The history of the Church missionary society, its environment, its men and its work

Front matter

(IlISTORY OF THE

Church Missionary

ASIA

II

There are the Environment abroad and the Environment at home. The treatment of the former has involved the inclusion of much collateral matter. Men are necessarily, and naturally, introduced who were not C.M.S. workers, and events that belongrather to general than to missionary history. For instance, Bishop Selwyn is a prominent character in some chapters ; and both his struggle for what he regarded as the liberties of the Colonial Churches, and the sad story of the Maori war, are noticed more fully than the mere history of the New Zealand Mission would itself require. Again, the West Indies Mission was but short-lived; but the painful narrative of the oppression of the slaves is not omitted, nor the strenuous labours of Fowell Buxton in obtaining their freedom. Again, a good deal more is told of the origin and extension of the Colonial and Missionary Episcopate than is absolutely necessary to the story of the C.M.S. Missions. In the Africa chapters, also, and in those on China and North -West Canada, there is a good deal that is collateral. But naturally this feature of the work is most conspicuous in the India chapters. Rulers like Bentinck, Dalhousie, Canning, the Lawrences, Montgomery, Frere, and many others, are prominent figures. So are Bishops Heber, Wilson, Cotton, Milman, Dealtry, Gell, &c. The reforms under Bentinck, the developments under Dalhousie, the strxiggle with Caste, the Sepoy Mutiny, the Neutrality Controversy, the bold Christian Policy of the Punjab men, the Brahmo Samaj and similar movements, pass before us in succession.

On the same principle, the operations of other Societies, both within and without the Church of England, are frequently noticed. It has been my special desire to do justice to the

Author^ s Preface ix

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, — the elder sister of the C.M.S., as the founders and early leaders of the C.M.S. always called it. A careful study, indeed, of the missionary history of the century shows how much the C.M.S. owes to other organizations, of which its supporters are for the most part unconscious, — while on the other hand there can be no doubt that others are more indebted to the C.M.S. than is commonly acknowledged. What do not all Missions in India owe to the educational work of Duff and other missionaries of the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland ? What do not Missions in China owe to the China Inland Mission? What do not Missions in East Africa owe to the influence of Livingstone and to the linguistic labours of Bishop Steere ?

Eoman Catholic Missions also find frequent mention ; generally, it is to be regretted, in regard to their aggressions on the work of Protestant Societies, of the S.P.G-. and others as well as of the C.M.S. ; particularly in India and New Zealand, and more recently in Uganda.

III

The treatment of the Environment at home involves the study of the history of the Evangelical School or Party (or whatever it may be called) in the Church of England. It is usually said that the Church Missionary Society is the most important Evangelical achievement. I do not at all agree with this common opinion ; but the fact that it prevails certainly shows that the Society's position at home, and its relations with the Church and with other Church organizations, call for special attention in such a book as the present. In short, the history of the Society is quite a different thing from the history of the Society's Missions. Accepting this fact as a guiding principle, I have devoted probably one-third of the whole work to the affairs of the Church and the Society at home.

But I have had another motive in doing this. The Evangelical body in the Church of England is constantly spoken ol as dying or dead ; and this view is fostered by the Church Histories of the period. They unanimously praise the men of the Evangelical Eevival at the end of the last century — the men who in their own day were utterly despised, and altogether excluded from the counsels of the Church; and they aiSrm, with the most extraordinary inaccuracy, that the Evangelical School was dominant in the Church during the first forty years of the nineteenth century. But then they absolutely ignore all it has done in the past half-century — with possibly a passing acknowledgment that the C.M.S., after all, is alive,

X Author^ s Preface

and doing something. In fact, they treat the Evangelicals, in regard to the practical work of the Church, as "a negiigeable quantity." My hope is that this History may do something to correct this curious misconception.

The chapters now referred to are, however, not merely a sketch of the history of the Evangelical School. They aim at being a sketch — very inadequate and imperfect, indeed, but still a sketch — of the history of the Church of England as a whole, from the Evangelical point of view. The growth of what may be called " Church feeling," as witnessed by the revival of Convocation, the establishment of the Church Congress, Diocesan Conferences, the Lambeth Conference, &c., &c., and the extension of the S.P.G-., is traced out — and traced out, it is hoped, in an appreciative spirit.

In these chapters, I have not attempted to conceal what seem to me to have been the mistakes and the weaknesses of the Evangelical body. Although a writer who essays to be a historian cannot be neutral, he ought to strive to be fair and honest. That has been my unreserved desire and aim ; and honesty and fairness are never manifested where a writer has only good words for his own " party," and only hard words for other " parties." But whatever mistakes may be admitted, it is nevertheless true that a large part of the immense development of the Church's practical work is due to Evangelical Churchmen. This, of course, is not the common opinion ; but I think I have presented a good deal of indisputable evidence that it is the correct one. The general failure to perceive the fact is probably owing in part to the circumstance that some of the movements and agencies which have given warmer life to the Church of England during the last forty years have had a " non-denominational " origin ; an4 it is true that a considerable section of the Evangelical clergy have held aloof from them on that account. But their influence has been great nevertheless : great for Evangelical religion ; great for the progress of spiritual life in the Church of England. They have, in fact, corresponded in many respects to the revival movements of the eighteenth century : mainly, as then, carried on by Churchmen ; though mainly, as then, not definitely " on Church lines." It is not wise to prophesy ; but my expectation is that, although so ignored now, they will be recognized fifty years hence, just as the revival movements of the eighteenth century, not less ignored at the time, came to be recognized long afterwards.

For these reasons, the Home Chapters are not limited to an account of C.M.S. personnel and of the growth of its organiza-

Author'' s Preface xi

tion. Among prominent characters in these pages appear such personages as Bishops Blomflekl and S. Wilberlbrce and Archbishops Tait and Benson, as well as Canon Hoare, Mr. Pennefather, and Sir Arthur Blackwood — to say nothing of living men. But of course the officers of the Society naturally occupy the most conspicuous place. Plenry Venn is without doubt the leading figure in the whole book. Josiah Pratt and Edward Bickersteth are also in the front, and Henry Wright and F. E. Wigram ; and Lord Chichester, the President for more than half a century ; and Principals Childe and Green ; and the editors of the Intelligencer, Kidgeway and Knox. Ridgeway's utterances on important questions are more often quoted than those of any other person except Venn and Pratt.

IV

But undoubtedly the larger part of the work consists of the history of the Missions ; and the student will be able to trace out the story of any particular Mission in which he is interested. Sierra Leone, for instance, or New Zealand, or Tinnevelly, or the Punjab, or China, or North-West Canada, or Uganda, can be studied period by period.

The missionaries themselves are naturally among the most important characters ; and it is hoped that speakers at missionary meetings, and others, will find abundant material for sketches of the lives of men like W. A. B. Johnson, W. Jowett, S. Gobat, Henry and William Williams, H. W. Pox and R. Noble, T. G. Eagiand, J. Thomas, J. Peet, C. G. Pfander, C. B. Leupolt, B. Sargent, G. M. Gordon, H. Townsend, Krapf and Eebmann, Bishop Horden, Bishops G. Smith and Eussell, Bishop French and J. W. Knott, Bishop Hannington and Alexander Mackay. Or of living men like Eobert Clark and W. S. Price, Bishop Moule and J. R. Wolfe, Bishop Eidley and Bishop Tucker. Or of Native clergymen and other converts, such as Abdul Masih, John Devasagayam, Paul Daniel, W. T. Satthianadhan, V. Sandosham, Nehemiah Goreh, Jani Alii, Lnad-ud-din and Safdar Ali, Dilawar Khan and Pazl-i-Haqq, Manchala Eatnam and Ainala Bhushanam, Samuel Crowther and other Africans, Legale the Tsimshean, Dzing Ts-sing, Tamihana Te Eauparaha and John Williams Hipango.

Many great questions of missionary policy are touched upon in these pages, not, indeed, in the way of formal discussion, but rather of historical record. The relations of a voluntary society of Churchmen to the official authorities of the Church come into view in many chapters; and so do its relations to the bishops of the dioceses in which it works, particularly in conxii Author's Preface

nexion with Bishops Wilson, Selwyn, Alford, and Copleston.' The great problem of Church organization in the Mission-field has two chapters to itself, one on Colonial Churches ^ and one on Native Churches.^ The varied methods in Missions, evangelistic^ pastoral, educational, literary, medical, industrial, all receive more or less notice in various parts of the work. The political relations of Missions present important questions which are illustrated in many of the episodes recorded : particularly in India,* but also in Turkey,^ in China/ in New Zealand,^ in the West Indies,^ and in the Yoruba Mission.^ The duty of missionaries in times of danger is a question that may arise suddenly at any moment ; and the utterances on it of Henry Venn in the name of the Society i° deserve special attention. In the home organization and conduct of societies, the C.M.S. has initiated most of the methods which have come to be generally adopted, such as Public Meetings, Provincial Associations, Association Secretaries, Unions of different kinds. Missionary Boxes and Sunday-school Collections, Sales of Work and Exhibitions, Missionary Training Colleges, Finance Committees, a Working Capital, &c., &c., the origin and growth of which appear in these pages.^^ Some developments supposed to be quite modern are found to have been thought of, and some of them acted on, in bygone days. The plan of a family or a parish supporting its "own missionary" turns out to have been formulated in Annual Sermons preached sixty years ago.^^ What is now called the Policy of Faith — the sending out of all missionaries who appear to be chosen of God for the work in faith that He will also supply the means necessary — is foimd solemnly set forth by the C.M.S. Committee in 1853 ; ^^ while evidence is afforded by the experience of the years ] 865-72 ^* that if the contrary principle of Retrenchment is acted upon, and men are kept back, the result may only be heavier deficits than before, while the total number of labourers actually shows retrogression.

The history contained in these volumes cannot be regarded merely as the history of a Society, or of a School of Eeligious Thought, or of a Church ; nor does it merely illustrate lines of policy, methods of work, systems of organization ; nor does it

' Chaps. VII., X., XI., XXVI., XXVII., XXXIII., XXXVIII., IXIV., LXIX., LXXX., LXXXIV., IXXXVII., &c.

^ XXXVIII. ^ LV. ■■ XLIV., XLV., XLVI., LIX., &0.

° XLI., LXXV. '' XLIX., LXIV., LXXXI. '' XXVIII., LXVII.

^ XXIII. " LVi. '" xiv., LVi., J see also xvi.

" X., XI., XIX., XXXI., XXXV., LIII., LIV., LXXI., IXXII., IXXXV., LXXXVI., &0. 12 XIX. "^ XXXV. " LI., LII., LIII., LIV., LXXI.

Author's Preface xiii

merely commemorate the lives of men, however good and noble. It is concerned with something much greater and higher than these. The true idea of Missions is not grasped unless we have eyes to see, on the one hand, a human race needing a Saviotir ; on the other hand, a Divine Saviour for all ; and, between the two, the men who know Him, commissioned by Him to proclaim His Message to those who know Him not. The history of a missionary society is the history of an association of some of His servants for the purpose of fulfilling that Commission ; which Commission, therefore, is the subject of the First Chapter of the present work. Eealizing this, we are at once lifted on to a level far higher than that of a rallying-point for a religious party, or of an instrument for the propagation of particular views. It is right and wise, indeed^ remembering the wide diversity of opinion among Christian men upon all sorts of theological and ecclesiastical questions, for those who are substantially of one mind upon these questions to combine and work together. In so imperfect a state as the present, this method of doing God's work is the most practically successful. But while each association may rightly claim this liberty, and allow it to others, let its members rise in motive and aim to the height of their calling. If they are Churchmen, indeed, let them say so, and not be ashamed of it. If they are Evangelical Churchmen, let them say so, and not be ashamed of it. But let them, first of all . and above all, be Christians, humbly rejoicing that they know Christ as their God and King, and working their association, consciously and purposely, for no object whatever — however good in itself — lower than the object of bringing their fellow-men to the knowledge of the same Christ.

The history of the Church Missionary Society, then, is the history of an attempt, through the medium of such an association, to take a definite part in the work of God in the word, the work of calling men back to their allegiance to their One Eightful Sovereign, and of proclaiming His gracious offer of pardon and restoration, through His Incarnate, Crucified, and Exalted Son, for all who return to Him.

This is the greatest of all " the principles of the Society." Three others naturally follow. The first is that those only are qualified to call men back to God's allegiance who are His true servants themselves. Perhaps we are too ready to b„ast of what is called " the C.M.S. principle, Spiritual men for spiritual work," considering our own spiritual failures and unworthiness ; but the principle, nevertheless, is obviously and indisputably right. The second is that we are to be content, in actual missionary work," with nothing short of the real return to God of those who by nature are alienated from Him, that is, their xiv Author's Preface

real conversion in heart and life. The third is that the qualifying of men for such a service, and the success of their efforts, are the work of the Holy Ghost alone.

The indirect and collateral influence of Missions is not to be despised, and is now generally acknowledged. They have promoted civilization ; they have facilitated colonization ; they have furthered geographical discovery ; they have opened doors for commerce; they have done service to science; they have corrected national and social evils ; they have sweetened family life. Many Christian communities in the Mission-field are very imperfect ; but at least they are better than the Heathen. The shipwrecked sailor loses his fear of being robbed and murdered when he spies a Bible in a native hut. The Bible may belong to one who never reads it, and by whom its prdcepts are neglected ; but its very presence is an indication of better things. Nevertheless, all these indirect and collateral results are not the primary aim of a Christian missionary society. That aim is the salvation of men.

There are also results of missionary work which, unlike those of a scientific or material character, cannot be called indirect. Missions extend the visible and organized Christian Church, or Churches ; and, in due time, they make Christian nations. Such results as these are to be aimed at, and prayed for. Viewed, however, in the light of eternity, they are not the end, but the means to an end ; they are chiefly valuable in so far as they promote the salvation of men. The grand aim of Missions is (1) to fulfil the Lord's command to preach the Gospel as a witness to all nations, which affects eternity because His Coming depends upon it ; and (2) to gather out of the world the spiritual Church which is the true Body of Christ, and which will live on into a future when all earthly Church organization is forgotten.

While, therefore, the pages of this History which deal with ecclesiastical controversies, problems of organization, social reforms, and the like, may seem to be specially important, the reader who thinks of the salvation of men will turn with even more interest to those which sketch the story of the individual servant of the Lord who goes forth in His Name, or of the convert whose life and whose death illustrate the power of Divine Grace. Many pages that are thus occupied will, it is hoped, evoke songs of praise and thanksgiving, deepen the reader's faith in his Saviour and Lord, and send him to his knees in fresh and humble dedication of himself to the promotion of a cause so sacred, so blessed, so certain of ultimate triumph. He will learn that missionary" advance abroad depends upon spiritual advance at home ; that the increase of

Author's Preface xv

men and the increase of means follow upon seasons of revival, of the reading of the "Word of God, of united and believing prayer, of personal consecration to the Lord's service. He will — G-od grant it ! — yield himself more wholly to his " glorious Victor," his " Prince Divine," and realize that even he, sinful and unworthy as he is, may, through the gracious condescension of his Heavenly Master, have a small share in the work of " bringing the King back."

VI

It is right to say something touching the sources ot this History. For the first fifteen years of the Society's existence, I am chiefly indebted to Mr. Hole's previous researches, embodied in the important volume before mentioned. The Eleventh Chapter in particular, on the first Associations and Deputations, is almost entirely based upon his work. The Society's Eeports from the first, and its principal Periodicals, have of course been studied page by page. The forty-two volumes of the old Missionanj Hegister, 1813 to 1854, are of extraordinary value to the student of the period, as containing the current history, not of the C.M.S. only, but of every other Society. I have described that wonderful periodical at the end of my Tenth Chapter. For the second half-century, the Church Missionary Intelligencer is the best source of information on C.M.S. affairs; but the Missionary Begister has had no successor, and my notices of the work of other Societies become fewer and fewer in later years, because an examination of their several Eeports would have been an utter impossibility in the time at my disposal. I have, however, made frequent use of the valuable S.P.G. Digest, and of several books of recent date describing the work of the London Missionary Society, the Universities' Mission, the China Inland Mission, &c. The Minute Books of the C.M.S. have of course been carefully examined, and also a host of documents, written and printed, on all sorts of subjects ; but I have not followed Mr. Hole's good example of industry in reading the thousands and thousands of MS. letters among the Society's archives. He did search out those of the first fifteen years. To do so for a hundred years would be a task quite beyond my power consistently with other duties. Mr. Venn's Private Journals, and many of his letters, however, have been kindly placed at my disposal by his son and daughter, and have naturally supplied important information. The cream of them, however, had already been published in Mr. Knight's Biography, which book has in other ways also been a help to me.

Biographies, in fact, have been my best and most interesting authorities next to the current Eeports and Magazines. They xvi Author's Preface

have continually thrown side-lights on the history, and furnish the personal touches which, it is hoped, will be found to add much to its interest. No historian of a century could in two years examine the letters, &c., of a host of the leading men of the century, even if they were accessible to him ; but when this has been done by their biographers severally, and the results published, the historian may rightly make good use of them, and is wise to do so. I certainly owe much to biographies such as those of Wilberforce and Buxton, Scott and Pratt and Bickersteth and Simeon, Martyn and Heber and Daniel Wilson, Marsden and Henry Williams and Selwyn, Carey and Duff and John Wilson, Cotton and Milman and French, the Lawrences and Herbert Edwardes and Bartle Prere, Pox and Noble and Eagland, Gobat and Bowen, G-. M. G-ordon and Hannington and Mackay — to name only a few of the more prominent. Upon Church affairs at home, besides some of those just mentioned, there have been the Lives of Bishops Blomfield and S. Wilberforce, Archbishop Tait and Lord Shaftesbury and Dr. Pusey, and many others.

A host of miscellaneous books might be mentioned, particularly those on Indian aifairs by Sir John Kaye, Sir E. Temple, Dr. G. Smith, &c. ; but a complete bibliography would occupy many pages, and most of the books are tolerably well known and easily accessible. I ought, however, to refer to the value of the old volumes of the Christian Ohserver, a leading Evangelical organ for more than seventy years. Nowhere else can one gather a more accurate impression of the actual contemporary opinions of Evangelical Churchmen. Through the kindness of the Editors of the Record and the Guardian, I have also been able to examine all the files of the former paper, and many of those of the latter, for the past half-century. Of the Record, I have turned over every single page for the past twenty years, and made careful notes, before writing the brief chapters on recent Church history.

Eeferences are everywhere given at the foot of the page to the various collateral sources of information. But I have not ordinarily given references to the Society's Keports and Magazines, except in some specially important and interesting cases. They are more frequently given in Vol. III., because the history of later years, especially of older fields like India, is so condensed that the reader is necessarily referred to the Eeports, &c., and these later Eeports are generally accessible. It should be explained that the Annual Eeport is always referred to by the year of its issue ; thus " Eeport of 1895 " means the Eeport for 1894-95. It should also be mentioned that the Memoir of Henry Venn used is the " revised and compressed edition " of 1882.

Author^ s Preface xvii

Here and there I liave not hesitated to insert, without definite indication of the fact, particularly in two or three of the earlier chapters on Africa and Japan, extracts from my own writings in the CM. Intelligencer, the CM. Atlas, and elsewhere. The whole amount of matter thus borrowed is probably less than half a dozen pages ; but it is right to acknowledge the fact. It must be further explained that in the small book entitled One Hundred Tears of the G.M.S., which was written after the first two volumes of the History, but before the third volume, paragraphs and sentences are- frequently taken from the present work.

VII

I have not thought it well to interrupt the narrative with the insertion of official documents and tables of statistics. There ought properly to be a fourth volume, for appendices containing lists of missionaries, of institutions, of Bible translations ; important Minutes of the Committee and other documents ; comparative statistical tables, &c. To prepare this, however, for the Centenary Year, has been impossible. But many extracts from official statements and reports occur in these pages, when they are necessary to make the story complete and are in themselves interesting.

No attempt has been made to secure scientific correctness, or even absolute uniformity, in the spelling of foreign names. The orthography usually to be found in the C.M.S. publications of recent years has been adopted. For example, the sacred book of Islam is written Koran, not, with some high authorities, Goran or Quran. The Province of the Five Eivers is called the Puvjah, not Punjaub as formerly or Panjdb as more scientifically correct. When, of two missionaries who know a certain town in China well, one spells it Z-Jcy'i and the other Tsl-chee, an Englishman unlearned in the Chinese language may be pardoned for abandoning the attempt to make his spelling of foreign names acceptable to all experts alike.

This History is not, in the ordinary sense of the word, " illustrated." But portraits are given of many of the leading men who appear in its pages ; and a very few small illustrations are placed at the end of certain chapters. There are also reproductions of three old maps of special interest : one, from the Missionary Eegister of 1816, showing the mission stations of the world at that time ; the second, from the G.M. Intelligencer of 1850, Eebmann's first attempt at delineating East Africa ; and the third, also from the Intelligencer, Erhardt's famous map of 1856, showing the "monster slug" (as it was called), the supxviii Author's Preface

posed vast inland sea, which led to the first exploring journey of Burton and Speke. Many modern maps would be needed to make the work complete ; but it is hoped that every reader will have the Church Missionary Atlas open at his side. That Atlas contains maps of all the Society's Mission-fields, and information concerning the countries and the people which may be regarded as preliminary to the study of the History.

I have, in conclusion, to thank very warmly several friends who have most kindly read the proofs of the work. In the earlier chapters, the Eev. C. Hole made important suggestions. The Eev. H. E. Perkins has done so throughout, particularly in the India chapters. The China chapters have been read by Archdeacon A. E. Moule ; the New Zealand chapters by the Bishop of Waiapu; the North-West Canada chapters by the Archbishop of Eupert's Land. A large part of the work has been read by the Eev. Henry Venn (son of the Hon. Secretary) and the Eev. John Barton ; some chapters by Archdeacon Long, who was a co-secretary with Mr. Venn ; and others by the Eev. T. W. Drury and the Eev. Dr. S. Dyson, Principal and Vice- Principal of Islington College. The chapters on the Church history at home of the last forty years have been read by the Eev. Prebendary Barlow, the Eev. Prebendary Webb-Peploe, and the Eev. Dr. Moule. Although none of these friends, nor my fellow-secretaries who have also read the proofs, nor the C.M.S. Committee as a body, are to be held responsible for the views here and there expressed in these pages, it will be acknowledged that I have taken the best pains to secure the general approval of the most competent judges, as well as the substantial correctness of my statements. I must also thank the members of the staff of the Editorial Department in the Church Missionary House for important help cheerfully rendered in various ways ; and, in particular, Mr. John Alt Porter, for many valuable corrections and emendations, and for the very complete Index at the end of the Third Volume.

I respectfully thank his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury — to whose ardent advocacy the cause of the Evangelization of the World is so deeply indebted — for permission, cordially given, to dedicate the work to him ; and also the President of the Society, Sir John H. Kennaway, Bart., M.P., for the Preface he has kindly written.

Finally, I commit the book to Him who alone can make it helpful and useful in the promotion of His holy cause.

E. S.

OUTLINE OF THE WORK.

The History is divided into Ten Parts. Five of tliese are in Vol. I., two in Vol. II., and three in Vol. III. The Nine Parts after the first cover Nine Periods of unequal length. In each Part after the first three, the Society's environment and history at home are reviewed in the earlier chapters, and then the Mission-fields in turn, concluding in some cases with a winding-up chapter.

VOL. I.

Part I. is preliminary. First, the Lord's Great Commission to His Church is recalled. Then in Chaps, ii. and iii. a rapid sketch is given of the work of the Church in executing that Commission during eighteen centuries. Primitive Missions, Mediaeval Missions, Roman Missions, and Modern Protestant Missions, are glanced at. In particular, the establishment and early enterprises of the S.P.C.K. and S.P.G. are briefly noticed. We are thus brought on towards the close of the Eighteenth Century, the period which saw the foundation of the C.M.S. and several other missionary organizations.