have a growing work among the civil and military pop ula
ha s set o f tion . Faizabad a fine mission premises a - bungalow , a church , and a good boarding school . I t is one of the most densely populated parts of
India , with inhabitants in the circuit area which lies between Bombay and Calcutta . The population is rural , and schools have been Opened in
o f the villages . J abalpur has a population and stands in a picturesque pos ition on the river
a r e Nerbudda . Cotton , tents , and carpets manu
a c ur ed r f t in the city, which has a t ade of two
r million sterling a year . I t is a g eat railway
is centre . The orphanage laying the foundations
fo r a strong Christian community . The property is large and well situated , within convenient reach f o the city , with its teeming population and
r many indust ies . The mission house is a good
- building , and the many out buildings in the
to ' ex cell compound have been turned e nt use . The orphanage buildings are well adapted to
r r f . thei pu pose , and the schools are e fective The
r - weaving industry is p actically self supporting,
and its dusters are sent all over India . The
Rev . Joseph Parson began the work ; the Revs .
. E . Mortimer, J Reed , and A . T . Cape have
carried it forward to its present success .
of Benares is the sacred city I ndia . I t exte nds OF OUR MISSIONS
a magnificent panorama of palaces , temples ,
mosques , minarets , and other buildings, Of every variety o f oriental architecture . The ghats , a mile and a half o f stone steps leading fr om the temples
r r a r e and palaces down into the bed of the ive ,
r covered with faki s , naked ascetics , and thousands
r . s a r e r o f Hindu bathe s The street c owded , and
r r the temples and sh ines , which numbe many
a r e m thousands , filled with pilgrims who co e to
r the sacr ed city f om all parts of I ndia . The pretty chapel in the cantonment was built
e n iman w ho r 1 88 . F t in 4 by Mr , also e ected a
- - preaching hall and school chapel in the city . The
’ is r native church healthy , and the Boys O phan age and I ndustrial School are doing well . The
o f o f Doms Benares, one the lowest castes , engaged chiefly in bearing and burning the dead , began
1 0 to turn towards Christianity in 9 5 , and many of them have been baptized . I n the united provinces o f Agra and Oudh there are more than f R o 00. e r e villages, with average populations 4 p sentatives from these places are constantly coming to
Benares, and a strong evangelistic work in that city would go far to leaven I ndia with gospel teaching .
The Marathi church at Bombay is growing .
The rest of the work is English , and in the ’ A BIRD S ' EYE VIEW a o ne at Ferozepore . Next ye r churches were built
at U mballa and Jhansi . Lahore was also
occupied , and the church there bought from the
Methodist Episcopal Church . There are nine
’ soldiers homes in the District . Upper Burma is o ne of the great seats of Bud
dhism o u , and as y sail up the Irrawaddy almost
o r every hill knoll has its dazzling white, m Bur a . - r - bell shaped , b ick work pagoda, with its
iron umbrella . Methodism has taken firm root . We have a good chapel in Mandalay (population
with a mission house built of teak .
’ 2 The leper home has about 1 0 inmates . The girls boarding -school at Mandalay is attended by ’ o f young people all classes, who are trained for
&c . teachers , nurses , The second station opened in
1 0 Burma was at Pakokku , 3 miles below Mandalay .
At Monywa , eighty miles from Mandalay, we
’ have a high school , a girls school , elementary
Wo day schools and a neat oden church , presented by worshippers who are not Methodists . There are also village causes and schools . Kyaukse , the fourth station , has a prosperous high school The province of Canton has an area equal to
of that Great Britain , and a population of
Canton The people are energetic,
Dism°t ° o and fond f roving and adventure .
’ A BIRD S ' EYE VIEW
- tse— and Yang Wuchang , Hankow, Hanyang
o f have a p pulation o a million . Business men
r r Wu ch ang f om every co ner of the empire visit msmc" Hankow, whilst all mandarins who
ffi r are expecting o ce eside in Wuchang. I n
s o f o f Wuchang , the eat the Viceroy Hupeh , we have a theological institution and a high
r school . A doo way leads into an open square, round which are a number of improved native
houses . Some of the best families in the city
r send thei sons here, and it has become a centre
fo r r 1 0 young literati . The income f om fees in 9 4
w a s 00 a £4 , and the bo rders mig ht be increased
’ r r th eefold if there was oom . A women s hospital
w as 1 02 opened in 9 .
I n Hankow , the trading centre , there is a
large chapel , which can be packed on any week
night when a missionary preaches . Across the main street is a row of almshouses for old
’ n men o a large plot of ground . The men s
hospital , of which new wards and operating
i n 1 02 rooms were opened 9 , and the blind school ,
’ w o n e are here . The omen s hospital is the sam
side as the chapel , and is much cramped for
room .
’
At Hanyang there is a thriving girls , boarding
school , and a dispensary .
1 20 At Teh Ngan , miles north of Hankow,
’ 1 88 where work began in 4 , we have a men s
2 6 2 OF OUR MISSIONS
hospital , and at the prosperous market town of
1 20 Wusueh , miles south of Hankow, there is a
. good . mission station The great military province o f Hunan w as
r long hermetically sealed against missiona ies ,
1 0 1 - but in 9 we , were able to enter Chang Sha ,
the capital . We now have missionaries in five
o f the seventy - four counties and agents in thirteen
o f others . The area the province is square
miles , the population
r D The T ansvaal and Swaziland istrict , which
is o f three times the size England , stretches
De la o a from Mafeking to g Bay , and Tr ail?” from Pietersberg to the Vaal River . I t
“ m u d" r r includes P eto ia, Johannesburg , and
r many important dist ict towns . There are
r r o n membe s and membe s trial ,
scholars , local preachers , attendants at
public worship . A Wesleyan missionary is placed
within fifty miles o f every European settlement .
K ilner to n The Training Institution at , Pretoria ,
has more than sixty students . There is also a
’ - college for teachers and a boys boarding school .
We have five churches in Pretoria, besides Sites
for several more and fifteen in J ohannesburg, eight o f which have been built since the war and
three enlarged . There are twelve more English ’ A BIRD S o EY E VIEW o n the Rand almost equal in number those o f all other bodies combined . In the remote parts o f the country Methodist churches are
r springing up eve ywhere . Fo r the natives 2 26 churches have been
00 - provided , and 4 other preaching places .
r native labourers , d awn from all parts of
South and Central Africa , are employed in the
Transvaal mines . Among these Methodism is doing a great work . There are thirty native
- churches along the Rand , and by open air preaching , and preaching in the compounds , about are reached every Sunday . O ur missionaries in the wide-stretching colony o f c Rhodesia travel over vast circuits . A chur h
is Rh odesia to cost to be built at District“ Salisbury for the English settlers .
n The native work is extending o every side . The Th mining camps are also being evangelized . e
is Mashonaland section strong and progressive . The Mashonas were slaves to a merciless witch
o n . craft , but its hold them is being broken The M ang ubo Training Institution is doing the best service , and ought to be enlarged . The Matabele
Buluw a o section is also healthy . At y (the place o f 00 slaughter) a fine native church , seating 7 to
800 1 0 . 00 , was erected in 9 4 Every Sunday 5 people meet there for worship . Effort is being concentrated on the central
’ A BIRD S ' EYE VIEW
’ to power in the Bandajuma District , he and his chiefs expressed a desi r e that par t o f the coronation
r o ur se vice should take place in church , and asked
’ o ur missionary to set the c r own o n the king s head . The Gambia is the oldest and smallest o f our
r West Af ican Colonies . At Bathurst , with
Gambia inhabitants , ours is the only Protestant Dismal s mi sion . We have a strong hold on the
place , despite the activity of the Muhammadans .
The Technical and Industrial School is doing well .
a r e r Outside Bathurst fou stations , but the work is
M aca r th - o f d ifficult . At y Island one third the
child r en in the day school have no n - Christian
parents . The Gold Coast District makes steady pro
o f g ress . The area the colony is square
Geld Coast miles , the population Every Di m e “ town on the coast is occupied by a M ethodist mission . Accra, the administrative
c apital , has inhabitants , and we have
m o n embers , including those trial , and cate
ch u me ns and junior members . Wesley Church Seats the ‘ Wharton ’ and ‘ Freeman ’ memorial
c 6 0 hurches 500 each . The day school has 5
scholars . Cape Coast is the chief Methodist
c f entre, where the Book Room and printing o fices
’ a r e - established . A girls boarding school and
1 00 met training home , opened in 9 , has a real
2 66 OF OUR MISSIONS
need . The women are being helped to realize a nobler and fuller ideal of life, and this means
o f the uplifting the race .
1 0 Kumasi was reoccupied in 9 4 , a new church and mission have been built , and the mining centres
a r e near it being visited . The Ashantis eagerly invite us to occupy their towns .
- s I n Lagos the two circuits are self upporting ,
r with a la ge membership , and many home mission
’ stations attached . The boys high school is is doing well . The population
There are three circuits in the Yoruba interior , o f which Abeokuta inhabitants) is the
strongest . Several healthy causes have been
o f established in the city , and a number farm
r stations outside . A dispensa y was opened in
1 0 . 9 4 At I lesa there is a flourishing native church ,
and at Ago, in the Ijebu Circuit , scores have given
1 up their idols and been baptized . I n 903 a training institution fo r twenty students was begun
at Ibadan , the largest town in Yoruba, with
inhabitants . Ibadan was made a circuit in
1 20 . 1 904 . I t is miles by rail from Lagos The cotton plantation there employs more than 500
f r men . Centres o successful operations are being
established , and the results are encouraging . At
O o y , with its inhabitants , there is a church ’ A BIRD S ’ EYE VIEW
O o to that work to y , where it may help break down f the indifference of the people . The di ficulties
I bo or a are serious . At g the Muham madans have
o f frightened many the people into submission ,
while fetichism has tremendous power here , and
at Dahomey , where we have also to contend against f the opposition o the Romish priesthood . The scope for itinerating evangelists among the almost innumerable to w ns and villages in the district is
r very great . The Rev . H . Arnett su veyed the region o n his bicycle and found that the Roman Catholics are occupying some o f the important stations of
the interior . The more the state of the country is known the greater our obligations and r espo n
si ili es its b ti . become Northern Nigeria, with
G a mbar r is millions of Fulanis , Hausas , and ,
remains almost untouched . Dahomey and Togo
w n land , except for the coast to s , are in like
condition .
Our oldest missions are those in the West Indies ,
1 88 which were separated from us in 5 , but came back
of 1 0 . Th e Weet to the control our Conference in 9 5 m s d’e ' Besides the five West India Districts thus restored to our care there are the Honduras and Bahamas Districts . I n Belize , the capital of
Honduras , we have two good chapels, which are well filled , two Sunday schools , and three day
- schools , which are almost self supporting . At
’ A BIRD S ' EYE VIEW
and 94 day schools, with scholars . O ne
o f r r tenth the population is unde o u care . The trust property destroyed or damaged by the
o f 1 0 is hurricane 9 3 being restored , and successful
o n missions carried at Panama and Colon . I n Hayti the great major ity of the people are
f 1 1 2 Roman Catholics . O members received into our church last year nearly half were converts from
1 Romanism . The Bird College for girls has 40 sch o lars with a staff o f seven teachers under the
f M r f O s . o direction Picot , wife of the Chairman the District .
The eleven circuits of the Antigua and St . Kitts Districts wer e a malg a mated in 1 904 into the Leeward
r so i I slands Dist ict , called from its geograph cal
our position . Methodism suffers because some of most intelligent members emigrate in search of
r better work . I n Antigua , whe e Dr . Coke first landed , we have ten chapels . Dominica has three
r la ge and important stations , and enjoys the benefit
r ffin o f . Ca prope ty given by Mrs , and an estate
1 . . left in 904 by Mr . Bullen St Kitts is the largest circuit in the West Indies , with two thousand members .
Methodism is strong in St . Vincent , where there
r are three circuits, and in Ba bados , where there are
o f r ne w four . At Port Spain , T inidad , a chapel is to be built . No circuit in the West Indies has OF OUR MISSIONS
r new an important naval and milita y station , a
1 0 is school was built in 9 4 , which an ornament to
o ne o f the place. Grenada is the most flou r ishing
islands in the West Indies , and its Methodism is
very prosperous . There are eight stations on th e
island o f Tobago . British Guiana was formed in 1 8 3 1 by the union
o f r . a r e Berbice , Dema ara , and Essequibo There
two circuits in Georgetown , its thriving capital ,
with inhabitants . The Essequibo Circuit carries o n a Po mer oo n mission and Capoey I ndian
o f mission , which show pleasing signs growth and
development .
- The District has 4 3 preaching places , with about regular wor shippers and nea r ly
members . The Catechists are doing good
o f service among the East Indian coolies , whom
there are more than in British Guiana , but much more ought to be done if these heathen settlers are to be led into the light o f
the gospel .
The fields where o ur missions a r e established furnish glorious opportunities of helping o n
’ Christ s conquest o f the world . The hoary civilizations and religions o f the East have to be
faced in Ceylon , I ndia , and China . The coloured ’ A BIRD S e EYE VIEW OF OUR MISSIONS
colonists in the Transvaal ' and Rhodesia con fidently expect from us those religious influences
which are essential to their best interests . On the Continent o f Europe we are in contact with
for ignorance and superstition , which loudly call that pure gospel teaching which our Church is
r eage to give . The opportunity is great, and if we rise to the height o f our vocation God will use us mightily to spread the knowledge o f His grace and salvation in all parts of the world .
TREAS U RERS
CLE RI CA L . LAY .
1 8 1 homas h n o d . T T m so ames o . o 1 8 1 7 J W 7 p , M P 1 8 e or e Mar sd en . . 1 8 G g . 1 8 1 os e h utter w or th 1 82 1 G e or e M or e . g l y . 9 J p B ,
e h a or M . P 1 824 J os p T yl . . M d e n 1 82 L nce ot H lo e 8 0 G e or e ar s 6 . a as . 1 3 g . l p h a 1 8 os e h Ta or 1 8 . T omas F r mer 34 J p yl . 37 . h n ot 2 me H a M o 6 a s e d P . 1 8 S c t. 1 8 37 J , J l , . 8 a me B n 1 d e t . o D D s S . u t 1 86 F. bs o . . . . 7 4 9 J J , J g ‘ H ir M Ar thu r Ri D 8 W . mes . D 1 8 . S 1 882 a . J gg , . 4 ,
M . P .
Mor an Ha r 8 . T . 1 8 9 g ve y . 1 8 W i iamson Lam ou h 99 . ll pl g
S E CRE TARIES INCOME FROM ALL SOURCES INCOME FRO M ALL S O U RCE S NOT INCLU DI NG THE B A LA NCE I N HAND O F P REV I OU S YEAR ’ Co e s a cco unts 1 8 0 1 8 k , 4 . 7 3 . 1 - 1 see 1 8 1 1 8 7 87 793 , 4 . 74 . 8 1 8 2 1 . p . 33 , 4 . 7 5 -6 1 8 1 8 6 1 8 1 0 see . . . , p 4 5 43 . 7
8 1 8 . 1 80 1 . 3 . 44 7 7 1 8 8 1 1 8 8 . 1 1 . . 45 7 1 8 1 8 1 . 1 6 . 3 84 . 7 9 1 880 8 1 . 1 4 1 847 . 1 8 1 1 8 1 1 1 o 2 1 8 8 . 5 . , 4 48 . pa r t of year 8 1 1 82 . 84 0 1 1 8 7 ' 1 88 1 8 2 . 5 . 3 1 8 1 8 .
1 8 1 1 88 . 5 . 4 1 8 1 9 . 1 8 1 8 2 8 . 1 8 1 6 5 . 5 3 , 5 8 0 1 2 . 1 8 I 1 886 months) 53 . 1 82 1 . 1 8 1 1 88 . 54 . 7 822 1 . 1 8 1 888 . 55 ,
I 82 1 8 6 1 1 88 . 3 5 . 9
1 82 . 1 1 8 0 . 4 857 . 9 1 82 8 . 1 1 . 5 1 858 . 9
1 826 . 1 8 2 1 859 . 9 .
1 82 . 1 60 1 8 . 7 8 . 93 82 8 1 8 1 . 8 . 1 6 1 . 94
1 82 1 8 1 8 . 9 , 62 . 95 1 8 6 0 1 86 . . 1 83 . 3 9
1 8 . 8 . 1 8 1 3 1 64 . 97 1 8 2 1 86 1 8 8 3 . 5 . 9 . 1 1 8 1 8 I 6 0 833 66 . 99 33. 9
1 8 . 1 86 1 00 . 34 7 . 9
1 8 1 868 . 1 0 1 . 35 . 9
8 1 02 . 1 8 . 1 36 . 69 9
1 8 . 1 8 0 1 0 I I 37 7 . 9 3 SS. 7 4 1 8 8 0 8 . 1 1 1 3 7 . 9 4 .
1 8 . 2 1 0 1 8 . 39 7 . 9 5
A s e a W . Dodw e . l o l g cy from Re v . ll S PE CIAL MI SS I ONARY F UNDS u bile e Fu nd 1 8 - 1 0 I n dian Famine 99 9 0 . anks givin g Fu nd n T e n t ie th Ce n Fu d 1 900 . w t u r y Fu nd 2 7 5 GENERAL SUMMARY
Missionar ies and O th er Paid M m r . e e s. Scho ar s Cha e s. b i l p l Nat ve Agents. Min t r s is e .
Th for m i f affi i d onfer ences &c mu b or n in e at on o ate C . st e e l , , b mi d i ud in th ese fi ur s n n st y g g e .
E ERAL MARY 1 0 G N S U M , 9 5
Cir cuits
Cha e s and oth er r eachin - ace s p l P g pl . Missionar ies r daine d and La , O y Ministe r s Native and o th er ca e d out Loca , , ll lly ’ W ome n Missionar ie s sent o ut by the W omen s Aux iliar y Other aid A e nts C atechis s Inte r r eter s Da p g , t , p , y hoo e acher c sc T s & . . l , U n aid A ents : Loca r eacher s S u nda -school p g l P , y a h r Te c e s , & c . Fu ll and a ccr e dited Ch ur ch Me mber s O n tr ial for Chur ch Me mber ship S ch o ar s at endin either S unda or Da school or l t g y y , both
C OST OF THE WORK
TH RK 1 0 CO ST OF E W O , 9 5
Gr ants.
Fr ench E vang e listic Mission Italy a in P o r tuga l m Dis r i C e on C o o bo t ct . yl , l Kandy Distr ict G a ll e Dis tr ict J a ffna Distr ict S outh India Pr o vincia l S ynod M a dr a Dis r i t s t c . Ne gapatam a nd Tr ichinopoly Distr ict Hyder a ba d Distr ict Mys or e Distr ict C a lcutta Distr ict L ucknow Distr ict B omba y and P unja b Distr ict ur ma Distr ict B . n i China , C a ton D str ict W uchang Distr ict C entr a l C hina L ay Mission Tr a ns va al a n d S w az il and Distr ict Rhod es ia Distr ict S ier r a Le on e S e ction G a mbia S e ction G old Coast Distr ict L agos Dis tr ict Hond ur as Distr ict B ah amas Distr ict Jamaica Distr ict Hayti and S a nto Domingo Distr ict L e ew ar d I sl ands Distr ict B ar b ados a nd Tr inidad Distr ict B r itish G uiana I N D E !
A eo uta 1 2 ur ess Wi iam 1 6 1 2 b k , 3 B g , ll , 7 , 9 , A ne a r 1 2 b y P k , 9 2 5 2 — Afr ica South 86 1 1 2 B r ma 20 — 208 2 60 , , 9 , 7 , u , 5 , — 1 60- 1 2 1 1 - 1 26 u tter w or th ose h , 7 , 3 4 B , J p , 39 , 7 7 : Afr ica West 1 2 1 - 1 26 —8 , , 9 , 7 9 , 5 A ton Geor e 1 6 l , g , 3 — — Amer ica 8 1 1 1 8 Ca cutta 86 1 6 2 00 2 6 , , , l , , 5 7 , , 55 — A nti ua 1 1 6 C a er t ames 1 1 6 1 g , 7 , 5 , lv , J , 9 A r thur Wi iam 1 26 1 2 8 anada 6 , ll , , C , 95 — Au t Wi iam 8 80 C anton 1 0 2 08— 260 1 l , ll , 5 , , 4 , 9, — Austr a ia 6 Ca e ini Si nor 1 2 1 l , 9 9 p ll , g , 7 , 74 C ar i s 1 - 20 2 b , 9 , 7 ah amas 2 22 2 6 Cen nar Fund 1 2 B , 94 , , 9 te y , 9 — an a or e 1 8 1 2 Ce on mission r o osed 0 B g l , 5 , 97 , 54 yl , p p , 5 3
an s ohn S . 1 fir st missiona r ies 8 ar r i a B k , J , 5 5 , 5 v l — ar r att oh n C 1 62 1 80 and w or 8 80 8 1 — 1 2 B , J , k , 7 , , 3, 4 5 , — ax ter oh n 1 1 2 1 - 1 8 2—6 2 6 B , J , 5 , 9, 7 44 8 , , 43 h m D eec a r . 1 66 Cha mer s Dr . B , , l , , 75 — ena r e s 2 0 2 8— hina 1 — 208 1 1 2 60- B , 3 , 5 9 C , 37 43 , , 3 enson ose h 2 6 C ar e Adam 0 B , J p , 5 , 5 l k , , 7 , 7 7 — ac Har r 1 C ou h en amin 2 8 60 Bl k y, 7 l g , B j , 5 , 5
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