'American Madura Mission
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THE EIGHTY-l-i'IHST ANNUAL REPOR'"r OF THE 'AmerIcan Madura MIssIon PREPARED BY F. E. JEFFERY I ~JA DR.\S I I METHOlJlST l'L"llLlSHl:\G HOUSB I 1916 1----- • TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1. THE AWAKENING 1 II. THE DISTRIOT CONFERENCE 4 III. THE CIROLES 7 1. South Circle 7 2. East Circle 9 3. Central Circle 12 4. West Circle 13 5. North Cirole 16 IV. \-VORK IN CONNEOTION WITH THE CIRCLES. 1. The Institutes 17 :!. Boarding Schools 19 3. Village Schools 22 4. Evangelistic Campaign 24 5. General Assembly of the South India United Church 26 V. EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENTS A. WOl1len~- 1. Oapron Hall 28 2. Hindu Girls' Schools 31 3. Lucy Perry Noble Bible School 34 4. Bible Woman's Work 36 5. Mad u r a Cit y Bible~woman's \-Vork 37 6. 'Voman's C h r is t ian College, Madras 40 B. Men- 1. PasumaJai High and T r a i n i n g School for Boys 40 :3. American Oollege. Madura 44 3. American Mis s ion CoIl e g e , ~adura 45 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 4. Union Theological S e min a r y, Pasumalai 47 .J. United Theological CoIl e g e , Bangalore 49 VI. :hlEDICAL WORK 1. Albert Victor Hospital .( General) 50 :2. Operating Buildings at Kodaikanal 51 3. Hospital I.or Women and Children 0:2 ±. Dispensary at Sevalpatti ;j4 5. Leper Hospital, Manamadura li4 VII. ALLIED MISSION INTERESTS 1. English Service, Madura 56 2. Christian Endeavour Societies 56 3. Home Missionary Society 57 4. Kodaikanal S c h 0 0 1 for Children of Missionaries 58 5. A. M. Lenox Press 59 6. Widows' Aid Society 59 7. Conclusion 60 8. Loss 61 9. Personals 61 VIII. ApPENDICES 1. Addresses and 'York of the ::\1issionaries for 1916 G4 2. Statistical Tables. THE AWAKENING When the writer of this Report came to Madura twenty five years ago, an English gentleman, ·who-had to do with many Tamil coolies, said,-" The -Tamil language is ea~y. You really need to know but three words: ~QJ~ l-ITW, IDff'&tr&(§ and Q)f:p&6W-' It is Dot necessary to· do it;' 'It can be-done to-morrow;' and' This is custom '." The latter word meant something like this: "In reli gious, social and: industrial life the ancient pattern is complete.·' I do as my forefathers did." But" presto! " what a change now from those not very ancient days 1 India stands to-day looking into the future with eager courage and faith. Indications of the new Indla are visible in every village. Mud huts with tha.tched roofs are giving wa:y to substantial stone and brick houses, some even assuming a two story dignity. The rough hand -woven articles of dress have given way to those of finer texture manufactured in steam factories. One hundred and thirty-seven Singer Sewing l\lachines were counted the other day in the entrance to the Madura temple. Every machine -was clicking a-way at full speed making coats and shirts for Hindu men and boys and dresses for Hindu girls! In those days when the writer went on an itineracy, a preacher of the Hindu Tract Society. dresst::d in a purple velvet coat, climbed on to an elevation just opposite where be stood and began to preach Hinduism. The Hindus laughed at bim saying, " Take off tha.t Christian coat and then we will listen to you.'J A casual count in passing through the streets of Madura the other day showed one-third of the men wearing coats. Sewing machines may even be found in many villages and .tbey are alw~ys busy. 2 When the writer came to India twenty-five years ago, he was advised to: bring a bag of assorted buttons, as buttons were difficuH to get in Madura. Also old umbrella frames to be covered for use, for the same reason. Now one can purchase in the ever enlarging Madura shops not only buttons and umbrellas but needles, pins, lamps, enamelware, kerosine, watches, clocks, harmoniums, aerated drinks, walking sticks, cig8rrettes~ socks, neckties, and dancing pumps! Not a few of these may be purchased even in village bazaars! In the streets of Madura, the automobile is a, growing menace to the pedestrian, as according to ancient custom, he moves down mid street. Agriculturally under the stimulus of Government ex perimental farms, the report bulletins of which are freely circulated, 'great progress is being made in scientific cultivation. Consequently prices of farm lands have quad rupled and aU waste lands are being rapidly brought under' cultiva.tion. Socially a marvelous revolution is in progress. Twenty. five years ago the writer was stoned for innocently taking a low caste Christian servant through the Bra.hmin street. The other day he sat down to a ba.nquet ,with College students of all castes, including three divisions of Brah mins. All were Bened by servants of low caste extraction. In Bombay, on December 28th, an All-India Inter-caste Dinner, organized with the avowed object of doing'away with caste differences, was held. Of the 450 guests frOID various castes, 225 were Brahmins, 50 were Indian women! and 20 were the 8o-called " untouchables! " In' connection with this dinner a bold reformer said: "Inter-caste dinners are of less importance now than inter caste marriages. Caste can only be cut at its roots by those who are rea.lly serious about social reform, boldly arranging for inter-caste marriages among their own Bons and daughters." "Self-government" is the cry of the great Indian National Congress which has just been holding its sessions 3 in Bombay, with 2,259 English-speaking delegates from allover India. The Congress demands that a scheme of self-government be introduced into'India immediately fol lowing the clol:ie of the war. It has come to be recognized by Indians that caste is inimical to their nationalistic ambition for self-government. The social reform orator declares" Society has largely degenerated- into mutually antagonistic water-tight groups full of pride and caste hatred." . All the present day influences are thus makingfor t he sweeping away of caste barriers. Local changes are no less radical. In Kamnthi the Hindus have opened a reading room. Besides 200 novels they have placed on the table, a dozen modern newspapers and magazines. "Beecher's Lectures to Young' Men," "The Y.M·C.A. Organ," "The Young Men of India," "Progress,'; "Old Testament Bible Portions," and " Tamil New Testament" are to be found as a part of the equipment! In religious matters the modemists, in their reform papers, openly recognize Jesus Christ as a great Teacher. It is true the following sayings are heard :- "Numerous paths lead to the top of the same moun tain." "We in India say Krishna, you in the West say Christ. " "He is one and the same." In the bazaars in Madura may be purchased the" Hindu Holy Bible" and you are told ~there is just this difference "Your Holy Bible came to you through the Hebrew. Ours came to us through the Sanscrit, but the teaching is one and the same." A.ll these are indications of the rapidly changing India. There can be no question but that ,under the influence of Christian Missions the breath of life has been breathed into the moral, social, political and religious life of India and that the doctrine of "Fate" is giving place to the doctrine of "Faith." 4 'The" Madras Social RefOrm Advocate," edited by a Hindu, says:- "Has the instruction ii Mission schools about the Life of Christ been in', any way prejudicial to' Hindu boys? No! The Missionary has not labored in vain. Dull must be the mind that cannot appreciate the great work ,of the, M.issionary in India and hard indeed the heart that will deny him his meed of glory~" . ' The Indian Prof. P. A. vVardia observes':- " The influence of Christianity in India is not to be judged by the growth of, Christian Missions alone. The Christian ideals of life have filtered into India through a hundred differ ent channels, and have influenced Indian life and .thought. " The Theistic conception of God has become the central and dominating idea of the Brahma Samaj, the, Adi Samaj, the Prathana Samaj, and tbe Arya Samaj Creeds. U In fact aJl the religious movements of the day, liberal or , reactionary, have 'adopted a new cbn.ceptioI\ of life and work. :All alike are using the methods of Christian missions. The leaven is slowly but inevitably working and there can be no greater evidence than this to the triumph of Christianity in India." , ' , Attending to the Report which" follows one may see what the Madura Mission has been trying to do and with some measure :ofsuccess, in this great Empire of India to help in the general awakening. " THE DISTRICT CONFERENCE '., The evangelistic and elementary educational work of 'jhe Ma,dura ~ission is adminiBtered· through a represent ,ath7 e' Committee 'or organization <kn'own as' the District do·nfer~nce. This body was organized and undertook its administrative duties in 1910. In efficiency it has more than met the expectations· of those' who launched it· But coqsidering the comparative smallness and poverty of t~e', Christian community wlii~h numbers only 25,601 sOl,lh~J 'it ~ust 'not be thpught that t,he I?istl'ict Conferen,ce nJone is sufficient for the stupendous task of speedIly evangelising the 2,549,399 non-Christians within the The Christian" Holy Man "-Pastor, Secretary of *r PirMin 8s I!fsrensp Mexn Sf N' h:wp "po The Hiu<1u "Holy Man" rolling about tne -sacred THATCHED CHURCH.