Read Ebook: The American Missionary — Volume 35 No. 6 June 1881 by Various

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EDITORIAL.

TILLOTSON NORMAL AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE 161 PARAGRAPHS 162 ARTHINGTON MISSION--TIMELY PROPOSAL 163 THE SECOND CALL: Rev. Jas. Powell 164 THE NEGRO FOR HIS PLACE: Prof. C. C. Painter 165 ANNIVERSARY ANNOUNCEMENTS 167 BENEFACTIONS--ITEMS FROM THE FIELD 168 GENERAL NOTES--Freedmen, Africa, Indians, Chinese 169

THE FREEDMEN.

ALABAMA, MOBILE--Conference--Woman's Missionary Meeting 172 LOUISIANA--South-Western Cong'l Assoc. 174 KANSAS--Condition of the Blacks Contrasted 176

THE INDIANS.

LETTER FROM JAMES MURIE 177

THE CHINESE.

JEE GAM ON THE MISSION IN CHINA 179

WOMAN'S HOME MISS. ASSOC'N

MONTHLY REPORT 181

CHILDREN'S PAGE.

FRANKIE'S CHAPEL 183

RECEIPTS 184

LIST OF OFFICERS 189

CONSTITUTION 190

AIM, STATISTICS, WANTS, ETC. 191

NEW YORK.

Published by the American Missionary Association,

ROOMS, 56 READE STREET.

Price, 50 Cents a Year, in advance.

Entered at the Post Office at New York, N.Y., as second-class matter.

THE

AMERICAN MISSIONARY.

American Missionary Association.

TILLOTSON NORMAL AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE.

PRES. WM. E. BROOKS.

Tillotson Normal and Collegiate Institute? Where is it? What is it? When opened? How welcomed? What is its present outlook, and what are its needs?

Tillotson Institute is situated just outside the limits of the city of Austin, Texas, upon a fine elevation, commanding on the east and south a beautiful and far-reaching view of the valley and of the shimmering waters of the Colorado. On the west is the city of Austin, with its spires and busy streets, and from the upper part of the building, looking northward, appear the far-extending prairies, so familiar in Texas, while, almost encircling the whole, rise hills and mountains, making this a most beautiful and picturesque spot, and of all others fitted for an institution of learning, where the student, while treasuring up knowledge, may have before him that which shall awaken a sense of the beautiful and the grand, leading him from nature to nature's God. In these points Tillotson has few rivals.

As to its material, it is a large brick building with stone trimmings, 104 feet in length, 42 feet in depth, and five stories high. It has a dining hall, a beautiful and airy school-room about 37x48; three large recitation rooms, with other smaller ones, which are probably the most complete in their appointment of blackboards, maps and desks of any in the State. No one who has visited the Institution has been heard to question this. It may be added, also, that the building, as it now stands, is the gift of friends living in the East and West for the education of the colored youth of Texas.

Owing to delays in completing the building, the opening of the school was deferred from October, 1880, till January 17th, 1881.

Our numbers at the beginning were small, but have been steadily increasing, till now, in the Institute proper, we have over sixty students, with a good prospect that this number will be increased to at least a hundred before the close of the year. We have a large class in algebra, a still larger class in complete arithmetic, comprehensive geography and United States history, as also some ten or twelve in Latin and an equally large number in English composition. All of these are doing finely in everything but Latin--only fair in this.

The completion of the building and fencing the grounds, which is an absolute necessity, with the cost of furnishing, call for at least ,000 more. This should be provided at once; then land is needed; thousands of colored youth in Texas greatly desire an education; they are worthy, but poor. Yet their highest good requires that they pay for their education. And, since this is not possible in many cases, some means should be provided by which they can. The most practical way is to have land which they can work.

The result would be advantageous in two ways: First, it would enable them to maintain their self-respect; they would feel that they were not receiving bounty, but were paying their way; this would make them more manly. Second, it would be a practical school where they would be taught the best methods of agriculture; this would be a priceless benefit to them.

But the Institution owns no land save the spot upon which the building stands. There are, however, some 450 acres of the first quality joining the Institution grounds for sale. True, since close to the city it is dear; but when once bought and paid for, these acres become a bank that will never fail, and always pay good dividends. It would be a wise and noble act for some one to buy this land and present it to the Institution; with it the possibilities of Tillotson Institute would be greatly magnified.

Who will purchase the farm, and giving it his own name, present it to the youngest child of the A. M. A.?

Finally, we are all more than pleased with the field and its work. It exceeds even our expectations; the climate is delightful, the location unsurpassed, the present inspiring, and the future radiant with hope.

It gives us pleasure to announce the safe arrival of Rev. Henry M. Ladd and Rev. Kelly M. Kemp, with his wife, at Freetown, Sierra Leone, March 23d, after a favorable and altogether agreeable passage from Liverpool. They were cordially welcomed on their arrival by the missionaries at that point on the coast.

We heartily congratulate Berea College on its successful efforts during the past winter in securing a partial endowment. A few individuals in six different States recently joined in an effort to secure for it a fund of ,000.

The movement was started by a Western Massachusetts man who subscribed ,000, to which he afterwards added ,666. Mrs. Valeria G. Stone, of Malden, Mass., gave ,000. One friend in New York gave ,500, and another ,500. Three friends in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, gave ,000 each. The balance was made up in smaller sums.

This college--the first founded by the A. M. A.--is doing a noble work, educating about an equal number of blacks and whites. It richly deserves all that has been done for it.

We are thankful to our friends and patrons for their hearty support of our work as shown in the increase of our current receipts by ,087 over those of the corresponding seven months of last year. Encouraging as this is, the increase is not sufficient to enable us to accomplish what we had planned to do, and close our year free from debt, September 30th.

At the beginning of our fiscal year we called for an increase of 25 per cent. over the receipts of last year for current work. Our receipts have increased 19 per cent. to April 30th. At this rate we shall fall ,700 short of the amount required to meet all payments. We make an earnest appeal now, for we wish our friends to know our situation, and to prevent a threatened debt. We already feel the pressure, for our workers are calling for the salaries due them, and they will need their money to bring them North for rest and change after the severe labors of the year.

ARTHINGTON MISSION--A TIMELY PROPOSAL.

In the spring of 1879 the Executive Committee of this Association, after a careful consideration of Mr. Robert Arthington's offer of ?3,000 for a new mission in the Upper Nile basin, voted to undertake the establishment of the proposed mission on the receipt of a fund of ,000 for that purpose. During the autumn of the same year the Committee pledged itself that on receipt of ?3,000 from Mr. Arthington and a like amount from the British public, "to devote thereto the sum of ,000, and with the blessing of God and the assistance of the friends of Africa in Great Britain and America, to undertake permanently to sustain that mission."

They felt free to make this pledge, as was stated in the AMERICAN MISSIONARY at the time, "especially as final receipts from the Avery estate have recently come to hand, which are devoted by the donor to the evangelization of the African race in Africa." The receipts above mentioned amounted to ,000. Mr. Arthington and the friends in Great Britain have already paid over the ?6,000, or about ,000, apportioned to them, and the Association has entered upon preliminaries looking toward the early establishment of the mission. We still lack about ,000 for the completion of the fund. In view of this deficiency we consider the unsolicited offer from a distinguished anti-slavery man of 0 for this mission, on condition that 0 more be given by another party for the same object, as both opportune and providential, and we not only urge that the above pledge be secured, but that the entire deficiency be made up by the early autumn, as by that time our missionaries purpose to be on their way to the Upper Nile in Central Africa.

THE SECOND CALL.

When emancipation summoned the American slaves to freedom, nothing appealed with stronger effect to the sympathies of their friends than their wonderful eagerness for education. They thought that if they only could obtain a knowledge of letters they would also come into possession of the white man's power and the white man's privileges. An illusion this, in so far as it held out promise of speedy fulfilment, but a serious fact, nevertheless, in that it points to the only open door through which the Freedmen or their descendants must pass, if they ever do come into possession of that power and those privileges.

But illusion as it was, it acted as an inspiration. Under its power, old men and old women, young men and maidens, children and youth, flocked into everything that was called a school for Freedmen.

This unprecedented manifestation of a hunger and thirst for education was promptly met by a large supply of missionary teachers and educational facilities. The promise, however, was larger than the fulfilment. Old people could not learn, and young people must improve by the diligent application of persistent effort extending through years. Such is the teaching of all history and experience. This the negroes did not know, and many of their friends had apparently forgotten it. Reaction came, and with it disappointment and discouragement. "It's no use, chile, I'se too old to learn," said the old negroes; and young Sambo, with a characteristic genuinely human, began to develop a passion for sport rather than study. The fact is, the wonderful passion for study exhibited by the Freedmen was abnormal. It is not natural for scholars to be running ahead of their teachers and enthusiastically shouting back for them to come on. As a rule, the teacher must lead. Ability to inspire pupils with a love for study is one of the essentials for success in teaching. The work of education, like everything else good in this world, must be pushed.

A full recognition of these facts dictated the original policy of the A. M. A. in its educational work among the Freedmen, and has shaped its policy ever since. Institutions were planted and fostered with a view to permanency. Interest in sustaining them might rise or fall, but the work, in order to succeed, must be patiently carried forward.

The flood-tide of enthusiasm on the part of the Freedmen, as a matter of course, began to ebb when the difficulties of obtaining an education fairly dawned upon them. Some of their friends at the North, seeing this, began to lose faith in their educability, and as a consequence began also to withhold their support from the work. But the American Missionary Association said, "This is just as we expected," and instead of yielding, buckled down to its work all the more earnestly, and argued for its continuance all the more forcefully. The reaction would again react. The tide of interest would return with healthier beat, and the second call would be more effective than the first. It was a firm faith in such an outcome that prompted the annual reports which, for several years, held out this bow of promise, while that ugly debt was hanging like a threatening cloud over all the work; and the faith has been justified by the results. The reaction of the reaction has come. The tide is setting back again with normal flow. The cause is advocated from the leading pulpits; our foremost statesmen endorse it; the most influential newspapers editorially commend it; the debt has been wiped out; our schools are crowded to their utmost capacity, and there is to-day sounding in the ears of the public a louder call for the immediate enlargement of work for the education of the Freedmen than has ever yet been heard. It is not the old, with heads filled with all sorts of fantastic notions, who now clamor for what they never can acquire. The young and ambitious are pressing forward, and they are doing it with eyes wide open to the difficulties that must be encountered, while at the same time, to give them confidence and hope, they have before them the living examples of scholarly achievement on the part of some of the youth of their race. These young men and young women, who are now turned away from the doors of our schools because "there is no room," appeal to us not merely because they want to obtain an education for themselves, but because they represent the neglected condition of a race. It is a remarkable fact, and most pathetic in its meaning, that they plead in many instances to be taken into school in order that they may qualify themselves to be the means of the elevation of their people.

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