the baptist missionary society

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THE BAPTIST
MISSIONARY SOCIETY
(Founded 1792)
136th ANNUAL REPORT
For the year ending March 31st, 1928
LONDON
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY AT THE CAREY PRESS
19, FURNIVAL STREET, E.C. 4.
Telegraphic Add/rest; “Asiatic, Fleet, LondonTelephone: Holborn S88S (S lines.)
CONTENTS.
PAGE
“ GOD’S SHEEP ARE MEN ” ............................................................ 5_7
SURVEY OF THE FIELDS ................................................................8-27
THE MISSIONARY ROLL CALL ................................... ... 27-28
M APS............................................................................................................29-32
PART II.
THE SOCIETY : COMMITTEE AND OFFICERS, 1927-28, &c. 33
LIST OF MISSIONARIES ............................................................ 48
STATIONS AND STAFF....................................................................... 68
STATISTICS AND TABLES ............................................................ 75
PART III.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOCIETY ......................... 109
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DONATIONS 109-112
GIFT AND SELF-DENIAL WEEK ..................................... 113
WOMEN’S FU N D..................................... .......................... 116
MEDICAL FUND ....................................................................... 117
BIBLE TRANSLATION AND LITERATURE FUND ... 119
LONDON BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION .............. 120
ENGLISH COUNTY SUMMARIES .......................... 128
WALES : COUNTY SUMMARIES ..................................... 160
SCOTLAND : COUNTY SUMMARIES ......................... 177
IRELAND, CHANNEL ISLANDS AND ISLE OF MAN 180
SPECIAL FUNDS.....................................................................« 182
SUMMARY OF CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THREE YEARS 184
GENERAL SUMMARY OF CASH ACCOUNT .............. 185
TREASURERS’ CASH ACCOUNT .......................... 188
SPECIAL FUNDS ACCOUNTS .................................... 192
AUDITORS’ CERTIFICATE ................................................. 194
THE “ WANTS” DEPARTMENT AND GIRLS’ AUXILIARY 196
TOTAL EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR AT HOME AND
ABROAD ................................................................................... ... 197
The Baptist Missionary Society
1927-8
THE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIXTH YEAR
“ GOD’S SHEEP ARE MEN”
THIS is the 136th Annual Report of the Society, and we hope it
will prove illuminating and searching and stimulating : and
as we are now celebrating 'the Jubilee of our Congo Mission,
we have the opportunity of comparing our position to-day
with that of fifty years ago.
For the purpose of the following statistics we are excluding the
work of the West Indies and Jamaica, and having regard only to
India, Ceylon, China, Cameroons and Europe. The number of our
Stations at that time was 181. Now our Stations total 514. Apart
from missionaries’ wives, we had a staff of 58 European missionaries ;
to-day we have over 300. We had only two European missionaries
in China, and were but prospecting on the Congo. In the year 1878
the total income, including that of the Zenana Mission, came to
£44,706. There was, of course, no Medical Mission Auxiliary,
although medical work was being done. This year we have received
from the churches £139,421, and altogether with the Arthington Grant
our total income is £172,947. At that time the membership of churches
connected with our Mission on the Field was 4,627. Our present
membership is 41,141,
“ The sheep of my shepherding are men.” So we find in the
prophecies of Ezekiel. It is a needful reminder if we are apt to think
of missions in general terms, in abstract phrases, or simply in figures.
These, of course, have their value, but they are dangerous if they
tide from us the fact that we are all the time dealing with real men
and women, who have trials and temptations, successes and failures,
passions and joys and sorrows, as we have ourselves.
In. the first days of the Society’s formation, Carey’s knowledge of
the world and of its inhabitants was a potent factor. It made the
interest real and abiding. Josephine Butler, the centenary of whose
birth falls this year, tells in. her Autobiography a story which is a
revelation of the spirit impelling her. It is of a street arab who went
to Hyde Park on a sultry summer’s day. The sheep were overcome
by the heat and were gasping for breath. The boy ran to the Serpen­
5
6 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. [1928.
tine, filled his cap with water, and brought it to the sheep. This he
did more than once. Then he bathed a sheep’s face. A man near
by remarked : “ You seem very anxious about that beast.” The
boy’s eyes filled with tears as he said : “ It’s God’s sheep.”
So we ask our readers to study this Annual Report, and with sancti­
fied imagination to consider these very real men and women and
girls and boys to whom, through our missionaries, the Society brings
the good news of the love of God.
* * * * * *
The troubles in China are by no means over, and none can say when
things will be quiet again. As is known, our missionaries, under
Consular advice, left their Stations in many places, and that, of
course, most reluctantly. Many of them came home, because their
furloughs were about due, and during the year the churches have had
the great advantage of hearing the story of China and of our work
there as perhaps never before. All the while our missionaries were
chafing to return, and many have by this time done so. To reach
their Stations again, dangers must be encountered and perils by the
way. Now it is hoped that by the autumn of this year most of our
Stations will be occupied again. Damage, of course, has been done
to our property, and even lives lost. In Shensi two evangelists have
been murdered and two wounded, while some of our middle-school
teachers have been arrested. But we may be sure that despair is
not in the hearts of our missionaries nor of the Chinese Christians,
and that the work which has been carried on for so many years will
not now be surrendered.
* * * * * *
Now concerning the gifts that have been sent to the Society. Un­
doubtedly the industrial depression which has been covering the
country has affected us seriously, and yet from some of those places
where the outlook is darkest have come gifts which this year are
greater than in any previous year. We have received many gifts in
kind, and often-times these carry a story with them. Possessions
and gifts of loved ones who have passed within the veil have reached
us again and again. Treasures have been sent to be sold for the
advantage of the Mission. A young man sends his postage stamp
album, a widow woman sends a ring, an old age pensioner sends his
first week’s pension, one who has reached three-score-years-and-ten
sends some mathematical instruments. Articles that have been
worked by loving fingers have been sold and used for the benefit of
the Society. So much so is this, that now each gift that comes,
whatever be its form, suggests a giver, and once again we try to
interpret these material things in terms of men and women. They
become holy, and bear the mark of sacrifice.
1928.] ‘ god’s sheep are men.” 7
Then we remember that the Society goes forward greatly on the
feet of little children, for our Sunday Schools do wonderfully ; and
not only are these gifts welcome and valuable for to-day, but they are
an assurance that the interest of the days to come is being created
now. Nothing is more hopeful than the passionate love so many of
our young people have for our Society.
Probably, also, the appeal to the Denomination on behalf of the
Superannuation Fund has affected us. The cause is so obviously a
just one, although belated. If it had not come this year it would
have had to come soon, and all members of the Society rejoice in its
wonderful success. We are hoping that during the coming year
much of the generosity manifested by the gifts to that fund may
find its way to the further support of the Society.
* * * * * *
The present situation, however, is as follows :—
We have received from the churches £139,421, which is £1,347 less
than last year. Considering the present industrial depression, and
the magnificent way in which the Denomination responded to the
appeal for Superannuation, we think this a most wonderful result.
From what has been written before it is very clear that only as the
result of sacrificial giving has this been possible. We thank God for
the continued loyalty and devotion of the churches.
But, of course, we are still short of our needs. A strange feature
has been the very large diminution of monies received through legacies.
Last year we received altogether nearly £17,000 ; this year the total
only comes to £8,396.
Finally we are left with a deficit of £15,213 on the year, to which
must be added £1,910 left over from the deficit of last year. Our
total combined deficits, therefore, amount to £17,123. This we feel
will be met, and that immediately.
At one time we had grave fears that the deficit would be very much
larger, and although it is still a great burden, we are thankful to God
for the generosity of His people, and are confident that they will answer
the present call to set the Society free once again from debt.
8 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. [1928.
OUR WORK IN INDIA.
ANY report from the Fields for last year must necessarily
deal with the first effects of the retrenchment in expenditure
and the transfer of control to the native Church. In India
this took place on a considerable scale, but it is yet too soon
to look for definite results. There is great regret in many quarters
over the closing of stations and schools, and some of the Reports make
difficult reading. “ This year,” writes a lady worker, “ I have been
called on to do one of the hardest things required of me in my thirty
years of missionary experience, and that was to close down a promising
girls’ school for lack of funds. Last year we made sundry reductions
in staff, and, though short-handed, managed to carry on; but this
year, with a reduction of Rs. 430 on my educational budget, there
was nothing for it but to close down one school. We chose the one
in the town, as there were three non-Christian schools near by to
which the girls could go. I shall never forget our last gathering ; that
it was a sad day for all was very evident. Many tears were shed, and
it was hard to say ‘No 5 to the many queries—‘ Then are we not to
come any more ?—Not even to Sunday School ? ’ ”
The reduction of staff also has had its first result in a lessened
number of baptisms. Obviously, the distant villages could not be
visited, and waiting candidates could not be brought forward for
baptism. But while Mr. Reid writes that “ the withdrawal of the
mission was like the removal of the shade from a still tender plant,”
he also adds that “ we believe that there is life in the plants, and
that they will grow all the more healthily in the open.” So we note
that in Khulna, where the change was received unwillingly and with
misgiving, the deficiency in funds through the reduction of the mission
contribution has been largely made up by additional church offerings :
and that the Oriya and Telugu churches in Berhampur are assuming
responsibility for the work of evangelising the town and district.
There is a movement also at Sambalpur, where the members of the
Church Union are showing increasing zeal and unity. One of the
brightest reports comes from the Kond Hills, and the brightest feature
of that report is the fact that the new Christians are themselves
spreading the gospel, and that the church is partly supporting two
evangelists. It is little wonder that Mr. 0. J. Millman, returning to
his old field after ten years’ absence, is filled with pleasure to find such
a great extension of church work, a corresponding. expansion of
evangelistic effort, and a consolidation of all educational activities.
He is himself taking up the educational side of the mission and is
devoting himself to its varied problems with enthusiasm.
1928.] INDIA. 9
HINDU OPPOSITION.
The station reports show that Hindu opposition increased last
year, especially in Bengal ; but similar efforts are being made at
Delhi, where the Arya Samaj has been trying to win back the Chamar
Christians, and at Gaya and other places.
The urgent need of Bible teaching is illustrated again and again.
The great need of the Lushai Church is teaching, declares the Women’s
Report from Lungleh : but this is not the case in Lushai only, for
many stations would echo an opinion which comes from the South
Villages : “ Our hope for the future lies mainly in our Bible Class.”
This is distinctly a work in which the Mission should continue to- help
the churches of the transferred districts.
For the first time a report comes from Faridpur, where we are
co-operating with the Australian Baptists in an industrial institution :
and it is worth noting that we are now taking our share with other
Indian missions in four co-operative institutions, not including
Serampore.
STATISTICS.
An examination of statistics shows that the number of baptisms was
926, as against 1,337 in the previous year. Of these, 472 were from
the Christian and 454 from the non-Christian community. There was
a large decrease in the Lushai Hills, where the Church has been passing
through a period of depression. But the number of Church members
has risen from 18,676 to 19,218, and the total Christian community
in the Mission is now 55,707.
SERAMPORE COLLEGE.
On Foundation Day, January 7th, when Sir Stanley Jackson,
Governor of Bengal, presided at the Charter Centenary Celebrations,
Principal Howells gave a most interesting review of the History of
the College at Serampore, with a full account of its work at the present
time. We hope to quote from the Principal’s review later, and in
the meantime confiné ourselves to facts which concern the present
work, a century after the Charter was first granted. At present this
great Institution is passing through a difficult , time, but a glance at
its achievements even during recent years will be sufficient to inspire
us with faith in its future.
In the reorganised Arts Department the College began with one class
of 27 students. There are now eight classes, four Arts and four
Science, with 274 students. The total number of students is 300, of
whom 64 are Indian Christians, half of these being Baptists and
26 studying theology. Beginning with 1912, altogether 512 students
have passed the Intermediate Arts Examination, 315 have graduated
in Arts, 216 have passed in Intermediate Science since 1920, and
10 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. [1928.
32 have graduated in Science since the recent affiliation in that subject.
In the 1927 examinations some 50 qualified in Intermediate Arts or
Science and 30 graduated, 5 taking honours.
Among the 26 students at present in the Higher Theological Depart­
ment we find representatives of twelve races and nationalities, speak­
ing as many vernaculars and coming from areas extending from the
hills of Assam to the valleys of Travancore and the coasts of Ceylon.
Nine branches of the Christian Church are represented.
“ The work of Serampore,” writes one of the world’s great educa­
tionists, Sir Michael Sadler, “ is of the highest importance at this
critical stage in India. It carries on the spirit of Carey, his wisdom,
scholarship, piety and breadth.”
During the year the Indian and Ceylon workers had the pleasure
and benefit of a visit from Miss Bowser, our Secretary for Women’s
Work, travelling as a Deputation from the Home Committee with the
Misses Glover. During this year they will tell their story, and we
cannot doubt that it will echo the story told by the Indian Reports.
“ Valuable work is being done by the staff with the resources we
have—but in many of our districts, even after all these years, we are
still only on the fringe of things. However much we may transfer to
the Church, there are still great untouched fields for the Mission.”
IN CEYLON.
T HERE is no sensational item in the Report from Ceylon for
1927, the story being one of work steadily maintained with
a practically full staff, and with many encouraging incidents.
Healthy progress was shown in the hostels and schools, and
open air preaching drew the large crowds which are the usual experi­
ence in a country so ideal for work of this kind. Fanned by national­
istic feeling the Buddhist revival waxes stronger, but there are many
who believe that this may prove, as it has done before, a channel
for the furtherance of the Gospel.
The keynote of the Report is the work among the young, whether
in the day schools or the boarding schools : and no reader could fail
to realise that this is the pivot of the campaign. Here the need for
expansion is urgent. At Carey Baptist College (Boys’ High School),
Colombo, the boys hope to make a beginning soon in the raising of
funds for extensions ; but meanwhile the sick-room has been in use
for teaching throughout the year, the good health of the boys fortu­
nately making this arrangement possible. The girls boarding school
is also full, more than one-third of the girls coming from Buddhist
*
1928.] CEYLON— CHINA. Ü
homes; Matale Girls’ English School reached the high-water mark
of 180 pupils in June, and the hoped for new buildings are not yet
begun, while at Ratnapura “ our hostel is always full,” and those in
charge are hoping that their new building may be commenced “ in the
near future.”
Mr. Charter, now in England, did valuable work at the Peradeniya
Training Colony, which accommodates from 20 to 30 students, men
and women. One of the Baptist students passed the Serampore
Matriculation Examination in April, and was awarded a scholarship.
Mr. Charter’s literary work, however, was probably a contribution
of equal importance to our enterprise in Ceylon, for there is great
need of an increased supply of Christian literature.
THE YEAR IN CHINA.
(By the Rev. E. W. BURT, JY1.A.)
ANNUAL reports are proverbially dull, but whatever else the
year 1927 was in China, it was certainly not dull! Most
of us would say it was far too exciting! And it makes a
story worth recording and worth pondering.
It was a year of startling surprises and changes. Though for the
last two years anti-foreign feeling had been rife in Canton, no serious
apprehension was felt in North China, where the B.M.S. works. In
fact, so little alarm was felt that the Field Secretary cabled home
advising the return of Mrs. Lewis and Miss Pearson to Shansi, and of
Mr. Payne to Shantung; yet these three arrived to find China in
turmoil and missionaries evacuating the interior.
The immediate cause which forced the hands of the authorities
was undoubtedly the unspeakable outrages at Nanking. After this
it was felt that no foreign life or property was safe. It was also
expected that the Governments concerned would take some drastic
steps to bring the perpetrators of those dastardly deeds to book.
Hostilities between China and foreign powers seemed imminent, and
it was desired to get all foreigners to the coast, so that the British
Minister might have a free hand to deal with China without imperilling
the lives of his nationals. So most foreign missionaries—American as
well as British—had to leave their stations at short notice. It was
an enforced and general exile.
But in the spring our Chinese friends also wished us gone, as they
feared for our safety, and felt that our remaining would embarrass
the Church and make all Chinese Christians the target for mob violence.
And in Honan and Central China this indeed proved to be the case.
The three provinces in which our Society has missions escaped the
full fury of the storm, and our men and women and little children
12 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. [1928.
got out safely, for which mercy we thank God. It was not always
so. For this is not the first time the missionaries have had to abandon
the work. In 1895 all the women and most of the men had to quit
their stations in the depth of winter owing to the Chinese-Japanese
war, which first pricked the bubble of China’s legendary greatness.
Then in the Boxer Year of 1900 the three fields were deserted for
more than a year. Through the timely help of enlightened officials the
missionaries in Shantung and Shensi reached the coast in safety, but
all in Shansi were caught in a trap and brutally murdered. Again,
in 1911, when the Manchus were swept from power and a nominal
Republic established, the missionaries in Shansi had to leave.
This page of history ought to remind friends at home how precarious
at best is the position of the foreigner in China. The evacuation in
1927 was the fourth in about thirty years ! It was more general and
widespread than any former exodus, and resulted in the temporary
return to Europe and America of three-quarters of the missionary
force in China.
Yet when we hurriedly left our homes last April we thought it was
for a few weeks at most, and we took with us only the things needed
for a brief holiday.
But the exile lasted longer than we had anticipated, though the
time of waiting at the coast was not wasted. The younger members
of the mission pushed on with language study without interruption.
Others were able to visit the stations from time to time and keep in
touch with the Christian leaders. And all had a time in which to
re-adjust themselves to the new order of things.
THE RETURN.
In September, Shansi and Shantung were reoccupied. Four men
were all ready to return to Shensi on a prolonged visit, but civil war
blocked their way, though one man—John Shields—has since entered
Shensi by Hankow.*
On returning to their stations the missionaries received a warm
welcome, and were thankful to find that all Christian activities had
been faithfully kept going during their absence. Before leaving in
the spring the work had been handed over to emergency committees
in each station. For these men it was a heavy responsibility. At
any moment—for aught they could tel]—the disruptive anti-Christian
forces "might have got the upper hand, and the mission buildings
might have been confiscated and looted, as they have been in other
provinces where the Nationalists hold sway. It was . touch and go
more than once. In the summer a plot was hatched in Tsingchowfu
to burn the church, schools and houses, but was discovered in the
* See Herald, April.