University of Johannesburg History 2A 2023

On a former occasion, at the invitation of your secretary, I attended a meeting of this society, of which I have not the honour to be myself a member, for the purpose of hearing Mr. Reade's paper upon The Efforts of Missionaries among Savages. I need hardly say, that hav? ing had some personal connection myself with such " efforts," having laboured for some years in the endeavour to improve a heathen race, rude and savage as any of those to whom the paper in question was likely to refer, I felt a peculiar interest in the subject, and listened to the lecture with close attention. There were some statements in it from which I dissented, and some which I much regretted; yet I felt that it was good to have had the question raised?to have had the work of missions among savages inspected and discussed from a layman's point of view; and I was too well aware, from my own obser? vation and experience, that some of Mr. Reade's strictures were far from being undeserved. Upon the whole, however, I thought it would be best, rather than express myself in a few hasty words, which would but imperfectly convey my views, and would be very liable to be misunderstood, to request permission to lay before you more cleliberately my thoughts upon the subject, as I propose to do on the present occasion. Mr. Reade's account of the corrupt habits of native converts-?that u every Christian negress whom he met with was a prostitute, and every Christian negro a thief,"?to whatever extent it may have been justified by the facts which fell under his observation, must be sup? posed, of course, to apply especially to that part of Western Africa in which he has spent five months of his life. But, in so short a time, as your President observed, it would seem to be impossible for any one to form a fair and true estimate of the entire results of mis? sionary labours among the natives of any district. And that mis? sionary, I imagine, spoke only the simple and obvious truth who said to Mr. Reade, "You cannot measure the amount of moral influence which our teachings exercise." It would have been impossible to do so without more intimate knowledge of the native language, and closer acquaintance with the ways and doings of the people, than such a hasty visit could have permitted. I presume, however, that there were some outward signs on which Mr. Reade must have based his judgment, and that in certain cases which came more immediately under his eye there was great dishonesty among the men, and great immodesty among the women. But admitting this, it would be only fair to suppose that this state of things may possibly be exceptional upon a coast where the slave-trade, with all its abomina? tions, has so long prevailed, and is still, notoriously, more or less extensively practised; where, consequently, whatever good instruc? tions may have been given by the missionaries, or whatever good exam? ples may have been set by the better class of white residents, laymen This content downloaded from 105.12.7.119 on Tue, 25 Apr 2023 06:07:29 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms THE BISHOP OE NATAL ON EFFORTS OF MISSIONARIES. CCxlix as well as missionaries, must have been to a great extent neutralised by the vicious concluct of others. I conceive, therefore, that Mr. Reade may have been, perhaps, unfortunate in having had the immediate neighbourhood of the Slave Coast as the only locality in which he has hacl an opportunity of examining into the " Efforts of Missionaries among Savages." Having no personal acquaintance, however, with that coast, I shall confine my remarks chiefly to the savage tribes of South-Eastern Africa, among whom my own lot has been cast, ancl to the mission-work which is carried

t. All the tribes of south-central, as well as southeastern, Africa, are now reckonecl collectively as Kafirs, since they speak only different dialects of the same common tongue. For though the languages spoken by different tribes are sometimes so different that even natives living within the small district of Natal can hardly understand each other, yet philologists have shown conclusively that these languages are all fundamentally the same,?nay, that there are strong affinities between those spoken by the tribes on the eastern and those on the ivestern coast of Africa. The subject has not, indeed, been thoroughly worked out as yet. But I believe that the tendency of modern inquiries is towards the conclusion that the whole central part of Africa, from the north-west to the south-east, is inhabited by kindred tribes, speaking only different varieties of the same common tongue, though often, as I have saicl, so different that only scientific skill can trace the connection. Thus Mr. Reade's negroes of the Gaboon may be after all only distant connections of the Zulus or Zulu-Kafirs of Natal. The word " Zulu" means " heaven," But the people have been so called from a former chief of that name, and not with any notion that this particular tribe had any claim to be regarded as the " Celestials" of south-east Africa. It appears to me that Mr. Reade's paper expresses, perhaps in rather strong and even exaggerated language, thoughts which, how? ever, are present more or less distinctly in the minds of many laymen in connection with the subject of missions, as, for instance, that mis? sionaries are really cloing little or nothing for the improvement of savage races,?that their reports are either clishonest, and " cooked," as the phrase is, to meet the eyes of their paymasters in England, or else are tame chronicles of trivial circumstances, which are not worth communicating,?and that, in fact, large sums of money are thus wasted, which might be more profltably used, if spent upon works of charity nearer home. Now, I am one who do entirely believe, nay, I know, that in spite of many serious clrawbacks, some inevitable, some carmble of being remediecl, the " Efforts of Missionaries among Savages" have been a great blessing to them. And because I believe and know this, I am not afraid or unwilling to look the truth in the face,?to have our work scrutinised and our defects pointed out, as I have said, from alayman's point of view,?where necessary, to confess our faults ancl shortcomings, and to consider how those faults may best be amendecl, that so the blessing may be greater, and the work be done yet more effectually. I will begin with saying that I am not careful to make much defence for the expenditure of considerable sums of money upon missio