One Hundred Years : Being the Short History of the Church Missionary

NDRED Years I ISaRy SOCIETY tihtavy of t:he t:heolo0(cal ^tmimvy PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY FROM THE LIBRARY OF ROBERT ELLIOTT SPEER BV 2500 .A3 C58 Church 1899 ] Missionary Society""^^^^y- One hundred years ONE HUNDRED YEARS BEING THE SHORT HISTOR OF THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY "tEbou flbalt remember all tbe wa^ wbicb tbe Xorb tbi? Goi leb thcc," Deut. yiii. 2 ^l)irtf QBition LONDON CHUECH MISSIONARY SOCIETY SALISBUKY SQUARE, E.G. 1899 PREFACE |HIS little book has been written for publication in advance of the complete History of the Church Missionary Society. The greater part of it con- sists of a very brief summary of some of the facts given in the larger work ; and here and there sentences and paragraphs are actually reproduced from the still unpublished volumes. But part of Chapter IX., and Chapters X. and XI., have had to be written before the corresponding portions of the complete History. To many of the most important parts of the complete History, however, there is nothing corresponding in these pages. For the History dwells at some length upon the environment of the Society at different periods in the century, that is to say, upon the state of the Church of England at home, noticing various religious movements, developments, and controversies, and introducing such men as Bishops Blomfield and Wilberforce, Archbishops Tait and Benson, Lords Shaftesbury and Cairns, Sir Arthur Blackwood and Mr. Pennefather, Bishop Ryle and Canon Hoare. Also upon the progress of Christian Missions generally, with references to the work of men like Bishops Selwyn, Patteson, and Steere, of Morrison, Livingstone, and Hudson Taylor. Also upon public events and affairs abroad which have affected Missions, such as the Slave Trade, African Exploration, the Opium Traffic, the colonization of New Zealand, and a whole series of important events in India. Many great Anglo- Indians meet us, such as Charles Grant, Lord W. Bentinck, Alexander Duff, Bishops Heber, Wilson, and Cotton ; Dalhousie and Canning, Henry and John Lawrence, Mont- gomery and Edwardes and Frere. In the limited space avail- able in this small volume, such matters and such men can scarcely be noticed. At the end of each chapter, however, up to Chapter IX. there are references to the chapters of the complete History which deal more fully with the topics of the period. But this could not be done with Chapters X. and XI. because, as above stated, they have had to be written before the corresponding portions of the complete History. Each chapter of this volume, except the first and the last, contains the events of a decade, ten ch.apters telling the story iv Preface. of the ten decades. The periods thus successively treated do not correspond with the successive periods into which the complete History is divided, the latter not being decades, but generally longer periods, requiring many chapters. It is important to bear this in mind, because the statistical figures introduced here and there in these pages are different from, and independent of, the statistical figures in the complete History. Thus, for example, one of the periods of the complete History ends with 1872 ; but the arrangement of this volume brings the nearly corresponding period to an end in 1869. The numbers of missionaries, (tc, mentioned, therefore, are not parallel. The result, however, is that a comparison of the two works will furnish additional figures to the reader who cares for them. References to authorities are not given in this small book. They are abundantly provided in the complete History. It is earnestly hoped that many readers of One Hundred Years will be sufiiciently interested to proceed to the larger work. If so, one principal object of the present volume will be fulfilled. But a still more important object is to stir the hearts of the readers, first, with a sense of the abounding goodness and wonderful providence of God in the history of the Society ; secondly, with a sense of the needs of the great enterprise for the evangelization of the world, and of its claims upon us for fresh and persevering effort. To this end the writer prays for a blessing upon these pages from the gracious hand of that " same Lord over all " Who is " rich unto all that call upon Him." E. S. NOTE TO SECOND EDITION. A few slight corrections are made in this edition. The principal " " are—" 1848 for 1849," at p. 71, line 19 ; and Christ's College for " St. -Catherine's," at p. 91, third line from bottom. Two additions have also been made, (1) The Sowers' Band is just mentioned at p. 141. (2) The names of other Secretaries are given at p. 153. E. S. Nov. Ulfi, 1898. NOTE TO THIRD EDITION. Several slight corrections are made in this edition. The principal are— at p. 8, line 5, and p. 9, last line, insert " the Heathen of" before " " " India ; at p. 20, line 22, after S.P.C.K." insert " (for lack of English- to show that Mrs. Krapf's grave is only men)" ; pp. G8 and 118, words line line for "nephew " near Frere Town ; pp. 122, 5, and p. 132, 9, read " " of Rev. H. J. Foss. cousin ; p. 165, line 1, insert appointment F^b: Uti 1899. E.S. —: CONTENTS. I. ONE HUNDEED YEARS AGO ... .1 The World in 1799—What had the Church of England done ?—The S.P.C.K. and S.P.G.— State of the Country - State of the Church—The Evangelical Revival— The Clapham Sect—Were the Evangelicals dominant ? —The Twelve Events of 1786—The Eclectic Society's Discus- sions—William Carey—The L.M.S. — Chas. Simeon's Paper—The C.M.S. Established—Eirst Proceedings ? Why start a new Society —L.M.S. not desirable ; S.P.G. not possible—The Society's Missionary Principles. II. NINETY YEARS AGO (1800-1809) 16 The Year 1809—Looking back to 1800—The new Society's Needs : Fields, Money, Men—The First Anniversary Scott and Pratt—Henry Martyn—The first Germans to West Africa—Abolition of the Slave-Trade—Lay Settlers for New Zealand—The Dark Period in India—The Chaplains— Simeon's Faith— Claudius Buchanan. III. EIGHTY YEARS AGO (1809-1819) 25 The Year 1819— Great Advance—First President—First Offices— First Public Meetings—India Debates—Wilber- force's Victory—First Bishop for India—Abdul Masih First C.M.S. Missionaries to India— First Local Associa- tions—First Deputations —The Bath Meeting— S.P.G. and C.M.S.—Help to other Societies—E. Bickersteth His Visit to West Africa—W. A. B. Johnson at Sierra Leone—New Zealand Mission begun— Overthrow of Napoleon^State of England— Efforts to revive Eastern Churches. —— vi Contents. IV. SEVENTY YEARS AGO (1819-1829) 39 The Year 1829—Edward Bickersteth— Sombre Reports— The Deaths at Sierra Leone —Trials in New Zealand Henry and William Williams—First Maori Converts —Mediterranean Mission — Travancore Syrian Church India : Bishop Heber, Converts, Miss Cooke, Tinnevelly Islington College—Divisions at Home—Prayer at Public Meetings. V. SIXTY YEARS AGO (1829-1839) 52 The Year 1839—Queen Victoria— Improvements in the Church—^Deaths of Wilberforce and Simeon—The Earl of Chichester—Henry Venn— Some eminent Mission- aries—Abyssinia Mission—New Holland Mission— Zulu Mission—West Indies Mission —Buxton and the Aboli- tion of Slavery—Sierra Leone—New Zealand: Darwin and Marsden—Rupert's Land—China—India: New Bishops, Lord W. Bentinck's Reforms, Duff and Educa- tion — Krishnagar Movement — Tinnevelly : Secession of Rhenius—Travancore—John Tucker. VI. FIFTY YEARS AGO (1839-1849) 63 The Great Year 1841 and its Events —Ai'chbishops and Bishops join C.M.S.—Henry Venn Hon. Secretary—The Financial Crisis —Fox and Noble—Niger Expedition : Prince Albert ; Samuel Crowther—New Yoruba Mission —Krapf in East Africa—Rebmann discovers Kilimanjaro —China War—China Mission—Bishops Smith and Anderson—New Zealand a British Colony—Bishop Selwyn—The Year 1848—Europe and England— Survey of the Fifty Years—The Jubilee Commemoration. VII. FORTY YEARS AGO (1849-1859) 76 A Decade of Advance—C.M.S. and the Papal Aggression- " New Men from the Universities—A " Policy of Faith announced—India : French, Stuart, Pfander at Agra Conquest of the Punjab—James Thomason's Men Punjab Mission—Remarkable Converts in India—Pro- gress in the South—Ragland—Ceylon—Palestine Mis- sion— Krapf's great Schemes—East African Travellers —Y'oruba Mission : The Queen and Crowther ; Venn and the Cotton Trade —First Three Bishops of Sierra Leone in North- West —China : the T'aip'ings—Extension America—The Crimean War—Turkey Mission—The Indian Mutiny—The Great Neutrality Controversy— Oudh Mission—The Annus Mirahilis, 1858—Ecclesi- astical Controversies—The Palmerston Bishops—New Evangelistic Movements. —— Contents. vii CHAPTER PA.OE VIII. THIRTY YEARS AGO (1859-1869) 95 A Period of Depression —Yet Good Years at first—New Men—New House—The Revival of 1859—Controversies, Rationalistic and Ritualistic —Native Church Organiza- tion—Bishop Crowther—Reverses in Africa—War and Apostasy in New Zealand—Madagascar Mission—Ad- vance in China—Opening of Japan—Metlakahtla Bishop Machray—Indian Christian Statesmen—Bishops Cotton and Gell—The Brahmo Samaj—Varied Work in India— Notable Conversions—Deaths of Leading Mis- sionaries—French and Knott—H. Venn in Old Age. IX. TWENTY YEARS AGO (1869-1879) 112 A Decade of Change—Failure of Men and Means at its Com- mencement—Death of Venn—Henry Wright—Day of Intercession—More Candidates and Enlarged Income New Dioceses in Rupert's Land—Occupation of Japan Death of Livingstone—Establishment of Frere Town —Forward Steps in Yoruba—Persia Mission begun Mohammedan Conference—Extension in Palestine Bishops and Native Clergy in China—The Nyanza Expedition—Developments in India—Ceylon Con- troversy—Church Movements and Spiritual Movements at Home—Their Effects on Missions.

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