Polhill and the Pmu at the Tibetan Border (1910–1914)
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Chapter 6 A Vision Realised, “The Tribes Abound and are Clamouring for the Gospel,” Polhill and the pmu at the Tibetan Border (1910–1914) A handful of nobodies with God is sufficient for the purpose. Get ready yourself, get ready your young men and young women –train them-occupy the buildings in London, in the country, send labourers into the fields white to harvest-it can be done. Room for all. Work for all. Mind you do what you can, pray as you can, give as you can. God will multiply your seed for sowing, so that you ‘always having all sufficiency in all things shall abound unto every good work.’1 1 Part 1 – 1910–1911: Tibetward 1.1 Polhill and the pmu in China and on the Tibetan Border, 1910–1911 Polhill’s return to the Sino-Tibetan border in 1911 was his first since his Pente- costal experience in February 1908. He had long given up on waiting for the China Inland Mission to provide him with missionaries. He believed God wanted to see Tibet evangelised, and God was behind the Pentecostal Move- ment’s emergence, so a Pentecostal missionary force for Tibet was the most logical solution imaginable. The pmu sent missionaries all over the world, but Tibet was Cecil Polhill’s primary concern. Between 1910–1914, most of the pmu’s missionaries were sent to the Sino-Tibetan and Indo-Tibetan borders. 1.2 Polhill and Harry Small in China Polhill and his Pentecostal associate and traveling partner, Harry Small, left London on 10 September 1910, they sailed to the Continent and then took the Trans-Siberian express train for the remainder of their journey to China.2 Pol- hill’s records appear to indicate that Harry’s wife, Netta, was left in charge of some of his affairs. For example, “Mrs. Small £55.5s expenses for Fragments of Flame, travel expenses [etc.]” (8 September 1910); “Mrs. Small £25 household” (13 September 1910) and “Mrs. Small £40 (Outfit for 4 men)” to name but a few.3 1 Polhill writing in Fragments of Flame (August 1910), p.1. 2 Confidence Vol.3 No.9 (September 1910), p.224. 3 Cash Book 1910–1914 (expenditure), pp. 5 and 6 respectively, bla. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���� | doi:10.1163/9789004435049_008 <UN> A Vision Realised 189 The numerous household payments to Netta are reflected in the “household account” section of Polhill’s ledger.4 This probably explains why, during the 1911 census, the Smalls were residing at one of the cottages on the Howbury Hall estate.5 Polhill and Harry Small arrived in China, late September 1910, ahead of the new pmu missionaries who had travelled in a separate group by sea.6 1.3 Utilising Existing Evangelical Networks Polhill already had extensive networks in China, and he utilised these net- works as he travelled from place to place. Shortly after arriving in China, for example, he travelled to Tianjin where he stayed with George W. Clark of the cim; then in Beijing they visited William H. Murray of the Scottish Bible Soci- ety, and at Jincheng, Shanxi, they met his old Cambridge friend, Stanley Smith, who was by this time an independent missionary.7 Polhill made use of these networks by making practical arrangements for the imminent arrival of his pmu missionaries. To George Clark he made a cash advance on behalf of Arie Kok whom Polhill knew was due to arrive shortly by Trans-Siberian Express.8 To the deputy director of the cim, J.W. Stevenson, he left “journey fares for young men” possibly as an advance for Bristow, McGillivray, Trevitt and Wil- liams due to arrive in Shanghai.9 With Smith he agreed that the pmu mission- aries destined for Tibet would first be stationed with him, in Shanxi, for six months to acclimatise and learn Mandarin.10 1.4 Stanley Smith, the pmu and Healing Polhill and Smith disagreed on some evangelical fundamentals.11 It seems strange, then, that he should entrust his first contingent of missionaries to him. The fact that the cim could not or would not give Polhill the kind of support he 4 Ledger of Accounts (Up to 1912), p.80, PC. 5 Census of England and Wales, 1911, s.vv. ‘Small, Harry’, address ‘The Cottage, Renhold, Beds.’ Available on www.ancestry.com (last accessed January 2015). 6 Polhill’s letter dated 28 September “tells of their safe arrival in China.” Confidence Vol.3 No.10 (October 1910), p.248. 7 Clark subsequently working in Yunnan. Austin, 266; Murray developed a reading system for the blind in China s.vv. ‘William H. Murray’ available online at the Biographical Dic- tionary Chinese Christianity, http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/m/murray-william-h .php (last accessed July 2014); Tsecheofu also Tsechowfu or simply Tse-Chow. 8 On 15 October 1910 “Clarke, George – advance on pmu and Mr. Kok -£20” Cash Book 1910– 1914 (expenditure), p.6, bla. 9 On 22 October 1910 Cash Book 1910–1914 (expenditure), p.6, bla. 10 Trevitt wrote from Jincheng on 8 November 1911, “We are here for six months learning the language.” Confidence Vol.4 No.1 (January 1911), p.21. 11 They had exchanged letters in 1902 in which Polhill had told Smith that he was interpret- ing scripture all wrong when it came to ‘ultimate reconciliation.’ Usher, ‘For China and Tibet,’ pp. 135–136. <UN>.