* v

 
 MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 KEY. WILLIAM SHAW.
 
 '. from a F ,
 
 MEMOIE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM SHAW, 
 
 LATE GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT OF THE WESLEYAN 
 MISSIONS IN SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA. 
 
 EDITED EY 
 
 HIS OLDEST SURVIVING PRIEND. 
 
 WITH PORTRAIT AND VIEWS. 
 
 NEW EDITIOX. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 WILLIAM NICHOLS, 46, HOXTON SQUARE. 
 1875.
 
 STACK 5126814 
 
 PREFACE TO NEW EDITION. 
 
 THE present edition is not a mere abridgment or con- 
 densation of the former one ; but contains exactly the 
 same matter, with the exception of a few pages of docu- 
 ments, and of the Sermons and Charge, &c., which formed 
 the Appendix. 
 
 In the Preface to " The Story of my Mission in South 
 Eastern Africa," (I860,) Mr. Shaw justly remarks, "The 
 following narrative is to some extent an Autobiography, 
 containing an account of my personal labours in this great 
 work." As such, it was not only desirable, but absolutely 
 necessary, to embody much of " The Story " in the present 
 volume, desirable, because no one could tell the history 
 of Mr. Shaw's life better than himself, necessary, because 
 scarcely any other material was available for the purpose. 
 From the narrative of sundry journeys in South Africa, 
 and from a few memoranda which have escaped destruction, 
 it has been barely possible to compile a consecutive history 
 of the outward life of my old friend. Of his inner life we 
 know little beyond the fact of his conversion, and his sub- 
 sequent uniform, consistent walk with God. When all 
 other sources of information were wanting, I have here 
 and there furnished a few lines or pages as connecting 
 links ; and as this portion of the volume is in a distinct 
 type, no one need confound Mr. Shaw's own narrative 
 with my supplementary remarks.
 
 IV PEEPACE. 
 
 The Illustrations are from drawings taken on the spot, 
 by the Rev. Thornley Smith. The Portrait is from a photo- 
 graph, and is undoubtedly the best likeness of Mr. Shaw 
 extant. All his portraits are like him, as it was impossible 
 for any artist to miss the peculiar kindly, yet dignified, 
 expression of his features. It is remarkable how little his 
 countenance changed between youth and age. The face 
 which I saw for the last time on the evening of Novem- 
 ber 25th, 1872, was much the same, and very little 
 changed, from that which cheered me for the first time 
 on the 10th of February, 1830. 
 
 W. B. B.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. EARLY LIFE, 1798-1819 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY, 1819-1820... 1 
 
 II. PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT, 1820-1823 36 
 
 III. EELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT, 1820-1823 56 
 
 IV. THE KAFFIR MISSION, 1823-1830 94 
 
 V. ALBANY BEFORE 1834 CAUSES OF THE KAFFIR. WAR 140 
 
 VI. KAFFIR WARS AND THEIR BESOLTS 160 
 
 VII. THE INTERVAL OF PEACE, 1837-1843 175 
 
 VIII. JUBILEE OF THE COLONY THE SECOND KAFFIR WAR 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEY, 1844-1848 192 
 
 IX. CONDITION OF THE FRONTIER STATIONS IN 1850 COMMEMO- 
 RATION CHAPEL OPENED 208 
 
 X. MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855 220 
 
 XI. MR. SHAW'S DEPARTURE FROM THE COLONY, AND ARRIVAL IN 
 ENGLAND, 1856 246 
 
 XII. MARRIAGE, AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF 
 THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSIONS 272 
 
 XIII. MR. SHAW AS AN ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESI- 
 DENT, 1860-1866 279 
 
 XIV. CIRCUIT WORK IN CHELSEA AND YORK, UNTIL HIS EETIRE- 
 
 MENT AT THE HULL CONFERENCE, 1866-1869 303 
 
 XV. ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW, 1869-1872... 319 
 
 XVI. THE LAST DAYS... .. 349
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 POKTEAIT ..... To face Title 
 
 SALEM IN 1848 ....... 57 
 
 GRAHAM'S TOWN IN 1842 ..... 77 
 
 WESLEY CHAPEL, SCHOOL, AND MISSION HOUSE, GRAHAM'S TOWN 91 
 
 BUTTEEWORTH IN 1842 ...... 203 
 
 COMMEMORATION CHAPEL, GRAHAM'S TOWN . . . 217
 
 LIFE OF THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM SHAW. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Early Life, 1798-1819 Voyage to Algoa Bay, 1819-1820. 
 
 OF the early life and parentage of William Shaw we have 
 few particulars to record. His father, a man of highly 
 respectable character, held an appointment of trust in the 
 North York Militia, which was for some time stationed at 
 Glasgow. Here the subject of this memoir, the eleventh 
 child of the family, was born December 8th, 1798. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shaw were members of the Established Church, and 
 brought up their large family in the fear of God, giving 
 their children the best education within their reach, from 
 which their youngest son especially profited. Mr. Shaw, 
 senior, retired from the army in 1812, leaving, however, his 
 young son William under the care of his elder brother. 
 From the education and general ability of his younger son 
 he had some reasonable expectation of being able to procure 
 for him in due time a commission in the regular army. 
 This scheme was frustrated by his conversion, and con- 
 nexion with the Methodist Society, in November, 1812, at 
 Harwich. Persecution, not favour, was now the order of 
 the day. The regiment was removed to Ireland in 1814. 
 At Newry, the Kev. Samuel Alcorn, the Superintendent of
 
 2 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 the Circuit, aware of the zeal and competence of the young 
 volunteer, urged him to commence preaching. His letter is 
 worth preserving as a specimen of the style of the Minister 
 of that day. It is dated " Newry, 5th December, 1814." 
 
 " MY DEAE BROTHER, 
 
 " I RECEIVED your highly esteemed favour, and have only 
 to say, that on the very important subject of preaching, I 
 am fully satisfied you ought to preach. Show this to the first 
 preacher who conies to Dundalk, and he will no doubt 
 publish for you ; or show it to any of the Leaders, and 
 they will publish for you. Many of your friends here 
 are sorrowing after you and many of your dear brethren. 
 Eead much, study, and pray, and live for God. He has 
 something for you to do. My love to Brother Pearson 
 and all the brethren and sisters. Farewell. 
 
 " I remain, your affectionate brother, 
 
 "SAMUEL ALCORN." 
 
 In an unfurnished room in the barracks, Mr. Shawpreached 
 his first sermon from Eev. vi. 17. He had for some time past 
 been in the habit of exhorting in the prayer-meetings, the 
 first attempt having been made in Scotland, when he was 
 " constrained by a great love for souls to speak a few words 
 by way of exhortation to the people." On July 10th, 1815, 
 the regiment was disbanded, and William Shaw returned 
 to Wisbeach, where his parents then resided. Having 
 brought recommendatory letters from Ireland, he was 
 immediately placed on the " Local Preachers' Plan." Lay 
 agency, in the shape of Local Preachers and Class Leaders, 
 is essential to the carrying on of the work of Methodism. 
 Every Minister must first have been accepted as a Local
 
 EAKLY LIFE. 6 
 
 Preacher, in which office he has the opportunity of employ- 
 ing and cultivating his preaching talents. Fastidious 
 hearers, who affect to think lightly of the services of the 
 local ministry, instead of thankfully endeavouring to 
 benefit from these gratuitous and self-denying labours, are 
 ignorantly doing what they can to destroy Methodism. 
 Men of good taste had rather listen to plain, easy, cha- 
 racteristic speech, though occasionally rude, than to the 
 more verbally correct common-places by which the 
 pulpit is occasionally lowered. Much kindness and 
 Christian love were manifested to him by the Methodist 
 people at Wisbeach. As he had been well trained, and 
 was in every respect competent as a teacher, he was re- 
 commended by Mr. Bacon, one of the Ministers of the Circuit, 
 to commence a school at Long Sutton. The school opened 
 in January, 1816, and succeeded beyond all expectations, 
 financially and otherwise. In this village Mr. Shaw became 
 the prop and stay of the small Methodist Society. 
 
 At this time Mr. Shaw was powerfully impressed with a 
 desire to engage in the Missionary work, and his views 
 were seconded by the Ministers of the Circuit, Messrs. 
 Millman and Bacon. After passing, according to Methodist 
 usage, through the Quarterly and District Meetings, he 
 was proposed as a candidate for the foreign work to the 
 Conference of 1817. The proposal was, on his part, 
 accompanied by a condition, which at that time could not 
 be complied with. Mr. Shaw, having entered into a 
 matrimonial engagement with Miss Ann Maw, stipulated 
 that if sent abroad he should go as a married man, 
 although willing to conform to the rule which very wisely 
 enjoins a single life on all probationers labouring in 
 
 B 2
 
 4 CHAPTER I. 
 
 England. The President, the Eev. J. Gaulter, rather 
 summarily decided against the reception of Mr. Shaw into 
 the Mission work on such conditions. Supposing that hi& 
 name had been placed on the list of reserve for the home 
 work, Mr. Shaw decided upon waiting until after Christmas 
 of that year. The appointed time came. No call to a 
 Circuit reached Long Sutton, and on inquiry being made 
 of the President, he declared that he had no such name as 
 William Shaw on his list. Our fathers, with many excel- 
 lencies, were not all of them exact men of business. Under 
 these circumstances, preparations were made for the 
 marriage, and all the arrangements completed, when at the 
 last minute a letter arrived from a Minister, calling upon 
 him to supply a vacant position, with the sanction of the 
 President and Missionary Secretary. This letter had been 
 delayed ten days, by a strange blunder of a village post- 
 master. Had it arrived sooner, the marriage would have 
 been deferred, and Mr. Shaw would in all probability have 
 remained in the home work. But it was now too late : the 
 marriage took place on the 30th of December, 1817. 
 
 The rule which defers the marriage of Methodist Ministers 
 until the period of probation is passed, has been the 
 subject of much discussion. It is pleaded that no other 
 Ministers are similarly restricted. This is true ; but while 
 Curates in the Establishment and Congregational and 
 Presbyterian Ministers are in this respect free to act as 
 they deem proper, it must be kept in mind that the 
 congregations by which they are supported take upon 
 themselves no responsibility in the matter of the support 
 of a wife and family. The stipend of the Curate, of the 
 Congregational and Presbyterian Minister, is not of necessity
 
 EARLY LIFE. 5 
 
 increased in consequence of the marriage of the new 
 preacher. Neither do the congregations enter into any 
 engagement as to the support and education of their 
 Ministers' children. Such being the case, they have no 
 claim to interfere with the domestic position of their Minister, 
 and pecuniarily it is a matter of indifference to them 
 whether he marry or remain single. It is a point which 
 with them is very properly left to his own prudence or 
 imprudence (in some cases). The Methodist economy is 
 otherwise; it provides, after the period of probation is 
 passed, a home or lodging for a married Minister, with a 
 moderate allowance for each child, and also educational 
 allowance for each child for six years ; hence it is financially 
 necessary to regulate the period of the marriage of its 
 Minister. Considering the youth of the majority of 
 probationers for the ministry, the delay of a few years is on 
 the whole a great advantage, not only to our young 
 Ministers in the home work, but to those who are stationed 
 in the Mission field. And, so far as the churches are 
 concerned, they are decidedly benefited by the rule which 
 saves their Ministers generally from the temptation to form 
 hastily unsuitable connections. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's early marriage would, in the case of most 
 men, have been an imprudent step ; but it must be borne 
 in mind that the bridegroom, though young in years, was 
 never, strictly speaking, a young man, and the bride was 
 some years his senior. Both of them were prudent, 
 steady Christians, constitutionally cheerful, yet with 
 minds free from all the illusions of romance, looking 
 forward complacently to a life of labour, supported by the 
 sense of duty, and by the consciousness that whether that
 
 6 CHAPTER I. 
 
 life was to be spent in the care of a school or in the more 
 important labours of the Christian ministry, they would 
 be working for Christ. It is unnecessary to state that 
 the union was a very happy one. Mrs. Shaw was, in every 
 respect, fully equal to her position as the wife of a man 
 whom, in after years, colonists and colonial governors- 
 delighted to honour. Of Mr. Shaw's religious experience 
 we have little to record. Like many men of deep and 
 eminent piety he was very chary of speaking of himself, 
 though on suitable occasions he never hesitated to testify 
 to the power of Divine grace in his own experience. With 
 him Christianity was a life : he walked with God, and he 
 walked wisely towards them that are without : his uni- 
 formly happy, yet serious, deportment left upon all asso- 
 ciated with him the impression of a noble God-fearing 
 and God-like character. After an intimacy of forty-four 
 years I can unhesitatingly state, that I never heard him 
 speak a hasty, unadvised word, or give expression to any 
 feeling contrary to the royal law of love. 
 
 Mr. Shaw did not remain long in the sphere in which 
 he appeared to have tied himself by his marriage, and 
 consequent inability to enter the home ministry. Mean- 
 while, he continued his acceptable labours as a Local 
 Preacher, and in the course of his journeys to distant 
 localities he had two narrow escapes from serious accidents. 
 His mother had been dead some years, and after Mr. 
 Shaw's marriage the aged father died. Two children 
 were born to the young teacher, and, humanly speaking,. 
 he bade fair to be a fixture at Long Sutton. But events 
 were in progress in reference to a distant part of the world 
 which, in a short time, removed him from his quiet home
 
 EAKLY LIFE. 7 
 
 and narrow sphere, and placed him in the position in 
 which he was, above all men, most qualified " to serve his 
 generation by the will of God." To these events we must 
 now turn our attention. 
 
 The termination of the Continental wars in the year 
 1815, which enabled Great Britain to disband her large 
 military and naval armaments, restoring to other countries 
 a portion of the commerce and carrying trade which she 
 had almost exclusively monopolized during the long- 
 protracted contest, threw out of employment a very large 
 portion of her population, and effected throughout the 
 United Kingdom extensive and almost general distress; 
 for, however triumphant and glorious the close, it was 
 dimmed by intense suffering, which continued with 
 unabated force to the beginning of 1819. 
 
 At this juncture, too, political questions of grave im- 
 portance aggravated the difficulties of the Administration. 
 A loud and deep demand, long pent up, arose for Parlia- 
 mentary Eeform, both from the enlightened and from the less 
 informed classes of society, which the Tory Government of 
 the day resisted. Public meetings began to be held 
 throughout the land, especially in the manufacturing 
 districts, where distress more particularly prevailed, and 
 where designing men, taking advantage of the troubled 
 times, inflamed the minds of the ignorant by exaggerated 
 statements of their sufferings, and of the tyrannical disposi- 
 tion of the Government. Seditious papers and insurrec- 
 tionary speeches led to covert military training ; and an 
 unwise yeomanry interference with a Eeform meeting held 
 at Manchester, resulting in death and injury to several of 
 the populace, gave such an impetus to the spirit of dis-
 
 8 CHAPTEB I. 
 
 affection and irreligion, that demagogues such as " Orator " 
 Hunt, of " Eadical white hat " notoriety, Dr. Watson, and 
 others, with one E. Carlisle, who opened a shop in the 
 leading thoroughfare of the metropolis, whence he vomited 
 forth reprints of republican and blasphemous tendency 
 such as Paine's "Age of Eeason," "Eights of Man," 
 " Toldoth Jeschu," and more modern attacks upon Chris- 
 tianity, found ready and willing votaries to their wild 
 schemes of what they called social regeneration. The 
 ministry unfortunately fanned the destructive flame by its 
 violence towards the friends of the people, who deprecated 
 unconstitutional methods of repression ; while the passing 
 of the celebrated " Six Acts " appeared to fill up the vial 
 of popular indignation. A revolutionary crisis, and the 
 break up of all the time-honoured institutions of the 
 country, seemed impending, and everything betokened a 
 dissolution of society, which the near approach of a much 
 dreaded reign rendered more than probable. 
 
 It was during the height of the hurricane that " on the 
 12th of July, 1819, being the last day of the session, Mr. 
 Vansittart, Chancellor of the Exchequer, made that far- 
 famed speech which was the leading cause of the embarka- 
 tion for the Cape of Good Hope of more than four thou- 
 sand settlers of various descriptions. Lord Sidmouth, in 
 the House of Lords, harangued to the same purpose, and 
 fanned the deluding flame which had been lighted up in 
 the Commons. Mr. Vansittart is reported to have said, 
 ' The Cape is suited to most of the productions both of 
 temperate and warm climates, to the olive, the mulberry, 
 and the vine, as well as to most sorts of culmiferous and 
 leguminous plants; and the persons emigrating to this
 
 EARLY LIFE. 9 
 
 settlement would soon find themselves comfortable.' The 
 considerate and grave character of two ministers, so at 
 war heretofore with everything like fancy or fable, caused 
 their statements to be received with full credit and confi- 
 dence, and they were regarded as a warrant of success. It 
 is strange to relate such to have been the infatuation, that 
 those who disagreed on all other subjects agreed on this 
 alone." On the representation of the minister, the "faithful 
 Commons" at once and unreluctantly voted a50,000, fa 
 cany the emigration into effect. The promulgation of the 
 governmental scheme was received with avidity by the 
 public, and the applications for permission to avail them- 
 selves of the facilities offered were numerous beyond 
 expectation. The number to be accepted was restricted to 
 four thousand souls, and the disappointment of the unsuc- 
 cessful candidates, amounting to above ninety thousand, 
 was bitter beyond conception. The utmost care was 
 employed in the selection of the emigrants. The regula- 
 tions issued from Downing Street required certificates as to 
 character from the Ministers of parishes, or some persons 
 in whom the Government could repose confidence ; offered 
 passages to those persons who, possessing the means, 
 would engage to carry out at the least ten able-bodied 
 individuals above eighteen years of age, with or without 
 families ; that a deposit should be made of W for every 
 family of one man, one woman, and two children ; others 
 beyond this number to pay 5 each, &c. ; so that, notwith- 
 standing an ungenerous sneer of the " Civil Servant " 
 " that it was the wish of the ministry to get rid of the 
 dangerously disaffected," Government had reserved to 
 itself the right, and exerted it successfully, to prevent the
 
 10 CHAPTER I. 
 
 emigration of such useless and ill-assorted characters for 
 its new settlement.* 
 
 In the Government proposal provision was made for the 
 supply of the religious wants of the settlers. Parties of 
 not less than one hundred families, uniting to form a settle- 
 ment, were entitled to take a Minister of whatever denomi- 
 nation they might prefer. To this Minister the Govern- 
 ment guaranteed a salary of 100 per annum. A number 
 of Wesleyan families, chiefly connected with Queen Street 
 Circuit, London, and others, not Wesleyans, united for 
 this purpose, and wisely resolved to take out a Wesleyan 
 Minister with them. They advertised for a Minister, and 
 of course found out that no respectable, accredited preacher 
 would be willing to go out, unless duly sent and in con- 
 nexion with the authorities of the Wesleyan body at home. 
 Mr. Shaw, justly viewing this as a providential opening to 
 a field of labour, missionary in its character, corresponded 
 with Mr. Wynne, the then manager of the affairs of the 
 Queen Street party, and expressed his willingness "to accom- 
 pany them, provided they would consent to receive him in 
 the capacity of a Wesleyan Missionary, appointed by, and 
 in connexion with, the Missionary Committee and Method- 
 ist Conference in England."f The Missionary Committee 
 received the proposal at first with some disfavour. Why, 
 it is difficult to say. Missions to English Colonies had 
 been the rule since the first Missionaries were sent out in 
 1769 to New York, followed in due time by Missionaries to 
 
 * See " History of the Cape Colony." By the Hon. John C. Chase, M.L.C. 
 8vo. Cape Town, 1869. A valuable and fair narrative, which it is much to 
 be regretted has not been reprinted in England. 
 
 t " Story of my Mission." By William Shaw. 12mo. 1869.
 
 EARLY LIFE. 11 
 
 what is now called Eastern British America. To these 
 Missions, and to the West Indian Colonies, Dr. Coke's 
 labours had been mainly confined. After due consider- 
 ation, however, the Committee adopted the Mission, and 
 accepted Mr. Shaw as their Missionary, influenced in a 
 great measure by the advice of the Eev. George Morley, 
 Superintendent of the Queen Street Circuit, who was 
 interested in many of the emigrants, and especially soli- 
 citous for their spiritual welfare. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's own narrative will now furnish the most 
 succinct and interesting record of this critical period of his 
 history ; a period identified with the beginning of a new 
 colony, which introduced into Southern Africa a spiritual, 
 intellectual, and commercial life, of which we see, par- 
 tially, the results in our day. 
 
 Having returned from London after my examination and 
 appointment, I began to prepare for the departure of myself 
 and family. But a letter from the late Eev. Joseph Tay- 
 lor, Resident Secretary at the Mission House, Hatton Garden, 
 hurried us away. He stated that it was requisite we should 
 immediately go to London, as the vessel in which we were to 
 sail would be ready in a few days. On Sunday, November 
 21st, 1819, I preached a parting sermon, to a crowded congre- 
 gation, in the old Methodist cbapel, at Long Sutton, Lincoln- 
 shire ; and our numerous friends gave us many tokens of their 
 regard and good wishes. It would not interest tbe general 
 reader to detail particulars of our most affecting parting with 
 our near relatives and friends. Many tears were shed, and 
 many kind words of sincere love and gratitude were inter- 
 changed. Our greatest trouble, bowever, was, that the only con- 
 dition on which the aged Mrs. Maw would consent to part with
 
 12 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 her daughter was, that we should leave our first-horn child, 
 then an infant, with her and his aunt ; so that if we " perished 
 in the sea, or in the deserts of Africa," they might at least have 
 this relic of a lost family remaining, to whom they might show 
 kindness and love for our sake. We were induced, from various 
 considerations, hut mainly from deep sympathy for our aged 
 mother's feelings, to comply with her request, although this 
 formed the most painful portion of all our parting experience. * 
 
 We finally took leave of my aged father, and other friends, 
 at Wisbeach, on the evening of November 24th ; and, after travel- 
 ling safely all night in the stage-coach, arrived in London next 
 morning, when we proceeded at once to the house of the Eev. 
 George Morley, from whom, and his kind-hearted and excellent 
 wife, we received the most affectionate and considerate atten- 
 tions during our residence in London. 
 
 I had only arrived in time for my Ordination, which had been 
 fixed to be held that very evening, November 25th, 1819, in 
 St. George's Chapel in the East, together with that of the Eev. 
 Titus Close, a Missionary, just about to proceed to Madras. 
 This Ordination Service had an unusual interest attached to it, 
 as a considerable number of the intended settlers, with their 
 friends, from various parts of London, attended to witness my 
 dedication to the office of the Ministry for their future benefit. 
 The Ministers engaged in the service were, the Eev. Messrs. 
 Charles Atmore, Samuel Taylor, George Morley, Joseph Tay- 
 lor, and Eichard Watson. The Eev. G. Morley addressed the 
 people, specially referring to those about to emigrate ; and the 
 Eev. E. Watson delivered the charge to the two young Minis- 
 ters. It was a solemn service. I had never witnessed a Wes- 
 leyan Ordination, and scarcely knew what was expected from 
 me on the occasion. When called upon, however, I spake in 
 
 * This child is now the Eev. William Maw Shaw, M.A., Vicar of Yealand- 
 Conyers ; who has recently published a sermon on " New Testament Abso- 
 lution," which is worthy of the name he bears.
 
 EARLY LIFE. 
 
 the simplicity of my heart, reciting an outline of the circum- 
 stances connected with my early conversion to God, and the 
 reasons \vhich induced me to believe that I was moved hy the 
 Holy Ghost " to take upon me the office, duties, and responsi- 
 bilities of a Christian Missionary." 
 
 The Government functionaries who had the management of 
 the embarcation of the settlers, made an unexpected alteration 
 in the arrangements, and the party to which I was attached 
 was not to sail in the vessel originally designed. This 
 occasioned some delay, and meantime a severe frost set in, by 
 which the Thames was frozen over, and we were consequently 
 detained in London till February, 1820. Although this was 
 very trying to many of the people, and a serious injury to all 
 those whose finances were limited ; yet to me it afforded consi- 
 derable advantage, inasmuch as it gave me an opportunity of 
 becoming personally acquainted with some of the leading 
 Methodist Ministers at that time in London, and of hearing 
 sermons preached by the Bev. Joseph Benson, Dr. Adam Clarke, 
 the Eev. Jabez Bunting, the Eev. E. Watson, and others. At 
 that period, alas ! there was no Theological Institution, in 
 which Candidates for our Ministry and Missionary work could 
 cecure a preparatory training ; and, consequently, I did not en- 
 joy the inestimable benefit which, by the wiser arrangement of 
 subsequent date, has been conferred on the gifted rising race of 
 our Ministers. It was, however, some compensation for this 
 disadvantage, that for a season I had opportunities of studying 
 some of the best pulpit models among the Wesley an body of that 
 period, and of receiving many private advices, as to my reading 
 and general deportment, from men who were not only competent 
 to afford me this assi stance, but generously took the trouble to do so. 
 
 The last time I was privileged to hear the Eev. Joseph Ben- 
 son preach, was on a Sunday in the month of January, 1820. 
 He had taken an appointment for the forenoon and evening of 
 that day at the Lambeth Chapel : being, however, in very ad
 
 14 CHAPTER I. 
 
 vanced age and rapidly declining health, he had requested the 
 Eev. Joseph Taylor, the Eesident Secretary at the Mission 
 House, to send one of the young preachers connected with the 
 Mission department to assist him, should he find it requisite 
 to avail himself of such help. I was fixed upon for this duty, 
 and under Mr. Taylor's directions proceeded to the Lambeth 
 Chapel, where I arrived some time before the service was to 
 begin, in order to be at Mr. Benson's disposal. After this 
 venerable man of God entered the vestry, he said to me, "Are 
 you the young man sent from the Mission House to help me?" 
 "Yes, Sir; but I trust you feel yourself able to preach. I 
 would much rather sit and hear you, than stand before the con- 
 gregation of this chapel to preach for you." He smiled, and 
 said, " Well, I mean to preach this morning; and before Heave 
 the pulpit I shall decide whether it will be necessary for you 
 to preach for me in the evening or not." Very much relieved 
 in my mind as to the forenoon service, I entered the chapel, 
 and, after the usual devotional services, Mr. Benson announced 
 for his text Eomans xv. 4. After a clear exposition of the 
 passage, such as might have been expected from this able com- 
 mentator on the Holy Scriptures, he gradually warmed with 
 his theme, and dwelt on the authority, fulness, and sufficiency 
 of the Word of God, together with its hope-inspiring and soul- 
 comforting truths, in such a manner as to rivet the attention of 
 a large congregation for nearly an hour. I can never forget 
 the earnestness and energy of his manner: his words flowed 
 fluently, and yet it seemed to me that he felt language to be in- 
 adequate to utter all his great conceptions, and to express all 
 his intense anxiety that every hearer might receive the benefit. 
 In fact, this noble pulpit effort quite exhausted his feeble frame, 
 and he announced that he would not be able to preach in the 
 evening ; but with a view of lessening in some degree the disap- 
 pointment to the congregation, and at the same time most kindly
 
 EAELY LIFE. 15 
 
 striving to secure for me an attendance at the evening service, 
 he informed them that "Mr. Shaw, who was going out as 
 Missionary to the English settlers about to embark for South 
 Africa, would occupy the pulpit in his place." In his conclud- 
 ing prayer he offered most fervent supplications for me and the 
 settlers, that God would have us in His holy keeping, and bless 
 us, and make us a blessing. The responses of some in the con- 
 gregation, with other unmistakeable symptoms, showed that the 
 sympathies of the people were drawn forth by the petitions of 
 the Minister. To me it was a season of deep solemnity. I 
 called it to remembrance to my great comfort on many occasions 
 afterwards, especially in times of unusual difficulty. I ever 
 regarded it as a great privilege to have had the blended prayers 
 of such a man and such a congregation specially offered to God 
 on my behalf, and on behalf of the great work to which I had 
 been already "set apart by the laying on of the hands of 
 the Presbytery." Surely the " effectual fervent prayer of a 
 righteous man availeth much." 
 
 To the eminently wise and godly counsels of the Eev. George 
 Morley and Eev. J. Bunting, (afterwards the venerable Dr. 
 Bunting,) I am especially indebted. The remembrance of their 
 advices in subsequent years often enabled me to steer a steady 
 course, when I should otherwise, in all probability, have missed 
 my way without a pilot, in an unknown ocean, abounding with 
 dangers seen and unseen. No doubt, on the review, my first 
 grateful homage and gratitude are due to Him "whose I am, 
 and whom I serve," and "from whom all holy desires, all good 
 counsels, and just works, do proceed ; " yet I cannot overlook, 
 in this recital, my deep obligations to those who were the 
 instruments in His hand of rendering me (and may I not say 
 the Mission through me ?) such invaluable service. 
 
 Among the pleasing reminiscences of my sojourn in London 
 is my introduction to the late Joseph Butterworth, Esq., M.P.
 
 16 CHAPTER I. 
 
 He was at that time one of the General Treasurers of the Wesleyan 
 Missionary Society; and, being in the habit of attending the 
 Great Queen Street Chapel, he knew several of the settlers who 
 were going out with me, and was much interested in their welfare. 
 Besides showing me much personal kindness, he also gave me 
 some most valuable advices, which I found of great service when 
 in subsequent years I was obliged by circumstances to enter 
 into frequent correspondence with Government officials. At a 
 Missionary Meeting held in Great Queen Street Chapel on the 
 27th of January, 1820, Mr. Butterworth occupied the chair, and 
 on that occasion he introduced me to Lieutenant Vicars, father 
 of the late Captain Hedley Vicars, whose most interesting and 
 edifying Memoir has recently been so extensively read. This 
 gentleman was at that time on a visit to Mr. Butterworth, in 
 London. He had been aroused to earnestness and decision in 
 religion under the ministry of one of our Missionaries in New- 
 foundland; and I well remember the effect produced by his 
 simple but truly Christian address in favour of Methodist 
 Missions. 
 
 Most of the settlers with whom I was connected embarked 
 early in January, at Deptford, on board the ships " Aurora and 
 "Brilliant," which were to convey the party to Algoa Bay : and 
 I made frequent visits to preach to them on board. It was 
 gratifying to see the kind pastoral feeling which was displayed 
 towards them by some of the London Ministers. The Eev. 
 George Morley, Eev. Joseph Sutcliffe, and other Wesleyan 
 Ministers, visited them and preached to them, offering them 
 both advice and consolation suited to their circumstances ; and 
 as several of the Baptist families belonged to the Eagle Street 
 Chapel, the late Eev. W. Ivimey, the well-known Minister of 
 that place of worship, also took an affectionate leave of them, 
 preaching a most appropriate discourse on the occasion. The 
 text selected by the Eev. Joseph Sutcliffe, when he preached on
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY. 17 
 
 the deck of the "Aurora," \vith a numerous company of the 
 settlers before him, was, "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, 
 Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from 
 thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee : and I 
 will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make 
 thy name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing." (Gen. xii. 1, 2.) 
 The short discourse, delivered in his inimitably quiet and placid 
 manner, by this saintly Minister, produced a deep impression. 
 Much of this was no doubt due to the strikingly appropriate 
 text, and the easy style in which it was made to furnish lessons 
 suited to the circumstances of the people ; but he was a Minister 
 greatly beloved, and there was ever much unction in his 
 discourses. Even then he was venerable in appearance, although 
 he did not enter into the heavenly rest till thirty-seven years 
 afterwards, having died on the 14th of May, 1856, at the 
 patriarchal age of ninety-four years. 
 
 Early in February, my wife and I embarked with our infant 
 child, and took possession of the small berth that was allotted 
 to us. In those days the best modes of fitting up emigrant 
 ships had not been devised ; and although much attention had 
 been given by the Government officials at Deptford to make all 
 things as convenient as possible, yet we were, perhaps unavoid- 
 ably, much crowded. The Missionary Committee would have 
 made a private arrangement with the master of the vessel, to 
 provide for us on the passage; but we declined this, on the 
 principle that, as we were going with the settlers, we would 
 prefer, during the voyage, to fare just as they would have to do. 
 Although his resolution cost us some severe privations while on 
 the voyage, seeing that settlers in emigrant ships were not at 
 that period so well provided for as in these days, yet we never 
 regretted that we had adopted it, as it showed the people that 
 we meant to identify ourselves with them ; and by this means 
 also the whole passage-money, which the Society would other - 
 
 c
 
 18 CHAPTER I. 
 
 wise have had to pay, was saved. Having embarked, and 
 endeavoured to make our berth as comfortable as possible, we 
 then awaited the day when the anchor was to be heaved, and 
 we should proceed to our far distant destination. 
 
 On Sunday forenoon, the 6th of February, 1820, I had read 
 prayers and preached on the deck of the ' ' Aurora. " The settlers 
 who were going out in this vessel and the "Brilliant " which 
 was lying alongside of her at Deptford had all been some time 
 embarked. There was therefore a full and rather large attendance 
 at public worship. As soon as service was concluded, the pilot 
 announced that, all being now ready, and wind and tide favour- 
 able, we should set sail immediately after dinner. Accordingly, 
 about two o'clock, the anchor was weighed, and the "Aurora" 
 moved off, and we soon began to float down the river. The day 
 was clear and fine ; and I well remember the people stood 
 around me on deck, while I gave out Dr. Watts's cheerful and 
 encouraging hymn from the seventeenth page of the Wesleyan 
 Hymn Book. As we were passing the Eoyal Hospital of 
 Greenwich, although tears were streaming down many cheeks 
 at the time, they were singing in full chorus, while many of 
 the veteran tars of old England were looking at us with evident 
 surprise and interest, 
 
 " The God that rules on high, 
 
 That all the earth surveys, 
 That rides upon the stormy sky, 
 
 And calms the roaring seas ; 
 This awful God is ours, 
 
 Our Father and our Love ; 
 He will send down His heavenly powers, 
 
 To carry us above." 
 
 It would be difficult to describe the various and coriflicting 
 emotions which were passing through the minds of the large 
 group of men, women, and children, that crowded the deck of
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY. 19 
 
 the " Aurora " at this time. Many wept to think that they were 
 leaving dear old England and the much-loved friends from 
 whom they had just parted, without any prospect of returning 
 to their native country. They were going to a land of which 
 none of them had any knowledge whatever; but all rejoiced in 
 a cheerful hope that at length, after many wearisome delays, 
 they were on their way to a region in which, under the blessing 
 of Divine Providence, they would be enable to found new and 
 happy homes for themselves and their children. 
 
 We came to an anchor in the evening, a little below Gravesend, 
 where we were detained more than a week, waiting a favourable 
 change in the wind ; during which I went ashore, and had an 
 opportunity of preaching in our chapel. We heaved anchor 
 again on the 15th of February; and, after passing down the 
 Channel, finally lost sight of our native shores. 
 
 The occurrences on board of ship during a passage of ten 
 weeks from the Downs to the Cape, need not be recited in detail. 
 We had a remarkably tine passage. The weather was generally 
 most agreeable, with occasional variations of squalls and stiff 
 breezes, producing the usual discomforts of a rolh'ng vessel, 
 which, in the case of a crowded emigrant ship, invariably 
 occasions adventures both ludicrous and dangerous. Several 
 children were born, and some died, on the passage. But of 
 the adults only one was numbered among the dead, a fine 
 young married woman, who had embarked in bad health. She 
 was a truly pious and devoted person, and had been connected 
 with the Society at the Hinde Street Chapel, London. While 
 I read the funeral service, and her remains were lowered in the 
 usual manner over the gangway into the ocean, all felt that it 
 was in "sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life," at 
 that period when "the greedy sea shall its dead restore." 
 
 At the commencement, I established regular worship as 
 follows: on the Lord's day forenoon, we assembled on the deck 
 
 c 2
 
 20 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 of the vessel ; the capstan was rigged out with flags, and con- 
 stituted the pulpit, from whence I read the Liturgy, and preached; 
 the people joining in singing the hymns in an edifying manner. 
 In the evening I usually preached between decks. We had also 
 domestic worship regularly, on the morning and evening of each 
 day, reading the Scriptures, singing a hymn, and prayer, both 
 in the cabin and also between decks, where the greater part 
 of the settlers were accommodated. I attended each place 
 alternately; and, in my absence from either, proper persons 
 were appointed to conduct the worship. It was very rarely 
 indeed these arrangements were interfered with ; and they 
 proved a great source of comfort to the people, and I have no 
 doubt were the chief means of preserving the general good 
 feeling and harmony which prevailed, with very slight excep- 
 tions, to the end of the passage. No fatal accidents occurred : 
 but on two occasions a sailor fell overboard. In the first 
 instance, the man happened to have a rope in his hand, to which 
 he clung with amazing tenacity till relieved from his perilous 
 situation, affording me a good illustration for a text, on which 
 I subsequently preached : " Seeing then that we have a High 
 Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, 
 let us hold fast our profession." If Christians would always 
 "hold fast" their principles with as firm a grasp in every time 
 of spiritual danger, as the poor sailor held on by the rope for 
 his life, they might constantly sing, 
 
 "As far from danger as from fear, 
 While Love, Almighty Love, is near." 
 
 In the course of our passage we called at Madeira, but only 
 remained a few hours there. We also saw the Peak of Teneriffe; 
 and on the south of the Line, on the opposite side of the 
 Atlantic, we passed near the Martin Vaz Eocks. We sighted 
 the Cape of Good Hope on Monday, the first of May, and during 
 the whole of that day were employed in approaching and beating
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAT. 
 
 21 
 
 into False Bay : during the night we anchored in Simon's Bay. 
 I did not fail to remember that on this day the Wesleyan 
 Missionary Meeting was being held in London, and hoped that 
 theprayers of thousands then ascending on behalf of Missionaries 
 would be answered on us just entering our field of labour, as 
 also on all others, in " showers of blessings." I landed on 
 the jetty at Simon's Town, on Tuesday morning, the second of 
 May, and on the next day proceeded to Cape Town. 
 
 On my arrival at the Cape, I met the Kev. E. Edwards, who 
 had just commenced preaching in this place, having, with the 
 aid of some pious soldiers and others, fitted up a wine store as 
 a temporary place of worship. I had the pleasure of commencing 
 my public ministry in South Africa by preaching in this building 
 on Thursday evening, the fourth of May, to a small congregation 
 of civilians and soldiers, on Acts xi. 23 : " Who, when he came, 
 and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them 
 all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the 
 Lord." 
 
 "While in Cape Town, the acting Governor, Sir Eufane 
 Shawe Donkin, being away on the frontier, I called on the 
 Colonial Secretary, and requested information as to the channel 
 through which I was to derive the promised means of support 
 from the Government, after my arrival in the new settlement. 
 But the Secretary who I afterwards learned was a Eoman 
 Catholic gentleman, and held this high office before the Belief 
 Bill was passed either knew nothing, or affected to know 
 nothing, of my claim on the Government. He said, " All that 
 can have been promised to you is toleration. You will be 
 permitted to exercise your ministers! functions ; " and that he 
 represented as rather a concession to the peculiar circumstances 
 under which the British settlers had come to the country. This 
 induced me to show Colonel B. a letter written by Mr. Goulburn, 
 at that time Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which
 
 22 CHAPTER I. 
 
 the obligation of the Cape Government to "provide for" my 
 "decent maintenance" was distinctly stated. The Secretary's 
 tone towards me was now suddenly changed; and at length 
 he pleasantly bowed me out, saying that, on my arrival at 
 my destination, I could address the Government on the 
 subject. 
 
 When the Cape Colony capitulated to the British troops in 
 the year 1806, it was stipulated that the Dutch Keformed 
 Church should retain its pre-eminence and peculiar privileges ; 
 and as, by long standing regulations, no Ministers were per- 
 mitted to exercise their functions in the Colony, among the 
 white or so called Christian inhabitants, excepting those 
 who were duly authorized by the authorities of the Dutch 
 Church, the English Governors of the Colony, with a strong 
 desire to conciliate the Dutch inhabitants, interpreted the 
 terms of capitulation so rigidly as to refuse permission to other 
 Ministers to exercise their functions, excepting as Missionaries 
 among the black and coloured races. The Lutherans had, 
 indeed, by special permission long before, established their 
 form of worship in Cape Town ; but this was probably only 
 because many officers and soldiers of the army which had 
 formerly served under the Dutch Government were Germans, 
 and several influential resident families were also members of 
 the Lutheran Church. The military and naval Chaplains of 
 the English Church, with the Chaplain for the Governor and 
 other English gentlemen of the civil service, could not be 
 decently objected to ; and as part of the British army consisted 
 of some Scottish regiments, a Missionary of the London 
 Missionary Society was tolerated in the capacity of the Scotch 
 Presbyterian Minister. 
 
 When, however, the Eev. J. M'Kenny was appointed by the 
 Methodist Conference to Cape Town in the year 1813, he was 
 not permitted to discharge his ministerial duties, although he
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY. 23 
 
 had been sent out at the earnest solicitation of a large number 
 of the soldiers connected with the British army then serving at 
 the Cape. It was intended by the Missionary Committee that 
 while he should preach to the soldiers, and such of the white 
 inhabitants, English or Dutch, as might be willing to attend 
 his ministry, he was also especially to turn his attention to the 
 large slave population, who at that time greatly needed religious 
 instruction, and were being rapidly proselyted by the resident 
 native Mohammedan priests. But it seems that the civil and 
 ecclesiastical authorities thought that the slaves had better 
 become believers in the false Prophet, than that the prejudices 
 of some of the adherents of the dominant Dutch Church should 
 be shocked ! Mr. M'Kenny, finding that he was not likely to 
 obtain permission to preach, requested to be removed to Ceylon. 
 This request was complied with ; but the Methodist soldiers at 
 the Cape reiterated their request for the services of a Pastor, 
 and the Wesleyan Missionary Committee, not at any time easily 
 intimidated by opposition, appointed the Eev. Barnabas Shaw 
 his successor. 
 
 On his arrival the same objection to grant him leave to 
 preach was urged by the Governor ; but Mr. Shaw nevertheless 
 very properly commenced religious services in a private house, 
 which were attended by some of the soldiers ; and when, under 
 the promptings of a sense of duty, he afterwards proceeded on 
 a Mission among the Namaquas in the interior, Mr. Edwards, 
 who had been sent from England to aid him in the Mission, 
 was subsequently induced, under Mr. Shaw's direction, in 1820, 
 to take the step of fitting up a temporary place of worship, 
 having previously ascertained, through some private friends, 
 that, while he must expect no formal permission by authority, 
 yet his doing so would be winked at, as the preaching in a 
 private room had already been for some time past. 
 
 The coming of the British settlers, however, caused a great
 
 24 CHAPTER I. 
 
 change. It is due to the Tory Government of Lord Liverpool 
 to say, that without proclaiming any order in council, or in 
 any other formal manner announcing that the freedom of reli- 
 gious worship was to be, henceforth, the right of all the inhabit- 
 ants of the Colony, the liberal arrangement of Earl Bathurst, 
 then Secretary of State for the Colonies, whereby aid was offered 
 towards the support of a Minister for each party of one hundred 
 settlers, without respect of religious denomination, showed that, 
 practically, the question of religious toleration in the Colony of 
 the Cape was settled. As I had long before received and put 
 faith in the dictum of an eminent English lawyer, that " the 
 Toleration Act travels with the British flag," I resolved to 
 regard the matter in this point of view ; and hence I never 
 applied for any licence or permission from any functionary 
 whatever, but at once proceeded to discharge all public duties 
 wherever I met with any class of people willing to receive me 
 in the capacity of a Minister. I preached, and celebrated the 
 services for marriages, baptisms, and funerals, never allowing 
 it to be supposed that I considered any man in a British 
 Colony had any right to interfere with my religious liberty as 
 a free-born Englishman. 
 
 On one occasion a gentleman high in office asked me by what 
 "authority" I did these things; and I simply showed him my 
 certificate of ordination, and of the usual oaths required by the 
 Act of Toleration, which I had taken before the Lord Mayor of 
 London. At another time the acting Colonial Secretary inti- 
 mated that the Government conceived I should confine my 
 labours to the locality where the settlers resided for whom I 
 was the recognised Minister ; but as I had no mind that the 
 Government should assume the authority to direct my minis- 
 terial conduct, I quietly proceeded in my own way, without 
 taking the slightest notice of this intimation ; and I heard no 
 more about it.
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY. 25 
 
 On the 5th of May, Mr. Edwards, from whom I had received 
 the most affectionate attentions, rode with me on horseback 
 from Cape Town to Simon's Town, and going on board preached 
 to the people in the evening. On Sunday, the 7th, after con- 
 ducting Divine worship on deck as usual, and trying to instruct 
 and encourage the people by preaching on the words, "A good 
 hope," I went ashore, and preached in a private dwelling- 
 house, where a few soldiers were in the habit of assembling 
 for prayer. A small congregation of about thirty persons were 
 present, and appeared to enjoy the opportunity. A message 
 was subsequently sent to me on board the "Aurora," by the 
 resident Clergyman, stating that I had no right to hold reli- 
 gious services in Simon's Town ; and if I presumed to do so 
 again, it was hinted that certain disagreeable consequences to 
 myself would inevitably follow. Had we been detained longer 
 in the Bay, there is little doubt but that I should have braved 
 this petty threat, and again preached to the poor people, who 
 were anxious to hear the Gospel. On the 10th, however, we 
 weighed anchor once more, and proceeded in company with the 
 " Brilliant," which had the remainder of our party on board, 
 besides some Scottish families under Mr. Pringle. This ami- 
 able and Christian gentleman afterwards became Secretary of 
 the Anti-Slavery Society in England, and is well known as a 
 lyrical poet of first-rate gifts, whose poetical compositions have 
 served to render familiar to English readers many of the local- 
 ities and frequently recurring scenes of Southern Africa. 
 
 The Coast was not at that time very well known to our 
 skippers ; but the various vessels, under the protection of Di- 
 vine Providence, all arrived safely, and we anchored in Algoa 
 Bay on Monday, the 15th of May, being exactly three months 
 from the day on which we left Gravesend. It was night when 
 we reached the anchorage ; and our first engagement, after the 
 noise and confusion consequent on casting anchor, and making
 
 26 CHAPTER I. 
 
 the ship snug and trim, was to assemble between the decks, 
 and hold a meeting to offer solemn thanksgiving to Almighty 
 God for all the mercies of our passage out, and to implore His 
 blessing on our entrance into the country now before us. 
 
 Next morning, as soon as the day dawned, most of the people 
 came on deck to view the land of their future residence. As 
 the sun rose over the wide expanse of ocean towards the east, 
 and gilded with his light the hills and shores of the Bay towards 
 the west and north, a gloom gradually spread itself over the 
 countenances of the people. As far as the eye could sweep, 
 from the south-west to the north-east, the margin of the sea 
 appeared to be one continued range of low white sand hills : 
 wherever any breach in these hills afforded a peep into the 
 country immediately behind this fringe of sand, the ground 
 seemed sterile, and the bushes stunted. Immediately above 
 the landing-place, the land rose abruptly into hills of consider- 
 able elevation, which had a craggy and stony appearance, and 
 were relieved by very little verdure. Two or three whitewashed 
 and thatched cottages, and Fort Frederick, a small fortification 
 crowning the height, and by its few cannon commanding the 
 anchorage, were all that arrested the eye in the first view of 
 Algoa Bay; with the exception of the tents of the British 
 settlers, many of whom had already disembarked, and formed 
 a camp half a mile to the right of the landing-place. The 
 scene was at once dull and disappointing. It produced a very 
 discouraging effect on the minds of the people, not a few of 
 whom began to contrast this waste wilderness with the beautiful 
 shores of Old England, and to express fears that they had 
 foolishly allowed themselves to be lured away by false repre- 
 sentations, to a country which seemed to offer no promise of 
 reward to its cultivators. However, the needful preparations 
 for landing, and the anxiety to be relieved from the discomforts 
 and monotony of their long confinement on board of ship,
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY. 27 
 
 changed the current of their thoughts, and thereby afforded 
 some relief to their gloomy forebodings. 
 
 The landing was not unaccompanied by difficulty or danger f 
 but the Government had considerately sent round from the 
 Cape one of His Majesty's frigates, and its commander took 
 charge of the debarcation of the settlers. A very heavy surf 
 generally breaks on the shore of this bay ; hence boats of the 
 ordinary description can rarely land their passengers, but flat- 
 bottomed boats, of a peculiar construction, and worked by 
 warps, receive the passengers on the outside of the surf, who 
 are thus conveyed safely over, or as sometimes happens through, 
 the successive surf rollers. When the boat is warped as far as 
 the depth of the water will allow, the passengers, watching the 
 opportunity of a receding wave, jump out, or are carried out 
 on the shoulders of men, to the sandy beach beyond the reach 
 of the sea. I believe this is a different method to that pursued 
 in a similar case at Madras ; but it is, probably, less dangerous. 
 At all events, under the blessing of Divine Providence, such was 
 the care of the English sailors and Scottish soldiers who aided 
 in the working of the boats, that no serious accident occurred, 
 in the landing of the whole body of the settlers, with their 
 wives and children, and large amount of goods of various, 
 descriptions. It is surprising that, although there has been 
 a good deal of improvement in the construction of these surf 
 boats, and the manner of working them, yet the above con- 
 tinued to be the mode in which passengers and goods were 
 usually landed, up to the time of my departure from the 
 country in 1856. 
 
 As several vessels had arrived before us, we had to await our 
 turn ; and, consequently, the whole party were not landed till 
 some days had elapsed. In the interval I went on shore ; and 
 after rambling with others some hours in a most unsatisfactory 
 inspection of the neighbourhood, I was unable to get on board
 
 28 CHAPTER I. 
 
 again in the evening, and was obliged to take up my quarters 
 in a miserable place used as a canteen or liquor shop. Fearing 
 to lie down on the earthen floor, I crept into the space between 
 two large barrels, the broader parts of which were in juxta- 
 position, and thus afforded me a rude sort of couch, on which 
 I essayed to take my first night's rest in this part of Africa, 
 obtaining as much sleep as my uncomfortable bedstead, and 
 the noisy carousals of a drinking party at the other end of the 
 wretched building, would allow. 
 
 By the 25th of May, the whole of our party were safely 
 landed, and encamped with the other settlers, awaiting the 
 arrival of waggons, which were to convey them to the district 
 of Albany, where the settlements were to be established, at a 
 distance from Algoa Bay of from eighty to one hundred and 
 twenty miles. While here, having obtained a Hottentot guide, 
 I went on a visit to Bethelsdorp, and received a most kind and 
 Christianlike welcome from the Eev. George Barker. This 
 Station was founded by the Eev. Dr. Vanderkemp, one of the 
 first Missionaries of the London Missionary Society in Southern 
 Africa. 
 
 On Sunday, the 28th of May, I preached my first sermon in 
 what is now called the Eastern Province of the colony. I took 
 my stand close to some pyramidical stones which in a singular 
 manner rose above the surface of the ground to a considerable 
 height, and stood close to the road within a short distance of 
 the settlers' camp. It is remarkable that the Wesleyan Chapel 
 now stands in the main street of Port Elizabeth, very near the 
 spot, which is well remembered, although the stones have long 
 since been removed. With reference to God's goodness to us 
 thus far, I preached from "Ebenezer," the Stone of Help: 
 41 Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." (1 Sam. vii. 12.) In the 
 afternoon I preached again on the same spot, endeavouring to 
 improve the melancholy event of the death of one of the settlers
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY. 29 
 
 came out in the "Brilliant." He had been a Local 
 Preacher in London, and died after his arrival in port ; and I 
 was thus called upon immediately to perform the sad office of 
 reading the funeral service over one of my charge. He was 
 interred in the burial-ground, which had already been selected 
 for the interment of certain sailors, soldiers, and others, who 
 had been drowned, or had died at this place. It has become 
 the principal burial-ground of the town. A considerable 
 number of the settlers attended these services. I preached 
 twice during the week ; and on the following Sunday a part of 
 the commissariat store was prepared for Divine service, and I 
 conducted Divine worship therein. There was a considerable 
 congregation of settlers and soldiers. Many of the latter told 
 me they had not heard a sermon for three or four years pre- 
 viously to my arrival in the Bay. During this Lord's day I 
 also celebrated the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and was- 
 joined therein by a goodly company of serious communicants. 
 
 When the Government issued proposals in England for this 
 emigration, one of the regulations was, that each head of a 
 family, or other settler, who was to be entitled to one hundred 
 acres of land, should deposit ten pounds, to be repaid through 
 the head of the party after arrival in the Colony. Some of 
 the parties consisted of individuals whose head .or leader 
 advanced the whole deposit-money for himself and ten or fifteen 
 other settlers, who were articled under various kinds of agree- 
 ment to the head of the party, to reside with and to assist him, 
 he being entitled to the whole of the land allotted for each 
 of the settlers who accompanied him. But the greater num- 
 ber, including the whole of the party with which I was con- 
 nected, paid their own deposit- money, and each man had a 
 claim for land in his own right ; while the head of the party 
 (Mr. Sephton) was simply elected by themselves as their repre- 
 sentative, for convenient transaction of business with the
 
 30 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Government functionaries, in all affairs involving the public 
 interests of the whole. 
 
 The Home Government had sent out to Algoa Bay a good 
 supply of agricultural implements, and other useful utensils, 
 which the settlers were allowed to purchase, if they thought 
 fit, on account of a portion of their deposit-money. And as 
 it was impossible that they could provide themselves with the 
 means of transit to the district of Albany, the colonial 
 authorities, with great consideration, caused the Dutch farmers 
 from various parts of the Colony to come with their waggons 
 and convey them thither, in the same manner, and for the 
 same rates of remuneration, as had been usual in the trans- 
 port of troops. The Commissariat was also employed to pro- 
 vide rations for the settlers on a fixed scale, until it would 
 be practicable for them to raise crops. Towards payment of 
 the expenses incurred hereby, one-third of the deposit-money 
 was ultimately detained by the Government, who had from 
 necessity disbursed a much larger amount than that proportion 
 of the money originally deposited would refund. Mistakes and 
 blunders were, of course, committed by the authorities ; but 
 no candid persons among the settlers will, on the review, hesi- 
 tate to speak with gratitude of the kind and considerate arrange- 
 ments made by the Government on their behalf. 
 
 Having awaited our turn, at length, on Monday, the 5th of 
 June, I loaded the two wagons assigned me ; and, in company 
 with many other settlers, we started on our journey up the 
 country. The cavalcade, as it wound along the so-called road, 
 and ascended the heights which intersected the path at various 
 parts of our course, had a very picturesque appearance. The 
 African wagons, covered with white sail-cloth tilts, each drawn 
 by twelve or fourteen oxen, urged on by stalwart Dutch Colonists 
 in rather primitive attire, or by tawny Hottentots with hardly 
 any attire at all, the noise occasioned by the incessant cracking
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY. 31 
 
 of their huge whips, and the unintelligible jargon of the leaders 
 and drivers, when urging the oxen, or while talking with each 
 other, all combined to produce in our unsophisticated English 
 minds wonder and amusement. In some parts, however, the 
 roads were rough and rocky ; and from our inexperience in the 
 African mode of packing a wagon, so as to make it comfortable, 
 we were dreadfully jolted, and in general the men preferred walk- 
 ing; but the women and children suffered a good deal from 
 knocks and contusions on head and shoulders, and other parts 
 of the body. 
 
 In some places it was highly dangerous to remain in the 
 wagon, as the road was often uneven and precipitous, and the 
 wagons were not unfrequently overturned. On one occasion I was 
 sitting in the wagon with my wife and child, as we approached 
 the bank of the Bushman's Eiver, at which there was at that 
 time a deep and almost precipitous descent towards the drift or 
 ford. Being seated in the back part of the wagon, which 
 was rather an English than a colonial arrangement, we could 
 not see anything in front. The Dutch driver, finding we did 
 not descend, came behind the wagon, and tried to make us un- 
 derstand that it was desirable to do so. He had learned a few 
 words of English from the British soldiers, and, putting his 
 hands to each side of his face, and giving a very expressive 
 twist of his head, he exclaimed, "Break neck." This was 
 sufficiently explicit to cause our immediate descent from the 
 wagon, which forthwith went off with such a noise and run, 
 as made us tremble for our goods, and thankful that we were 
 no longer in the vehicle ourselves. 
 
 We were first taken to Eeed Fontein, near the western banks 
 of the Kowie Eiver, where it was understood the party was to 
 be located ; but after a short time it was ascertained that we 
 had been placed on lands designed for another body of settlers ! 
 This was felt to be very vexatious, but there was no remedy ;
 
 32 CHAPTER I. 
 
 and wagons were sent to remove us to another location , 
 some twenty-five miles distant, and which we had already 
 passed on our journey up the country. We arrived at our 
 final destination on the 18th of July, 1820. Here we were 
 immediately joined by the bulk of our party from Algoa Bay. 
 It is not easy to describe our feelings at the moment when we 
 arrived. Our Dutch wagon-driver intimating that we had at 
 length reached our proper location, we took our boxes out of 
 the wagon, and placed them on the ground ; he bade us 
 goeden dag, or farewell, cracked his long whip, and drove away, 
 leaving us to our reflections. My wife sat down on one box, 
 and I on another. The beautiful blue sky was above us, and 
 the green grass beneath our feet. We looked at each other for 
 a few moments, indulged in some reflections, and, perhaps, 
 exchanged a few sentences ; but it was no time for sentiment, 
 and hence we were soon engaged in pitching our tent ; and 
 when that was accomplished, we removed into it our trunks, 
 bedding, &c. All the other settlers who had arrived with us 
 were similarly occupied, and, in a comparatively short time, the 
 somewhat extensive valley of that part of the Assagaay Bosch 
 Eiver, which was to be the site of our future village, presented 
 a lively and picturesque appearance. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's admirable narrative has conducted us to the 
 final settlement of the QUEEN STEEET party, afterwards 
 generally known as the SALEM party. He will soon tell 
 us of their trials and difficulties, and how bravely they 
 were borne and overcome. 
 
 To young people, or to those in the prime of life, blessed 
 with vigorous bodies and sanguine dispositions, and unen- 
 cumbered by family cares, I can imagine nothing more 
 delightful than to engage in the noble enterprise of founding
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAT. 83 
 
 a new colony, especially in such climates as South Africa, 
 Australia, and New Zealand. The undertaking makes and 
 educates the men and women engaged in it. The first 
 settlers in Albany (the Eastern Province) were, to begin 
 with, a fair specimen of the average worth of the middle 
 and lower classes of English society. Those of them who 
 lived to see the completion of their great undertaking felt 
 themselves, and were acknowledged by others, to be a 
 class altogether different from men whose faculties had 
 not been tried and drawn out by similar experiences. A 
 more thoroughly practical, sensible, manly, and in all 
 respects respectable population than that which formed the 
 nucleus of the British colony in South Eastern Africa I never 
 heard or read of, though no doubt the Puritan settlers in 
 New England, more than two hundred years ago, and the 
 population of New Plymouth, (Taranaki,) New Zealand, in 
 1853, may have been somewhat equal to them. 
 
 It may not be amiss, before we begin with the history of 
 the settlement, to give another picture of the landing and 
 location of a distinct body of settlers, as related by the 
 Hon. J. C. Chase, M.L.C., in his excellent History of the 
 Colony of the Cape, 1869. 
 
 "The first two vessels with the adventurers (the 'Chap- 
 man' and 'Nautilus/ transports) left Gravesend on the 
 3rd of December, 1819, lost sight of the white cliffs of 
 Albion on the 9th, arrived in Table Bay on the 17th of 
 March following, on the 9th of April anchored in Algoa Bay, 
 and safely debarked on the following morning at its little 
 fishing village, with anxious, beating hearts, made still 
 more uneasy by the forbidding and wild aspect of the 
 shore. This, however, was quickly relieved by the hearty
 
 34 CHAPTER I. 
 
 welcome of the few officers of the little garrison and others, 
 whose kindness and solicitude were beyond all praise. 
 Alas ! as this is penned, hardly one of these now survives 
 to receive the acknowledgments of gratitude, and but few 
 of the pioneers by these vessels live to make these 
 acknowledgments. 
 
 "Upon landing the settlers were disappointed to find their 
 locations distant full one hundred miles from the port, 
 although one party had solicited to be set down near the 
 mouth of the Great Fish Kiver, where some of the most 
 sanguine had already planted in imagination * sufferance 
 wharves,' and dreamt of innumerable vessels to be 
 anchored in that estuary. Wagons were, however, 
 provided by Government in sufficient number, at the cost 
 of the immigrants, a debt which was afterwards most con- 
 siderately remitted, as was the charge also of rations issued 
 for several months ; in fact, the British Government of 
 that day behaved with the greatest liberality to the young 
 plantation. On the 18th of April, the first, or ' Chapman 
 party,' commenced their inland progress, in ninety-six 
 wagons, from Algoa Bay, afterwards named Port Elizabeth, 
 which at that time numbered thirty-five souls, (including 
 its small garrison,) inhabiting two houses, stone-built, and 
 a few huts. A more desolate and unpromising place indeed 
 ean hardly be conceived. 
 
 " The journey was propitious ; splendid rains had fallen a 
 few months before, the rivers were running, the ponds 
 (vleys) overflowing, the pasturage luxuriantly rich, 
 astonishing the travellers, who had pictured Africa as 
 arid, waterless, and sterile. Game, too, was abundant, 
 the hartebeest, springbok, quagga, ostrich, but the country
 
 VOYAGE TO ALGOA BAY. 35 
 
 devoid of inhabitants and cattle; while the blackened 
 gables of the farmhouses recently burnt by the Kaffir 
 savages furnished proof how terrible the invasion of 1819 
 had been. On the 26th the party, with great ease, crossed 
 in their wagons the Kowie River mouth, where now vessels 
 of more than three hundred tons lie at anchor ; and on the 
 evening of the 28th arrived at a deserted farm, called 'Korn 
 Place,' (a promising, but delusive, augury,) under the mud 
 walls of a house not long consumed by the enemy. Here the 
 immigrants decided to sit down permanently, and call the 
 embryo village ' Cuylerville,' in compliment to Colonel 
 Cuyler, whose attentions and kindly manners during the 
 time he accompanied them on their long and fatiguing 
 journey were unremitting. On the following day a few of 
 the party, with some military officers and Colonel Cuyler, 
 proceeded to inspect the mouth of the Great Fish Eiver, 
 which raised high expectations of its future navigability ; 
 and on the 3rd of May Colonel Cuyler took his leave, with 
 this ominous caution, ' Gentlemen, when you go out to 
 plough, never leave your guns at home.' " 
 
 Dli
 
 36 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Progress of the Albany Settlement, 1820-1823. 
 
 BEFOEE giving the experience of the first settlers of 1820 
 
 in Albany, we must explain the position of the district in 
 
 which they were located. What is called the district of 
 
 Albany was the Zuurveld, which had for forty-five years 
 
 previous been the battle-field of the Hottentot inhabitants, 
 
 the Dutch colonists, and the Kaffirs. We must quote the 
 
 " History of the Colony of the Cape " again. " It will be 
 
 obvious that the Colonial Government, when it located the 
 
 new comers in this, which was deemed a most desirable 
 
 tract of country, regarded them as a portion of the frontier 
 
 defence, and as forming an impregnable barrier to Kaffir 
 
 aggression. Had this honourable but dangerous position 
 
 been understood beforehand by the emigrants, and had 
 
 they come prepared to bear the responsibilities of such a 
 
 position, no one could have objected to the arrangement. 
 
 There was no intended deception. The most experienced 
 
 colonist at that time never dreamt that the Kaffirs could 
 
 prove to be such powerful and dangerous neighbours. 
 
 This was not fully understood until the first Kaffir war of 
 
 1834-5. All the arrangements of the new settlement kept 
 
 in view the formation of a comparatively dense population. 
 
 The grants of one hundred acres of land, to which the farms 
 
 were limited, and which appeared satisfactory to English 
 
 notions, were absurd for the purposes of grazing, and 
 
 generally not adapted to cultivation. It was most unjust
 
 PROGKESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 87 
 
 to place, say, a party of one hundred families, upon an 
 extent of land not larger than an ordinary Dutch farmer 
 grant, which varied from six thousand to ten thousand 
 acres. Nothing but the wish of the authorities to form a 
 dense, concentrated population could explain the unfair 
 policy of confining an English family to a farm of one 
 hundred acres, while six thousand were scarcely deemed 
 sufficient for a Dutch boer. The consequences were such 
 as might have been foreseen. In a few years most of the 
 one-hundred-acre farms were deserted, and the active, 
 energetic emigrants scattered themselves over the eastern 
 districts, creating new industries, and giving an impulse 
 to the progress and prosperity of the colony, which has 
 been continued by the second generation, and which, we 
 trust, will long continue. These results, though not 
 anticipated by the planners of the colony, have been the 
 most important of all. 
 
 " From the year 1775, the Great Fish Eiver had been 
 deemed the eastern boundary of the Colony, and was 
 finally declared to be such by Lord Macartney in 1798 ; 
 but the Kaffirs had, nevertheless, continually encroached 
 upon the Dutch settlers on the west of that river, and so 
 persistent and destructive were these intrusions, that in 
 1811 the Government was obliged to drive them out by 
 force. In 1816, and following year, their daring outrages 
 and depredations recommenced, when the Governor, Lord 
 Charles Somerset, was called to the frontier, where, on 
 the 2nd of April, 1817, he had a conference with the chief 
 Gaika, who pledged himself most unequivocally and un- 
 reservedly to aid Government in procuring retribution for 
 .any depredations, and to punish depredators with death.
 
 38 CHAPTER II. 
 
 This, the first or ' Eeprisal System,' was inaugurated with 
 the consent of the chief, the following being the terms 
 agreed upon : The chief to restrain Kaffirs from plunder- 
 ing ; restore such cattle as should be found among the 
 Kaffir herds ; permit the Colonial Government to enforce 
 restitution of plundered cattle from any kraal to which 
 such should be traced, or permit the party following them 
 to seize an equal proportion, should restitution or com- 
 pensation be resisted. 
 
 " In 1819, troubles again broke out. The Kaffirs more 
 than five thousand invaded the Colony, attempted to carry 
 the military cantonment of Graham's Town (then garri- 
 soned by three hundred and fifty Europeans and a small 
 party of Hottentots) by storm, but were repulsed. They 
 then laid waste the whole of the Zuurveld ; after which a 
 commando was raised, under the command of Colonel 
 Wiltshire, (afterwards Sir Thomas, the hero of Khelat.) 
 The barbarians were onee more ejected, several chiefs 
 surrendered, and the arch-instigator of the inroad, the 
 prophet Lynx, or Makanna, was taken and deported to 
 Bobbin Island, and the Zuurveld in this its desolate state 
 was destined to be the abode of the British Settler. 
 
 " On the cessation of hostilities, the Governor, Lord C. 
 Somerset, had another interview with Gaika at the Gwanga, 
 on the 14th of October, and in the spirit of the report made 
 to the Government in 1809, and the recommendation of the 
 elder Stockenstrom in 1810, then chief Magistrate of 
 Graaff Eeinet, Colonel Brereton and Colonel Cuyler repre- 
 sented to Gaika that it appeared impracticable to secure 
 the repose of the frontier as long as the Kaffirs had ready 
 access to the Great Fish Eiver jungles ; that therefore*
 
 PEOGEESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 39 
 
 in order to protect the Colony from depredations, and 
 Kamrland from the visits of the Colonial troops to punish 
 aggression, the Fish Eiver ought no longer to be the 
 boundary, but the Chumi Kiver and Keiskamma. Gaika, 
 his son Macomo, the chiefs Eno, Botman, Congo, Habana, 
 and Garetta, with their interpreters, the Governor and his 
 staff, his interpreter being Captain Stockenstrom, (after- 
 wards Sir Andries,) being present, agreed to the proposal, 
 and engaged at once to move beyond the new limits ; that the 
 troops should destroy every vestige of a kraal within them, 
 and that military posts should be erected between the two 
 rivers, to prevent the future occupation of the ceded terri- 
 iory by any petty chief. 
 
 " This territory, often interchangeably named ' ceded ' 
 or ' neutral,' intervened between the new immigrants and 
 the Kaffirs, a breadth of about thirty miles by fifty, a 
 country, in fact, not originally belonging to them, but 
 to the Gonnah Hottentots, and know,n as ' Gonaqualand.' 
 It was only taken possession of by the Kaffirs after the 
 year 1752, when an Ensign Beuteler found them to the 
 east of the Kei Eiver, which river they crossed somewhere 
 about 1760, under Khakhabe, the grandfather of Gaika." * 
 
 A few words on the condition of the Cape Colony in the 
 year 1820, taken from the same excellent authority. Its 
 population numbered 110,380, of which 47,988 were white, 
 (Europeans and Dutch colonists,) 28,835 Hottentots, and 
 33,557 slaves. In addition to Cape Town, there were nine 
 villages called towns. Very few churches or Ministers in 
 the Eastern Division of the Colony. There was a chaplain 
 in Graham's Town for the troops ; but it was remarked at 
 
 * " History of the Colony of the Cape." By Hon. J. C. Chase, 8vo. 1869.
 
 40 CHAPTER II. 
 
 the time that the Sabbath had halted at the Sundays 
 Eiver, and found it difficult to get across. The currency 
 was a depreciated paper issue ; the rix dollar, originally 
 worth 4s., having fallen to Is. Qd. and 2s. The Govern- 
 ment was a very capricious fatherly despotism, in which 
 the good intentions of the Governor were commonly 
 neutralized by the opposition of his subordinates. There 
 was no free press and no public opinion ; and no trade or 
 export from the Eastern Division of the Colony, beyond a 
 few articles of little value, such as salt, soap, and skins. 
 The only event which held out hopes of the much needed 
 changes in the administration being in due time effected, was 
 the advent of the English settlement. It is estimated that 
 by the emigrant ships and by other arrivals, before the end 
 of 1820, five thousand souls were settled in the fl Zuurveld," 
 a belt of land extending eastwardly from the Sundays to the 
 Great Fish Eiver, an area of three thousand square miles ; 
 but as only that part of the district which lies near the 
 sea was to be occupied by the settlers, the area appro- 
 priated to them at first was about one thousand five 
 hundred square miles, or less than a million of acres. 
 
 We now return to Mr. Shaw's journal, which gives the 
 experiences of the Salem and other parties on entering 
 into the possession of their " broad lands," the hundred- 
 acre allotments. The original settlers were apt to expatiate 
 on their castles in the air, the erection of which cheered 
 them amid the hardships and tedium of the long passage 
 from England. Unfortunately most of these day dreams 
 have not been recorded. On one occasion, an emigrant, 
 boasting to a sailor of his claim to a grant of a hun- 
 dred acres, was confounded by his reply: "Why, man,
 
 PEOGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 41 
 
 that's that ? In Africa it requires a thousand acres to 
 graze a goose." 
 
 The general appearance of the district is picturesque and 
 pleasing. Excepting during very severe droughts, the country 
 is covered by a coarse grass, and usually has a verdant aspect. 
 The Mimosa studs the plains and slopes of the hills. In 
 many parts a thick shrubbery grows in patches, as if planted 
 for ornament, and gives the country a park-like appearance ; 
 while in other places, favoured by shelter from the high winds, 
 trees of a much larger growth shoot up to a considerable 
 height ; among which are most conspicuous the straight and 
 tall Euphorbia, with their naked and melancholy-looking 
 branches, relieved, however, by the Erythrina Ca/ra, or Coral- 
 lodendrum, known among the Dutch farmers and English 
 colonists as the Kafferboom. This often grows into a large and 
 umbrageous tree, and is sometimes met with standing apart. 
 In the spring season it is covered with innumerable blossoms, 
 of a brilliant scarlet colour, giving it a very gorgeous 
 appearance. 
 
 The location assigned us extended on both sides of the 
 Assagaay Bosch Kiver for about six miles in length. It con- 
 sisted of a series of valleys and bottoms of light alluvial soil. 
 These valleys were of various and unequal width, and followed 
 the winding course of the river, which had its source in the 
 Zuurbergen, a range of mountains not far distant to the north. 
 It was rather a great drain to the high lands than a river ; 
 for, although at the time of our arrival it was flowing, yet we 
 afterwards found that for several months of the year it does 
 not flow; but, like many periodical streams called rivers in 
 Southern Africa, it consisted chiefly of long reaches of com- 
 paratively deep water, but with occasional intervals of from 
 ten to thirty yards in width, called " drifts," or fords ; where,
 
 42 CHAPTER n. 
 
 excepting after heavy rains, it was generally possible to cross, 
 the bed of the stream dry-shod. In many parts the water wa& 
 brackish ; but it afforded an abundant supply for all ordinary 
 purposes, and for the large amount of live stock accumulated 
 at a subsequent period by the settlers ; while at various points 
 there are valuable and never-failing springs of water of the best 
 quality for drinking and culinary purposes. 
 
 The hills bounding the succession of long, low valleys on both 
 sides the river, wind gently down from the extensive flats or 
 plains which extend for many miles on the common level of the 
 country. These plains, as well as the connecting slopes, are 
 covered with grass, affording in most seasons an abundant 
 supply for cattle. The sides of the hills descending to the 
 valleys are in many parts variegated with patches of wood, of 
 several varieties, affording abundance of fuel, and of poles, &c., 
 for building and other purposes. The bottoms by the river 
 Bide were in most places nearly destitute of trees, and pre- 
 sented a great extent of land ready to receive the plough ; and 
 when the white tents of the settlers were pitched and dotted 
 up and down on their several homesteads, the scene presented 
 to the eye was at once romantic and pleasing. It was not like 
 a soldiers' encampment, but rather suggested the idea of a large 
 number of persons who had recently gone forth from some 
 crowded city to enjoy the pure air, and bask under a beautiful 
 sky, in picnic parties of pleasure. There were not wanting 
 among the settlers those who admired the beauties of nature, 
 and who often expressed to others of similar tastes their admi- 
 ration of many lovely nooks and corners where the hand of 
 man had as yet done nothing ; but all were soon awakened to 
 the necessity of dealing with the stern realities of life. The 
 tents were very hot during the day, and cold at night. They 
 were not always a protection from the occasional heavy 
 showers of rain, and in the frequent high winds they were any-
 
 PEOGKESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 43 
 
 thing rather than safe and secure dwellings. Hence every one 
 was soon busily occupied in cutting poles, and conveying them 
 to the respective homesteads, or handling the hatchet, the adze, 
 the hammer and nails, and other implements and materials 
 required for building operations. 
 
 After a while a great variety of fragile and grotesque-looking 
 huts or cottages began to arise. These were generally built 
 in the style called by the settlers " wattle and daub." A space 
 of ground was marked out, according to the views of the future 
 occupant of the structure, large enough for one or two rooms. 
 The best generally were designed for two rooms of about ten 
 by twelve feet each, forming a building of ten by twenty-four 
 feet. Strong upright posts were planted all round the build- 
 ing about two feet apart ; these were firmly fixed in holes dug 
 in the ground to the depth of eighteen or twenty inches to 
 receive them ; they rose to the height of about six feet above 
 the ground ; thinner poles were planted between the stout 
 posts, and then a quantity of smaller wood, slender branches of 
 trees or shrubs, was cut, and used for the purpose of wattling 
 all round the building. When this was completed, it had the 
 appearance of a great wicker vessel or huge basket. A wall- 
 plate, being generally a large pole squared by the adze, was 
 nailed on the tops of the upright posts on each side and end 
 of the building. A roof, consisting of as many rafters as were 
 necessary, all of poles, was securely nailed to the wall-plates. 
 On the rafters were nailed, or sometimes tied, laths at proper 
 distances, to which the thatch of rushes or reeds, cut from the 
 bank of the river, was fastened by means of cord made from 
 the rushes. When the whole was covered, the walls were 
 usually plastered over, inside and out, with clay mixed and 
 prepared with water, and tempered by treading with the feet 
 in the same manner as brickmakers prepared clay for bricks 
 before pugmills were invented. At first there was no plank for
 
 44 CHAPTER II. 
 
 doors, or glass for windows : hence a mat or rug was usually 
 hung up in the void doorway, to do duty for the one ; and a 
 piece of white calico, nailed to a small frame of wood, and fas- 
 tened into two or three holes left in the walls for the purpose, 
 admitted light into the dwelling during the day, when the wind 
 rendered it inconvenient to keep these spaces open. The floors 
 of these dwellings were usually made of clay. Ant-hills, which 
 had been deserted by the ants, were used for this purpose ; and, 
 when properly laid, they made hard and level floors, which 
 were kept in order by being often smeared over with a mixture 
 of fresh cow-dung and water, a mode of securing clean and 
 comfortable earthen floors, which, however strange to English 
 ideas, all natives and colonists of Africa know to be indis- 
 pensable. After awhile those who aspired to neatness and 
 comfort found pipe-clay, and at length limestone, from which 
 they obtained lime, and thus they were enabled to whitewash 
 their tenements, which gave them a more cheerful and greatly 
 improved appearance. I have described the better class of 
 structures erected by the settlers at the beginning ; but there 
 were many whose first attempts were miserable failures, and 
 hardly served to protect them from the weather. Some, taking 
 advantage of particular spots favourable to their purpose, 
 thought they saved themselves labour by digging out holes, and 
 burrowing in the ground, placing a slight covering over their 
 excavations ; while others, again, filled up interstices between 
 perpendicular rocks, and thus obtained very substantial, but 
 rather cold and uncomfortable, quarters. 
 
 There was a ruinous wattled and reed building, which had 
 been erected by a Dutch farmer during his temporary sojourn 
 on these lands. It stood in a central situation ; and it was 
 resolved that it should be public property, and be used for 
 general purposes of utility. It was about fifty or sixty feet 
 long, ten or twelve feet broad ; and the walls from the earthen
 
 PKOGRE8S OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 45 
 
 floor were about five feet high, with an open roof thatched with 
 reeds. This building was for some time used as our temporary 
 place of worship. It was likewise the "town hall;" for here 
 all public meetings of the settlers, on matters of general con- 
 cern, were holden. Here were also kept the commissariat 
 supplies, where the rations of meat and flour were distributed. 
 Part of the building, being separated from the rest by a tempo- 
 rary screen, was also, on occasion, used as a " lying-in hos- 
 pital ; " and here was born a child of one of the settlers, who 
 afterwards grew up to manhood ; and whom, on the 25th of 
 November, 1848, I had the gratification, in conjunction with 
 other Presbyters of the Wesleyan Church, to ordain to the 
 office of the Christian ministry. 
 
 All these contrivances for dwellings and pubfic buildings 
 have long since passed away ; and the settlers now generally 
 occupy good and substantial stone or brick houses, which, as 
 they gradually surmounted their early difficulties, were erected 
 on their homesteads and farms ; and not a few of them have 
 taken care to provide their families with every convenience and 
 appliance requisite in that country for domestic comfort. But 
 I have thought the English reader might wish to know how 
 they managed to obtain shelter for themselves at first; and, 
 should any of the surviving British settlers of 1820 read these 
 pages, they will not regret this reference to their early diffi- 
 culties, over which, by the " good hand of God " upon their 
 enduring industry, they have long ago so nobly triumphed. 
 
 On the arrival of the settlers they were immediately placed in 
 all parts of this district. The first parties being set down near 
 the Great Fish Eiver, and, consequently, furthest in advance ; 
 the next arrivals were located on the nearest available spot to 
 the westward ; and so on with each fresh batch, till all the 
 most promising spots for location were occupied, from the 
 mouth of the Fish Kiver in the east to the Bushman's Elver
 
 46 CHAPTER II. 
 
 on the western extremity of the district. A small party of 
 Scottish settlers, under Mr. Pringle, were settled in the Cradock 
 District, on the Baviaans Eiver, about one hundred miles to 
 the north of Albany, and in the midst of a number of Dutch 
 farmers, who, at that period, occupied that part of the country. 
 There was considerable diversity in the soil of Albany. In 
 some places it consisted of a stiff red loam ; in others, a rich 
 black earth prevailed ; while, in parts near the sea, the ground 
 was almost entirely loose sand, only held together by the crop 
 of long coarse grass which was growing upon it ; but, in general, 
 the settlers who were best acquainted with agricultural pur- 
 suits, deemed the country likely to render a rich return for 
 such labour as might be bestowed upon it, if the land were 
 judiciously treated, as the various qualities of the soil seemed 
 to require. Some parts of the district were intersected by 
 masses of loose stones and stratified rocks, lying near or on the 
 surface ; and, in some instances, the first division of the lands 
 made amongst the settlers in the several locations, caused an 
 undue proportion of these plots, unfit for cultivation, to be 
 included in the allotments of individuals. 
 
 I must bear my testimony to the determined industry with 
 which these first settlers, with some exceptions, set to work. 
 The Government had engaged to supply them with rations, to be 
 paid for from the deposit money paid by them into the Colonial 
 Office in England, till they could raise crops of food for them- 
 selves ; and all but a few drunken and " ne'er-do-weel " sort of 
 persons commenced digging and planting with the greatest 
 industry. But it was labour under difficulties. Many had 
 never been accustomed to handle the spade, and were much 
 better acquainted with the works and ways of large towns and 
 cities, than with the occupations and modes of life which most 
 prevail in our agricultural villages and districts. There were 
 ploughs; but they had been sent from England, and were not
 
 PKOGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 47 
 
 adapted to breaking up the rough African lands ; and happy 
 was the settler who could command the means for purchasing 
 some trained oxen, and obtain the assistance of any stray 
 Hottentot or impoverished Mulatto who understood the use of 
 the strong and rudely contrived ploughs, by which the Dutch 
 boers of the country generally broke up the virgin earth. The 
 management of the oxen, and the guidance of the plough, with 
 such bullocks, unaccustomed to the yoke, and by drivers who 
 knew not how to control them by the use of the unwieldy 
 African whip to say nothing of the intense heat of the sun, 
 which sometimes, notwithstanding it was the winter season, 
 shone out with overpowering lustre rendered these field 
 occupations toilsome and unsatisfactory. 
 
 It was, however, surprising to see the extent of land which 
 had been broken up by the spade and plough, during the first 
 two seasons. From the gardens were raised, in many places, 
 various esculents in abundance, which afforded promise that 
 horticulture would prove a profitable employment; but the 
 wheat, of which considerable quantities had perhaps been 
 inconsiderately sown at first, proved an entire failure, in con- 
 sequence of a fatal blight which became general. It was called 
 "the rust," from its covering blade, stem, and ear of the plant 
 with reddish-looking spots, which, if rubbed when in the early 
 stage of the disease, left rusty stains on the hand ; and in a few 
 days it completely destroyed the tissue of the plants, as rust 
 will in time corrode iron. Nothing could be more promising 
 than were the crops of wheat in all the early stages of their 
 growth ; but just as the stems began to shoot into ear, and in 
 some cases even after the grain was formed in the ear, this 
 blight attacked it, and the whole crop became worthless. The 
 disappointment was great the first season ; but it was supposed 
 that the disease might arise from some cause connected with 
 the first cultivation of the ground and sowing it with wheat,
 
 48 CHAPTER H. 
 
 and that it would perhaps not appear again. But after repeat- 
 ing their attempts for two or three seasons with the same result, 
 the settlers were quite discouraged, and gave up all hope of 
 being enabled to raise bread for themselves and their families 
 from the ground. Other kinds of grain, indeed, they soon 
 found, could be easily grown: rye, barley, oats, and Indian corn, 
 were raised in large quantities ; and, by various ingenious con- 
 trivances, these kinds of produce supjilied the want of flour and 
 bread made from wheat. 
 
 The first three or four years were spent in great suffering 
 and privation. The general distress, however, would have been 
 much greater, but the settlers were enabled, by purchase or 
 barter with the older Dutch colonists, to obtain a supply of 
 horned cattle. These cattle grazed and increased on the com- 
 mon pastures, and the cows afforded a considerable supply of 
 milk, which, with pork and the various kinds of grain already 
 enumerated, and pumpkins, potatoes, and other garden produce, 
 enabled them to feed their families. Many also made butter 
 and cheese, and, by carrying these articles regularly to the 
 Military Stations for sale, they obtained the means to purchase 
 a few groceries. The latter were not, however, always to be 
 had in the scantily supplied stores, and the settlers soon 
 discovered that a plant which grows throughout the district 
 could be used in the form of decoction as a refreshing beverage, 
 only not quite so good as tea ; while roasted barley, when 
 ground into a fine powder, formed a substitute for coffee. Now 
 and then wild honey from the rocks or woods furnished the 
 means of sweetening those beverages. Happily, as the older 
 Dutch colonists possessed large herds of cattle and sheep, flesh- 
 meat could generally be obtained at small cost : hence there 
 was never a period of actual starvation. But if the climate 
 had not been of the most healthful kind, it is likely that the 
 extremely low and coarse diet to which numbers were unavoid-
 
 PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 49 
 
 ably limited, with exposure to rain and damp, and the rapid 
 alternations of heat and cold, would have induced extensive 
 disease and premature death. But this was not the case. The 
 people were generally in the highest health, perhaps from being 
 much in the open air ; and some medical men who had 
 accompanied the settlers from England left the district in 
 disgust, as being not likely to afford them any opportunity for 
 the practice of their valuable profession. 
 
 The non-issue of rations by the Government, after the settlers 
 had been nearly two years on the ground, became the signal for 
 a considerable number of the people to abandon their allotted 
 lands. At first it was intended that the capital of the district 
 should be at a spot called Bathurst, chosen for its great beauty 
 of situation, and its proximity to the mouth of the Kowio 
 Eiver, which was regarded from the first as likely to become 
 the future port of the settlement, whenever suitable works could 
 be constructed for removing or deepening the bar at its mouth. 
 On the return from England of Lord Charles Somerset, however, 
 Graham's Town already the head quarters of the troops was 
 constituted the capital of the district. This measure was very 
 unpopular for a time; but events have shown that it was a 
 better arrangement than that first meditated. 
 
 In consequence of the proclamation fixing Graham's Town 
 as the capital, there arose a great demand for mechanics and 
 labourers of all kinds, for the purpose of erecting houses and 
 barracks. Hence most persons who were qualified to enter 
 upon these branches of industry, gradually withdrew from their 
 locations, and obtained employment at high wages, or became 
 masters on their own account. As the town increased rapidly, 
 an opening for trade was presented, and stores and shops soon 
 began to rise up for the supply of the troops and population of 
 various classes. Thus Graham's Town, from being, at the time 
 when the settlers arrived, a mere military cantonment, with
 
 50 CHAPTER II. 
 
 some ten or fifteen small and chiefly temporary dwellings erected 
 by married officers and non-commissioned officers, and a few 
 camp followers, soon began to assume the appearance of a 
 bustling and rising town. 
 
 In October, 1823, when the settlers had been about three 
 years and a half in the country, a fearful storm occurred, during 
 which the rains fell and the winds blew in a most terrific 
 manner. The dwellings of the people, including some that had 
 been deemed very substantial, were in numerous instances 
 blown down : others were washed away by torrents of water. 
 The rivers, rising much higher than had been conceived possible, 
 overflowed their banks and carried off the standing crops ; while 
 in some instances individuals were swept away with the 
 strong current, and drowned. The distress which followed this 
 catastrophe was very severe, and many very worthy persons 
 were reduced by it to great straits. Besides a limited amount 
 of pecuniary aid, promptly offered to the distressed by Govern- 
 ment, it must be recorded to their lasting honour, that various 
 benevolent persons, in Cape Town and India, on hearing of 
 this calamity, contributed considerable sums for the relief of the 
 distressed. The late Kev. Dr. Philip, whose acquaintance I had 
 previously made, on occasion of his visiting the frontier, and 
 H. E. Eutherfoord, Esq., took a leading part in this generous 
 movement. Mr. Eutherfoord undertook the laborious office of 
 Secretary to the Committee in Cape Town, on whom was 
 devolved the work of distributing the funds contributed for this 
 object. This gentleman corresponded with me very frequently 
 on this matter ; and his letters, still in my possession, show the 
 anxiety felt to relieve the most pressing cases as promptly as 
 possible. The duty of distributing the earliest remittances 
 among the greatest sufferers, was committed to me. As I was 
 already known to the whole body of the settlers, and, in con- 
 sequence of my frequently visiting the various locations in my
 
 PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 51 
 
 ministerial capacity, I was perhaps as well, or better, acquainted 
 with the circumstances of the people than any other person, 
 I could not decline to render aid in the distribution of this 
 relief, although I found it required much time, and was a duty 
 of great delicacy and difficulty. But, while engaged in this 
 labour of love, my removal to Kaffraria became necessary; 
 and, before I left the Settlement, a local committee of Ministers 
 and gentlemen was formed, who acted in concert with the 
 committee in Cape Town, and on this committee ultimately 
 devolved the difficult work of distributing the large funds which 
 had been contributed in India and elsewhere for this truly 
 "benevolent purpose. 
 
 This was the crisis of the Settlement. Many who remained 
 on the lands were in great difficulties. The clothes which they 
 had brought with them from England were now worn and thread- 
 bare ; there were but very limited means of purchasing, at the 
 enormous prices then charged, the needful materials for 
 replenishing their wardrobes ; and not a few were glad to attire 
 themselves in the costume that had prevailed among the Dutch 
 farmers, and others, in South Africa, before the arrival of the 
 settlers. At this period I was myself obliged to ride about the 
 Settlement dressed in a sheep- skin jacket and trowsers, with 
 a broad-brimmed hat, made from the leaves of the Palmiet, 
 which grew in some of the streams. My dress was in fact 
 similar to that worn by a large number of persons ; and it was 
 well adapted for "roughing it" on the road and in the jungle ; 
 but not exactly such a dress as an Englishman prefers when 
 circumstances pecuniary and otherwise will allow of an alter- 
 native. Even the females had to exhibit their characteristic 
 ingenuity in devising dresses from the coarse kinds of cotton 
 stuffs which at that time were brought to the Cape from India, 
 and sold at high prices. In some instances the well-dressed 
 8heep-skin was formed into a skirt or frock ; and hata and 
 
 E 2
 
 52 CHAPTER, II. 
 
 bonnets, made also from the same material as those worn by 
 the men, were in very general use. It is a pity that all this 
 occurred before the days of photography, or many very 
 respectable families in Albany, and other portions of the Cape 
 Colony, might now possess some portraits of their fathers and 
 mothers, the "founders" of the Albany Settlement, exhibiting 
 very grotesque costumes of a highly historic character. 
 
 It was complained at the time, and it has occasionally since 
 been rather sneeringly said of the first English settlers in 
 Albany, that they were generally unfit to form the population 
 of a new country. It was affirmed that they were a race of 
 Cockneys ; and that persons with such unpromising antecedents 
 as weavers, pen-makers, pin-cutters, &c., were found in con- 
 siderable numbers among them. I need hardly say that this 
 was a gross exaggeration, founded upon a few exceptional cases. 
 That in such a large body of people there were some who had 
 probably mistaken their providential call when they resolved to 
 emigrate to South Africa, is not unlikely ; but, after a long and 
 intimate acquaintance with the settlers, I have been led to 
 regard them, on the whole, as a very suitable class of persons 
 for founding a new colony. About one half had emigrated from. 
 London, and other large towns and cities in Britain, and the 
 remainder came from various agricultural villages and districts. 
 Observation and experience have led me to the conclusion that 
 these proportions in the classes of emigrants to an entirely new 
 country, are better than a body of people selected wholly from 
 agricultural districts. Those from the towns and cities com- 
 prised a large number of artificers and mechanics, possessing 
 skill of a kind most valuable in a new community ; while others 
 from the towns had a perfect knowledge of the principles of 
 trade and commerce, and a general intelligence far exceeding 
 the average of that displayed by the class of agricultural 
 labourers in England. There was also a fair proportion of half-
 
 PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 53 
 
 pay officers, and other educated persons of gentlemanly tastes 
 and feelings, who, from various causes, had been led to 
 emigrate from Great Britain at this period. Hence the settlers 
 of Albany really had amongst them men adapted to every want 
 of society as it exists in a newly forming community. 
 
 The advantage of this diversity in the capacities and qualifi- 
 cations of the settlers became very evident when the people were 
 reduced to their lowest state. Nearly the whole body of the 
 mechanics soon found very profitable employment in the town ; 
 and when that seemed to be overstocked, many of them 
 removed to Algoa Bay, Uitenhage, Somerset, Graaff Eeinett, 
 and other towns or villages in the eastern districts of the Colony. 
 Those who did not possess mechanical skill, but who, having 
 come from the cities and towns of England, understood trade, 
 obtained small supplies of goods, and travelled, at first as 
 hawkers, among the Dutch farmers, selling goods at rates that 
 were held to be mutually advantageous. Notwithstanding very 
 stringent laws to prevent all traffic with the native tribes, a 
 smuggling trade was also commenced by some of the settlers. 
 It is among my earliest pleasant reminiscences that I availed 
 myself of an opportunity to write a long communication to the 
 Government to show how much better it would be to legalize 
 this trade, and to appoint fairs at which the settlers and Kaffirs 
 might meet for the purpose of barter. In 1823, the first 
 attempt of this kind was made by authority of the Government ; 
 and it afterwards grew into a system which continued for some 
 years, till at length the trade was released from all restrictions, 
 and greatly extended. Into these openings for trade, both 
 among the Dutch farmers and the native tribes, many of the 
 settlers entered with much skill and energy ; and thus not a 
 few individuals who hardly seemed likely to succeed as cultivators 
 of the ground, commenced trafficking with the investment of 
 only a few pounds sterling, or, in some cases, with goods
 
 54 CHAPTER II. 
 
 obtained entirely on credit, in reliance on their known good 
 character: and this was the foundation of a long course of 
 successful trade, which has in almost every case supplied them 
 with ample means of support for their families in comfort and 
 respectability, and, in some instances, led to the realization of 
 very handsome fortunes. As a further evidence that a full 
 proportion of well educated and intelligent persons were 
 included in the number of the emigrants of 1820, I may men- 
 tion that, in the course of years, the Colonial Government was 
 glad to avail itself of the services of some of them, who have 
 been engaged in the civil service of the Colony as Civil Com- 
 missioners, Magistrates, Justices of the Peace, or in other 
 prominent and responsible offices ; while, as will soon appear, 
 others became teachers in academies, and Ministers of religion. 
 
 Thus many of the very individuals whom some would have 
 thought unsuitable to people a new country proved most 
 valuable members of the community, and by their skill and 
 general intelligence have developed the resources of the colony ; 
 while, by drawing off from their locations, they left more scope 
 for the class of agriculturists, for whom by their mercantile 
 energy they provided markets which have gradually stimulated 
 and rewarded their industry in the cultivation of the soil and 
 the care of cattle and sheep. The one hundred acres granted 
 at first to each settler did not allow sufficient extent for grazing 
 their stock, and the settlers were in the beginning rather 
 inconveniently crowded on their locations ; but as more than 
 one half ultimately abandoned their lands, which were after- 
 wards granted to the actual residents, or otherwise became 
 their property by purchase from the original owners, this evil 
 was remedied, and, so far from being overcrowded, the locations 
 and farms in Albany are at present much too thinly populated. 
 
 Now that there is a great and steady demand for agricultural 
 produce, the coast part of that district might on a good system
 
 PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 55 
 
 receive five times its present European population as agricul- 
 turists, with great advantage both to occupiers and owners. 
 One reason why the rural population of Albany has of late 
 years been so much, reduced, is the disturbance and losses the 
 people were called to endure, in consequence of the Kaffir wars ; 
 but the chief cause has been the numerous openings in the 
 districts more inland, by the migration of the Dutch Boers 
 beyond the boundaries of the colony, and by the more recent 
 founding of new districts, by the Government, on the frontier. 
 Some of these new districts are better adapted to the purposes 
 of sheep-walks than Lower Albany, which is chiefly fitted for 
 agricultural occupations. The growth of wool has been found 
 to be a most profitable pursuit ; and this proved a sufficient 
 inducement to a large portion of the settlers, and their 
 descendants, to migrate from Albany to the other districts of 
 the Eastern Province.
 
 56 
 
 CHAPTER, III. 
 
 Religious Progress of the Albany Settlement, 1820-1823. 
 
 HAPPILY the history of the pastorate at Salem and its 
 out-parishes, as well as the Missionary labours of Mr. 
 Shaw in the Settlement, can be given in his own words. 
 From occasional memoranda found among his papers, we 
 find that he has underrated his labours, and has left 
 unnoticed the details of the hardships of his early ministry. 
 One cause of this was, no doubt, his own inherent modesty 
 and unwillingness to say what might appear to glorify 
 himself. Another was the feeling in him, singularly ever 
 present, and to him most sustaining, that he was working 
 for Christ, and felt it a pleasure to be permitted to suffer 
 for Christ's sake. " In labours more abundant," (2 Cor. 
 xi. 23,) might have been his motto. Frequently, after 
 walking long distances, or riding on tired horses, he 
 preached four times in one day. The Sabbath was his 
 most laborious day, and other days did not much differ 
 from the Sabbath day. At the time mainly referred to in 
 this chapter, 1820-1823, it must be remembered that Mr. 
 Shaw was a very young man, (from twenty-two to twenty- 
 five,) a period of life in which most young men, however 
 favoured by early advantages and mental gifts, are seldom 
 called upon to exercise the self-restraint which is essential 
 to the success of a Minister placed in the most trying 
 position in which a Minister, be he young or old, can be 
 placed, that is, the pastorate of a large body of settlers,
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OP THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 57 
 
 who, though mainly Methodists, were not so altogether. 
 A large number of them were his fellow-passengers ; and 
 we all know that no circumstances are more unfavourable 
 to the exhibition of human nature, or are better adapted to 
 draw out the weak points in character and the defects in 
 temper to which we are all more or less prone. Through 
 this ordeal Mr. Shaw passed scathless. Those who saw 
 him daily in the exercise of his ministry on shipboard 
 were those who felt the impress of his character 
 in succeeding years. To them especially he was a 
 hero. What struck the author of these sketches most on 
 his arrival in the Albany District in 1830, was the reveren- 
 tial tone in which all who knew Mr. Shaw spoke of him. 
 It was not enough for them to praise his dignified bearing 
 as the Minister, combined as it was with the deep sym- 
 pathy which he evidenced on all occasions for their trials 
 and difficulties, or his meekness of wisdom at all times, or 
 his indomitable and methodical zeal in his pastoral 
 labours. These qualities other men might surpass in 
 varied degrees ; but to them their chief pastor, William 
 Shaw, was a being to whom none could be compared, 
 their ideal of the perfect man and Minister. His married 
 life was no hindrance to his pastoral or Missionary labours 
 in distant localities ; for Mrs. Shaw was as zealous as her 
 husband, and had as deep a sense of the obligations and 
 responsibilities of the Christian Ministry. In her hus- 
 band's absences she was able to exercise an influence for 
 good upon the Salem society. Her pleasant, lively manner, 
 her open countenance beaming with kindness, and her 
 frank, loving conversation, made her at once popular and 
 useful. To the churches she was as a mother in Israel,
 
 58 CHAPTER III. 
 
 competent from her intelligent piety, and her deep Chris- 
 tian experience, to exercise discreetly a wise and happy 
 influence on all around her. 
 
 My first care, on our arrival at Salem, was to establish reli- 
 gious ordinances for the benefit of the settlers who were under 
 my special pastoral oversight. The rude structure originally 
 erected by a Dutch farmer, who had removed to another farm 
 granted to him by the Government, was used, as already 
 stated, for various purposes for the common benefit of the 
 people, and it served very well as a temporary chapel. For 
 lack of a pulpit, I was accustomed to stand on a small box ; and 
 a writing desk, placed on the top of an American flour barrel, 
 behind which I stood, formed the resting-place for the Bible 
 and other books used in public worship. The people soon 
 provided themselves with stools or benches ; and, in the course 
 of a few weeks, the congregation had been regularly formed. 
 
 The place of worship constituted as great a contrast as could 
 be well conceived to Great Queen Street Chapel, and other 
 chapels in London, where most of the people had been accus- 
 tomed to attend Divine service. Its earthen floor and uncoiled 
 roof, thatched with reeds, and open at the ridge-poles, its 
 reed and mud-plastered walls, through which several holes 
 were opened to let in light and air, and its- dimensions, say 
 sixty feet by twelve or thirteen feet, brought painfully to the 
 minds of the people the greatly altered circumstances under 
 which they now offered their prayers and praises to the God of 
 heaven. There was another source of discomfort, and indeed 
 of some danger, connected with this temporary place of 
 worship.. The mice and rats had found a home in and around 
 it, and this proved an attraction to snakes and other reptiles. 
 On one occasion I was standing in a Class Meeting, giving the 
 quarterly tickets ; and while I was speaking to one of the
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 59 
 
 members, another jumped up, and said in alarm, " 0, Sir, 
 there is a puff adder between your feet ! " Looking down I saw 
 that the creature one of the most deadly of the South African 
 snakes was indeed lying on the ground close to my feet. I 
 quietly stepped aside, while some of the people with a stick 
 attacked and destroyed the dangerous reptile, and we resumed 
 our meeting, which was not concluded without praise offered to 
 our heavenly Father, by whose gracious providence I had been 
 preserved from the " serpent's bite." 
 
 Notwithstanding the discomforts of the place, a considerable 
 portion of the people speedily began to attend morning and 
 evening service on the Lord's day, and many of them likewise 
 attended the week-night services which were also commenced for 
 Prayer-meetings and preaching the word. The more private 
 means of grace established among the Methodists for the promo- 
 tion of personal piety and religious communion were also soon 
 commenced. Several individuals of consistent piety, and pos- 
 sessing intelligent minds, were appointed as Class Leaders ; 
 the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper were duly 
 and regularly celebrated; and all the usual means and 
 appliances, enjoyed by the members of the Methodist Society 
 in England for their spiritual benefit, were thus provided for 
 the people of my charge. A few families were Baptists, and 
 they established religious services for themselves, which were 
 efficiently conducted by Mr. W. Miller, one of their own 
 number, who, although not having enjoyed the advantage of 
 early education, was nevertheless a person of strong sense and 
 a ready speaker. He was a good man, and for many years was 
 the centre of union and the chief religious instructor of the 
 Baptist denomination in the Colony. A portion of the people 
 were Episcopalians, and they were pleased to find that at the 
 forenoon service on Sundays I regularly read the liturgical
 
 60 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 service of the Church of England, as abridged under the 
 direction of the Eev. John Wesley. 
 
 In my public ministrations, I avoided as much as possible 
 all religious controversy, feeling that, as many attended who 
 had not been trained in Methodistic. views, it would for various 
 reasons be best, without compromising my own principles, to 
 confine my sermons chiefly to a range of topics at once experi- 
 mental and practical, in a word, to the great and, by all 
 evangelical Christians, admitted essentials of religious truth. 
 It was soon apparent that this was the right course; for 
 many who had been early trained in connexion with other 
 religious bodies in England, whether as Churchmen or Dis- 
 senters, thus found nothing repulsive in my ministry, and 
 therefore became my regular hearers. I always considered that 
 Wesleyan Methodism, when rightly understood and properly 
 administered, is " anti-sectarian and of a catholic spirit ; " 
 hence I readily admitted to the communion of the Lord's table 
 such persons of other denominations as exhibited suitable moral 
 and religious qualities ; and a portion of these, in the absence 
 of Ministers of their own denominations, used to avail them- 
 selves of the privilege of our " open," although not indiscrimi- 
 nate, communion. 
 
 Having thus established Christian ordinances at Salem, I 
 soon became very desirous of visiting the other parties of set- 
 tlers scattered in various localities of the district, for the pur- 
 pose of ascertaining their religious state and condition. In 
 those days this was an undertaking of no small difficulty. 
 There was, at the time, no map of the district showing the 
 relative positions of the various settlements ; and, excepting 
 the principal line of road by which the settlers had reached the 
 country from Algoa Bay, there were no roads leading to their 
 several locations. I could only obtain very vague information 
 from some Hottentots, who told me to travel in the direction of
 
 EELIGIOUS PEOGKES8 OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 61 
 
 certain distant hills, and that I should find settlers' tents to 
 the right or left, as the case happened to be. On these early 
 journeys, of course, I frequently missed my way, and was at 
 times benighted in the woods, which at that period were in- 
 fested with various kinds of ferocious animals. I could not 
 always obtain a horse, and hence I had frequently to walk over 
 considerable distances through rugged districts, upon unformed 
 paths, and not seldom having to wade through the unbridged 
 streams that intersect the district. Indeed, several years sub- 
 sequently to this period, my Missionary colleagues, before they 
 became familiar with the country, often missed their way ; and 
 occasionally it happened that a Missionary had to solace him- 
 self at night in the midst of a bush, by seeking such security 
 and repose as could be obtained from climbing a tree and 
 seating himself in its branches, to await the return of day. 
 
 At the commencement I frequently slept on the ground in 
 the tents of the settlers, or, on subsequent visits, in their un- 
 finished huts ; where, as I wrapped myself in such bedding as 
 could be procured for the night, there were neither doors to 
 bar out burglars, nor windows to keep out the cold air ; nor, 
 indeed, in many cases, so much of a covered roof as prevented 
 an extensive view directly over head of a large portion of the 
 sky, tempting one to scan such constellations of the beautiful 
 stars, and the stars do shine out beautifully in that clear atmo- 
 sphere, as passed the field of vision. The reader, however, 
 must not suppose that I made any considerable progress in 
 astronomical studies under these (favourable ?) circumstances ; 
 the truth is, I was generally so fatigued with my journeys, and 
 the duties which I had to perform, that, regardless of comfort 
 or discomfort, a deep sleep soon closed all meditations ; but it 
 re-invigorated me for the work of the following day. During 
 this period of my missionary career, I often realized, in more 
 respects than one, the exceeding truth of the maxim, "The
 
 62 CHAPTER III. 
 
 rest of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or 
 much." I soon began, however, to reap a good reward for 
 these toilsome journeys. I visited in rotation nearly all the 
 principal settlements ; and preached to as many as I could 
 assemble at the various places which presented the most likely 
 points for forming congregations. Everywhere I was received 
 by the English settlers with great kindness, and even grati- 
 tude. They felt thankful to the man, previously wholly un- 
 known to them, who had come to them in their rude and 
 hardly-formed homes in the wilderness, to preach among them 
 the " glorious Gospel of the blessed God." 
 
 In some of the locations I found several who had been 
 Methodists in England, and a few of whom had wisely brought 
 with them their proper credentials as such. These individuals, 
 among whom there were two or three Local Preachers, became 
 valuable assistants, and greatly aided me in establishing 
 regular opportunities for public worship in the more central 
 portions of the locations. One of these zealous Local Preachers 
 was the late Mr. Pike. He came with what was called the 
 "Nottingham party." The arrangements with Government, 
 for sending out this party of about fifty families, were conducted 
 by an agent appointed under the auspices of the Duke of New- 
 castle, who had generously aided some of them in emigrating 
 to the Cape, with the view of improving their circumstances. 
 At a meeting of these settlers before they left England, a clergy- 
 man very properly recommended to the head of the party that 
 on Sundays prayers, and occasionally a sermon, should be read 
 for the benefit of the people. But a service conducted by an 
 irreligious person was not likely to be conducive to much edifica- 
 tion. A young man imbued with religious feeling, therefore, 
 ventured to inquire whether he might be permitted to conduct 
 religious services with such as were disposed to unite with him. 
 The mere inquiry was sufficient to arouse the spirit of bigotry.
 
 EELIGIOUS PBOGRE8S OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 63 
 
 On close examination, he was induced honestly to avow, that 
 he was a " Methodist;" and he was at once informed he could 
 not be permitted to proceed with the settlers to South Africa. 
 However, there were others whose names had been included in 
 the list of accepted persons, who had been accustomed to attend 
 the Methodist preaching ; but they kept their counsel as to their 
 religious predilections. Among these was Mr. Pike, who, being 
 & devout man, and having occasionally preached or exhorted 
 in the villages near his residence, felt constrained, soon after 
 the vessel sailed from England, "to speak and to teach," 
 among his fellow emigrants, "the things concerning the kingdom 
 of God." The appointed "head" of the party, and others like- 
 m'nded, persecuted this good man for his attempts to promote 
 a spirit of piety among the settlers ; and perhaps the more 
 "bitterly, because the great pains taken to shut out Methodists 
 from any connexion with this body of settlers had thus been 
 rendered utterly futile. In the course of events, the nominal 
 head of the party died at Algoa Bay, and thus never reached 
 the place of location, which the people, from a becoming feeling 
 of gratitude to the Duke of Newcastle, called " Clumber." The 
 other persecutors of Mr. Pike were successively removed by 
 death in a very remarkable manner ; and as there was no longer 
 a,ny "let or hindrance," he commenced regular religious services 
 in a wood close to his tent. After he had erected his first ruds 
 -dwelling, he opened it for worship. His simple piety and 
 manifest godly sincerity won for him the love of his fellow 
 settlers ; and they actually elected him as the nominal head of 
 the party, and he became the friend and counsellor of the people. 
 By the aid of his influence, and the co-operation of the com- 
 paratively large congregation which speedily grew up at this 
 place, we were enabled to erect a suitable chapel, which stands 
 on a beautiful natural mount, in a most picturesque valley, 
 and, being centrally situated, has long been one of our best
 
 64 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 attended places of worship. This excellent man died many 
 years ago ; and his remains lie interred in the burial ground 
 attached to the chapel, to the erection of which his piety and 
 zeal contributed so greatly. 
 
 On my earliest visits to the various locations, we worshipped 
 God under the shade of the spreading trees, or shelter of the 
 rocks, whenever the company was too large to find room in the 
 settler's tent or hut. Gradually the people built more or less 
 commodious dwellings for themselves, as described in a previous 
 chapter ; and in several places they erected buildings of similar 
 materials for the purposes of public worship. There was very 
 little money among them in those days ; hence the original 
 chapels, which served their purpose very well for a time, were 
 generally erected by the joint labour of their own hands. As 
 the settlers rose to circumstances of greater comfort, and built 
 more substantial dwellings for themselves, they began to feel 
 that it was not seemly for them "to dwell in ceiled houses," 
 while ''God's house" was comparatively a "waste;" hence 
 they provided means, " and went up to the mountain, and 
 brought wood to build the house ; " for they believed that which 
 is written to be applicable to every house of prayer where God's 
 word is truly preached, and His holy sacraments are rightly 
 and duly administered : "I will take pleasure in it, and I will 
 be glorified, saith the Lord." The result was, that in course of 
 years the Methodist settlers, and those who wished to worship 
 with them, erected, at considerable cost and labour, a number 
 of substantial chapels in various parts of the settlement ; which, 
 being in localities distant from the towns, formed the only 
 places of worship to which the scattered people could resort for 
 the public service of God. They were generally well placed in 
 elevated and picturesque spots ; and many of the settlers learned 
 to say, with feelings of true devotion, concerning these humble 
 temples of God's grace,
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 65 
 
 " happy souls that pray 
 
 Where God delights to hear ! 
 happy men that pay 
 
 Their constant service there ! 
 They praise Thee still ; and happy they 
 Who love the way to Sion's hill ! " 
 
 Chapels of this class were erected by the settlers at Clumber, 
 (Nottingham party,) Green Fountain, Ebenezer, (James party,) 
 Traape's Valley, Bathurst, Port Frances, Keed Fountain, 
 Collingham, Manley's Flat, Seven Fountains. All these places 
 of worship, situated in various parts of the district of Lower 
 Albany, were well attended during the earlier period of the 
 Settlement; but the gradual migration of the population to 
 other portions of the Eastern Province has rendered some of 
 them, for the present, unnecessary ; and public worship is now 
 only continued in those chapels that are in the most central 
 localities with reference to the existing diminished population 
 of that part of Albany. 
 
 It soon became apparent to me, that unless the Methodist 
 Mission could be made to bear upon the European population, 
 consisting of the military in Graham's Town and the out-posts, 
 and the great body of the English settlers, they were likely to 
 remain almost entirely without the means of religious instruc- 
 tion and consolation, in the wild and desolate region in which, 
 by the providence of God, their lot was cast. There was only 
 one clergyman, the Eev. Mr. Boardman, connected with any of 
 the parties of settlers ; and he did not feel himself called upon 
 to itinerate, so as to provide for the regular religious instruc- 
 tion of those who were not included amongst the people 
 (Wilson's party) whom he regarded as his special charge. The 
 troops, consisting of English and natives, had no Chaplain. 
 The London Missionary Society, indeed, had a few years before 
 established a Missionary Station (Theopolis) in the district ; 
 
 r
 
 66 CHAPTER III. 
 
 but this was for the exclusive benefit of its Hottentot residents ; 
 and as that Society, pursuing what I must ever regard as a 
 very mistaken course of action for any Missionary Society 
 having Missions in our colonies, did not allow its Missionaries 
 to devote any systematic labours for the benefit of European 
 colonists, the Missionaries at Theopolis did not consider 
 themselves to be at liberty to attempt the formation of congre- 
 gations among the settlers. Hence it became evident, that 
 unless I made great efforts to extend the benefits of the Wes- 
 leyan Mission to the white population, at that time the most 
 neglected people in the colony, there was no hope that their 
 case would receive speedy attention from any other quarter. 
 I therefore worked hard, and I was constantly either in the 
 saddle, or walking on foot, to visit the various parts of my 
 extended sphere of labour. 
 
 In order to give greater solidity and effect to the labours of 
 the Methodists, after I had personally visited all I could find, I 
 arranged for a general meeting to be held at Salem, so as to 
 bring the people into acquaintance with each other, and to 
 produce among them a sympathy of feeling, and unity of action ; 
 hoping that, by a proper organization, their efforts in various 
 ways, and in all parts of the settlement, might, under the 
 Divine blessing, tell with greater and more permanent effect, 
 than could otherwise be expected. The church arrangements 
 of the Methodist system affordpeculiar advantages for missionary 
 action, especially among the scattered population of the colonies ; 
 and although the obstacles were neither few nor small in bringing 
 this system into full operation, yet I hoped, by introducing the 
 most earnest of the people to each other, to unite them as one 
 faithful band of "witnesses" for God, each acting, in his own 
 neighbourhood, for the spiritual welfare of those living within 
 reach. The following extract from my Journal shows the 
 nature and extent of my labours at this period. The entry
 
 RELIGIOUS PEOGEESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 67 
 
 nnder date January 2nd, 1821, was made when we had been 
 about six months in the country, and shows that the plan 
 adopted for bringing the most active and intelligent of the 
 people together was productive of resolves which led, in due 
 season, to important practical results. 
 
 " Christmas Day, 1820. Held a Prayer-meeting at five 
 o'clock this morning. The power of God was present. Preached 
 at ten : after dinner, rode to Graham's Town, completely wet 
 on the way by a heavy rain : preached in the evening at Mr. 
 Lucas's, to about twenty persons, in English ; and immediately 
 after, at their own request, to about the same number of 
 Hottentots, in Dutch. One of them prayed after my sermon, 
 and it affected me to my very soul to hear him cry out with 
 peculiar earnestness, ' Heere, zend leeraar voor o/?s arme 
 Heidenen!' '0 Lord, send a teacher for us poor Heathen!' 
 meaning one who should reside among them, and give them 
 instruction regularly. I am told that the number of Hottentots 
 in the army stationed here, including their wives and children, 
 and those who live as servants in the town, is scarcely less 
 than one thousand souls! These are all as sheep without a 
 shepherd, and most of them have come from some of the various 
 Missionary establishments ; but alas ! in Graham's Town there is 
 no Minister, not even for the Europeans ; and both classes, 
 generally speaking, (what marvel ?) are sunk very low in 
 drunkenness, lewdness, and many other deadly sins. 
 
 " January 2nd, 1821. According to appointment, a wagon- 
 load of our friends arrived from various settlements, and this 
 evening we held a meeting for the purpose of forming a Sunday 
 School Society, for promoting the establishment of Sunday 
 Schools throughout the whole District of Albany. Many 
 judicious and pious remarks were made on the subject by various 
 friends ; and so strong a feeling was excited in favour of those 
 institutions, as will, I doubt not, issue in an extensive establish- 
 
 F 2
 
 68 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ment of a system of education most admirably adapted to the 
 circumstances of the rising generation in an infant colony. It 
 appeared from the reports, that three schools already exist : 
 one at Salem, one at Green Fountain, and one at Somerset 
 Place, which contain, in all, one hundred and thirty-six 
 scholars ; of whom six are Dutch, ten Hottentots, and the rest 
 children of the English settlers. 
 
 " 3rd. This day being appointed for our Quarterly Meeting, 
 I preached at nine ; immediately after which we held a Love- 
 feast: a more interesting and affecting detail of Christian 
 experience I never heard given on any occasion. After dinner, 
 the temporal business of the Circuit was transacted by the 
 Leaders, Stewards, &c. It appeared that there was a small 
 increase in the Society, which now amounts to one hundred 
 and fifteen members. It was determined to build a small 
 chapel at New Bristol immediately, and also at Graham's Town 
 and Green Fountain, as soon as the way appears open. I met 
 the Local Preachers, of whom there are ten, including those 
 admitted on trial. They are full of zeal ; and for sense and 
 piety are not, I am persuaded, inferior to those of the greater 
 part of our country Circuits in England. It was intended for 
 three of them to have addressed us in the evening ; but Mr. 
 Barker, of Bethelsdorp, arriving at tea-time, on his return from 
 Theopolis, where he had been to see Mr. Ullbright, who is at the 
 point of death, I engaged him to preach ; and he delivered a 
 sensible and useful sermon before the largest congregation of 
 Europeans ever seen before in the District of Albany. After 
 sermon, I renewed the covenant, and administered the sacra- 
 ment to upwards of eighty persons, who remained together for 
 that purpose. Through the whole of these meetings, an extra- 
 ordinary degree of seriousness, spirituality, and fervour was 
 evident ; and all agreed in opinion, that these were presages 
 of good days to come. Even so, LORD JESUS I
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 69 
 
 " I ride every other week upwards of one hundred and 
 thirty miles, and must in future regularly preach eight times 
 during my round, independent of my Sabbath labours at home, 
 and occasional labours in other places ; but, after all, I cannot 
 go to many who are saying, ' Come and help us.' I should 
 desire occasionally to go to the frontier, the Keiskamma, where 
 there are upwards of a thousand British soldiers without any 
 Chaplain; and also to visit Bruintjes Hootge, the inland 
 boundary of the district, where there is a considerable popula- 
 tion of Dutch and Hottentots without a Minister. I am anxious 
 to visit Somerset, where I hear a number of people are collected 
 together, and to preach regularly on the Sabbath at Graham's 
 Town, and some other places ; but I can only be at one place 
 at a time. Allow me then to entreat you, if you have not yet 
 done it, to send a zealous, lively Missionary to my assistance : 
 there is work for more than another Missionary in the District, 
 and I hope we should be able to help considerably in supporting 
 him." 
 
 My earliest visit to Graham's Town, destined to be the future 
 metropolis of the Eastern Province, was made in the month of 
 August, 1820. I have already described its aspect at this time. 
 It was chiefly a military station, and head- quarters of the 
 troops, which the Kaffirs had boldly attacked in the previous 
 year, and by a clever surprise, conducted by overwhelming 
 numbers, with great bravery, storming the cannon hastily run 
 out against them very nearly secured a triumph over the small 
 detachment of troops that were on the spot at the moment to 
 resist them. The arrival of the British settlers soon gave an 
 impetus to the place, and, as already stated, its population 
 began to increase. Several mechanics and others from Salem, 
 and various parts of the settlement, sought and found employ- 
 ment in this place ; and, being added to the military, formed 
 an aggregate population that greatly needed religious ordi-
 
 70 CHAPTER in. 
 
 nances, while, as stated in the above extract from my Journal, 
 there was neither church nor chapel, nor a resident Minister of 
 any denomination. I therefore at once resolved to put Gra- 
 ham's Town on my Circuit Plan as a place to be visited by my- 
 self and the Local Preachers as frequently as possible. 
 
 A reference is made, in the above extract from my Journal,* 
 to my having preached at the house of Mr. Lucas on Christmas 
 day, 1820. I had already preached in his house several times 
 before. He was a Sergeant- Major in the Cape Corps Cavalry; 
 and, together with a comrade, Sergeant- Major Price, of the 
 same regiment, received me on all my earliest visits to Graham's 
 Town with the heartiest welcome and greatest kindness. There 
 is reason to believe that some officers and soldiers of the cele- 
 brated Eoman legion which held possession of Great Britain 
 for so long a period during the first centuries of the Christian 
 era, were greatly instrumental in the introduction of Chris- 
 tianity among the ancient Britons, long before the time when 
 Augustine reached these shores as a Missionary from Eome to 
 the Saxon race, then settled in Kent. It is surprising how 
 frequently evidence may be traced in ecclesiastical history of 
 the devotion and zeal of Christian soldiers. There have been 
 at all times, in a profession not usually regarded as favourable 
 to piety, " Centurions " who have feared God and worked 
 righteousness; and "devout soldiers," who have gladly attended 
 upon Ministers to receive religious instruction and consolation, 
 and to aid in the propagation of the truth. 
 
 It has already been shown in a previous chapter, that it 
 was owing to the representations of a considerable number of 
 Methodist soldiers in the army, serving at the Cape, that the 
 first Methodist Missionary was sent to Southern Africa ; and 
 the two excellent men, whose names I have recorded above, 
 were themselves of that religious Society when stationed near 
 Cape Town. They were both converted, and became decidedly
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 71 
 
 religious men, under the preaching of Sergeant Kendrick, of 
 the Twenty-first Light Dragoons, to whom reference has al- 
 ready been made. When removed to the frontier on military 
 service, they often mourned their entire separation from all the 
 public means; but they maintained their character as good 
 men and smart soldiers. On my first visiting them at the 
 East Barracks, they were overjoyed to receive a Methodist Mis- 
 sionary. Arrangements were immediately made for establish- 
 ing preaching in one of their rooms in the barracks ; and as 
 Sergeant-Major Lucas, being a married man, was already 
 building himself a house outside the walls of the garrison, he 
 took care to have one large room, in which a considerable 
 number of persons could assemble to hear the Gospel preached. 
 These first services were soon attended by as many as could 
 find accommodation ; and it was known that certain commis- 
 sioned officers, being either ashamed to enter a Methodist 
 Meeting, or, perhaps, afraid lest sitting in a Sergeant-Major's 
 quarters, amongst a mixed concourse of private soldiers and 
 civilians, might be deemed altogether incompatible with mili- 
 tary regulations, used to indulge their curiosity, or seek reli- 
 gious edification, by listening to the preacher while standing 
 outside near the door or window?. Thus was Methodism, and 
 through its means " earnest Christianity," indebted for its 
 introduction into Graham's Town, under hopeful circumstances, 
 to the piety and zeal of these religious soldiers. In how many 
 other places, both at home and abroad, have the character and 
 efforts of the same class of men contributed greatly to advance 
 the interests of religion ! I therefore rejoice in the deep in- 
 terest which has latterly been awakened amongst the Methodist 
 public in England on behalf of the religious interests of the 
 army. As a professedly Christian people, we have done no 
 more than our duty in the erection of the handsome church at 
 Aldershot, and the appointment of a resident Chaplain at that
 
 72 CHAPTER III. 
 
 place. These arrangements, it is hoped, will be followed by 
 more systematic efforts on the part of Wesley an Ministers, in 
 all the garrisons of the empire, for the promotion of the moral 
 and spiritual benefit of the army. We owe this as a debt for 
 the many benefits conferred on Methodism and its Missions by 
 pious officers and soldiers in all parts of the world, from the 
 days of John Haime, wiio, with other Methodist soldiers, was 
 present at the memorable battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy, 
 and was afterwards, for many years, a man of mark among the 
 early Methodist Preachers ; of Captain Webb, who, when in 
 active service, was one of the earliest and most conspicuous in- 
 struments in the introduction of Methodism into what were at 
 that time the British Provinces of America, which has issued 
 in the formation of the METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUECH OF THE 
 UNITED STATES, the largest "voluntary" and united Church 
 that the world has yet seen ; and of many others, who might 
 be named, down to the present times. There exist abundant 
 materials for a most interesting and instructive volume, which 
 might be written under the title of "Methodism in the Army;" 
 and I hope that some competent hand may be induced to under- 
 take this labour of love. But I must leave this topic, not, 
 however, without offering my humble prayer that these renewed 
 and extended efforts for the spiritual welfare of our brave 
 soldiers may be greatly honoured and prospered by the blessing 
 of the Divine Master ! 
 
 In the course of a few months it was found that the room in 
 Mr. Lucas's house was too small to admit the increasing num- 
 bers who wished to attend the services ; and the East Barracks 
 being a mile distant from the town, the locality was inconvenient 
 for the storekeepers, tradespeople, and their families, who 
 wished to attend. I therefore hired a large room in the High 
 Street, which had been used as a mess-room by the officers of 
 the Eoyal African Corps, now about to be disbanded. Here we
 
 RELIGIOUS PBOGBESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 73 
 
 continued to worship with overflowing congregations for some 
 months longer. The building was at length sold, and the con- 
 gregation could then only obtain accommodation for a time in 
 a carpenter's shop, belonging to one of our people on Settlers' 
 Hill. This was, however, so small and inconvenient, that we 
 were glad, after a time, to obtain the use, for Sunday services, 
 of a good- sized building which had been erected to accommodate 
 a so-called Odd bellows' Lodge. Meantime, I had felt con- 
 strained to take measures for the erection of a chapel. I 
 memorialized the Government for the grant of a piece of ground 
 on which to build a place of worship ; but although my appli- 
 cation had the approval of the deputy Landdrost or Magistrate 
 of the district, so many delays and difficulties were raised by 
 the chief functionaries at Cape Town, that I resolved to cut the 
 matter short, by purchasing a plot of ground for the purpose, 
 in the best place which at the time I could find for sale ; for 
 there were not then many willing to sell who were able to give 
 a legal title to their property. 
 
 The following extract from my Journal, dated exactly one 
 year after our arrival at Algoa Bay, explains my views and 
 feelings at this period concerning the erection of our first chapel 
 in Graham's Town. The first portion of the extract, in review- 
 ing the state of affairs in the Settlement, contains both light 
 and shade, and expresses my joys and griefs, my hopes and 
 fears, as a Minister of the Gospel. 
 
 " This is the anniversary of our landing at Algoa Bay. The 
 review fills me with astonishment. Within one year desert 
 and solitary places have been peopled by a multitude of men ; 
 to make room for whom, even the beasts of the field have very 
 evidently retreated from their ancient haunts ; houses have 
 arisen, and villages sprung into existence, as if by magic ; 
 hundreds of acres of land, which had hitherto lain untilled, 
 have been disturbed by the plough, and the clods torn to
 
 74 CHAPTER in. 
 
 pieces by the harrow ; but what is better than all, many of those 
 hills and dales, which echoed with no other music than the 
 dreary screams of the jackal, the harsh croaking of the frog, 
 or the dissonant notes of the raven, now resound with the praises 
 of the Saviour. But while I view these things with satisfac- 
 tion and delight, I must confess those feelings are mingled with 
 regret and sorrow, that so little actual spiritual good has been 
 done. The leaven of preaching, Prayer-meetings, and Sunday 
 Schools has been introduced among a considerable number of 
 the settlers ; but the trials, cares, and vicissitudes which 
 always attend the first adventurers in a new Colony, have 
 hitherto counteracted its influence, and too generally produced 
 worldly-mindedness, violation of the Sabbath, and an awful 
 disrelish for the solemnities of religion. While, however, these 
 circumstances tend to humble me in the dust, as having been 
 so far unsuccessful, they are at the same time loud calls upon 
 me for increased diligence ; and I trust I can say, I am resolved 
 to spend, and be spent, in the service of my God, and in pro- 
 moting the spiritual benefit of all to whom I can obtain access. 
 "A strong sense of duty has urged me to visit other settle- 
 ments, and Graham's Town, over and above what are considered 
 as the demands of regular performance of duty at my proper 
 Station. I am aware that if a chapel is built, service must be 
 held on the Lord's day ; but I am living in hopes of seeing 
 another Missionary shortly, by whose assistance this may be 
 effected. Indeed, such is the desire of the people for a chapel 
 and a Missionary, that I have, as it were, been compelled to 
 open a subscription for that purpose, which already amounts 
 to a handsome sum for an African village ; and I have no doubt 
 of raising at least one half, if not three fourths, of the money 
 necessary to build a convenient and decent place of worship ; 
 the rest, I have reason to believe, may be borrowed. Should 
 we succeed, (and why should we not ?) in forming a chain of
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 75 
 
 Mission Stations among the numerous heathen nations who in- 
 habit the eastern coast of this continent, then the importance 
 of a good Mission establishment in this District will be fully 
 acknowledged. 
 
 " I trust, if you have not yet sent me help, you will consider 
 these circumstances, as well as that we are about shortly to 
 build a chapel in Graham's Town, the largest town in the district, 
 a place where there is no place of worship and no Minister ; and 
 that there are several thousands of souls who, as far as I can 
 see at present, must live without the means of grace, unless you 
 send them one of those many soldiers of the cross, who are only 
 waiting their destination from you." 
 
 The erection of our first Chapel in Graham's Town, although 
 a plain call of duty, involved me in no small perplexity. In a 
 country where there are many "well-wishers," but few having 
 means to render much aid in such a work, he who commences 
 chapel-building must needs take considerable responsibility 
 upon himself. As the chapel was to be for the use of an English 
 congregation, I knew the Missionary Society would not be likely, 
 if requested, to grant any sum in aid of the undertaking. 
 Nothing remained but that I must beg from all who were willing 
 to give. A considerable number of persons subscribed small 
 sums, as much, indeed, as generally they were at that 
 time able to contribute ; for money was scarce, and the country 
 was then very poor. The building and land cost about 500, 
 and first and last, with continuous effort, I was enabled to raise 
 about one half the money ; and, with no small difficulty, the 
 remainder was borrowed at interest, till the income from pew- 
 rents and collections should in time pay off the debt. When 
 I laid the foundation-stone, with prayers and tears, in the 
 midst of some fifty or sixty persons, I had but half-a-crown in 
 my pocket, and only a number of promises of support, which 
 were yet to be realfeed. But it was God's cause, and:
 
 76 CHAPTEB III. 
 
 committed to His gracious Providence, in humble trust that 
 the zealous efforts we intended to make in raising the requisite 
 means, would be crowned with success. While the building 
 progressed, I was often in great straits to find money to meet 
 the just demands of the builders. I frequently had to pay the 
 cost of materials out of my own small allowances, and thus de- 
 prive myself and family, for a time, of many of what are called 
 the necessaries of life. And here I rejoice to have an oppor- 
 tunity of recording, with grateful remembrance, the temporary 
 assistance I occasionally received in the extremity of my diffi- 
 culties from the late Adjutant Macdonald and his wife; for 
 when I could do no more, they lent or procured for me tempo- 
 rary loans of small sums, which helped me over these first 
 difficulties. Messrs. Lucas, Price, and Macdonald, all belonged 
 to the army : the last-named, with his wife, had received spirit- 
 ual benefit from our ministrations, and joined our church in 
 Graham's Town. They were all liberal contributors to this 
 first chapel. All of them have departed this life, and I trust 
 have long ago discovered that the Saviour's promise, while it 
 is generally fulfilled even in the present time, is realized in its 
 utmost extent in that happy world to which, through His merits, 
 they have been introduced : "Whosoever shall give you a cup of 
 water to drink in My name, because ye belong to Christ, verily 
 I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." 
 
 I trust that this record of my early difficulties in chapel- 
 building will not be cited by any as a justification of rash spe- 
 culations of that kind. The case was peculiar. In the same 
 circumstances I know not that I should another time pursue a 
 different course ; but if any will plead this case as a precedent 
 to warrant rash and inconsiderate plunging into pecuniary em- 
 barrassments in the erection of chapels, where the call is less 
 clear, and the ultimate prospect of success is much more doubt- 
 ful, I would remind such persons that the result proved that
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 77 
 
 all was right in this instance. No permanent embarrassment 
 was the result. We have always met our engagements ; and 
 although we subsequently built some much larger and more 
 costly chapels, for which, at times, we had to borrow thousands 
 of pounds, yet we were enabled to obtain these large loans with 
 far greater ease and facility than sums of ten or twenty pounds 
 were at first borrowed. It is to me a great satisfaction to reflect 
 that in all our chapel affairs connected with that country, no one 
 has ever lost any money ; nor has any person ever been com- 
 pelled to pay any deficiency to meet obligations on account of 
 our chapels, beyond such sums as have been from time to 
 time voluntarily and cheerfully contributed by a liberal 
 people. 
 
 The foundation stone of the first Wesleyan chapel in Graham's 
 Town, referred to above, was laid on December 5th, 1821. The 
 following entries in my Journal will best state my feelings and 
 views at that time concerning this event. 
 
 "October 16th, 1821. At length I have succeeded in pur- 
 chasing an eligible plot of ground, for the erection of a chapel 
 at Graham's Town. It has brought upon my mind a burden 
 which I would gladly have avoided ; but the step has not been 
 taken without much prayer and due respect to the advice of the 
 town clerk of Ephesus, 'Do nothing rashly.' 
 
 "December 5th. This morning I had the satisfaction of 
 laying the foundation-stone of the new chapel at Graham's 
 Town. Prayer was offered to God for His blessing. Although 
 Graham's Town has had a considerable population, English, 
 Dutch, and Hottentot, for some time, yet I found on my arrival 
 no place of worship in it whatever, nor any public recognition 
 of the being of God. Of course morals were at a standard 
 extremely low. Some alteration for the better has at length 
 taken place. We have now a regular and decent congregation ; 
 and I trust, if God enable us to lay on the top-stone of the new
 
 78 CHAPTER in. 
 
 chapel, much more good will be done ; and especially when a 
 Missionary shall arrive to take up his abode in the town." 
 
 On New Year's Day, 1822, I laid the foundation-stone of a 
 chapel at Salem. The congregation continued to worship in 
 the old reed and pole house. But now we set about erecting a 
 more substantial and commodious building. The people cut 
 down some fine yellow-wood trees, that were growing in a part 
 of their location ; where, also, they procured a sufficient supply 
 of rushes for thatching : and thus, with great labour, a portion 
 of the materials was collected. As very little money was at 
 that time in the possession of the friends of this undertaking, 
 and the mechanics were all employed in Graham's Town, it 
 was resolved to erect the building in such a manner, that nearly 
 all could aid by the work of their hands. The ground being 
 suitable for the purpose, the walls, which were about two feet 
 thick and very solid, were constructed of pounded earth, slightly 
 sprinkled with water : the prepared clay, being shovelled, to the 
 depth of a few inches, into a moveable wooden frame, which 
 was about six feet long, and one foot in depth, was then beaten 
 or rammed by an instrument like one of those used by paviours. 
 When the frame was filled, and the clay had remained a short 
 time therein, it acquired consistency, being bound together by 
 a constant sprinkling of water, during the beating or ramming 
 part of the process ; the frame was then removed further on the 
 wall, to repeat the operation. The result was that the walls 
 were built in great blocks of earth, instead of large blocks of 
 stone. After a layer of earth had thus been carried all round 
 the building, a day or two was suffered to pass before another 
 was placed thereupon, and in that bright climate the action of 
 the sun was sufficiently powerful to dry and harden the material. 
 This building stood for about ten years ; and when it was neces- 
 sary to remove it, for the purpose of erecting a more suitable 
 chapel, the clay walls were found to be so strong, that they
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 79 
 
 occasioned much more labour to take down, than would have 
 been required had the walls been made of brick or stone. 
 
 Many settlers and Missionaries built houses, during the early 
 period of the Settlement, on a plan somewhat similar to what 
 is called "Devonshire cob," of which many cottages in the 
 south-western parts of England are erected. The process of 
 building is, however, somewhat different to that just described ; 
 as, on this plan, the clay is well saturated with water, just as 
 if bricks were intended to be formed thereof; and it is then 
 mixed with chopped straw or grass, and laid on in layers about 
 six inches in depth all round the building, leaving it for some 
 days, till all is thoroughly dried by the sun, and ready to receive 
 another layer, when the operation is repeated till the walls are 
 raised to the required height. I have entered thus into detail 
 because it is possible that this book may be read by some futurn 
 Missionary or settler, who may be placed in similar circum- 
 stances ; and when a substantial building is required, where no 
 masons or bricklayers are to be had, or where their wages would 
 exceed the available means, I can recommend walls, built on 
 either of the above principles, as likely to meet the necessities of 
 the case ; since they require no mechanical skill, beyond taking 
 care to keep the walls upright, while in process of erection. 
 
 Having commenced building the chapels at Graham's Town 
 and Salem, and being still engaged in my regular itinerating 
 visits to various parts of the Settlement, I was very fully oc- 
 cupied. I was, however, at that time a very young man ; and 
 my abundant horse exercise, and other out- door employments, 
 probably tended to give vigour to my constitution, which was 
 originally not very strong. I had very little time or oppor- 
 tunity for reading or study ; and in a land where there were no 
 booksellers, the opportunities of adding to my stock of books, 
 at this period, were few and far between. It may be, however, 
 that this necessity drove me to study more closely than I other-
 
 80 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 wise might have done, the small collection of standard works 
 on theology and history which I possessed. Most of my ser- 
 mons were studied on horseback, and, however defective in 
 both matter and style, yet as they were generally adapted to 
 the religious and varied circumstances of the people, in the ab- 
 sence of a better furnished and more competent Ministry, they 
 were usually well received. All classes of the community 
 were accustomed to attend the services, and I had reason to- 
 feel grateful that the great Head of the Church was pleased to 
 use me as an instrument for the conversion of sinners and the 
 confirmation of the souls of His saints. But it was not possible 
 that I could give sufficient attention to the various places which 
 required pastoral care. 
 
 The Local Preachers whose names I had introduced into the 
 first Circuit Plan, were resident in various parts of the Settle- 
 ment ; viz., at Salem, Messrs. Gates and Eoberts ; at Smith's 
 party, near the mouth of the Kowie Eiver, Mr. Eichard Walker ; 
 at Wilson's party, Mr. J. Ayliff ; at New Bristol location, Mr. 
 Shepstone ; and at Clumber, the Nottingham party, Mr. W. Pike. 
 I only mention the names of such as still continue, or of those 
 who were accredited Preachers at the time of their decease. 
 Some of those who were admitted on the first Plan, had been 
 accredited Local Preachers before they left England ; others had 
 only occasionally conducted Prayer-meetings, and delivered 
 exhortations in workhouses, hospitals, and cottages ; but in the 
 moral destitution of the Settlement, I found them all work to 
 do, in promoting the religious welfare of the people ; and our 
 small Societies and congregations were greatly indebted to the 
 zealous and laborious efforts of these brethren, who helped me 
 much in the Lord. At a subsequent period two of them, Messrs. 
 Ayliff and Shepstone, were introduced into our regular Ministry, 
 and have proved themselves eminently faithful and useful 
 Missionaries among the heathen tribes of Southern Africa;
 
 KELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 81 
 
 while another of their number, Mr. Richard Walker, as a Cate- 
 chist or Assistant Missionary, has rendered very valuable ser- 
 vice for many years past on more than one of our Stations 
 among the native tribes. From a variety of causes the original 
 number of Local Preachers whose services could be rendered 
 available was diminished at a very early period : hence I wrote 
 with earnestness and frequency to the Missionary Committee, to 
 send at least one Missionary to aid me in my work. 
 
 I was, however, grievously disappointed about this time. The 
 Eev. Joseph Taylor had informed me by letter, that a Mis- 
 sionary had been directed to proceed from Cape Town to assist 
 me in Albany ; but very soon after I had been cheered with 
 this intelligence, I learned by a letter from Cape Town, that, 
 previously to the arrival of these instructions, Mr. K., the Mis- 
 sionary referred to, had been sent off to the Bechuana Country, 
 in company with Mr. Melville, a gentleman who was going to 
 that region in the capacity of a government agent, and who had 
 resigned a highly respectable and lucrative office in Cape Town, 
 that he might go to the far interior, hoping thereby to promote 
 the great work of Missions beyond the Orange Kiver ; and 
 although the Rev. T. L. Hodgson had just arrived from England, 
 yet I was informed that he had come out with a special 
 appointment for Cape Town, and I must therefore wait some 
 other favourable opportunity before I could obtain help in Albany. 
 This was very trying, but Divine Providence soon relieved me 
 from my difficulties, and sent me helpers for the work wherein 
 I was engaged. The Missionary Committee, finding that I had 
 been thus disappointed, promptly sent out for Albany the Rev. 
 William Threlfall, a young man of deep piety and ardent mis- 
 sionary zeal, who reached Salem in May, 1822. 
 
 I had previously paid a visit to Somerset and Graaff Reinett ; 
 the former being about ninety, and the latter one hundred and 
 seventy, miles north of Salem. I visited Somerset at the 
 
 G
 
 82 CHAPTER III. 
 
 special invitation of E. Hart, Esq., who had been an officer in 
 the Cape Eegiment, but was now the superintendent of an 
 extensive farming establishment conducted for the Colonial 
 Government, with a view to raise supplies of grain and cattle 
 for the troops on the frontier. After a few years the British 
 settlers were in a position to contract for these supplies, and 
 consequently this establishment was superseded, and the place 
 became a town, the head of a district, and residence of its Local 
 Magistrate and Civil Commissioner. On this my first visit I 
 was received with great kindness and hospitality by Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hart, and was happy in the opportunity of preaching the 
 Gospel to many who had long been deprived of the means of 
 grace, including a considerable number of what were called 
 " Prize Negroes," persons who had been found in the Portu- 
 guese slave vessels when captured by our cruisers on the coast. 
 "When this Government farm was broken up, these people were 
 free to go where they pleased. Many of them ultimately settled 
 in Graham's Town, where they subsequently formed an inter- 
 esting part of one of our native congregations. 
 
 We W. Shaw, Broadbent, Kay, and Threlfall all took part 
 in the opening services of the first chapel at Graham's Town, 
 which was dedicated to the service of God on Sunday, Novem- 
 ber 10th, 1822 ; and also at Salem, where the chapel was 
 opened for worship, December 81st, 1822. A letter which I 
 wrote about three months afterwards, will explain my views 
 and feelings on the general affairs of the Mission at this 
 period. 
 
 " SALEM, March ZQtli, 1828. We are making some small 
 progress on this Circuit, chiefly in matters preparatory, and in 
 securing a foundation for permanent work in Albany. The 
 Graham's Town chapel, which is a neat and substantial stone 
 building, was opened on the 10th of November last. I preached 
 in the morning ; Mr. Kay in the afternoon, in Dutch ; and Mr.
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 83 
 
 Thrclfall in the evening. Mr. Barker, the London Society's 
 Missionary, assisted in the services, and preached on the 
 next evening, (Monday,) on which day we held a Love-feast in 
 the chapel, and had a good season. One thing that contributed 
 to make it more than ordinarily interesting was, the presence 
 of several of our Hottentot Society, who spoke with consider- 
 able propriety and feeling of the work of God in their souls. 
 Mr. Barker, who favoured us with his presence on this occasion 
 also, was requested to interpret, for the benefit of the English 
 persona present, what was said by the Hottentots in Dutch. 
 All, of every class, were much gratified and, I trust, edified 
 on the occasion. For my own part I cannot describe what I 
 felt while sitting in the pulpit, and beholding before me 
 Europeans and Africans in a mixed group, formerly so rare a 
 sight in this colony, hearing them tell, each in his own tongue, 
 the wonderful dealings of God towards them ; and this in a 
 chapel which had cost me no common pains and perplexity in 
 erecting, owing to a variety of circumstances, which I could 
 neither foresee nor control. "When I considered how God had 
 blessed, in the short space of about two years, our small and 
 obscure beginning in Graham's Town, I indeed ' thanked God, 
 and took courage.' It was mentioned at the opening, as a 
 motive for those present to give something more than on any 
 common occasion, that this chapel is the first substantial build- 
 ing ever erected for the worship of God in the whole of the 
 important and rising District of Albany. I feel the more 
 sincere gratitude to those friends who, by affording their 
 pecuniary aid, enabled us to effect this important and new 
 thing in Graham's Town. A few individuals, whose names I 
 would mention, but that they love to do good in private, 
 rendered us the most praiseworthy assistance. The chapel has 
 been well attended ever since it was opened : all the pews are let, 
 and more are being erected, to give additional accommodation 
 
 G 2
 
 84 CHAPTER ra. 
 
 to the persons not yet provided with seats. I hope much good 
 will be done in that chapel to those who attend. 
 
 " We commenced a Sunday-school in Graham's Town 
 immediately after the chapel was opened, in which there are 
 about sixty scholars. We need very much a building for a 
 school-house and chapel, for the Hottentots of Graham's Town, 
 to be erected near the barracks. A great and good work might 
 be done among them, if this were effected ; but we cannot 
 expect much without we have such a place. About five hundred 
 rix-dollars have been subscribed, principally by the Hottentots 
 themselves, towards this object : but we cannot enter upon it 
 until we receive your reply to our request in the annual Minutes 
 sent home two months ago, for a grant of fifty pounds to aid 
 us in carrying into execution our plan. 
 
 " The Salem chapel was opened on the 81st of December, 
 when brother Threlfall preached, and we held a Watch-night. 
 On the 1st of January, Mr. Barker, of Theopolis, preached, 
 and Mr. K. in the evening. Every one was affected with the 
 consideration that a Christian congregation was now assembled, 
 in a commodious and substantial place of worship, where, less 
 than three years ago, the silence of the desert was undisturbed 
 by the exercise of Divine worship. I hope this chapel will 
 prove a blessing to future generations. It has cost me a great 
 deal of trouble, as I had personally to superintend the building 
 in its progress ; but the poor people have helped as far as 
 their peculiar circumstances and poverty would allow. At one 
 end of the building a school-room is partitioned off : we have 
 fitted it up with desks, &c., in a convenient manner : and, 
 through the medium of H. Kivers, Esq., our Landdrost, I have 
 prevailed on the Governor to appoint Mr. Matthews (mentioned 
 in a former letter) to be schoolmaster to the settlers at Salem 
 and its neighbourhood, with a salary from the Colonial Govern- 
 ment, the only instance of the kind as yet in Albany. Thus
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OP THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 8f* 
 
 our people will have the benefit of a free day-school, as well as 
 Sunday-school, for their children. 
 
 " The settlers are still in general greatly depressed, in con- 
 sequence of the failure of their successive crops : only one kind 
 of wheat, called Bengal, has as yet succeeded ; but that does 
 very well, as do rye, barley, and oats. I have procured a 
 quantity of the Bengal wheat for seed for our people, and I hope 
 they will have better success this year. They are just beginning 
 to plough. There has been, in many peculiar cases, very great 
 distress among them ; but when I think upon the accounts from 
 Ireland, the distress among the settlers appears comparatively 
 nothing. I speak generally ; for I know, as hinted above, there 
 have occurred some very distressing cases among the settlers. 
 I have myself distributed aid to a considerable amount in a 
 variety of such cases ; which have arisen most frequently from 
 accidental causes, and things more immediately connected with 
 an infant state of society." 
 
 The Mission in Albany now assumed a regular and settled 
 form. The congregations steadily increased, and our prospects 
 of usefulness were very pleasing. We felt, however, that 
 although there was full work for two men, we were hardly 
 justified in retaining three on the ground at that time, since 
 very little could be expected from the people, to aid in defraying 
 the cost of such a staff of Missionaries. I had been some time 
 desirous of visiting Kaffraria, to see whether there was any 
 opening for the establishment of a Mission among that numerous 
 but heathen and barbarous race of people. I will narrate, 
 in another part of this work, the steps that were taken, and 
 which ultimately led to the commencement of a Wesleyan Mis- 
 sion in that country, at the end of the year 1823. As, however^ 
 there were difficulties which it took some time to remove, before 
 we could commence the Kaffir Mission, my junior colleague, 
 Mr. Threlfall, became somewhat impatient at the delay. He
 
 86 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 was dissatisfied with having to spend his time and strength 
 almost exclusively in preaching to European settlers, since he 
 had volunteered for the foreign department of ministerial labour, 
 with a view to preaching the Gospel among the Heathen. I 
 laboured to convince him that he was wrong in the view he took 
 of our work in Albany, which, in my opinion, could not fail to 
 be a great means of enabling us, at no distant date, to enter 
 upon the difficult enterprise in Kaffraria, with much greater 
 facilities and prospects of ultimate success, from our having a 
 considerable body of European Christians so near, who would 
 be likely to sympathize with us, and in various ways to aid our 
 labours. We did not entirely agree in opinion on these points, 
 but on all other subjects we were as one heart and soul. He 
 was truly a holy and zealous young Minister ; and notwith- 
 standing his disappointed feelings in being obh'ged to labour 
 amongst European colonists, instead of preaching the Gospel to 
 the Heathen, which he strongly desired, I must bear my testi- 
 mony here, as I have done in other publications, to the earnest- 
 ness with which he strove to win souls. His labours among 
 the settlers were brief, but "he was a burning and shining light." 
 He was greatly loved and respected by them ; and not a few 
 attributed chiefly to his pulpit and pastoral efforts their 
 being aroused to a sense of the importance and value of real 
 religion. 
 
 Mr. ThrelfalTs views regarding the call of a Missionary in 
 Africa, as being rather to labour among the Heathen than 
 amongst professed Christians, had the entire sympathy, at that 
 time, of the Eev. B. Shaw, who acted very much thereon in 
 reference to the work at Cape Town, where the opportunities of 
 gathering a considerable and influential English congregation 
 were to some extent postponed in favour of efforts to collect a 
 congregation of black and coloured people, to whom the 
 Missionaries preached in the Dutch language. Perhaps, if I
 
 EELIGIOUS PEOGEES3 OP THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 87 
 
 had not gone to South Africa as a Chaplain or Minister of a 
 party of settlers, I might have adopted similar views; but, 
 however this may be, I am fully satisfied by our past experience, 
 that wherever there is a British Colony in juxtaposition with 
 heathen tribes or natives, it will be our wisdom to provide for 
 the spiritual wants of the Colonists, while at the same time we 
 ought not to neglect taking earnest measures for the conversion 
 of the Heathen. 
 
 As the Eev. B. Shaw favoured Mr. ThrelfalTs views, at a 
 time when the prospect of an early commencement of the pro- 
 posed Kaffir Mission was somewhat clouded, I consented that 
 he should leave Albany, and proceed to Cape Town. On his 
 arrival in May, 1823, he was at once introduced to Captain 
 Owen of the Eoyal Navy, who had command of a surveying 
 squadron employed on the Eastern Coast of Africa, and who 
 offered to take him in H.M. frigate the "Leven," and put him 
 ashore at Delagoa Bay, where Captain Owen represented that 
 there was a most promising opening for a Mission. Mr. 
 Threlfall without hesitation consented to go, and was eventually 
 put on shore at the place indicated. There he remained about a 
 year, living in the greatest discomfort in a very unhealthy 
 climate, and was finally brought away, in what was considered 
 to be a dying state, by the Captain of a whaling vessel. After 
 he reached Cape Town, his health somewhat improved. He 
 was then sent, at his own request, to our Station at Ehamies 
 Berg, Namaqualand, which being an elevated and salubrious 
 region, the climate in a short time greatly renovated his health. 
 After a time he started on a long and toilsome journey towards 
 the country of the Great Namaquas andDamaras, on the Western 
 Coast, among whom he hoped to preach the Gospel. He was 
 accompanied by Jacob Links, an excellent native (Namaqua) 
 Missionary. They were both attacked at night, while sleeping 
 under a bush, and barbarously murdered by some miserable
 
 88 CHAPTER III. 
 
 natives, for the purpose of plundering them of the few articles 
 of food and other necessaries which they had in their possession. 
 Thus did the excellent Threlfall offer up his life in the service 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 Before I removed from Albany to commence the Kaffir 
 Mission, in the latter part of 1823, the chapel in Graham's 
 Town, which had only been dedicated for worship about a year 
 previously, had become much too small ; and as the congregation 
 had greatly increased, we found it much easier to obtain means 
 for enlarging the building than for its original erection. We 
 therefore resolved to add to the length of the chapel one half of 
 its existing dimensions, and to introduce a gallery at one end. 
 By these means it was rendered capable of holding twice the 
 original number of worshippers. While this work was in pro- 
 gress, it was necessary for me to proceed beyond the borders of 
 the Colony on my projected Mission : hence Mr. K. was unavoid- 
 ably left alone for a few months, till the arrival of the Eev. 
 Samuel Young, who was speedily sent out by the Missionary 
 Committee, to occupy the vacant Station at Salem, and whose 
 steady and judicious labours and conduct proved of the greatest 
 service to the Mission in Albany. I remained in Kaffraria for 
 six years, when I was removed at the request of my brethren, 
 and by the appointment of the Missionary Committee and the 
 Conference, to Graham's Town, where it was thought I might 
 best serve the cause as the resident Minister and Chairman of the 
 District, which at this time was becoming very much extended 
 in its geographical limits. During the six years of my residence 
 in Kaffraria, we were enabled, under the guidance and blessing 
 of Divine Providence, to establish four important Missions 
 among the Kaffirs, and other parts of the country were opening 
 to our labours. 
 
 The Missionary Committee nobly sustained us at this period, 
 by reinforcing our numbers from time to time. In the early
 
 BELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE AI.BANY SETTLEMENT. 89 
 
 part of the year 1830. the Rev. Messrs. Palmer, Boyce, and 
 Cameron arrived. Mr. Palmer laboured diligently in Albany, 
 and was very useful for about three years : he then proceeded 
 to take charge of a Station in Kaffraria, where he prosecuted 
 his work with most exemplary zeal and fidelity ; and, after 
 enduring much hardship, and encountering some serious dangers 
 during two Kaffir wars, died suddenly while engaged in a noble 
 and generous effort to secure the safe removal of the Missionaries 
 and people of two Stations from a place where they were 
 believed to be exposed to imminent peril of attack from 
 exasperated foes. Messrs. Cameron and Boyce happily still 
 survive ; but although that circumstance restrains my pen, yet 
 I cannot refrain from saying that Mr. Cameron, who is at 
 present stationed in Cape Town, has fully developed the great 
 ability and devoted piety of which he gave very early promise. 
 He has laboured in the vineyard, both within the Colony and in 
 the far interior ; and beyond many is an able workman, rightly 
 dividing the word of truth. The Eev. W. B. Boyce, after 
 spending about thirteen years in Southern Africa, constrained 
 by family reasons, returned to England ; from whence, after 
 two years, he proceeded, at the call of the Missionary Committee, 
 to New South Wales, in the capacity of General Superintendent 
 of "Wesley an Missions. After a lengthened residence in that 
 Colony, he took a distinguished part in preparing the way for 
 the formation of the Australasian Conference, of which he was 
 nominated the first President. Mr. Boyce is now in England. 
 A warm and mutual friendship, which dates from our first 
 acquaintance, renders it needful for me to speak of his personal 
 qualities under restraint ; but the great and valuable services 
 which he was enabled to render to our South African Mission, 
 must, without regard to any feeling of private friendship, bo 
 made to appear in another part of this work, when I refer to 
 the early history of the Wesleyan Missions in Kaffraria. Messrs.
 
 90 CHAPTER III. 
 
 John Edwards and W. J. Davis were the next Missionaries sent 
 to reinforce our number. Both of them have laboured long and 
 most successfully in very remote parts of the interior ; and I 
 trust the great Head of the Church will yet spare them to be the 
 instruments of turning many to righteousness. 
 
 The work in Albany had steadily progressed under the care- 
 of the Missionaries, during the period of my residence in* 
 Kaffraria. It continued to do so after my appointment to- 
 Graham's Town. In the year 1831, there was a remarkable 
 revival of religion among the young people of the congregation. 
 Several respectable families, who had for some time been attend- 
 ants at our chapel, also participated in the religious quickening^ 
 which was now vouchsafed by the Lord the Spirit. Many were 
 truly converted, and from that time commenced a course of con- 
 sistent piety, which continues to this time; while others, after 
 some years of Christian devotedness, died happy in the faith of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, leaving the most pleasing reminiscences 
 to their surviving friends, of the beauty and excellence of their 
 religious character, and their devoted zeal in the cause of their 
 Eedeemer. 
 
 The enlarged chapel now became much too small, notwith- 
 standing that many families who had been originally Inde- 
 pendents, Presbyterians, or Episcopalians, had transferred their 
 attendance to the St. George's Episcopal church, or to the 
 Independent chapel, which had been recently erected in the 
 town. The growth of the congregation rendered it once more 
 necessary to take steps for the erection of a larger Methodist 
 chapel; which it was resolved should also possess a much 
 improved architectural character, and stand on a better site 
 than that occupied by the old building. The people contributed 
 liberally ; and a chapel, which cost in all about three thousand 
 pounds, was erected. It afforded comfortable accommodation 
 for a congregation of seven or eight hundred persons. It
 
 RELIGIOUS PROGRESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 91 
 
 opened for public worship on Sunday, the 16th of December, 
 1832. I preached in the forenoon; the Eev. Mr. Monroe 
 (Independent) in the afternoon ; and the Eev. W. J. Shrewsbury 
 in the evening. The Eev. Mr. Davis, Baptist Minister, preached 
 on the following Monday evening. The collections at these 
 opening services amounted to more than one hundred pounds : 
 Showing the growing means and the increasing interest of the 
 people ; for at the opening of the first chapel the collection 
 scarcely exceeded twenty pounds. Most of the pews were 
 speedily let ; and the large additional accommodation soon 
 began to be occupied by an increasing and serious congregation, 
 fhe old chapel was retained as a school-house and place of 
 worship for the use of a native congregation; consisting, at 
 this time, chiefly of prize Negroes of various African nations,, 
 and Hottentots, for whose benefit Divine worship had been 
 some time conducted in the Dutch language. 
 
 Having for family reasons obtained leave from the Missionary 
 Committee to visit England, I left the Colony, for that purpose,, 
 in the month of March, 1833. I was succeeded at Graham's 
 Town by the Eev. W. J. Shrewsbury, who had been several 
 years in South Africa, and had commenced the important 
 Mission among the tribe of Kaffirs belonging to the great Chief 
 Hintsa. His reputation, as a faithful Minister of Christ, had 
 preceded his arrival in Southern Africa ; for the events connected 
 with the destruction of the chapel in which he had preached in 
 the Island of Barbadoes, and his providential escape from the 
 hands of a mob excited to fury against him by the most ground- 
 less reports and extravagant misrepresentations, had given him 
 an undesired, but honourable, notoriety among all who wished 
 well to the black and coloured races in our Colonies, and who 
 felt interested in the progress of Christianity among them. 
 The very able and truly evangelical character of Mr. Shrews- 
 bury's ministry, together with his zealous pastoral efforts, was
 
 92 CHAPTER m. 
 
 of the greatest service, and many were thereby attracted to the 
 new chapel. A most painful domestic bereavement obliged him 
 to leave South Africa and return to England, after a compara- 
 tively short sojourn in Graham's Town ; but he left behind him 
 an undying reputation for piety, ministerial ability, and fidelity. 
 On my departure for England the Mission had not been quite 
 thirteen years established, and the state of the work in Albany at 
 this time is correctly represented in the following extract from 
 a report which I wrote for the use of the General Secretaries of 
 the Missionary Society in London. 
 
 "A second chapel has been built in Graham's Town by the 
 Wesleyan Society. It was opened on the l^th of December last, 
 and is a very handsome and substantial building, capable of 
 accommodating about eight hundred "hearers. The original 
 chapel, which affords room for upwards of four hundred persons, 
 is now used as a school-house, and also as a place of worship 
 for the black and coloured population, for whose benefit it is 
 requisite to hold separate services, as they do not generally 
 understand the English language. 
 
 "Within a period of thirteen years, no less than thirteen 
 substantial chapels have been erected in various parts of the 
 settlement by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants. 
 In several parts of the District, were it not for these chapels, 
 the settlers would have no facilities whatever for regularly 
 attending public worship. Sunday schools have been established 
 in connexion with these places of worship ; and, in the Wesleyan 
 schools alone, about eight hundred children and adults, including 
 white and black, bond and free, are taught to read the word of 
 God, and instructed in the principles and morals of the Christian 
 religion. 
 
 "By these means not only has the English population been 
 preserved from moral degeneracy, but the tone of moral and 
 religious feeling now existing amongst them would not suffer by
 
 RELIGIOUS PEOGEESS OF THE ALBANY SETTLEMENT. 93 
 
 a comparison with the high standard which prevails in the most 
 enlightened districts of Great Britain. At the same time the 
 aborigines have not been neglected ; many of those who reside 
 within the British settlement have been brought under the 
 influence of Christianity; a very encouraging number have 
 received baptism, and are now consistent members of the 
 Christian Church."
 
 94 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 The Kaffir Mission, 1823-1830. 
 
 WITH Mr. Shaw, the English settlement at Salem had 
 always been regarded as a stepping-stone to a Kaffir 
 Mission. He remarks : 
 
 FEOM the time when I received my appointment to Southern 
 Africa, as Chaplain or Minister to a party of British settlers, 
 my mind was filled with the idea that Divine Providence 
 designed, after I had accomplished some preparatory work 
 among the settlers who were located on the border of Kaffraria, 
 that I should proceed beyond the colonial boundaries, and 
 establish a Wesleyan Mission among the Kaffirs. Hence I 
 resolved not to be disobedient to the heavenly call ; but while 
 steadily pursuing the work of the day, my eye was constantly 
 fixed on Kaffraria, as a great field for future Missions. I 
 thought about it, talked about it, read every scrap of intelligence 
 I could obtain concerning it, and often prayed and engaged 
 others to pray with me, that "a wide and effectual door" might 
 in due season "be opened" before us into these "regions be- 
 yond." My views and feelings on this subject were expressed 
 in a letter to the Missionary Committee, written at Salem in 
 the year 1820, only a few months after my arrival at that plaee. 
 
 " This Station will be the key to Kaffirland, a country abound- 
 ing with heathen inhabitants. Certainly the present is not the 
 time for penetrating that country ; but I hope the present tur- 
 bulent spirit of that people will soon begin to subside, and then 
 I should wish to see a Wesleyan Missionary ready to take
 
 THE KAFFIB MISSION. 95 
 
 advantage of the opportunity to enter and proclaim npon their 
 mountains 'good tidings, and to publish peace and salvation.' 
 The time might soon follow, when you would see on your lists 
 Stations among the Tambookies, the Mambookies, and the 
 various tribes of people between us and Delagoa Bay. 
 
 "I hope the Committee will never forget that, with the ex- 
 ception of Latakoo, which is far in the interior, there is not a 
 single Missionary Station between the place of my residence, and 
 the northern extremity of the Red Sea ; nor any people professedly 
 Christian, with the exception of those of Abyssinia. Here, then, 
 is a wide field, the whole eastern coast of the continent of Africa! 
 If ever the words of the Saviour were applicable to any part of 
 the world at any time, surely they apply to Eastern Africa at 
 the present time : ' The harvest is great, but the labourers are few.' 
 How should Christian men pray that the 'Lord of the harvest 
 would send forth labourers into His harvest !'" 
 
 I was now in correspondence with the Governor, through the 
 Landdrost of the District, for the purpose of obtaining permis- 
 sion to establish a Mission in Kaffraria. The Government was 
 was at first, however, very much opposed to my project. The 
 non-intercourse policy was deemed the only safe system for 
 preserving the peace of the border : consequently, although a 
 letter which I had written as to the desirableness of establishing 
 fairs or markets within the Colony, under the sanction and sur- 
 veillance of the Government, to which the Kaffirs might resort 
 for barter and trade, had been well received, and secured for me 
 the respect of the high officials of the Colony, yet it was deemed 
 very undesirable that any Missionary Society should be per- 
 mitted to commence a Mission in Kaffraria. The Governor was 
 not inclined to allow any attempt of that kind to be made, be- 
 yond the establishment which had recently been commenced at 
 Chumie ; this Station being a species of combined political and 
 religious Mission, sustained at the cost and charge of the Colo-
 
 96 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 nial Treasury, and consequently under the immediate instruc- 
 tions and control of the Government. 
 
 The Amaxosa or Border nation was at this period, and till a 
 very recent date, politically divided into two nearly equal 
 parties ; the tribes living furthest from the sea being called by 
 the Colonists the Gaika tribes, and those inhabiting the coast 
 country being designated the Dhlambi tribes, from the names 
 of the two most powerful Chiefs then living near the Colony. 
 The coast tribes, however, included the tribe of Hintsa, 
 (Amagcaleka,) the most powerful of all the Chiefs, who, indeed, 
 was regarded by them as the hereditary paramount Chief of the 
 whole nation. 
 
 This Station, (Chumie,) a semi-official Mission of the 
 Colonial Government, aided by Missionaries of the Scotch 
 and London Societies, which had succeeded to the original 
 Mission commenced by Dr. Vanderkemp and Williams, of 
 the London Missionary Society, 1799-1818, was at that 
 time the only Mission in Kaffirland. Mr. Shaw wisely con- 
 sidered that by these brethren the Gospel call had been 
 presented to the Gaika tribes, and that his plain course 
 was to begin with the Amagonakwabi tribes near the 
 coast. 
 
 I resolved, " God being my helper," steadily to pursue the 
 openings of Divine Providence in this direction ; and, if aided 
 by the Society at home with the requisite means, to use my 
 utmost efforts to establish "a chain of Wesleyan Mission 
 Stations," beginning near the border of the Colony, and 
 extending along the coast country of Kaffraria to Natal and 
 Delagoa Bay. 
 
 He had made himself acquainted with the ethnological 
 and political relationships of the Kaffir tribes.
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 97 
 
 The Gaika tribes at this period, besides that of the Ama- 
 ugqaika, comprised the Amanbalu under Enno, the Imidanke 
 under Botuman, and the Amantinde under Tshatshu, with 
 some smaller dependent clans. The coast tribes consisted of 
 the Amagcaleka under Hintsa, the Amandhlambi under 
 Dhlambi, and the Amagonakwaybi under Pato, often at this 
 period called the Congo tribe, from a colonial corruption of the 
 name of Pato's father and predecessor Kungwa. To these were 
 also attached a number of petty clans, who were more or less 
 under the control of the respective Chiefs. The whole nation 
 was thus divided into two nearly equal portions ; and efforts 
 were made from time to time by Kaffir politicians to preserve 
 "the balance of power." The circumstances of the border, 
 however, together with those ever-recurring causes of irritation 
 and dispute, which, with more complete knowledge of the native 
 African races, we are now aware always existed, had produced 
 very great alienation and strife among them. The coast Kaffirs, 
 living in a separate part of the country, and being placed under 
 an entirely distinct jurisdiction, owing no fealty to the Gaika 
 Chiefs, and having at the head of their confederation the great 
 Chief Hintsa, were impatient of all interference in their affairs 
 by Gaika, from whose tribes they had latterly been entirely 
 dissociated by the course of political events. 
 
 Mr. Shaw paid a visit to Chumie, August 22nd-September 
 12th, 1822, and again, in company with Mr. Shepstone, 
 and John Tzatzoe as interpreter, in July, 1823, on his way 
 to visit Congo, Pato, and Kama, the Chiefs of the Gunukwabi 
 tribe, among whom he hoped to establish his Mission. 
 Having obtained the consent of the Chief, they at once 
 returned to the Colony, to make preparations for the 
 removal of their families, and for the commencement of 
 their great undertaking. 
 
 H
 
 98 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 My visit to the country of Pato having cleared away the last 
 difficulty, nothing was now required but that we should as soon 
 as practicable remove into Kaffraria, and take up our residence 
 near that Chief. Accordingly, on September 10th, 1823, I 
 removed my family from Salem to Graham's Town, preparatory 
 to our departure for Kaffraria. It will not surprise the reader 
 that a happy connexion with the settlers of Salem, which had 
 lasted for nearly four years, reckoning from my first introduc- 
 tion to them as their Pastor in London, before we migrated to 
 Southern Africa, could not be dissevered without mutual 
 pain and regret. But I was satisfied as to the path of duty ; 
 and the people who were thus to be deprived for a season of 
 the residence of a Minister in the midst of them, believing that 
 it was better they should submit to this temporary disadvantage, 
 rather than the opportunity for establishing a Mission should 
 be lost, kindly acquiesced in the arrangement, and sent us away 
 with many tears, offering, at the same time, many prayers for 
 our safety and success. Thus the little Society at Salem 
 became a mother Church not only to the other Methodist 
 Churches within the Colony, but likewise attained the honour 
 of standing in that relation to many native Churches which 
 have since been formed "in the regions beyond." 
 
 At this time the Rev. B. Shaw, of Cape Town, wrote, in 
 reply to a letter from the Eev. W. Shaw, the following 
 remarks: "Were I in your situation, I should go into 
 Kaffirland, and leave your colleague and the Local Brethren 
 to do their best. Considering the wants of this land, they 
 (the Colonists) would still have their portion, and especially 
 as they have got a Minister, and are going to erect a 
 chapel at Graham's Town. It is impossible for me to say 
 whether or not you ought to take a carpenter and mason 
 with you, as I am unacquainted with the local circum-
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 99 
 
 stances of the country altogether, nor do I consider myself 
 as having anything to do in an official way in your part of 
 Africa." This letter was dated July 10th, 1823. It is 
 strange that no Biography of this the first of our South 
 African Missionaries, the man whose journals, written 
 in the purest idiomatic English, helped to raise and per- 
 petuate the Missionary feeling in England, has yet 
 appeared. A selection from his journals, preceded by 
 a brief notice of his previous history, and a continuation of 
 the same to the end of his life, would be a valuable addition 
 to our Missionary literature. The Eev. Barnabas Shaw had 
 no showy qualities, and he never had a Missionary sphere 
 commensurate with his abilities ; but he was one of our 
 worthies to be held in everlasting remembrance. 
 We now return to Mr. Shaw's own statement : 
 
 We were detained at Graham's Town by imperative family 
 circumstances ; meantime, a terrific storm occurred, and con- 
 tinued ten or twelve days, during the month of October, which 
 not only did great damage, but filled all the rivers to overflowing, 
 so that the Great Fish River, at that time the colonial boundary, 
 could not be crossed for several weeks. Our time was, however, 
 fully occupied in making many needful preparations for our 
 arduous undertaking. Two wagons were purchased, each to be 
 drawn by twelve oxen ; we also provided the needful outfit of 
 horses and saddlery, bedding, and other articles required in the 
 wagons, which for a time were to form our only sleeping 
 accommodation. Cooking utensils, camp stools, and tables, 
 with a supply of meal, and groceries, which we calculated 
 might last us some months, it was needful to take, there 
 being no stores or shops in the land whither we were going. 
 The only food which we should be able to purchase from 
 
 H 2
 
 100 CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 the natives, would be cattle for slaughter, milk, and Kaffir 
 corn, with, possibly, pumpkins, and some other vegetable 
 productions. 
 
 At length, all things seemed to be ready ; my wife had 
 recovered from her recent accouchement, the wagons were 
 already partially loaded, and our departure was near at hand, 
 when suddenly there was an alarming rumour of a Kaffir 
 inroad. Parties of the natives had, within a few days, carried 
 off many cattle from some frontier farms, and murdered two or 
 more herdsmen ; going off with the cattle with such rapidity 
 to their fastnesses in the mountains, that the small body of 
 troops in the neighbourhood had no chance of overtaking 
 them, or recovering the plundered property. This report 
 naturally produced much excitement in the country ; and 
 some of our kind-hearted friends who had often expostulated 
 with me on the folly of going to live among these native tribes, 
 now resolved to offer a final remonstrance on the subject. 
 They represented to me, that the Mission was as yet too 
 hazardous ; that time and the course of events, bringing the 
 Kaffirs more into intercourse with the English, would be likely 
 to smooth, if not entirely remove, many existing difficulties ; 
 that it was doubtful whether I ought to leave the various con- 
 gregations which had been gathered in Albany to the care of 
 one Missionary, even for a few months, supposing that the 
 Missionary Committee should send another Missionary 
 within a year, which they regarded as doubtful : and, 
 above all, it was urged that recent events showed 
 the untamed and ferocious character of the Kaffirs, and 
 that nothing could be expected to result from this rash pro- 
 cedure, but that myself, and wife, and children, with all 
 who accompanied us, would be robbed and murdered, since 
 even the Government regarded the Dhlambi and Congo or 
 Coast tribes as the most audacious of the whole Kaffir nation,
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 101 
 
 they having actually stormed and nearly captured Graham's 
 Town only five years before that time ! 
 
 I cannot say that these suggestions and remonstrances 
 produced no effect on me. I felt my mind burdened and 
 oppressed with a load of care and anxiety. But happy is the 
 Missionary who has a good and faithful wife, that sympathizes 
 in his objects and aims, and who, in addition to an affectionate 
 heart that affords solace in sorrow, likewise possesses a sound 
 judgment, qualifying her to offer counsel in time of difficulty. 
 Many Missionaries have been so favoured, and can understand 
 my feelings, while I acknowledge how much benefit I derived 
 from the self-sacrificing spirit and noble bearing of my wife at 
 this trying crisis. When I repeated to her what our friends 
 had urged upon me, and asked what she thought we ought to 
 do ; entering into the whole case with calmness and clearness, she 
 gave utterance to several pertinent remarks, saying in substance, 
 and nearly in the following words, " You have long sought and 
 prayed for this opening ; Divine Providence has now evidently set 
 the door open before us ; expenses have been incurred in the pur- 
 chase of outfit ; you stand pledged to the Chiefs ; andthecharacter 
 and conduct of the Kaffirs only show how much they need the 
 Gospel. "We shall be under Divine protection ; " closing all with 
 these emphatic words, "Let us go in the name of the Lord." 
 With a full heart and streaming eyes, I answered, "That reply 
 has settled the matter, and we will start as soon as I hear that 
 the Great Fish Kiver is likely to be practicable for the wagons 
 to pass." I now felt that I could almost have addressed our 
 kind friends in the words which Paul spake to the disciples at 
 more than one place, when going on a mission which portended 
 danger: "What mean ye to weep and to break my heart?" 
 " None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear 
 unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the 
 ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the
 
 102 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Gospel of the grace of God." But when our friends heard my 
 final resolve, they " ceased" from further importunity, and said,. 
 "The will of the Lord be done." 
 
 On the 13th day of November we left Graham's Town, and 
 commenced our journey to Kaffraria. The party consisted of 
 (1.) Myself and Mr. Shepstone. We rode on horseback. (2.} 
 My wife and Mrs. Shepstone, with their respective children, my 
 wife's youngest being a babe about six weeks old : these were 
 all placed together in one wagon, and were most uncomfortably 
 crowded. The other wagon contained many heavy articles, with 
 spades, pickaxes, and implements of various kinds. (3.) In the 
 second wagon, three or four native women with children, being 
 domestics, or wives of our two wagon-drivers and interpreter. 
 The drivers were Hottentots ; and the interpreter was a young 
 Kaffir, who had married a Hottentot wife. Having resided 
 some time at the London Society's Station of Theopolis, he 
 had obtained a very limited acquaintance with the frontier 
 patois, or native Dutch ; and it was through him that we hoped 
 to communicate with the Kaffir Chiefs and people, on our 
 arrival and settlement in their country. 
 
 At that period, Dundas Bridge, which now spans a deep 
 gully at the lower or northern end of High Street, in Graham's 
 Town, and through which the Kowie stream or river flows, 
 had not been erected ; and it was not very easy to cross it with 
 loaded wagons : hence an accident occurred to the riem chain, 
 or wheel-lock, of one of the wagons, while running down the 
 rocky bank to the stream, by which two or more spokes of one 
 of the wheels were broken. "A bad omen," said one, " at the 
 very starting ; you had better even now give it up and stay 
 with us." Some slight repair was soon completed ; and we 
 continued our course, until we had arrived at a spot about six 
 or seven miles from town. At this place it was requisite to- 
 uitspan or unyoke the oxen, and make preparations to stay
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 103 
 
 during the night ; and here about a dozen of our friends, who 
 had accompanied us on horseback, took an affectionate leave 
 of us ; not, however, till we had all knelt down on the green 
 grass, and two or three of their number had poured forth earnest 
 prayers to the God of heaven, that He would have us in His 
 holy keeping, and give us a safe journey and a prosperous 
 entrance among the Heathen. To many who reside on the 
 frontier and in Kaffraria, it will seem strange that what is at 
 present regarded as an every- day occurrence, and a journey 
 which now excites no more apprehension among the Colonists 
 than a trip from London to Paris usually does in England, 
 should have been regarded as so serious an undertaking. 
 But at the period to which I am referring, (1823,) for Europeans 
 to go with their wives and children among the Dhlambi tribes 
 or coast country Kaffirs, was considered to be an almost certain 
 course to destruction. The amazing difference which time 
 and the changes produced by missionary labour, commercial 
 intercourse, and political events, now present in this respect, 
 is only a part of the manifold evidence which is patent to all 
 men, proving the steady progress and improvement which has 
 taken place in that country. 
 
 I cannot more accurately narrate the principal circumstances 
 connected with our removal into Kaffraria, and reception by the 
 Chiefs, than by quoting a few passages from a communication 
 which I wrote at the time, and which, whatever attention it 
 may have arrested at that period by its publication in a mission- 
 ary periodical, will, I am assured, be entirely new to the great 
 majority of those who are likely to read this volume. It was 
 requisite that we should enter Kaffraria by way of the Chumie, 
 and pass through the country of Gaika ; and, consequently, our 
 journey being very circuitous, we had to travel upwards of one 
 hundred and sixty miles, while the distance by a more direct 
 road, which I afterwards marked out and opened on my first
 
 104 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 visit to the Colony, was found to be about eighty miles. In 
 travelling to Fort Beaufort, on our way to Chumie, we were also 
 obliged to pursue a route much more circuitous than that 
 which the troops subsequently opened up in a more direct line. 
 Just about the time we started, I learned that a strong com- 
 mando of troops and Dutch farmers was about to enter the 
 north-western portion of Kaffraria, to make reprisals for the 
 large number of cattle recently stolen by the Kaffirs ; and that 
 another military force would simultaneously go on the same 
 errand among the coast Kaffirs. As these operations were to be 
 commenced at opposite ends of the Kaffir frontier, our travelling 
 in the country, while the Kaffirs were under the excitement 
 produced by the entrance of the troops among them, did not 
 seem a favourable conjuncture of affairs. It will be seen 
 that there is some reference to these events in the extract 
 below. 
 
 After our friends took leave of us, as narrated above, the 
 night became very rainy. Our canvas tent attached to the 
 wagon, not having been properly made, proved but a poor shel- 
 ter ; and as the water dripped through upon us, we were 
 obliged to spread a large umbrella. My wife and children 
 huddled together for shelter under it, as best they could ; and 
 Mrs. Shepstone and her children occupied the wagon; so 
 that at the commencement we did not enjoy any very luxurious 
 accommodation. 
 
 " The next day we arrived at Kooster's Drift, or Ford, over 
 the Great Fish River : all the fords had been rendered impassable 
 for wagons during several weeks, by the very heavy rains that 
 had fallen : the river was still deep and rapid. There is a 
 perpendicular fall at this place, from the top of the south bank 
 to the water, of between twenty and thirty feet : the river had, 
 however, during the rains, far overflowed its channel. Some 
 soldiers had been at work, cutting a road to the river through
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 105 
 
 the bank ; and it was with great difficulty, though promptly 
 aided by them, that we succeeded, after about three hours' toil, 
 in getting both the wagons and everything else safely to the 
 opposite side of the water ; but it was very dangerous work. 
 One of our men was nearly drowned ; but we had reason to be 
 thankful to God that all ended well. Ours were the first wagons 
 that had crossed that ford since the rains. 
 
 " We proceeded on our journey from the Fish Eiver on the 
 15th, and in the afternoon crossed the Gonappe, which was also 
 done with great difficulty. On the following Monday, the 17th, 
 we crossed the Kat Eiver, and arrived at Fort Beaufort, a new 
 fort, building with a view to check the incursions of the enter- 
 prising Kaffirs in that direction. The country around this 
 place is extremely beautiful. 
 
 " On Wednesday, the 19th, we proceeded on our journey 
 through an unoccupied and trackless country, until the next 
 morning, when we entered Kaffirland, and arrived at Chumie, 
 the Station of the Government Missionaries. Messrs. Thom- 
 son and Bennie and Mrs. Thomson received us in the most 
 friendly manner; and circumstances rendering it necessary 
 for us to remain with them ten days, we received from 
 them such marked hospitality and kindness as leave us much 
 their debtors. Mr. Brownlee had not returned from Cape 
 Town, but was on his way, accompanied by a Missionary of 
 the Glasgow Society, who on his arrival will, in conjunction 
 with Mr. Bennie, commence a Station, under the direction of 
 that Society. 
 
 " A commando had entered the coast part of Kaffirland, while 
 we were on the road, and had proceeded to Pato's country, to 
 make reprisals for the cattle recently stolen, and which had been 
 traced in that direction. I therefore deemed it proper to send 
 a messenger to Pato.to know if he were still friendly, and still de- 
 sired us to take up our residence with him. In a few days the mes-
 
 106 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 eenger returned with Pato's earnest entreaty, that we wonld pro- 
 ceed to them immediately : he sent, at the same time, seven men 
 to protect and assist us, in our journey through Kaffirland to 
 his residence. Everything heing therefore more full of promise 
 than we had anticipated, we commenced our journey from 
 Chumie on the 1st of December, and on the 5th arrived in 
 safety at the place selected for the Station when I was here the 
 last time. 
 
 ' " We had to make a road for the wagons from Chumie to this 
 place, in doing which many a tree fell before the hatchets of the 
 Kaffirs who accompanied us, and who, including several that 
 had followed us from Chumie, amounted to between twenty and 
 thirty in number. The road was intersected by a great number 
 of streams, that run from the mountains in the north into the 
 Keiskamma ; fords over these had to be discovered, rendered 
 passable, &c., in all which we found the Kaffirs very useful : 
 the only remuneration they expected or received was presents 
 of beads. 
 
 "Although surrounded in many places by multitudes of 
 people, the men sent by Pato were so attentive, that we 
 lost nothing during the journey ; notwithstanding that the 
 Kaffirs, like all other barbarous nations, are notorious for 
 thieving. 
 
 " We crossed parts of the districts under the authority of 
 the Chiefs Gaika, Enno, Botuman, and Dhlambi, before we 
 entered the district under Pato, which is a long narrow slip 
 along the coast. Gaika and his son Makomo we saw at 
 Chumie ; Botuman we saw at a place where we unyoked our 
 oxen, near his residence ; he would have been very glad to 
 have received us into his district, if we had not been under a 
 promise to Pato. 
 
 ' ' We were received on our arrival here by Pato and his brothers, 
 Kobi (Congo) and Kama, with a great number of their people,
 
 THE EAFFIB MISSION. 107 
 
 as though we had been making a triumphal entry : all was 
 bustle ; and, as is usual where many wild, untutored people are 
 assembled together, all was noise and clamour ; everything 
 about us was wonderful, and excited the greatest astonishment ; 
 our wagons, our wives, our children, all were examined with 
 attention, and appeared to make the spectators wonderfully 
 loquacious. Our wagons were drawn up under the shade of 
 one of the beautiful yellow-wood trees that grow along the 
 side of the river ; here we outspanned (unyoked) the oxen, pitched 
 our tent, and praised God for having brought us in safety to the 
 place where we would be. 
 
 "The next day Pato and his brothers, with a number of their 
 Council and inferior Captains, assembled : a variety of subjects 
 were discussed, connected with my intentions, and purposed 
 mode of procedure, &c. ; and all appeared well pleased. They 
 said some flattering things, in the true Indian style, which I 
 should not repeat here, only that it may help to give you an 
 idea of some parts of their character. Among other things the 
 Chiefs said, From henceforth I should be their fatJier, and they 
 would make of me, as the interpreter rendered it, a ' bescherm 
 bosch,' i. e., a bush of defence from wind and rain ; meaning, 
 I should be their defence in an evil day. These expres- 
 sions, beyond doubt, resulted from sincere and honest feelings; 
 but they could not avoid tinging them with the flattery and 
 adulation usually employed when addressing a Chief or 
 Headman." 
 
 Having thus established ourselves on the Eiver Twecu, close 
 to the residence of the three brother Chiefs, Pato, Kobi, and 
 Kama, we immediately commenced building operations. Until 
 a house could be erected, we lived under the umbrageous 
 branches of some noble yellow-wood trees growing by the side 
 of the stream ; the wagon and its attached tent affording, when 
 it did not rain, tolerable sleeping accommodation at night.
 
 108 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 We used to perform our very scant toilet in the morning in a 
 sheltered nook of the river. Our wives and the domestics 
 managed the cooking, and we usually ate our meals and per- 
 formed our daily domestic worship in the open air, often with 
 scores of the natives, especially women and children, looking 
 on with undisguised surprise and amusement. Indeed, from 
 about ten o'clock till a short time before sunset, we were 
 frequently beset by crowds, who remained around us the whole 
 day. Their curiosity at first, and afterwards their pilfering, 
 became so troublesome, that I was obliged to ask the Chief to 
 appoint one of his men as a sort of sentry or police- officer, in order 
 to protect our wives from much annoyance, particularly during 
 the absence of myself and Mr. Shepstone from the wagons. 
 This was readily granted, and an old umpagate undertook the 
 duty with great good-will. He carried the usual Kaffir intonga, 
 or fencing stick : and when boys or men ventured to make 
 themselves, as he considered, too intrusive, a few hard strokes 
 and raps falling on those who were unlucky enough to be at the 
 moment within reach of attack, soon dispersed the crowd. 
 I mention this principally to show that when it was known that the 
 Chiefs had really issued an order, and armed this man (Kalaku) 
 with their authority, no one dared to resist. In fact, his intonya 
 was as effective a protection as the staff of a policeman could be 
 in London. But, after all, the crowds of gazers and idlers, who 
 kept up an incessant gabble all day long, and many of whom 
 were intent on seizing any favourable moment for stealing such 
 articles as happened to be unavoidably left lying about on the 
 ground, frequently occasioned much annoyance. Sometimes, 
 indeed, our food was stolen out of the cooking-pots, when the 
 servant's attention happened for a short time to be diverted to 
 some needful occupation. It required patience and temper to 
 endure these petty annoyances, which were especially trying to 
 our wives. But we soon learned to look for the approach of
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 109 
 
 sunset, when we should enjoy some degree of quiet ; for we 
 observed that as that time approached, the natives invariably 
 began to leave us, those who had come far going first, until at 
 length, by the time the sun had disappeared, scarcely an 
 individual remained. 
 
 These crowds of natives assembled around us daily for seve- 
 ral weeks after our arrival in the country. Many came to 
 offer us articles of food for barter. We required a constant 
 supply, as I had regularly to provide for more than twenty per- 
 sons, including children and the natives, servants, &c. ; and as 
 we speedily hired a number of men to assist us in our building 
 operations, food was likewise required for them. I agreed, how- 
 ever, to pay them wages, and therefore left them to purchase 
 their own food, only supplying them occasionally as the nature 
 of their employment rendered necessary. The reason the na- 
 tives always dispersed at sunset, we soon discovered to be, that 
 it was then necessary for the men and boys to go to the common 
 fields and look up their cattle, and drive them to their folds for 
 the night, after which followed the process of milking the cows, 
 while the women were also busy in preparing food. The supper, 
 at seven or eight o'clock in the evening, being the principal 
 meal for all Kaffirs, no one likes to be absent from his place in 
 the mess circle at that hour. The men, the women, and the 
 children used to eat in separate groups ; but woe to the wight 
 that was missing at supper time ! No food would be saved or 
 put away for the use of the late comer, who, when arriving 
 after time, could never hope to make up his loss, but must go 
 supperless to his couch (mat), and learn to be a more careful 
 observer of punctuality for the future. 
 
 I have mentioned that we carried on a sort of barter with 
 the Kaffirs for food, and paid wages to the men who assisted in 
 our work. The question will naturally arise in the mind of the 
 reflecting reader, what constituted the medium of barter and of
 
 110 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 payment of wages among these people in this low state of 
 barbarism. I will endeavour to explain this, and at the same 
 time remove an absurd prejudice which has fastened itself on 
 many ingenuous minds who have never been placed in circum- 
 stances favourable to the practical consideration of this subject. 
 It involves, of course, a question of morals. It would be unjust 
 to take anything from natives which is not in their country a 
 fair equivalent for that which they give. I admit this, or rather 
 I would strenuously contend for it, as a matter of mere justice 
 between man and man. And yet I felt no scruple in dealing 
 with the natives for such articles as we required for our personal 
 use, and giving them in barter beads, buttons, brass wire, 
 cotton handkerchiefs, and pieces of iron ; for these were in 
 fact the principal articles which we used in exchange, and in 
 which we paid the wages of our work people. Many Mission- 
 aries in other uncivilized countries have felt obliged to act in a 
 similar manner. We had, indeed, at this time no option in the 
 matter. The natives knew nothing of the value of money. A 
 few of them who had been in the Colony had some very vague 
 idea concerning it ; but the Dutch farmers had never accus- 
 tomed them to the use of it. In fact, at that period, they had 
 very little else but paper rix- dollars themselves. Hence we 
 could purchase nothing from the natives with money. I have 
 more than once, as a mere experiment, knowing, however, 
 pretty well how it was likely to end, offered gold or silver in 
 one hand, and a brass button or two in the other, for the 
 purchase of a "basket " of milk, or other article of food; but 
 the buttons were invariably preferred. Indeed, at that time no 
 real Kaffir residing in that part of the country would have 
 parted with anything that he valued in exchange for money in 
 any form. 
 
 The intrinsic worth of the articles necessarily given by us in 
 exchange (like bank notes) was indeed small ; but their relative
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. Ill 
 
 value at the time and for many years afterwards was very great. 
 "We paid the daily wages of a Kaffir in beads, buttons, or brass 
 "wire, giving him the choice of these articles on an adjusted 
 scale as to quantity and value. But he felt himself to be 
 liberally rewarded for his labour, because, after providing him- 
 self with food, his wages would leave him a surplus by which 
 he could in one month purchase from his countrymen an ox ; 
 or in two months he could easily save from his wages sufficient 
 to purchase two or three cows, or three or four young heifers. 
 Indeed, although at this time the cost to us for the labour of a 
 Kaffir, such as it was, certainly did not exceed threepence a 
 day, yet we could have had any number of Kaffir labourers, as 
 soon as they discovered that it was a ready road to wealth. 
 Many a native, after continuing some time in our employment, 
 managed, on leaving us, to purchase as many cows and heifers 
 with the proceeds of his labour as placed him in the condition 
 of a Kaffir gentleman ; and, as they all possessed a common 
 right to the grass lands for the use of their cattle, he speedily 
 retired from business with what he deemed a competence ! 
 Certainly our circulating medium at this time was more con- 
 venient than the cowrie shells used by the natives of Western 
 Africa among themselves. The beads, buttons, and brass wire 
 maintained their value in the country for years, because they 
 were required and considered essential as an ornamental part 
 of the dress of the people, more especially that of the females ; 
 and no marriage could be celebrated in the country without 
 the interchange of large quantities of these commodities. 
 
 While busily occupied in various pursuits connected with the 
 erection of our buildings, in all which I found the assistance 
 and experience of Mr. Shepstone to be invaluable, I availed 
 myself of frequent opportunities to exercise my great com- 
 mission as a preacher of the Gospel to this people. Watching 
 favourable opportunities, I used to assemble a group of thenv
 
 112 . CHAPTER IV. 
 
 and desire them to sit down on the grass, while I told them the 
 "good news" which I had brought to them. It was at first 
 very difficult to induce them to listen with patience. They 
 were fond of argument and disputation. I was constantly 
 interrupted on these occasions hy questions ; and often found 
 myself in the position of a person to he catechized, rather than 
 in that of the teacher. Gradually, however, these visitors and 
 strangers began to listen with more attention. On one occasion, 
 while engaged with a party of this kind, I wished to introduce 
 something like an act of worship, in addition to my familiar 
 talk with them concerning the Gospel ; but as they had never 
 been accustomed to any kind of religious worship, for the 
 Kaffirs are not even worshippers of idols, they did not readily 
 comprehend my intentions. I, however, desired the interpreter 
 to explain that I wished them all "to kneel on the grass as- 
 they would see me do. I was about to speak to God, and ask 
 Him to do us good ; and, as He is great and holy, we must 
 prostrate ourselves before Him." After some difficulty they all 
 imitated me, and knelt down in a circle ; but there was one 
 droll fellow among them who, on looking around and noticing 
 the new and strange attitude which they had assumed, could 
 not restrain his risible faculties ; he began to laugh immode- 
 rately ; a fit of cachinnation spread itself around the circle, 
 and, for the time, worship was rendered impracticable. This 
 sort of difficulty often occurred afterwards in various places, 
 when we itinerated among the people. But let the Missionary 
 cultivate the grace of patience ; for patience and firmness will, 
 in time, by the Divine blessing, remove any obstacle of this 
 kind. The people soon become orderly and attentive ; and when 
 individuals who have not been accustomed to worship prove 
 noisy and ill-behaved, they are immediately taken to task, and 
 subdued into quietness, by their better instructed or better 
 informed countrymen. I have not unfrequently, at subsequent
 
 THE KAFFIE MISSION, 113 
 
 periods, seen a plebeian Kaffir reprove a Chief for disorderly 
 conduct during public worship. The argument adduced by 
 them in such cases is, that even if they do not believe the 
 Gospel, yet civility and good manners towards the teacher, who 
 does believe, require that he should not be disturbed or 
 affronted while engaged in the worship of God. 
 
 A very short time after my arrival in the country, I requested 
 the Chiefs to assemble their petty Captains and principal 
 Counsellors, that I might confer with them on some matters of 
 great importance to their welfare. When they were con- 
 sequently assembled, I endeavoured in an address of some 
 length to explain to them, that now that they had received a 
 Missionary, it was requisite they should put a stop to all steal- 
 ing from the Colony ; that I had recently received intelligence 
 from the English Commandant that some cattle had been stolen 
 and traced into their country ; that unless they would put an 
 end to these marauding expeditions of the people, it would be 
 of little benefit for me to dwell among them ; and that peace 
 which they professed to desire with the English could not be 
 maintained. The Chiefs expressed many thanks for the trouble 
 I had taken ; and said that it was an evident proof to them 
 that I meant to be their friend ; but that it was not easy to 
 restrain so many thousands of their people. " There were 
 always some men with bad hearts, however good the intentions 
 of the Chief might be," &c., &c. I told them that I was well 
 aware of all that, but I knew the Chiefs had great power ; and 
 that, although they could not always prevent bad men from 
 robbing, yet they could afterwards punish them for it when 
 detected. After much discussion, they told me that very 
 strenuous orders would be immediately sent through the tribe ; 
 and certain principal men, whose names were given to me, 
 were appointed " watch and ward " of certain drifts or fords 
 along the Keiskamma Eiver, through which any cattle stolen 
 
 I
 
 114 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 from the Colony must be driven; and that these persons should 
 receive strict orders to capture not only all stolen cattle passing 
 through these fords, hut the rohbers also, if practicable. I 
 have the best reason to believe that, from this time, and for a 
 series of years afterwards, no robberies were perpetrated by the 
 Amagonakwaybi tribe upon the Colonists. No stolen cattle 
 were traced during all those years among them ; nor during 
 that time did a single patrol of military, or party of burghers, 
 come after any cattle into the country of these Chiefs. 
 Occasionally, a batch of stolen cattle were captured from 
 robbers belonging to other tribes, who attempted to bring them 
 through their country; but they were promptly and invariably 
 brought to me, that I might furnish a passport to the Kaffirs 
 whom the Chiefs sent in charge of them to the nearest military 
 post, that they might be restored to their lawful owners. 
 
 At a very early period, also, after our settlement with Pato, 
 I received a communication from Major (now Lieutenant- 
 General Sir Henry) Somerset, at that time Commandant of 
 Kaffraria, stating that the Government was desirous of bringing 
 about a good understanding with the Dhlambi or coast tribes. 
 As already stated, these tribes had for some years been treated 
 by the Colonial Government as enemies, and rebels against 
 their lawful Chief or King, Gaika. But the authorities now 
 began to discover that the policy which had recognised Gaika 
 as the supreme or paramount Chief of Kaffraria was a mistake, 
 fraught with consequences detrimental to the peace and quiet 
 of the border. Major Somerset therefore wished me to induce 
 not only Pato and his brother Chiefs, but through them their 
 powerful neighbours and allied Chieftains of the Amakhakabi 
 tribe, including old Dhlambi himself, with his sons Dushani 
 and Kye, to meet him in a friendly conference. I communi- 
 cated his message to the Amagonakwaybi Chiefs ; and, after 
 some hesitation, they sent messengers to inform the Dhlambi
 
 THE KAFFIB MISSION. 115 
 
 Chiefs. Before the latter would decide on the course to be 
 pursued, Dushani and one or two of his brothers, including 
 Umhala, were sent to see and converse with me on the subject. 
 Dushani expressed great astonishment on finding us in the 
 country with our wives and children. He had scarcely had 
 any previous intercourse with white men. He said, indeed, 
 that he had heard of our arrival ; but could not believe that 
 any Englishman would venture to live among them, until he 
 came and saw us actually settled in the country, and without 
 any armed force to protect us. However, he remarked, " It is 
 well that you have come ; we want peace ; and you must be 
 our mouth to give our words to the white Chiefs." After some 
 discussion, all the principal Chiefs agreed to meet Major 
 Somerset at the place he had indicated, being one of the fords 
 over the Keiskamma ; but they consented only on the condition 
 that I accompanied them, and remained present at the inter- 
 view. Not wishing to be mixed up with the political arrange- 
 ments of the country, I strove to avoid this ; but it was in vain 
 that I sought to be excused. If I refused to go, then they 
 would not meet the Commandant as requested. As, however, 
 it was highly desirable that the meeting should take place, so 
 that a better understanding might be established between them 
 and the colonial authorities, I at length reluctantly consented, 
 and informed Major Somerset of the circumstances ; reminding 
 him, at the same time, that the personal safety of myself and 
 all our Missionary party would be jeopardized, if any untoward 
 event, leading to a collision, occurred at the meeting. 
 
 At the appointed time, (January, 1824,) I started with the 
 Chiefs from our home, accompanied by parties of their warriors. 
 On the road, a messenger met us, and stated that Dhlambi 
 was afraid of treachery at the interview, and would not trust 
 his person near the troops. He had often been pursued by 
 patrols during the previous wars, and more than once had 
 
 i 2
 
 116 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. He knew, also, that 
 a price or reward had been offered for his capture. It was 
 soon, however, evident that the messenger was sent to ascertain 
 whether I was really with the Amagonakwaybi Chiefs ; hence, 
 very shortly after we reached the spot where we were to bivouac 
 for the night, Dhlanibi, Dushani, Umkai, and a large body of 
 their people, made their appearance. After some formal in- 
 terchanges of messengers and greetings had taken place 
 between the respective Chiefs, and I had shaken hands with 
 old Dhlambi, for many years past the terror of the frontier, the 
 Chiefs and people divided into distinct parties, to make their 
 preparations for supper and a night's lodging. 
 
 I can never forget that night. We were to sleep in a deep 
 glen, surrounded by a very wild and broken tract of country. 
 They selected an extensive bush to serve at once for shelter, 
 and as their garrison for the night. It supplied them with 
 sufficient fire- wood, and water was not very distant. Several 
 oxen which had been brought for the purpose were killed; 
 the butchers and their numerous assistants broiling and eating 
 various parts of the internal viscera of the animals, while 
 engaged in their occupation of skinning and cutting them up. 
 These men were all entirely naked, and seemed wonderfully to 
 enjoy their occupation, and the titbits which they were eating ; 
 for, at intervals, they sang and danced after their barbarous 
 fashion, and in a manner anything but agreeable to European 
 notions. At length, the animals being cut up, the beef was 
 distributed to the various Chiefs and vassals. Great care was 
 taken to observe the proper gradations of rank in this distri- 
 bution. The breast portions of the animals, cut up after their 
 peculiar method, were regarded as the prime parts, and these 
 were reserved specially for the great or principal Chiefs. 
 
 I afterwards noticed that the Chiefs were attended by their 
 servants with some form and ceremony. Their cooks broiled
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 117 
 
 their beef on the burning embers with particular care ; and, 
 when the steaks were ready, took branches from the bushes, 
 which they intertwined, and thus formed a kind of mat or 
 receptacle on which the meat could be placed. The flesh was 
 cut into long strips, from three to twelve or more inches in 
 length, and about an inch broad. The attendants likewise 
 produced large milk sacks, which had been brought on pack- 
 oxen ; from these they poured the sour and curdled milk into 
 vessels made of rushes or grass platted together, and then 
 placed them at the feet of the principal person in the group. 
 A sort of ladle was provided, made from a calabash or small 
 gourd. The attendant, or master of the milk sack, who enjoys 
 certain privileges, dipping this ladle into the milk, drank a 
 portion of it, to show that there was no poison or dangerous 
 ingredient mixed therein. The Chief then used the same 
 instrument, and partook of the milk, passing it round the 
 circle. In like manner, it was curious to see how they 
 managed to eat without knives, forks, plates, or dishes. The 
 headman of the circle, taking up one of the long slips of flesh 
 described above, and putting part of it with his left hand into 
 his mouth, cut off, with a javelin which he held in his right 
 hand, as large a morsel as was agreeable to himself, or at least 
 convenient for him to masticate. He then passed the remainder 
 of it to the person next him ; who, having performed the same 
 pleasant operation, passed it on in turn to his neighbour, and 
 so on round the circle. It evidently required some tact, and 
 was regarded as a species of polite etiquette in this style of 
 feeding, BO to adjust the morsels, as that there might be 
 sufficient for each one in the party to receive a piece. If the 
 headman sees that the strip of beef is too short to go all round, 
 lie sometimes sends another piece round the opposite eide of 
 ihe circle. 
 
 A bountiful supply of beef from the parts most esteemed
 
 118 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 was duly forwarded to me by the Chief for myself and the 
 natives attached to my party. The latter had brought my 
 small tea-kettle, which, being filled with water, and boiled for 
 my use, with some admixture of tea and sugar, and a few 
 biscuits, together with a steak broiled before the wood fire, 
 supplied me with an abundant meal, for which I had a sufficient 
 appetite, having eaten nothing since an early breakfast. Having 
 partaken of my supper, I had time to look round me, and I 
 visited various parts of the bush, which seemed like a large 
 sylvan city. There were between two and three thousand 
 Kaffirs assembled, all well armed with their full complement of 
 spears or javelins, fencing sticks, and knobbed sticks, or clubs. 
 They were distributed into parties of from twenty to fifty men. 
 Each party had its separate fire for warmth and broiling their 
 beef ; and the blaze of so many fires, in all parts of the wood, 
 with the naked Kaffirs flitting to and fro, the incessant noise 
 and chatter of most of the people, contrasted with the gravity 
 of some of the Chiefs and counsellors, who sat conferring 
 together, combined to produce a strange scene. 
 
 I felt no fear, but I was not sure there was no possibility of 
 danger ; for I could not forget that I was the only European 
 present, an unarmed individual, amidst this great gathering of 
 some of the wildest men, including the most notorious robbers, 
 of Kaffraria. When some of the Chiefs came to my fire to have 
 some talk with me as to the best course for them to pursue, I 
 felt it my duty to advise them to take from the thieves and 
 restore to Major Somerset certain cattle which had been recently 
 stolen by a bad set of people, who had for some time detached 
 themselves from their proper tribes, and were living as a sort 
 of lawless banditti on the border of their lands. After the 
 Kaffirs had finished their suppers, leaving marvellously small 
 remnants of the cattle that had been so recently slaughtered, 
 the noise began to subside ; and, having prayed with the few
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 119 
 
 people who were attached to me, I adjusted my saddle for my 
 pillow, rolled myself on my sheep-skin kaross, and, placing 
 myself with my feet towards the fire, I was soon asleep on the 
 rough ground. In truth, notwithstanding the wild character of 
 my companions, I was so wearied that I slept till sun-rise as 
 soundly as I could have done on any curtained bed of down. 
 
 Early in the morning, certain spies sent out by the Chiefs 
 returned to our bivouac, and reported that they had seen a 
 colonial force which had reached the western side of the 
 Keiskamma Eiver, near the ford that the Commandant had 
 appointed (the Line Drift). I observed that these spies were 
 very closely questioned as to what the "commando " consisted 
 of; and from my interpreter I learned the particulars of the 
 report, which I afterwards found to be remarkably accurate as 
 to the proximate numbers of the force, and its relative propor- 
 tions of troops and burghers. The whole body was mounted, 
 and consisted chiefly of a portion of the Cape Corps Cavalry 
 and a small party of Dutch farmers ; the entire force com- 
 prising about three or four hundred men. They had encamped 
 during the previous night in a beautiful vale, near the banks 
 of the river. After the Chiefs had held some consultation, 
 they asked me to go with them to the heights, which com- 
 manded a view of the camp ; and having reached this spot, 
 they very carefully scanned it. I desired them to show them- 
 selves on the heights, and we soon noticed that they were 
 observed by the troops below. I now recommended them 'to 
 send two of their men as messengers to the Commandant, to 
 report that they were arrived according to his request. One of 
 these men was provided with a white rag, obtained from one of 
 my attendants, and this was tied on the top of a stick as a flag 
 of truce : thus equipped, the two emissaries went off quickly 
 down the very long and steep descent, and the Chiefs watched 
 them till they saw they had safely arrived within the camp.
 
 120 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Chiefs now retired to join the body of their people, and 
 shortly afterwards their messengers returned from the camp 
 accompanied by the Commandant's interpreter, a South 
 African Dutchman, named Bezuidenhout, who was instructed 
 to inform me and them, that the Major would march up the 
 heights before midday, and to request that the Chiefs would 
 meet him on the High Eidge, where he proposed the conference 
 to be held. Much private consultation was held among them 
 as to the principal points which they were to urge in the dis- 
 cussion with the Commandant. It was agreed that they 
 should request to be recognised by the Government as inde- 
 pendent Chiefs over their respective tribes, without any inter- 
 ference from Gaika, and that all communications should 
 hereafter be made direct through the Missionary to them, 
 without being sent through him, whom they acknowledged to 
 be a great and powerful Chief, but denied that he had control 
 over their affairs. Dhlambi and Dushani were to urge that 
 they and their people might be permitted to re-occupy the 
 country lying between the Keiskamma and the Buffalo rivers, 
 from which they were driven during the previous war, and 
 which, like the " Neutral Territory " between the Fish Eiver 
 and the Keiskamma, had been left uninhabited ever since. If 
 these requests were granted, the concession was to be taken as 
 a proof of the good will of the Government, and they would 
 then comply with its wishes as to the restoration of stolen 
 cattle ; depredations in the Colony should be severely punished ; 
 and Hottentot or other native deserters from the Cape Corps 
 should be delivered up to the colonial authorities. 
 
 At the appointed time, Major Somerset and his force rode up 
 the hill. On the first intimation by the scouts that they were 
 in motion, the Chiefs assembled their warriors : they formed in 
 clans under their several petty Chiefs and headmen, and then 
 combined in larger divisions, according to the hereditary branch
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 121 
 
 of the Chiefs houses or families to which they respectively 
 belonged. It was curious to see how every man at once 
 recognised his own clan, and how the stronger clans exhibited 
 pride in their relative numbers. At length the whole body, 
 comprising between two and three thousand fine athletic and 
 active men, but forming only a small portion of the force of 
 their respective tribes, moved to the middle of the High Ridge, 
 and took up a position just at a spot where two deep ravines, 
 one on either side of the height, caused the space on the top to 
 be so narrow that their line completely occupied it, having 
 bushy precipices on either flank. As soon as the Major reached 
 a part of the ridge which was within a few hundred yards of 
 their position, he saw at once how skilfully it had been chosen 
 in case of any untoward event leading to a collision. Their 
 flanks could not be turned, and, if they wished, the whole 
 of them could easily escape to the right and left, and in a few 
 moments disappear in the woods. He therefore sent his inter- 
 preter with the request that they would move a little higher up 
 the hill, as he wanted to bring his force further up. But this 
 they resolutely refused to do. Meantime I went to the Com- 
 mandant, and told him that the Chiefs were all in good temper, 
 and had come in good faith. On receiving this assurance, 
 the Major very fairly proposed, that the interview should be 
 held half-way between the respective forces, now facing each 
 other ; the two lines being about three hundred yards apart. 
 This proposal strengthened their confidence, and, after a short 
 delay, the principal Chiefs, with myself and a private inter- 
 preter of their own, advanced to meet the Commandant and his 
 principal officers. 
 
 There was a lengthened discussion, the particulars of which 
 I need not recite. Suffice it to say, that the Major promised 
 that the several points which they had urged should be conceded, 
 and the Chiefs on their part engaged that certain deserters
 
 122 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 should be given up, and a considerable number of cattle which 
 had been stolen should be restored, At the request of the 
 Commandant they fixed a time, (three days,) within which 
 period they would capture and restore the cattle. He desired 
 that one of the Chiefs would accompany him to his camp as a 
 hostage, until this was done. None of the Chiefs would 
 volunteer, till at length I persuaded Kobi (Congo) to go. He 
 consented, on condition that I would go and stay with him iu 
 the camp. Accordingly, I agreed to do so. We accompanied 
 the force back to their camp, and the Kaffirs broke up and 
 returned home well pleased with the result. On the forenoon 
 of the third day, we saw the promised cattle driven down the 
 hill by a party of Kaffirs, who, on reaching the camp, delivered 
 them over, as directed by Dhlambi and Dushani, to the Com- 
 mandant ; and thus terminated this interview, which had been 
 managed with very great tact and discretion ova the part of 
 Major Somerset. Kobi (Congo) and I returned to our home- 
 among the Kaffirs, and we soon found that the result of the 
 meeting had afforded abundant satisfaction. The Dhlambi 
 Ohiefs expressed themselves in extravagant terms of delight, 
 that they could now re-occupy the vacant lands, and " sleep in 
 peace," and I was hailed everywhere by the Kaffirs as the friend 
 of Dhlambi and Pato. 
 
 I have detailed the circumstances of this Conference between 
 the Commandant of the frontier and the Chiefs at some length, 
 because it introduced a great change in the system of intercourse 
 between the Government and them, and was followed by a 
 period of almost unexampled peace and tranquillity on the lower 
 part of the Kaffir border, which lasted without the slightest 
 interruption for about ten years. And the reader will perceive, 
 that if the narration of this episode has occupied considerable 
 space, it has enabled me at the same time to present a description 
 from actual observation of Kaffir habits when the men are
 
 THE KAFFIE MISSION. 123 
 
 assembled for war, or other purposes, in any considerable- 
 bodies. The same system of bivouac, and of feeding themselves 
 when in the field, is adopted by all the tribes of Southern Africa. 
 
 In a remarkably short time, we completed a " wattle and 
 daub" house, thatched with rushes, and divided into four 
 rooms, in which both families obtained accommodation, until 
 a second and similar dwelling was erected. We now began 
 to feel ourselves tolerably settled, although we had very few 
 appliances indeed for ministering either to our convenience or 
 comfort. But those who have resided in the open air for a few 
 weeks will be prepared to regard a dwelling of any kind, how- 
 ever rude and humble, as a great improvement in their 
 position. It was resolved, that the next building should be a 
 school- chapel ; but mean time we cleared away the underwood 
 from a spot which was sheltered and shaded by large trees on 
 the bank of the river : and here we established our regular 
 religious services. Several families now came, and requested 
 permission to reside on the Station ; and these persons formed 
 the materials of our regular congregation, to which were con- 
 tinually added many strangers, who, from time to time, used to 
 come into the neighbourhood to visit the Chiefs, or for traffic, 
 and other purposes. 
 
 As the place was likely to grow into a village, I resolved to 
 give it a name ; and what name could rise to my mind as suit- 
 able to designate the first Methodist Mission in Kaffraria, but the 
 name of the venerable Wesley ? Hence from this period it was 
 called " Wesley ville." As we subsequently gave names to all 
 our regular Mission Stations, I will here assign the reasons 
 why we did so. Some persons have censured Missionaries and 
 Colonists for giving European names to their settlements. It 
 is said we ought to retain the native names, which are repre- 
 sented as being much more euphonious and expressive than 
 the names which arc often applied to places by Missionaries
 
 124 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 and others. IB answer to these observations, so far as Kaffraria 
 is concerned, I may state, that in that country there are no 
 towns, and no native names of their kraals or villages. The 
 Kaffirs only give names to their rivers, and the more remarkable 
 ranges and peaks of the mountains in their country. If a 
 particular spot has a name, it will on inquiry be found to be 
 derived from some headman, who lives, or recently lived there : 
 e*g., Kwangubene, the native name of one of our Mission Stations 
 in Natalia, was retained. Now, Kwangubene simply means, 
 "in or at the place of Ngubu; " a man of some note of that 
 name having formerly lived there. This name happened to be 
 easy to pronounce, and therefore it was accepted as being 
 sufficiently distinctive, since the neighbourhood had, during 
 the last generation, been so called. But while the Kaffirs 
 usually distinguish a tract of land with the name of the nearest 
 river, that name is a common indicator to any spot for many 
 miles near, and on either of its banks, and is therefore far from 
 being definite. The greatest difficulty, however, is, that the 
 names of most of the rivers in the parts of Kaffraria near the 
 Colony are unpronounceable by Europeans, in consequence of 
 the occurrence of clicks and other peculiar sounds in the words. 
 I have met with persons who contended for the importance of 
 retaining the native names of places, and have been much 
 amused to hear them, while arguing in favour of their views, 
 pronouncing these names in such a manner that no native in 
 .all the land would recognise them, but would at once suppose 
 them to be some foreign words. The native name of Wesley- 
 ville, as given by a Kaffir, would be, when translated, "the 
 Missionary's place at Twecu," Etwecu being the name of the 
 small river tributary to the Tyelomnqa ; on which the village 
 was erected. But no European who has not mastered the 
 language would ever pronounce these names properly, and they 
 are far from being unusually difficult. King William's Town,
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 125 
 
 situate on what the Colonists denominate the Buffalo Eiver, 
 is called by the Kaffirs Eqonce, from the name of the beautiful 
 stream which flows past the town. The name, as used, signifies 
 to be " at the place on the river Qonce ; " the q and the c 
 representing clicks quite unpronounceable by Europeans who 
 have never learned the language. Hence, if Europeans are to 
 read, write, and speak of these Settlements, missionary or other- 
 wise, as a general rule, it is absolutely necessary that they should 
 be designated by some pronounceable name ; and what persons 
 have a greater right to give names to villages or towns than 
 those who found or build them ? 
 
 We steadily pursued the work of our Mission, and before the 
 end of June, 1824, the two wattled cottages for our residence 
 had been completed : other cottages were in -progress for the 
 dwellings of our native servants, storehouses, &c. ; and at a 
 subsequent period the framework of a larger building was put 
 up ; and although a longer delay occurred before we could fix 
 the roof upon it, yet the wattled framework served as a screen 
 from the wind, and we now usually held our worship therein. 
 A regular congregation had been collected, the brother Chiefs, 
 Pato, Kobi, and Kama, with their respective retinues, generally 
 attended Divine service on Sundays ; and to some extent, even 
 at this early period, the Heathen began to pay outward rever- 
 ence to the Lord's day. They saw that all our works were 
 regularly suspended on that day, and that it was devoted to 
 the duties of public worship ; and, under our instruction and 
 advice, many of them began to observe it ; and thus was the 
 Christian Sabbath gradually established in this part of the 
 laud. 
 
 As soon as practicable, I endeavoured to form a School for 
 the children of the natives who lived near us. This was, 
 however, a work of great difficulty ; but on Sunday, the 30th 
 of January, 1825, there were upwards of sixty Kaffir children
 
 126 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 present at the Sunday School. This was less than fourteen 
 months from the commencement of the Mission ; and my 
 journal, in stating the number, adds concerning them, " They 
 are making progress, and behave very well ; but I am grieved 
 to see so many children many of them Chiefs by birth in a 
 state of nudity. What must be done to raise this degraded 
 race ? So much is to be done, that it is difficult to determine 
 at what point, or in what way, to commence the labour of 
 love." Long after this period, benevolent and truly Christian 
 persons in London, and other great cities of Britain, observing 
 the neglected condition of large numbers of poor children in 
 the crowded lanes and courts, established what were called 
 " Bagged Schools," for the amelioration and improvement of 
 their condition, which have been followed by immense benefits : 
 but our Kaffir boys and girls did not possess even " rags " to 
 cover them ; a very few had small pieces of calf skins and skins 
 of other animals thrown over their shoulders, but the vast 
 majority were entirely naked ; so that ours might have been 
 called "Nude Schools." 
 
 We observed, after a time, several tokens in the congregation 
 of an increasing interest in the truths which were imparted 
 to them in our addresses and sermons ; and on one Sabbath 
 forenoon, when discoursing on the Saviour's love, I observed 
 the big tears coursing down the cheeks of two or three men 
 whose countenances were far from prepossessing, and whose 
 previous habits of life scarcely encouraged the hope that the 
 Gospel would subdue them into penitence and prayer. But 
 the grace of God possesses a wondrously transforming influence 
 wherever it is not "received in vain." These persons and 
 others were foUowed into secret places and spoken with plainly 
 and pointedly concerning their souls' welfare. At length 
 several of the people being under the influence of the Spirit of 
 grace, I resolved to form them into a Class, and to meet them
 
 THE KAFFIK MISSION. 127 
 
 apart from others, that I might speak with them individually 
 once a week concerning their spiritual state ; for whenever a 
 Heathen says in effect to a Missionary, " Sir, I would see 
 Jesus," it behoves him to strive to bring the inquirer to the 
 Saviour, that, believing in Him, he may " obtain forgiveness 
 of sins, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified." 
 On the 22nd day of March, 1825, I held the first Methodist 
 Class-Meeting in Kaffraria, at which six of the natives were 
 present. My memorandum on the occasion states : " We were 
 exceedingly gratified with the truly earnest manner in which 
 they expressed their desire to save their souls. How pleasing 
 to hear a Kaffir say, ' I am always glad when I hear the bell 
 ring to call us to church ! I could not be at rest to live where 
 I could not hear the great word.' A Kaffir woman said that 
 all her sorrow and distress of mind arose from a consciousness 
 that she was a great sinner. Something that was said on that 
 text, ' Ye ought to take the more earnest heed to the things 
 which ye have heard,' &c., appears to have been strongly 
 impressed upon her mind, and she is truly taking ' earnest 
 heed ' that Divine truths run not out of her heart. May this form 
 the beginning of good days ! " After the Class-Meeting held on 
 the following week, I made this entry in my journal : " It was 
 a pleasing and profitable occasion. We have good reason to 
 hope well of all who were present ; but they are very weak in 
 the faith, and very ignorant, and must be treated with much 
 tenderness and forbearance. We shall consider them on trial 
 for an indefinite period, and when it is deemed expedient they 
 will be baptized." 
 
 In this manner we pursued our quiet course of duty, keeping 
 up regular religious services at Wesleyville, and making 
 frequent visits on a regular plan to various Kaffir kraals, which 
 were a few miles distant, for the purpose of preaching the 
 {3-ospel among them. This led subsequently to a settled system
 
 128 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 of extensive itinerancy. Twice in each quarter of a year I used 
 to ride to some remote district occupied by the tribe, and 
 remain from home four or five days, holding numerous religious 
 services at the Kaffir kraals, and conversing with the people 
 concerning the things of the kingdom of God. As I used to 
 sleep in their huts during these journeys, I was thereby brought 
 into close contact with all classes of the natives. I found by 
 this means that their confidence in me was constantly increas- 
 ing, while I was thus also becoming more and more familiar 
 with their social state, and their habits and modes of thought. 
 Of course it was not, in some respects, a very agreeable .kind of 
 life. The native huts were without chair, stool, couch, or bed 
 of any kind. The habits of the people, although somewhat 
 ceremonious, were not in accordance with European notions of 
 cleanliness or propriety ; and I used to return home weary, 
 hungry, and far from clean and tidy. For, after sleeping for a 
 week in my clothes on the ground or a mat, and being often by 
 unavoidable contact with the people smeared with the grease 
 and red ochre with which the Kaffirs cover their persons and 
 skin clothing, a bath or complete ablution, with entire change 
 of garments, was rendered indispensable. I am, however, per- 
 suaded that all Missionaries whose health will allow of it, 
 should pursue this course, and thus frequently mix with the 
 natives in their ordinary and every-day places of abode^ 
 Nothing will so certainly, under the Divine blessing, give them 
 personal influence over the people ; nor can any other plan but 
 that of an extensive and regular itinerancy around the centre of 
 each Mission Station, awaken an interest in the great objects 
 and aims of a Christian Missionary among the natives living in 
 kraals scattered all over the country. 
 
 In the early part of February, 1824, I found it necessary to 
 leave my wife and family at Wesleyville, and visit the Colony, 
 for the purpose of obtaining various needful articles which
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 129 
 
 could not be brought with us, but which were wanted to enable 
 us to carry on our building operations with facility ; and supplies 
 of various kinds had also become requisite, as, like all persons 
 unaccustomed to provide prospectively for the consumption of 
 large families for a length of time, we had miscalculated in 
 various essential articles the quantities which would probably 
 be required. On this journey I resolved to cut and open a 
 direct road to Graham's Town. With great difficulty we opened 
 access for the wagon to the Keiskamma, and removed large 
 stones and other obstructions from the ford across the river, so 
 as to render it practicable for wagons. In many parts numerous 
 trees had to be cut down to open our way, and banks were at 
 various points on the line cut through by means of the spades 
 and pickaxes taken with me for the purpose. I took with me 
 certain natives, who were very serviceable in this laborious 
 undertaking. At length we completed a tolerable wagon way 
 across the then uninhabited "neutral" territory, and struck 
 into a very rugged path which had been formerly cut through 
 the Fish Eiver bush by the Boers and troops during the 
 previous Kaffir war ; and, following this route, we crossed the 
 Trompetter's Ford, and proceeded to Graham's Town over the 
 heights of the Governor's Kop. This road through the Fish 
 Eiver bush had, however, not been traversed by wagons for 
 several years ; and, besides being originally a very difficult and 
 rocky path, we had much to do in clearing it from various 
 obstructions which had accumulated since the road had ceased 
 to be used. From this time it became the chief Line of main 
 road for entering the coast parts of the country. 
 
 The whole district, from Wesleyville to within a few miles of 
 Graham's Town, over which we travelled, being uninhabited, 
 we found therein a great variety of wild animals, roaming at 
 large. The spring-bok, bush-bok, hartebeest, and qwagga, 
 were frequently met with in troops and flocks in the grassy
 
 130 CHAPTER rv. 
 
 country of the neutral territory. Wolves and jackals were 
 numerous ; hippopotami, or, as the Colonists call them, " sea- 
 cows," were at that time frequently met with in the Keiskamrna 
 and Fish Eivers ; but elephants, at this period, literally 
 Bwarmed in the great bush on both sides of the last-named 
 river. The numerous quiet and sequestered nooks and corners, 
 sheltered by rocky precipices covered with bush, affording large 
 supplies of the kind of trees and herbage which constituted their 
 chief food, rendered this neighbourhood a favourite resort of 
 those huge animals. The African species is much larger than 
 the Indian. I was obliged frequently to traverse this road ; 
 and, for several years, 1 scarcely remember any instance of my 
 passing along this route without falling in with herds of 
 elephants, roaming through the bush in quest of food. I have 
 seen them in numbers from two or three to more than one 
 hundred. Ten or twenty in a single group were very frequently 
 met with. Occasionally, when travelling on horseback, I have 
 been startled by coming suddenly on a number of these animals, 
 and being brought into a very unpleasant proximity with them. 
 When accompanying a wagon, this rarely happened, as the noise 
 occasioned by the loud cracking of the whip used by the wagon- 
 driver generally startled any elephants near at hand, and 
 caused them to stride away in another direction ; but the com- 
 paratively noiseless travelling on horseback gave no such warning, 
 and it was needful to keep a sharp look out, lest an encounter 
 with one of these monsters, alike undesired on either side, 
 should accidentally occur. On one of my journeys to the Colony, 
 I was accompanied on horseback by my faithful Kaffir servant, 
 Kotongo. On our being about to return, he was very uneasy 
 that we had no gun. The country through which we were to 
 pass being much infested with elephants, and also by banditti 
 of plundering Kaffirs, Kotongo urged the propriety of my 
 borrowing a musket for him to carry. On my saying the Kaffirs
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 131 
 
 knew me to be a Fundis, (Teacher,) and why should a Minister 
 carry arms ? he said, somewhat sarcastically, That might be ; 
 but he was not certain that, if we fell in with any elephants, 
 they would recognise me as a Fundis ! 
 
 On my first visit to the Colony, at the date mentioned above, 
 I took with me the young Kaffir Chief Kama and two or three 
 of his attendants. It was a good proof of his confidence that 
 lie was willing to go with me ; and his people consented with 
 reluctance ; but they were ashamed to express their appre- 
 hensions, since I was leaving my wife and children among them. 
 No Kaffir Chief, had, however, visited the Colony for many 
 years; and in no instance had a Chief visited it since the 
 arrival of the British settlers. Hence the event created con- 
 siderable interest on both sides of the frontier. Kama was 
 received by the British in Graham's Town, both civil and 
 military, with great kindness. Many presents of clothing and 
 other articles were given to the Chief by various friends ; and, 
 besides some clothes, the Commandant sent to Kobi, (Congo,) 
 by Kama, a present of a horse. The young Chief attended 
 Divine worship in the English chapels at Graham's Town and 
 Salem ; and he witnessed, on these occasions, the administra- 
 tion of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. 
 At one of these services, although not understanding our 
 language, he had been seized with an apparently irresistible 
 emotion, and shed "floods of tears." After our return to 
 Wesleyville, and on attending public worship a day or two 
 afterwards in our sylvan chapel, when Divine service was con- 
 cluded, he narrated the various circumstances connected with 
 his visit to the Colony ; speaking in high terms of the kindness 
 and hospitality of the English, and describing the seriousness 
 and solemnity which he had observed in their religious 
 assemblies, showing that they considered God's worship to be 
 a work of great importance. His statements excited no 
 
 x 2
 
 132 CHAPTEE rv. 
 
 small interest. A visit to the Colony by tlie Chief Kobi,. 
 or Congo, as he was then generally called, two months 
 afterwards, produced equally gratifying results. On being 
 shown the chapel at Graham's Town, at that time the 
 largest and best building he had ever entered, the resident 
 Missionary, after explaining the purpose for which it was erected, 
 stating that it was God's house, in which His people worshipped 
 Him, and heard His word preached, the Chief replied, with 
 his hand upon his mouth, and his eyes fixed on the ground, 
 " I am astonished ; and therefore cannot express myself. The 
 place is a wonder to me, and therefore I am dumb ! " After 
 he had attended the Sunday services, both in Salem and 
 Graham's Town chapels, the Missionary reminded him of the 
 congregations which he had seen assembled during the day, and 
 endeavoured to impress him with an idea of the importance of 
 the Gospel, which was now sent to him and his people. 
 "Yes," said he, "I now see a great day, great things, and a 
 great people ; and I wish we had seen them sooner." 
 
 These visits of the Chiefs of the Colony were at once an 
 evidence and an effect of the good understanding and the 
 feeling of mutual confidence which had recently arisen on both 
 sides of the border ; and there is no doubt but that the favour- 
 able impression made on the minds of the Chiefs, and which 
 they did not fail to communicate to others, had great influence 
 in producing that unusually long period of comparative repose 
 and freedom from war and Kaffir marauding which the British 
 settlers of Albany were now privileged to enjoy during some 
 ten successive years. 
 
 At Wesleyville we lived in great peace and safety. For a long 
 time we retired to rest at night without any particular pre- 
 cautions for securing the door or window fastenings. Although 
 the Kaffirs were great pilferers by day, yet we found that 
 burglary was rarely or ever committed. As their huts had no-
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 133 
 
 fastenings, their wattled doors being merely tied with " riems," 
 or slips of bullock hide, and indeed frequently with nothing 
 but green withs, twisted together, it had become a maxim of 
 Kaffir law that " every man's house or hut is his castle ;" and 
 for a stranger to intrude into it when the owner was absent, or 
 at night when he was asleep, was regarded as a very high crime 
 and misdemeanour. The culprit was considered to be similar 
 to a prowling wolf, and might be killed when caught in the act ; 
 and, at any rate, when convicted of the crime, he was punished 
 by the very heaviest fines. How strangely contradictory are 
 ihe notions of men regarding morality and relative justice, 
 when not guided by the light of the Divine word ! The same 
 men who affected such great indignation at the idea of commit- 
 ting a burglarious act, considered that to enter your cattle or 
 sheep fold during the darkness of the night, and carry off a 
 portion of your live stock from thence, was in no respect 
 disgraceful conduct : only, if you caught and convicted the 
 culprit, he must pay the fine, that is all ; but he did not lose 
 his character or standing in social life, in consequence of such 
 dishonest proceedings. Cattle and, subsequently, sheep were 
 frequently stolen from our folds. Our people often pursued 
 the robbers ; but, as they generally came from other tribes, we 
 did not allow them to proceed to extremities, lest fighting and 
 bloodshed should result, which often happens when the Kaffirs 
 plunder each other's cattle-folds. However, as soon as an 
 opportunity presented itself, I did not fail to bring a case 
 against a certain robber before the Chief. The proof of his 
 guilt was perfectly complete in the view of the court, and he was 
 heavily fined ; the stolen cattle were returned, and I distributed 
 ihe cattle paid as penalty among the people of the Station, who at 
 some risk, and with great trouble, had traced out the robbers. 
 For a long time after this we were not nearly so much troubled 
 and annoyed by the cattle-lifting propensities of the people.
 
 134 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 During the first year of our residence at Wesleyville, we had 
 a season of alarm for a few days. In consequence of recent 
 events, a neighbouring clan avowed their purpose of attacking 
 Kama and his people ; and as some of the latter were daily on 
 our premises, there was reason to fear that we might be mixed 
 up in the quarrel. One day, while Kama and some of his men 
 were lying on the ground and chattering together, near where I 
 was standing, a man shouted the war cry from a neighbouring 
 hill, and instantly the whole party, with many others on the 
 place at the time, seized their weapons, and rushed off at a very 
 high speed. Presently, on the heights opposite the Station, we- 
 saw a strong party of the hostile clan approaching with shields, 
 spears, and warlike head-dresses. Kama and his men rapidly 
 obtained from his kraal similar appliances, and set off to 
 meet their enemy. In a very short time they confronted each 
 other. Kama inquired what was the meaning of an armed 
 force like that coming into his country. He was answered by 
 an assagay or javelin, hurled at him by the Chief of the 
 opposite party. Instantly the whole were engaged. The con- 
 flict, however, did not last long. They had no fire-arms, but 
 fought exclusively with their assagays. The attacking party 
 soon found that they had undertaken more than they could 
 accomplish. Kama's people were also rapidly increasing, 
 numbers coming to his help from all sides. The enemy, 
 finding himself likely to be surrounded, scattered and fled into 
 the nearest bush and deep ravines, and thus escaped total 
 destruction ; leaving, however, three men killed on the spot. A 
 considerable number were wounded also on both sides. As 
 soon as we could obtain our horses, I and Mr. Shepstone rode 
 to the scene of conflict, hoping to be useful, if not in prevent- 
 ing bloodshed, at least in assisting any who might need our 
 help ; but every wounded man who could possibly crawl away 
 or who could be removed by the aid of his comrades, hadi
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 135 
 
 already disappeared ; and after a careful search amidst the 
 long grass, we only found one man alive, who was very danger- 
 ously wounded in the abdomen, from whence his bowels were 
 protruding. After giving him some water, we directed our 
 people, who had followed us, to assist in burying the three men 
 who were killed. "With much reluctance they complied, pro- 
 testing that their bodies ought to be left to the wild beasts ! The 
 wounded man we set on a horse, and, supporting him thereon, 
 with great difficulty removed him to our residence. 
 
 Every attention was paid to his case that common humanity 
 dictated, or our circumstances allowed. Mr. Shepstone was 
 most assiduous in his care of this poor fellow. He attended 
 to his wants, replaced the protruding bowels, and otherwise 
 secured the healing of his dangerous wound, by such opera- 
 tions and bandages as a practical turn for surgery, aided by our 
 medical books, suggested. The man somewhat rapidly recovered 
 under this treatment ; but we had much to do to prevent the 
 people from abusing him, and depriving him of the food which 
 we sent for his daily use. At length, both he and they were 
 made to understand that we had nothing to do with the native 
 quarrels ; but, when any of them were sick or wounded, we 
 should always strive to do them good, and save their lives, 
 without considering whether they were friends or foes, or making 
 any distinction as to the respective tribes and clans, to which 
 they might belong. At the time, some of Kama's people seemed 
 displeased at our care for this man ; but the abiding impression 
 made upon the mass of the people by this incident, as we 
 eventually discovered, was, that "the Missionaries are the 
 servants of God, and therefore the friends of all." 
 
 At length, when this man seemed to be nearly well, and after 
 he had frequently expressed his thanks for the kindness shown 
 to him, one night he suddenly disappeared, and in the morning 
 was not to be found. Some of our people, however, traced his
 
 136 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " spoor," or foot marks, for a considerable distance, till it 
 became evident that he had proceeded directly to his own home 
 in the clan from whence he came. It appeared to us, at the 
 time, strange and ungrateful, that he should not have taken 
 leave in a more becoming manner ; but, some time after, we 
 learned that this was one of the singular customs of the country. 
 It is not unusual for a man who has been under the care of 
 a native doctor, and recovers, to make his escape, lest a heavy 
 demand should be made upon him in the shape of cattle for 
 medical fees. No doubt, after all, this poor man thought that 
 we should expect remuneration for the attendance and food 
 supplied to him ; and hence he ran off in this singular manner, 
 to avoid being detained, till what he doubtless supposed would 
 be a very heavy claim could be satisfied. 
 
 The first decided result of our religious instruction of the 
 natives at Wesleyville appeared about one year after the com- 
 mencement of the Mission. Hobo, a native of mixed race, 
 being a descendant of the famous Gonaqua Hottentot Chief, 
 Euyter, by a Kaffir wife, was the victim of severe pulmonary 
 disease, and, coming to us for medicine, he was led to take up 
 his abode on the Station. While afflicted, he received the 
 Gospel testimony, and, on his evidently sincere and earnest 
 profession of faith in Christ, I baptized him with water, in the 
 name of the Holy Trinity, in the hut where he lay sick : 
 shortly after which, he died in great peace, and in joyful hope 
 of a glorious immortality. This event occurred in December, 
 1824. But the first public baptismal service at Wesleyville 
 was held on the 19th of August, 1825, the centenary of the 
 day on which Wesley was ordained to the office of a Preacher 
 of God's holy word. On this occasion, three of the native 
 converts were baptized in the presence of a large assembly 
 of the people. The event was a source of much encouragement 
 to us ; for we viewed these persons as the first-fruits of a great
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 137 
 
 harvest, which will, in time, be gathered from among the various 
 Kaffir nations. Nor has this hope deceived UB. A system of 
 quarterly administration of the baptismal rite has been intro- 
 duced on all our Stations, and I believe that no quarter of a 
 year has ever passed, since that date, in which some of the 
 adult natives have not been, in this manner, received as fully 
 accredited members of Christ's visible Church, on one or other 
 of our Stations. The aggregate of these quarterly baptisms 
 has been steadily and largely on the increase for some years 
 past. 
 
 Amongst the natives whom I baptized at "Wesleyville, were 
 the Chief Kama and his wife. The latter is a daughter of the 
 great Chief Gaika, and sister of Makomo, the noted leader in 
 the late Kaffir wars. Kama and his wife, amidst many temp- 
 tations and serious difficulties, designedly put in their way by 
 the heathen Chiefs, to seduce them from their steadfastness, are 
 still members of the Church, and regular in their attendance 
 on its ordinances. But I must not pursue the details of our 
 proceedings at "Wesleyville any further in this place. Various 
 occurrences will, however, be narrated in subsequent portions of 
 this volume, illustrative of the state and condition of the 
 people, with the progress of our Mission among them. It shall 
 therefore suffice in closing this chapter to say, that religious 
 ordinances were regularly maintained ; the number of inquirers 
 and converts steadily increased. The Sabbath was fully 
 recognised by the people at Wesleyville and in all the surround- 
 ing neighbourhood. The School was in active operation. The 
 plough had been introduced. A store, placed under the care of 
 Mr. E. Walker, was established, for supplying clothing and 
 useful articles to the natives, in return for the raw produce of 
 the country. A very pretty village had arisen, which consisted, 
 besides our own dwelling and the school-chapel, of a number of 
 cottages erected by the natives, each containing two rooms,
 
 188 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 forming an immense improvement on the native huts. Many 
 of the people, however, who had not yet accomplished this feat, 
 still dwelt in their huts near the cattle-folds. Some of the con- 
 verted natives had already died peacefully in the faith of Christ j 
 and a general knowledge of the facts, with some idea of the lead- 
 ing principles, of Christianity, had been communicated to large 
 numbers of Kaffirs who had only been occasional visitors at the 
 Station, or who lived at or near the kraals in the remoter dis- 
 tricts where we preached on our itinerating journeys. Such 
 was the state of things resulting from this Mission during the 
 six years of my residence. Early in the year 1830, I was 
 removed to Graham's Town ; and I left to my successor a com- 
 fortable and substantial mission-house, a commodious school- 
 chapel, and materials for the completion of a large new chapel, 
 already commenced, and which was now much required for a con- 
 siderable congregation. There were in the native Church, or 
 Society, about forty accredited members or communicants, and 
 a native population of about three hundred souls, who had 
 voluntarily taken up their residence at "Wesleyville, all of whom 
 were under the daily instruction and control of the Missionary. 
 My successor, the Eev. Samuel Young, carried on my plans 
 most faithfully, and greatly extended the work, till he in turn, 
 was succeeded by the Kev. William Shepstone, who was prose- 
 cuting a most prosperous course of missionary labour, when all 
 was interrupted, and for a season apparently destroyed, by 
 the sad events of the Kaffir war of 1834. The great influence 
 which the Mission at this period exercised over Pato's tribe, kept 
 them from joining their countrymen in that war ; but as they 
 had nearly all removed to the neutral territory by the permis- 
 sion of the Colonial Government, Wesleyville was left much 
 exposed ; and the Missionary and people, surrounded by daily 
 dangers and alarms from the hostile Kaffirs, were constrained to 
 abandon the place, which was soon afterwards burned down*
 
 THE KAFFIR MISSION. 
 
 An attempt was made to re-establish Wesleyville after peace was 
 restored ; but as it was no longer in the centre of Pato's tribe, 
 which continued to dwell in the neutral territory, the village 
 never regained its former importance ; and as it was again 
 burned down during the war of 1848, no further attempt was 
 made to recommence that Station. The lands, however, had 
 been granted by the Chiefs to the Society, and confirmed by the 
 Government ; and certainly they must in all equity be regarded 
 as fairly its property, unless, indeed, the Government, in re- 
 suming possession of these lands, grant a reasonable sum as 
 compensation to the Society, which has expended so much 
 money thereon. One of my own children, and other members 
 of the various Mission families, with not a few of the Chris- 
 tianized natives and their families, lie interred in the village 
 burial-ground, waiting the morning of the resurrection. 
 
 "While, however, Wesleyville as a settlement was destroyed by 
 these Kaffir wars, there had been seed sown which war cannot 
 destroy. The religious results of that Mission may be exten- 
 sively traced, not only in the early history of the Stations 
 which were subsequently established further up the coast, but 
 also in the lives of the various converts, some of whom are 
 deceased, while a considerable number still survive. The native 
 Christians of the Amagonakwaybi or Pato's tribe are now nume- 
 rous, and may be met with in various parts of the Colony, but 
 more especially in British Kaffraria, at the residence of the 
 residence of the Christianized Chief Kama, and in the neighbour- 
 hood of the Station called " Annshaw," which we formed at the 
 special request of the late Sir George Cathcart, on lands granted 
 by him for that purpose, soon after the close of the last Kaffir 
 war.
 
 140 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Albany before 1834 Causes of the Kaffir War. 
 
 IN the preceding chapters Mr. Shaw has given his own 
 account of his early life and his labours in Sonth Africa up 
 io 1833, when he left for England. Before his departure 
 ihe inhabitants of Graham's Town presented him with an 
 address and a silver salver, as a mark of their regard. At 
 that time the Albany District, of which he was the Chair- 
 man, comprised the Colonial Circuits of Graham's Town, 
 Salem, Bathurst, and Somerset, and the Kaffir Missions, 
 Wesleyville, Mount Coke, Butterworth, Clarkebury, Morley, 
 and Buntingville. The prospects of the Colony and of the 
 Missions were most cheering. All parties were happily 
 ignorant of the series of trials through which Colonists and 
 Missionaries would have to pass, before Kaffirs and 
 Englishmen would be permitted to live together in peace, 
 under the rule of British law. 
 
 Meanwhile, we may indulge in a few reminiscences of the 
 singularly happy, contented, and, on the whole, well-to-do 
 population of Albany before the war of 1834. GKAHAM'S 
 TOWN contained, including the military and natives, about 
 three thousand people. SALEM was kept up as a village 
 by the valuable Academy of W. H. Matthews, Esq., one 
 of Mr. Shaw's most useful creations. BATHUBST, THE 
 Kowi, CLUMBER, and other of the original locations w r ere 
 mere scattered settlements. The whole country between 
 Oraham's Town and the sea was mainly inhabited by
 
 ALBANY BEFORE 1834. 141 
 
 settlers, whose farms seldom exceeded a few hundred acres. 
 Among them, however, were some larger landholders. 
 Except a few merchants in Graham's Town, there were 
 none who had accumulated capital, or who might he 
 considered rich. The majority were content to live 
 moderately, earning the means of living as storekeepers, 
 or in the exercise of useful trades, or by Kaffir trading. 
 Commercial life at Graham's Town hegan with the morn- 
 ing market, to which produce from either Kaffirland 
 or from the Dutch farmers was brought for sale, open 
 to the competition of the various storekeepers. The 
 principal customers to the storekeepers were the Dutch 
 and English farmers and the Kaffir traders. When "the 
 market " had been more than usually filled by Dutch 
 wagons, the stores were proportionately busy. "We have 
 heard of the most surprising feats of energetic continuous 
 labour on the part of the wife of one of the storekeepers, 
 who stood behind her counter all day, supplying her 
 customers ; and though repeatedly fainting from fatigue, 
 yet returned to her labours like a giant refreshed, not with 
 new wine, but with "schnaps;" but this working matron 
 was not of the English settler class. "Wagons from the 
 Bay, (Port Elizabeth,) with European goods and other 
 imports, were comparatively few and far between. The 
 Commissariat supplied the troops on the frontier, through 
 contractors, sometimes at the ridiculously low price of one 
 penny halfpenny per ration of beef, bread, candles, &c. : 
 so cheap were the mere necessaries of life in those days 
 from 1829 to 1834. At that time the town was a pretty 
 village, well laid out, with large capabilities of improve- 
 ment, which in due time, being wisely used, have
 
 142 CHAPTER V. 
 
 made the Graham's Town of our day the prettiest 
 town in South Africa. But then, the streets were very 
 much just as nature had left them, unlevel, dusty in dry 
 weather, and almost impassable after heavy rains. A 
 journey down the main street at night was a feat which 
 required (as the writer can testify from personal experience) 
 no small local knowledge and judgment. The roads of the 
 Settlement were mainly made by the wagons which used 
 them : there were very few houses of accommodation, and 
 travellers lodged for the night by the side of their wagons 
 or horses, -a, custom pleasant enough in fine dry weather, 
 but which had its disagreeables in the event of rain. So 
 much for outward circumstances. As to the people, I have 
 already stated that in my opinion a more truly respectable 
 and worthy community than these first settlers in Albany 
 never existed. There was a marked originality about almost 
 every individual colonist. Each one had been the architect 
 of his own fortune, and had his own peculiar development. 
 Nobody imitated anybody ; for every man was, as a 
 settler, as good as another (or a little better) in his own 
 opinion, an opinion, however, which was never offensively 
 put forth ; for the original settlers were practically in 
 feeling gentle and unobtrusive. The circumstances in which 
 they had been placed in England, and as emigrants 
 shovelled into a wilderness, and left to make their own 
 way, had made these patriarchs of Albany a peculiar 
 people. Their successors, however favoured by education 
 and comparative wealth, cannot be expected to equal them 
 in all those high qualities which distinguished the original 
 self-made man from the more polished specimen of 
 humanity which is the product of our complex civilization.
 
 ALBANY BEFORE 1834. 
 
 A more friendly, affectionate, and hospitable people I never 
 knew. Show and style were things unknown ; there was 
 no pretence as to appearances. Every one lived as it were 
 in a glass house, and in such a way as suited his circum- 
 stances, careless about what any "Mrs. Grundy" sort of 
 neighbour thought of him. Business claims were not by any 
 means absorbing. Then, we were not too busy to be 
 happy : we could spare time occasionally for rest and 
 recreation. The storekeepers and tradesmen would shut 
 up for a day to go to a chapel opening, an Anniversary, 
 or Missionary Meeting, or picnic. This was not idleness, 
 but the result of the easy ^osition, in which, with no arti- 
 ficial wants and a rough plenty, the majority were almost 
 without cares. I am now speaking of the settlers, properly 
 so called, the commonalty. Of course, the richer classes, 
 few in number, though highly respectable and, for the 
 most part, very worthy, formed an order by themselves. 
 Keeping within their own circle, too anxious for the main- 
 tenance of their position to be quite at ease, they could 
 not afford to be as careless and happy as the majority 
 around them. With the exception of a few families, (such 
 as the Bowkers, a family with a lineage, literary and 
 historical, of which they may well be proud,) who wisely 
 adapted themselves to their circumstances, and have con- 
 sequently maintained their position, this class of the 
 original settlers has disappeared : their estates are in the 
 hands of the children of those " cockney shoemakers and 
 tailors," as the humbler colonists were mendaciously styled 
 by certain unfriendly critics. Eeligiously and morally, the 
 settlers were for the most part a "godly seed" Whether 
 Churchmen, or Methodists, or Independents, or Baptists,
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 they lived in peace. No angry controversy on religious 
 topics arose among them. I cannot but look back to this 
 period as the golden age of the Albany Colony. 
 
 I am obliged, however, to confess that we Methodists 
 were on the whole a plebeian set. Except an editor and 
 printer, and a few wholesale storekeepers, who by general 
 consent were termed " merchants," as importing their goods 
 direct from Europe, and a few persons connected with the 
 army or commissariat, the rest of us were retail store- 
 keepers and artizans. Kaffir traders, and wagon pro- 
 prietors engaged in the carriage of goods within the Colony, 
 were, next to the merchants, our enterprising class, com- 
 manding no small degree of respect. In the country we 
 were small farmers and graziers. In those days we 
 made no pretensions to the gentility which is supposed to- 
 be connected with freedom from labour, for we all had to 
 work for our living. None of us were ashamed of this, or 
 of our useful occupations, however lowly they might be. 
 Our successors and descendants need not to blush 
 for us, -f&r we made the Colony what it is.' I fear 
 this age of simplicity is now past, and that some- 
 of the young "Africanders," forgetting their high origin, 
 are as idle and profitless as if they had been born of genteel 
 parents in England. But as I recall the names of these 
 fathers of the Colony, small and great, I feel that their 
 memory is blessed. I dare but mention the names of 
 William Cock, of the Kowi Eiver ; Kobert Godlonton, for 
 many years the Editor of the Graham's Town Journal ; 
 Captain M'Donald, George Wood, Eichard and Joseph 
 Walker, Carey Hobson, James Powell, Charles Penney, 
 William Wright, J. C. Wright, Kobert Lee, B. Booth, Daniel
 
 ALBANY BEFOKE 1834. 146 
 
 Roberts, sen., and jun., James Howse, J. Kidd, C. White, 
 J. Jubber, J. Weeks, Charles Slater, Thomas Cockroft, W. 
 A. Fletcher, with the Cawoods, Cyruses, Webbs, Lucases, 
 Prices, Hartleys, Daniels, Oateses, Trollopes, Bonnins, 
 Temletts, Ushers, and Hooles. Others have escaped my 
 memory. Most of them have gone to their reward. Those 
 who yet remain cannot, in the order of nature, long survive. 
 Their descendants may point to and be proud of an honour- 
 able ancestry, not of "Pilgrim" fathers, but of "settler" 
 fathers. Other names, not identified with Methodism, 
 deserve to be respected by all Methodists for their work's 
 sake : old Dr. Campbell and Dr. Atherstone, Mr. Driver, 
 (the elephant hunter,) Mr. Hart, of Somerset, and Mr. 
 Gilfillan, of Cradock, and J. 0. Smith, of Algoa Bay, 
 though mentioned last, not least in the loving respect of the 
 writer of these reminiscences. Taking our Albany friends 
 all in all, I never expect to see their like again. 
 
 Our District Meeting consisted of a small number of 
 Preachers. Besides the Chairman, there were SAMUEL 
 YOUNG, a plain, simple-minded, loving pastor and preacher, 
 remarkable for having never missed an appointment : 
 neither rain nor rivers ever stopped him. JOHN AYLIFF 
 and WILLIAM SHEPSTONE, (originally settlers,) eminent 
 Missionaries, in labours most abundant. SAMUEL PALMER, 
 in person almost as handsome as the late Dr. Newton, a 
 laborious and valuable Minister. WILLLUI J. SHREWSBURY, 
 our best preacher, an able divine, and most respectable 
 scholar, as familiar with the Scriptures in their original 
 languages as with the English version. With the exception 
 of Samuel Young all these have gone to their reward. 
 EICHAED HADDY, an able man and a scholar, remarkable 
 
 L
 
 146 CHAPTER V. 
 
 for his great perseverance, under which most obstacles gave 
 way tohim. WILLIAM J. DAVIS, a most laborious and efficient 
 Missionary, who has since distinguished himself by his two 
 Editions of Boyce's Grammar, and by his practical Kaffir 
 Grammar and Dictionary, the last edition of which was 
 printed in 1872, and which has been the first to be honoured 
 by the approval and patronage of the Colonial Government, 
 and by a grant of 100 to Mr. Davis, in tardy acknowledg- 
 ment of his literary labours; and some others. We were 
 a happy and united body of Christian Ministers, a real 
 brotherhood, very free and open in our discussions ; but 
 the sun never set on our wrath. Our Chairman had 
 impressed his loving spirit upon us all. Mr. Shrewsbury, 
 though the senior of the Chairman, held him in the highest 
 reverence. I may say that I loved him from the first 
 quarter of an hour after our meeting ; and though Mr. Shaw 
 was from his nature less impulsive, and did not permit 
 his affections to flow so rapidly, I have reason to believe 
 that rery Boon our regard was mutual. Our Albany 
 friends did not compare us to Damon and Pythias, as 
 that story was not so familiar as the narrative of the 
 friendship of David and Jonathan, to whom we were gene- 
 rally compared. 
 
 In so small a town as Graham's Town then was, our 
 annual District Meeting, with the Missionary services, and 
 the nightly and early morning preaching, created much 
 interest. Hospitalities were freely dispensed, sometimes 
 on too grand a scale to our then puritanic tastes. Mr. Shaw 
 discouraged all expense for mere luxurious indulgence, 
 and in due time introduced an almost Spartan simplicity 
 into our friends' banquets. It was our custom, too, on a
 
 ALBANY BEFORE 1834. 147 
 
 set day to call formally in a body upon the Civil Commis- 
 sioner, the Head Magistrate, in fact, the Lieutenant- 
 Govemor, of the district. I remember being much amused 
 on the first occasion with our sober procession, two and 
 two, our polite reception by the worthy Mr. Campbell, the 
 polite nothings which were said on both sides, and the 
 -evident relief which both parties felt when the ceremony 
 was over. Yet it was not a useless observance for either 
 party, but beneficial in many ways. As Missionaries we 
 were always well disposed to put the best construction on 
 the doings of the Colonial Authorities, and were saved from 
 a sort of professional Colonial Radicalism which few could 
 escape whose lot it was to live under a Colonial Govern- 
 ment forty years ago. The times are changed, our Colonies 
 have self-government, and their Parliaments sometimes 
 do extraordinary things, playing legislative tricks which, 
 if done under the old system, would have provoked a 
 revolution, or something like it, but which now is quietly 
 passed over, because done "by ourselves." This is no 
 small benefit arising from the new regime, that the dis- 
 content of the Colonists is no longer with the Home Govern- 
 ment, but with their own domestic administration. Mean- 
 while they are learning the art of government, and on 
 the whole are managing their own affairs with average 
 wisdom and discretion. 
 
 During Mr. Shaw's residence in England he was stationed 
 from the Conference of 1833 to 1836 at Leeds ; three full 
 years, from August, 1833, to August, 1836. The Warren- 
 ite controversy and agitation, which resulted in a large 
 secession from the Wesleyan body, was rife in the years 
 1835 and 1836, the attacks of the agitators being directed 
 
 L 2
 
 148 CHAPTER V. 
 
 not only against the home finances, but also against iher 
 funds of the Missionary Society. In these troublous times 
 Mr. Shaw was a firm, uncompromising, but also a wise and 
 judicious, supporter of the Conference. On the news of the 
 Kaffir outbreak reaching England, accompanied by lavish 
 and unjust reflections upon the British Colonists as having 
 brought the evil upon themselves by their rapacious and 
 unjust aggressions on the Kafiir tribes, Mr. Shaw, in a long 
 statement in the "Watchman," and in a letter to the Earl 
 of Aberdeen, vindicated the British Colonists from the wild 
 and wholesale attacks made upon them. Into this con- 
 troversy it is our privilege not to enter. Those curious in 
 South African history may generations hence find in the 
 British Museum, "A Defence of the Wesleyan Missions in 
 South Africa, by William Shaw, 1839," and "Notes on 
 South African Affairs, by W. B. Boyce, 1839." Our 
 opponents, Mr. Fairbairn, the chief editor of the "South 
 African Courier," and Dr. Philip, the General Superintendent 
 of the London Society's Missionaries, with sucfl of the Mis- 
 sionaries of that Society as agreed with them, honestly 
 believed what they asserted, advocating, however, the most 
 philanthropic principles of action, in which we were one with 
 them ; but they blamed the wrong parties, the Colonists, 
 instead of the vacillating policy of the Colonial Government. 
 Now, there is no difference of opinion as to the injustice 
 done in the excitement of the moment, and in the blindness 
 of party zeal, to the British Colonists. But we must 
 allow Mr. Shaw to speak for himself. His narrative 
 supplements the history of the transactions between the- 
 Kaffirs and the Colonial Government, which is to be found in 
 another part of this volume.
 
 CAUSES OF THE KAFFIR WAR. 149 
 
 As stated above, a peace was concluded with the principal 
 "Kaffir Chief by the Governor of the Colony in 1819, in which 
 the boundary between the Colony and Kaffraria was distinctly 
 defined. The British settlers arrived in 1820, and had, of 
 course, nothing whatever to do with that transaction. This 
 treaty was succeeded by a peace between the colonists and 
 Kaffirs, which endured for fourteen years ; the general harmony 
 'being only disturbed by occasional robberies and murders, 
 perpetrated within the Colony by small marauding parties. A 
 tract of country, intervening between the Great Fish Eiver and 
 the Keiskamma, had been reserved by the treaty of 1819, as a 
 sort of neutral territory, to prevent the too close proximity of 
 the Kaffirs and colonists ; and thus to render the danger of 
 disputes and collisions between them less imminent. The Kaffir 
 Chiefs, however, seemed so much disposed to cultivate terms 
 of amity with the English, that Makomo, the son of Gaika, 
 was allowed to re-occupy the Kat Eiver, which, by the treaty, 
 had been included within the limits of the Colony ; but which 
 Gaika and his sons chose to say that they had not understood 
 to be ceded as part of the neutral territory. No doubt this 
 concession, for the time, was very pleasing to the Gaika Chiefs 
 and their tribes ; and as they were told that they were to hold 
 these lands pending good behaviour, it is likely that they were 
 hereby restrained from many depredations which they mighf- 
 otherwise have committed. 
 
 The Dhlambi Chiefs, including the tribe of Pato, with which 
 I lived from 1824 to 1830 inclusive, felt aggrieved by the 
 treaty of 1819, as it had deprived them of their share of the 
 neutral territory, over which they denied that Gaika ever had 
 any right or control, and, therefore, he had no power to cede 
 it away. I represented their views and feelings to the Govern- 
 ment of the day ; and, at a public interview held between the 
 Commandant of Kaffraria and the Chiefs, in the presence of a
 
 150 CHAPTER V. 
 
 considerable military force and a large assemblage of the Kaffirs, 
 I rendered important assistance in bringing about a good 
 understanding between the Government and the powerful Chief 
 Dhlambi ; whose tribe now moved to their old country, between 
 the Buffaloe and Keiskamma Eivers, from whence they had, 
 been driven during the war of 1818-19. I afterwards urged 
 Pato's request, for permission to re- occupy his portion of the 
 neutral ground on the coast westward of the Keiskamma. 
 The Government, after much correspondence and discussion, 
 at length acceded to his wishes, and allowed this tribe (the 
 Amagunukwaybi) first to occupy a part of it, and then, on their 
 good behaviour for a number of years, the whole, as far as. 
 the Great Fish Eiver; and, for some eighteen years, they 
 remained in peaceful re-occupation of the country that had been 
 ceded in 1849. 
 
 In the year 1828, Makomo thought proper, with his clan, to 
 attack a small Abatembu tribe, living behind the Kat Bergen,, 
 in doing which he pursued them into the colonial territory ; 
 and, while the Government was at peace with the nation of 
 Abatembu, his warriors killed or wounded many of them, and 
 carried off at the same time a large number of their cattle. For 
 this outrage it was resolved to expel this Chief from the terri- 
 tory which he had been suffered to occupy, as a special act of 
 favour, contrary to the treaty of 1819. The repeated robberies 
 and murders committed by his people, during several previous, 
 years, on the farms of the adjoining Dutch colonists, and this 
 crowning act of aggression on the Tembookie tribe, were consi- 
 dered to be sufficient evidence that they were unworthy to 
 enjoy this privilege any longer ; since they seemed disposed to 
 make the favourable position which they occupied in the val- 
 leys surrounded by the Kat Berg, a sort of garrison, whence 
 they could at their pleasure sally forth and commit acts of 
 aggression on their neighbours, both white and black. Makomo
 
 CAUSES OF THE KAFFIR WAR. 151 
 
 and his people were, therefore, expelled by the British and 
 colonial forces, happily without bloodshed, from the Kat Eiver ; 
 and obliged once more to take up their abode within the limits 
 assigned to the Gaika tribe by the treaty of 1819. 
 
 I have no doubt that this proceeding greatly exasperated 
 Makomo and his people, who could not understand how our 
 Government, acting upon a principle of justice, should inflict 
 this forfeiture on them for an aggression on a neighbour- 
 ing native tribe. The subsequent war of 1834-5 was, con- 
 sequently, headed and directed chiefly by Makomo, who despaired 
 of recovering possession of this much coveted tract of land, 
 when he saw that shortly after his expulsion it was peopled by 
 the authority of the Colonial Government. But when the 
 question is raised, What had the British settlers to do with this 
 transaction ? the only reply that can be given is, Absolutely 
 nothing ! They neither called for the expulsion of Makomo, 
 nor did they aid in any way to effect it. "But did they not get 
 possession of the Kat Eiver lands ? " Not an acre of them. The 
 Government resolved to form a large settlement in that locality, 
 consisting of Hottentots and other Africans, born or naturalized 
 in the Colony. These classes of people were invited to take 
 possession : and as they arrived from various parts of the Colony, 
 these lands were subdivided among them. Several villages 
 wre formed ; and at length a population of this description, 
 without any admixture of European race, saving a Minister 
 of the Dutch Eeformed Church, (the Eev. W. E. Thomson,) 
 and the Eev. Messrs. Eeed of the London Missionary Society, 
 who undertook the pastoral charge of the people, was settled 
 in the district from whence Makomo had been driven. 
 
 It is quite beside my present purpose to discuss the policy of 
 this measure of the Colonial Government, for which Sir 
 Andries Stockenstrom, at that time Commissioner- General for 
 frontier affairs, is chiefly responsible. I entirely concurred at
 
 152 CHAPTER V. 
 
 the time, and do so now, in the opinion that the Hottentot race, 
 having heen very improperly deprived by the old Dutch Govern- 
 ment of all right in the soil of the Colony, once belonging to 
 their forefathers, it was fair and reasonable that some steps 
 should have been taken to provide those among them who had 
 the means of rendering the land available for their own sup- 
 port, with suitable locations, to be held in their own name and 
 right. 
 
 I am decidedly hostile, on grounds both of justice and good 
 policy, to any plan of colonization which deprives the natives 
 of all right in the soil. There should be ample reserves of 
 lands of average value made for them in all parts of a territory, 
 which is governed by our colonial rulers, and generally occu- 
 pied by our colonists. For a time these lands should be legally 
 vested in trustees, selected from a class of persons who, by 
 their inclination or position, must be naturally careful for their 
 interests ; or, perhaps, still better, they might remain under 
 the responsible management of the Governor for the time 
 being, without, however, giving him power to alienate such 
 lands for other purposes ; excepting under special authority of 
 the Secretary of State for the Colonies, granted on the concur- 
 rent recommendation of the local Parliament. In whatever 
 manner the lands are secured pro tempore, there should, how- 
 ever, be a proviso, that, as soon as any of the natives erect 
 appropriate dwellings, and are presumably acquainted with the 
 rights and privileges arising from the ownership of real pro- 
 perty, they should receive legal titles, vesting their own lands 
 in their own names in the usual manner ; and then they may 
 be safely allowed, like all other classes of the community, "to 
 do what they will with their own." The result in the course 
 of time would be, that the idle and worthless would dispose of 
 their landed property, and be compelled, by their own want of 
 character and thrift, to join the classes who must seek employ-
 
 CAUSES OF THE KAFFIR WAE. 153 
 
 ment from others, to secure for themselves the means of sub- 
 sistence ; while the more industrious and sober would be found, 
 as a class, to rise in character, and support themselves in com- 
 fort on their own homesteads and allotments. His Majesty's 
 Commissioners of Inquiry long ago expressed an opinion deci- 
 dedly favourable to the granting of land to the natives ; although 
 it appears from their report to the Secretary of State for the 
 Colonies, printed in 1830, that they considered it "desirable 
 that the Hottentots should not be congregated in one spot ; 
 and that, in restoring to them a portion of that territory which 
 was once their own, and in admitting them to the enjoyment 
 of privileges in common with the rest of His Majesty's subjects 
 in South Africa, any measures should be avoided which might 
 tend to impress them with an opinion that they are destined to 
 form a distinct class of the population."* 
 
 After the above expression of my views, the reader will per- 
 ceive that I do not wish to represent the settlement of the 
 Hottentots on the vacant lands of the Kat River as per se an 
 evil proceeding. On the contrary, I think Sir Andries Stock- 
 enstrom, acting in his capacity as Commissioner-General, 
 deserves all honour for recommending and carrying out this 
 honest and bold measure ; which he designed to be at once an 
 act of justice to the coloured people, and a means of defence for 
 an exposed part of the Colony, against the incursions of the 
 border Kaffirs. But it was an experiment ; and, however well 
 and honestly intended, it led to some very disastrous results, 
 both as it regards the colonists and the natives. I do not 
 mean that experience shows that it was wrong to grant to the 
 natives the possession of a part of the lands which had belonged 
 to their forefathers. Experience never shows an act of justice 
 to be wrong. But the result in this case has shown that 
 although it was fair and reasonable to grant these people a 
 
 * Commissioner Bigge's Eeport on the Hottentot Population, p. 22.
 
 154 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 right in the soil, yet the time and mode of doing it, in this instance, 
 entailed certain evil consequences. 
 
 FIKST, it greatly exasperated the Chief Makomo and his 
 people, and rendered them very dangerous neighbours. 
 SECONDLY, it brought together from all parts of the Colony a 
 great body of natives, exceeding four thousand in number ; 
 having among them painful remembrances of grievous wrongs, 
 suffered by some of them from certain Dutch farmers before the 
 establishment of regular government and courts of justice in 
 the border districts ; and with yet more painful traditions, some 
 true, and others exaggerated, or wholly false, of injuries 
 sustained from the same class of colonists, at a still remoter 
 period. This concourse of people, including about one thousand: 
 able-bodied men, all armed, and well knowing how to use their 
 fire-arms, were thus entirely separated from the rest of the- 
 colonial community, whom they were unhappily induced, by 
 a variety of events, to regard as hostile to them and their 
 interests. In consequence of this arrangement, they gradually 
 lost all sympathy with the white inhabitants ; and as many of 
 the latter no doubt disliked seeing numbers of people collected 
 together, as they conceived, without means of honest subsistence, 
 and who might be fully and more usefully employed as labourers 
 on their farms, which could not be properly managed for lack 
 of such labour, estranged and even hostile feelings were 
 gradually produced between the two classes. THIRDLY, this 
 large body of the Hottentots and other races were placed close 
 to the Kaffirs, that they might act as a frontier guard for that 
 part of the Colony ; but it was not foreseen that this proximity 
 afforded opportunity for intercourse between the two races, 
 which might lead to serious consequences affecting the 
 peace of the country. In point of fact, there is now no 
 doubt that at a rather early period a friendly intercourse, but, 
 from the circumstances of the time, of dangerous tendency,
 
 CAUSES OP THE KAFFIR WAR. 155 
 
 was opened between the natives located on the Kat River, and 
 their Kaffir neighbours. Many of the former, indeed, could 
 speak the Kaffir language ; and not a few were connected in 
 various ties of relationship with the neighbouring Kaffirs, in 
 consequence of that intermingling of tribes and families which 
 always occurs in bordei districts. Hence there is evidence 
 sufficient to show that treasonable intercourse took place between 
 certain Hottentots and the Kaffirs, a short time before the war 
 of 1834 ; and although during the war, and the subsequent one 
 of 1846, the great body of the Kat Eiver people rendered 
 valuable service in the defence of the country, yet, at the very 
 commencement of the last war, (1850,) there arose a fierce 
 rebellion among the natives of that settlement, which speedily 
 involved a large proportion of its population, who became most 
 dangerous enemies of the Colony ; and, by their alliance with 
 the Kaffirs, for a time placed the colonial border, with its- 
 scattered population of British settlers, in the most extreme 
 peril and danger. Indeed, it is undeniable that the greatest 
 atrocities committed during that period were perpetrated by 
 these people and other natives, with whom they were unhappily 
 induced to connect themselves. 
 
 During my residence in England I was twice examined, at 
 considerable length, before the " Aborigines Committee " of the 
 House of Commons, which, in consequence of the Kaffir war of 
 1834-5, had been appointed, on the urgent representations of that 
 most indefatigable and honest friend of Africa and the African race, 
 the late Sir Fo well Buxton, Bart. On the arrival of the mail bring- 
 ing news of this sudden outburst of the Kaffir tribes on the border 
 districts of the Colony, I also addressed a long letter to the Earl 
 of Aberdeen, at that time Secretary of State for the Colonies, 
 on the subject. This communication was acknowledged with 
 thanks, and was printed, without abridgment, among the 
 evidence collected by the Aborigines Committee. It was also
 
 156 CHAPTER V. 
 
 published in a separate form as a pamphlet, and was somewhat 
 extensively circulated. If any one feels sufficiently interested 
 in the matter to examine that letter and my evidence before the 
 Parliamentary Committee, he will find that the opinions I have 
 expressed in this chapter on the cause of the Kaffir war of that 
 period are substantially the same as those which I then put 
 forth. During a subsequent residence of more tha2 twenty 
 years, with many opportunities for observing what was going 
 forward, having trustworthy correspondents among the various 
 tribes, being on very friendly terms with most of the principal 
 Chiefs, and having had the honour to be consulted on several 
 important occasions by the successive Governors of the Colony, 
 and other high officials, on matters connected with native affairs 
 and the peace of the border ; I may surely claim to be even 
 better acquainted with the whole bearing of the subject than I 
 was in 1835. I have, however, found no reason to alter, but 
 much to justify the general statement in which I summed up my 
 remarks in one part of my letter to Lord Aberdeen, and which 
 I will here repeat : " Thus your Lordship will perceive that I 
 attribute the present disturbed state of the Kaffir border, not to 
 any cruelties perpetrated by the British settlers upon the Kaffirs ; 
 not to any want of humanity in the British officers in their 
 treatment of the native tribes, or of zeal and activity in the 
 protection of British lives and property; but to the moral state 
 and predatory habits of the Kaffirs, the evil tendencies of which 
 have been aggravated by the exceedingly mischievous character 
 of our border policy." 
 
 The views entertained by the General Secretaries of the 
 "Wesleyan Missionary Society regarding the outbreak of the 
 Kaffir war, are thus clearly set forth in their announcement to 
 the friends of our Missions, as published in the " Missionary 
 Notices " for May, 1835 : 
 
 " Long before this number of our ' Notices ' can be circu-
 
 CAUSES OF THE KAFFIR WAR. 157 
 
 lated, our readers, generally, will have learned, from the public 
 journals, the deeply afflictive intelligence which has arrived 
 from South Africa during the last few weeks. We refer to the 
 fearful calamity which, in the month of December, overtook 
 the settlers in the Albany District, and other portions of the 
 Eastern borders of the British Colony, by an irruption of the 
 pagan Kaffirs, who passed the frontier line at various points, 
 and in very numerous bodies, and have pursued a course of 
 plunder, devastation, and murder, the description of which is 
 too horrible for minute recital in our pages. At the date, 
 however, of the latest accounts hitherto received, (January 
 30th,) there was reason to hope that the progress of the invaders 
 had been arrested ; and that general security and tranquillity 
 would, in some tolerable degree, be speedily restored : but the 
 loss of life, as well as of property, has, we fear, been very con- 
 siderable ; and the distress entailed by the visitation will be 
 both intense and enduring. Amidst these scenes of alarm and 
 peril, we are happy to state, there is reason to believe that the 
 lives of all our beloved Missionaries, and their families, have 
 been graciously preserved. For this signal mercy, we unite 
 with them and their numerous English friends in offering 
 devout thanksgivings to Divine Providence. Their circum- 
 stances, however, and those of our Societies in South Africa, 
 are still such as to call for the tenderest sympathy, and entitle 
 them to a very special interest in the prayers of all who have- 
 the cause of Christ at heart. When more ample intelligence- 
 shall have arrived from themselves, we shall endeavour to satisfy 
 the intense anxiety of our readers by publishing the particulars. 
 In the mean time we rejoice to add, that the influence of Chris- 
 tianity, where its truths and institutions had previously been 
 brought into even partial operation, appears to have been con- 
 siderably pacific and salutary on those Chiefs and tribes who 
 had made any explicit acknowledgment of its authority ; and
 
 158 CHAPTER V. 
 
 that the mischief has thus been, in some degree, checked and 
 mitigated. Had the Gospel been more extensively propagated, 
 and the moral feelings and habits of the natives at large 
 brought under its mild and ameliorating control, by means of 
 a more adequate supply of Missionaries and Schoolmasters than 
 has hitherto been afforded to Kaffraria, even by the united 
 efforts of all the Societies, who can tell how much of the calamity 
 might have been altogether prevented, / Large and powerful 
 masses of unchristiamzed and uncivilized men can never long be 
 safe neighbours to a Christian colony. We must give them our 
 religion, if we would reckon with certainty on securing their 
 cordial confidence and friendship." 
 
 The painful subject is again referred to in a subsequent 
 number of the " Missionary Notices " for the same year, in the 
 following passage ; which displays an acquaintance with the 
 subject most creditable to the writer. Much evil would have 
 been prevented, if all popular English writers who at this 
 period hastily undertook to enlighten the world concerning the 
 causes of the Kaffir war, had taken similar care, first, to become 
 thoroughly familiar with the facts, and, afterwards, to apply a 
 sound philosophy in accounting for them. 
 
 " It is not our province to dwell at large upon the causes of 
 the Kaffir war. Those who are aware of the irritating effect 
 produced upon the mind of Makomo, by a succession of such 
 measures as that to which the Eev. William Shaw has referred, 
 in his ' Letter to the Earl of Aberdeen,' lately published, (a 
 pamphlet which we strongly recommend to those who desire 
 thoroughly to understand the subject,) will not be at a loss 
 to account for the origin of the recent calamity. But of 
 whatever Makomo and his brother Tyalie might have to com- 
 plain, in respect to the policy pursued by the Colonial Goverjn- 
 ment, Hintza had no personal grievance to be redressed. His 
 territories were too remote to suffer from any incursions from
 
 CAUSES OF THE KAFFIR WAR. 159 
 
 the Colony. On one occasion, when threatened with invasion 
 from other tribes, he had been defended by the colonial forces ; 
 and he had always the means at command for protecting his 
 people against the wrong-doings of any English traders who 
 might visit or reside among them. It would not really serve 
 the cause of humanity to deny, that his native cupidity had 
 no small share in prompting him to cherish and promote the 
 war. It would be a mistaken philanthropy, and a palpable 
 contradiction of St. Paul's description of the Gentile world, to 
 represent mere heathen men as combining in their character all 
 that is noble and excellent. It is not their virtue which entitles 
 them to our sympathy, but their bondage to demoralizing and 
 cruel superstitions, and their need of that Gospel which alone 
 can save fallen man ; and the fearful energy even of their vices 
 tends only to strengthen the appeal in their behalf."
 
 160 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Kaffir Wars and their Besults. 
 
 THE brief sketch of the policy of the British Govern- 
 ment, and the injurious consequences to the Kaffirs and 
 the Colonists, given in Mr. Shaw's " Story of my Mission," 
 is necessary to explain the position in which the Mission 
 was placed after the first Kaffir war s and in those which 
 unhappily followed. 
 
 On my arrival at Graham's Town in March, 1837, I found 
 the people just recovering from the sad results of the previous 
 war. Many of the settlers had been killed, and numerous 
 farm-houses which, before I left the country, had been erected 
 in various parts of the district, had been burnt down. These 
 white-washed farm-buildings added greatly to the picturesque 
 variety and liveliness of the scene, as I used to traverse it on 
 my pastoral and preaching journeys ; but they now only 
 appeared as desolated ruins, with blackened walls, and having 
 tales of horror connected with their recent history, which were 
 recited to me by the owners, whom I now found once more 
 living in tents or huts, on property where I had previously 
 seen them occupying very comfortable dwellings, erected at 
 considerable cost, and no small amount of personal labour. 
 It is beside my purpose to enter into the painful details either 
 of this war, or of the two subsequent wars which occurred 
 while I was a resident in the country. Indeed, I cannot more 
 briefly or forcibly state the distress and misery occasioned by 
 the Kaffir inroad of 1834-5, than by quoting the following
 
 THE KAFFIR WARS AND THEIR RESULTS. 161 
 
 passage contained in a report transmitted by Colonel (now 
 Lieutenant- General) Sir Harry Smith, G.C.B., to the Governor 
 at Cape Town, in January, 1835 : 
 
 "Already are seven thousand persons dependent upon the 
 Government for the necessaries of life. The land is filled 
 with the lamentations of the widow and the fatherless. The 
 indelible impressions already made upon myself, by the horrors 
 of an irruption of savages upon a scattered population, almost 
 exclusively engaged in the peaceful occupation of husbandry, 
 are such as to make me look on those I have witnessed in a 
 service of thirty years, ten of which in the most eventful 
 period of the war, as trifles to what I have now witnessed ; 
 and compel me to bring under consideration, as forcibly as 
 I am able, the heart-rending position in which a very large 
 portion of the inhabitants of this frontier are at present 
 placed, as well as their intense anxiety respecting their future 
 condition." 
 
 The actual extent of damage sustained by the settlers of 
 Albany, including the losses of the Dutch settlers in the 
 northern border districts, was carefully inquired into, and 
 officially reported by the Government to amount to the esti- 
 mated value of 288,625. 4s. Qd. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say, that these heavy losses, inflicted 
 on people who were not conscious of having committed and in 
 fact were entirely innocent of any act of aggression on the 
 Kaffir tribes, produced very much exasperation. Under such 
 circumstances, it can scarcely be expected that the mass of the 
 people would regard the Kaffirs with very complacent feelings. 
 Indeed, I soon became painfully sensible of a great revulsion in 
 the sentiments of the British settlers in reference to the Kaffir 
 race. Up to the period of my departure, the prevailing feeling 
 was undoubtedly that of kindness and goodwill towards these 
 people. Hearty wishes for the success of the Missions among 
 
 M
 
 162 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 them, and the progress and improvement of the Kaffir Chiefs 
 and people, were often expressed by all classes of the settlers, 
 many of whom, on the visits of the Chiefs, (which, after I 
 brought the first of them to the Colony, became rather fre- 
 quent,) received them into their houses, and treated them 
 with much generous hospitality. But the painful events of the 
 war greatly diminished those feelings of kindness on the part 
 of the British settlers. In some minds, indeed, strong senti- 
 ments of dislike were produced ; and even among professors 
 of religion it was at times requisite, in mild but decisive terms, 
 to speak of the great Christian duty, to forgive our enemies, 
 and to pray for those who despitefully use us. Those who 
 have never been placed in such painful circumstances may 
 think this strange ; but candid persons who are acquainted 
 with the history of border tribes in all lands, and embraced 
 in every period of historic narrative, will feel no amazement at 
 such a result. 
 
 Unhappily these feelings were, for a time, rendered much 
 more intense than probably they would have been, in conse- 
 quence of the course pursued by some among the professed 
 friends of the native tribes, who, either from defective informa- 
 tion, or so strong a sympathy with the natives as rendered 
 them blind to the just rights and claims of the settlers, were 
 certainly led into a course of action which greatly increased 
 the prevailing exasperation. It was believed that, owing to 
 the interference and one-sided representations of some of these 
 well-meaning but indiscreet gentlemen, the arrangements which 
 Sir B. D' Urban had made at the conclusion of the war, for the 
 pacification and future protection and safety of the country, had 
 been inconsiderately overruled and set aside by the Secretary 
 of State for the Colonies ; and in proportion to the confidence 
 which the British settlers had reposed in the judgment and 
 honest intentions of that excellent Governor, were the disgust
 
 THE KAFFIR WARS AND THEIR RESULTS. 163 
 
 -and vexation universally felt by them, when they learned that 
 iis plans for the future government of the border were all to 
 be set aside, and the Kaffirs were to be restored at once to 
 the occupation of a large portion of the territory which they 
 had ceded in 1819 ; consequently, that the Chiefs, instead of 
 suffering any penalty for causing so much loss and misery by 
 an unprovoked war, regarded themselves as rewarded for their 
 efforts by a considerable accession of territory, that once more 
 placed them in the impenetrable neighbourhood of the Fish 
 River bush, which had, in former years, been the great 
 stronghold from whence their hordes issued to rob and 
 murder. 
 
 The opinion which I was led to form upon the case of the 
 settlers, was fully expressed in a letter which I addressed to 
 a friend in England, shortly after my return to the Colony. 
 The following is an extract from that communication : 
 
 " I have already seen enough to be fully convinced of the 
 ruinous consequences, to great numbers of the settlers and 
 country people, by the late Kaffir irruption. I am aware that 
 well-informed persons in England never doubted this ; and it 
 could not require any corroborative testimony, if it were not 
 that interested persons have sought to mislead the public mind 
 on this subject. I can assure you that the effects of this 
 fearful disaster will be felt for years to come, both as it 
 respects the temporal and spiritual interests of the settlers ; an! 
 I hope you will not hesitate to publish it as my most decided 
 opinion, that if adequate compensation be not granted to the 
 sufferers, it will be a most flagrant breach of faith on the part 
 of the British Government, who sent the settlers to the lands which 
 they now occupy ; and it will always be justly quoted as a 
 lamentable instance of neglect of British interests, by those who 
 should have fostered and protected them, at the same time that 
 they practically cared for the native tribes. I find that many 
 
 M 2
 
 164 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 of the ruined people are despairing of help ; but I have endea- 
 voured to console them with the belief that the Government 
 will not abandon them ; and I never will believe (unless com- 
 pelled by facts) that any administration will refuse to recognise 
 their just claims to compensation. You know my views on this 
 subject generally, and they have undergone no change. The 
 border policy of this Colony, for years previously to the irrup- 
 tion of the Kaffirs, had been very bad, and therefore was very 
 injurious both to Colonists and Kaffirs ; but for this the settlers 
 were not to blame : they complained several times of the border 
 system, and very earnestly entreated for the substitution of 
 some other plan. They now very naturally think, that it is a 
 great hardship that any class of persons in England should 
 hold them responsible for the effects of a system which 
 they always deprecated; and that to exhibit charges, which 
 have not been and never can be -proved, against an innocent and 
 well-meaning people, because the system of which they ivere 
 not the contrivers, but the victims, has produced bad conse- 
 quences, is only to offer insult instead of commiseration to the 
 sufferers. 
 
 " My utmost efforts shall be used in every way consistent 
 with my office and character as a Minister of the Gospel, to 
 calm the tumult of our people's minds. In common with the 
 rest of the community, they have been greatly and injuriously 
 excited by recent events, and, considering the ungenerous treat- 
 ment which they and their Ministers have received from a party 
 who affect to be friends of the Kaffirs, but who, in fact, 
 have as yet done next to nothing for that people, I cannot wonder 
 at the indignation which is everywhere manifest, although 
 I am bound, by a thousand motives, to exhort them ' to forgive 
 their enemies,' and to ' pray for them who have despitefully 
 used them."' 
 
 The British settlers, strong in the conviction of their inno-
 
 THE KAFFIR WARS AND THEIR RESULTS. 165 
 
 cence of the charges that had been made against them, 
 especially the allegation that they had gone on many Com- 
 mandoes into the Kaffir territory, to make forcible reprisals, 
 and thereby brought the Kaffir invasion upon themselves, 
 which was wholly untrue, resolved to place their denial of 
 these accusations before the highest branches of the British 
 Government. They successively addressed His Majesty 
 (William IV.) in Council, June 17th, 1835 ; the Eight Honour- 
 able the Secretary of State for the Colonies, (Lord Glenelg,) 
 January 23rd, 1836 ; and finally transmitted a petition to the 
 " Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great 
 3ritain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled." The sole 
 satisfaction obtained was, that Lord Glenelg was at length, by 
 the force of facto, compelled to make the British settlers a sort 
 of amende honorable, which was conveyed to them through the 
 Local Government in the following terms : 
 
 " Deeply regretting, as he does, the promulgation of any 
 statements which have given so much pain to these loyal and 
 meritorious subjects of His Majesty, the inhabitants of the Eastern 
 Province, Lord Glenelg has expressed his desire that the 
 memorialists should be informed that His Majesty's Government 
 disclaim all participation in the sentiments which have dictated the 
 reproaches cast on the character of the colonists. He appreciates, 
 and cannot but applaud, the solicitude of the memorialists to 
 relieve themselves from the effects of the statements in question ; 
 but he has felt it, however, impossible to concur in the ex- 
 pediency of appointing a Commission of Inquiry. Such a 
 measure would not, in his Lordship's judgment, answer any 
 useful purpose, inasmuch as the report of a Commission, and 
 the evidence resulting from an inquiry, would be too voluminous 
 for general circulation ; nor does Lord Glenelg regard the pro- 
 posed Commission as a proper mode of repelling imputations 
 on a whole people. He conceives there are other and much more
 
 166 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 convenient channels through which the memorialists, without 
 incurring the delay, the expense, and the prejudice which would 
 attend an inquiry by Commission, might effectually promulgate 
 their defence against accusation ; and to those methods of 
 vindication the parties concerned will prohably, he imagines, 
 think it expedient to resort." 
 
 I returned to the Colony just as the final movements were- 
 being made to restore the neutral country to the Kaffirs, and, 
 consequently when the excitement from this cause was at its- 
 height. The Wesleyan Missionaries had been openly assailed,. 
 and that frequently, by a portion of the press, and also from- 
 the platform, in England, as being hostile to the interests of 
 the Kaffirs, and pro-colonial in their views and aims. The 
 basest motives, wholly alien to those which ought to influence 
 Missionaries in their intercourse with the native tribes, were 
 attributed to them. One of their number, who had returned to- 
 England in consequence of domestic bereavement, was singled 
 out for special attack, on account of a paper which, at a time- 
 of great anxiety, he had hastily written at the request of the 
 Governor, the object and aim of which were probably mis- 
 understood, but certainly misrepresented by the parties referred 
 o. The whole of these proceedings were evidently got up to> 
 damage the Wesleyan Missionaries as witnesses before the 
 British public ; for it was known that while as anxious as any 
 class of persons to secure the real interests and welfare of the/ 
 Kaffir tribes, yet their views of the cause and origin of the- 
 recent war were not in exact accordance with the representa- 
 tions that had been made by those whom the colonists regarded 
 as their enemies. 
 
 The result of all this was, that for a time a painful controversy- 
 arose between several of the Missionaries of different Societies. 
 I was reluctantly drawn into it. "While I was in England, I 
 published a long letter, which occupied an entire page of tho
 
 THE KAFFIR WARS AND THEIR RESULTS. 167 
 
 " Watchman " newspaper, under the signature of " A Keturned 
 Missionary." The object of this letter was to remove, if 
 possible, the effect of certain misrepresentations which had 
 been made about that time by various influential agencies. 
 And after my return to the Colony, circumstances compelled me 
 to publish a lengthy pamphlet in defence of the views enter- 
 tained by the Wesleyan Missionaries, and the course of action 
 we had pursued. It was remarkable that at the very time this 
 was going forward, the Wesleyan and the Scottish Missionaries 
 most of whom sympathized in our views were engaged in 
 more extensive and energetic efforts than any others for the 
 promotion of the temporal and spiritual welfare of the Kaffirs. 
 It should also be stated that it was by means of three Wesleyan 
 Missionaries, the Eev. Messrs. Shepstone, Boyce, and Palmer, 
 who adventured their lives in the effort, that peace was 
 obtained for the Kaffirs on advantageous terms, when the 
 colonial force was in a condition and ready to inflict very severe 
 chastisement upon them. Both the Governor and the colonists 
 knew that the Wesleyan Missionaries only advocated just and 
 reasonable arrangements : hence they often obtained a hearing, 
 and thereby became the instruments in either averting impend- 
 ing evil from the Kaffirs, or otherwise inducing the Government 
 to grant concessions, and make such modifications in the varied 
 details of measures as were calculated to secure their interests 
 and welfare. 
 
 During the greater part of this period one Governor held the 
 reins ; and made it his boast, when leaving the country, that he 
 had strictly observed the instructions received from Lord 
 Glenelg when he was appointed ; and that the troops had never 
 fired a shot against the Kaffirs while he had ruled the country. 
 This was almost literally true ; but every one who resided on 
 the border during that period, knew that this course of winking 
 at Kaffir depredations was no real kindness to the Kaffir people.
 
 168 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 It rapidly weakened among them the influence of those motives 
 of self-interest, which might have gone far to restrain them 
 from indulging their predatory hahits on the border settlers. 
 They saw that the most troublesome and restless among them 
 the Chiefs and people who most frequently committed depre- 
 dations on the colonists, and enriched themselves thereby 
 were petted by the Government, which appeared afraid to check 
 them ; while the Chiefs and others who showed a disposition 
 to behave peaceably, and gave little or no trouble, seemed to be 
 neglected, if not despised. 
 
 This period of licence at length produced the result that was 
 long foreseen as inevitable ; being followed by the war which 
 was forced upon General Sir P. Maitland in 1846 ; and which, 
 in cost and sacrifice of life and property, on both sides of the 
 boundary, far exceeded that of 1834. The Kaffirs had become 
 apt scholars in the art of war ; and were better provided with 
 the means of carrying it on. The value of the property taken 
 or destroyed along the line of frontier, during the war of 
 1846-8, was carefully investigated, and ascertained to be about 
 half a million pounds sterling ! Sir P. Maitland was at once a 
 devout Christian and a distinguished soldier. He was so 
 greatly influenced by humane and benevolent feelings, that no 
 man who knew him can doubt but that he would have avoided 
 this war, if he had seen any possibility of doing so. Never was 
 a veteran General less amenable to the charge of a wanton 
 wish to plunge a country into needless war and bloodshed. He 
 tried, by negotiation and the most reasonable proposals, to 
 induce the Chiefs concerned to come to terms, and avoid the 
 alternative of war. In this he utterly failed ; simply because 
 the Kaffirs had been long prepared for the contest, and had 
 formed a strong opinion that the English were afraid of them ; 
 and that, as they had during the last ten years provided them- 
 selves with horses and fire-arms, they would now be a match
 
 THE KAFFIR WAES AND THEIR EESULTS. 169 
 
 for the troops and colonial forces ; while their vast superiority 
 of numbers would enable them to " drive the white people into 
 the sea." 
 
 The result of this war was that, after Sir P. Maitland and 
 Sir H. Pottinger had successively been removed from the 
 government during the progress of hostilities, Sir Harry Smith 
 arrived, and concluded the war on the submission of the 
 belligerent Chiefs ; releasing the Chiefs Sandilli and Makomo, 
 who had been some time a sort of state prisoners. It is a 
 singular fact, and shows the evils arising from changing 
 Governors and Commanders at critical periods, that Sir P. 
 Maitland was just on the point of making peace with the Chiefs 
 in January, 1847, on almost the same terms as those which 
 Sir H. Smith dictated on the 23rd of December of the same 
 year, amidst two thousand Kaffirs and a portion of the British 
 troops, all the Chiefs of Kaffraria west of the Kei Eiver being 
 present ; but then Sir H. Pottinger had been the intermediate 
 Governor. Having been selected by the Home Government 
 for his reputed great abilities, he was sent to bring the war to 
 a close, and to settle the affairs of the country on a satisfactory 
 and permanent basis. On his arrival, however, he re-com- 
 menced the war, which he found languishing and ready to 
 terminate ; and, after expending more than half a million 
 sterling, handed over the control of affairs to Sir H. Smith ; who, 
 as stated above, thereupon made peace, on much the same terms 
 as had been proposed, and were ready to be accepted by the 
 Kaffirs, when the negotiations were suspended by the arrival of 
 his predecessor. 
 
 By the arrangement made at this time by Sir H. Smith, the 
 border Kaffir district, now called " British Kaffraria," was once 
 more placed under the control of British functionaries ; and the 
 system which had been in force during the period that Sir B. 
 D'Urban was the Governor, was, in its main principles, again
 
 170 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 restored. It was singular that, as Colonel on the Staff, Sir 
 Harry Smith had been the Chief Commissioner for Kaffraria 
 under Sir B. D'Urban ; and having subsequently distin- 
 guished himself highly in India, as the "Hero of Aliwal," 
 he had now come back in the capacity of Governor and 
 Commander-in- Chief, and once more established the system 
 of which he had been the highest executive functionary 
 in 1835. 
 
 For nearly three years after peace was made by Sir H. Smith, 
 the border continued quiet and undisturbed. The frontier 
 settlers were contented and happy ; and all their affairs were 
 once more beginning to show signs of renewed prosperity, while 
 the Kaffirs seemed to have learned that the old Chief Pato had 
 spoken truly as well as figuratively, when, being asked by 
 messengers sent by other Chiefs to assist them in a war to drive 
 the English out of the country, he replied, after due consulta- 
 tion with his advisers, " The rock is fast, it cannot be moved." 
 How well it would have been for the Kaffirs, and for numerous 
 border colonists, if this had, by the force of events, become the 
 abiding sentiment of the nation ! 
 
 But, unhappily, the old error was again committed. The 
 troops were once more reduced to a most inadequate number ; 
 and, as in each previous instance, the Kaffirs soon saw the 
 weakness of the force in front of them. Under these circum- 
 stances it was not difficult for certain Chiefs to use their 
 accustomed "dodge," and induce an enthusiast or a knave ta 
 pretend to have received communications from the spirits of 
 departed Chiefs ; and thus, by vague announcements and special 
 orders of an absurd character, founded upon the national super- 
 stitions which the Chiefs easily enforced, to prepare the 
 people for war. For this, when quite ready, they speedily found 
 an occasion, at a time when a body of troops had been ordered 
 to go in support of the native police, who had tried in vain to
 
 THE KAFFIR WARS AND THEIR RESULTS. 171 
 
 obtain a fine and restitution for some stolen cattle. Thus arose- 
 the war of 1851-2, in the commencement of which Sir H. Smith 
 had a very narrow escape from being seized by the Kaffirs, and 
 the troops at first suffered very severely. Sir Harry had done 
 his utmost to prevent this war. His reputation was at stake ; 
 and he had every motive to avoid war, if possible. But although 
 he tried every expedient that could be supposed likely to avert 
 an event dreaded alike by the well disposed among the Kaffirs, 
 by the border colonists, and by the chief officers of Government, 
 yet all proved unavailing ; and thus a contest, involving still 
 greater sacrifice of life and property than on any former 
 occasion, was the result. 
 
 It is really distressing to look back on these events, and see 
 how much mischief resulted from an unwise economy, which 
 led to the two previous wars, by denuding the frontier of 
 adequate means of defence ; resulting not merely in great loss 
 of life and property, but involving the British treasury in such- 
 an amount, (millions of pounds,) for extraordinary war charges, 
 as would have been sufficient to sustain an ample force for a 
 whole generation. The Home Government had once more 
 repeated its previous errors, and weakly succumbed to the 
 incessant calls made by certain badly informed, or " penny wise 
 and pound foolish," Members of Parliament, for the reduction. 
 of the number of troops kept on the Kaffir border; and 
 had thereby afforded opportunity for this third Kaffir war. 
 But, as on former occasions, it hastily sent out, at great 
 expense, strong reinforcements ; including the gallant First 
 Battalion of the Eifle Brigade, which had not long returned 
 to England after being employed against the Kaffirs in the- 
 previous war. 
 
 Both the country and the Government, however, at length- 
 became very impatient of the protracted character and 
 enormous cost of the fruitless contest which was being carried
 
 172 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 on ; and hence Sir George Cathcart was eventually sent (in 1852) 
 to supersede Sir H. Smith, and arrived just as the latter, by a 
 series of concentric military movements, had brought the war 
 io its crisis, and left his successor the easy task and the glory 
 of speedily terminating it. Sir George Cathcart had, however, 
 the more difficult duty to discharge of making arrangements 
 for the future settlement of the affairs of the country. He 
 retained British Kaffraria as before, but compelled the Gaika 
 tribes to evacuate the extensive valleys at the bottom and up 
 the slopes of the Amatola Mountains ; which had been their 
 favourite residence, and their supposed impregnable garrison, 
 ior several generations ; ever since, indeed, their forefathers, 
 intruding from the north-east, had arrived in that part of 
 Southern Africa, and had driven out its original inhabitants of 
 the Hottentot race. 
 
 The country thus evacuated the new Governor partially filled 
 up with Fingoes, and the more open districts along the left 
 bank of the Keiskamma by the Kaffir tribes of Kama, Sewane, 
 and Pato, which were to a considerable extent under the influ- 
 ence of the Missionaries, and had taken no active part in the 
 late war, but in various ways had assisted the British forces, 
 and were believed by Sir George Cathcart to be more peaceably 
 disposed than the other Chiefs and tribes. No doubt the Gaika 
 tribes felt these to be most humiliating terms. But there was 
 still a sufficient extent of land assigned for their residence 
 ^within the limits of British Kaffraria ; and, by the arrange- 
 ments which the Governor made, there was really no ground 
 for the complaint which they urged, that they were crowded 
 into too narrow a space. In reality, they were now to occupy a 
 very fine tract of well- watered and grassy country, quite as 
 extensive as that from which they had been expelled, but not so 
 well situated for enabling them to carry on predatory or other 
 warlike proceedings.
 
 THE KAFFIR WAES AND THEIR RESULTS. 173 
 
 A tribe of Tembookies (Abatembu), living further to the north 
 than the Amaxosa or border Kaffir tribes, having joined the 
 confederacy of Kaffir Chiefs against the Colony, and become 
 dangerous enemies on the north-eastern part of the border, Sir 
 George Cathcart now compelled them to occupy a district of 
 that country which he assigned to them, and which, besides- 
 being a very fine country, is sufficiently large for all the pur- 
 poses of peaceful life ; and the lands vacated by them he 
 formed into a new division of the Colony, (Queen's Town. 
 Division.) wherein he established a large body of Fingoes and 
 other friendly natives, including the Tembookies of the Wes- 
 leyan Mission Settlement of Lesseyton. To these were added 
 a considerable body of European settlers, who, being invited 
 from the other border districts, were placed on farms of more 
 limited extent than had been usual in the other parts of the 
 Colony, so as to concentrate the population; and it was 
 hoped by the Governor that, as that part of the country 
 is open and comparatively destitute of any bushy ravines, 
 which could afford cover for a Kaffir enemy, the united 
 force of Europeans and natives, thus located in the new 
 district, would be able to defend themselves in any future 
 emergency. 
 
 It is, however, a great satisfaction to myself and other Wes- 
 leyan Missionaries, that we have lived long enough to witness 
 a great change in the opinions of some of the Missionaries 
 referred to, and of many other persons, both at home and in 
 the Colony. And thus we feel that the progress of events has 
 made our justification to stand complete. Judging from recent 
 proceedings and publications, I am happy to believe that con- 
 troversy on this subject may cease. I would gladly have 
 avoided all reference to it, but that in a book reciting the chief 
 occurrences of my missionary career, it was impossible to avoid-
 
 174 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 alluding to this matter without appearing tacitly to admit the 
 truth of many grievous but groundless allegations against 
 myself, and brethren, and friends, which still stand recorded in 
 various books, written by popular and, in the main, deservedly 
 influential authors.
 
 175 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Interval of Peace, 1837-1843. 
 
 Ox Mr. Shaw's return to the Colony, early in 1837, he 
 found the Colonists suffering from the losses sustained 
 during the years 1835-1836, and smarting under the 
 undeserved censure of the prejudiced public opinion at 
 home. Where they, in the consciousness of their inno- 
 cence, looked for sympathy, they found nothing hut 
 reproach. Sir Benjamin D'Urban was recalled in May, 
 1837, his system set aside, the Kaffir tribes replaced in 
 the strong positions from which they had been driven, and 
 freed from all the restraints imposed upon them by the 
 vigorous administration of Colonel Smith, (afterwards Sir 
 Harry Smith). Add to this, the Lieutenant-Governor 
 appointed to carry out what was Galled (after the Colonial 
 Secretary) the Glenelg system, was personally unpopular. 
 As Andries Stockenstrom he had been a general favourite 
 as High Commissioner. As identified with the unpopular 
 policy of the Colonial Office, and honoured by a baronetcy, 
 Sir Andries Stockenstrom was universally disliked. A feel- 
 ing of deep discontent, not an occasional outbreak of feel- 
 ing, but a chronic displacency with all Government mea- 
 sures, embittered all classes of society. An immediate 
 result of this want of confidence in the Government was 
 the emigration of the Dutch Boers by thousands beyond 
 the northern frontier, which resulted eventually in the 
 formation of the Orange Eiver Sovereignty, and the Trans
 
 176 CHAPTEB VII. 
 
 Vaal Eiver Eepublics. The loss of so many stalwart 
 Boers from the defensive power of the Colony, the gradual 
 reduction of the military forces, the evident fear of enforc* 
 ing such stipulations in the treaties as tended to repress 
 Kaffir aggression on the farmers; and the fact that the 
 local authorities, anxious to please their superiors, were 
 more ready to minify and excuse the offenders, than 
 punish and redress the offence, tended to create a feeling 
 among the Colonists, most painful to mere lookers on, (if 
 it were possible to be indifferent at such a time). The 
 whole body of Wesleyan Missionaries, though not person- 
 ally interested, felt ashamed of the English Government, 
 and of the English name. All our prepossessions had 
 been conservative and loyal in the extreme. We looked 
 upon the Colonies as an integral portion of the empire, and 
 the Colonists as samples of the best and most enterprising 
 of the English population. To read the unjust charges- 
 brought against them, and received as true by liberal and 
 excellent men and bodies of men, and to find the Exe- 
 cutive so far influenced by ex-parte statements, as to dis- 
 allow the only policy which in our judgment (confirmed 
 by subsequent experience, and admitted, too, by the Eng- 
 lish and Colonial Governments) was equal to the difficult 
 task of maintaining law and order on the Colonial frontier 
 and in Kaffirland, these things "make wise men mad." 
 Politics in England are mostly an affair of ins and outs, 
 in which no doubt great principles and results are involved, 
 but the immediate issues do not affect private comfort and 
 social life. In South Africa on the frontier the policy of 
 the Government touched the question of the security not 
 only of property, but of life, to the settlers. The Mission-
 
 THE INTERVAL OF PEACE, 1837-1843. 177 
 
 aries believed that the settlers' view of Sir B. D'Urban's 
 policy was, that it was far more favourable to the natives 
 than to the Colonists. 
 
 Our Missionaries knew the Colonists, and deeply sympa- 
 thized with them. I dare say they felt as I did, though I 
 only speak for myself. Government, like property, has its 
 duties as well as its rights. The Cape Government of 
 that day Tent itself to vilify the character of the best and 
 most enterprising of the Colonists, deprived them of all 
 protection from the marauding pastoral tribes on their 
 borders, brought upon them two more Kaffir wars, each 
 more injurious than its predecessor (the last of which was 
 concluded by the peace of February, 1853). It was done 
 ignorantly, and from a pressure from without which the 
 Government of that day could not withstand. It is well that 
 our Colonial system has been thoroughly reformed. Most 
 of our Colonies are favoured with self-government, without 
 which an English population cannot breathe freely: but 
 our Colonial Secretaries would do well to study the details 
 of our Colonial policy in America before 1776, in the Cape 
 and in New Zealand in more recent times, in order to 
 avoid the mistakes of their predecessors. No Govern- 
 ment in the world desires to act more justly than our own, 
 whichever party may be in office ; but parliamentary 
 administrators are compelled to look at the necessities of 
 party, and to succumb to pressing influences which are 
 frequently injurious to the rights of the absent uninfluential 
 Colonists. It is well that under the new arrangements 
 the occasions for interference on the part of the home 
 authorities are reduced so as practically to preclude all 
 possible collision. We have now some chance for main- 
 
 N
 
 178 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 taining a friendly union with our Colonial brethren in 
 South Africa, America, and Australasia. Under the old 
 system, a Colonial Governor was a respectable gentle- 
 man, representing a bundle of equally respectable prejudices, 
 entirely at the mercy of the clique around him, whose 
 policy it was to keep him ignorant of the Colony he was 
 sent to govern, and to make him a mere partizan. The 
 main object of such a Governor seemed to be to turn all 
 loyal British Colonists into Eadicals and rebels. The " good 
 old times" were not better than the days in which we now 
 live. May we be thankful, and try, by improvement of 
 our opportunities, to leave the world better for our children 
 than we found it in our young days ! 
 
 In this excited state of the Colonial community, Mr, 
 Shaw walked most wisely ; throwing, as far as possible, 
 oil on the troubled waters ; putting in a word here and 
 there to check those unreasonable extreme views, in which 
 men justly irritated are apt to indulge. The case of the 
 Colonists was so clear, that, in his opinion, exaggeration 
 could only weaken the effect of its representation. Every 
 Colonial Governor arrived in that Colony prejudiced 
 against the British settlers, viewing the Kaffirs as an 
 injured people, and in due time became convinced that the 
 converse was the case. At last, after nearly twenty years 
 of actual or chronic war, (the intervals of peace being as 
 injurious to the Colonists as the periods of war,) the system 
 of Sir Benjamin D'Urban was re-established substantially, 
 and on the whole with more strictness, and the Kaffir tribes 
 were deprived of a large portion of their territory, which was 
 given to English, Dutch, and Fingoe settlers. We, who 
 advocated the charitable and benevolent policy of Sir B.
 
 THE INTERVAL OF PEACE, 1837-1843. 179 
 
 D'Urban, may take credit, not for any special forethought, 
 "but for a fair share of common sense in foreseeing the 
 issue of the change of that policy in 1836. After millions 
 of English money have been spent, and thousands of lives, 
 European, Colonial, and Native, have been thrown away 
 in the conflict, the system of Sir B. D'Urban of 1835 has 
 leen re-established, and for twenty years the frontier has 
 enjoyed comparative peace. The Hon. K. Godlonton, the 
 editor and proprietor of the Graham's Town Journal, and 
 author of several works on South African politics, was from 
 the first to the last the constant, uncompromising opposer 
 of the Glenelg system of compromise ; and the ability and 
 fairness with which he conducted this controversy tended 
 mainly to bring it to a happy conclusion. 
 
 Previous to Mr. Shaw's arrival the strength of the Dis- 
 trict had been increased by the transference of the KEY. J. 
 CAMERON from Cape Town, and of the EEV. W. H. GARNER 
 from England. Mr. Shaw brought with him the EEV. 
 G. H. GREEN (and another young man, who afterwards 
 left our work). JAMES CAMERON was one of those extra- 
 ordinary self-taught men, who, in spite of every disad- 
 vantage, achieve a maturity of mind and of preaching 
 power from the very beginning of their career. His exa- 
 mination before the Committee in 1829, and a sermon 
 preached in Lambeth from the text, "And the disciples 
 were called Christians Jirst in Antioch" (Acts xi. 26,) pro- 
 duced such an effect on the minds of some of the leading 
 friends, that the question of his appointment to Africa was 
 .re-considered. It was thought that such preaching power 
 would have no proper sphere among the Kaffirs, to which 
 Mission his name was appended. Had there been no 
 
 N 2
 
 180 CHAPTEB vn. 
 
 European Colonial population, the objection was very rea- 
 sonable. He has been a power in Cape Town, in the 
 Eastern Province, and in Natal. In my day, as a preacher 
 and as a theologian he was unequalled in South Africa ; 
 and I do not think that he was second in these respects to 
 any of his brethren in England. G. H. GREEN was a. 
 loving brother, and, as an excellent preacher, was a valu- 
 able addition to our number. W. H. GARNER was a man 
 of ready wit, good sense, and energy, and did good service 
 in the native work. He died in 1864. In 1838 the REVS.. 
 JOHN RICHARDS and WILLIAM IMPEY joined the District.. 
 MR. RICHARDS was, I think, the first of the students from 
 the Theological Institution at Hoxton whose services were 
 given to South Africa. His studious habits, which were 
 not suffered to interfere with the systematic discharge of 
 pastoral duties, and his excellent preaching, did much to 
 allay a prejudice which some good people entertained 
 against a scholastic training for our ministry. WILLIAM 
 IMPEY, a respectable, educated young man, had not gone 
 through this ordeal ; but was from the first an acceptable 
 preacher, and soon stood high in the opinion of his 
 brethren and of the colonial public. The fact that he was 
 eventually the successor of Mr. Shaw in the Chairmanship 
 of the Districts, is sufficient testimony to his worth and 
 general ability. In 1840 the Brethren F. TAYLOR, GLAD- 
 WIN, HORATIO PEARSE, J. S. THOMAS, W. C. HOLDEN, J. W. 
 APPLEYARD, JOHN SMITH, and THORNLEY SMITH, were sent 
 out. Of these the Brethren TAYLOR, GLADWTN, and the 
 saintly PEARSE are gone to their reward. MR. J. S. THOMAS 
 was killed unintentionally by the Kaffirs in a raid made 
 upon the cattle fold of the people of the Station he then
 
 THE INTERVAL OF PEACE, 1837-1843. 181 
 
 occupied. MESSRS. HOLDEN, J. SMITH, and APPLETARD are 
 yet in Stations in South Africa. MR. HOLDEN has gathered 
 together much valuable matter respecting South Africa in 
 his works, "History of Natal" 1855, and "The Past and 
 Future of the Kaffir Race," 1866, and has proved himself 
 to be a hard-working Missionary to the natives. JOHN 
 SMITH, a loving and diligent preacher and pastor, lives in 
 the esteem of his brethren. J. W. APPLEYARD has found a 
 sphere for his scholarly talents in the revision of the 
 translations of the Holy Scriptures, and in the composition 
 of a new and enlarged Kaffir Grammar, respecting which 
 we quote the Eesolution of the District Meeting of the 
 Albany and Kaffraria District, held at Mount Coke, 
 December 6th, 1849. (See "Notices," May, 1850, p. 79.) 
 
 "Resolved, That we have seen with great satisfaction the 
 completion and issue of Mr. Appleyard's New Grammar of the 
 Kaffir Language ; a publication highly creditable to the learn- 
 ing and research of the author, and which must become the 
 standard Grammar of the language. We thus express oursel'/es 
 without forgetting the high merits of the Eev. W. B. Boyce's 
 Grammar of the language, which was the first publication that 
 supplied the key to the intricacies thereof, by its development 
 of the principles of wbat its discoverer appropriately called the 
 ' Euphonic Concord.' We confidently recommend Mr. Apple- 
 yard's Grammar as, in the main, a correct and philosophical 
 exhibition of the principles and rules which govern this ancient 
 and interesting African language, so extensively spoken upon 
 the continent. The manner in which the work has been printed 
 and bound, at our printing office, cannot fail to reflect credit 
 upon tbat establishment ; and the work itself is calculated to 
 serve the Mission, not only as forming a valuable help to Mis-
 
 182 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 sionaries studying the language, but also as suggesting useful' 
 hints to those on whom the duty and honour devolves of com- 
 pleting translations of the Holy Scriptures into the Kaffir 
 tongue." 
 
 MR. THORNLEY SMITH remained for some years in the 
 Colonial work in South Africa. He was from the first an 
 excellent and popular preacher. His writings, " Moses,' * 
 "Joshua," &c., are among the best of their kind, and 
 deserve to be in every family library in which the intel- 
 lectual gratification and advancement of the young are 
 duly considered. His little work on South Africa is very- 
 valuable. "With subsequent additions to the Missionary 
 Ministers in South Africa I have but a slender acquaint- 
 ance. But the men who were my colleagues up to 1843 I 
 can never forget. No men bear knowing better than 
 Methodist Missionaries. Of the comparatively young 
 men taken out and sent into the Mission since 1840 I 
 have only come in contact with W. SARGEANT and J. E. 
 SAWTELL ; and if these are fair average specimens of our 
 Missionaries in South-Eastern Africa, the Methodist 
 Church may thank God and take courage. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's first business was the re-establishment of 
 the Stations ruined by the Kaffir war of 1835-6. Many of 
 the chapels in the Colony had been destroyed. In Kaffir- 
 land, Wesleyville, Mount Coke, and Butterworth had been 
 burnt down. Clarkebury, Morley, and Buntingville liacl 
 remained untouched, protected by the chiefs of the tribes 
 to which they were attached. By the time their restora- 
 tion had been effected, the second Kaffir war arose, and 
 the destruction of property was on a yet larger scale 
 (1846-8). Again, after what was called "peace," the work,
 
 THE INTERVAL OP PEACE, 1837-1843. 183 
 
 of reconstruction re-commenced, to be interrupted by the 
 war of 1851-3. Since then no open outbreak has deso- 
 lated the Mission field. Mr. Shaw's labours and responsi- 
 bilities were increased in 1838 by the annexation of the 
 BECHUAXA District, (as a section to the Albany District,) 
 and again in 1841, by the extension of the Methodist Mis- 
 sions to the Colony of NATAL. The superintending 
 this large field of Missionary labour was no easy task. 
 Mr. Shaw's visits were looked forward to with pleasure, 
 claimed by the brethren as a right, and in fact exacted 
 almost mercilessly, considering the necessity, equally 
 great, for his presence at head quarters. Soon after his 
 return to the Colony he, in May, 1837, visited the distant 
 Stations of Clarkebury, Morley, and Buntingville ; and on 
 his return to Graham's Town soon left to hold a District 
 Meeting in the Bechuana Country, August to October. In 
 1838-9 I saved him the journey to the Bechuana Country, 
 by presiding as Acting Chairman over the District Meet- 
 ing in January, 1839. The same year, 13th and 20th of 
 August, the Centenary Sermons in Graham's Town were 
 preached : in the morning by Mr. Shaw, from John i. 6 : 
 " There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." 
 I preached in the evening. The Meetings which followed 
 were highly successful in a financial point of view. 
 
 In October, 1841, Mr. Shaw preached by request a ser- 
 mon on the death of Miss Somerset, the daughter of 
 Colonel Somerset, which was soon after published. It is 
 the only sermon which Mr. Shaw furnished for the press, 
 which, considering the frequent requests made to him to 
 publish particular discourses, during his more than thirty 
 years of pulpit popularity in the Colony, is no small proof
 
 184 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 of bis sagacity and good sense. A printed sermon, quietly 
 read, is altogether a different thing from the same sermon 
 delivered viva voce from the heart, with energy and feeling, 
 and preceded and followed by singing and prayer, in the 
 great congregation. This published sermon is no fair 
 specimen of Mr. Shaw's preaching : the matter of the sub- 
 ject did not admit of that continuous exposition and appli- 
 cation of the truth which was characteristic of his ordinary 
 ministry. It is, however, neither better nor worse than 
 the average of funeral discourses. Whoever heard Mr. 
 Shaw preach recognised the influence which the study of 
 the thirty volumes of the " Christian Library " had left 
 upon his mind. That invaluable collection of the old 
 English Episcopalian and Puritan divinity is too much 
 neglected in our day. Many object to it, because the 
 various treatises are found in an abridged form, though 
 the abridgments have been made by the hand of a master. 
 In its place the bookshelves of many a study are crowded 
 by the voluminous series of Nichol's Puritan Divines, 
 which no Minister in full work can possibly find time to 
 read, and which are only valuable for occasional reference. 
 So, refusing to avail themselves of the treasures contained 
 in the "Christian Library," many grow up with but a 
 slender acquaintance with the great theologians of the 
 seventeenth century. In some cases, the places of these 
 "giant" minds are occupied by sensational and senti- 
 mental divines of what Sir Fowell Buxton terms the 
 " Bible-and- water school." The effect of such twaddle on 
 the Ministry of the future may be imagined. Mr. Shaw, 
 as a genuine Methodist Preacher of the old school, was 
 an extemporaneous preacher. If anything can add to the
 
 THE INTERVAL OF PEACE, 1837-1843. 185 
 
 intolerable annoyance of a read sermon to a Methodist 
 congregation, it is the generally inferior character of the 
 matter of such deliverances. If the Methodist Conference 
 has in any way been unfaithful to the trust committed to 
 it by its founder, it is in permitting any of its members, 
 small or great, to substitute reading for preaching in any 
 of its pulpits. If we are not able to look our congregation 
 in the face, and set before them (without book) the plan 
 of salvation, why should we call ourselves Methodist 
 Preachers ? However decorous and becoming may be all 
 our arrangements in the order of public worship, yet nei- 
 ther these, nor instrumental music, nor the voices of 
 singing men and singing women, will make up for the 
 want of a Minister in the pulpit who can preach from his 
 heart, not from his book, to the hearts of the people. 
 
 In 1842, in the months of February and March, I 
 accompanied Mr. Shaw in a journey through Cradock up 
 to Shiloh and the Tambookie Country, to arrange respect- 
 ing the new Mission to the Abatembu tribes. This was 
 our last Missionary-business journey. About this time, 
 as Mr. Shaw and I were standing on one of the hills from 
 which Graham's Town can be fully seen, Mr. Shaw 
 remarked, " It is a great comfort to me that there is not a 
 house in that town in which I have not had the oppor- 
 tunity of offering prayer." What Eichard Baxter was to 
 Kidderminster Mr. Shaw was to Graham's Town. In 1843, 
 having received permission to return to England, I 
 removed with my family from Graham's Town to Algoa 
 Bay, by way of Salem, January 30th. Mr. Shaw kindly 
 accompanied us, and remained with us during our deten- 
 tion of fourteen days, awaiting the arrival of the steamer :
 
 186 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 our home being the mansion of our old friend, John Owen 
 Smith, Esq., who, though abroad, had placed his establish- 
 ment at our disposal. We sailed February 14th, not expect- 
 ing to meet again for many years. I cannot deny myself 
 the gratification of quoting a sentence from Mr. Shaw's 
 letter to me, which I received at Cape Town. " As soon as 
 I reached the shore, I set off homeward, and relieved my 
 mind by a good cry." We kept up a brisk correspondence 
 during my stay in England, (1843-5,) and my residence 
 in Sydney, (1846-56,) but we did not meet until August, 
 1856, at the Bristol Conference, a few days after my 
 return from Australia, Mr. Shaw having arrived in England 
 a few weeks previously. 
 
 I may now be permitted to give a few of my own 
 reminiscences of my dear friend, referring to the period of 
 our co-African career, 1830-43. 
 
 Before I left England I heard from the Eev. George 
 Morley and his able and excellent wife the highest com- 
 mendation of Mr. Shaw. One dingy back room in that 
 dingy Mission House, 77, Hatton Garden, is in my mind 
 associated with Mr. Morley's earnest praises of " the 
 Chairman of the District," for such was Mr. Shaw's position. 
 The impression left on my mind was not particularly 
 agreeable. I fancied I should find Mr. Shaw to be a 
 respectable, methodical, high and dry martinet, an official 
 with qualities suited to his responsibilities, but not of a 
 sort likely to attract a young man just commencing his 
 probation. At Cape Town, and on the road from Algoa 
 Bay to Graham's Town, all I heard from Mr. Shaw's eulo- 
 gists confirmed the impressions made in Hatton Garden. 
 I was some days in Graham's Town before Mr. Shaw
 
 THE INTERVAL OP PEACE, 1837-1843. 187 
 
 arrived from Wesleyville, he and his party having been 
 detained by the Fish Eiver. On Wednesday, the 10th of 
 February, 1830, I went up to the Mission house, a low 
 thatched cottage of four rooms and a kitchen, large enough 
 for a small family, but generally occupied by two families, 
 i.e., the resident, and 'the family of a brother in transit to 
 or from Kamrland. I was ushered into the sitting-room, 
 and heard voices in the adjoining bed-room, the door being 
 ajar. I was told that Mr. Shaw and Mr. Shepstone were 
 there. I could not help hearing their conversation respect- 
 ing their families in Kamrland, and the possibility of their 
 being anxious respecting their safety. The tones had 
 nothing official : all was as natural as if the man had not 
 been entirely lost in the Chairman. This was some comfort. 
 When Mr. Shaw appeared, instead of an old man, I saw one 
 apparently not much older than myself, grave and serious 
 in his deportment, but courteous and considerate beyond 
 all I had ever experienced before from a stranger. I was 
 at once at home with him. The African tribes, the 
 Missions, the language, were our leading topics, to both of 
 us, in fact, absorbing ones. He led me down the steps 
 into the yard, towards a sort of thatched hut, called "the 
 den," in which he had placed a tusk of ivory which had 
 been sent from Dingaan, the Great Chief of the Zulus. It 
 was an annoyance to me then, (and ever after,) when 
 some one claimed Mr. Shaw's attention ; but I left, satis- 
 fied that I could be happy with the friendship of such a 
 man. Before the District Meeting was over, we were fast 
 friends. I cannot forbear mentioning a curious mistake 
 made by a good man in speaking of me at this time to 
 Mr. Shaw : " It is very singular that the young Minister's
 
 188 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 library should contain so large a number of Operas." 
 Some of my boxes of books had been unpacked, and spread 
 out in a large room in Mr. Cock's store. Among them 
 were a set of Tauchnitz's Greek and Latin Classics ; each 
 volume had the word " Opera," followed by the name of 
 the author ; and this occasioned deep searchings of heart 
 to the good brother, until the mystery was explained. 
 This is the only occasion on which I have been suspected 
 of possessing a taste for music. 
 
 Soon after the District Meeting I went to Wesleyville, 
 and was introduced to Mrs. Shaw, a noble-looking woman, 
 the fit wife for such a man as Mr. Shaw. She was truly 
 a helpmate. Though naturally timid, and anxious about 
 her husband's safety, yet she never tried to prevent his 
 long and necessary absences, even when left on a Mission 
 Station in the midst of Kaffirs. Mr. Shaw had no doubt 
 made a favourable representation of me to her, and we 
 were soon friends. Ever after I used to call her Ma, and 
 Mr. Shaw Pa, to the great amusement of strangers. We 
 used to quarrel over Mr. Shaw's library, which I tried to 
 re-modify, not by subtraction but by addition. It consisted 
 mainly of a few classical and mathematical works, the 
 standards of Methodist theology, and "The Christian 
 Library," thirty volumes, 8vo, with the standard divinity 
 of the Church of England and of the Nonconformist 
 Churches. "The Christian Library" had been thoroughly 
 marked ; read and re-read. Here was " the secret place of 
 thunder." Mr. Shaw's preaching was explanatory, 
 experimental, and practical. Sensible people always liked 
 his last sermon the best. 
 
 During my residence in Africa, Mr. Shaw exercised an
 
 THE INTERVAL OF PEACE, 1837-1843. 189 
 
 influence amounting to fascination over me. The more 
 intimately I knew him the more thoroughly I respected 
 him. He had no weaknesses to mar the general effect of 
 his character : there was nothing behind, which, if known, 
 would have diminished his influence. To me he seemed 
 to be an incarnation of conscience and judgment, a man 
 acting altogether wisely, and from the highest and most 
 noble principles. Under circumstances the most trying 
 he never lost his temper or his self-possession. No man 
 was more enterprising, and yet no man more cautious. 
 Like " Bailie Nicol Jarvie," in Scott's novel, "he never 
 would put forth his hand unless he was sure he could pull 
 it back again." Some people cheaply earn a character 
 for prudence and caution by doing nothing and running 
 no risks. Mr. Shaw's plans for our Mission in Kamrland 
 were from the first perfect, and needed no subsequent 
 modification. His object was to plant a series of Missions 
 with the great chiefs and ruling tribes as far as Delagoa 
 Bay, and to a great extent he succeeded. Before he left 
 Africa in 1856 our Missions extended from Algoa Bay to 
 the Tugela Eiver, which separates the Natal Colony from 
 Zululand. 
 
 From the Eev. Henry H. Dugmore I have received the 
 following contribution to this part of my narrative. The 
 complimentary allusions to myself I cannot leave out, as 
 they are so dovetailed with the rest of the composition ; but 
 when the reader knows that this excellent Minister is by 
 marriage a near relation, he will be able to discount the 
 expressions which apply to me. 
 
 " I knew Mr. Shaw by sight and name as early as 1823, 
 when I used to attend the Wesleyan Sunday School in
 
 190 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Graham's Town, and I of course often saw him at the public 
 services on District and Missionary Meeting occasions. 
 But my personal acquaintance with him did not begin till 
 I had become a member of Society. In the never-forgotten 
 'Bevival' of 1831, I found peace with God, and under 
 the impulse of a new life was ready for active exertion in 
 the service of my Saviour. Mr. Shaw appointed rne Leader 
 of a Class of natives, called upon me occasionally to pray in 
 the prayer-meetings, and made use of my musical 
 tendencies in the Sunday School Anniversaries. 
 
 " About the same time he formed a class of youths, to 
 ~whom he gave weekly instruction in English Grammar, 
 Geography, and History. The class met at sunrise in the 
 Wesleyan Library. It was a precious privilege, in those 
 days of educational destitution, to have such an opportunity. 
 Amongst the other means of self-improvement Mr. Shaw 
 encouraged the members of the class to try their powers in 
 composition by writing short essays on religious subjects. 
 These meetings, although, in consequence of Mr. Shaw's 
 departure for England, they did not last very long, proved 
 to me and, I believe to others also, a turning point in 
 life. They suggested, I think, to Mr. Shaw's mind, my 
 possible call to the ministry ; and I soon discovered in 
 different ways, that he was taking a special interest in my 
 mental improvement. It was by him that I was recom- 
 mended to the notice of Mr. Boyce, who had not long 
 arrived in the country, and whose interest in the young 
 *\vas marked by all his characteristic ardency. To my 
 introduction to Mr. Boyce I owe, in my mental and in my 
 domestic life, blessings the value of which I will not 
 attempt to estimate, but which, probably, I should never
 
 THE INTERVAL OP PEACE, 1837-1843. 191 
 
 "have enjoyed, had it not been for Mr. Shaw's kindness in 
 the first instance. 
 
 " Of the jouths belonging to the class I have spoken of, 
 two became Missionaries, and two Local Preachers. 
 Jeremiah Hartley died in the work in the Bechuana Country 
 from brain fever, brought on by exposure to the sun during 
 the excitements caused by one of the intertribal wars then 
 so rife in that region. James Thackwray, a most loveable 
 character, had his health ruined by the ordinary fever of 
 the country while in Missionary employment in the same 
 District, and returned to Graham's Town only to linger 
 awhile and die. Brooke Attwell still lives, the head of a 
 patriarchal tribe of descendants, a Local Preacher and Class 
 Leader of nearly forty years' standing, esteemed in his old 
 age for a life of usefulness, specially in relation to the army, 
 for which he possessed unusual qualifications. 
 
 " The late Dr. Atherstone, who attended Mr. Shaw during 
 a dangerous illness he had in Graham's Town, expressed 
 his astonishment at the calm and peaceful state of his 
 mind ; and on one occasion in particular said that though so 
 serene and collected, he was at the same time in a fever 
 which would have thrown most men into a state of delirium."
 
 192 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Jubilee of the Colony The Second Kaffir War Missionary 
 Journey 1844-1848. 
 
 THE year 1844 was the Jubilee year of the Albany 
 Settlement, and was observed on the 10th of April, in 
 Graham's Town, Port Elizabeth, and other localities, with 
 great rejoicings. Morning services were held in the various 
 places of worship, followed by discharge of cannon and 
 musketry, and evening banquets. At Graham's Town, the 
 general desire was for the Jubilee Sermon to be preached 
 in the Episcopal church, and for the preacher, contrary to 
 all Church of England usage, to be the Eev. William Shaw, 
 the Bishop (i.e., General Superintendent) of the Methodist 
 Church. To this wish the Eev. J. Heavyside, the Colonial 
 Episcopal Chaplain, in spite of the opposition of a few 
 rigid Churchmen, acceded, and Mr. Shaw accordingly 
 officiated. This, however, was but an ushering in of the 
 Jubilee year. The completion of the year was celebrated 
 by the Methodists of Graham's Town after their own 
 fashion. The foundation was laid of the " COMMEMORATION 
 CHAPEL," on the 10th of April, 1845, by Mrs. Shaw, with 
 the usual formalities. The erection and completion of this 
 chapel was retarded by the outbreak of the SECOND KAFFIR 
 WAR, which, after looming in the distance for some months, 
 commenced March 31st, 1846, and continued until January 
 17th, 1848. Territorially, the results were an extension 
 of the boundaries of the Colony, which had its north-eastern
 
 MISSIONARY JOUBNEY, 1848. 193 
 
 frontier wisely placed beyond certain debateable lands. 
 All the country between the Keiskamma and the Kei Eivers 
 \vas formed into a dependent province called British 
 Kaffraria, the Kaffir chiefs and people being permitted to 
 hold their lands from and under the British Government. 
 The return of peace enabled Mr. Shaw to undertake what 
 he had long before proposed, a journey northwards into 
 the Bechuana Country; and thence he hastened across 
 the Quathlamba Mountains* to Natal, returning to the 
 Colony through Pondoland and Kaffiiiand. This extensive 
 and interesting journey commenced March 20th, and con- 
 tinued till August 18th, 1848. Mr. Shaw's journal explains 
 the object of this journey, and gives a fair notice of the 
 country through which he passed. The time had now 
 come for a large extension of the Missions in South-East 
 Africa, and for their consolidation. After a quarter of a 
 century, Mr. Shaw had realized in a great measure the vision 
 of Missionary progress which had filled his imagination 
 in his earlier years. With all its hardship and annoyance, 
 necessarily connected with South African travelling, this must 
 have been to him a happy journey, the particulars of which 
 are given in a letter to the Committee, dated May 8th, 1848. 
 
 I left Graham's Town about the 20th of March, on the journey 
 te Natal ; the necessity for taking which at this period I have already 
 explained to you in former letters. As it was essential to make some 
 arrangements relative to the resumption of our Border Stations, in 
 what is now called British KafEraria, I proceeded thither in the first 
 instance, that the work might not be delayed by my long absence. 
 Having arrived at Mount Coke, I had the pleasure to meet Mr. 
 Gladwin, who, with the Government Commissioner of Butterworth. 
 had come down from the country beyond the Bashee, where they had 
 been shut up during the late war. 
 
 * Called by the Dutch, " the Dracheriberg." 
 O
 
 194 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Leaving British Kaffraria, we travelled round the north-east side 
 of the Amatela Mountains, by way of the Moravian Institution of 
 Shiloh, to Haslope Hills, where I also made some needful arrange- 
 ments for the future prosecution of this Mission, the settlement of 
 the Chief Kama in its neighbourhood, and other matters connected 
 with our Stations at the western extremity of the Tembookie country. 
 
 Mr. Shepstone joined us at Kamastone on the journey to Natal. 
 After considerable detention, we reached Thaba Unchu on the 2nd 
 instant, where we found Mr. Cameron and his family, all well. 
 Thaba Unchu is the chief settlement of the Baralong tribe, with 
 which Messrs. Hodgson, Broadbent, and Archbell established our 
 first Bechuana Mission. This is now by far the largest native town 
 in British South Africa; there cannot be less than from eight 
 thousand to ten thousand inhabitants. The town has a very 
 picturesque, but wild- African, appearance. I was much pleased with 
 the very extensive improvements made by the people in the erection 
 of stone walls around various parts of the town, forming excellent 
 court-yards to their conical-shaped dwellings, most of which are kept 
 very neat and clean. Mr. Cameron's labours are efficient here. 
 There is a considerable church of native converts, a day and Sunday 
 school, and all the elements of usefulness in full operation. 
 
 We left Thaba Unchu on the 4th, in the evening, and arrived at 
 Plaatberg at noon on the 5th instant. Here Mr. Giddy resides, and 
 continues to labour diligently to promote the welfare of the people. 
 
 You are aware that Sir H. Smith lately proclaimed the whole of 
 the immense territory lying between the Orange Biver and the 
 Vaal Biver to be placed under the protection of Her Majesty the 
 Queen : this was done with the full consent of Moshesh and Moroko, 
 the principal native Chiefs, whose rights and interests will by this 
 measure be secured. The Dutch farmers settled in most parts of this 
 country also assented to the arrangement with apparent cordiality. 
 However, these last-named people, ever dissatisfied with the rule of 
 the British, are now stirring up a rebellion, and talk of resisting the 
 authority of the Magistrates appointed by the Governor. We were 
 told, as we were on the road, that the Boers would turn us back 
 again, as they are generally very hostile to Missionaries. However, 
 so far, though we have mixed a good deal with them, I must do them
 
 MISSIONARY JOUKNEY, 1848. 
 
 the justice to say, they have treated us with civility, and at two or 
 three places I had opportunities of preaching to them. 
 
 In a subsequent letter, dated September 8th, 1848, Mr. 
 Shaw gives a general account of the Mission visited by 
 him in this four months' journey. 
 
 Instead of occupying much time in writing a lengthened journal, 
 detailing the minute events connected with my journey, I think it 
 will be more acceptable to you that I should make some general 
 observations as to the state and circumstances of the three groups 
 of Mission Stations, which I visited during my long journey: 
 
 1. The Becliuana Missions. I wrote to you at some length 
 respecting these Missions, before I left that part of the country. It 
 is, therefore, only necessary to say, that I was much pleased with the 
 evident signs of improvement on nearly all the Stations, since my 
 last visit. The Thab'Nchu Station has especially improved. The 
 native town has been extended ; the people have erected many stone 
 walls and enclosures, and houses of a superior description. The 
 number of Christians recognised as members of our church is steadily 
 increasing ; the Chief continues very friendly, and is a regular attendant 
 ripon public worship ; some of the leading men are members of 
 our society, and in this town of seven or eight thousand Bechuanas, 
 there is no other hinderance to progress in the Mission, but what 
 arises from the natural wickedness of the human heart. A very much 
 larger chapel is, however, greatly wanted. Mr. Cameron is desirous 
 of supplying this defect, but, from various causes, the cost will be so 
 heavy, after the natives have done all they can to assist, that I fear 
 the object cannot at present be accomplished, since the present grant 
 for the District does not afford the means of paying for the timber, 
 &c., which must be purchased and brought from a great distance. I 
 conversed at large with the Chiefs Moroko, Sikonyele, and Karolus 
 Baatze, and found them well disposed towards the Missions. They 
 were all under considerable apprehensions, as to the result of the 
 political movements of the Dutch emigrant farmers, who, while I 
 wasinthe country, were preparing for a rebellion against the authority 
 of the Queen of England, which, by consent of the several Chiefs, the 
 Governor had proclaimed as paramount in that country. The Chiefs 
 
 o2
 
 196 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 prefer that the country should be under the authority of the British- 
 Government, as the only means of securing them in the possession 
 of their lands, of which the Dutch fanners seem disposed to deprive 
 them. I believe nothing but the severe weather prevented the out- 
 break of this rebellion while I was there ; and, as I wrote you at the 
 time, many predicted that they would make me and my companions 
 prisoners ; but out of this danger God's good providence delivered us, 
 and we received nothing but civility from the Dutch with whom we 
 met. Since we passed through the country, the rebellion has broken 
 out ; the British troops are gone to repress it, under Sir Harry 
 Smith ; and a collision has happened during the last week, at a place- 
 beyond the Orange Eiver. I grieve to say, that many lives have 
 been sacrificed on both sides, and there are many wounded ; but as 
 the Boers appear to have suffered severely, I think they will now, in 
 all probability, disperse. Mr. Cameron had arrived safely at 
 Thab'Nchu from Natal, where I parted with him. Up to a very recent 
 date the Boers had not disturbed any of the Stations. All the 
 brethren and their people were safe and well ; and as the troops were, 
 last week, at a place not more than fifty miles from Thab'Nchu, I 
 hope no serious evil will befall the Stations, which all lie in a cluster 
 around that native town. 
 
 On the whole, the friends of our Missionary Society have much 
 reason to be satisfied with the results of our Bechuana Mission. 
 There are many very considerable congregations and societies. The 
 great mass of the people living around the Stations are all feeling 
 more or less of the beneficial influence, even in cases where they have 
 not embraced the truth, but still pursue many of their heathen 
 practices. The numerous Native Christians are, however, daily 
 "witnessing a good confession;" and if the means of the Society 
 were sufficient to enable us to reinforce the numbers of the Missionaries 
 in this District, I believe great and glorious results would speedily 
 follow: meantime, the lack of European Missionaries must be in 
 part supplied by Native Teachers and Preachers. I wish we could 
 afford an Institution, as long since proposed for this District, for 
 training and educating those from among the Natives, whom the Lord 
 may call to preach the Gospel to their countrymen. 
 , 2. Natal. I entered this Colony, on descending from the Dragen's- 
 Eerg, with peculiar feelings. In the year 1829, nearly twenty years
 
 MISSIONAEY JOUKNEY, 1848. 197 
 
 3go, I wrote to you as follows : " If the British Government sanction 
 the proposed establishment of a Colony at Port Natal, it would be 
 highly desirable to send two Missionaries there immediately, with a 
 view to the introduction ot Christianity amongst the Amazulu, or 
 Zoolas, lately under the Chief Chaka." A year afterwards, I had 
 made arrangements for a journey to Natal ; but, when just ready to 
 start, I was seized with a dangerous illness, that brought me to the 
 margin of the grave. After having been raised from that bed of 
 sickness, I believe in answer to the prayers of our good people, I 
 received a letter from the General Secretaries, in 1831, requesting me 
 to postpone that journey, as the Society would not be able at that 
 time to authorize a mission at Natal. The British Government did 
 not approve of the formation of a Colony there, till the course of 
 events compelled them. When this event took place, I was BO 
 anxious that we should occupy what I knew would prove a very 
 extensive and important field for our Missions, that I sent first Mr. 
 Archbell, and subsequently other brethren there, withdrawing some 
 of our Missionary force from the Colony and Kafiraria, so as to 
 occupy Natal. In traversing the country from the Dragen's Berg to 
 Pieter Maritz Berg, we crossed an extensive region of fine country, 
 nearly the whole of which had formerly been occupied by the race 
 now called Fingoes in this Colony, and who were driven out in the wars 
 with the neighbouring nation of the Zoolas, under Chaka and other 
 Chiefs. Many of the Fingoes are now converted, and members of our 
 church at Graham's Town, and Fort Peddie, &c. Very few have any 
 particular desire to return to Natal. The country is but thinly 
 inhabited by Boers and English settlers : it is, however, a fine Colony, 
 and is, no doubt, destined to become a very important dependency of 
 the British crown. The natives are all Kaffirs, of the Zoola and 
 other nations, and all speak the Kaffir language, with slight variation 
 in their dialects from the language spoken by the Kaffirs on the 
 border of the Cape Colony. The Natal Kaffirs are estimated at one 
 hundred thousand, by the Government and the Missionaries. A 
 large portion of them are settled in various locations, under the 
 direction of the Local Government, which, under His Honour M. 
 West, Esq., the Lieutenant-Governor, has evinced a praiseworthy 
 desire to afford facilities for the establishment of Missions among them.
 
 198 CHAPTER Till. 
 
 At Pietermaritzberg, besides a highly respectable English con- 
 gregation, Mr. Eichards has collected a congregation of coloured 
 people, who speak the Dutch language ; and there is a congregation 
 cf Kaffirs, which is already much too large for the small building in 
 which they meet, and consequently they have to be met at two 
 separate services. If the arrangements which I proposed while there 
 can be carried out, the Kaffir congregation may be expected very 
 soon to become very large and very important. It will consist of 
 the Kaffirs who come to reside as domestics and otherwise, with the 
 various European inhabitants of the town ; and an efficient Mission 
 amongst them will operate just as our Kaffir Mission in Graham's 
 Town has done ; that is, it will prove a centre of influence among all 
 the surrounding Kaffir tribes. I fear, however, that the want of 
 money will oblige me at present to countermand the permission 
 granted for the erection of a suitable chapel for the Kaffir congrega- 
 tion ; and, unless that can be obtained, the work must be greatly 
 retarded. 
 
 Mr. Davis has made a promising commencement on the Zwarfkops, 
 or Kwangubene, Station. There are about six thousand natives con- 
 nected with this Station. The Government reserve for this location 
 is in extent, as is supposed, about sixty thousand acres. It is a very 
 suitable tract for the Kaffirs, a mountainous district, well watered,, 
 has plenty of fine timber, and is within fifteen miles of the capital, 
 Pietermaritzberg. The natives have a good market for their labour 
 and produce, which is sure to prove a stimulus to their industry, and 
 consequently will tend to accelerate their general improvement. Mr. 
 Davis has nearly finished his dwelling-house, and the chapel is in 
 progress. A congregation has been collected, and everything is pro- 
 gressing very promisingly among these Heathens, who are only just 
 beginning to learn the very first principles of revealed truth. I had the 
 pleasure, at the request of Mr. Davis, to baptize two of them, as the 
 first-fruits of this large settlement. 
 
 The Indalene Station is about thirty miles distant from Pieter- 
 maritzberg, in a south-westerly direction. It is situated on the Elofu 
 Eiver, and not far from the large river called Umkomanzi. The 
 Station is near the main track, which will in time become a road, 
 between Pietermaritzberg and the Cape Colony. Here Mr. Allison,,
 
 MISSIONABY JOURNEY, 1848. 199 
 
 has established himself with the native Tea,chers whom he took from 
 Imparane, when he went on the Amaswasi Mission. A considerable 
 number of converts also accompanied them, when, in consequence 
 of native wars, and great opposition to the Gospel, they were obliged 
 to leave the Amaswasi (or Baraputsi). The native Teachers and 
 converts under Mr. Allison's care have built themselves very neat 
 and comfortable cottages, so that the Station already presents the 
 appearance of a very pretty village. The temporary dwelling-house 
 of the Missionary, and a chapel, which, however, has suffered from 
 recent unprecedented rains, stand at the top of the avenues formed 
 by the rows of the native cottages ; and altogether the work accom- 
 plished, considering the comparatively short tune in which it has been 
 performed, is highly creditable to Mr. Allison's zeal and taste, and 
 is likewise a striking proof of the industry of the native Christians. 
 The village must be regarded, however, as occupied by natives who 
 are strangers in the land, and this Mission has hardly as yet begun 
 to tell upon the population of the country. The surrounding native 
 population is very large, one of the government reserves being on the 
 adjoining lands. The station is well situated for extensive Missionary 
 operations among the Kaffirs by means of the native Teachers. 
 
 After the District Meeting was over, we proceeded from Pieter- 
 maritzberg to D 'Urban, which is the town situated at Port Natal; 
 Pietermaritzberg, the capital of the Colony, being more centrally 
 situated, about sixty miles from the coast. The country at and around 
 D'Urban is extremely beautiful, being better wooded, and altogether 
 much more picturesque, than the more interior portions of the Natal 
 territory! It is in this district that the Cotton Plantations are 
 situated. The people are only at present commencing this branch 
 of industry ; but from the high degree of success which has already 
 attended their efforts, and the evident peculiar adaptation of the soil 
 and climate to the production of cotton, I doubt not but Liverpool 
 and Manchester will in time look to Port Natal for no inconsiderable 
 supplies of that article. Hence the population is likely to become 
 large, both of Europeans and natives ; and from the nature of their 
 occupation, they will live in more compact bodies or settlements than 
 it is possible for the grazing farmers to do. I consider therefore that 
 our Mission at D'Urban is likely to become of great importance and
 
 200 CHAPTER vm. 
 
 influence. The Mission premises, erected on ground granted by the 
 Government, are exceedingly convenient. They are situated in a 
 very central part of the rising town. The chapel, erected by Mr. 
 Archbell, when stationed here, has hitherto answered all the purposes 
 required. Mr. Holden, who is at present stationed at D'Urban, is 
 very active and useful. Here is a respectable English congregation ; 
 indeed, at present, there is no other place of worship in D'Urban ; 
 there is also a very promising congregation of Kaffirs. Mr. Impey 
 preached to them on the Sunday we spent at this place. There were 
 about two hundred present, very wild, and almost entirely naked ; 
 but they were attentive, and as soon as a chapel can be provided for 
 them, I doubt not a great improvement will be visible amongst them, 
 as in all other places where regular services are introduced. I met 
 the principal persons connected with the English congregation, and 
 they resolved to erect a chapel for that congregation better adapted 
 to the improved and improving state of the town. When they have 
 carried this resolution into effect, and they seemed disposed to make 
 liberal donations, and a spirited effort to accomplish their purpose, 
 the present chapel will become the place of worship for the Kaffir 
 congregation, and it will, for some time to come, be well adapted for 
 the accommodation of that people. 
 
 I cannot doubt but our Mission at Natal, now comprising four 
 principal stations, with four Missionaries, assisted by a number of 
 native teachers, has been established in accordance with the design. 
 and will of Divine Providence. Its establishment has, of course, 
 involved heavy expenses in removals from Albany and other parts of 
 Kaffraria, buildings, furniture, &c. ; all of which have tended to swell 
 the excess of our expenditure during the last two years beyond the 
 sum allotted to us. The expenses were of too miscellaneous a character 
 to render it possible for us to form accurate estimates thereof ; but 
 all extraordinary charges will now cease, excepting for buildings, and 
 nothing further of this kind will now be attempted without the 
 previous sanction of the Committee, as there is at present sufficient 
 accommodation for carrying forward the first operations of the 
 Mission ; and as the work enlarges, and absolutely requires more 
 erections of chapels, &c., no doubt we shall obtain some enlargement
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEY, 1848. 201 
 
 of local ways and means ; and it is to be hoped that the friends of the 
 good cause at home will, by the favour of Divine Providence, be 
 enabled to sustain the Society's funds ; so that the Committee may 
 feel authorized to meet any reasonable and urgent demand for help 
 to this infant Mission, which future circumstances may render neces- 
 sary. You will see by the accompanying returns, that there are 
 already in the Natal territory, 3 chapels, 11 other preaching-places, 
 116 accredited members of Society, chiefly converted natives, with 
 32 on trial ; 9 Sunday-schools, 3 day-schools, with an aggregate of 
 560 scholars attending them. 
 
 3. Kaffraria. Eastern Section. On leaving D'Urban, we pro- 
 ceeded via Indalene through all the western portion of the Natal 
 territory, which is occupied chiefly by various native tribes. The 
 distance from Pietermaritzberg to Palmerton on the Izalo in Faku's 
 country, is about two hundred and twenty miles. At the Umzimkulu 
 River Dushani, the successor of the late Chief Capai, came to meet 
 me, and earnestly requested that a Mission might be commenced 
 near that noble stream, for the benefit of his people. It would be 
 highly desirable on many accounts ; but the state of the Society's 
 funds renders it impossible to entertain any proposals for the com- 
 mencement of any new Mission whatever. Arrived at Palmerton, 
 being my first visit to this Station, I was highly delighted with its 
 progress under the care of the Missionary, Mr. Jenkins. The place 
 has been well selected : it possesses great advantages of wood and 
 water, and is likely to form a prosperous settlement. A good 
 beginning has been made in the spiritual objects of this Mission, and 
 the gentleman who contributed towards the passage-money of a Mis- 
 sionary from England, so as to enable us to take up this Mission, 
 will be gratified to hear, that I was called upon by Mr. Jenkins to 
 administer the rite of Christian baptism to more than twenty well- 
 instructed native converts, all of whom are truly in earnest for the 
 salvation of their souls. The Mission house and premises are 
 extremely compact, and substantially built. Mr. Jenkins laboured 
 much at them with his own hands, besides the labour of the Catechist. 
 Mr. Jenkins's expenses in erecting this building paid by him, 
 amounted to about .100, which, having inherited some small 
 property, he and Mrs. Jenkins cheerfully gave to the Society in con-
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 sideration of the state of your funds, so that no charge -will be made 
 for this really substantial and commodious Mission house. I saw 
 and conversed with the Chief Faku at Palmerton : he is still friendly 
 to the Mission ; and as an expression of our gratitude for his fidelity 
 and kindness during the late Kaffir war, towards the Missionaries 
 and all the people of these Stations, namely, Butterworth, Beecham- 
 wood, and Clarkebury, who were obliged to take refuge in his coun- 
 try, and to whom he behaved with great kindness, taking no 
 advantage of their necessities, but protecting them from the cupidity 
 and lawlessness of many of the natives, I promised to send him a 
 present of some cattle belonging to the Society. This I believe to be 
 folly due to him ; and it will operate beneficially on the minds of 
 others, in case of any future troubles arising in the land. In proceed- 
 ing from Palmerton to Buntmgville, I crossed the Zimvubu river, 
 and found a small vessel named the " British Settler" lying in the river, 
 ready to take away a cargo of produce purchased by the traders from 
 the natives. If a regular trade can be established and kept up with 
 this place by the traders from the Colony, it will prove a great 
 advantage both to the natives and our Missions in these parts. The 
 country on both sides of the Zimvubu, or St. John's River, is quite 
 as well adapted to the growth of cotton as the district around Port 
 Natal,* and it would be a great benefit to the natives, if they can be 
 induced to grow cotton for sale to the traders. 
 
 At Buntingville, I found an immense population, the refugees from 
 Beechamwood and Butterworth being still here. We were glad to 
 meet Mr. and Mrs. Gladwin in good health, and actively engaged in the 
 work of the Mission. My meeting with Mrs. Palmer was very pain- 
 ful; this Mission sustained a great loss in the death of her husband. 
 Mrs. Palmer proposes to accede to Mr. Gladwin's request, to reside 
 for a time at Butterworth, and take charge of a superior school to be 
 formed there for native young women. I think it likely to be a 
 
 * It is an interesting fact, and worth recording, that the first cotton 
 grown at Natal, from which some vast results will in time be likely to 
 arise, was from seed obtained from a cotton-tree growing in the Mission- 
 garden at our Station of Horley, and which was taken to Natal by a person 
 who went to reside there.
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEY, 1848. 203 
 
 valuable institution, and no one can be better qualified to take charge 
 of it than Mrs. Palmer, as she speaks the Kaffir language fluently, 
 and is greatly beloved by the people. Her friends at home, how- 
 ever, naturally desire her return to England, and I fear she will not 
 remain very long at Butterworth. The brethren Garner, Thomas,, 
 and Jenkins came from their respective Stations, and, while I was at 
 Buntingville, we held a special District Meeting of the Eastern 
 Section of the Kaffraria District. I also met the refugees from the 
 abandoned Stations, and it was resolved to resume the Stations, 
 Butterworth, Beechamwood, and Clarkebury, as soon as practicable : 
 the return of the people cannot be delayed longer because the plant- 
 ing season is just at hand. The buildings at Clarkebury are injured, 
 but will not require any very heavy outlay to put them in repair. 
 Our most serious loss in this part of Kaffirland has been at Butter- 
 worth. I could not visit Shawbury or Clarkebury, but called at 
 Morley on my way to Butterworth. In crossing the Bashie Eiver, 
 we sustained a perilous accident : the river was swollen with recent 
 heavy rains, and we attempted to cross it before it had sufficiently 
 subsided : the wagon upset in the midst of the stream, Mr. Impey 
 and I were obliged to jump into the water, and get out of the river 
 as best we could : the stream was so strong that I should hardly have 
 been able to bear up against it, if I had not been assisted by a Kaffir 
 accustomed to it. Our wagon was all night in the river, all our 
 clothes, books, bedding, &c., completely saturated. I had to walk 
 about naked till I could dry some clothes so as to be able to clothe 
 myself: it occupied us two days to get our wagon out of the river, 
 and dry the various articles contained therein. We did not lose much, 
 bat many things were completely spoiled by the water. The Kaffirs 
 who live here were very friendly, and rendered us all possible assist- 
 ance ; and although the accident might have been very disastrous, 
 yet we had reason to praise God that none of our party were drowned, 
 nor was the wagon very materially injured. I have several times 
 sustained accidents of this sort in the course of my Missionary 
 career: few people but those who have to travel long journeys in the 
 parts of Africa not occupied by Europeans, know the difficulties and 
 dangers which often occur to travellers in crossing rivers and travers- 
 ing mountainous regions, where there are neither bridges nor roads.
 
 204 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 We remained several days at Butterworth, and were kindly enter- 
 tained by the Government Commissioner, W. M. D. Fynn, Esq., who 
 has already re-established himself at this place. It was painful to 
 Bee the destruction which had been committed on the Mission 
 premises and village during the late war. Previously to that cala- 
 mitous event I had visited this place, and was delighted with the 
 appearance of the village and its busy hum of industry, as well as 
 the large Christian congregation, schools, &c. Now the walls of the 
 chapels and houses presented one scene of desolation. The Chief 
 Krielie arrived while I was here, having come sixty miles to meet 
 me. At our interview he said he was quite ashamed to meet 
 me. He knew that the Missionaries were his best friends. We had 
 given no reason why our village and chapel should have been 
 destroyed. He had never intended it, and had never given any 
 orders that it should be done ; but the mischief had been perpetrated 
 l>y certain wild and ungovernable fellows of his tribe. However, ho 
 would never rest till he had made compensation for our loss, and he 
 hoped I would allow the Missionary to return, and the Mission to be 
 recommenced. I made a suitable reply, and told him I thanked him 
 for his kind words, &c. ; but I waited to see his deeds, and that he 
 certainly owed it to us to make at least some compensation, as he 
 had already promised to do. He had sent one hundred head of cattle 
 to the Chief Commissioner on this account ; but this was very far 
 from being sufficient. 
 
 Leaving Butterworth we pursued our way towards the Colony. 
 The Kei Eiver, however, was impassable for the wagon, and likely 
 to be so for several days. We therefore hired some Kaffir swimmers, 
 who have frequently taken me through this stream on former occa- 
 sions. By then: assistance we got safely through; we swam our 
 horses through, and, having put on our clothes on the opposite side 
 of the stream, we proceeded to a Kaffir kraal, and, after sleeping in 
 a hut, we rode about sixty miles next day, and reached Mount Coke 
 after nightfall. It may amuse you if I tell you that the hut we slept 
 in near the Kei was circular, about twelve feet in diameter, formed 
 of sticks, and covered with grass, about seven feet high to the highest 
 part of the cone ; in this space we ate our supper and slept ; the fire 
 .being in the centre, and no chimney to take clT the smoke ; indeed,
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEY, 1848. 205 
 
 no opening whatever, but a hole about three feet by two feet, which 
 served as a door. The inmates for the night were three Englishmen 
 and our two native boys ; one Kaffir woman, two girls, three children, 
 four Kaffir men, and five goats. I nevertheless found space to stretch 
 myself upon the earthen floor, and, wrapped up in my cloak, slept 
 soundly till about an hour before daylight, when ii was necessary 
 to saddle our horses and start for our long ride. The Kaffirs were 
 very friendly, although they belonged to the very clan which, only 
 seven months before, barbarously murdered several English officers 
 who had strayed from their camp, and we were within sight of the 
 very mountain upon which the troops afterwards attacked them and 
 inflicted a severe chastisement upon them, killing a large number of 
 them. "When the Kaffirs fight, they take every possible advantage, 
 and spare no one ; but when peace is restored, they seem readily to 
 forget the most recent scenes of warfare, however they may have 
 suffered in them. 
 
 With regard to the Stations comprised in the Eastern Section of 
 Kaffraria, I am thankful to be able to report that we have sustained 
 much less damage by the Kaffir war than might have been expected. 
 The fidelity of the brethren in remaining with their flocks when they 
 took reiuge in Faku's country, has been abundantly rewarded by the 
 Great Head of the Church ; for by this means the Native Christians 
 were kept together ; and although the disadvantages under which 
 they were placed prevented any material increase in the number of 
 communicants, yet the great body of the members have been pre- 
 served from apostasy, and there is now a prospect that the labours 
 of the Missionaries will be resumed under favourable circumstances. 
 At the same time, I am constrained to bring to your notice that two 
 of the Stations, Beechamwood and Shawbury, are now without Mis- 
 sionaries, and must, for the present, be placed under the care of 
 Catechists, whom we withdraw from the other Stations. Thus, every 
 Missionary on the remote Stations is left entirely alone, and there 
 are many reasons why it is not desirable that the Misr-ionary and his 
 family should be the only Europeans resident on the Station, or any- 
 where within scores of miles ; the solitariness of such Stations, 
 especially to females, is often a trial of laith and patience, such as 
 cannot easily be understood by those who have not been called to
 
 '206 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 endure it, However, while I tlius write, I know that the present 
 state of your funds prevents you from rendering us such assistance 
 as might enable me to make more satisfactory and efficient arrange- 
 ments than are at present practicable. 
 
 4. In British Kaffraria, our losses, and the injury sustained by 
 the late Kaffir war, and that of 1835, are much more serious. It will 
 require both a large outlay and many years of Missionary labour, to 
 regain what has been lost among the border Kaffirs by these distress- 
 ing wars. At present I have only authorized the re-commencement 
 of Mount Coke, which, in consequence of the recent arrangements 
 of the Government, is now extremely well situated for becoming a 
 centre of Missionary labour and influence. The former site of the 
 Mission has been taken by the Governor for a military post, now 
 called Fort Murray ; we selected a suitable spot about three miles 
 distant from this military post, for the re-commencement of the 
 Mount Coke Station. A large Kaffir population is now located by 
 Government around this neighbourhood, and the residence of the 
 Chief Pato is within a few miles of Mount Coke. 
 
 After spending one night at Mount Coke, with Mr. and Mrs. "Wilson, 
 in the temporary house erected after we left the border, we proceeded 
 to D'Urban, Fort Peddie, where we met Mr. and Mrs. Dugmore in 
 good health. Mr. Dugmore has been highly useful here at this crisis, 
 in assisting the newly-appointed Magistrate to get the Fingoes of this 
 settlement properly located in villages. Much land has been granted 
 to them by the Government, which was, previous to the war, occupied 
 by the hostile Kaffir tribes. About seven thousand, likely soon to 
 increase to ten thousand Fingoes, the same class of natives as those 
 who reside in the Natal territory, will now be permanently settled 
 around D'Urban and Fort Peddie : the whole of these will be exclu- 
 sively under our Missionary care. 
 
 Mr. Ayliff also writes me from Fort Beaufort, that some of the 
 newly-forming native settlements in the upper part of the conquered 
 or ceded territory, now Victoria, are to be under our care. Here is a 
 vast field : but where are the labourers ? The sites of our border 
 Stations, and the circumstances of the natives, will undergo consider- 
 able change, all favourable to rapid progress in the work ; but I am 
 :really at a loss to know how we are to meet so many pressing and
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEY, 1848. 207 
 
 promising claims upon our Missionary labours. " The harvest truly 
 is great, but the labourers are few." 
 
 We rode in one day (forty-five miles) from D'Urban to Graham's 
 Town. The Fish River was flooded ; but we crossed it in a boat 
 belonging to the military post at Trompetter's Drift. "We were glad 
 to meet our wives and families at Graham's Town, after an absence 
 of exactly five months, during which we had travelled more than 
 fifteen hundred miles, chiefly in an ox-wagon, visited nearly all the 
 "Wesleyan Mission Stations in the Bechnana Country, the Natal terri- 
 tory, and Kaffraria, during which period we had also passed through 
 a great variety of native tribes and nations. Besides many other 
 reasons for gratitude and thankfulness, we found on our return that 
 the Lord was honouring my colleagues in this Circuit with special 
 blessings on their ministry ; the congregations continue very large, 
 the chapel is crammed with people, and numerous applicants for pews 
 cannot be accommodated ; a revival of religion, especially amongst 
 the younger people of the congregation, is also in progress, and many 
 have been truly converted to God.
 
 208 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Condition of tlie Frontier Stations in 1850 Commemoration Chapel 
 
 opened. 
 
 THE years 1849 and 1850 were years of agitation in the 
 Cape. The English Government attempted to introduce 
 convicts into the Colony ; no measure more unfortunate 
 in its design, and no country so ill adapted for the purpose. 
 The resistance of the Colonists saved the Colony from the 
 moral contamination of convictism. 
 
 In July and August, 1850, Mr. Shaw visited the Colonial 
 Stations. His journal presents a pleasing picture of the 
 Colony between the war of 1846-8, and that of 1851-3. 
 Hereafter, these sketches of the country towns, arid of the 
 progress of Methodism, will be considered invaluable. 
 
 The first Circuit we visited was Salem and Farmerfield. I visited 
 Salem at this time in conformity with a promise made to the people, 
 that I would attend the anniversary of the foundation of that settle- 
 ment. This is always observed on the 18th of July. The anniversary 
 was made more than usually interesting on this occasion, by laying 
 the foundation-stone of a larger and handsomer church than that 
 which has been used by our congregation for many years past. The 
 corner-stone was laid by our old and tried friend, W. H. Matthews, 
 Esq., J.P., one of the original inhabitants of Salem, and who has 
 continued to reside there since the foundation of the settlement thirty 
 years ago. 
 
 "While at Salem, where I remained several days, (including the 
 Sabbath,) I visited Farmerfield, distant iour or five miles. This is 
 an important part of the charge of the Salem Minister. You are 
 aware of the history of this place. It has now been established about
 
 THE FRONTIER STATES IN 1850. 209 
 
 eleven years, on lands which I purchased for the purpose, and which 
 are now vested in the officers of our Missionary Society as perpetual 
 Trustees. The whole of the inhabitants are native Africans of various 
 tribes and races. The original buildings on the place when purchased 
 serve, after some alterations, as the residence of the Catechist and 
 Teacher ; and we have erected a substantial chapel, capable of ac- 
 commodating about four or five hundred hearers. We have also a 
 suitable school-room, tor about one hundred and fifty scholars. Both 
 the chapel and the school are well attended. The greater part of 
 the adults are accredited members of Society. All the practices of 
 Heathenism are entirely banished from the place ; it is, in the 
 strictest sense, a truly Christian village. The comfortable cottages of 
 the people, and their extensive cultivated grounds, with their large 
 herds of cattle, their wagons, &c., fully attest their general industry, 
 which is indeed surprising, considering the classes of the community 
 to which they belong. 
 
 I may as well mention here, that since my return home I have 
 learned that the Bishop of Cape Town, and the Archdeacon of 
 Graham's Town, visited Farmerfield and Salem, soon after I was at 
 these places. The Archdeacon called upon me shortly after my 
 return home, and expressed, in the strongest terms, the pleasure and 
 gratification which both the Bishop and himself had derived from 
 their visit. He especially adverted to the evidently decent and 
 civilized habits acquired by the people, their being so well clothed, 
 and manifest religious feeling. The manner in which they sang 
 some hymns in the chapel was particularly referred to. I am glad 
 to say, that Bishop Gray complied with Mr. Hepburn's request, and 
 delivered a very appropriate address to the people, which was suc- 
 cessively interpreted by two of the native Teachers into the Bechuana 
 and Kaffir languages. The particulars of the Bishop's visit to Salem 
 and Farmerfield will, however, be most likely communicated to you 
 by Mr. Hepburn, at whose house he stayed while at the former place. 
 
 Besides Salem and Farmerfield, there are several other small con- 
 gregations under the care of the Salem Minister ; and, if it were 
 possible to afford it, a second Missionary should be appointed to this 
 Circuit, when the work both amongst the natives and the English 
 
 p
 
 210 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 settlers might be greatly extended, while the means of support would 
 be gradually increased. 
 
 At Salem we have an academy, or boarding-school. It is at 
 present conducted and managed by Mr. B. J. Shaw, who, although 
 obliged to retire from the Ministry from the state of his health, is, 
 however, likely in this climate, with due caution, to be able to 
 conduct this institution in a respectable and efficient manner. It is 
 of great importance, affording a suitable place to which the Mission- 
 aries can send their children for education, while they are prosecuting 
 their arduous labours on the remote stations of the interior. The 
 buildings connected with the institution are very substantial and 
 commodious ; but having been erected at various times, without 
 much regard to plan, they are not particularly handsome ; however, 
 they will serve the purpose for many years to come. In the purchase 
 of the property, the requisite furniture, &c., the Missionaries of this 
 District have taken upon themselves a heavy responsibility; but 
 there seemed to be no alternative, unless their children were to be 
 entirely neglected. With the view of making it a self-supporting 
 institution, it is not confined to the children of the Missionaries ; 
 but many of our people, and others, send their children to obtain 
 the sound religious education which is there provided. 
 
 Taking leave of our kind friends at Salem, we proceeded on our 
 journey to the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage Circuit. Having 
 arrived safely at Port Elizabeth, we were glad to meet Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wilson, and many other kind friends, all of whom manifest great 
 interest in the welfare of our Mission. I am delighted and encouraged 
 with the very remarkable progress our affairs have made at Port 
 Elizabeth since the appointment of Mr. Wilson in the commencement 
 of the year 1849. The congregation has gone on steadily increasing, 
 till the chapel is now well filled, all the pews being let. Since I 
 was at this place last year, the friends have at a considerable cost 
 put up a new ceiling to the chapel, and in other respects improved 
 it. They have introduced an organ- seraphine, and established a 
 suitable choir, thereby causing that branch of public worship to be 
 conducted with greater propriety and effect. Aided by two or three 
 excellent Local Preachers who have recently arrived, the work has 
 been extended j and much more would be done in that respect, if the
 
 THE FKONTEER STATES IN 1850. 211 
 
 country around Port Elizabeth were not entirely destitute of 
 villages, or places where it is practicable to establish country 
 congregations. 
 
 Having taken leave of our friends at Port Elizabeth, we reached 
 TJitenhage on Friday, August 2nd, and were most kindly received 
 by Mr. and Mrs. Hall. In the evening I attended the Annual 
 Meeting of the Branch Bible Society, which had been fixed for this 
 period, to afford me the opportunity of being present. The Meeting 
 was numerously attended ; and I was glad to plead the cause of that 
 noble institution before a highly respectable and intelligent assembly. 
 Several good addresses were delivered on the occasion. It was 
 pleasing to notice the zeal and catholic spirit displayed by the Rev. 
 A. Smith, the Minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in this town 
 and district, and the efficient manner in which several other gentle- 
 men co-operate with him in this good work. On Sunday, August 
 4th, I also preached twice in our chapel at Uitenhage for the trust 
 funds. The attendance was good, and the collections equal to the 
 expectations of the friends. I visited the Sunday School in the 
 afternoon, which seems to be an interesting institution, and attended 
 by a large proportion of the English children resident in the town. 
 
 Port Elizabeth is rapidly rising in size and importance. It is the 
 principal sea-port of the Eastern Province. Uitenhage is a very 
 beautiful rural town, and possesses great advantages in wood and 
 water, not often met with in the towns of this part of the Colony. 
 It has been sometimes proposed to make it the seat of Government- 
 Ton will therefore perceive that this is a very important Circuit, 
 although the numerical returns would hardly impress you with that 
 idea. The Mission has had to contend with much opposition, open 
 and secret ; and various local difficulties have at times arisen ; but 
 I am happy to be able to assure you that great good has been already 
 accomplished, and there is much promise that this Circuit will at no 
 distant date assume an importance to which some have, under dis- 
 couragement, been led to think it could never arrive. 
 
 We left Uitenhage on the 8th of August, and, by dint of very hard 
 travelling, reached Somerset (East) on Saturday evening, the 10th. 
 From Uitenhage we proceeded to the great ford at the Sunday's 
 River, and, thence turning off due north, travelled upon a new road, 
 
 p 2
 
 212 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 which the Government is now cutting through the Zuur Berg Moun- 
 tains. This work is effected by a party of some three hundred 
 convicts, chiefly Hottentots and Kaffirs, &c. The work reflects the 
 highest credit on the skill of the English engineers and other 
 functionaries who direct it. We were struck with admiration to see 
 how " the mountains " were cut through and " made low," and " the 
 valleys" filled up and " exalted." If a way for wagons can be made 
 over such mountains and precipices as these, then a road may be made- 
 by the skill and industry of man anywhere. And surely in the moral 
 world wonders may also be expected to be wrought under the guiding- 
 skill and active power and influence of " Him " who is " Head over 
 all things to His church." I regretted very much that I could not 
 stay and preach to the convicts, as I was engaged to be at Somerset 
 for the following Sunday. 
 
 As I could not stay to preach, I talked with some of the convicts 
 as long as circumstances would allow ; and Mrs. Shaw scattered a 
 number of tracts among them, which were eagerly and thankfully 
 received. It would be well if some kind friend would occasionally 
 send me a few bundles of tracts for distribution on my journeys.. 
 We should " sow beside all waters." 
 
 Somerset, East, is a beautifully situated village, the seat of magis- 
 tracy, &c., for the surrounding pastoral and agricultural district. I 
 first visited it in 1821, at which time it was a Government farm under 
 the direction of R. Hart, Esq., who still survives, and is a Scottish 
 Presbyterian, but has ever evinced a kind regard for our Mission. 
 We have a very handsome small chapel, and Minister's house, with 
 garden and orchard attached, in this town. We were delighted to 
 meet our old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards, in excellent health. I 
 preached twice in the chapel on Sunday, August llth, on behalf of 
 the Sunday Schools, which here consist of an English and Native 
 branch. In the afternoon I addressed the natives, chiefly Kaffirs and 
 Fingoes, in the school-room, which is also used as a native chapel. 
 The native Teacher and interpreter is a pious and zealous man. Not 
 a few of the natives have, at various times, been converted at this 
 place ; but it is discouraging, both to the Missionary and the Teacher, 
 that circumstances frequently compel the people to remove from the 
 village, and go to remote places where they can obtain no religiou&
 
 THE FRONTIER STATES IN 1850. 213 
 
 instruction : and thus, much of the good effected is, for a season at 
 least, counteracted. The friends held their Sunday School anni- 
 versary. I was much pleased with the examination of the scholars, 
 both in the English and native school. Much very valuable religious 
 instruction has been imparted, and a fair proportion of the natives 
 can read the Kaffir New Testament. The tea-meeting was held in 
 the evening; there was a large attendance. C. L. Stretch, Esq., 
 occupied the chair, and the Rev. Mr. Pears, of the Dutch Reformed 
 Church, rendered assistance at the meeting. I delivered an address 
 appropriate to the occasion. The debt on this chapel is already all 
 paid off, and the debt remaining on the Minister's house will soon be 
 liquidated, when we shall also effect a saving of house-rent, and thus 
 the Mission funds will at this place also be considerably relieved in 
 another year or so. 
 
 I had the pleasure to meet, at Somerset, with Messrs. Hobson and 
 Robinson, formerly of Albany, and whom I have had the pleasure to 
 know from their youth up. They are now settled in the neighbour- 
 hood of the Sunday's River, forty or fifty miles below Graaff Reinett. 
 Mr. Hobson was the first Englishman who migrated to that part of 
 the country. God has wonderfully prospered him by His providence 
 since he established himself and family there. As a member of our 
 Church he acted faithfully in establishing worship both for his 
 family and numerous native servants. Many other English families 
 are gone to reside in that part of the country, which is found to be 
 very valuable for sheep-farming. Thus an English neighbourhood 
 has been formed. Mr. Edwards, at a great expense of time and toil, 
 visits them as often as possible, although these settlers are from sixty 
 to one hundred miles distant from him, and his rides out and home 
 on these occasions are such as not many Ministers would be found 
 either able or willing very frequently to take. However, he has had 
 a good reward; the results, considering the extent of the population, 
 have been remarkably encouraging. Religious ordinances are 
 regularly established in a district, perhaps fifty miles distant from 
 the nearest place of worship of any denomination. Most of the 
 English families attend : many of them are members, and there is a 
 very considerable society of coloured or native members, who are 
 described as being a very respectable and well conducted class of
 
 214 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 people. I wish we were able to appoint a Missionary to reside there ; 
 the work might then be greatly extended in a country where there 
 is no man set apart to care for the souls of the people. The friends 
 there have long beea liberal contributors to our Mission fund ; and 
 if a Minister could be sent to reside amongst them, a handsome sum 
 would be contributed regularly towards his support. Meantime, 
 steps are being taken for the erection of a chapel in a central situa- 
 tion, and to establish a school. 
 
 We left Somerset on the 15th of August ; Mr. Edwards helping 
 us on our way for the first day's journey. We passed through the 
 Zwager's Hoek, crossing the winding Little Fish River twelve times 
 in the course of the day. Next day, which proved excessively cold 
 on the tops of the mountains, we passed over the precipitous and all- 
 but-impassable mountain road called the Ganna Hoek. Mr. Green had 
 kindly sent to one of our native members, who lives at the foot of 
 the pass, to meet us with his well-trained oxen. By this means we 
 got down the mountain much more easily than we otherwise should 
 have done. To such of the Colonists as never travel beyond the 
 boundaries, this road appears terrific : but I have had to cross still, 
 more dangerous mountains in my journeys beyond the boundary,, 
 sometimes where there was no road or track whatever. However, 
 we were deeply indebted to Mr. Green's thought! nlness, and to our 
 coloured friend, in providing us such efficient assistance. When at 
 the foot of the mountain, this man invited us to spend the evening 
 at his place of residence ; and, although it was a little out of our 
 direct road, we thought it best to comply with his request. 
 
 In the evening I held a short Dutch service with the family. 
 Here I learned from his wife's own lips, what I had before heard as 
 a rumour, that a recently-arrived Romish Priest from Belgium, 
 named Hoendervanger, called upon her, and, having ascertained that 
 she attended the Wesleyan ministry, assured her that in such a 
 course she would never be saved. As the poor woman made some 
 reference to her Dutch Bible, he took it into his hands, and, after 
 examining two or three passages in it, and expressing great disgust 
 and contempt at them, he held up the sacred volume, and entreated 
 her at once and without any delay to throw it into the fire, and burn 
 it ! The fire was burning brightly on the hearth at the time. She
 
 THE FRONTIER STATES IN* 1850. 215 
 
 looked at the Bible and at the Priest, and then at the fire, and, being 
 incapable of speaking a word, shuddered with horror. Shortly 
 afterwards the Priest went ont of the house for a while, and her son, 
 a fine youth, who had stood a silent spectator, as soon as they were 
 alone, said, " Mother, let us hide the Bible before he returns into 
 the house, or else I see he will burn it himself." Accordingly they 
 secreted the precious book before the Priest returned to the house, 
 lest he should proceed to commit such a sacrilegious outrage. Such 
 is the method pursued by this newly-arrived Romish Missionary, 
 Mr. Hoendervanger, whose name, being rendered into English, is, 
 " Mr. Fowl-catcher ! " Of course this event furnished me with a 
 topic for my exhortation. I spoke at once of the Divine authority 
 and inestimable value of the sacred book, and of the right of all 
 human beings to possess it, and to read it, as being God's gracious 
 revelation to universal man ; and finally I asked, " What sort of 
 Christianity is that which denies to the people the light of God's 
 own book ? Is not this a sufficient proof to you, that such a form 
 of Christianity is false, and is designed to keep you in darkness and 
 ignorance rather than to bring you into the light of life ? " 
 
 Next morning we proceeded on our way, and reached CradocTs in 
 the afternoon. Mr. Green had been very unwell, but was recovering; 
 and both he and Mrs. Green, and the friends generally, received us 
 with much affection and kindness. 
 
 Sunday, August 18th, I preached twice in the new chapel, in aid 
 of the Trust Funds; the attendance, including several friends from 
 the country, was very good. In the evening the chapel was quite 
 filled with a highly respectable congregation ; and the collections 
 were very liberal indeed. 
 
 This is undoubtedly the most handsome chapel which our people 
 have yet erected in South Africa. The interior of the chapel is also 
 comfortably fitted up. -=For its size, it may well serve our friends in 
 this part of the world as a model chapel. It cost, exclusive of the 
 purchase of land, and some other extraneous expenses, 1,300, or, 
 inclusive of these et cetera, about 1,500. About 1,000 had been 
 already raised, from one source or another, towards the cost ; and at 
 the Trustee-Meeting, held while I was at Cradock, I was glad to see 
 such evident proof of the deep interest taken by our leading friends
 
 216 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 in all that concerned the trust-property, and likewise that, from 
 various sources, including the proceeds of the present anniversary, 
 there would be the means of farther reducing the debt by 100, in 
 the course of this year ; so that I hope, at the end thereof, the debt 
 will not exceed 400, the whole of which the Trustees will take 
 measures to liquidate as soon as possible, that all the surplus chapel 
 income may be applied in aid of the support of the Missionary 
 resident among them. The old chapel is now occupied by the 
 coloured people, for whose benefit regular services are held in the 
 Dutch language. We hive also a small chapel and school-house 
 for the Kaffirs and Fingoes, and a Native Teacher, who assists Mr. 
 Green in that department. However, this part of the work has not 
 latterly prospered, partly owing to the bad effects resulting from the 
 unfaithfulness of a Native Teacher, whom we were obliged some 
 time ago to dismiss from the work, and who has since relapsed into 
 Heathenism. 
 
 After having been much pleased with the manifestations of zeal 
 and love which I witnessed while at Cradock, we took leave of our 
 friends on Wednesday, August 21st, to proceed by the most direct 
 route to Graham's Town. 
 
 We called at several farms on the way, and I held five services at 
 various places, where the opportunities are few and far between in 
 which the people can hear the word of the Lord. We spent the 
 Sabbath at the residence of Mr. Dennison, whose family, and those 
 of his neighbours, are all either members of our Society, or regular 
 hearers when they have the opportunity. There is great difficulty 
 in establishing regular ordinances for the spiritual benefit cf the 
 settlers and farmers who follow pastoral pursuits. There are no 
 villages, and the farms are separated by large tracts of country, 
 rendering it extremely difficult to form country congregations; and 
 the Missionaries can effect little more than visiting from farm to 
 farm, and holding service with the isolated families. But this is a 
 work involving great toil, which requires much time, and is attended 
 with heavy horse expenses. Still, we must continue to do what 
 circumstances will allow on the various Circuits, so as to keep up, 
 and deepen, and extend true religion among the scattered farmers 
 and settlers, with their servants and dependents. I believe my
 
 COMMEMOBATION CHAPEL OPENED. 217 
 
 brethren are doing what they can in this respect; but until we 
 have the means of appointing on some of the more extensive Circuits 
 some additional labourers, I fear this department of the work will 
 not be so efficiently conducted as its importance demands. 
 
 Having met with some detention, by the straying of our oxen, 
 we did not reach Graham's Town till the morning of August 29th, 
 having been absent about seven weeks, during which we travelled 
 nearly five hundred miles in an ox-wagon. O for the convenience 
 and rapidity of your English railway travelling! How much 
 fatigue would it save us, and, above all, how much more might we 
 do for the cause of Christ, did we possess such power of rapid 
 locomotion ! Perhaps our successors may see something of this 
 kind even in Africa. 
 
 On the 24th of November, 1850, the Commemoration 
 Chapel, the erection of which had been delayed by the war 
 of 1846-8, and other untoward circumstances, was opened 
 for public worship. We must turn to Mr. Shaw's account 
 of this event : his comments on the ecclesiastical system of 
 the Cape Government will be found in his " Story of my 
 Mission." 
 
 The erection of this chapel was retarded, after its walls had 
 risen to a certain height, by some untoward circumstances ; and 
 meantime the Kaffir war of 1846 rendered it wholly impracti- 
 cable to proceed with the building. All available bands were 
 employed either in repelling tbe invaders, or in protecting tbe 
 country from further inroads ; while tbe price of provisions, and 
 consequent cost of labour, rose to suck unusually high rates, 
 that it became impossible to proceed with the work ; and tbe 
 contracts were consequently cancelled until more favourable 
 times should ' return. However, as soon as circumstances 
 favoured a recommencement, new contracts were made, and tbe 
 chapel was at length so far completed, that we were enabled to
 
 218 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 dedicate it for the worship of God on the 24th of November, 
 1850. 
 
 The large collections at the opening services, and the further 
 efforts of the people, greatly reduced the otherwise serious 
 amount of debt arising from a heavy expenditure up to the time 
 of opening the building, inclusive of the cost of the ground. 
 This debt had been further increased by the amount of interest 
 paid on borrowed money before the chapel was opened, and 
 therefore previously to its yielding any revenue. The untoward 
 circumstances connected with the Kaffir war increased the out- 
 lay enormously ; so that the entire expenditure exceeded 9,000, 
 of which upwards of 5,000 was still owing at the time when 
 the dedicatory services were commenced. I had already appealed 
 to the Legislative Council of the Colony for assistance, seeing 
 that we had never received a shilling from the colonial treasury 
 in aid of our religious institutions in Graham's Town, while 
 nearly the entire cost of St. George's church had been defrayed 
 from that source, and the Episcopalians and Eoman Catholics 
 of the town were receiving about 1,000 per annum towards the 
 support of their respective Clergy. Our case was a strong one, 
 and was well supported in the Council by the Honourable 
 Messrs. W. Cock and E. Godlonton, Members of Council for the 
 Eastern Province. The Council agreed to make the grant 
 requested ; but before this could be carried into effect, it was 
 suddenly dissolved, and ultimately the new Constitution was 
 introduced. We now transmitted our petition to the Governor, 
 requesting that the executive would propose the requisite grant 
 to the Cape Parliament. In the House of Assembly there was 
 strong opposition raised by an influential Member resident in 
 Cape Town, and of rather ultra views on the question of State 
 aid to Churches : but our claim was strong in its equity, and 
 was strenuously supported by nearly all the members who repre- 
 sented the British settlers, and eventually, on a division, it was
 
 COMMEMORATION CHAPEL OPENED. 219 
 
 resolved, by a small majority, to grant one thousand pounds in 
 aid of the Building Fund. This encouraged our people to make 
 further voluntary efforts, whereby, including the grant, the 
 debt was reduced more than one half. The annual income of 
 the chapel has been so well sustained, since the dedication ser- 
 vices, that a considerable surplus is now regularly available for 
 the gradual extinction of the entire debt.
 
 220 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Missionary Journeys, 1853-1855. 
 
 OF the Kaffir war of 1851-3 nothing more need he 
 added to the remarks in a previous Chapter, except 
 the expression of a hope that it may be the last. Peace 
 was concluded February 14th, 1853. Before this event, 
 however, Mr. Shaw had paid a visit to Natal, going and 
 returning by sea. The details of these visitations of the 
 General Superintendent will always be read with pleasure 
 by all who like to look back to the first beginnings and 
 progress of Christianity in the Eastern Province of the 
 Cape Colony and beyond. A time may come when these 
 narratives will form no unimportant part in the " Origines" 
 -of some African ecclesiastical historian. All who revere 
 the memory of Mr. Shaw will be pleased to accompany 
 him in spirit, and to participate in his pleasant retro- 
 spective reviews of the progress of the Mission work. 
 
 The first of these journals refers to the visit to Natal. 
 All of them are addressed to the Committee in London. 
 This letter is dated "May 21st, 1853." 
 
 On leaving Port Elizabeth, I arrived, after a passage of five days, 
 at Natal, in the beginning of February. I was received with great 
 kindness by Mr. and Mrs. Spenseley, and Mr. Gaskin. The day after 
 my arrival being Sunday, I preached in the chapel to our English 
 congregation at D'Urban ; and, as Mr. Thomas kindly came from 
 Pietermaritzberg to meet me, after spending a few days at D'Urban, 
 we proceeded together to Pietermaritzberg, when I took up my 
 quarters at the new Mission-house, with my old friends Mr. and
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 221 
 
 Mrs. Pearse. I remained at Pietermaritzberg, attending to a variety 
 of business connected with the Society's affairs, and visiting the 
 principal Stations and Missions in the surrounding country ; all of 
 which kept me fully occupied for about three weeks, when I again 
 returned to D'Urban to meet the steamer, as I had supposed to get 
 away immediately ; but her non-arrival for three weeks detained me 
 all that time, which I employed in visiting Verulam, and preaching 
 regularly in our chapels at D'Urban. While at Pietermaritzberg I 
 preached every Sunday, and was gratified to see the English chapel 
 well filled on each occasion. During my visit it was resolved to hold 
 a Missionary Meeting, and form an Auxiliary Missionary Society for 
 the Natal District. I was requested to preach one of the sermons on 
 the occasion : you will be glad to hear that all the services were 
 attended by overflowing congregations. The Judge-Recorder of 
 Natal presided at the Missionary Meeting, and several Ministers of 
 various denominations attended, and assisted in the proceedings. 
 A delightful spirit prevailed. 
 
 The Colony is in its infancy, and so also are all its religious and 
 educational institutions. But, comparatively with others, we have 
 no reason to be ashamed of the present state and prospects of the 
 "Wesleyan-Methodist Church in Natal. That interesting Colony 
 presents a most important field of labour. The European population 
 is much scattered, and an itinerant ministry must visit the various 
 farms and scattered hamlets. The native population of more than 
 one hundred thousand souls will require the most constant and 
 assiduous attention. I shall be most glad when the means can be 
 found for increasing our Mission Stations among the native settle- 
 ments of the Natal Colony. This is a " field white already to the 
 harvest ; " but while " the harvest is great, the labourers are few." 
 The Missionaries of the American Board of Missions are in con- 
 siderable strength on "the native locations ; and, so far as I could 
 learn, they are now beginning to reap, after many years of patient 
 labour. I saw most of these brethren; and am well satisfied of their 
 piety, zeal, and diligence. I am at the same time fully persuaded 
 that we have done right to occupy the two principal towns, Pieter- 
 maritzberg and D'Urban, and to make them centres of religious 
 influence in the surrounding districts.
 
 222 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 Pietermaritzberg is steadily increasing in size, or rather the vacant 
 building lots in the various streets are being enclosed and built upon. 
 There is a Dutch church, which was erected before I visited Natal in 
 1848, and in which at that time we used to preach. The Wesleyan 
 chapel was erecting in 1848, and was subsequently finished. It has 
 recently been much improved, and an end gallery has been erected, 
 in which an organ, built at Natal, has been placed. A large sub- 
 stantial and well-proportioned Wesleyan chapel has also been erected, 
 in which services are conducted in the Dutch and Kaffir languages 
 for the benefit of the native population. Mrs. Pearse has likewise 
 established an infant-school, and school of industry, which is con- 
 ducted in this building. I visited it, and was much pleased with its 
 efficiency. Through the zealous efforts of Mrs. Pearee, and a number 
 of ladies who assist her, this very valuable institution (aided by a 
 small annual grant from the Colonial Government) is wholly self- 
 supported. A substantial and commodious Mission-house, just 
 finished, with cottages for chapel-keeper, and governess of the 
 infant-school, form together a very compact and creditable Mission 
 establishment ; the whole of the buildings being erected on land 
 granted to us by the Government in the very centre of the town, and 
 having frontages in three principal streets. 
 
 "While at Pietermaritzberg, I visited the English settlement called 
 York, and was very happy to make the acquaintance of many warm- 
 hearted Yorkshire people, some of whom remembered to have seen 
 and heard me at various places during my residence in England 
 from 1833 to 1836. The settlers at York, being chiefly English 
 farmers, are likely to do well. As usual with all British settlers in 
 the Colonies, for the first few years after their arrival, they have bad 
 to dismiss from their minds many erroneous notions which they had 
 formed before they left England respecting the country, and they 
 have had to contend with various difficulties which they did not 
 anticipate ; but I have little or no doubt the greater part of them 
 will ultimately succeed in placing themselves in circumstances of 
 considerable worldly prosperity and comfort. There are many 
 Methodists among them : the Missionaries and Local Preachers of 
 the Pietermaritzberg Circuit visit them regularly, and in due season 
 they propose to erect for themselves a suitable chapel. I was glad
 
 MISSIONAKY JOUENEYS, 1853-1855. 223 
 
 to have the opportunity of preaching to them. The place where we 
 assembled was a kind of butcher's shop, and all the circumstances 
 of this congregation their dwellings, and our place of worship 
 served to remind me very forcibly of our very small and rude com- 
 mencement of life and religious institutions in Albany thirty-three 
 years ago, when I used to preach in the settlers' tents, or wattle and 
 daub huts, or, lacking these, under the shade of spreading trees. 
 
 While at D'Urban I visited the settlement called Verulam. The 
 settlers who were originally located here did not include so large a 
 number of farmers as those who established themselves at York : 
 nence a larger proportionate number forsook the settlement ; but I 
 found upwards of twenty families here. I regret that I could not 
 visit them at their houses, as the rain poured down almost 
 incessantly while I was there. Mr. Spenseley was kind enough to 
 accompany me, as Yerulam is a part of his Circuit. The people 
 lave built for themselves a suitable chapel at this place. It is 
 neither neat nor elegant; but it is the best that circumstances 
 enabled them to erect, and for a few years it will be quite adapted 
 to the general circumstances of a new settlement. It showed a very 
 just regard to the importance and value of religious things, that so 
 soon after their location they set about the erection of a house 
 for the worship of God. It will now also be used as a school-room 
 for a day-school, an. application made by Mr. Spenseley to the 
 Government on their behalf having succeeded in obtaining for them 
 an annual grant in aid of the Teacher's salary. I preached at this 
 place, and said what I could to instruct my hearers in what would 
 promote their best interests both as Colonists and Christians. 
 They were very attentive, and I trust good was done. 
 
 There were very few houses, and those chiefly of a temporary 
 character, at D'Urban, during my visit in 1848 ; but the arrival of 
 so many British settlers, two or three years ago, has entirely changed 
 the appearance of the place. The English population is now about 
 twelve hundred souls, beside a considerable native population. As 
 the entire trade of Natal must always pass through this place, it is 
 likely gradually to rise to be a town of large population, and of great 
 influence in the Natal settlement. We have here, also, a very com- 
 plete Mission establishment, a good house, built in the bungalow
 
 224 CHAPTER X. 
 
 style, for the residence of the Missionary, a very large enclosed 
 garden, with cottage for interpreter, &c. The old chapel, which was 
 standing in 1848, and was at first occupied by a European congrega- 
 tion, is now used for the natives, for whom services are held in the 
 Dutch and Kaffir languages, chiefly by Mr. Gaskin ; whose time 
 and labours are devoted to the native department, while Mr. Spenseley 
 devotes himself principally to the various English congregations 
 and Societies in the Circuit. While I was here in 1848, arrange- 
 ments were agreed upon for the erection of a more suitable chapel 
 for the English. Mr. Holden carried out these plans, aided by 
 several zealous friends of the cause ; and thus, about the time that 
 the recent emigration to Natal commenced, this chapel was ready. 
 It is a neat building, well fitted up, and kept clean and in good repair. 
 There are at present no other places of worship in D'Urban than the 
 English and the native chapels belonging to us. But here, as in 
 Pietermaritzberg, the Episcopalians worship in the building erected 
 by the Government for the public school-room. While I was at 
 D'Urban, however, the foundation of a small new church, capable 
 from its plan of future enlargement, was laid. As the Rev. Mr. 
 Lloyd, the Chaplain, and the Church wardens, &c., specially invited 
 me, I was present on the occasion ; and after the two Clergymen 
 had performed the usual service on the ground, at which was assem- 
 bled nearly the entire English population, by Mr. Lloyd's request I 
 delivered a short address adapted to the occasion, probably the 
 first time that any Wesleyan Minister ever took a formal and public 
 part in the services connected with laying a foundation-stone of an 
 Episcopal church. But I am sure that I acted on true Wesleyan 
 principles when I wished them success in all their efforts to promote 
 the glory of God in this new Colony. I have omitted to mention 
 above, that there is a small congregation of Independents at D'Urban, 
 who worship in a room which they have fitted up for the purpose. 
 The Roman Catholic Priests, from their establishment at Pieter- 
 maritzberg, were also just about commencing some services at 
 D'Urban while I was there. There are several native or Kaffir 
 congregations which Mr. Gaskin has under his care in this Circuit. 
 It is evident that the labours of the brethren have not been in vain 
 in this department j but as yet the work is in comparative infancy.
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 225 
 
 The second journal records the particulars of a visit to 
 the border stations in October of the same year, (1853,) 
 in which he was accompanied by Mrs. Shaw, who was 
 then, and had for some time previous been, in a precarious 
 state of health. The account of the Free Church Missions 
 is very interesting. The letter is dated, "November 14th, 
 1853." 
 
 I left Graham's Town on the 7th of October, on a visit to 
 several of the Stations on the border, and in British Kaffraria. I 
 had designed starting some time sooner ; but long-continued rains 
 rendered travelling in this country wholly impossible. I started as 
 soon as there was hope that I could cross the bridgeless stream at 
 the Konappe River, on my way to Tort Beaufort. I travelled in my 
 ox-wagon to enable Mrs. Shaw to accompany me, in hopes that 
 change of air and the journey would renovate her health, which for 
 some time previously had been in a very precarious state. Owing 
 to several hinderances, we could not reach Fort Beaufort in time 
 for Sunday, the 9th of October : indeed, the river was barely fordable 
 at the Konappe on the evening of the 8th inst. We therefore 
 outspanned or unyoked our oxen, and resolved to spend the 
 Sunday at a spot near the ford, and a short distance from a small 
 camp of soldiers. 
 
 On Sunday morning I waited on Lieutenant Philpots, whom I 
 found in command of the company of the 74th Highlanders. He 
 very willingly assembled the troops, and I prayed with and preached 
 to the men on the parade. They were all most attentive, although 
 there was no shade from the sun, which happened to be bright and 
 burning hot. They had just received orders to prepare for removal 
 to India. They are going to the Madras Presidency. After holding 
 this service, baptizing some children, and distributing some tracts, 
 there was no further opportunity of holding public religious services, 
 and we spent the remainder of an unusually hot day in our wagon; 
 Next morning, early, we were in motion, and after resting for a 
 time in the middle of the day at Leen Fontein, we reached the 
 
 Q
 
 226 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Mission-house at Fort Beaufort in the evening, and were kindly 
 received by Mr. and Mrs. Ayliff. 
 
 The chief object of my visit here at this time was to inspect the 
 country in the immediate vicinity of the town, where about four 
 thousand of the Fingoe Kaffirs are now permanently located in 
 various kraals or settlements by the Government, and to mark out 
 the site for the Mission buildings, &c., on the new Mission, which, 
 at the request of the Governor, we are about to establish for the 
 religious instruction of the people. One day during my stay at 
 Fort Beaufort, we rode out to the spot : previous to the late war it 
 was occupied by some thirty families of Kaffirs, most of whom had 
 embraced Christianity. Since the termination of the war, however, 
 the Governor has, for political reasons, originating entirely in his 
 own plans, resolved that no Amaxosa-Kaffir settlements shall exist 
 on the western side of a line which he has drawn. In consequence 
 of this decision, the Kaffirs referred to were obliged to remove ; but 
 a very superior location has been provided for them, near the town 
 of Alice, on the Chumie river. A body of Christian Fingoes belonging 
 to our Society, having been located by the Government on the site 
 of Birklands, I visited the spot, and selected the ground, which we 
 are to receive as a grant from the Governor, as I had objected to 
 incur any expense in buildings for the new Mission till a title can be 
 secured to the Society. The place is extremely well suited for the 
 purpose of a Mission village. A ride of five or six miles, up a deep 
 mountain glen, is terminated by a rocky precipice, covered with a 
 forest of trees; the various streams which rise still higher up the 
 mountains, are precipitable over this rock, and, joining at its foot, 
 flow on to the Kat River, at Fort Beaufort. The site of the village 
 is on the top of this rock, on a kind of plateau, having a view down 
 the entire romantic valley, with Fort Beaufort at the distance of 
 seven or eight miles, which stands upon the open country, perhaps 
 four or five hundred feet below the level of the rock on which the 
 village is placed. The most material points, however, are, the soil 
 is good; wood, water, and grass abundant; and, above all, the 
 Missionary, being located on this spot, will be in the centre of th^ 
 entire Fingoe settlement of the Fort Beaufort division. Mr. AyliiF
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 227 
 
 nad requested the various petty Headmen and Chiefs to come and 
 meet us ; we also had the assistance of the Government Superin- 
 tendent of the Fingoes of this division. All parties were highly 
 delighted, when I announced that Mr. Ayliff would shortly take tip 
 his residence here, as the Missionary for the entire Fingoe settlement, 
 while the Fingoes, and other natives resident in Fort Beaufort itself, 
 would be cared for by the Missionary who will succeed Mr. Ajliff 
 at that place. 
 
 After receiving many tokens of kindness from our friends at Fort 
 Beaufort, and being detained beyond the time fixed for our departure, 
 by heavy rains, we proceeded on Saturday, the 15th, to Alice. This 
 place was founded by Sir P. Maitland, during the war of 1847. It 
 is protected by Fort Hare. The distance is about thirteen miles 
 eastward from Fort Beaufort. The town is become the capital of the 
 division of Victoria, embracing all the lands between the Fish 
 River and the Keiskamma, formerly known as the Neutral Territory, 
 tut which the Kaffirs were again allowed to occupy for some years, 
 previously to the war of 1846, which was occasioned by the reckless 
 and lawless conduct of that portion of them who resided in this 
 immediate vicinity. The site of the town is well chosen, on a fine 
 part of the country, watered by the Chumie River, which has been 
 let out for irrigation on a vast extent of fine land. Thus, a residence 
 here combines the advantages of town and country life ; and it is 
 probable that this place will steadily increase in size and population. ' 
 Since Mr. Sargeant's appointment as Missionary for Kama's tribe, 
 he has taken up his temporary residence here. There being no 
 house as yet for his family at the Keiskamma, I desired him to obtain 
 lodgings for a time here, and from this place to visit Kama and his 
 people, the distance not being great. As some of the English 
 members of our Society were already resident here, they have, at 
 some cost to themselves, fitted up a room for public worship, and 
 Mr. Sargeant, assisted by Mr. Ayliff, and the Local Preachers of 
 Fort Beaufort, supplies them with regular Sunday services, for 
 which they seem grateful. I preached in the afternoon and evening 
 to attentive congregations in this new place of worship. 
 
 On Tuesday, the ISth, we proceeded on our way towards King 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 CHAPTER X. 
 
 "William's Town, through the heart of British Kaffraria. Mr. Sar- 
 geant accompanied us to the Keiskamma at the middle drift, about 
 twelve miles eastward of Alice. I had visited this place with him 011 
 horseback about a month before, to select the site for the new Station 
 with the Chief Kama and his tribe. At the drift or ford, the troops 
 have erected a kind of fort or barracks, in which one company of the 
 2nd or Queen's E/egiment is at present stationed : about a mile below 
 this place is the spot selected as the site of onr Mission. If success 
 attend the somewhat difficult project of leading out the waters of the 
 beautiful Keiskamma river, so as to irrigate the rich soil along its 
 banks, this will prove as fine a site for a town or village as any 
 in Southern Africa. 
 
 On our arrival, we met Kama and his son William. "VVe unyoked 
 our oxen at the kraal of the latter, who now acts as schoolmaster of 
 the tribe. "William Kama placed his very large and clean native hut 
 at our disposal. It was rather curious and pleasing to observe, on 
 entering it, that it contained some articles of furniture never seen ini 
 the hut of a Kaffir till Christianity came to be proclaimed in the land. 
 He has a bedstead and a bed, with clean bedding ; a table and some 
 chairs ; a chest in which he keeps his clothes ; and in some sacks a 
 supply of meal, sugar, coffee, &c. Many, even of persons who have 
 been born and brought up in Africa, would hardly credit these simple 
 facts, so great and so strange is the contrast which they present to 
 the ordinary discomfort and destitution of a Kaffir dwelling. But 
 William and his wife are both real Christians, and patterns of piety 
 and consistency. At family worship in the evening, which we held in 
 his hut, I desired him to read a portion of Kaffir Scripture : I was 
 inuch pleased with his selection of 1 John iii. He read the whole 
 chapter with great accuracy, and with a tone and feeling that 
 manifested how much his heart was in unison with the noble senti- 
 ments of that delightful portion of God's most holy word. I longed 
 for the presence of my old friend Shrewsbury, and some other of the 
 earlier Missionaries in Kaffraria. How would they have rejoiced to 
 gee what I saw, and hear what I heard ! They know how dead and 
 dry we found the bones of this valley of vision, and how we often 
 travelled and laboured, in weariness and tears, and fasting and
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 229 
 
 prayers, often saying, " Can these dry bones live ? " Blessed be God, 
 some have been given us as the first-fruits of future increase. And 
 who is he that saith, the harvest shall never come ? " Jehovah saith, 
 1 will work, and who shall let it ? " 
 
 Early next morning, the Chief Kama, and as many as the large 
 iiut would hold, packed together as only Kaffirs can pack an assembly 
 of human beings, listened to a very appropriate sermon in Kaffir 
 from Mr. Sargeant, and joined with evident delight in the other 
 devotional exercises. There are at present about fifty members of 
 Society connected with this place and tribe. Mr. Sargeant will have 
 under his immediate care the whole of the Kamas' people, who at 
 present number about two thousand souls, and are likely, from the 
 position they now occupy, to increase by accessions from some other 
 tribes. Besides this population, our Missionary here will have to 
 devote time occasionally to Alice, to the military station and village 
 at Middle Drift, and to a Fingoe tribe located not far distant. Thus, 
 if he is in labours more abundant, he will still find himself hardly 
 able to overtake the numerous demands of his work. 
 
 Oa Thursday, 20th, after sleeping in our wagon in the beautiful 
 vale below the forests of the well-known Thaba-Ndoda mountain, we 
 reached King William's Town about noon, where we were most 
 kindly received by Mr. and Mrs. Chapman, and found Mr. Irnpey, 
 from Mount Coke, waiting to meet us. This day, and Friday, were 
 devoted to visiting various families, and, in conjunction with Mr. 
 Chapman, making various inquiries relative to plans for the exten- 
 sion and future course to be pursued on this Circuit. The building 
 used until recently as a printing-office Mr. Chapman has converted 
 into a temporary chapel for the natives, of whom, I am glad to say, 
 he has already collected a very promising congregation. Two other 
 native congregations, consisting principally of people who came 
 from Butterworth last year, and who have been located lower down 
 the Buffalo River, a few miles distant from the town, are also 
 placed under his care, with much promise of usefulness among 
 them. 
 
 On Saturday, 22nd, we proceeded to Mount Coke, calling on our 
 way at Fort Murray, when I visited .Colonel Maclean, the Chief
 
 
 
 230 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Commissioner of British Kaffraria, who received us with kindness. 
 This officer has ever shown a readiness to promote the objects of 
 the Mission, and to perform acts of personal kindness towards the 
 Missionaries and their families. 
 
 Arrived at Mount Coke, I was surprised and thankful to see the 
 vast improvement and progress which has been made on this Mis- 
 sion. It was only recommenced, under somewhat unpromising 
 circumstances, in 1848 ; the former Station having been wholly 
 destroyed in the war of 1846, and the people scattered. A mere 
 handful of people were all that could be collected when the Station 
 was re-formed ; but, from a variety of causes, they have gone on, 
 increasing, till there is now a population of more than a thousand 
 souls resident on the place, with a scattered Kaffir population within 
 convenient reach of the Mission, amounting to, at least, fifteen thou- 
 sand souls. These belong to the tribes of Pato, Umkye, and Sinane,. 
 and must, as soon as circumstances will allow, receive more careful 
 attention, by itinerant visits from the Missionaries at Mount Coke. 
 The buildings on the village have been erected in a most substantial 
 manner. The Minister's house has been some time erected, and is a 
 pleasant residence, with beautiful flower-garden, and cultivated field 
 in front. There is a large, substantial building, which is now con- 
 verted into our printing-office, with paper-room, binder's room, 
 editor's room, &c. ; at least, these accommodations will be all 
 afforded when Mr. Appleyard can remove to the house designed as 
 his residence : at present he lives in a part of the building which is 
 the printing-office. 
 
 On Monday, 31st, we took leave of our friends at Mount Coke, 
 and proceeded on our way : after crossing the Keiskamma once more, 
 we re-entered the Colony, in the Fort Peddie District of Victoria. 
 Taking up our abode for the night at a bush by the roadside, not 
 the " Bush Inn " we arose early, and arrived to breakfast at the 
 residence of Mr. Garner, at D'Urban, Fort Peddie. 
 
 November 2nd, we proceeded to the Newtondale Station, where we 
 arrived soon after noon. Circumstances had prevented me from 
 visiting this Station for some years past ; and I was equally sur- 
 prised and gratified with the state in which I now found it. The
 
 MISSIONAEY JOCKNEYS, 1853-1855. 231 
 
 Station was destroyed in the war of 1846, but resumed in 1848, 
 under the care of Mr. James Kidd, who acts as Catechist and Local 
 Preacher in charge of the place and its people ; being visited regu- 
 larly by the Missionary from D'Urban, Fort Peddie. There is a 
 large Fingoe-Kaffir population surrounding the Mission village, all 
 within three or four miles of the spot ; besides about forty families 
 of Fingoes and Kaffirs, who have taken up their residence at New- 
 tondale itself. Here we have a neat cottage for the Catechist's resi 
 dence, and a suitable building as school -house and chapel; a number 
 of square-built houses, occupied by the natives; a good day and 
 Sunday school ; a numerous congregation ; forty or fifty native 
 converts, members of Society ; and an ample field of labour around. 
 Mr. Kidd has trained the members of his classes to make the usual 
 contributions with regularity ; and these classes have raised, during 
 the last twelve months, about 22 as class-money and quarterage. 
 It would be regarded as a very good average per member, for many 
 a place in England. I preached to the people in the evening : the 
 chapel was crowded, and the congregation attentive and devout. 
 Here also, however, the chapel must be enlarged to twice its present 
 size as soon as practicable. 
 
 Having received much kindness from Mr. and Mrs. Kidd and his 
 people, on the 3rd of November we proceeded on our way to Graham's 
 Town. Arriving at the Great Fish River about noon, we were dis- 
 appointed to find that we could not cross it, as the rains had again 
 rendered it unfordable with safety. We remained till noon next 
 day, when, the water having subsided, we got our wagon through, 
 and, ascending the bushy heights, reached Frazer's Camp, where, 
 by the side of a bush, well known as a halting-place for Missionaries 
 and others during the last thirty years, we once more spent a night; 
 and on the 5th instant, after travelling in the wagon all day, reached 
 Graham's Town in the evening. Here I must close my narrative. 
 I am thankful that Mrs. Shaw returned home with renovated health ; 
 and I trust the facts I have rapidly sketched will afford you pleasure 
 and encouragement. The review of them strengthens my hope, that 
 this Mission is still destined, in the good providence of God, to 
 scatter innumerable blessings on all this land.
 
 232 CHAPTER X. 
 
 On the 6th of July Mrs. Shaw died in Graham's Town, 
 after four months' severe illness. This was an unexpected 
 blow to Mr. Shaw. As a memoir of this excellent woman 
 is preparing for the press, we refrain from any further 
 notice of her lamented death. A funeral sermon, suitable 
 to the occasion, was preached by the Eev. James Cameron, 
 on Sunday evening, July 18th, which has been published, 
 with some brief notices by Mr. Shaw. At the close of this 
 trying year Mr. Shaw undertook a journey beyond the 
 Orange Eiver. Of this we have no record beyond a brief 
 reference in the " Notices " for March, 1855. 
 
 The last official journey was made in 1855. It was con- 
 fined to the Stations in Kamrland and Pondoland. The 
 letter is dated " August 1st, 1855." 
 
 I left home on the 19th of April, accompanied by Mr. W. Wood, 
 a young friend, who had been recommended to travel for the benefit 
 of his health. We travelled in my ox-wagon, and reached D'Urban 
 near Fort Peddie, on Saturday evening, the 21st. 
 
 We remained in the Fort Peddie district till the 25th of April. 
 Within the limits of this district there is a Fingoe settlement, or 
 rather a number of settlements, comprising an aggregate population 
 of that race of nine thousand souls. They occupy an extensive 
 tract of fine country. Our D'Urban Mission Station is situated 
 at the head of a valley, within sight of Fort Peddie, from whence 
 it is distant only about a mile. This place is very central for 
 the whole Fingoe settlement, and a most important Missionary 
 field. 
 
 On Monday, the 23rd, we started, accompanied by Mr. Garner on 
 horseback, to visit some of the out-stations of the settlement. We 
 first rode to the Gwalana, distant five or six miles from D'Urban. 
 This is the residence of one of our Native Teachers. He teaches a 
 day-school, and holds regular services for the benefit of the nume- 
 rous kraals which are situated around his residence. There are also
 
 MISSIONAEY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 233 
 
 several Native Local Preachers here, who preach every Sunday at 
 various places in the neighbourhood; thus an extensive work is 
 carried on entirely by a native agency. The members of the Society 
 who were near at hand came together, and we held a short service 
 with them, during which I addressed them chiefly on their obliga- 
 tions and duties as members of the Church of Christ. They were 
 attentive, and evidently much interested. 
 
 We afterwards proceeded to Newtondale, a further distance of 
 about eight miles to the southward. Here we found our faithful 
 European Catechist, Mr. James Kidd, and Mrs. Kidd, living in the 
 midst of a Mission village of more than fifty families, surrounded by 
 a large heathen population. 
 
 "We returned to D'Urban on the 24th. There is a small English 
 village at FortPeddie, which is also the residence of the Magistrate; 
 and since the late war, a considerable number of English families 
 Tiave had farms granted to them within the previously unappropriated 
 portions of the district. Thus it was thought high time to erect a 
 chapel for the English. This is now in progress, under the direction 
 of Mr. Garner and a Local Chapel Committee. 
 
 On the 25th we rode through a rather difficult piece of country in 
 a westerly direction about twelve or fifteen miles, and visited the 
 Gora River, where there is a fine native settlement, at which one of 
 our members is at once the Chief and the Native Teacher. I was 
 delighted to see evident proofs of his piety and activity. He intro- 
 duced us to a wattled chapel, built chiefly with his own hands, in 
 which a considerable native congregation can be accommodated ; but 
 it is already too small. I examined the children of the school, and 
 found that they were making good progress in reading their own 
 language, and in religious knowledge, under their zealous teacher. 
 
 During this day's ride we passed some Fingoe kraals, where they 
 were dancing and singing in the most heathenish style. All the 
 people were bedaubed with red ochre, and had the most fantastic 
 and hideous appearance. This was soon explained when we met 
 with a party of youths in their grotesque costume, fabricated from 
 reeds, and their bodies smeared with white clay. It was the day for 
 concluding the ceremony of circumcision, and these lads were now
 
 234 CHAPTER X. 
 
 to be formally restored to society, after a separation of several 
 weeks. After all the ceremonies had been performed, they would 
 assume the character and standing of men in their tribe, and would 
 henceforth be permitted to sit, and eat, and talk with the men on equal 
 terms, being no longer regarded as boys. This is all the effect and 
 significance given to circumcision among the South African tribes. 
 It does not seem to have any religious reference at all. A difficult 
 question has arisen for the Missionaries and native converts, as to 
 how far it may be proper for the latter to interfere and prevent their 
 sons from observing the rite. Experience shows that, despite their 
 parents, there are few, if any, boys who can withstand the tempta- 
 tion of being initiated into the rights and privileges of manhood, 
 which, with the native races, are of a very distinctive kind, and are 
 never conceded to the uncircumcised. It is agreed on all hands, 
 that the Missionaries and the converts should never give any coun- 
 tenance whatever to this custom ; but it is very doubtful whether, 
 under the circumstances, Christian fathers can be subjected to any 
 church discipline for allowing their sons to observe it. The objec- 
 tion is not to the rite itself, but to the immoral and heathenish 
 ceremonies and practices which usually accompany its observance. 
 On the 26th we reached Mount Coke, where we found Mr. Gladwin 
 and family in the new house, and with sixteen pupils of the Watson 
 Institution, who are under the daily instruction of a teacher, and 
 spend part of their time in cultivating some land. On the 27th I 
 examined the schools, and also with Mr. Appleyard looked through 
 the printing-office, paper, and binding rooms, &c. This establish- 
 lishment is a credit to the Mission and to its Superintendent. It is 
 delightful to see such masses of printed paper in the form of spelling- 
 books, reading-books, Hymn-Books, Prayer-Books, Catechisms, 
 New Testaments, and portions of the Old Testament, all either in com- 
 plete forms or in preparation for the various Kaffir readers now to be 
 met with in all parts of the country. Although several workmen 
 are employed, and Mr. Appleyard is a conscientious economist of 
 time, it is found impossible to keep up with the constantly increasing 
 demand for books. It will be requisite to request the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society to print for us a large edition of the Kaffir
 
 MISSIONARY JOUKXEYS, 1853-1855. 
 
 Scriptures, so that the press, being less occupied on that work, 
 may become more equal to the demand for ojther books. 
 
 On the 28th we proceeded to King William's Town, calling on 
 Colonel Maclean, the Chief Commissioner of British Kaffraria, at 
 Fort Murray. "We much admired the appearance of two native 
 villages, which, consisting of an improved description of native huts, 
 with white-washed walls, add to the beauty of the landscape. These 
 villages have bee i formed under Mr. Chapman's care, and each has a 
 native Teacher ; including another village of the same kind on the 
 other side of the town, there are thus three neat native villages 
 included within the limits of the King William's Town Circuit. 
 
 Circumstances, over which I had no control, compelled me to 
 return to Graham's Town ; hence the whole week, from the 30th of 
 April to the 5th of May, was occupied in my journey thither and 
 back, on horseback, in very stormy weather, a distance of one 
 hundred and sixty or seventy miles. I arrived at the last men- 
 tioned date at Mount Coke again. Next day being Sunday, I 
 preached in the forenoon to the Kaffir congregation, and in the 
 afternoon to a small congregation, who do not understand Kaffir, in 
 the Dutch language. 
 
 Having returned from Mount Coke, we proceeded to King 
 William's Town again on the 9th, and started thence on our journey 
 through British Kaffraria. On the 15th, we reached Butterworth. 
 The sight of this abandoned Mission was very painful to me. When 
 I remembered all its past history, and that in three successive 
 Kaffir wars, after building up the Station that number of times, we 
 had been three times obliged to abandon the place, when, according 
 to Kaffir custom in war, it was each time burnt and destroyed, it 
 was impossible not to feel the discouraging nature of such occur- 
 rences. In 1851, when last destroyed, here was a fine flourishing 
 native village, a well attended church and school, described in 
 glowing but not exaggerated terms, in the printed Journal of the 
 Bishop of Cape Town, who visited it in 1849. Now only a few 
 ruined and blackened walls were visible, besides the numerous fruit 
 and other trees which were many years ago planted by the resident 
 Missionaries. Sir George Grey hoped we would re-establish this-
 
 236 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Mission ; but when I intimated some doubt and hesitation, on the 
 ground that we had been three times burnt out, His Excellency 
 pleasantly said he had never heard of a Mission Station being four 
 times burnt ! Indeed, I should like to have the means of re-estab- 
 lishing this Mission ; but at present we have neither a Missionary 
 nor money available. This is to be regretted, as Butterworth is a 
 fine central site, close to the neighbourhood which has always been 
 regarded as the head-qnarters of the Hintza family. It is central to 
 the whole of Krielie's people, a tribe of some fifty thousand souls, 
 among whom there is now no Mission. 
 
 In the evening I held a short service at the house of Mr. Crouch, 
 the trader who has established himself near our old Station since 
 the war. He showed us much hospitality and kind attention. This 
 was also the case generally with the English traders, wherever I had 
 occasion to call. 
 
 We left Butterworth on the 16th, and proceeded to visit all our 
 Missions situated to the eastward, in the direction of the Natal 
 territory. It would render this communication much too long, to 
 enter into details as to each place. After visiting all the Stations as 
 far as Palmerton, we arrived at Butterworth again, on our return 
 on the 19th of June. During the intervening period, we visited 
 Morley, Umdumbe, Buntingville, Palmerton, Shawbury, and Clarke- 
 bury. I managed to spend a Sunday at each Station, and thus had 
 an opportunity of seeing and addressing all the congregations, and 
 meeting the respective Societies, &c. The long-established Stations, 
 Clarkebury, Morley, and Buntingville, presented nothing remark- 
 ably new or striking. The congregations continue quite as large 
 as formerly, but there has been no material addition made to the 
 aggregate number of church members on these Stations since my 
 last visit; nor, with the exception of some new cottages, &c., at 
 Buntingville, did I observe any considerable external evidence of 
 advance or improvement. I thought, indeed, that Clarkebury had 
 rather retrograded in that respect. Its large chapel, erected by the 
 voluntary labour of the people ten years before, having been built 
 on some defective plan, appears to have been for a long time past in 
 a ruinous state, and is now wholly unfit for the sacred purpose to
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 237 
 
 which it had been dedicated. Mr. Thomas was, however, taking 
 measures for the erection of a new chapel. It has become evident 
 to me, by my observations on this tour, that, although these Missions 
 in the eastern section of the District have suffered from a deficient 
 supply of Missionaries, yet they have likewise been retarded in their 
 progress by what I conceive to be an erroneous mode of proceeding. 
 When a Mission has been established in these parts, its progress, 
 during the first few years, has usually been surprisingly rapid. A 
 congregation has been collected, a church organized, and a village 
 erected, where before nothing was to be seen but unmitigated 
 savagery and heathenism. But in a few years the population of the 
 village becomes so large, and the stock of the people increases so 
 much, that there is no longer sufficient pasture for their herds ; 
 hence a material difficulty is placed in the way of further accessions 
 to the population, while the residents feel a temptation to go to' 
 other places to depasture their increasing herds. In a country like 
 KafFraria, other places can always be found. Now it has ever 
 appeared to me that, when this state of things arises, the resident 
 Missionary should select and obtain suitable spots within a reason- 
 able distance, and, dividing the Station people from time to time, 
 should form sub-Stations, with a school and chapel at each, erected, 
 at first, by the people, as the condition of the Missionary's arranging 
 all their affairs for them. Then, by an active system of itinerancy, 
 the Missionary should visit each one of these sub-Stations onc3 a 
 fortnight at least. Under this system, I doubt not but that each 
 Station would continue to multiply its numbers, and extend its 
 means of usefulness; for it is obvious that each sub-Station would, 
 in its locality, form a new and separate centre, from which light 
 would spread amongst the surrounding Heathen. These are not 
 new views with me. I have always advocated them, but some of my 
 brethren have not quite agreed with me. It is right to say there 
 are some difficulties and objections to the plan, which I do not 
 underrate, but I think they are not of sufficient importance to be 
 set against the obvious advantages of the above mode of operation. 
 I have discussed the matter at great length with some of the brethren, 
 in these parts ; and certain new arrangements which I have proposed,
 
 238 CHAPTEB X. 
 
 and which the Missionaries concerned seem willing to try, with a 
 desire to make them successful, will, I trust, at no distant period, 
 greatly extend the usefulness of these comparatively old, but very 
 important, Stations. 
 
 The Palmerton Mission Station I found greatly advanced and 
 improved since my last visit. The resident population of the village, 
 although considerable, is not so large as on the older Stations ; but 
 in all the external marks of improvement this native settlement has 
 attained to high distinction. I have seen nearly every Missionary 
 settlement beyond the borders of the Cape Colony ; but I do not 
 know one, belonging to any Society, in which the neatness, comfort, 
 and good order of this settlement have been exceeded ; and there are 
 few, indeed, which, in these respects, are equal to it. Mr. Jenkins's 
 efforts to promote the welfare of the people of his charge are beyond 
 all praise. He works very hard. With his assistance, and under 
 his superintendence, the people have already erected a considerable 
 number of very neat and commodious cottages ; and upwards of 
 twenty more had been commenced, and were in progress of erection. 
 He had taught many of them to make bricks, to build the walls, to 
 cut timber, to thatch the roofs, &c. ; and the result is, that as pretty 
 a village as you can imagine has grown up in this remote locality, 
 beyond the Umzimvubu River, in the midst of the large tribe of the 
 Chief Faku, and more than two hundred miles distant from the 
 nearest European settlement. While attending to the welfare of 
 the people, that which is more immediately the property of the 
 Mission has not been neglected. The commodious Mission-house, 
 suitable chapel, and neat school-house, have all been erected in a 
 substantial manner, and present a very pleasing appearance; the 
 effect of which is heightened by the flower, vegetable, and fruit 
 gardens, which are kept in excellent order. On the Sunday which 
 I spent here, the native congregations crowded the chapel ; and ab 
 the meeting of the Society, or church members, about one hundred 
 were present to receive the word of exhortation. All these were 
 once Heathens, but had been won over to the obedience of the faith, 
 either on this or on some other of our Mission Stations. 
 
 The Shawbury Station is situated much further inland on the
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 239 
 
 In'gher part of the Umzimvubu, but on its western side, on one of its 
 largest tributaries, called the Tsitsa; a noble stream, however 
 " unknown to song." The village is only about two miles above a 
 celebrated waterfall, which has now been ascertained to be three 
 hundred feet high, over which the whole river precipitates iteelf.- 
 forming a beautiful object in the landscape. The present sUtion 
 is, in reality, the last established of all our Missions in this part of 
 the country, as it was removed a few years ago from the original and 
 unfavourable site. I was much pleased with the progress of affairs 
 at this place also. Besides building himself a suitable cottage, the 
 Catechist, Mr. Hulley, had superintended the erection of a com- 
 modious chapel. These buildings stand on some elevated ground 
 at the upper end of the station, while the houses of the native 
 inhabitants are built on two ridges facing each other, with a small 
 stream running below the Mission premises, and between the ridges 
 occupied by the natives. After crossing the Tsitsa, the approach 
 to the Mission is up the small valley formed by the stream above 
 mentioned ; and altogether the effect is pleasing. The population 
 here is already very large, probably larger than at most of the other 
 stations. The natives have built improved huts, with upright walls, 
 i>ut covered in a manner similar to their own huts. As they have 
 whitewashed the walls, the appearance is much cleaner and more 
 pleasing than the native Kaffir hut, upon which it is a great advance. 
 "When it becomes general at the scattered kraals over the country, as 
 at the Umdumbi settlement, where the British Resident has induced 
 more than one hundred kraals to adopb this improved style of hut, 
 it entirely changes the appearance of the country ; for the traveller 
 sees the white walls of these dwellings dotted over all the lands, in 
 the scattered manner in which the Kaffir kraals are placed, and thus 
 the scene becomes at once more lively and pleasing. I attach a 
 good deal of importance to these things. It seems to me that we 
 ought to stimulate the native mind, and spread a love of improve- 
 ment among them. Itoccupies their thoughts with new and useful 
 subjects, and tends greatly to weaken their strong prejudices in 
 favour of ancient and superstitious habits. But, nevertheless, I do 
 not put these things instead of the Gospel; they must ar'ee out of
 
 240 CHAPTER X. 
 
 the new ideas which the preaching of the Gospel has introduced into- 
 the minds of the people; and it is only that portion of the natives 
 who have come more or less under the influence of the Gospel, that 
 show any inclination to adopt these improvements. The chapel at 
 this place also was crammed to excess by the native congregation, 
 even after the children of the school had been turned outside to make! 
 room. There was also here an attendance of about one hundred 
 members at the Society Meeting. 
 
 In this neighbourhood the remarks contained in a preceding part 
 of this letter find a strong illustration. It is impossible for all the 
 people who wish to reside here to find pasture for their cattle. 
 Hence Mr. Hulley has advised several parties of them to settle at 
 localities which are within convenient reach of the station. By this 
 means there are two or three sub-stations, visited on the Sundays 
 by the native Local Preachers ; and I feel assured, if these arrange- 
 ments are properly superintended, a great extension of the work 
 will result. The people who live in these parts are a different tribe 
 to those under Faku ; and, unfortunately, in consequence of old 
 native feuds, the tribes occasionally make predatory attacks on each 
 other. At these times many lives are sacrificed, and much property 
 carried off or destroyed. It is a great mistake to suppose that the 
 tribes live peacefully together, when undisturbed by European 
 intruders. On the contrary, the ordinary state of things in Kaffraria 
 among the tribes is to be " hateful and hating one another." To 
 the Missionaries, whose commission extends to them all, this 
 frequently occasions much embarrassment, as even the people who 
 reside on the Missions naturally sympathize with the tribes to which 
 they respectively belong. While the country is governed by 
 heathen chiefs, there is little reason to hope that native forays will 
 entirely cease. All that the Missionaries can do is, at all times to- 
 advise the Chiefs to live in peace ; and as to the Christian natives, 
 at least to impress upon them the propriety, of their confining their 
 warlike efforts strictly to defensive acts. 
 
 During my tour, I had interviews with the Chief Faku of the 
 Amampondo, the two principal Chiefs of the Amampondomsi, the 
 widow of the late Chief Ncapayi, and the principal people of the
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 241 
 
 Amabaca, and the Chief Joye and the widow of the late Umtirara, 
 the great rulers (during the minority of the young Chief Qeya) of the 
 Abatembu, or Tembookie nation. The whole of these Chiefs, to 
 whom I have long been known, received me kindly, and all seem 
 well affected towards the Missions and the Missionaries. Their con- 
 version to God would be a great event : for this the brethren labour 
 and pray ; but they do not yet see the desire of their hearts in this 
 respect. Faku is old, and apparently in a state of dotage. All the 
 others are in the vigour of life. I have promises from the dominant 
 Chiefs, that the son of Ncapayi, and the young Chief Qeya, who will 
 hereafter rule the Tembookies, are to be placed under my care, with 
 two or three youths of a similar age to attend with each of them, as 
 soon as I can make arrangements. I hope that we may train some 
 of the young Chiefs to adopt other ideas and modes of action than 
 those heretofore entertained and practised by their forefathers. I 
 regret that I missed seeing the Chief Krielie. He was near the 
 Clarkebury Station, and in communication with Mr. Thomas for 
 several days ; but business called him away to his residence in a 
 distant part of the country, before I reached Clarkebury ; and my 
 arrangements did not admit of my making so long a detour as would 
 have been required in order to visit him. 
 
 On Monday, June 25th, we again reached King "William's Town, 
 on our way homewards. We called at Peelton, a Station of the 
 London Missionary Society, and rested there for an hour or two. 
 The Rev. Mr. Birt, the Missionary, and his family, were from home 
 on a visit to the Colony ; but we were kindly received by the Rev. Mr. 
 Kayser, jun., who was supplying here for a time. This is a very 
 important and valuable Mission Station. In consequence of the 
 events of the last unhappy war, the Scottish Stations (United 
 Presbyterian Church) of Uniondale, Iqibika, and Chumie, were 
 "broken up ; and as the country where these Stations stood is no 
 longer occupied by the Kaffirs, they were not allowed by the then 
 Governor to be resumed : the consequence has been, that the Mis- 
 eionaries of that Church have retired from their work in British 
 Kaffraria, and the whole of the natives belonging to the three 
 abandoned Stations have united with those of Mr. Birt's original 
 
 B
 
 242 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Station ; and thus there is a very large population, a great propor 
 tion of whom have embraced Christianity. The state of the schools, 
 and of the church and congregation at this place, which is about 
 eight or ten miles north of King William's Town, indicates great 
 zeal and activity on the part of Mr. Birt, and reflects credit on the 
 Society to which he belongs. 
 
 We remained a few days at King William's Town ; and on Thurs- 
 day, the 28th of June, at the request of the Rev. George Chapman 
 and the Chapel Committee, I laid the foundation stone of a new 
 chapel at this place. According to the plans adopted by the Com- 
 mittee, it will be a handsome and commodious place of worship, 
 suitable to the capital of the province of British Kaffraria, which is 
 shortly to be established as a distinct British settlement, under its 
 own Lieu tenant- Governor, and other civil staff. 
 
 On the 30th of June, we reached the Mission Station at Middle 
 Drift, the residence of the Chief Kama. I was much pleased with 
 the rapid progress of this place since my visit here in September of 
 last year. Mr. Sargeant has been very active, and so have the 
 people. The Mission-house is completed, and is a substantial and 
 commodious structure; one portion of it, however, through the 
 entire length of the building, is at present used as a temporary 
 chapel. The Chief Kama's house, a good brick building, stands at 
 the head of the valley, and was erected for him at the cost of the 
 Government, as a mark of its approval of his steady and loyal con- 
 duct. His son, William S. Kama, has also erected himself a nice 
 cottage near the Mission-house ; while, following his example, some 
 of the Kaffirs have done the same, and others have erected the 
 improved kind of native huts. The whole are neatly whitewashed, 
 and placed in rows along the side of a gently sloping hill, overlook- 
 ing a beautiful valley where the cultivated lands are situated. This 
 Station was established since the late war, at the urgent request of 
 the late Sir George Cathcart, who promised me that he would find 
 means to pay the expenses of leading out the waters of the Keis- 
 kamma, to irrigate the lands of the Mission village. He left us and 
 proceeded to the Crimea before his kind intentions could be carried 
 into effect; but even in London he did not forget his promise, and
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 243 
 
 "the Government stand pledged to accomplish this important work, 
 which will be a great benefit to Kama and his tribe, as well as to 
 the Mission. I fear, however, that it will not be accomplished ex- 
 cepting by some kind of mechanical power, as the waters of the 
 Keiskamma, which ran around these lands, are very much below 
 the surface. The congregations were large on Sunday, the 1st of 
 July. Mr. Sargeant baptized about ten adult Kaffirs, and admitted 
 them by that; rite into the Christian church. We also this day cele- 
 brated the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, with a considerable 
 number of Kaffir communicants belonging to this place. 
 
 On the 3rd of July, according to appointment, Mr. Sargeant held 
 a Missionary Meeting. The Rev. Mr. Laing, of the Free Church, 
 and the Rev. Messrs. Kayser, sen. and jun., of the London Mis- 
 sionary Society, all attended, coming from their Stations for that 
 purpose ; the Rev. John Ayliff, from Heald Town, also came, together 
 with several other European friends from Alice, and elsewhere. 
 The meeting was numerously attended by the Kaffirs ; the Mission- 
 aries and several of the natives spoke with great effect. The Chief 
 Kama addressed his people in very appropriate terms, pointing out 
 what a blessing the Gospel had been to himself and his tribe. He 
 said, "When I was baptized, many of my heathen friends said, 
 ' What a fool he is ! He has now thrown away his chieftainship. 
 He will never be regarded in Kaffirland as anything, now that he has 
 become a Christian.' Now," says Kama, " is this true ? Have I 
 lost my chieftainship ? On the contrary, you know 1 have a name 
 in the country, and my followers have greatly increased. I know 
 that this is not attributable to me, but it is the Lord's doing." By 
 many more words to the same effect, he strove to impress the people 
 that they were under the greatest obligations to the Gospel and its 
 Missionaries, The collection was a respectable amount. It had 
 "been in the heart of Kama and others to propose a general contri- 
 bution of cattle through his tribe, towards paying the cost of a large 
 and substantial chapel, which it is requisite to build in this place ; 
 but the late dreadful epidemic among the horses and cattle has 
 fallen with peculiar severity upon him and his tribe. I feel assured 
 that they have already lost stock which cannot be valued at less 
 
 B 2
 
 244 CHAPTER X. 
 
 
 
 than from 15,000 to 20,000 sterling. The cattle are still dying : 
 both the Kaffirs and the Colonists are alike appalled at this dreadful 
 scourge. Under these circumstances it seems advisable to postpone 
 for a time the application to the tribe for a general gift of cattle to 
 be sold to pay the cost of their chapel. But this involves a serious 
 difficulty, since it is highly desirable the chapel should be erected 
 without further delay, as it is very much needed. There is every 
 probability that this Station will become a most important one in 
 its bearing on the spiritual welfare of this part of British Kaffraria. 
 After the Missionary Meeting, which was held in the forenoon, 
 was concluded, I proceeded, in company with Mr. Ayliff and other 
 friends, to Alice. On the 4th, after inspecting the work of our new 
 chapel now in course of erection here, and which is likely to be a 
 substantial and neat edifice, we accompanied Mr. Ayliff to HealdTown. 
 I was equally surprised and delighted with the decided progress of 
 this place. No doubt Mr. Ayliff will have reported to you the pro- 
 ceedings on occasion of laying the foundation stone of the building 
 for the Industrial School, which took place during my absence on 
 my journey. The building is to be very large and commodious. 
 Besides accommodation for the Missionary and family, and apart- 
 ments for the teacher, there will be dormitories, school-room, 
 work-room, &c., &c., for about one hundred boarders. The work is 
 progressing rapidly under Mr. AyliflTs active superintendence. He 
 has already about thirty boarders, consisting of very fine and 
 interesting-looking native boys and girla, who are lodged and 
 provided for in some temporary buildings. I visited the school, at 
 present conducted in the chapel, where I found these boarders, and 
 a considerable number of day-scholars, under the care of Miss Ayliff 
 and a Native Teacher. The exercises through which they passed 
 showed that much pains have already been bestowed upon them, and; 
 that they have commenced very hopefully in a course of Christian 
 training, through the medium of the English language, which, it is 
 agreed, is to be taught and used as the medium of intercourse in all 
 the Industrial Schools. Sir George Grey supplied me with the 
 means to carry on these buildings before he left the frontier for 
 Cape Town ; and Mr. Ayliff is managing their erection by means of
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEYS, 1853-1855. 245 
 
 European mechanics and numerous native labourers, according to a 
 plan drawn by the Civil Engineer of the Colony. After dining with 
 the family, I took leave of Mr. and Mrs. Ayliff, and in the evening 
 rode a few miles down a romantic valley, and arrived safely at Fort 
 Beaufort, where I had the pleasure of hearing the Rev. E. D 
 Hepburn preach in our neat chapel in the evening. As my wagon, 
 which was to come by another route, did not arrive so soon as 
 expected, I remained the next day at Fort Beaufort ; and was much 
 gratified to learn from Mr. Hepburn, that the state and prospects 
 of our work in this town were of an encouraging character. 
 
 On the 6th, we proceeded on our way, and arrived safely on 
 Saturday, the 7th of July, at Graham's Town, being exactly eleven 
 weeks since we started on our journey. During my absence I had 
 travelled in all about eleven hundred miles, about one half on horse- 
 back, and the other half in my travelling wagon. Amongst other 
 improvements since I have known this land, travelling is become 
 less difficult than it used to be. Over a large part of my route there 
 are now something like what are called roads in the Colony, whereas 
 I formerly travelled on mere tracks. I used on my journeys in 
 former days to be obliged to sleep very frequently on the ground 
 under a bush, or at best in a Kaffir hut, scarcely any improvement 
 on the former ; but on this journey I generally had the comfort of 
 sleeping in my travelling wagon, and only twice was reduced to the 
 necessity of sleeping in a hut. All this is pleasing as a sign of 
 progress, and I am not sure that I could now stand the same expo- 
 sure as formally. But the best of all is, I found everywhere, more 
 or less, evident signs and tokens that God is with us. A good and 
 a great work, without much noise or observation, is going forward 
 among those various tribes where our Missions are placed ; and I 
 believe, together with other Missions, they will be " found unto 
 praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." O 
 may we, and all our friends and supporters at home, be found faith* 
 ful, and we shall reap our great reward !
 
 246 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's Departure from the Colony, and Arrival in 
 England, 1856. 
 
 As soon as it became generally known that Mr. Shaw 
 was about to leave the Colony for England, valedictory 
 Addresses were presented to him ; the first by the Treasurers 
 and Stewards of the Graham's Town Society ; the second 
 by the members of his Class in Graham's Town ; and the 
 third by " some of the old Settlers of the District of 
 Albany, and other Inhabitants of the City of Graham's 
 Town." Copies of these expressions of genuine feeling we 
 subjoin. They are as creditable to the parties who thus 
 testified their regard for Mr. Shaw, as a Christian Pastor 
 and as a Patriotic Colonist, as they were richly deserved 
 by Mr. Shaw himself. 
 
 The first Address is from the "Wesleyan Church at 
 Graham's Town. We extract it from the "Graham's 
 Town Journal," of March 1st, 1856. It was delivered on 
 Friday, February 29th. 
 
 To THE EEV. WILLIAM SHAW, GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT or 
 WESLEYAN MISSIONS IN BRITISH SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA. 
 
 THE Leaders, Stewards, Trustees, and Local Preachers, 
 having been convened together in Special Meeting, take leave, 
 on behalf of the Society and Congregation of Commemoration 
 Chapel, to convey to you an expression of their heart-felt sorrow 
 at your departure from among them. They cannot forget that 
 you have laboured in their midst, with brief intermission, for
 
 DEPARTURE FROM THE COLONY. 247 
 
 the long period of thirty-six years, and that they have not only 
 had the benefit of your public ministrations, but also of your 
 private counsel, your example, and your prayers. They can, as 
 in the sight of God, bear their testimony to your unwearied 
 zeal, your faithful admonitions, your affectionate sympathy, and 
 your helping hand ; and they feel sensibly that your departure 
 from amongst them, though even with the prospect of a return, 
 is a misfortune to them which they are constrained unaffectedly 
 to deplore. 
 
 This feeling is heightened by the consideration, that the cause 
 of your removal is failing health. He who is the Author of 
 Life, who sustains in being, and directs our paths, has in His 
 inscrutable Providence seen fit to afflict you ; but we have the 
 consolation of knowing that He doth all things well, that He 
 will not lay upon His servants more than they are able to bear, 
 and that what we know not now we shall know hereafter. 
 
 In presenting you with this Farewell Address, we feel keenly 
 the poverty of language to convey to you our precise feelings, 
 or our full appreciation of your services in this community not 
 alone as a Christian Pastor, but as a British settler and as a 
 citizen. It would be unpardonable, were we to forget that you 
 came hither as the Pastor of a large body of British Immigrants 
 in 1820, and that, as a Christian Minister, you devoted yourself 
 with untiring zeal, not only to the members of your own Church, 
 but also to promote the temporal and spiritual welfare of the 
 whole Settlement, as well as of the regions of heathenism far 
 beyond it. The success of your labours, under God, is seen in 
 the chain of flourishing Missionary Institutions in Kaffirland, in 
 Natal, and in the Bechuana Country, in the numerous sacred 
 edifices which are found in almost every town or village of the 
 Eastern Province, andinthemultitudeofouryouth, who, under 
 your auspices, have been taught to " fear God and honour the 
 Queen" to listen to "the Oracles Divine," and to make the
 
 248 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Bible, and the Bible alone, the only standard of their faith and 
 practice. 
 
 In taking your departure from us, we desire to assure you of 
 our undying affection. Some of us have been your companions 
 during the course of many years ; we have been witnesses of 
 your abundant labours, have shared in your hopes and fears, 
 and rejoiced in the prosperity of every hill of Zion. A still 
 larger number have grown up around you. They have had the 
 benefit of your instruction and example, they regard you as a 
 kind, but watchful parent, and will unite with the elder mem- 
 bers of the Church in fervent supplication that God will protect 
 you, cause His face to shine upon you, and give you abiding 
 peace. 
 
 In offering you this faint expression of regard, and in bidding 
 you for a season Farewell, they beg you to accept as a small 
 token of affection the accompanying purse. It contains the free- 
 will offerings of a grateful people. These contributions have 
 been made for your own special, exclusive use, without any 
 reference whatever to Connexional funds, and with the hope 
 that this gift, as trifling as it is in proportion to the occasion, 
 may in some degree contribute to your comfort, and, above all, 
 to the restoration of your declining health. 
 
 We would fain linger in our Address, were it not from a con- 
 viction that after all we should come far short in conveying to 
 you all we would wish to express. We only add, therefore, our assur- 
 ance, that you carry with you our most affectionate regards, and 
 that we will not fail to offer for you our petitions to a Throne of 
 Grace. Our united and fervent prayer is, that God, in His good 
 Providence, may grant you a prosperous journey ; that Ee will 
 give the winds and waves charge concerning you ; that He may 
 carry you to your destination in the fulness of the blessings of 
 the Gospel of peace ; that He will make you a blessing in the 
 Fatherland, and that in due time, in the enjoyment 01 restored
 
 DEPAETURE FROM THE COLONY. 249 
 
 health, He will send you back to us to resume your useful 
 labours in this country. 
 
 EEPLY. 
 
 DEAR FEIENDS AND CHRISTIAN BRETHREN, The affectionate 
 terms in which you have been pleased to address me, on behalf 
 of yourselves, and the Society and congregation of the Com- 
 memoration Chapel, is very grateful to my feelings, now that, 
 after so long a sojourn amongst you, the Providence of God seems 
 to indicate that I ought, at least for a season, to remove far away 
 from you. 
 
 I have been privileged to spend my youth and the vigour of 
 my days in your midst, and God is my witness that I have never 
 sought yours, but you, the aim of my life has been to promote 
 your religious welfare, and to advance the interests of our com- 
 mon Christianity amongst all classes in the extensive field com- 
 prised in the Eastern Province and the regions beyond. But 
 while I know the motives which have actuated me in the 
 exercise of my public ministry amongst you, yet I am deeply 
 sensible that the warm and generous terms in which you have 
 been pleased to express your sense of the utility of my labours, 
 arises from the affectionate friendship which is ever apt to 
 exaggerate the good qualities and useful services of its object. 
 I assure you that I have never been seli-satisfied, and am less 
 so at this moment than at any previous period of my life. I 
 have come very far short of my own idea of what the Christian 
 Minister and Missionary ought to be. However, I must bear 
 testimony to your unvarying kindness, and to the readiness you 
 have generally shown to bear with my shortcomings. What I 
 am I am by the grace of God ; and if He has given me favour in 
 your eyes, and rendered my ministry a blessing, to His Holy 
 Name I desire to ascribe all praise and glory. 
 
 For many years past, my frequent absence on long Missionary
 
 250 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 journeys, and my multifarious engagements arising from the 
 office which the Conference and Missionary Committee imposed 
 upon me, have precluded me from discharging many of the duties 
 of the Christian Pastor among you. I have therefore rather 
 stood in the relation of an occasional preacher, and as having the 
 General Superintendence of our whole work in this extensive 
 region, than as your resident Pastor. But this alteration in 
 our relation to each other, although necessarily greatly limiting 
 the opportunities for our private and personal intercourse, has 
 not prevented you from displaying towards me on all occa- 
 sions an undiminished affectionate regard, for which I have ever 
 felt truly grateful. 
 
 It would be unbecoming in me at this time not to advert to 
 the help and comfort I have derived in my work in this country, 
 from that band of faithful labourers in the ministry with whom 
 I have been associated in the duties and responsibilities of our 
 common pastorate. I know you respect and love them for their 
 work's sake, and I can assure you they fully deserve your sup- 
 port and sympathy. It is very consolatory to my mind that I 
 leave amoiigst you a body of Ministers who are not a whit 
 behind the Ministers of any other Church in Southern Africa, 
 in whatever pertains to Ministerial and Missionary efficiency. 
 It is pleasing also to reflect that our Educational Establishments 
 were never in a more promising state, nor were our congrega- 
 tions ever more numerous than at the present time. The great 
 want is a richer effusion of the Spirit of Grace, to render effec- 
 tual the various religious ordinances established among you ; 
 and this will, I trust, be abundantly bestowed ere long in answer 
 to your faith and prayers. 
 
 The considerate kindness which has prompted the freewill 
 offerings of a generous people, and which you have presented to 
 me in this purse, would have caused me some embarrassment, if 
 I did not consider that, after so long a service among you, I may
 
 DEPAETUEE FEOM THE COLONY. 251 
 
 accept this token of your and their love without any compromise 
 of that self-respect and independence of character which I have 
 always, for your sakes, no less than for my own, endeavoured 
 to maintain. This gift is therefore gratefully accepted, and it 
 will be employed, as you desire, in ministering to my personal 
 convenience and comfort while travelling, with the view and in 
 the hope of regaining, under the blessing of God, some measure 
 of my usual good health. 
 
 You have referred to my having first come to this country with 
 the British Settlers of 1820. I have no higher ambition than 
 to be called and remembered as the British Settlers' Minister, for 
 the events of the years which have passed away have only tended 
 to deepen the conviction which I entertained from the first 
 formation of this Settlement : That if we and our descendants 
 are faithful to the call of Providence, history will hereafter 
 record, that the spread of Christianity and the ultimate estab- 
 lishment of peaceful government throughout the whole of Africa 
 south of the Tropic, resulted, in a great degree, from that 
 arrangement of Divine Providence which brought so many 
 British settlers at one time to these shores. It is pleasing to 
 see so many of the original settlers with whom I have wept 
 and rejoiced, and offered prayer and praise still surviving. 
 Our number is, however, rapidly diminishing, and soon the last 
 of us will be gone to our final account. But instead of the 
 fathers will be the children ; and it is indeed delightful to see a 
 numerous race rising up, many of whom are, I trust, imbued 
 with the spirit of pure piety, and who will carry forward the 
 good work begun in the days of their fathers. I feel deeply 
 interested for the rising race. May they all receive the truth 
 in the love thereof, and glorify God in their day and genera- 
 tion ! 
 
 And now, my dear friends, wishing you and your families 
 every blessing of life and godliness, I will conclude this address
 
 252 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 in the words of the holy Apostle St. Paul, "Finally, brethren, 
 farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, 
 live in peace ; and the God of Love and Peace shall be with 
 you." 
 
 The second Address was from the members of Mr. 
 Shaw's Class in Graham's Town, much of the same tenor, 
 and accompanied by a present of useful articles required 
 for a voyage to England. 
 
 The third was an Address prepared by a Committee 
 appointed at a public meeting held in Graham's Town on 
 Friday, the 29th of February, 1856. It was from "some 
 of the old Settlers of the District of Albany, and other 
 Inhabitants of the City of Graham's Town." It was 
 accompanied by a purse of seventy-four pounds sterling, 
 and was presented by Mr. J. Temlett, Mr. Edward Jarvis, 
 and Dr. Eddie. 
 
 EEVEBEND SIB, Although we are not connected with the 
 very respectable and influential Society of which you have been 
 so many years a distinguished member, we cannot allow you 
 to leave Graham's Town, after a residence of nearly thirty-five 
 years on this frontier, without offering you our very humble 
 testimony of the very high estimation in which we hold your 
 services both as a Christian Minister and a good citizen, and 
 without bidding you, " Hail and Farewell." 
 
 We would also wish to acknowledge the very great services 
 which you have uniformly rendered to this community by your 
 steady and consistent support, without reference to either sect 
 or party, of every public institution which had for its object the 
 welfare and improvement of any section of the community, 
 and also as a sincere and consistent friend of the native 
 population.
 
 DEPARTURE FROM THE COLONY. 253 
 
 We beg leave to assure you of our sympathy with you under 
 the afflictions with which it pleased Providence to visit you ; and 
 we beg to assure you of our very good wishes that your intended 
 visit to your native country may be the means of completely 
 restoring you to health, and that you may return safely, with 
 renewed vigour, to renew your labours in the sphere which you 
 have so long and so worthily filled. 
 
 JAMES TEMLETT, 
 
 Graham's Toicn, W. C. EDDIE, 
 
 February 29fA, 1856. GEORGE JABVIS. 
 
 THE REPLY. 
 
 GENTLEMEN, The Address which you have so kindly 
 presented to me, on behalf of some of the old settlers of the 
 district of Albany and other inhabitants of the city of Graham's 
 Town, is very gratifying to my feelings, proceeding, as I have 
 substantial reason for believing it does, from a sincere regard 
 for my welfare. 
 
 During my long residence amongst you, I have invariably 
 received from the British settlers and other inhabitants the 
 most marked proofs of their good feeling towards me ; and now 
 that I am about to leave this country, at least for a season, I 
 am thankful to find that I am likely still to live in the kindly 
 regards and remembrances of my fellow citizens and country- 
 men. 
 
 I fear that you estimate too highly any services that I may 
 have rendered to the public institutions of the country ; but 
 you do me no more than justice when you speak of them as 
 having been uninfluenced by sectarian or party feelings. My 
 motto has hitherto been, " The friend of all, the enemy of 
 none;" and I have never been more pleased than when we
 
 254 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 have been enabled to find some common ground' on which we 
 could advantageously act together for the good of all. 
 
 Accept my best thanks for your sympathy and good wishes. 
 If it should please Divine Providence to restore me to health, 
 I trust I may yet again be privileged to return to this country, 
 and spend the evening of my days among the people whose 
 kindness I can never forget, and for whose welfare and happiness 
 I can never cease to offer my humble prayers to Him who is 
 the Author and Giver of every good and perfect gift. 
 
 Leaving Graham's Town, Mr. Shaw proceeded to Port 
 Elizabeth, whence he sailed to Cape Town, in each place 
 receiving the kindest attention from the Missionaries and 
 Colonists of all ranks and positions. On the 29th of 
 March he embarked for England. From a journal kept 
 for the information of bis daughter, Mrs. Impey, in 
 Graham's Town, we extract the following particulars, 
 which, if not in themselves of great importance, yet will 
 be valued as exhibiting Mr. Shaw's ministerial walk and 
 conversation on ship-board, ever ready to discharge his 
 duties as a Christian Minister. 
 
 Saturday, March 29i/t, 1856. I embarked at the jetty, and 
 went on board of the Indiaman, " Owen Glendower," W. Pare 
 Commander. Eev. William Moister, who had gone on board 
 with me two or three days previously, and kindly directed the 
 fittings up of my cabin, came into Cape Town from his residence 
 at Mowbray, and went on board with me. I was also accom- 
 panied by my respected friends, Messrs. Godlonton, Wright, 
 and Shepperson, who were attending their Parliamentary duties 
 in Cape Town, and also by Mr. Davidson, of Cape Town, who 
 had rendered me some kind service in fitting up my cabin. 
 After completing several of the fittings, &c., Mr. Moister and
 
 DEPARTURE FROM THE COLONY. 255 
 
 the friends left me. Before doing so, however, Mr. Moister 
 commended me to God in prayer, and I offered a few words in 
 supplication for my dear friends and their families. We then 
 took an affectionate leave of each other, and I watched them 
 till they had gone to a considerable distance from the vessel. 
 I now felt that I was fairly embarked, and had taken leave of 
 all my South African friends. However, Messrs. George Wood 
 and Joseph Cawood afterwards came on board to bid me a kind 
 farewell. 
 
 There is a large number of persons on board, amounting 
 together, including the crew, officers, troops (invalids), and 
 passengers, to more than two hundred souls. The passengers 
 from India consist of one Major, one Captain, and one 
 Lieutenant of the East India Company's Service, and one 
 Captain and one Lieutenant of Her Majesty's Service. Of 
 these officers the Major and one of the Lieutenants are married, 
 and have their wives with them. There are several ladies taking 
 their children to England for education. They are the wives 
 of officers of the East India Company's Service, also a wife of 
 one of the Company's (Chaplains and her sister-in-law, the widow 
 of another Chaplain. The passengers from the Cape are 
 Messrs. Zegelmann, Vercy, Borcherds, and myself; all 
 without wives or families, Borcherds being a young man, and 
 the others having left their families. Altogether, including 
 the Commander and two Chief Officers, we sit down to dinner 
 daily in the cuddy to the number of twenty-three, forming a 
 rather large dinner party. 
 
 Among the cuddy passengers there is a German Missionary, 
 with his wife and children. His name is Albrecht. He has 
 been about fourteen years in India at a station in the interior, 
 and is now returning, partly on account of his wife's health, 
 and also to have a surgical operation performed on himself. 
 He appears to be a man of considerable learning and of sincere,
 
 256 CHAPTEK XI. 
 
 but perhaps austere, piety ; and I doubt not has been a useful 
 Missionary. He asked me to take the service this forenoon y 
 which it appears he has generally conducted on Sundays. I 
 declined doing so to-day, as I wished first to form some 
 acquaintance with men and things on board, before com- 
 mencing my efforts to do good. The ship was in some confusion, 
 as is always the case in port after shipping stores, &c. ; hence 
 the service was held in the cuddy for the passengers only. 
 Mr. Albrecht read the Liturgy, and preached a very good 
 sermon, on the Saviour's thrice repeated question to Peter, 
 " Lovest thou Me ? " He was obliged to read his sermon, not 
 feeling sufficiently fluent in his English to preach extempore. 
 I endeavoured to profit, and I believe I did derive spiritual 
 instruction and benefit from this service. We arranged that I 
 should preach on the next Sunday forenoon, and thenceforward 
 take the service, alternately. 
 
 Monday, March 31st. I visited the sick bay this forenoon, in 
 which there are several soldiers suffering from various diseases. 
 I spoke with each of them, standing by the side of his hammock. 
 After a few kind words of inquiry, I gave to each such advice 
 as I thought might be useful, to all which they listened very 
 attentively. When about to pray with them, I requested the 
 other soldiers to remain still and silent ; for there is no parti- 
 tion between those who are tolerably well and the sick, only the 
 latter occupy one corner of the large space assigned as the 
 barrack or sleeping deck for the troops. The whole of the 
 soldiers behaved with the greatest propriety, and thanked me 
 for my visit. The troops on board consist of about one hundred 
 men, chiefly of H. M. 64th and 74th Regiments. One side of 
 the deck is assigned to each of these corps, under their respec- 
 tive non-commissioned officers. All is kept as neatly and as 
 cleanly as could possibly be expected ; and as they do not sleep 
 in berths, but in hammocks, which are taken on deck every
 
 DEPARTURE FROM THE COLONY. 257 
 
 morning, the space during the day is well ventilated, and 
 sufficiently light to enable the men to read or attend to anything 
 while below, as well as when they go on the forecastle. Henca 
 I left a number of tracts for the men of the hospital, and also 
 to be read by the other men whenever they are disposed, pro- 
 mising to exchange them for other interesting and instructive 
 tracts from time to time. 
 
 Tuesday, April 1st. Among the sick men visited yesterday 
 there was one poor fellow who had been prostrated by an 
 attack of paralysis some months ago, whereby he had been 
 deprived of the use of his lower extremities. He appeared to 
 me to be in a very feeble state ; but he replied to my questions 
 with evident interest in the purport of them, and listened to 
 my appeals to him in a manner that showed he wished to catch 
 every word. About eleven o'clock this forenoon Dr. Johnson, 
 the ship's surgeon, told me this poor man was much worse, 
 and he thought he could scarcely survive the day, and that he 
 had expressed a wish that I would go and pray with him. Of 
 course I took my Bible under my arm, and walked off to the 
 sick bay immediately. I found this man evidently dying. He 
 could not speak ; but he understood all I said to him, as he 
 signified to me by nodding his head, and other signs. After 
 exhorting him, and directing him to look to the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, the Friend of sinners, I read aloud the fifty-first Psalm, 
 and prayed, concluding by placing my hand on the head of the 
 dying man, and pronouncing upon him the Apostolic blessing. 
 The scene was impressive. I felt the engagement to be a very 
 solemn one, and profitable to my own soul. The soldiers all 
 stood up, and were as silent as death ; but I believe they were 
 all alive to the serious nature of the service, and I trust some 
 of them may have received good impressions. As I passed 
 through them, they all thanked me for my attention to their 
 dying comrade, and one or two begged that I would preach to 
 
 8
 
 258 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 them, which I promised to do on the following Sunday. One 
 man, who is blind, spoke to me on the deck, and told me he 
 had been a member of our Society at Madras and Bangalore ; 
 but that he had been sent with his Eegiment to the war in 
 Burmah, where, from his deprivation of the ordinary means of 
 grace, he had lost much of the spirit of piety, and he had not 
 lately received his quarterly ticket of membership. I gave him 
 suitable advice. He has a wife on board, a Hindoo-Briton, a 
 well behaved young woman, who attends one of the ladies. In 
 the evening I was informed that the poor paralytic soldier had 
 died a few hours after I left him. 
 
 Sunday, April 6th. The passengers, crew, and troops, with 
 the officers, all assembled on the quarter-deck, and exactly at 
 half-past ten o'clock a young midshipman in full dress came 
 to my cabin door, to announce " Five bells, and all ready for 
 prayers, Sir, on deck." I at once ascended the ladder, and, 
 going on deck, found the capstan neatly covered with flags, the 
 awning spread, and a congregation of not less than one hun- 
 dred and fifty persons, waiting for the service. I read the 
 Liturgy, and then preached from Psalm xxxiv. 8 : "0 taste 
 and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that 
 trusteth in Him." I endeavoured to adapt my sermon to my 
 audience. I did not occupy more than half an hour in my 
 discourse, including a brief reference to the case of the poor 
 soldier who had been buried during the past week. I soon 
 obtained the most complete and apparently serious attention of 
 the soldiers and sailors. The Captain noticed this, and he said 
 he had never seen anything like it before on board his ship. 
 "Why," said he, "my fellows never moved a muscle all the 
 while you were preaching." 
 
 In the afternoon I went among the soldiers, and also talked 
 with many of their wives and children, distributing tracts, 
 which I had purchased at Cape Town for the purpose. I was
 
 DEPARTURE FROM THE COLONY. 259 
 
 glad to find that I had already secured the good opinion of all 
 classes on board. I took advantage of it to offer to preach to 
 the soldiers in the evening, between decks, at six o'clock. 
 They gladly consented, and when I went at the proper hour, I 
 found they had cleared away a good large space, and suspended 
 two or three lanterns to give us light ; I therefore imme- 
 diately commenced service, by giving out one of our hymns. I 
 pitched the tune at a venture, not being sure that any one 
 would join in the singing ; but I was delighted to find myself 
 soon aided in this part of the service by several men and 
 women, who sang heartily as to the Lord. The next hymn I left 
 them to sing themselves, and the blind man mentioned before, 
 who has a fine tenor voice, pitched a good old Methodist tune, 
 and thus I have secured the services of a leading singer for the 
 rest of the time while I conduct services on board this ship. 
 I preached a short sermon, plain and pointed, on, "Besist the 
 devil, and he will flee from you : draw nigh to God, and He will 
 draw nigh to you." Captain Cunningham and some others 
 from the cuddy had followed me to this service unknown to 
 me, as they stood behind me. There was something picturesque 
 in the scene. I stood in the midst of a circle of soldiers and 
 their wives, the beams of the vessel just overhead ; the candles 
 in the lanterns barely rendering darkness visible in the remoter 
 parts, but throwing a strong glare on other points. The 
 contrast of light and shade would have pleased a painter's eye 
 no less than my mind was encouraged and delighted to notice 
 the eager attention with which the men listened to my words. 
 At the close of the service they thanked me, and would have 
 flattered me, if I could have permitted it ; but my point is so 
 far gained that this service is to be held every Sunday night. 
 
 Monday, April 7th. Finding that there are several persons 
 who would be thankful to meet in the evening for prayer and 
 reading the Scripture, and there being no more commodious 
 
 8 2
 
 260 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 place available, I offered the use of my cabin for those who 
 would join me in a short service at eight o'clock every evening. 
 It has given me great satisfaction to find that Mr. Gray, the 
 second officer of the ship, a very fine and well educated young 
 man, is seriously disposed, and that by his efforts one or two of 
 the other young officers and midshipmen are desirous of join- 
 ing with him in reading and prayer. He is a cousin of Dr. Gray, 
 the Bishop of Cape Town, and visited Mrs. Gray while the ship 
 was in Table Bay, the Bishop being absent at the time on a 
 trip to Tristan D'Acunha. 
 
 This evening we commenced the proposed meeting, at which 
 Mrs. Eose, Captain Cunningham, and Messrs. Gray and 
 Berridge, ship's officers, attended, besides Mr. Albrecht and 
 myself. It was agreed that Mr. Albrecht and myself should 
 conduct the service alternately. He proposed to read through 
 and lecture on St. John's Gospel, and I read and lecture on 
 the Epistle to the Hebrews. I hope this may prove a blessing- 
 to others as well as myself. 
 
 Saturday, April 12z/t. Our evening meetings are likely to 
 prove interesting and useful. Besides those who came at first,. 
 several others have requested leave to attend, and those who 
 cannot crowd into my small cabin sit around its door, where 
 they can hear. As Captain Cunningham's cabin is larger than 
 mine, and affords more accommodation, he has offered it, which 
 we have accepted ; for, his cabin being on the windward side, he 
 can have his port holes open more frequently than is quite 
 safe in my cabin. The weather is becoming so intensely hot 
 and sultry that fresh air is a great blessing, and we secure as 
 much of it as our circumstances will allow. 
 
 Sunday, April 12th. Mr. Albrecht preached on deck, and in 
 the evening I held a service with the passengers and officers of 
 the ship in the cuddy. The practice had b^en to read prayers in 
 the evening, also ; but, with all my veneration for the Liturgy, I
 
 DEPARTURE FROM THE COLONY. 261 
 
 do not like to be restricted to it. I love to hear it used once on 
 the Sabbath ; but I think that extemporaneous prayers may be 
 more freely indulged at the other services, and it is the use of 
 loth methods by the same congregation on the Sabbath which 
 appears to me to be the perfection of the form of public worship. 
 As all the passengers, &c., are professedly Episcopalians, I 
 thought it best so far to meet their prejudices as to read the 
 Collect, and Epistle, and Gospel for the day ; and I delivered a 
 short lecture on the latter, concluding all by an extemporaneous 
 prayer. The cuddy was full, and all seemed to be pleased ; and, 
 if I may judge from subsequent conversations with some, good 
 impressions were made. 
 
 Monday, April 21st. Yesterday forenoon proved to be so 
 rainy that we could not hold the usual service on deck, and I 
 therefore read prayers and preached in the cuddy. In the 
 evening I went forward to the soldiers' quarters, and sent 
 previously a message to the sailors, that they could join our 
 worship there. I had a large and very attentive congregation, 
 to whom I preached on, " I will be sorry for my sin." (Psalm 
 xxxviii. 18.) Some of the military and also the ship's officers 
 attended. This morning, 21st, we crossed the line about seven 
 o'clock, in longitude 23 west. It is matter of great thank- 
 fulness that we have so far had a most pleasant and speedy run. 
 To reach the Line from Table Bay in a few hours over twenty- 
 one days is considered very good sailing. 
 
 Sunday, May 4th. It was my turn to have preached on deck 
 this forenoon, but the weather proved so windy, and the ship 
 consequently unsteady, it was deemed best to hold the service in 
 the cuddy. Thursday, having been Ascension Day, I preached 
 to the officers and passengers on the Ascension of Christ, and as 
 there are some who are inclined to scepticism, my observations 
 were partly directed to the fact itself and its evidence, and, in a 
 short application, to the use we ought to make of it. I believe
 
 262 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 this discourse will be remembered by some. May it prove use- 
 ful to all ! As Mr. Albrecht is unwell, and unable to conduct 
 worship, I went forward to the soldiers' quarters again in the 
 evening. The attendance of soldiers and sailors was again 
 highly satisfactory. 
 
 Monday, May 12th. We continued for several days last week 
 to run rapidly on our course ; but on Friday we met with a 
 reverse, the wind shifting to the eastward, and blowing since 
 that day very strong, bringing cold weather, which makes us all 
 put on warm clothing. The vessel has also to contend with a 
 head sea, as she is steered as near to the wind as possible, to 
 prevent our being driven away to the westward. There is, 
 however, some improvement this morning. We are now 
 about 40 N. latitude, and have just passed the most westerly 
 of the Azores. A moderately fair and fine wind would bring 
 us within sight of the English shore in less than ten days. 
 The weather was too boisterous yesterday to admit of public 
 worship being held on the quarter-deck. Mr. Albrecht there- 
 fore preached in the cuddy to the officers and passengers, while 
 I went forward, and preached to the military officers and 
 soldiers, and a portion of the sailors, in the forecastle. Being 
 Whitsunday, I preached from the lesson of the day, Cornelius 
 the Centurion : a subject suitable for an address to military 
 men. In the evening, I held a short service in the cuddy, and 
 exhorted on the words, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost 
 since ye believed ? " Having proved my points from the Bible, 
 I told the ladies and gentlemen, that as nearly all of them pro- 
 fess to belong to the Episcopal Church, I would show from 
 their own Prayer-Book, that the views I had given them of the 
 office of the Holy Spirit in the work of conversion and sanctifi- 
 cation, were in exact accordance with the language contained 
 in the formularies of their own Church. I then read from 
 various parts of the Prayer-Book a number of beautiful and
 
 DEPAETUKE FROM THE COLONY. 263 
 
 Scriptural passages, fully establishing my assertions. They all 
 listened with much attention. May they receive good from 
 what they heard ! 
 
 Monday, May 19th. Preached in the cuddy in the forenoon 
 yesterday, the vessel rolling about so fearfully that it was 
 impossible to assemble the people on the quarter-deck. In 
 the evening, at their earnest request, I went forward, and 
 preached to the soldiers and sailors ; but the motion of the 
 ship was so great that I could not stand, but preached sitting : 
 more than once several of my hearers were thrown from their 
 seats. There was, however, very great attention paid, as it was 
 thought this would be the last time I should preach to them, 
 since we hope to reach Gravesend before next Sunday. 
 
 Friday, May %3rd. A boat boarded us last evening, and 
 offered to pilot us, but the Captain declined. This boat left us 
 " The Times " of May 9th. It is full of the various arrange- 
 ments as to the troops, &c., consequent on the peace ; but 
 nothing can be collected from it as to the terms on which 
 peace has been made, excepting that they seem to be satis- 
 factory to the nation. Before I returned to my cabin, I saw 
 the beautiful revolving light on Beechy Head. The night was 
 calm and clear, wind fair, how was I surprised therefore, on 
 rising at six o'clock, to find that we were close to the French 
 shore ! It appears that they had kept too far off the English 
 coast to avoid the Point of Dungeness, and, through some 
 error, had run too far away. Providentially we fell in with 
 some French fishing-boats. Our first officer, who had charge 
 of the watch, asked, " How does Dungeness bear ?" and they 
 answered in broken English, " This is the coast of France." 
 It was in the very neighbourhood where a large East India 
 ship was lost in a gale of wind three or four years ago. The 
 Frenchman came on board, and engaged to pilot us over to 
 Dover. We made the coast to the south of Boulogne, and were
 
 264 CHAPTEB XI. 
 
 near enough to see the tower of the Boulogne Cathedral. The 
 commander is greatly vexed ; but we ought all to feel grateful 
 to Divine Providence, as in bad weather, or even a fog like 
 that of yesterday morning, we should have been run ashore, 
 and probably all have perished. But the weather is mild and 
 clear, and we are once more getting sight of the English 
 coast. We hope still to reach the Downs this evening ; but we 
 have lost some eight hours of time by this error in steering. 
 The Frenchman can only speak a few words of English. He 
 said rather expressively, " I not here you go a little further 
 no ship, no passengers ! " He meant to say, all would have 
 been lost ; and it is somewhat singular that only one person 
 on board can speak French intelligibly, viz., Lieutenant Davies, 
 formerly of the Cape Mounted Eifles, but now of the 74th 
 Eegiment. He is obliged to act as interpreter. On reaching 
 Dover, we were met by one of Mr. Green's steamers, the " Owen 
 Glendower " being one of his ships. She took us in tow, and 
 we passed the Downs, Eamsgate, Margate, &c., in grand style, 
 and brought up for the night just below Sheerness. 
 
 Saturday, May 24fA. Started again in tow of the steamer, 
 early in the morning, and cast anchor at Gravesend about 
 twelve o'clock. The troops were landed, and on parting I 
 received many thanks from these men for my attentions to 
 them on the voyage, and some said they would never forget 
 what I had said to them in my sermons. May they not only 
 remember, but be led into the way of salvation thereby ! 
 
 We missed the train to London, and were obliged to cross 
 the river again to go by a railway train from the other side ; 
 just arrived in time, and started by this comfortable and rapid 
 mode of transit to London. We entered London on the 
 Stepney side, and for a mile or two seemed to be riding amongst 
 a forest of chimney-pots, and over the tops of as ugly a col- 
 lection of houses and buildings as can be conceived of. The
 
 ARBIVAL IN ENGLAND. 265 
 
 station where we alighted is in Fenchurch Street ; reached the 
 Mission House about five o'clock Secretaries all gone home ; 
 met Mr. Adams, and obtained the address of Hudson's, 42, 
 Bow Lane, where I went to board and lodge for a few days. 
 Met here Eev. Mr. Corlett, Chairman of the Demerara District, 
 an old Missionary, and very pleasant man. He is on a visit to 
 England with his son. 
 
 Sunday, May 25th. Attended Divine service at the chapel 
 where the family usually go, Jewin Street. Heard an excellent 
 sermon from Eev. J. H. James. Visited the Sunday school in 
 the afternoon, the numbers not quite as great as at our English 
 Sunday school at Graham's Town ; the teachers apparently 
 much devoted to their work. In the evening, at Jewin Street, 
 heard a young man from the Institution. No one could tell me 
 his name. A very admirable discourse, exhibiting consider- 
 able intellectual power, but a shade too much of the theologi- 
 cal lecture and academical manner, for popular instruction; 
 but this is natural in a young student. Mr. James knew me, 
 and said, if he had known I should have been at the chapel, 
 he would have urged me to preach. I told him it would have 
 been useless, as I had no intentions of preaching in London 
 for a while. He said it was useless, then, to ask me to preach 
 for him in the evening at another chapel. I said, "Entirely so." 
 He is become a preacher of mora than common powers, and 
 will rise to eminence in our body. 
 
 Monday, May 26?/i. I was much shocked, on Saturday 
 evening, to learn that Dr. Beecham was dead. I feel this to 
 be a great drawback on the pleasure of my visit to England, 
 as he was one of the very few persons in London with whom 
 I was particularly acquainted. I went off to the Mission House, 
 and met Mr. Hoole and Mr. Osborn. I remained with them 
 about half an hour. They received me in a very friendly 
 manner ; expressed surprise and pleasure to see me looking so
 
 266 CHAPTBB XI. 
 
 well, and so much younger than they had imagined. The 
 voyage has certainly been of great service to me. Mr. Hoole 
 gave me some details about Dr. Beecham's sickness and death, 
 which I need not repeat, as I dare say they have been published. 
 
 Tuesday, May 27th. Visited Mission House this morning, 
 and was introduced to Mr. Arthur, who had been away in the 
 country when I called yesterday. He expressed his surprise 
 that I was not looking old and white-headed. I cannot but 
 observe that every one seems to imagine that I am much older 
 than I really am ; but I presume this arises from my having 
 married when very young, and my name having been so long 
 before the public in connexion with South Africa. 
 
 Wednesday, May 28th. Decided that I will remain with 
 William for some time.* They can spare me a very nice little 
 bed-room, a little larger than that in which I was wont of late 
 to sleep in the Mission-house at Graham's Town. It is on the 
 second floor of the house, and has an enchanting prospect from 
 its window. I am to be at " Liberty Hall," and to go and come 
 just as I like. This is exactly suited to my wishes, and I think 
 I shall be happy and comfortable with them ; I can get back- 
 wards and forwards to London whenever I like, any day, by the 
 omnibus at a small charge. Went to the Mission House, and 
 thence with Mr. Adams to the East India Dock, to see after my 
 luggage : we went and returned by rail in a short time. The 
 agent was out of the way, so effected nothing. There is con- 
 siderable delay and difficulty in getting luggage passed by the 
 Customs officers. 
 
 Thursday, May Z9th. This day had been appointed for the 
 celebration of the Queen's birthday, and the Eestoration of 
 Peace. All London put on her best appearance. I went to 
 the City and the West End to see the preparations for the 
 general illumination. I was disappointed in regard to the 
 * The Eev. William Maw Shaw, then residing at Highgate.
 
 ABRIVAL IN ENGLAND. 267 
 
 taste displayed by the Londoners. Very few of the devices 
 seemed to have anything remarkably striking or beautiful ; but 
 the effect of the whole from the size of London and the cha- 
 racter of many of its public buildings was of course grand. 
 I was anxious to see the parade at the Horse Guards ; but 
 owing to a mistake in getting into a wrong omnibus, I was too 
 late before I arrived, and the populace had so completely filled 
 up all the space where the troops could be seen, that I saw very 
 little beyond the bear- skin caps of the Grenadiers, and the 
 gentlemen and cavalry on horseback. The music of the 
 bands was something wonderful. I could get no sight of Prince 
 Albert or the Staff, beyond seeing the brilliant group over the 
 heads of the people at some distance. After the grand display 
 was over, ;I got a little nearer view of the troops and their 
 bands, as they defiled to their respective barracks. The number 
 was small, I think not more than six or seven hundred. They 
 were all of the Household Troops, and looked superb in their 
 new uniforms. I noticed that the Foot Guards, with the ex- 
 ception of here and there a man bearing the Crimean Medal, 
 were nearly all young men, evidently very recently enlisted, I 
 suppose, to make up the terrible casualties which had been 
 made in the service battalions of these regiments in the 
 Crimea, all the older soldiers having been sent away. 
 
 Leaving the Horse Guards I sauntered along by the waters of 
 the Park as far as Buckingham Palace. Crowds of holiday 
 people were in all parts of the Park. The Palace had been 
 completed since I was last in England, hence this was my first 
 sight of it. I was a good deal disappointed in its appearance. 
 I need not describe it, as that has been often done ; but it did 
 not strike me as exhibiting that magnificence which I had 
 expected to find in the exterior appearance of a Palace erected 
 by a great nation, at no stinted cost, for the metropolitan 
 residence of the Sovereign. Barring the extent of apparent
 
 268 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 .accommodation, I have seen noblemen's houses in the country 
 parts of England far more imposing in their general appearance. 
 The site of the Palace is, however, very beautiful ; and as the 
 Queen only occasionally resides here, she is probably satisfied 
 with it. Bambling through the Green Park, I saw the extensive 
 preparations for the grand illumination to take place in the 
 evening, including the wooden pavilion erection at the end of 
 the Palace, to afford the Queen and the royal family a convenient 
 >place from which to witness the fireworks. After standing 
 some time at the archway on which is placed Wellington's 
 equestrian statue, opposite the gates of Hyde Park, my attention 
 was arrested by the passing of several carriages, in which were 
 seated elegantly dressed ladies, in full court costume, ostrich 
 plumes, &c., &c. I found they were going to be presented at the 
 Queen's drawing-room. I therefore resolved to follow the 
 carriages, as I did not know how else to find my way to St. 
 James's Palace. Arrived.at St. James's Street, I found a long 
 line of carriages, each occupied by these fine-looking ladies, and 
 in many cases with general and other officers, all in full figure. 
 Going round to the south side of St. James's Palace, I found the 
 crowd collecting to witness the procession of Her Majesty and 
 the court to the drawing-room. I therefore immediately resolved 
 for once to indulge myself with the sight of a royal procession. 
 We had to stand nearly an hour. The police formed a long 
 lane through the midst of the people, extending all the way from 
 Buckingham to St. James's Palace, through which the procession 
 was to pass ; they and the magnificent Life Guards, on their superb 
 black horses, keeping the space open. A man brought some 
 forms to the place where I was standing, which were immediately 
 engaged to stand upon, at a shilling apiece, by a number of 
 ladies, to obtain a better view of the procession. I was fortunate 
 enough to get a place among them, and did not begrudge the 
 shilling, because it gave me a good view, and besides elevated
 
 ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. 269 
 
 me above the damp ground, which I feared might give me a 
 had cold by standing upon it for an hour. Many splendid 
 equipages of the various Ambassadors and foreign Princes, &c. r 
 together with the gold-bedizened Lord Mayor's chariot, passed 
 before the Queen's arrival. At length the royal party came in 
 three or four carriages. I saw the Queen and Prince Albert : the- 
 latter dressed as a field-marshal. I did not get a sight of the 
 Queen's face, as at the moment of passing near us she was 
 bowing very graciously to the cheering crowds on the opposite 
 side of the pathway. The equipages, the attendants, the troops, 
 &c., were all of the most gorgeous character, and very becoming 
 a public appearance of the Queen of England. As I had 
 neither desire nor chance of being presented at Court, I now 
 tried to get away ; but in the narrow space round St. James'a 
 Palace this was rather difficult, as the carriages in waiting, and 
 the crowd of people, so jammed up the street, that it was 
 difficult to move, and I was not sorry when I found myself in 
 the more open space of St. James's Street, although it continued 
 very full of people, and on passing I saw some of the identical 
 carriages which I had before passed, with their elegant occupants, 
 still waiting their turn to get down to the Palace. It must 
 have been trying and disagreeable to these ladies to sit in such 
 a dress, to be stared at by the crowd in the street through the 
 glass windows of their coaches. I saw many of the populace, 
 (apparently country people,) and some who by their dress and 
 appearance ought to have known better, going up to the very 
 windows of the carriages, and standing still, to take a good stare. 
 I imagine all this is unavoidable, but it must be a painful or- 
 deal, especially to young and bashful ladies. By this time I 
 was hungry and tired. I went to a coffee house, ordered a beef- 
 steak, which was soon prepared, and with a roll and a glass of 
 London porter I made a hearty dinner, and had an opportunity 
 of seeing the morning papers, all quietly and comfortably for
 
 270 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ninepence. I reached Highgate at about six o'clock, and was 
 glad in the evening, instead of returning to the Green Park to 
 see the fireworks, to go with Mr. and Mrs. Shaw to the house 
 of a lady of their acquaintance in a new suburb of London, close 
 to Primrose Hill, on the Hampstead side, where, without going 
 out into the night air, we could witness the fireworks on that 
 station. I met at this house in the evening a party of ladies 
 and gentlemen, including five clergymen, one of whom is Eector 
 of Beading. The whole party were family connexions with the 
 exception of ourselves. We saw the fireworks to great 
 advantage. 
 
 Due honour was paid to Mr. Shaw by the officials at the 
 Mission House. On Wednesday evening, the 4th of June, 
 a meeting was held in the large room in the Mission 
 House, Bishopsgate Street, to receive him and several 
 other returned Missionaries. The Eev. Dr. Bunting took 
 the chair. The Secretaries, the Eevs. Elijah Hoole, 
 George Osborn, and William Arthur, the Eev. John Scott, 
 the Eev. Charles Haydon, and Mr. John Vanner, Sen., 
 took part in the meeting. The kindly feeling manifested 
 must have been gratifying to all parties. At the Conference 
 held in Bristol, Mr. Shaw spoke at some length in the 
 Committee of Eeview, July 29th. At this Conference the 
 two friends, who had been separated since February ] 4th, 
 1843, met again, Mr. Boyce and family arriving in Bristol 
 from Australia on the 15th of August. At the great gather- 
 ing at Leeds in October, and on other occasions, Mr. Shaw 
 took a very prominent part, and in the May Anniversaries 
 .spoke with great acceptance. 
 
 These Missionary speeches we forbear to notice. The 
 'facts are already recorded in a more particular and de-
 
 AKRIVAL IN ENGLAND. 271 
 
 tailed from than would have heen suitable in a speech 
 addressed to the restless impatience of a public meeting. 
 Mr. Shaw possessed in an eminent degree the valuable 
 talent of informing as well as of interesting those very 
 variable audiences, at one time so critical and captious 
 that nothing can please, at another time so beautifully 
 resigned that one wonders at their forbearance. Within 
 the last few years, Missionary speeches have improved in 
 character ; there has been a marked reaction in favour of 
 the old models of a generation past, when Missionary 
 speeches had some reference to Missionary facts and 
 principles. Speakers are now expected to say something 
 pertinent to their subject. What has been called "the 
 bray of Exeter Hall," is now generally a deliverance of 
 which none concerned have any reason to be ashamed.
 
 272 
 
 CHAPTER XII, 
 
 Marriage, and Plans for the future Management of the South 
 African Missions. 
 
 THE state of Mr. Shaw's health was for some time very 
 unsatisfactory. His second marriage, in all probability, 
 saved and prolonged his life many years. This happy 
 event took place March 12th, 1857, in Liverpool Koad 
 Chapel, Islington, and was the last occasion on which the 
 Rev. Dr. Bunting officiated, as soon after, on June 16th, 1858, 
 that eminent Minister was called to his reward. The lady 
 was Mrs. Ogle, widow of the late Mr. John Bourne Ogle, of 
 Bolton, and daughter of the late Joseph Shaw, Esq., Col- 
 lector of Excise, and granddaughter of the Eev. Thomas 
 Shaw, who, on his first entering the ministry, resided with 
 Mr. Wesley, at the City Koad. Much of the health and 
 comfort which Mr. Shaw enjoyed to the end of his valuable 
 life may be ascribed to the assiduous love and indefatigable 
 care of Mrs. Shaw. No man was more dependent upon 
 those minute attentions which female affection alone can 
 supply than my dear old friend. Of all men, he was 
 least able to endure a lodging-house existence in all the 
 dignity and dulness of a solitary life, for he was eminently 
 social in his habits. After his marriage, he rapidly re- 
 covered his health, and was able to go through the fatigue 
 of the Irish Deputation in April, 1857. 
 
 Some into whose hands this memoir may fall, may not
 
 SOUTH AFRICAN MISSIONS. 273 
 
 be aware of the machinery which is connected with the 
 raising of funds for religious and philanthropic objects. 
 In order to stimulate the lagging charitable sympathies of 
 Christian people, it has been found necessary in the nine- 
 teenth century to employ the attraction of novelty. So 
 far as Missions are concerned, no one could object to 
 the employment of such returned Missionaries as have the 
 gift of saying as well as of doing in this work ; and if this 
 were all implied in a deputation, no one could complain. 
 But for this purpose some of the most valuable Ministers 
 are taken from important Circuits, sometimes for several 
 weeks at a time, to advocate the cause of Missions. That 
 this sacrifice of the spiritual interests of the Home work 
 should be deemed necessary for this object, is far from 
 complimentary to the Missionary feeling of the Methodist 
 people. I doubt the fact. If the Conference in mercy to the 
 Home work would much lessen, or do away altogether with 
 deputations, the Missions would not suffer, and the Home 
 work would be greatly relieved and benefitted. If even the 
 Mission Fund should suffer a little at first, the advantages 
 accruing to the Home Circuits, from the presence of their 
 Ministers, would soon be felt in the Missionary department 
 of each Circuit ; for the prosperity of the one work is inti- 
 mately bound up with the prosperity of the jother. 
 
 On May 4th, 1857, Mr. Shaw was one of the speakers at 
 the Anniversary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, held 
 in Exeter Hall, the Hon. A. F. Kinnaird, M.P., in the 
 Chair. On this occasion the Rev. James Calvert first 
 appeared before an English audience, and produced^ a 
 profound impression as he related the narrative of his 
 conversion and call to the Ministry, and his labours in 
 
 T
 
 274 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Fiji. Mr. Shaw's speech referred mainly to the Kaffir 
 Mission : but one passage, containing an account of his 
 visit to Moshesh, the Great Chief of the Basutu (beyond the 
 Orange Eiver), we give from the "Notices" (July, 1857). It 
 may gratify our readers to learn that the territory occupied 
 by the tribe of Moshesh has been placed under British rule, 
 not for colonization, but in order to preserve it from being 
 amalgamated either with the Cape Colony or the Orange 
 Eiver Sovereignty. 
 
 It is not much more than two years ago, when on a long Missionary 
 journey, I found it desirable to visit him, and had some communica- 
 tion with him concerning our Missionaries, who were, at that time, 
 placed in circumstances of peril and difficulty. I was accompanied 
 by the Eev. Eichard Giddy, our excellent Missionary there. We 
 ascended the mountain by a very narrow, rugged, craggy precipice. 
 It was not possible for more than two or three to walk abreast, to a 
 height of probably more than 1,000 feet above the common level of the 
 plain. Arrived at the top, we found Moshesh, together with the 
 inhabitants of his town, all dwelling on the top, where there was a 
 plain about a mile long, by half-a-mile broad. I found him waiting 
 to receive us, for a messenger had gone up to say we were coming. 
 He immediately led me to his house, and there I saw very evident 
 signs of a great change. He led me to a new house, quite as good as 
 that in which many of the colonists live in various parts of that land. 
 I was brought inside ; I found the house well furnished with chairs 
 and tables, and he motioned me to a sofa, that I might take my rest. 
 He assumed that I was weary with my long ride that morning ; and 
 after giving me refreshment, he entered on some discussion, in the 
 course of which he said, " I have great reason to be thankful that 
 Christians have come into my country to give us instruction." He 
 told me some very interesting things concerning an attack that had 
 been made on his tribe, in consequence of something that occurred 
 some time before, under Sir George Cathcart, when a large English 
 army was sent to make an attack on Moshesh's tribe. He told me
 
 SOUTH AFRICAN MISSIONS. 275 
 
 of the occurrences of the day, and of a very curious fact, which I have 
 never mentioned before. I discovered that while our Commander- 
 in-Chief regretted exceedingly the attack had occurred, because he was 
 afraid it would be necessary to carry it on, and that it would lead to 
 long hostilities greatly to be deplored, and which he was anxious to 
 avoid, yet he was so committed that he felt he should be obliged to 
 go on, and was preparing for a further attack. On the other hand, 
 Mosliesh was equally anxious to avoid further collison, which he 
 knew would come with greater force the next day. He sat, he told 
 me, in council in the very room where I was, and, while they were 
 talking together as to what was to be done, he said, " I know the 
 English will come again in the morning, for they have been worsted 
 when we had only a handful to deal with, and they are not the 
 people to give up, they will come to-morrow morning in larger 
 numbers ; and what shall we do to propitiate the English Governor 
 and avoid a collision ? " Much was said, and at last they came to 
 this conclusion : " Why, send down to the bottom of the mountain to 
 the resident Missionary, and ask him to write a letter to the Governor, 
 and tell him that we will submit to his terms, and endeavour to keep 
 the peace, if he will cease from further fighting." Well, Sir, the 
 messenger was sent down ; but the Missionary at the bottom oi the 
 mountain happened to be a French Missionary, Casalis that excellent 
 gentleman to whom reference has been made to-day. A message was 
 sent to him, and he found himself in a peculiarly delicate position, 
 not merely because he was a Missionary, but a French Missionary, 
 belonging to another nation ; and, feeling that it was a matter of 
 great delicacy, he refused to be the means of communication. An 
 answer was returned that the Missionary refused, saying that he was 
 of another nation, and he was afraid he would involve himself in 
 difficulty. Moshesh said, "We were then in great trouble; we did 
 not know what to do ; and I turned to my son," (three of his sons 
 were present, and he pointed to the youngest,) " and said to him, 
 * You must write the letter ! ' for you must know," he said, speaking 
 to me, " he has been taught to read and write by the Missionaries." 
 "' I said to him, ' You must write the letter ; ' but he said, ' I am a 
 boy ; how shall I write a letter about things so great, and to such 
 
 T 2
 
 276 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 great men ? Besides, I do not know English sufficiently : my English 
 will not be understood.' " However, Moshesh directed him to write 
 a letter in his own language ; " for," said he, " the Governor has got 
 interpreters, and he will understand it." The boy wrote from the 
 dictation of Moshesh a letter, which was afterwards published by 
 Sir George Cathcart in his Dispatches ; and it is singular that, whil& 
 1 had that testimony from Moshesh himself, I actually had it from 
 the lamented Sir George Cathcart's own lips, that he was never more 
 pleased with the receipt of any document in his life than when he 
 received that one letter from Moshesh, asking that hostilities might 
 cease, that there might be peace between the two tribes, and that the 
 matter might be settled and adjusted. "Thus," said Moshesh, "I 
 have reason to say that the Missionaries are the best friends to the 
 whole land ; for they teach us how to live at peace one with another, 
 and how to avoid contests referring to the predatory habits of the 
 native tribes." Such is his impression of the matter, that since I 
 came away, I find he has sent two more of his sons down to our 
 Industrial Schools, which are supported by Sir George Grey, at Salem, 
 to be instructed ; and Moroko has sent four or five lads, the most 
 important persons of his tribe, who will be companions to these two 
 young Chiefs while they are receiving instruction. 
 
 After the Liverpool Conference of 1857, Mr. Shaw took 
 up his residence at Croydon. While at Croydon, he revised 
 an edition of the Kaffir New Testament, which was being 
 printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society, andlaboured 
 diligently on Missionary Deputations in the Circuit when 
 not engaged to preach beyond its limits. He remained here 
 until, early in 1860, he removed to London, to make prepara- 
 tions for his return to South Africa. If he had needed any 
 additional spur to his wish to resume his labours beyond 
 his own conviction of duty, the presence in England of two 
 excellent brethren from the Colony, the Eev. John Ayliff 
 and the Rev. H. H. Dugmore, would have been sufficient.
 
 SOUTH AFRICAN MISSIONS. 277 
 
 'The circumstances which led to his remaining in England 
 I must now relate. 
 
 Mr. Shaw was aware that his return to South Africa 
 involved some personal risk on the ground of health ; Luc 
 his desire to inaugurate some important changes in the 
 administration of the Colonial and Native Mission Districts 
 throughout the whole extent of South Africa, overpowered 
 every other consideration. For some time he was led to 
 expect that his views had met with the full sanction of the 
 Committee and Secretaries. In this he was correct, with 
 "the exception that what he wished to accomplish at once 
 they deemed desirable to defer for a season. This being 
 the case, he wisely, so far as his own health was con- 
 cerned, resolved to remain in England, there being no 
 special reason calling for his return to Africa, after forty 
 years' service in the Mission work there. 
 
 On the 2nd of May, 1860, Mr. Shaw spoke at the Edu- 
 cational Meeting held in the upper room of the Centenary 
 Hall. The Chairman, Sir W. Atherton, M.P., (afterwards 
 Attorney-General,) the Secretary, the Eev. M. C. Taylor, the 
 Rev. John Scott, Principal, and J. Kobinson Kay, Esq., 
 of Bury, who all took part in this Meeting, with Mr. Shaw, 
 no longer survive ! A few years make great changes in 
 the appearance of our platforms, as well as in our pulpits 
 and social circles. On this occasion Mr. Shaw advocated 
 "the guiding principles of" the Methodist "Educational 
 establishment ; namely, that the education which the Meth- 
 odist body conducted in various parts of the whole earth, 
 and which is found in the Westminster Institution, should 
 be religious education, based upon the reading and the 
 principles of the Holy Bible." To these views Mr. Shaw
 
 278 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 remained faithful to the last : and whatever may be 
 thought of their practicability in a scheme of National 
 Education, there can be no doubt that, so far as Methodist 
 schools are concerned, they are the only principles which 
 will secure the support of the Methodist people.
 
 279 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Mr. Shazv as an English Superintendent and President, 1860-6. 
 
 ON leaving Croydon, where his occasional pulpit services 
 had been highly appreciated, the congregation and other 
 friends presented him with several valuable books, hand- 
 somely bound, as " a small token of their obligation and 
 esteem." The Conference of 1860 was held in London ; 
 and as Mr. Shaw had decided upon not returning to South 
 Africa, he received an appointment to the Liverpool South 
 Circuit, one of the most important in English Methodism. 
 He was much pleased to find, not only a large and com- 
 modious house, but a warm welcome from the officers of 
 the Circuit. In his colleagues he was equally favoured. 
 These were the Kev. Messrs. M. C. Osborn, George Bowden, 
 Luke Tyerman, Frederick Griffiths, and Thomas Brooke. 
 The Rev. Luke Tyerman dedicated his valuable Life of the 
 Eev. Samuel Wesley to Mr. Shaw in his presidential year. 
 Since then he has published a Life of the Eev. John Wesley, 
 which, whether we agree in all his views or not, must be 
 regarded as the fullest and almost exhaustive record of 
 that great man. 
 
 Here Mr. Shaw remained three years, to the great 
 advantage of the Circuit. It was a period of great peace, 
 and of both religious and financial prosperity. He was 
 able to complete the arrangements for the erection of St. 
 John's Chapel, Prince's Park, and thus render practicable 
 the division of the Circuit, which now appears in the
 
 280 CHAPTER xin. 
 
 Stations as Pitt Street and Wesley Circuits. A portion of 
 the letter to Mr. Dugmore, of which there is an extract in 
 pages 284 and 285, refers to this period : 
 
 I am very happy in my work here. We have noble congregations. 
 At our Quarterly Meeting last week I was enabled to report fifty- 
 seven net increase on the quarter, with more than a hundred and 
 seventy persons admitted on trial. "We shall probably build a large 
 new chapel in the course of the year, when an additional Minister will 
 be required. Whenever this is accomplished, the Circuit, which is 
 already too unwieldy, must be divided. I was very much gratified 
 with your account of the opening at Sidbury, and your laying the 
 first foundation-stone of a new chapel at the Kawiaga. The Kowie, 
 &c., should become the residence of a Missionary, availing himself of 
 Mr. Cock's pecuniary offer. And then the Salem Circuit might be 
 confined within a convenient circle around. I fear no Supernumerary 
 will volunteer to occupy the places which are open for such a supply. 
 To some of them, if they could understand it, the change from their 
 present position and means would be a great relief. But who is to 
 persuade the unwilling ? 
 
 You will see that my book is at length published. It was written 
 under very disadvantageous circumstances. If it were to be done 
 again, some portions would be abridged and others enlarged. After I 
 had proceeded to considerable length, I found that my plan would 
 make a much larger volume than I had contemplated, and it was not 
 easy to compress without rendering certain parts less acceptable to 
 the general reader than is desirable. However, I am thankful to 
 say, many newspapers and periodicals, besides the Methodist publi- 
 cations, have noticed the work in terms of favour and approval. I 
 was especially surprised to find a long and favourable notice in the 
 " Morning Post," the aristocratic London paper; while the " Star," 
 and " Dial," (now united,) also noticed it with approval, with, how- 
 ever, a caveat against my views as to the Kaffir wars, &c., being a 
 saving clause for their own very erroneous but often expressed opinions 
 thereon. The work is, I am told, going ou pretty well.
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 281 
 
 This has, so far, proved a terribly severe winter. I have never 
 experienced anything like the intensity of the cold. I have had to 
 suffer much from an attack of tic-doloreux, which I never expe- 
 rienced before ; but the frost seized my face, and left me this remem- 
 brancer about a fortnight ago, and I seem likely to be much troubled 
 with it. In other respects I am in my usual health, and I stand my 
 Circuit work very well, as we have no long walks, and the work is 
 not very severe. But the superintending requires constant attention. 
 "We have a house as large, and with quite as much accommodation, as 
 the Mission House in Graham's Town, with all the English appli- 
 ances to boot. 
 
 The " Story of My Mission in South Africa," one vol., 
 foolscap 8vo., pp. 576, was published September, 1860, 
 portions of which, bearing upon Mr. Shaw's personal history, 
 have been incorporated in this volume. He had before this, 
 on the 2nd of February, 1857, in the "Daily News," found 
 occasion to point out the capabilities of the Eastern Province 
 of the Cape Colony, as a field for colonization, and as capable 
 of self-defence ; and, at the same time, to vindicate the cha- 
 racter of the Colonists from the aspersions of a writer who 
 signed himself " Looker-On." Reviews of the " Story of My 
 Mission " appeared in the leading periodicals ; that in the 
 " London Quarterly " is brief and to the point : " Here we 
 have a book which is what it professes to be, the story of 
 a life spent for the most part in the Mission work of the 
 Church. It is not a book of geographical discovery, or of 
 science, or of ethnology, or philology, or any other ology, 
 but simply a narration of the origin and progress of a 
 Christian settlement in South Eastern Africa, which led to 
 the beginning of a Mission to the Kaffir tribes, and the 
 establishment of a complete chain of Mission stations from 
 Algoa Bay to beyond Port Natal. We have no quarrel
 
 282 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 with scientific or learned Missionaries ; but we confess that 
 our modern * supplements to the Acts of the Apostles r 
 please us most when they most resemble the primitive 
 Missionary register, and show us simply how ' the word of 
 God grew and multiplied.' The author avoids the common 
 fault of similar narratives, that of giving undue prominence 
 to details of hardships, perils, and romantic adventures, 
 which in Africa and elsewhere are the exceptional, not the 
 normal, conditions of Missionary life. Experienced Mis- 
 sionaries regard these things as matters of course, which 
 must occasionally variegate the otherwise tame monotony 
 of uncivilized life, and against which all prudent provision; 
 must be made by the exercise of ordinary forethought, but 
 which scarcely deserve even a passing notice. The high 
 position which Mr. Shaw earned for himself in the Cape 
 Colony, and the beneficial influence which he exercised for 
 nearly forty years on the Eastern frontier over the Kaffir 
 tribes adjoining, give peculiar weight to his testimony, 
 and render his work a most valuable contribution to our 
 Missionary literature. If the reader wishes to know what 
 Missionary work really is, and with what wisdom it ought, 
 to be carried on, he cannot do better than study the ' Story 
 of my Mission,' which presents us the history of a Christian 
 Missionary, in zeal and in labours second to none, and yet 
 abounding in all wisdom and prudence, thus manifesting 
 a rare combination of those qualities so desirable to be 
 possessed, and yet so rarely united in the same character." 
 Mr. Shaw had now passed beyond his threescore years, 
 and, in common with all who have attained to that period 
 of life, was called upon to lament, year by year, the loss 
 of friends somewhat older, to whom he had been accus-
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 28 3> 
 
 tomed to look with reverential love. Our friends thus- 
 going before a little in advance of us, admonish us that 
 the day is far spent, and the night is at hand, when no- 
 man can work. Already, since his arrival in England, he 
 had, in common with all who loved Methodism, as well as 
 on grounds of personal friendship, been called to lament 
 the death of that great and good man, the Eev. Dr. Bunting, 
 who entered into rest on the 16th of June, 1858. To thi& 
 venerable man Mr. Shaw refers in his " Story of my Mis- 
 sion," quoted on page 15 of this work. It is much to be 
 regretted that only the first volume of the life of this. 
 distinguished statesman-like Divine has yet been published. 
 The claims of the Connexion upon T. P. Bunting, Esq., 
 to complete this intensely interesting Biography, ought, 
 not to be disregarded. Three years afterwards occurred 
 the not unexpected death of Thomas Farmer, Esq., 
 of Gunnersbury Hoiise, Acton, Middlesex, on the llth 
 of May, 1861, in the seventy-first year of his age. 
 Of his well-known liberality and public character it 
 is needless to speak. None who knew him personally can 
 have failed to remember the loving urbanity of his manner,, 
 and the sound unsophisticated masculine sense by which 
 he was distinguished. He had been for some months- 
 patiently waiting until his change came. As one of the 
 Treasurers of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, and 
 especially as a member of the Committee, his death was a 
 severe loss. 
 
 By the Conference of 1863 Mr. Shaw was appointed to 
 the Bristol (Clifton) Circuit, and had to discharge the duties 
 of Chairman of the District. In his second year he had 
 for his colleague the Eev. William Morley Punshon, who*
 
 284 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 on all occasions manifested a warm attachment to his 
 Superintendent, which was fully reciprocated. The brief 
 period of three years in which a Methodist Minister can 
 occupy one Circuit is unfavourable to tl_j formation of 
 those lasting friendships which " grow with our growth, 
 and strengthen with our strength," but which do not decay, 
 but rather increase with our diminishing strength in our 
 later years. However, as in Liverpool, so also in Bristol, 
 Mr. Shaw's loving character secured him many friends : 
 among others Mr. T. F. C. May and family deserve special 
 mention. The friendship between the families has survived 
 the death of Mr. Shaw, and is one of the consolations of 
 his widow and his children. In this Circuit Mr. Shaw was 
 kindly received from the first by the officials and our people 
 generally. Victoria Chapel was only just erected, but the 
 congregation improved so much, especially during the 
 .second year of his residence, when the Eev. William Moiiey 
 Punshon was one of the regular supplies, that ground for 
 .another chapel at Eedlands was secured, and a chapel has 
 .since been built. 
 
 As the Jubilee Year of the Wesleyan Missionary Society 
 as at present constituted drew near, (reckoning from the 
 famous Missionary Meeting held at Leeds, October 6th, 
 1813,) the desire was generally expressed, that the joyful 
 occasion should be signalized by special services, and by 
 special consecration of property, in support of the cause of 
 Missions, after the good and noble example furnished by 
 the proceedings of the Centenary Year, 1839. At the 
 Sheffield Conference, the Eev. Dr. Osborn, one of the 
 :Secretaries of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, was chosen 
 President; and during the whole of his Presidential year
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 285 
 
 was "in labours more abundant," in reference to this and 
 all Connexional undertakings, but especially in aiding, by 
 his personal influence and public deliverances, the Jubilee 
 Fund. Leeds, which had witnessed the first Wesleyan 
 Missionary Meeting, on October 6th, 1813, was properly 
 selected for the commencement of the Jubilee services. It 
 must be remembered, that while the first Missionary 
 Meeting was held so late as 1813, Methodist Missions to 
 America and the West Indies had been carried on since 
 the year 1769. To quote the words of the Jubilee Eeport, 
 " The Methodist Missions do not owe their origin to the 
 Missionary Society ; but, on the other hand, the 
 Missionary Society owes its origin to the Missions." Two 
 Ministers alone of those who had been present at the 
 Meeting of 1813 survived, the Eev. W. Xaylor, and the Eev. 
 Thomas Jackson, and took a distinguished part in the- 
 services. The result was that 179,973. 3s. Qd. was raised 
 for the Jubilee Fund. In these Meetings Mr. Shaw took 
 part, entering fully into their object, and greatly rejoicing 
 in their marked success. 
 
 During the autumn and spring of the Jubilee year, 
 1863-4, under the Presidency of the Eev. Dr. Osborn, the 
 Meetings of the various Circuits in aid of the Jubilee Fund 
 were continued with great spirit and efficiency. One of 
 the oldest and most faithful servants of the Methodist 
 Church was permitted to witness the celebration of the 
 Jubilee festival, but did not live to the end of the Jubilee 
 presidential year. On the 1st of March, 1864, the venerable 
 and Eev. John Mason died, in the eighty-third year of his- 
 age, and the fifty-third of his ministry. Very unexpectedly, 
 without any suffering, he ceased to live. To him the
 
 286 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Wesleyan Conference is deeply indebted for his sagacious 
 and economical management of the Book Concern, to which 
 he devoted his great business talents, with a patient and 
 unremitting, but quiet energy peculiar to himself. With 
 Mr. Shaw he had been on terms of intimate friendship, 
 and his loss was severely felt, especially as, notwithstanding 
 his great. age, it was quite unexpected. On Monday, February 
 29th, he attended as usual to his official duties in City 
 Road, but returned home somewhat indisposed. No 
 danger was apprehended until the evening of Tuesday, 
 when a difficulty of breathing ensued, and he almost 
 immediately expired. Within twelve months another of 
 the leading men of Methodism was suddenly removed. 
 The Eev. W. L. Thornton, A.M., who had been appointed 
 to the Presidency by the Bradford Conference in July, 
 1864, died suddenly on the 5th of March, 1865, in the fifty- 
 fourth year of his age. His loss was deeply lamented, 
 especially by his many personal friends, among whom 
 Mr. Shaw had no ordinary place. He had been for some 
 years one of the Editors of the Magazine, and had been 
 the representative to the American Conference in 1863. 
 According to rule, the duties of the Presidency for the 
 remainder of the presidential year devolved upon the 
 Ex-President, Dr. Osborn. 
 
 It may not be unnecessary here to explain in general 
 terms the constitution of the " Conference of the People 
 called Methodists," the Annual Synod of the Wesleyan 
 Methodists, as it is possible this book may be read by 
 some who, not being connected with the Methodist Church, 
 have but very indistinct notions of its ecclesiastical 
 economy. Methodism originated in the preaching of John
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 237 
 
 t 
 
 Wesley and others in the eighteenth century. By him 
 an annual meeting of the Ministers labouring in con- 
 nexion with him was formed, and called a Conference. 
 The Preachers, at the first Conference after Mr. Wesley's 
 death, chose one of their number as President for the 
 year ; and this practice has continued to this day. While 
 all Ministers who have been received into full connexion 
 (those who have travelled in the Ministry four years) are 
 members of the Conference, the strictly legal Conference 
 (which by law must consist of a definite number of per- 
 sons) is confined to one hundred Preachers, who form 
 what is called the Legal Hundred, but who possess no 
 special privileges beyond others of their brethren, except 
 this, that from among this Legal Hundred the President 
 and Secretary of the Conference must be selected. While 
 the Conference is strictly confined to Ministers, all the 
 financial business and economical arrangements of the 
 Connexion are conducted by a series of Committees com- 
 posed of Ministers and lay gentlemen, who meet previously 
 to the Conference in the town in which the Conference is 
 appointed to meet. One of these Committees, that for 
 stationing the Ministers for the succeeding year, is com- 
 posed wholly of Ministers. The proceedings of these Com- 
 mittees, composed as they are of a selection of the leading 
 laymen and Preachers, excite as much interest as those of 
 the Conference itself. For administrative purposes during 
 the year, the whole of England, and of every country in 
 which a Methodist Ministry is found, is divided into 
 8 actions called Districts, the members of each District meet- 
 ing twice in the year under a Chairman chosen at the Con- 
 ference. These are Conferences in miniature, and help to
 
 288 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 prepare the business which has to be brought before the- 
 Annual Conference. 
 
 The following Conference of 1865 assembled in Birming- 
 ham, and, on the 27th of July, Mr. Shaw was chosen Presi- 
 dent ; the votes being for Mr. Shaw, 206 ; for Mr. Arthur, 
 58 ; and for Mr. Bedford, 19. It may be desirable to 
 remark, that it is usual, in electing the President, to inti- 
 mate at the same time the President of the year following, 
 by giving a divided nomination : hence, a division of votes 
 implies no want of unanimity. Those who vote for the 
 nomination usually do so because the number sufficient 
 for the in-coming President is considered as secured. 
 
 Great interest was excited immediately after the 
 votes were declared, by the address of Dr. Osborn (the 
 provisional President since Mr. Thornton's death) to the 
 in-coming President, on delivering to him the insignia of 
 his office, Mr. Wesley's travelling Bible, used by him in 
 preaching, and the Conference seal. He referred " to more 
 than thirty years ago," (1833,) remarking, "On that day 
 you stood at the head of a long list of men who were pre- 
 sented to the Conference, some to be recognised as having 
 been already so long honourably engaged in Missionary 
 and Ministerial service, and some to be then admitted into 
 full connexion. In that long list you were the first, and 
 I was nearly the last." In reply, Mr. Shaw spoke most 
 feelingly of the sudden death of his predecessor in office, 
 the estimable W. L. Thornton ; paid also a graceful compli- 
 ment to the character and labours of the Bev. Dr. Osborn, 
 all the more pertinent because literally true ; and, in con- 
 clusion, referred to the Birmingham Conference of 1836, 
 in which he was elected into "the Legal Hundred," the
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 289 
 
 body corporate referred to in the Poll Deed. On tliat 
 occasion, meeting the late Mr. Marriott, of London, at a 
 side-door of the chapel, that gentleman pleasantly remarked 
 to him, " We may live to see you President of the Con- 
 ference yet." The office of President is properly regarded 
 by the Ministers and people of the Methodist Connexion 
 as one of great honour and importance. It is on the part 
 of the Connexion a matter of no little satisfaction to have 
 the chair of the Annual Synod filled by a Preacher com- 
 petent to preside, and also to represent them on public 
 occasions. To the Minister himself it is a proof of their 
 high estimation of his ability, and of the respect felt for 
 his character by brethren who know him well. 
 
 The election of a returned Missionary to the Presidency of 
 the Conference is an unusual event. It is true that the 
 Rev. James Dixon, who had spent a year in Gibraltar, and 
 was therefore by courtesy foolishly identified with the 
 Mission work, had been elected to that office in 1841 ; and 
 that the Eev. Eobert Young, who had been a Missionary in 
 Jamaica and Nova Scotia, had filled the chair in 1856, 
 immediately after his return from the work of the Australian 
 deputation ; but these were exceptional cases, justified and 
 accounted for by the long familiarity of these brethren 
 with the working of English Methodism, their Missionary 
 career forming but a short episode in the history of their 
 lives. But Mr. Shaw had spent thirty-six years in Africa, 
 and, except an appointment at Leeds, 1833-6, and the 
 experience of Circuit work in Liverpool and Bristol from 
 1860 to 1865, had had few opportunities of making himself 
 at home in the home work. The Ministers, however, knew 
 that they ran no risk of failure from inexperience or 
 
 u
 
 290 CHAPTER XIH. 
 
 incompetency when they placed Mr. Shaw in the chair. 
 He had always paid the most earnest attention to all Con- 
 nexional questions ; andsincehis return from Africahe hadby 
 his speeches in the various Committees evidenced his fitness 
 for the discharge of the duties of any position in Methodism. 
 He was at the same time, from his sober, sedate, yet 
 genial bearing, highly respected and universally beloved 
 by his brethren. The Birmingham Conference was a very 
 interesting and happy one. The new President steadily 
 and methodically attended to the business of each day, and 
 managed to finish the meeting a day sooner than usual. 
 An additional interest was given to this Conference by the 
 visit of Bishop Janes from the United States. What is 
 called the Conference Sermon was delivered in Cherry 
 Street chapel on Sunday evening, the 30th of July. The 
 text was John xiv. 16, 17 ; and the discourse is a fair 
 sample of Mr. Shaw's sober, earnest, and devout ministra- 
 tions from the pulpit. 
 
 The Presidential year calls' out the physical and mental 
 powers of the occupant of the chair. What Bacon remarks 
 of the heavenly bodies, the stars and planets, we may 
 apply to the Methodist Presidents, "They have great 
 dignity, but no rest.' ' No one half a century ago ever antici- 
 pated that the time would come when the President would 
 be expected to attend every important public meeting, and to 
 preach on the occasion of the opening of most of the new 
 chapels within his presidential year, in addition to the 
 ordinary duties of his office. This evil, though it did not 
 commence with the Presidency of Dr. Osborn in 1863-4, 
 was sanctioned by his example ; for which there was some 
 excuse in the Jubilee Year. Under his successors it has
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDED AND PEESIDENT. 291 
 
 grown into a sort of prescriptive claim, which the last two 
 Presidents, the Rev. Luke H. Wiseman and the Eev. G. T. 
 Perks, seem to have tacitly admitted. The time is come 
 for some modification of this extra work, which no ordinary 
 constitution can bear without serious permanent injury 
 Mr. Shaw had his fair share of this work during his year 
 of office, which to a man of his sober, steady habits must 
 have been a great trial, though I never heard him 
 complain. According to general usage, not universally 
 followed, he removed to a London Circuit, Chelsea, London 
 being deemed a more central and convenient locality for 
 the residence of the President than Bristol. After a pleasant 
 trip to the Lakes, he took possession of his new home, 
 where he had soon the pleasure of receiving his son-in-law 
 and daughter, the Eev. Mr. and Mrs. Impey, on their 
 temporary visit to England from South Africa. The 
 satisfaction of having such a son-in-law was increased by 
 the fact that Mr. Impey had been appointed his successor 
 as Chairman and General Superintendent of the Graham's 
 Town District, a position which no man was more competent 
 to fill with credit to himself and with great benefit to 
 the work itself. In October Mr. Shaw visited Leeds, and 
 spoke at the Anniversary of the Missionary Society, and at 
 the Breakfast Meeting in the Town Hall ; and in December 
 addressed the students at Westminster Normal College. 
 Very soon he had to lament the loss of another old friend 
 and colleague (in Leeds, 1831-3), the Eev. Eobert Young, an 
 Ex-President, who had served the Society in the West 
 Indies and North America, and in the Deputation sent in 
 1852-3 to the Australian Colonies. He died, after five years 
 of retirement as a Supernumerary, at Truro, 16th of Novem- 
 
 u 2
 
 292 CHAPTEK XIII. 
 
 ber, 1865, aged seventy. His vigorous body had been broken 
 down prematurely by the cruel and murderous habit of 
 memoriter preaching and speaking. But for this, humanly 
 speaking, he might have laboured in the Ministry many 
 years longer. All his sermons and speeches had an exquisite 
 finish and point, and were " full of Christ." In the midst 
 of the weakness of his last years he would often say, " God 
 is very good to me. I have no unhappy moments. I am 
 testing the truths which I used to preach, and I do not 
 retract one of them. I am constantly proving their value. 
 They stand by me now." And so he died full of peace and 
 
 joy- 
 In the winter of 1865-6 a frightful murrain among cattle 
 created great alarm, especially in the agricultural districts, 
 and was followed by a rise in the price of animal food, 
 which was no small inconvenience to the population, 
 generally. Although the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr.. 
 Longley, a Liberal in politics, requested the Government,, 
 represented by Earl Eussell, then Premier, to appoint a 
 day for national intercession, the request was declined.. 
 It was therefore thought desirable for the Wesleyans ani 
 other religious bodies to testify their conviction that such 
 calamitous visitations, though mediately traceable to 
 natural causes, have a higher origin in the will of God, and 
 are part and parcel of the instrumentalities by which He 
 exercises moral government over the nations. The Presi- 
 dent accordingly, on the 17th of January, 1866, addressed a 
 letter "to the Superintendents of the Wesleyan Methodist. 
 Circuits in the United Kingdom," requesting them to hold 
 meetings for special prayer and supplication on Friday,, 
 the 9th of March ; such a procedure being in accordance-
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 293 
 
 -with, the Christian belief in the overruling providence of 
 God. These protests against the shallow philosophy which 
 teaches that " all things come alike to all," (Eccles. ix. 2,) 
 are very seemly and profitable when called forth by national 
 calamities. Admitting the existence of moral government 
 over nations as such, its exercise must be confined to 
 temporal blessings or calamities, as nations in their 
 corporate capacity have no existence except in this world. 
 Except therefore on the supposition that " the Lord hath 
 forsaken the earth," (Ezekiel viii. 12,) national confession 
 of sin and humiliation before God are rational acts, 
 defensible on purely theistical as well as on Scriptural 
 grounds. We may hope that the religious sentiment has 
 made some progress among our leading politicians, as on a 
 recent occasion, when the Prince of Wales was raised from 
 the bed of sickness and restored to health, the hand of 
 God was acknowledged, and national supplication addressed 
 to the throne of grace, followed by devout thanksgivings. 
 
 The Missionary Anniversaries of May, 1866, were as 
 usual preceded by sermons from Ministers from the 
 country, and by one from the President in Centenary Hall, 
 Thursday, April 26th. This sermon was " in all respects 
 worthy to be classed with the many admirable sermons 
 delivered by his predecessors in the same place for the past 
 twenty-five years." He also spoke at the China Breakfast 
 Meeting on Saturday, April 28th, and at the Anniversary 
 of the Wesleyan Missionary Society in Exeter Hall, April 
 30th, on which occasion the late John Fernley, Esq., of 
 Southport, occupied the chair; and on the 9th of May 
 he again spoke at the Education Meeting in Centenary Hall. 
 The claims on public men for deliverance on all subjects
 
 294 CHAPTEK XIII. 
 
 remind one of the Egyptian tyranny which compelled the 
 Israelites to make bricks without straw! To he always 
 giving out of the mental treasury, without the leisure and 
 opportunity of taking in a fresh supply, is the trial test to- 
 which public men are too often exposed. Mr. Shaw could 
 stand this test as well as most men. If he never rose to an 
 equality with our first-rate orators, he never sank into 
 mere mediocrity, for he had always something to say, and 
 said it well. In his own line of plain, palpable, under- 
 standable preaching he was the equal of any of his 
 contemporaries. 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Shaw's old friends in Africa were not 
 behindhand in their expressions of sympathy and attach- 
 ment to their " father and friend." They were delighted at 
 his being called to occupy the chair of the Conference ; and at 
 a Meeting held in Shaw College, Graham's Town, February ( 
 
 29th, 1866, the Hon. Eobert Godlonton, M.P., in the chair; 
 
 i. 
 
 an address was presented to the Rev. W. Irnpey and Mrs. 
 Impey on the occasion of then: departure on a temporary 
 visit to England. An Address, beautifully written, embla- 
 zoned, and signed by one thousand five hundred friends, 
 bound up in an elegant volume, was committed to the 
 charge of Mr. Impey, to present to the President in Eng- 
 land. The presentation took place on the 6th of June, 
 1866 ; and was of a very interesting character. 
 
 At the request of the Eev. W. Impey, who wrote in the name of 
 several South African gentlemen, the President of the Conference 
 appointed Wednesday noon as the time when he could meet a depu- 
 tation. The gathering was small and private. The Eev. Elijah 
 Hoole, D.D., and the Eev. William B. Boyce, General Secretaries of 
 the Wesleyan Missionary Society ; the Eev. James D. Brocklehurst,.
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 295 
 
 Secretary of the General Jubilee Committee ; the Eev. William 
 Butters ; the Eev. J. Woodcock (President's Assistant) ; the Rev. 
 William Impey, Chairman and General Superintendent of the 
 Graham's Town District ; and Messrs. G. M. Keill (Bayswater) ; J. 
 Cawood (Stoke Newington) ; John Holmes and Robert White, South 
 African merchants ; and W. Pearce, of Poplar, were present ; and 
 Mesdames Shaw, Impey, Hoole, Wood, and Keill. Besides these, 
 the Hon. J. C. Hoole, M.L.C., and Mr. J. E. Wood, M.L.A., 
 (Ex-Mayor of Graham's Town,) attended as the representatives of the 
 Wesleyan laity in Southern Africa. 
 
 After prayer the Rev. W. Impey rose, and, in a few well 
 chosen words, endeavoured to express the sentiments and feelings oi 
 those who were represented at that Meeting. His only regret was 
 that the documents which he had to present that day were so drawn 
 up that the members of other Churches and the community in 
 general were unable to add their willing testimony to the sentiments 
 embodied in the Addresses. Had this been practicable, the signatures 
 would have swollen into volumes. Turning to Mr. Shaw he said, 
 " Sir, these names will remind you of many scenes of joy and sorrow. 
 They attest a warm and affectionate remembrance of your character 
 and work. We have had (in South Eastern Africa) many teachers, 
 but not many fathers. And among the latter your name especially 
 will be held in esteem, confidence, and love, as long as Wesleyan 
 Methodism in South Africa or the Continent still endures. I have 
 now to present to you this volume, bearing addresses and signatures 
 from Ministers, office-bearers, and members in the Graham's Town 
 and Port Natal Districts. In all, one thousand four hundred and 
 sixty-six names are appended. They represent every rank in society, 
 and are the fruit of your long and devoted labours." 
 
 This handsome folio book, richly bound in morocco, lined with 
 crimson silk, and containing parchment leaves, admirably engrossed, 
 was handed over to the President, who could not but regard it as an 
 inestimable treasure, and to whose descendants it must be an heir- 
 loom above all price. Its " Index of Contents" is a study alike in 
 relation to geographical extent, the pentecostal triumphs of Chris- 
 tianity in Southern Africa, the elevating power of true religion
 
 296 CHAPTER XHI. 
 
 socially as well as morally, the glowing affection of Missionary 
 Churches for their pastors, and the abidingness of the results of 
 evangelical efforts. Break the total of one thousand four hundred 
 and sixty-six into its component parts, and here, uniting in thig 
 loving testimonial, are twenty Ministers in Graham's Town District, 
 ten in Queen's Town District, three hundred and one members and 
 office-bearers in Commemoration Chapel, Graham's Town to which 
 reference will also be made in another form, two hundred and seventy- 
 eight from Fort Beaufort, one hundred and seventy-four from King 
 William's Town, one hundred from Thaba 'Nchu ; and equally 
 gratifying indications of deep and wide-spread affection from places 
 whose names we are afraid to write, lest we should offend the literary 
 accuracy of eager readers of these columns in Uitenhage, Bloem- 
 fontein, Tshungwana, Umpukani, and Potchefstrom. 
 
 TO THE EEV. WILLIAM SHAW, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CONFERENCE. 
 
 WE, the undersigned, office-bearers and members of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Society, or who are otherwise connected with the Wesleyan 
 Methodist Church in South Eastern Africa, desire to convey to you, 
 and request you to accept, our hearty congratulations on your election 
 to the high and responsible office of the President of the Conference. 
 
 We cannot but regard your elevation to this important position as 
 a signal testimony to the value of Missionary enterprise in general, 
 and as presenting a powerful stimulus to others to devote themselves 
 to the sacred and noble work of evangelizing the heathen in foreign 
 and distant countries. We are grateful to the Lord of the harvest 
 that you were appointed to labour in this portion of His vineyard, and 
 that we were permitted for so many years to witness your zealous 
 efforts, to mark your going out and your coming in, and to partake 
 in no small degree of the advantages derived from your earnest, self- 
 denying labours, as a Preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 
 exemplified as that Gospel was by your deportment, both as a member 
 of the community, and as one who had been set apart to the sacred 
 office of the Christian ministry. 
 
 Some of us remember with peculiar interest your arrival in this 
 country. The field before you was vast ; while the means at your
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 297 
 
 command were, apparently, utterly inadequate to the work to be 
 performed. You yourself were young in years ; you were without 
 experience, and there were no landmarks to guide you in the direction 
 of your course. But still, falling back upon first principles, you 
 were, by God's help, eminently successful. The very fact of the 
 momentous character of the career on which you had entered gave 
 gravity to your youth, and solidity to your judgment, inspiring you 
 with that moral intrepidity by which, under the Divine blessing, you 
 were enabled, amidst difficulties and trials of no ordinary character, 
 to plant a Church in this region whose roots have struck deep among 
 the heathen tribes of South Africa, and whose branches have spread 
 as far as civilized man has found a home in this country. It is to be 
 noted also, that on your arrival here in 1820, you were the only 
 accredited Methodist Preacher in South Eastern Africa; that you 
 stood alone ; and that, as regarded by the eye of worldly wisdom, you 
 were about to engage in a wild and extravagant enterprise. It was 
 indeed, humanly speaking, the day of small things ; but relying upon 
 Him who has declared that " the race is not to the swift, nor the 
 battle to the strong," we gratefully record that, by the help of God, 
 you were enabled to overcome every difficulty, and to rise superior to 
 every discouragement, affording a sublime exemplification of the 
 Scripture declaration, " It is not by might, nor by power, but by My 
 Spirit, saith the Lord." 
 
 In now offering you our affectionate congratulations on your 
 accession to the high and honourable office to which you have been 
 called by the Wesleyan Methodist Church, we cannot hesitate to 
 express our belief (based on our experience of the past) that your 
 thorough knowledge of the polity of Methodism, and your aptitude 
 for administrative duties, coupled with your catholicity of sentiment, 
 your uniform urbanity, and your unimpeachable integrity, will enable 
 you to exercise such an influence as cannot fail, when accompanied 
 with the Divine approval, in furthering and giving permanency to 
 measures whose aim is the glory of God, in the maintenance and 
 spread of pure and undefiled religion throughout the world. 
 
 In conclusion, you will permit us to remark that, while we feel 
 grateful to Him "who ruleth all things according to the counsel of
 
 298 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 His own will " for the honour conferred upon you, we avail ourselves 
 of the occasion to express our sense of the personal advantages we 
 have derived by your long residence and zealous labours among us. 
 Many have enjoyed your personal friendship, while all have shared in 
 those spiritual blessings which the Gospel, as proclaimed by faithful 
 Ministers of the Methodist Church, is so well calculated to secure. 
 Our united and earnest hope is that God may continue to prosper you. 
 in your work, vouchsafe to you the blessing of perfect health, and 
 supply you with that strength of body and of mind which will enable 
 you to discharge your onerous duties with comfort to yourself and 
 advantage to the Church at large. 
 
 We have only to add our fervent prayer that the God of all grace 
 may sustain you ; that the Holy Spirit may abundantly comfort and 
 enlighten you ; and that you may experience in all its fulness the 
 promise of the great Head of the Church, "Lol I am with you 
 alway, even to the end of the world." 
 
 There was a similar address, also, in the volume, from 
 the Wesleyan Ministers of South Africa. Mr. Shaw made 
 a suitable reply, after which Mr. Wood, Ex-Mayor of 
 Graham's Town, the Hon. J. C. Hoole, M.L.C., and the 
 Kevs. Elijah Hoole and W. B. Boyce made a few remarks. 
 
 ME. WOOD, Ex-Mayor of Graham's Town, and M.L.A., observed, 
 " I am, Sir, too feeble in health to deliver a speech or bear much 
 excitement to-day ; else I would endeavour to pour out my heart on 
 this occasion. For I count it one of the greatest honours of my life, 
 to take part in recognising the worth of ' my friend and my father's 
 friend,' who watched over my sire when he went out fatherless to a 
 strange land, and continued his pastoral care so long as he remained 
 in the Colony. Methodism owes what it can never even duly 
 recognise to the name of William Shaw. That name is not only a 
 household word in Southern and South Eastern Africa, but it is well 
 known in high places there. It is a fact that by his prudently 
 exercised influence nearly all the seats in the Local Parliament, and 
 nearly all important offices of State there, were cccupied by Wesleyan
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 299 
 
 Methodists. In 1821, Graham's Town was too insignificant to be 
 enteied even as a preaching place upon the plan, and now the 
 Wesleyan Church commands, notwithstanding the presence of many 
 other religious agencies, of which we do not now speak particularly, 
 the greatest religious power in that rising place. The addresses do 
 not say one half of what might have been fairly said on this subject. 
 Had they been more generally worded, a vast number would have 
 subscribed them ; but they had relation to the Presidency of our 
 friend, and so multitudes had no opportunity of bearing their 
 testimony to the varied worth of Mr. Shaw. I happen to possess a 
 copy of the first plan written by Mr. Shaw, and I think this a fitting 
 opportunity of presenting it to him, that he may see what was and 
 what is now the state of feeling in the scene of his long, faithful, and 
 successful toils." 
 
 This precious memento was then handed to the President, %vho- 
 promised to place it among the other papers, observing at the same 
 time, " This is not the original ; it is a copy from that which I wrote, 
 and is written by Brother Ayliff, who truly observed what I had forgotten 
 having appended. He did the work of ' an evangelist ' most faithfully 
 hi his day and generation." 
 
 The Hon. J. C. Hoole, M.L.C., expressed the sense of difficulty 
 which he had in uttering at all adequately what was in his heart, and 
 in the hearts of thousands vrhom he represented that day. He wished, 
 however, to observe especially upon the President's pioneering work. 
 " He was not content with successes and confidence acquired among 
 the settlers, but pushed on to 'the regions beyond.' Few here 
 can possibly know the danger of such a work at that time. In 1821 
 he went forward at the risk of life, and amid many fears and anxieties 
 on the part of his friends, but sustained by a quenchless zeal for 
 souls, and the intrepidity of his never-to-be-forgotten wife. She was 
 perfectly ready to accompany him beyond the border. "What Mr. 
 Shaw did there is partially known by the Annual Eeports, and the 
 ' Missionary Notices ; ' but his modesty led him to conceal perils 
 which would have given him the place of a hero of the Cross. The 
 Colonists, however, know that his privations, labours, and successes 
 can never be overrated. Were I to say that he was the greatest
 
 300 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Missionary that the world ever saw, I might perhaps be saying too 
 much, but I will say that Africa never saw his like. What temporal 
 honours and advantages he has thrown away for the sake of his great 
 work are too little known in this country ; but I will not obtrude upon 
 his sensitiveness in these respects, even by further allusion. But I 
 will say, that if, as must be acknowledged, Methodism be the most 
 numerous party in South Eastern Africa, its position is owing to 
 William Shaw. And if, as is the fact, the great majority of 
 members of the Legislative Assembly of the Eastern Province be 
 Wesleyan Methodists, that too is owing to William Shaw. More 
 than this, he planted a Church, which will be co-existent and co- 
 extensive with the Colony, and has been instrumental, directly and 
 indirectly, of turning more sinners to righteousness in Africa, than 
 any living man. We, of that Colony, are of one mind, that he will 
 fill the high office which he sustains with unsurpassed caution and 
 success." 
 
 The Eev. Elijah Hoole, D.D., one of the General Secretaries of the 
 Wesleyan Missionary Society, said : " I have some thoughts to-day 
 peculiar to myself. It was mine to know and observe you (the Presi- 
 dent) even before these gentlemen. You were then hardly out of 
 your teens. But such men as Eichard Watson, Charles Atmore, and 
 Joseph Butterworth, saw in you, even then, a mature Christian, an 
 able preacher, and one to whom, because of singular judgment, might 
 be entrusted the administration of a new Mission. Nor has that 
 hope been cut off. Every expectation has been fulfilled, and I am 
 sure that amid the honours of this day you are the first to say, ' By 
 the grace of God I am what I am.' There were then no Theological 
 Institutions ; but we were taken, one from a Sunday-school, and 
 another from a chair-back of a country cottage, one to Africa, and the 
 other to India. From first to last we owe all to Divine grace. I do 
 most heartily congratulate you upon the presentation of these 
 addresses." 
 
 The Eev. W. B. Boyce said : " I have not known you, Sir, quite as 
 long as Dr. Hoole ; but thirty- six years ago I was your young man. 
 Thirty-three years ago I stood beside you, when, in the Court House 
 of Graham's Town, a long address, most numerously signed by the
 
 ENGLISH SUPERINTENDENT AND PRESIDENT. 301 
 
 inhabitants, was presented to you, along with a substantial testimo- 
 nial, by Mr. W. K. Thompson, Chairman of the public meeting. I 
 am reminded to-day also of a fact, which is, I believe, without com- 
 pare in Methodism either at home or abroad. As we were standing 
 together near the burial ground, and looking at the town, you. 
 observed, ' I have one comfort in looking at that place, and it is that 
 there is not a house in it in which I have not prayed.' I was witness 
 to your unexampled patience and forbearance ; mayhap, I taxed the 
 latter too largely myself ! You had, moreover, a marvellous gift of 
 caution and prudence. Many are too prudent to do anything ; but 
 yours was the blending of working and wisdom. I never knew you 
 do an injudicious thing, a thing on which you could now reflect with 
 regret. And I rejoice that the friendship begun a quarter of an hour 
 after I arrived at Graham's Town has continued, and it will last, I 
 am assured, to our lives' end." 
 
 Soon after this, Mr. Shaw, in common with all the well- 
 wishers of Methodism, had to lament the death of John, 
 Vanner, Esq., an estimable man, and an old and tried friend 
 of our Missions, who in early life had been a companion 
 of the late Eev. John Ajliff, the African Missionary, and 
 one of Mr. Shaw's colleagues ; he died June 10th, 1866, 
 aged sixty-six years. 
 
 One of the duties of the English President is to attend 
 the Irish Conference. This commenced on the 20th of 
 June, at Dublin. Mr. Shaw was accompanied by his son- 
 in-law, the Eev. William Impey. Every one who has 
 shared in the hospitalities of our Irish friends can imagine 
 the hearty greeting with which the President and deputa- 
 tion were received, and the overpowering kindness which 
 followed them to the end of their stay in Dublin. The 
 Presidential year was now drawing to a close. The Con- 
 ference was held at Letds, and on Thursday, the 26th of
 
 -302 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 July, Mr. Shaw delivered the insignia of office to a worthy 
 successor, the Eev. William Arthur, thankful that he had 
 teen spared to discharge the duties of his office with 
 satisfaction to his brethren and to the Connexion generally. 
 The remarks which appeared in the " Watchman " of the 
 2nd of August, to the effect that " nothing could have 
 been more courteous, dignified, or Christian, than the 
 manner in which he has throughout discharged his duties," 
 may be regarded as expressing the general opinion of the 
 character of his official year. One more duty as Ex-President 
 remained to be performed. On Thursday, the 2nd of 
 August, he delivered the Charge at the Ordination of the 
 young Ministers in Oxford Place Chapel, which is a fair 
 specimen of his good sense and fidelity, profitable to be 
 read by all of us, whether Ministers or members of the 
 Christian Church.
 
 303 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Circuit Work in Chelsea and York, until his Retirement at the Hull 
 Conference, 1866-9. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after the Conference, (1866,) Mr. Shaw, 
 released from his responsible official duties, enjoyed with 
 his family a brief sojourn at Tunbridge Wells, and then 
 resumed the charge of the Circuit work in Chelsea. The 
 mental and physical strain of the Presidential year was 
 not, however, fully removed by the temporary change of 
 air and locality, and for several weeks he was laid up, per- 
 fectly unfitted for the discharge of his Ministerial duties. 
 On his recovery, he had to lament the loss of a dear friend 
 in the death of the Eev. William M. Bunting, son of the 
 Zate Eev. Dr. Bunting, which took place on the 13th of 
 November, 1866, in his sixty-first year. This singularly 
 excellent man was remarkable not only for his extraordinary 
 ability, but for his sympathy with his brethren, which 
 endeared him to the great body of the Wesleyan Preachers. 
 His unsectarian spirit found a congenial sphere in connex- 
 ion with " the Evangelical Alliance," of which he was one 
 of the earliest friends. " In social life he was conspicuous 
 for his wide sympathies and tender affections, and he 
 exercised an influence which it was almost impossible to 
 escape from or forget." Those who had enjoyed the plea- 
 sure of his personal intercourse can never forget him.
 
 304 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A letter was addressed by Mr. Shaw to the Eev. H. JL 
 Dugmore, (Cape of Good Hope,) dated Chelsea, December 
 18th, 1866, acknowledging the receipt of a Sermon 
 preached by him at Queen's Town, July 15th, 1866, and 
 published in defence of the great spiritual revival, in 
 1865, in South Africa. This gracious work was in con- 
 nexion with the labours of that worthy, but eccentric, 
 American Methodist Minister, the Eev. William Taylor ; 
 full particulars of which may be found in the "Mis- 
 sionary Notices," and in Mr. Taylor's " Christian Adven- 
 tures in South Africa," 12mo., 1867. Mr. Dugmore's- 
 Sermon makes a pamphlet of sixteen pages 8vo., and is 
 a manly and Scriptural defence of the genuineness and 
 reality of those seasons of religious earnestness which are 
 commonly called "revivals," and especially of the great 
 awakening in the Colony of the Cape and in Kaffirland, 
 which followed the Ministry of the above-mentioned 
 American Eevivalist. Some of the phenomena on such 
 occasions as, for instance, the intense feeling and dis- 
 regard of ordinary proprieties displayed by persons under 
 deep conviction for sin, or rejoicing in the sense of pardon 
 prove stumbling-blocks not only to them that are without, 
 but to many sincere Christians. But when results mani- 
 fest the presence of " the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver 
 of Life," some overstepping of the ordinary convention- 
 alities of life and speech may be condoned. Sensible men 
 of the world will not hastily ridicule what they have not 
 felt and cannot understand, when they see numbers 
 " pricked in their hearts," and earnestly seeking for pardon 
 and peace, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Shaw's 
 letter will interest his surviving friends, especially as a
 
 CIRCUIT WORK IN CHELSEA. 305 
 
 fair specimen of the liberal and broad views which he 
 held respecting religious revivals, although in his mental 
 constitution, habits, and prepossessions thoroughly con- 
 servative, and anxious at all times to observe decency and 
 order in public worship. 
 
 I received with great gratification your kind letter, which should 
 have had an earlier acknowledgment, but immediately on my return 
 in September from the Conference I was seized with an affliction 
 that prostrated me for several weeks, so that I was entirely laid aside 
 irorn all public duty. You may imagine how greatly this trial was 
 increased, by my affliction occurring during the last few weeks of 
 the stay of Mr. and Mrs. Impey. Owing to my incessant public 
 duties I had been enabled to enjoy only amidst great interruptions 
 my intercourse with them. I had promised myself after the Con- 
 ference better opportunitis for enjoying their Society, when the 
 affliction, and afterwards my unavoidable going to Tunbridge Wells 
 for a fortnight by the doctor's orders to recruit my lost strength, pre- 
 vented my realizing many pleasant anticipations. However, I must 
 not complain. God has been very gracious to me in this matter of 
 health, and I have abundant reasons to praise Him that I am now 
 so far restored as to be able to resume my Circuit duties. 
 
 You may well congratulate me on the completion of the year of my 
 Presidency, which had expired before your letter came to hand. In that 
 instance it is a happier thing to put off the armour than to gird it on. 
 The responsibility and the incessant occupation connected with the 
 office in the present extended state of the Body are very great indeed. 
 All manner of affairs, temporal and spiritual, affecting the welfare of 
 our vast Connexion, are brought under the notice of the President 
 through the year, and require his attention and decisive action. 
 Through Divine mercy my health during the whole year was excellent ; 
 and although I had not the advantage of many of my predecessors of 
 long familiarity with the multifarious details of English Methodism, 
 yet I was preserved from falling into any serious error in my decisions, 
 and received the most gratifying assurances at the Conference of the 
 satisfaction of the brethren with my official bearing and conduct. 
 
 x
 
 306 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 This is the highest reward that a retiring President can receive on 
 earth, and was therefore very satisfactory to my mind. I am 
 extremely obliged to you for sending a copy of your published 
 Sermon for me ; but as you had addressed it to the President, or 
 had told them at the Mission House that it was for the President, 
 they naturally handed it over to the President, I being now 
 only the Ex-President, thus the copy which was designed for 
 me got into Mr. Arthur's hands. I am not at all sorry that this 
 mistake occurred, as he wanted information about your great revival, 
 and your discourse would add to his stock of knowledge on this 
 deeply interesting subject. I should have told him of the mistake, so 
 as to have secured this copy that you meant for me, but that I was 
 supplied from another source, and I have therefore said nothing to 
 him about it. 
 
 I consider your sermon a thorough defence so far as it was requisite 
 to defend this great work of God from the objections of cavillers, 
 whether they be shiners or saints. As a general rule, I believe it is 
 better to avoid controversy while a revival is in progress ; but there 
 are circumstances sometimes connected with such seasons of refresh- 
 ing which require to be publicly noticed (either from the pulpit or 
 the press). Ministers on the spot, who know the local feelings that 
 have been excited, and their influence on the good work, are the best 
 judges when to speak, and when to refrain from speaking thereon. 
 As you evidently preached and afterwards printed this discourse 
 tinder a conviction of duty, I have no doubt it was a needful service ; 
 and being needed, I know not how it could have been better done 
 than you have done it in this logical, scriptural, and decisive discourse. 
 I trust that many who read it will learn to honour the Lord the 
 Spirit in the glorious work which you have been privileged to see 
 in South Eastern Africa. 
 
 My friend the President will be glad to see your defence of your 
 having availed yourselves of Mr. Taylor's labours. He and I and 
 some others rather differ on this point from some eminent and in- 
 fluential men among us, who from past recollections have been led 
 to indulge what I regard as an unreasonable fear of employing any 
 kind of foreign agency, or unusual agency, in the promotion of
 
 CIRCUIT WORK IN CHELSEA. 307 
 
 revivals. There is no doubt Mr. Caughey is a good and earnest man, 
 and a successful preacher. He was the instrument of great good 
 more than twenty years ago, promoting extensive revivals in various 
 parts of this kingdom. But he had less wisdom and discretion than 
 zeal ; hence he began to meddle with matters that did not belong to 
 him as a stranger to interfere with. The Ministers met this by 
 objecting to his having constant access to our people and congrega- 
 tions, while he was not amenable like all the other Ministers to our 
 Districts and Conference, and therefore could not be called upon to 
 explain such parts of his proceedings as were calculated to be mis- 
 chievous among our people. The result of all this was shyness, 
 jealousy, and from a sense of duty many Superintendents closed 
 the pulpits against him. This, as was to be expected, roused 
 the spirit of the party, and was the great cause of the terrible 
 division which, within three or four years, separated so many of our 
 people from us, that we lost in two years more than we had gained 
 in ten years' steady labour. The congregations in many places, as 
 the result of the accompanying strife, were scattered, and the work 
 in those places had to be commenced de novo, under the pressure of 
 very serious difficulties. When all this is fairly considered, we need 
 not wonder that many of our ablest and most experienced Ministers are 
 very jealous about the employment of strangers from America or 
 elsewhere, lest with the good there should come in such a measure of 
 evil as would produce an aggregate amount of spiritual loss, which 
 would leave no trace of the good that was done, but rather involve 
 us in a loss of spiritual power and influence to such an extent that 
 the labour of years might be in this manner destroyed. 
 
 I cannot, however, in all this see a solid reason for declining to use 
 any agency which there is reason to believe is of God, because of 
 the possible evil which may arise therefrom in consequence of human 
 infirmity. If we were to adopt that as a general principle, we could 
 not employ any man in doing the work of God : for who is there that 
 is not liable to fall into temptation, to do evil, and consequently 
 injure the very work which for a time God was pleased to bless with 
 great succees ? It seems to me that we ought to avail ourselves of 
 every available help, when we are satisfied that the character of 
 
 x 2
 
 308 CHAPTEB XIV. 
 
 the man, and his mode of proceeding, will bear the application of the 
 Scriptural tests. Hence, I am very glad that my brethren in South 
 Africa accepted the proffered aid of the flying visits of Mr. Taylor, 
 You had long been ploughing and sowing ; yon just needed some of 
 those thunder-claps, followed by teeming rains, with which you are 
 so familiar in the natural world in your climate, to occur in your 
 religious Societies. As the farmers in your land hail the result of 
 the one in the green fields and rapidly growing crops, so I am not 
 surprised to find that after your showers of blessing you all write in 
 terms of grateful joy and thanksgiving. And my belief is that the 
 very report of the great things which God has done for you will 
 prove an abundant blessing to the Home Connexion, by the quick- 
 ening influence the very recital of such stirring events will have upon 
 our people. Hence, whatever any among our able and experienced 
 men may think or fear, I have not met with one who has permitted 
 himself to say a word against it. The marks of a great work of God 
 are so evident, that all are constrained to praise His holy Name who 
 only doeth wondrous things. May you go on and prosper yet more- 
 and more. 
 
 About the time this arrives, you will probably have seen or heard 
 from Mr. Impey, who can tell you all our affairs. I hope his visit 
 will prove an advantage to the Mission in all its departments and 
 Districts. There has been a revival of interest in South African 
 Missions ; and I trust our Committee will (as far as its means will 
 allow) take advantage of the flowing tide to float onwards the various 
 plans which they have approved, with the view of promoting its 
 prosperity. It must be pleasant to you to have all your family near 
 you. I rejoice greatly in your joy on their behalf. Pray give my kind- 
 est regards to dear Mrs. Dugmore, and remember me affectionately 
 to my old friend, Mr. Shepstone, whose health I trust continues equal 
 to his extensive duties. Kind remembrances to any of the brethren. 
 or people who inquire after me. 
 
 Early in 1867, the sudden death at Salem, in South 
 Africa, of W. H. Matthews, Esq., J.P., one of the original 
 settlers of 1819-20, called forth from Mr. Shaw a respect-
 
 CIECUIT WORK IN CHELSEA. 309 
 
 fill reference in a letter which appeared in the " Watch- 
 man " in April of that year. Mr. Matthews, at a very 
 early period in the history of the settlement, was induced 
 by Mr. Shaw to commence an academy at Salem. He had 
 the honour of educating some of the most respectable 
 and influential of the men who now, either as men of 
 business or officials, are a credit to South Africa. On the 
 morning of the 22nd of January, Mr. Matthews arose at his 
 usual early hour, and was heard moving about the room. 
 On being called to breakfast, he was found dead in his 
 chair, with an open Bible before him. His age was 
 seventy-four. 
 
 Mr. Shaw's early identification with a British colony, 
 and his long residence in it, gave him naturally a strong 
 bias in favour of our Colonial possessions in any part of 
 the world. With the narrow, one-sided prejudices of those 
 who object to our Colonies on the ground of the expense 
 attending their first settlement and subsequent guardian- 
 ship, he had no sympathy. In the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries this class of economists grudged the cost 
 of the voyages and expeditions of our Drakes and Ealeighs, 
 and the subsequent outlay and expenditure of capital in 
 the settlement of Virginia and New England. They said, 
 " To what purpose is this waste ?" and the men of that 
 generation " approved their sayings." But in this, as in 
 spirituals, "Wisdom is justified of her children." The 
 return for this " waste " is the fee simple of North America, 
 of South Africa, and of Australasia, to say nothing of 
 India. More than fifty millions of the European race, 
 speaking the English language, and for the most part 
 adherents of the Protestant religion, are the results of
 
 310 CHAPTER xrv. 
 
 colonization. What would England be in this nineteenth 1 
 century without America, Australasia, and India ? Morally, 
 and intellectually, and politically, the spread of the Eng- 
 lish race teems with blessings for the whole human 
 family. It is the hope of the world. Without an appre- 
 ciation of the value of the Colonies, Mr. Shaw readily 
 embraced, on the 18th of May, 1867, the opportunity of 
 testifying his sympathy with our Australasian brethren on 
 the occasion of the departure of the new Mission ship,. 
 " John Wesley," built to replace one of the same name 
 which had been lost on a reef in the South Seas. A large 
 party were assembled on board the vessel moored near to 
 Gravesend. Among them were the Kev. Dr. Osborn, the 
 Eev. W. B. Boyce, and the Eev. G. T. Perks, Secretaries 
 of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, the Eev. John Scott, 
 one of the Treasurers, the Eev. Dr. Waddy, Benjamin. 
 Frankland, and William Shaw, the Ex-President. The 
 Eev. James Calvert, William Butters, and John Eggleston, 
 represented the Australian Colonies ; and Messrs. J. J. 
 Lidgett, Isaac Holden, M.P., Duncan Archer, G. E. 
 Meakin, Webb, and others, the laity of Methodism. The 
 Meeting was both pleasant and profitable. Speeches were 
 delivered by Mr. Shaw and others. Of that party, four 
 from among the number are now no more. The Eev. J. 
 Caldwell, a most excellent and zealous young Missionary, a 
 passenger to Melbourne, sent out to take charge of the 
 Chinese Mission in Victoria, was, within a brief period, acci- 
 dentally drowned in China while bathing : the Eev. John 
 Scott, Mr. J. J. Lidgett, his talented son-in-law, and the 
 Eev. William Shaw, have since been removed from us. It is, 
 no doubt necessary that even our happiest social reminis-
 
 CIRCUIT WORK IN CHELSEA. 311 
 
 cences should be of a mingled character : if life be spared to 
 three-score and beyond, our memories must recall much 
 calculated " to damp our earthly joys." All the discipline 
 of life is more or less a weaning from earth, as well as a 
 preparation for heaven ; and the older we are, the more we 
 feel, and perhaps the more we need, the weaning process. 
 
 Soon after the departure of the Mission ship, Mr. Shaw 
 was on the Missionary Deputation for the Channel Islands, 
 in connexion with which, on the llth of June, 1867, he 
 delivered a lecture on the Kaffir Missions, in the school- 
 room of Ebenezer Chapel, Guernsey, thus contributing 
 largely to the interest of the Anniversary, which was 
 characterized by the local press as " one of the most 
 remarkable among those which have been celebrated in 
 the island." 
 
 In the winter of 1867, and the spring and summer of 
 1868, a large number of Wesleyan Missionaries and others, 
 the personal friends of Mr. Shaw, were removed by death. 
 Among them we may especially mention the Eev. Samuel 
 Broadbent, January 1st, 1867, in the seventy-third year 
 of his age, who early in life laboured in Ceylon, and was 
 afterwards for a brief period a colleague of Mr. Shaw in 
 South Africa ; the Eev. Dr. Hannah, Theological Tutor in 
 the Didsbury Institution, 29th of December, 1867, aged 
 seventy-five; the Eev. John Scott, Principal of the Normal 
 College, Westminster, on the 10th of January, 1868, aged 
 seventy-six ; the Eev. E. Spence Hardy, well known in 
 connexion with Singhalese literature and the Mission in 
 Ceylon, the 16th of April, 1868 ; the Eev. Thomas 
 Hall Squance, one of the Missionaries who, in 1813, sailed 
 with Dr. Coke to India, on the 21st of April, 1868, aged
 
 312 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 seventy-six; and, last of all, the Eev. William Naylor, 
 one of the surviving Ministers who were present at the 
 first Missionary Meeting in Leeds in 1813, died on the 10th 
 of July, 1868, aged eighty-six. I have referred to these 
 and other honoured names, in the course of this narrative, 
 because they are associated in my mind with the memory 
 of Mr. Shaw: they were men with whom he was much 
 brought in contact during his residence in England, men 
 by whom he was highly esteemed, and for whom he enter- 
 tained a similar regard. 
 
 The even tenor of Mr. Shaw's Circuit duties in Chelsea 
 was affected by the vacancy caused by the unexpected 
 removal of the Principal of the Westminster Normal Col- 
 lege. It was desirable that some man of high character, 
 possessing the confidence of the Connexion, should at once 
 occupy the vacant position until the Conference. Mr. 
 Shaw was unanimously requested by the Education Com- 
 mittee to undertake this onerous duty. He therefore 
 removed from his residence in Walpole Street, Chelsea, to 
 the College, provision being made for the working of the 
 Circuit, which yet remained under his superintendence. Mr. 
 Shaw had from the first year of his arrival in England taken 
 a deep interest in the educational work of Methodism, and 
 his name is found as a speaker in numerous educational 
 meetings, especially the Annual Anniversary gatherings 
 in Centenary Hall. Mr. Scott always expected Mr. Shaw's 
 support on such occasions, and was never disappointed. 
 I used to laugh at my old friend's unremitting diligence 
 in his attendance on these and other public meetings. 
 Like another old friend, Dr. Osborn, (happily yet spared to 
 us,) it appeared to me as if it were a pleasure to him to follow
 
 CIRCUIT WORK IN CHELSEA. 313 
 
 ihe dullest and most tedious speaker, and even a succession 
 of such ! Such men are rare : and those who speak much in 
 public should feel thankful that there are men in the world 
 by whom the exercise of the grace of patience is not only felt 
 to be a duty, but a delight. I cannot say that I am one 
 of that valuable class. Had Mr. Shaw been forty-five 
 instead of sixty-eight, he would have made an admirable 
 successor to the office which Mr. Scott had so ably filled. 
 He wisely refused to listen to any such suggestion ; and 
 no man rejoiced more than himself when our common friend, 
 the Kev. Dr. Eigg, was appointed by the Conference of 1868 
 to that position. Dr. Eigg was the right manin the right place 
 a metaphysician and theologian, yet possessing business 
 tact and sound common sense ; rigidly orthodox, and yet 
 broad in his views ; looking far and wide from his standpoint, 
 but never for a moment straying from his safe position 
 on the only foundation, "the faith which was once delivered 
 to the saints." (Jude 3.) 
 
 But though Mr. Shaw's rule at the Westminster College 
 was very brief, it was not barren of important results. 
 He kept in view the project which had been started of 
 the erection of a new chapel in Westminster, one which 
 should be worthy of the locality and suitable for the 
 accommodation of the students, as well as of the ordi- 
 nary congregations. On the 22nd of April he advocated 
 in a letter in the " Watchman " newspaper the scheme as 
 a fitting memorial of the late Principal, the Eev. John 
 Scott. The virtual pledge and sanction of the Conference 
 had already been given to this undertaking. At the Con- 
 ference following, Mr. Shaw was its zealous advocate in 
 the preliminary Committees. It is hardly necessary to
 
 314 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 remark, that what was desired and designed then, has since 
 been carried out, and Westminster has now a spacious 
 chapel, distinguished architecturally by the extreme and 
 almost unsightly absence of ornament, but in other 
 respects well adapted for the preaching of the Gospel. 
 
 The Conference, July and August, 1868, was held at 
 Liverpool. Mr. Shaw was appointed to the York Circuit, 
 contrary to his own wishes, his physical strength, as he 
 thought, being scarcely equal to the duties of such an exten- 
 sive Circuit, specially laborious on account of the number of 
 country places connected with it. But his objections were 
 overruled, as a wise and judicious man was needed to fill 
 the position of Chairman of the District ; and an assistant, 
 the Eev. Joseph Shrimpton, was granted to him. A year's 
 experience of the cold winter of that northern county led 
 him to think that the time had come for his retirement 
 from the full work of the Ministry ; but he came to no 
 hasty decision on a point of so much importance. Mean- 
 while, his interest in all matters affecting the Connexion 
 and Protestantism was unabated. Not being able to attend 
 a meeting of " the Committee for Cases of Exigency,'* 
 appointed to meet on Monday, July 5th, at the Centenary 
 Hall, London, " To consider certain proposed amendments 
 to the Irish Church Bill, having for their object the support 
 of Popery in Ireland," he wrote, as requested by the Secre- 
 tary, Dr. Jobson, a full statement of his own views, dated 
 Scarborough, July 2nd, 1869, of which the following is an 
 extract : 
 
 Several engagements to attend Missionary Meetings next week will 
 render it impracticable for me to attend the Meeting of tlie Committee 
 of Exigency. I have nothing to say upon the subject of the Irish
 
 CIRCUIT WORK IN YOKE. 315 
 
 Church Bill, and the Lords' proposed Amendments, but what will, I 
 presume, be much in accordance with the opinions of the other mem- 
 bers of the Committee. It was clear from the beginning that we 
 could take no Connexional action as to the general principle of the 
 Irish Church Bill ; the opinion of our people being much divided 
 thereon. No other course was open, but for our Ministers and people 
 to be left to act in their individual capacities, according to their own 
 discretion ; each, however, taking care to speak, write, and act with- 
 in the fair limits of Christian courtesy. 
 
 The proposed Amendments by the Lords place a different issue 
 before us. The question they raise is no longer as to the principle 
 of the Bill, but as to details of its application, which are calculated 
 to do much beyond the mere compensation of the Bman Catholics for 
 the loss of the existing endowment of Maynooth, already by the Bill 
 provided for on an extravagantly liberal scale. These Amendments, 
 if carried, will vastly extend the endowment of Popery. If in this 
 settlement Parliament cannot avoid recognising the fatal mistake of 
 the endowment of Maynooth, we ought surely to abide by our 
 principles, and protest in clear and decisive terms against a repetition 
 of that error, by a further endowment of Irish Popery with 
 parsonages and glebes, and thus vastly increasing its power for mis 
 chief. I am confident that numbers of our people, who have believed 
 it their duty to give their votes and influence against the Irish Church 
 Bill, will be found very ready and forward to join in a decided 
 demonstration against the insidious proposals for further endowment 
 of Popery. 
 
 To insure our unanimity on this matter, it may be well that any 
 document which is to speak on behalf of the Connexion, should not- 
 contain anything either in favour of or against the Bill itself ; but 
 our protest should be confined to the Amendments which carry the 
 principle of concurrent endowment far beyond the mere compensa- 
 tion of existing life and other interests. 
 
 Every sound Protestant, and in fact every consistent 
 friend of religious equality and of civil and religious 
 liberty, will be inclined to endorse Mr. Shaw's views. No
 
 316 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 one wishes to interfere with the religious privileges of the 
 Eoman Catholics, whether in England or Ireland, but it is 
 the bounden duty of all the friends of civil and religious 
 liberty firmly to oppose the exclusive and arrogant preten- 
 sions of the Ultramontane party. The miserable truckling 
 of the leaders of our two great political parties to the 
 Popish Hierarchy for purely electioneering purposes, is the 
 most disgraceful fact in the party history of our country 
 since the year 1830. Every administration bids as high 
 as it dares for the Popish vote, and is willing to sacrifice- 
 Protestantism, and the rights of the Eomanist laity, in 
 return for Parliamentary support. Luckily, no Ministry 
 betrayed into the manifestation of strong Popish pro- 
 clivities can long retain office. The people of England, 
 though for the most part not sufficiently alive to the dan- 
 gers of the present juncture, have an instinctive hatred 
 and dread of priestly assumption, whether Popish or 
 Puseyite ; and this, under God, is our safety. 
 
 The Conference of July and August, 1869, was held at 
 Hull. After consulting with Dr. Jobson, (the President,) 
 and with Dr. Osborn, Mr. Arthur, and others, Mr. 
 Shaw resolved to apply for leave to " sit down," a tech- 
 nical phrase peculiar to Methodism, used to express a 
 Minister's retirement from the active duties of Circuit 
 work. The retiring brother then becomes what is very 
 tmcouthly and unmeaningly called a Supernumerary. He 
 is henceforth one beyond the number of regular itinerant 
 Ministers in full work ; and if the value of a Minister is to 
 be calculated by the number of miles he can walk or ride, 
 and the number of sermons he can preach within the 
 week, the phrase is not inapplicable. Mere muscular
 
 EETIBEMENT. 317 
 
 peripatetic power in our young divines is useful in certain 
 extensive Circuits, in which no horse is kept, and which thus 
 find profit and" pleasure in the legs of a man." (Psalm cxlvii. 
 10.) Many of us in our younger days had reason to be 
 thankful for and to rejoice in our power to endure the 
 fatigue of walking Circuits; and this physical gift was 
 some compensation to our consciences for our deficiencies 
 in more important matters, deficiencies, however, which 
 were perhaps more felt by ourselves than by our good and 
 considerate people. But in more mature life we hope to 
 be valued rather for our brains and our affections than for 
 our legs. Just when the mind is most mature, our system 
 obliges our Ministers to retire from the active work. Such 
 is the pressure of that work in every department, that the 
 Methodist Church fancies it cannot afford to retain in its 
 full ministry men who, though no longer " strong to labour " 
 physically, yet possess the experience, judgment, and wis- 
 dom which the oversight of the work requires, especially 
 in large Circuits. Every year the Conference feels the 
 want of judicious Superintendents of Circuits, and of 
 Chairmen of Districts. Sooner or later the Connexion 
 will (happily for the benefit of the Church) be compelled 
 to make arrangements to retain the services of many of 
 its able and wise seniors, instead of permitting them to 
 retire from public life. It was with deep feeling, with 
 difficulty suppressed, that this application to retire from the 
 active work was made. The President remarked "on the 
 honourable position which Mr. Shaw had so long filled before 
 Methodism and the public at large, and hoped that his retire- 
 ment from active life would be marked by a suitable record in 
 the journal of their proceedings." Then turning to Mr. Shaw,
 
 318 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 he said, in his warm, affectionate manner, " Let me assure 
 you, Mr. Shaw, that when you retire you will not be forgotten 
 hy us. We love you, venerate you, and thank God for you, 
 and we pray that God's blessing may be with you, and 
 that in your later years you will find Him your support 
 and consolation." The Eev. William Arthur " felt much 
 at the closing ministry of such men as Mr. Shaw, whom 
 God had called to do not common work, but uncommon 
 work. Among uncommon Missionaries William Shaw was 
 one whom his Master had uncommonly honoured." The 
 Bev. Dr. Osborn " could never forget the time when Mr. 
 Shaw first left for his African Mission. From early boy- 
 hood he had been observant of his course, having, from a 
 conversation which took place at his father's breakfast- 
 table, been so far interested as to follow Mr. Shaw's 
 every step in public life, and to cherish a love and 
 esteem for him which was growing still;" and, in 
 conclusion, remarked, " God be praised for that long 
 career of various services at home and abroad, now, I 
 cannot but think, most properly and wisely brought to a 
 termination, so far as activity and responsible posts of 
 duty are concerned. God grant that this retirement may 
 add many years to Mr. Shaw's life. We have often 
 mourned over noble men who have fallen in harness, or 
 who have used in active service the very last remains of 
 their strength. I hope you will avoid that practical mis- 
 take, and by the step which is taken to-day, you will secure 
 to us the valut of his presence and counsels for years to 
 come." The Eev. Thornley Smith and the Kev. John 
 Bichards, who had been fellow-labourers with Mr. Shaw 
 in South Africa, followed with remarks suitable to the 
 occasion.
 
 319 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Active Supernumerary Life of Mr. Shaw, 1869-1872. 
 
 WITHIN a few weeks after the Conference, August, 1869, 
 Mr. Shaw left York, and, after residing a few weeks at 
 Harrogate and Buxton, he settled down for the winter at 
 Bournemouth, one of the new rising bathing towns called 
 into being by the demand arising out of the hypochon- 
 driacal fancies of the higher and well-to-do middle-class 
 population of our large towns. Half a century ago, Bath, 
 Cheltenham, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Eamsgate and 
 Margate, and the nearest seaport, furnished sufficient 
 accommodation for all who needed, or fancied they needed, 
 the renovating waters of a Spa, or the refreshment of 
 sea-bathing. Now, the names of these resorts of the idle 
 .and the invalid are too numerous to mention. It may be 
 that to some such changes may be desirable and even 
 necessary ; but in most cases the influential motive which 
 annually induces large numbers of otherwise sensible 
 people to leave their comfortable home residences, and to 
 submit to the limited accommodation, the dirt, and other 
 inconveniences, and the extortions of a crowded Spa or 
 bathing village, is fashion. With this all-potent power 
 it is in vain to reason. Mr. Shaw was not, however, 
 influenced by the prevailing custom ; but, as he was with- 
 out a settled residence, he wisely chose for his temporary 
 abode a village, the genial climate of which seemed
 
 320 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 likely to prove beneficial to his health : nor were his 
 expectations disappointed. The bronchial symptoms, which 
 for a time were threatening, were in a few weeks quite 
 relieved, and he soon became impatient to begin the new 
 life he had marked out for himself as a Supernumerary, 
 " to become more than ever the servant of the Connexion,, 
 by close and assiduous attention to the duties of its various 
 Committees." No man ever more thoroughly succeeded 
 in carrying out his intentions in this respect than my old 
 friend. For every service in Methodism, and especially in 
 attendance upon Committees, there never was a man more 
 ready or more diligent and faithful. At Bournemouth 
 Mr. Shaw took his share in the religious services in the 
 Wesleyan chapel, and, on the 12th of December, 1869, 
 preached the Anniversary Sermon on behalf of the trust 
 funds. In the spring of 1870, (25th of March,) he removed 
 toBrixton, and took up his residence at No. 2, Hayter Eoad, 
 Brixton Bise, next door to his old friend Mr. Boyce, and. 
 not far from the residences of his friends, Messrs. John 
 Chubb, J. F. Bennett, William M'Arthur, M.P., Alexander 
 M'Arthur, Bev. Luke Tyerman, Bev. W. Butters, and. 
 others. 
 
 It will be now necessary to refer to the changes which 
 had taken place in South Africa since Mr. Shaw's departure 
 in 1856. Politically the independence of the two Dutch 
 settlements beyond the Orange Biver was assented to by 
 the British Government one of the most suicidal acts ever, 
 perpetrated at the instance of a Colonial Government 
 in 1853. On the other hand, the Colony was favoured with 
 what might have been, and probably may eventually prove 
 to be, a blessing, a new Constitution, with an Upper and.
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 321 
 
 Lower House of Parliament ; but as its sessions and the 
 head-quarters of the Executive were fixed to remain at 
 Cape Town, the most important and enterprising part of 
 the population of the Colony were to a great extent deprived 
 of their due influence in the Legislature. To govern Southern 
 Africa from Cape Town is just as inconvenient as to govern 
 England from Penzance. If the Colony remain one, for 
 which there are many powerful reasons, the seat of Govern- 
 ment must be removed to Uitenhage, or some other central 
 position. On the 1st of July, 1854, the new Parliament 
 was opened at Cape Town. 
 
 In 1856, the very equivocal blessing of a batch of 
 German settlers, discharged soldiers from the foreign 
 legion employed by the British Government in the Crimean 
 war, was bestowed upon the Colonial Eastern frontier. 
 Three thousand men, with a very disproportionate accom- 
 paniment of women, and with habits which were generally 
 the reverse of what is desirable in a Colony, were no 
 welcome addition to the population. German farmers 
 and artizans would have been a great acquisition. If 
 soldiers had to be sent as Colonists, why soldiers of the 
 English race had not an opportunity given to them to 
 commence life anew under advantageous circumstances, 
 was a natural question, to which no satisfactory reply 
 could be given. The depredations of the Kaffir tribes on 
 the frontier, and the refractory conduct of some of the 
 Chiefs, seemed for some time to threaten the re-commence- 
 ment of the Kaffir war; but providentially the Govern- 
 ment was on this occasion on the alert, and prepared 
 to repel any inroad. Meanwhile, through the influence of 
 an impostor, Umlakazi, who claimed to be an inspired 
 
 Y
 
 322 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 prophet, the tribes west of the Kei were given up to a 
 strange infatuation, and were persuaded to abstain from 
 the cultivation of the ground, to destroy their hoards of 
 grain, and at once to kill all their cattle. The induce- 
 ment held out by the supposed prophet was, that there 
 would follow a resurrection of their forefathers, by whose 
 help they would be able to destroy the Europeans and all 
 Kaffir unbelievers. In encouraging this delusion, the 
 Chiefs had another object in view : they hoped that a 
 starving population, desperate, and without cattle or any 
 other food, would easily be induced to rush into the Colony, 
 and plunder the farmers or borderers of the extended 
 frontier, and thus commence a war. But after the food 
 and cattle had been destroyed, and the falsity of the pro- 
 mises of the prophet had been clearly proved, the scheme 
 could not be carried out ; and the consequence was a 
 loss of life by starvation, disease, and emigration, which 
 completely destroyed the power of the frontier Chiefs, 
 and enabled the Government to inflict deserved punish- 
 ment upon such as had broken faith with the Colony, and 
 had otherwise rendered themselves amenable to justice. 
 The Chief Kama, and many subordinate Chiefs, and their 
 people, were, through the influence of the Missionaries, 
 saved from the general delusion, and became in conse- 
 quence relatively more powerful and influential. The 
 Mission greatly prospered, and the Colonists, free from all 
 immediate danger of a Kaffir inroad, resumed, with their 
 usual diligence and energy, the cultivation of the arts of 
 peace. It is to be regretted that the Colonial Government, 
 which, in 1857, had wisely removed the Chief Krieli (the 
 main instigator of the proposed invasion of the Colony) and
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 323 
 
 Ids people beyond the Basbie River, and which bad arranged 
 to plant a body of Englisb settlers between tbe Kei and 
 tbat river in tbe territory vacated by Krieli, suddenly 
 changed its policy, and permitted that Chief and people to 
 resume their forfeited lands ; an error of judgment which 
 a few years hence may involve the Colony in another 
 Kaffir war, to the great loss of the lives and property of 
 our European and Native Colonists. To make no dis- 
 tinction between those Chiefs who are friends to the Colony, 
 and those who are its known enemies, (except in favour of 
 the latter,) has been too much the policy of the Colonial 
 Government, a policy which is thought to be "humane 
 and enlightened," but which tempts the Chiefs to acts of 
 insubordination, resulting in condign punishment and 
 eventual ruin. 
 
 As the fiftieth year since the formation of the Albany 
 Colony drew nigh, the Colonists made preparation for a 
 celebration of their Jubilee in the year 1870. It was hoped 
 that the health of Mr. Shaw would permit him to be pre- 
 sent on this joyous occasion. In the Missionary Eeport 
 lor 1868, (published April, 1869,) there is a brief account 
 of the state of the South African Missions, and a reference 
 to Mr. Shaw in connexion with the Colonial Jubilee Year, 
 of which the following is an extract : 
 
 " The South African Missions, within the Colonies of 
 the Cape and Natal and the Dutch Republics, employ sixty- 
 nine Missionaries, and report eleven thousand five hundred 
 and twenty-four members, with six thousand one hundred 
 and thirty-four day-school children. These Missions are 
 so mixed up with the Mission to the colonial natives, and 
 with the Mission in Xaffirland, the Bechuana Country, 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 and Natal, that their statistics cannot be separated. Few 
 Missions have been, on the whole, more satisfactory. More 
 than one generation of patient toil has been rewarded by 
 an extraordinary measure of success. The great revival 
 of the last two years has resulted in extensive and perma- 
 nent good. A native Ministry has been raised up, and a 
 native literature is in course of formation. Already 
 several editions of the entire Scriptures in Kaffir have 
 been circulated. Our respected friend, the Rev. William 
 Shaw, if spared until the beginning of next year, will cele- 
 brate in spirit with the Colonists the Jubilee of their Colony, 
 (the Albany Settlement,) and of the Mission of which he 
 was the founder and father. Another name associated 
 with the South African Mission must not be forgotten, that 
 of the late Barnabas Shaw, whose eloquent letters and 
 journals more than half a century ago contributed so 
 much to awaken and deepen Missionary feeling in England. 
 The last few years have been years of commercial depres- 
 sion in the South African Colonies, from which, however, 
 they are recovering, though slowly. In the retrospect of 
 half a century, the Christian philanthropist has great 
 reason to thank God and take courage. So many intelli- 
 gent and, for the most part, Christian communities 
 studding the whole of South Africa nearly as far as the 
 tropics, cannot fail to be a blessing to that continent. To 
 the natives in and around the Colony these settlements 
 have been, on the whole, a great benefit: Notwithstand- 
 ing the wars which have arisen from the contact of 
 civilized and barbarous man, aggravated, if not caused, by 
 the vacillating policy of the Colonial Government, there 
 is now peace between the colonists and natives, and a
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 325 
 
 feeling of mutual confidence is growing up. The native 
 population is increasing, and there are hundreds of thou- 
 sands more native Africans living in peace and security at 
 this time under the Colonial Government, than at any pre- 
 vious period could be found within the territory now 
 included within the Colonial boundary." 
 
 In the Eeport for 1869, (published April, 1870,) the 
 subject is again resumed. 
 
 " The hope expressed in our last Eeport, that the Eev. 
 "William Shaw would * celebrate in spirit with the Colonists 
 the Jubilee of their Colony, (the Albany Settlement,) and 
 of the Mission of which he was the founder and father/ 
 has been happily realised : he has been spared to unite 
 his sympathies with those of his African friends and 
 brethren, though compelled by increasing infirmities to 
 retire from the active work of the Ministry. All the South 
 African Districts have passed Eesolutions expressive of their 
 high regard for Mr. Shaw, and of their regret that circum- 
 stances would not permit him to be present at the Jubilee 
 Celebration to be held on the 10th of April last, on which 
 day the first settlers landed in Algoa Bay in the year 
 1820." 
 
 The Jubilee itself was celebrated in Graham's Town, 
 on the 22nd of May, 1870. The Eev. H. H. Dugmore, 
 himself a settler, and the son of a settler, preached the 
 Sermon in that town, and delivered a Lecture, " The 
 Eeminiscences of an Albany Settler," which was after- 
 wards published, (8vo., pp. 56,) and will go down to pos- 
 terity as one of the most valuable contemporary sketches 
 of early " settler history." As might be expected, the 
 reference to the labours of the Eev. William Shaw, and of
 
 326 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 the agencies under his direction, is the expression of the 
 universal feeling in the Colony. "William Shaw had an 
 eye and a heart that embraced all Albany, and gladly com- 
 bined and guided the elements of usefulness wherever he 
 could find them. The 'locations ' of the various ' parties r 
 had Sabbath services conducted by men who proved their 
 own disinterested sincerity and earnestness by the long- 
 journeys they took, often on foot, without any remunera- 
 tion but the satisfaction of knowing that they were con- 
 serving the Christianity of their fellow Colonists, and 
 enjoying a gladdening sense of the smile of God upon their 
 labours." Services similar to those held in Graham's 
 Town were celebrated in all the settlements in the Eastern 
 division of the Colony, in remembrance and in honour 
 of the " Settler Fathers " of 1820. It is to be hoped that 
 before this generation passes away, steps may be taken to 
 preserve the names and histories of these adventurous 
 men, the founders of the British settlements in South East 
 Africa. Some future Greek Professor in the South African 
 University of the twentieth century may astonish and edify 
 the ingenuous youth of his academic class by a Dissertation 
 on the old (Ekists (as Grote calls them) of their African 
 fatherland ; and in our care for posterity we ought to be 
 careful that credible and well-proven facts should not be 
 lacking : otherwise, should the fashionable tendency in 
 favour of historical scepticism prevail, the names of the 
 heads of parties will, at some distant period, be regarded 
 as mere eponyms, and the whole history of the settlement 
 as a mere myth. Mr. Shaw's necessary absence from these 
 Jubilee festivals was a great disappointment to himself, as 
 well as to the Methodist people of South Africa. Gladly
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 327 
 
 would he have undertaken the voyage, and encountered 
 the fatigue of the excitement necessarily connected with 
 the joyous occasion ; but, after mature consideration, 
 he wisely denied himself this great pleasure. But his 
 heart was with his African friends, and his feelings were 
 such as " a stranger cannot enter into." Few men who 
 have taken a prominent part in the foundation of Colonies 
 and the formation of new Churches, have lived to witness 
 the results of a progress of fifty years. What a che- 
 quered history of trials and triumphs of prosperity, and 
 reverses, and reactions ! How many reminiscences, both 
 painful and pleasing, of the primal histories of his 
 fellow-emigrants and their families ! Nor would his 
 departed colleagues in the Mission work be forgotten : the 
 names of Threlfall, the Namaqualand martyr, of Whit- 
 worth, Hodgson, Broadbent, Shrewsbury, Palmer, Ayliff, 
 and others, who had laboured for Africa in connexion with 
 him, would not be forgotten. They had entered into rest, 
 and he looked forward to meet them again in the grand 
 company of the spirits of the just made perfect. Many 
 of us old men, in looking back upon those who, in public 
 and domestic life, were our fellow labourers in the heat 
 and burden of the day, feel that while our duties are with 
 the living, our tenderest sympathies and our warmest 
 affections are with our dead. 
 
 About this time the attention of the Methodist Minis- 
 ters and people was drawn to the question of National 
 Education by the enlargement of the views and plans of 
 the Executive of the Government, which led to the pass- 
 ing of Mr. Forster's Elementary Education Act in the 
 year 1870. Already, in 1869, it was obvious that there
 
 328 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 existed considerable difference of opinion as to the direc- 
 tion and extent of Government interference in this import- 
 ant matter. Churchmen and Nonconformists had their 
 fears as well as their hopes. The Clergy of the Church of 
 England had already done a great work in reference to 
 the National Education, assisted, of course, by the 
 Government grants which, since 1834, had been bestowed 
 in connexion with such efforts. Next to the Clergy, the 
 "Wesleyan-Methodist Ministers and people had heartily 
 engaged in this important work, with equal zeal and suc- 
 cess in proportion to their means. It was very natural 
 that the Government plan in prospect should be viewed in 
 its relation to religious territory, and to the position of the 
 numerous Denominational schools and colleges for train- 
 ing masters already in existence. In November, 1869, a 
 large and influential meeting of the Ministers and laymen 
 of the Methodist body met in the Centenary Hall ; but no 
 report was made of the proceedings, as it was merely pre- 
 liminary to another adjourned meeting to be held in the 
 spring of 1870. By this meeting certain Eesolutions were 
 passed, and a deputation appointed to wait upon the Pre- 
 mier (Mr. Gladstone), Mr. Shaw being one of the deputa- 
 tion, which had an interview with that distinguished 
 statesman on the 26th of May. But as a Eeport of the 
 adjourned meeting, its Eesolutions, and the interview of 
 the deputation with Mr. Gladstone, has been published, 
 we make no further reference to it. 
 
 The Conference of 1870 was held in Burslem, on which 
 occasion the brethren assembled honoured themselves by 
 the re-election of that veteran and able Minister, the Eev. 
 John Farrar, to the Presidential Chair. In the autumn of
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. BHAW. 329 
 
 this year Mr. Shaw was requested by the Directors of 
 " The Watchman " to take charge of that paper as Chair- 
 man of the Committee (the weekly rota). His business 
 was to provide a staff of writers for the weekly leaders, and 
 to exercise an oversight in all other important matters 
 requiring the attention of an editor. This journal, 
 though quite independent of the Conference or any 
 other official control, was for many years regarded as 
 the only accredited Wesleyan newspaper. Established in 
 1835 by a number of gentlemen who generously advanced 
 the capital, it was carried on for many years at a great 
 pecuniary sacrifice to the proprietors. The first Editor 
 was Dr. Humphrey Sandwith, a physician of high respect- 
 ability and of considerable literary acquirements : he was 
 the father of Humphrey Sandwith, Esq., of Kars celebrity, 
 and died on July 25th, 1874, aged eighty-two. The next 
 Editor was Dr. Bennett, now filling a responsible position 
 under the Government of New Zealand. In 1848, John 
 Clulow Eigg, Esq., the son of my dear old friend, the Eev. 
 John Eigg, by his first wife, Miss Clulow, of Macclesfield, 
 was appointed to this office. Mr. Eigg was what may be 
 called a Conservative Liberal : his sagacious foresight and 
 cautious instincts saved him from all extremes, while his 
 sympathy with all that was valuable in modern progress 
 qualified him for the very delicate task of guiding the 
 "Watchman" in the trying period of the Bo-called 
 " Eeform " agitation of 1849-53. As a writer he was occa- 
 sionally brilliant, generally thoughtful and timidly sug- 
 gestive, but sometimes, through over subtlety and extreme 
 caution, obscure. But he always wrote, both as respects 
 his style and matter, as a scholar and a Christian. With
 
 330 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 those who admire that smart, flippant, and antithetical 
 jingle of words which characterizes much of the current 
 literature of the day, he was not a popular writer. I was 
 first introduced to him by my friend Dr. Osborn, and our 
 acquaintance soon ripened into a friendship which only 
 ceased with his life. I was struck with the extent of his 
 reading, especially in Latin and French literature. Natural 
 science he had studied professionally in his training for 
 the medical profession, and in after life kept himself abreast 
 of the new facts and theories of our philosophers. With 
 the exception of the late James Nichols,*" one of the last 
 of the honourable race of learned printers, I never heard 
 of any man so familiar with the Latin writers of the 
 fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. Had he 
 been spared to old age to write his autobiography, the 
 narrative of his mental history would have equalled in 
 interest the " Confessions " of De Quincey and Coleridge. 
 When he died prematurely and suddenly on the 5th of 
 June, 1868, Mr. Shaw and I felt that we had lost a friend, 
 the like of whom in many respects we should never see 
 again. 
 
 Mr. J. H. Horton, the assistant-editor of " The Watchman," 
 has favoured me with some remarks bearing upon this brief 
 part of Mr. Shaw's life, which I am permitted to insert. 
 
 "Towards the close of 1870 the Eev. William Shaw 
 became Chairman of the weekly rota of ' The Watchman/ 
 
 * This remarkable man, the intimate friend of Richard Watson and Dr. 
 Bunting, was the Editor of several important works, the Translator and 
 Biographer of Arminius, and the Author of "Calvinism and Arminianism 
 compared," (1 vol. 8vo.,) a singular work, which contains a mine of infor- 
 mation respecting the political and religious literature of the Common- 
 wealth period. He died in 1861, aged seventy-six.
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 331 
 
 and this position he occupied until his death. He was 
 singularly qualified for the post he had undertaken. His 
 knowledge of Methodism at home and abroad was most 
 extensive, and he was well acquainted with general reli- 
 gious and political movements. Indeed, considering that 
 he had spent so many years away from England, it was 
 remarkable how fully he understood the various shades of 
 thought prevalent throughout Great Britain. He pos- 
 sessed, moreover, an evenly-balanced mind, and had no 
 political bias. He was, eminently, a Liberal Conservative. 
 Having no ambition to shine as a writer, it was, with him, 
 a task of duty and pleasure to select those most able, as 
 he believed, to supply articles for the journal alike ser- 
 viceable to Methodism, religion, and humanity. And yet 
 Mr. Shaw was himself a good writer, close in argument, 
 and chaste in expression. It was in his editorial capacity 
 that I first became acquainted with him, and the impres- 
 sion produced upon me was one of deep pleasure. The 
 upright form, the somewhat portly figure, the grey hair, 
 the kind-glancing eyes, are before me now. There was a 
 warm grasp from his hand, a grasp which told that the 
 heart moved the fingers, and a smile on the lips which 
 spoke more eloquently than the choicest words. His 
 mouth was very expressive. The irrepressible gentleness 
 and good humour of his nature played round his lips, as 
 they shone from his eyes. And I do not remember, during 
 the several years he conducted the paper, hearing one 
 harsh or unkind word escape his lips. To young writers 
 he was especially kind, and his encouraging words have 
 stimulated many to fresh exertions. There was no spark 
 of rivalry in his nature ; and if any error of judgment was
 
 332 CHAPTEB XV. 
 
 committed, he was ready to throw his shield over the 
 offender. His sense of the humorous was most keen, and 
 those who knew him will remember his joyous laugh, and 
 frank, honest smile. When an anecdote was being told, 
 as he was somewhat deaf, he would hold his hand ovef 
 his ear, and follow closely the words of the narrator. 
 Then, when the point came, his was the readiest laugh 
 his the fullest appreciation of the joke. And while he 
 could hold his own in an argument with an opponent on 
 any subject, (and when he had made up his mind was not 
 easily shaken in his ideas,) he was, as a rule, as yielding 
 and gentle as a child. I do not recall a more plea- 
 sant picture than when I saw him, holding a young girl 
 by the hand, looking with delight upon the little toys and 
 paper flowers treasured up by the boys in the Children's 
 Home in Bonner Eoad. As the sunlight fell on his face 
 and figure, I could understand, apart from his religious 
 labours, why he was beloved as a Missionary abroad. 
 
 " Though Mr. Shaw seldom wrote, when he felt that 
 some prominent question demanded more than ordinary 
 attention, he was most careful to see that full justice was 
 done to the subject. I have known him, after a heavy 
 debate in the House of Commons, lasting till the early 
 hours of Wednesday morning, come to the office of * The 
 Watchman ' shortly before the paper went to press, and 
 write, in his well-known, clear, firm hand, comments on 
 the general debate, and the arguments of the speakers. 
 This, remembering his age, was remarkable ; but more 
 remarkable was the quiet, easy way in which he performed 
 his task. Besides being an able leader-writer, Mr. Shaw 
 was a most critical, yet generous reviewer."
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 333 
 
 A religious paper like the " Watchman " labours under 
 many disadvantages in common with the religious press 
 generally. There is a prejudice against what are called 
 " Sectarian" organs of opinion as necessarily perpetuating 
 a sectarian and narrow school of thought, while on the 
 other hand the advocates of "authority" consistently 
 oppose the discussion of religious questions in any shape. 
 As a case in point we may quote the language of Dr. Hook, 
 the Archdeacon of Chichester, who, in summing up the 
 character of Bishop Bonner, remarks that "the evil pas- 
 sions of his vindictive mind, had he lived in our day, would 
 have found vent in the anonymous correspondence of a 
 newspaper, or in the conducting of some so-called religious 
 newspaper." The serious charge implied in this remark 
 would be difficult to prove. In Dr. Hook's sarcasm there 
 is more concentrated prejudice and venom than can be 
 found in all the religious journals of our country. We are 
 sorry to have to say to such men as Dr. Hook, whom, 
 while we differ from him, we esteem for his work's sake, 
 " Physician, heal thyself." 
 
 The Conference of 1871 was held in Manchester, the 
 Chair being occupied by the Eev. John H. James, D.D., 
 the worthy son of a worthy father, the Eev. John James,, 
 one of the General Secretaries of the Wesleyan Missionary 
 Society, a man of deep piety, an excellent preacher, and 
 most eloquent speaker, who died in 1832. Immediately 
 after the Conference, Mr. Shaw, accompanied by Mrs. Shaw, 
 visited Paris, in company with the Eev. William Gibson 
 and Mrs. Gibson, v*bo were returning to their station in 
 that city. Of the sendees connected with the Missionary 
 Anniversary, Mr. Gibson gives the following account :
 
 334 CHAPTEB XV. 
 
 " On Sunday, August 20th, the Missionary Sermons at 
 the Central Chapel, Eue Roquepine, were preached by the 
 Eev. W. Shaw. The text in the morning was Nahum i. 7 : 
 ' The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble ; 
 and He knoweth them that trust in Him ; ' in the evening, 
 Acts xiii. 26 : ' Men and brethren, children of the stock of 
 Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you 
 is the word of this salvation sent.' Both sermons were 
 characterized by great plainness of speech, earnest setting 
 forth of Gospel truth, and loving and fervent application. 
 A blessed influence of the Spirit accompanied the word of 
 the Preacher, and we believe that the ' bread cast upon 
 the waters ' will be ' seen after many days.' We held 
 our Annual Missionary Meeting on the following day. 
 Our expectations as to the number likely to attend were 
 not high ; for our English work in Paris, like many of the 
 houses around the city, has been almost laid in ruins by 
 the war. But, although the attendance was not large, and 
 not to be compared with former years, our hopes were far 
 more than realized. A cheerful company of English 
 people sat down to a plentiful tea at half-past six, and the 
 public meeting began at half-past seven. 
 
 " After the devotional exercises, the Eeport, &c., the Rev. 
 W. Shaw deeply interested the people for three-quarters of 
 an hour by a recital of his early Missionary experiences 
 in South Africa. It would be impossible in a brief sum- 
 mary to give a fair report of a Missionary speech which 
 arrested and held from its beginning to its close the 
 earnest attention of the congregation. Suffice it to say, 
 that it was full of Missionary information, grasped the 
 great subject in its broad view, and, with eagle glance,
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF ME. SHAW. 335 
 
 dealt with it also in detail. The appearance of Mr. Shaw, 
 coupled with the recollection that he went out as a Mis- 
 sionary to South Africa nearly fifty-two years ago, was a 
 Missionary speech of itself, and the words of the veteran 
 soldier of the Cross delighted while they informed, and 
 instructed while they pleased. 
 
 "On Tuesday, August 22nd, the Rev. W. Shaw went down 
 to hold a service at Chantilly, a place which now derives its 
 fame from the fact of its being the head-quarters of French 
 racing, but which formerly was noted as the abode of the 
 Conde family, and will probably in a few months become 
 the chosen home of the Duke d'Aumale. Once the well- 
 known chateau-residence of a branch of the royal family, 
 it will probably become such again. Unfortunately for 
 our work, the English families resident here have been 
 scattered. Before the war Chantiliy was one of the greenest 
 spots in the Paris Circuit ; but now all the props of the 
 chapel are removed, and tha work has to be begun again. 
 The need of the chapel, however, exists as much as ever; 
 for there are three or four hundred jockeys and stable 
 boys, who are careless and godless, and need to be sought 
 that they may be saved. After our usual tea-meeting 
 the Rev. W. Shaw delivered a most suitable and interest- 
 ing Missionary address. 
 
 " Our Circuit Missionary services were concluded at 
 Asnieres on Wednesday, the 23rd instant. The little 
 chapel has escaped destruction as if by a miracle. Houses 
 on the right and left have been laid low, and in some 
 directions the chariot of war has swept mercilessly along, 
 carrying desolation and ruin in its course. But in the 
 midst of all our little sanctuary has stood secure, and,
 
 336 CHATTER XV. 
 
 with the exception of comparatively insignificant injuries 
 from two or three fragments of shells, has come out of the 
 peril scathless. At three o'clock in the afternoon we 
 enjoyed a delightful service in this quiet sanctuary, and 
 felt the presence of God in our midst, while we listened to 
 an excellent sermon from the Eev. W. Shaw. A saddening 
 walk along the banks of the Seine, amid crumbling gables 
 and tottering roofs, and riddled walls and prostrate 
 houses, preceded the evening tea and meeting. Formerly 
 two hundred English people lived at Asnieres, but they 
 have either not returned, or have come back to find their 
 homes a ruin. Nevertheless, a fair congregation assem- 
 bled to hear a deeply-interesting statement of Missionary 
 facts from the veteran Missionary, who kindled into 
 warmth and almost enthusiasm as he narrated the early 
 toils and triumphs of the South African Mission. 
 
 " Thus came to a close a Missionary Anniversary which 
 will long be remembered with interest and pleasure by all 
 who were privileged to enjoy its blessed services and 
 meetings." 
 
 This being Mr. Shaw's first visit to Paris, he went 
 through the laborious duty of sight-seeing with his usual 
 patience, and was no doubt highly delighted at the time, 
 and yet more so when the task had been accomplished. 
 Mr. Gibson informs me of a curious incident on the occa- 
 sion of Mr. Shaw's visit to the National Assembly at Ver- 
 sailles. "I sent in Mr. Shaw's card to M. Grevy, who 
 was then President, accompanied by an announcement 
 that he had been the General Superintendent of our Mis- 
 sions in South-East Africa. He at onee admitted Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shaw to the seat of honour set apart for illus-
 
 ACTIVE SUPEKNUMERAKY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 337 
 
 trious visitors, namely, the first box on his right, in the 
 visitors' gallery." Mr. and Mrs. Shaw took this oppor- 
 tunity of visiting Switzerland, proceeding via Macon to 
 Geneva and Chamouni, (Mont Blanc,) thence to Lau- 
 sanne, Berne, Neufchatel, Dijon, Paris, and to England, 
 on the llth of September. No doubt there is a pleasure 
 in a Continental tour ; but the pleasure to such of us as 
 are limited for time is mainly in the retrospect. To be 
 cooped up day by day in a railway carriage, to hurry 
 through cathedrals, remarkable buildings, picture galle- 
 ries, and museums, and to dine at the table d'hote, paying 
 thrice as much for your vinegar claret as you would in 
 England for the same sort of wine of a fair quality, can 
 only be pleasurable while the novelty lasts. To travellers 
 with time and money at their command it is no doubt 
 quite another thing. Even to those less favourably cir- 
 cumstanced the remembrance of tours in a new country is 
 exhilarating. One's stock of knowledge may not have 
 been increased, but the impressions received are sources 
 of permanent and agreeable reminiscences. 
 
 We must now recur to the National Education question, 
 and the excitement occasioned by Mr. Forster's Education 
 Act of 1870. 
 
 Mr. Shaw for several years before his death took a 
 leading part in connexion with the subject of Public Ele- 
 mentary Education. Everything had prepared him so to 
 do. In his early youth he was himself a teacher. In the 
 Colony he had taken an active interest in the Colonial 
 plans for public education, and also, and in particular, in 
 the organization of Christian Education for the Kaffirs, 
 by means of trained teachers and Mission schools. He
 
 338 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 had established not only schools but a Training Institu- 
 tion for the natives. On his return to this country in 
 1857 he was brought immediately into intercourse with 
 the Rev. John Scott; and one of his earliest visits was 
 paid to the Normal College, of which Mr. Scott was Prin- 
 cipal. When Mr. Scott died, he was, as has been already 
 stated, appointed by the Committee Mr. Scott's ad interim 
 successor in the Principalship of the College. This was, 
 in fact, his last public work before he retired from ordi- 
 nary itinerant service. 
 
 As to education, Mr. Shaw held opinions of the same 
 general complexion as those which he held on most points, 
 he was liberal, but he was conservative. He approved 
 fully of Mr. Forster's Education Act. The intention of 
 this Act was to establish a comprehensive national system 
 of elementary education, by reforming and nationalizing 
 the institutions which had hitherto done the work, so far 
 as it was done, and at the same time making provision for 
 the additional supply of inspected schools in sufficient num- 
 bers to meet the entire educational deficiencies of the country. 
 The process of nationalizing the denominational schools 
 was to be accomplished by the enactment of a stringent 
 conscience clause, which is enforced in all public elementary 
 schools, as these institutions are now designated ; and by 
 completely separating the Government of the country 
 from responsibility for anything in these schools, except 
 the secular instruction. Hence, the system of denomina- 
 tional inspection was abolished by the Act, and Govern- 
 ment grants are not now made directly, but only in pro 
 portion to the results of Inspectors' examinations, which 
 are confined to the secular instruction given in the schools.
 
 ACTIVE SUPEKNUMERARY LIFE OP MR. SHAW. 839 
 
 The other main portion of Mr. Forster's measure pro- 
 vided for the election of local School Boards, with power 
 to build and support by means of local rates such schools 
 as should be necessary to meet the wants of the respective 
 localities, and to make bye-laws in regard to the attend- 
 ance generally of children at school. These Boards are 
 established, under the Act, either by the voluntary action 
 of the ratepayers, or, compulsorily, by the Education 
 Department, in cases where school districts fail to comply 
 with its requirements as to school accommodation. School 
 Board schools enjoy all the same privileges of grants from 
 the imperial exchequer, and are governed by the same 
 code of regulations, as all other classes of aided schools. 
 The opponents of denominational schools objected to 
 Mr. Forster's Bill on various grounds. Some of them, 
 desired the establishment of a universal and uniform sys- 
 tem of secular schools, while others would have preferred 
 .a complete national organization of School Boards and 
 Board Schools, in which the Bible should have been 
 required to be taught. Both these parties would have 
 brought to an end the recognition by Government of the 
 existing denominational school organizations, depriving 
 them accordingly of all Government inspection and aid. 
 
 I have no wish to remark further on the Education con- 
 troversy, as my opinions are not in accord with the partisans 
 of either the Denominational or the Secularist school ; but it 
 will be necessary to state that in the Conference of 1872, held 
 in London, under the presidency of the Kev. Luke H. Wise- 
 man, the Eev. William Arthur, on the 13th of August, 
 proposed a Eesolution to this effect, that, " considering the 
 difficulties of the denominational system of education, the 
 
 z 2
 
 340 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Conference judges it desirable that it should be gradually 
 merged in a system of united unsectarian schools with the 
 Bible, under School Boards." This view he advocated 
 with great earnestness and power. To this speech Mr. 
 Shaw replied in the following terms : 
 
 He came forward with much trepidation and with great doubt as 
 to the propriety of his occupying so prominent a position. He 
 should have felt that under any circumstances, but the arrangement 
 which had been made had put him under some difficulty. Four 
 notices of motion had been given, varying not a little in their pur- 
 port, but agreeing in their general tendency. The good sense of the 
 brethren had shown them that it was not convenient, perhaps not 
 possible, to drive four omnibuses abreast through Temple Bar, and 
 they had therefore resolved that the best furnished vehicle, and the 
 one most likely to attract public attention and favour, should have; 
 the first place. Well, he admired the good sense of those brethren.. 
 They were now brought face to face with what was really essential to' 
 the subject under discussion. Nothing pained him more than to find' 
 himself placed in opposition to his dear and beloved friend, Mr.. 
 Arthur, upon that question not the less beloved because they hap- 
 pened to take different views. The Resolution which he (Mr. 
 Arthur) had proposed for their acceptance stated, that, " considering- 1 ' 
 the difficulties of the denominational system of education, the Con- ' 
 ference deemed it desirable," &c. Then that was the basis of all the 
 exhortation they had had to interference in that matter, viz., " the 
 difficulties of the denominational system of education." Now he-' 
 (Mr. Shaw) was not an orator, his friend Mr. Arthur was an accom- 
 plished orator, as they all knew. But he addressed himself to a 
 body of men accustomed to judge upon things not merely by the 
 words in which they were conveyed, but by the sense that was 
 involved in them. What, then, were those denominational difficul- 
 ties ? Mr. Arthur had in some degree expounded thena. But one 
 of those withdrawn Eesolutions went into detail, and he took 
 the liberty of analysing that Eesolution ; for, although it was with- 
 drawn as a Eesolution, it was nevertheless fair to accept it as aa
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 341 
 
 exposition of the difficulties referred to by Mr. Arthur. " Believing 
 that the present arrangements for National Education are prejudicial 
 to Methodism." It started upon that point. Now, whatever faults 
 there might be in the present arrangements of education, nothing was 
 more certain than that for some time under those regulations educa- 
 tion had been extended vastly in the country ; schools had sprung 
 up in all directions, and the children attending those schools had been 
 greatly multiplied. Were they, then, to understand that the exten- 
 sion of education under those arrangements was prejudicial to Meth- 
 odism ? No ; that was not what the writer meant. He would not 
 treat an argument of that sort uncandidly. He went on to explain 
 in what particulars the present system was found prejudicial to the 
 interests of Methodism. He referred first to the rural districts of the 
 country. Mr. Arthur referred to them also. What did that mean ? 
 It meant that the parochial arrangements gave to the Parson and the 
 Squire preponderating local influence, and that that influence was 
 very often exerted in a prejudicial manner. Most distinctly he (Mr. 
 Shaw) admitted that that was true ; most distinctly he admitted that 
 in numerous cases that had occurred during some years past that 
 influence had been brought to bear in a manner which had trenched 
 upon the religious rights and liberties of the people. But what then ? 
 liad the recent Act in any degree sanctioned the abuse of such power? 
 Had it not rather put a great check upon it ? Had it not made the 
 most distinct provision that in no case whatever should a child be 
 obliged to go to a Church Sunday-school because it took advantage 
 of the Church day-school ? He said it threw a shield over them that 
 they did not enjoy before. It was said, that "it involved the dis- 
 puted right of the State to teach religion with State funds." He was 
 astonished that that should have been introduced ; he did not mean 
 to dwell upon it; he considered it ultra vires, going beyond the 
 question under consideration. No doubt it was a disputed point, and 
 he felt somewhat indignant that any attempt should be made to bring 
 in that disputed question when Conference had again and again 
 refused to entertain it as a Conference question. In opposition to 
 the view of his friend Mr. Arthur, he was inclined to say, that the 
 Act did not provide for the teaching of religion in day-schools. Had
 
 342 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 the writer of that Eesolution carefully read the Act, he doubted it, 
 or otherwise his memory must have played him a treacherous trick, 
 he would have seen that it most distinctly provided that no payments 
 were to be made except for secular instruction, ascertained to be given 
 by Inspectors appointed for that purpose. There were no denomina- 
 tional Inspectors, nor were they allowed to inquire into the teaching 
 of religion ; but they were expected to keep out of their reports all 
 allusion whatever to the subject. How could it, then, be said, that 
 in those schools the State paid for the teaching of religion ? Here he 
 would allude to what struck him as a very transparent fallacy in the 
 argument of Mr. Arthur. He said they misunderstood concurrent 
 endowment, and he illustrated it by showing that when payments 
 were made to different Churches by Governments, they did not inquire 
 into the different doctrines that were taught whether Komanist, or 
 Evangelical, or Unitarian but they were simply paid as Churches. 
 Yes ; but what were they paid for ? They were paid for teaching 
 religion under all those various denominations. The Government 
 did not trouble itself to ask what kind of religion, but they were paid 
 as teachers of religion. It was further said on the paper that they 
 were favourable to the interests of Popery in this country and in Ire- 
 land. They must allow him to glance at that statement. He read 
 the other day in a newspaper the following passage : " The Eev. H. 
 W. Holland, the well-known leader of the Liberal party in the Con- 
 ference, said so and so." He wished somebody would teach that 
 Editor that the Methodist Conference knew nothing of party govern- 
 ment : it might exist in other ecclesiastical communities. Happily 
 there was a measure of piety and certain holy aims that by the good 
 providence of God had hitherto preserved them from it ; and he hoped 
 the time would never come when government by party would obtain 
 a footing in that Conference. Well, the Liberal party did exist in the 
 nation, and he had no doubt a great many of his brethren deemed 
 themselves honoured in saying that they were supporters of that party. 
 Now what had the Liberal party done on the question of Popery when 
 there was a great agitation in favour of the disestablishment of the 
 Irish Church ? "When that Act was at length accomplished, it 
 involved, amongst many other things, the handing over in hard cash
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 343 
 
 and real property something like a million and a half of money to 
 the Roman Priests of Ireland. Well, what did the Liberal party say 
 about it ? When did they come forth to say, This shall not be ; we 
 will not give such an endowment as that to Popery in all future tune ? 
 Few and feeble were the notes that were played in that strain, and 
 the nation did not hear them ; and the consequence was, that the Act 
 was passed. O, but, it was said, that was an incidental consequence 
 of the disestablishment of the Irish Church. The Act could not have 
 been carried if that had not formed a part of it. Now he retorted 
 that statement. The Educational Act was of great importance and 
 value to the nation ; it involved incidentally that the Romanists 
 should be partakers of the benefits upon the same terms as their 
 countrymen in all parts of the land. And what could be said against 
 that ? He hated Popery as much as any of them ; but neither he 
 nor they hated any of their Roman Catholic fellow-subjects ; they 
 were standing on common ground with themselves, and he thought if 
 they could justify giving one and a half millions to the Romanists 
 because of the necessities of the case, they in Ireland need not taunt 
 those who were acceding to the general provisions of an Act that 
 carried with it a similar necessity. As to Ireland at that moment 
 he could not say accurately, but speaking approximately some 
 300,000 or ^400,000 a year went to the support of schools in Ire- 
 land, over which the priests had paramount influence. His friend 
 Mr. Arthur very adroitly confined his remarks to a particular class of 
 schools of which there were very few. But what about the vested 
 and non-vested achools of Ireland ? Were not a large portion 
 of these under the absolute patronage and control of the Priests 
 in various parts of the country ? And yet they were getting 
 much public money for the support of them. It would be as well 
 for those who set themselves against the denominational schools 
 in England to remedy that evil. He was not going to say a 
 word that would disturb the equanimity and right feeling of their 
 brethren in Ireland. That Conference a year ago promised the Irish 
 Conference their sympathy and support in any struggle that might 
 come on hereafter in regard to general education in their country, 
 and he was sure the Conference would keep its pledge in that respect.
 
 344 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Tlieir Irish brethren need not fear that they would find them taking 
 any course that would prevent them having the fullest opportunity of 
 setting forth their own views. They might depend upon it that the 
 British Methodists would back them up on any fair ground they might 
 take upon that subject. He therefore thought they had disposed of 
 that question. They were taunted with being in the same boat with 
 Bomanists. He wanted to know what kind of crew they had in the 
 boat on the other side ; they saw Atheists, Deists, Socinians, Uni- 
 tarians, and Communists, and people of that sort. Both sides were 
 placed in circumstances which rendered them equally liable to that 
 kind of imputation. At the beginning of their discussions the other 
 day he said he would state certain reasons why, in his humble 
 opinion, the Conference should not at that tune discuss that question, 
 or make any deliverance about it. Now, before he sat down he would 
 state some of those reasons, and leave them for the Conference to 
 think about. He objected to Mr. Arthur's proposal (1.) Because 
 the adoption of it would put them out of harmony with the vast 
 majority of the nation. On this point the Birmingham League and 
 the Manchester Conference of Nonconformists sadly misinterpreted 
 the national feeling ; and the consequence was that they soon dis- 1 
 covered, when the subject was brought fairly to issue, that the great 
 bulk of the nation was opposed to the theory which they put forth. 
 It was rather gratifying to him to find, from Mr. Arthur's speech, 
 that he had thrown over the Birmingham League. He had equally 
 thrown overboard the Besolutions of the Nonconformist Meeting in 
 Manchester. He had adopted principles wholly different to the prin- 
 ciple which had been adopted both by the League itself and by the 
 Manchester Nonconformist Meeting. They agreed to exclude the 
 Bible. Not so Mr. Arthur. He was glad to see that in not one of the 
 Besolutions which had been proposed to the Conference was there a 
 proposition that there should be no Bible in the school. That could 
 not have happened in the Methodist Conference. The country had 
 decided that the denominational schools should continue to exist, but 
 that there should be set up beside them over the whole nation Board 
 Schools. It had been argued as if they objected to that. But when 
 had they objected ? When had they said a word against that print-
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SHAW. 345 
 
 ciple ? He thought they might very well exist together. He thought 
 it would be a great advantage to both, that they should exist side by 
 side, upon the principle of free trade in education, as well as in other 
 things. The competition would be most healthy. (2.) He objected 
 to the Resolution because it would involve them in great inconsistency. 
 Hannah More had made one of her characters say : " We do not 
 expect perfection, but we certainly look for consistency." If that was 
 true of individuals, it ought to be especially true of great religious 
 bodies. Now, what was the state of the case ? They were at present 
 receiving ,60,000 a year in aid of their schools in this country; 
 were they now to pass an opinion in opposition to the very system 
 that gave them money ? That would indeed be to resemble the man 
 who took something of his friend, and then went away and com- 
 plained of his indiscriminate generosity ! He would remind them 
 that they had schools in the West Indies, and in Africa, and in India, 
 and that they received Government money in aid of those schools, 
 and that in those schools they taught religion. How could they set 
 themselves against a system by which they were every day profiting ? 
 Even the Congregationalists themselves on their foreign stations were 
 receiving grants in aid of their schools. (3.) The Resolution was a 
 theoretical one, and it would stultify all their past declarations. It 
 was in the very teeth of everything they had said before. (4.) In 
 the last place, it would be a serious infringement on the rights and 
 privileges of their people. Where was the proof that their people 
 were wanting any disturbance of the existing arrangements ? The 
 subject came up before the Preparatory Committee just before the 
 Conference assembled, and what was the result ? In that large 
 assembly there were just six hands held up in favour of Mr. Holland's 
 motion ! And that in an assembly that was composed in a large part 
 of the laity. Would they not have a right to insist that it should be 
 considered in such a way and form, as that the laity should have the 
 opportunity of declaring their views upon the subject ? That Reso- 
 lution would lead to the gradual but certain destruction of their 
 schools in various places. He denied their right to act in this matter 
 without consulting the laity. Who established those schools ? The 
 Conference ? No. The Conference, after full consultation with the
 
 346 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 laity, had expressed an opinion that the Government proposals were 
 not incompatible with Wesleyan principles, but it was left to the laity 
 in their various localities to accept them or not. Gradually Wesleyan 
 schools were established all over the country by the voluntary deter- 
 mination and effort of the people, and they had been accustomed to 
 glory in them as proofs of the zeal and philanthropy of their people. 
 As they did not create these schools, they had no right to attempt to 
 destroy them until the people who erected them and had sustained 
 them should be consulted upon the subject. He begged to move the 
 following amendment : 
 
 " That considering that the question of primary education after 
 having been widely discussed throughout the country, and particu- 
 larly by large mixed Committees appointed by the Conference for the 
 purpose, which met in the years 1868, 1869, and 1870 has been dealt 
 with by the Education Act of 1870, and that that Act is only in course 
 of being carried into effect ; 
 
 "Considering also that the Government have intimated their 
 intention to propose some alterations in that Act during the next 
 Session, and it is desirable to know the nature of those alterations 
 before any further opinion on the general question is expressed by 
 the Conference ; 
 
 " Considering further that the subject is one in which the laity of 
 Methodism have a deep and lasting interest, and as to which they are 
 entitled to be consulted before any Resolution be passed involving a 
 departure from those principles in regard to National Education 
 which have long been recognised and acted upon in the Connexion ; 
 this Conference deems it inexpedient to re-open the question at 
 present ; at the same time, in view of the possibility of alterations 
 in the existing Act, the Conference confides it to the President to 
 convene a Meeting of the United Committees of Privileges and Edu- 
 cation, and such other persons as he may deem suitable, should he be 
 of opinion that such alterations are of sufficient importance to justify 
 him in doing so." 
 
 The debate was kept up with great ability on both 
 sides, and ended in the adoption of a Eesolution : " That
 
 ACTIVE SUPERNUMERARY LIFE OF MR. SdAW. 347 
 
 the whole subject be referred to a Committee, to meet 
 during the autumn, and before the meeting of Parliament, 
 to consist of the General Education Committee, the Com- 
 mittee of Privileges, the Committee of Exigencies, and a 
 layman and Minister to be elected at the September Dis- 
 trict Meeting, with power to act." 
 
 Mr. Shaw died just as the convention of Ministers and 
 laymen on the subject of National Education was assem- 
 bling in the Centenary Hall. His presence was greatly 
 missed on that occasion, not only by those friendly to his 
 views, but also by those who did not altogether coincide 
 with them. No man was more opposed to an exclusive 
 clerical system of education, or to anything like narrow 
 denominationalism ; but as a genuine Christian liberal he 
 had no sympathy with the platform of the Secularist 
 school. 
 
 Some years previous to the Conference of 1872, the 
 question of the preparation of a Book of Offices for the use 
 of the Methodist Churches had been discussed, and a 
 Committee appointed to prepare a revise of the Services in 
 the " Book of Common Prayer." Of this Committee Mr. 
 Shaw was the Convener, as he took a special interest in 
 the design. He was an admirer of a Liturgical Service, 
 and thought that of the Church of England the best in the 
 world. That it would be improved by a few omissions he, 
 in common with most devout Churchmen, was fully con- 
 vinced ; and he hoped that by the removal of a few objec- 
 tionable and equivocal paragraphs the prejudice against 
 the use of a form of prayer would in time disappear. A 
 form of sound words, used in connexion with extempora- 
 neous outpouring of the heart in prayer, was, in his-
 
 348 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 opinion, the most excellent way, and a wise medium 
 between the two extremes of confining public prayer 
 within the limits of a set form, or of leaving the congre- 
 gation entirely at the mercy of an extempore address. I 
 can find no reference to any of his speeches in the Con- 
 ference, or in the various Committees, on this subject. 
 The Conference of 1872, in one of its final sessions, dis- 
 missed the question, to Mr. Shaw's great disappointment. 
 He thought that by neglecting to modify and adapt the 
 "prayers" to our services, the result would be that in a 
 short time they would be discarded altogether. The Con- 
 ference of 1874 has however revived the Committee, and 
 there is some prospect of our having a Service Book free 
 from certain equivocal prayers and expressions, which are 
 at present a stumbling-block to many.
 
 349 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The last Days. 
 
 1 MUST now advert to the losses which the Connexion 
 sustained by the death of some leading Ministers and 
 laymen between 1868 and 1872, as the memories of these 
 departed brethren are associated with my reminiscences of 
 Mr. Shaw. With most of them he had more or less 
 laboured in the business of the Connexion, and with all 
 of them he had been on terms of intimacy. The Eev. G 
 B. Macdonald, distinguished by natural gifts of voice and 
 manner, and by a cultivated mind, died 13th of November,! 
 1868, aged sixty-four. The Eev. F. A. "West, an able man, 
 and a most acceptable preacher, who in 1857 had filled the 
 Chair of the Conference, died 4th of April, 1869, in the sixty- 
 ninth year of his age. J. J. Lidgett, Esq. , to whom we have 
 previously alluded, snatched away suddenly in the prime of 
 life, and in the midst of business and religious activities, in 
 the month of June, 1869, within eighteen months of the death 
 of his revered father-in-law, the Kev. John Scott. The Eev. 
 Isaac Keeling, a man of great maturity of judgment 
 and practical sagacity, whose "Bemains"* ought to be 
 in every Methodist Preacher's library : he filled the Chair 
 of the Conference in 1855, and died llth of August, 1809, 
 aged eighty. The Eev. Peter M'Owan, a man remarkable 
 for his powerful and fruitful ministry, died February, 1870, 
 
 * Sermons, Memorials, Life, &s. Small 8vo.
 
 350 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 aged seventy-five. The Eev. Thomas Vasej, gifted with 
 superior mental powers, and, in spite of great phj^sical 
 debility, remarkable for his energetic labours : " his zeal 
 for the spread of saving religion became even more intense 
 as he drew near to the close of his ministry : " he died 
 29th of September, 1871, aged fifty-seven. The Eev. James 
 Dixon, D.D., who in his prime was, " in the pulpit and on 
 the platform, one of the most prominent men in Meth- 
 odism." In the year 1841 he was chosen President of 
 the Conference, and in 1848 was Eepresentative to the 
 American Conference : he died 28th of December, 1871, 
 aged eighty-three. The unexpected death of John Eobin- 
 son Kay, Esq., on the 25th of March, 1872, was a great 
 loss to all the philanthropic enterprises of Methodism, 
 and more especially to the great educational work of the 
 Society. Last of all, the Eev. Elijah Hoole, D.D., the Senior 
 Secretary of theWesleyan Missionary Society, diedonthe 17th 
 of June, 1872. He was one of the many learned and gifted 
 Missionaries connected with that Society whose names are 
 almost unknown even to the Church to which they belong : 
 but we ought not to allow the labours and scholarship of 
 Benjamin Clough, of D. J. Gogerly, of E. Spence Hardy, of 
 ElijahHoole, of J. W. Appleyard, and others, to be forgotten. 
 Dr. Hoole laboured for nine years in India, and was considered 
 to be one of the ablest Tamil scholars of his age. While 
 his health permitted, no man was a more diligent and 
 laborious Secretary, for the duties of which office his 
 natural urbanity, polished manners, and great kindness 
 admirably fitted him. He and Mr. Shaw, with the Eev. 
 Ealph Mansfield, now of Sydney, New South Wales, were 
 young men in London in 1819-20, preparing to go
 
 THE LAST DATS. 351 
 
 forth into the Mission field. It is seldom that three such 
 men, each eminent in his own sphere, are called out the 
 same year : Dr. Hoole, the first Tamil scholar of his day ; 
 the Eev. William Shaw, the Patriarch of a Colony and the 
 founder of a Mission; and the Eev. Ealph Mansfield, whose 
 remarkable preaching power placed Wesleyan Methodism 
 in New South Wales in a position which we trust it will 
 ever retain. In this retrospective view of "the work- 
 men " removed, while God still carries on His work, there 
 ought not to be to us old men anything saddening. "All 
 these died in faith." May we follow them as they followed 
 Christ ! 
 
 " Part of the host have crossed the flood, 
 And part are crossing now." 
 
 Up to the autumn of 1872 Mr. Shaw seemed to enjoy 
 excellent health. The general impression is well stated 
 in an article in " The Watchman " of December llth, 
 1872 : 
 
 " He was one of the freshest and fairest of old men, 
 capable of feeling the gist of every new question, and of 
 entering into its pros and cons even beyond most men in 
 their prime ; and, while conservative in all his instincts, was 
 large in his modes of thought, and progressive in his 
 plans. He walked in the midst of us with the weight of 
 years, yet seemed congenial with men of every age : and 
 what man among us ever dreamed of a crooked motive or 
 a blameworthy action in William Shaw? No sign of 
 breaking-up gave notice of his approaching end." 
 
 I, for one, thought his life more likely to bear the weight 
 of " slowly rolling years" than my own ; and never dreamt 
 of the bare possibility of my having in any way to contri-
 
 352 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 bute to his biography. Although, in Africa, in England, 
 and in Australia, we maintained a regular correspondence, 
 I had, according to my custom, destroyed his letters, a 
 practice which I hope my friends imitate in mercy to their r 
 correspondents and to themselves. No man in public life, 
 whether in the Ministry or otherwise, however personally 
 unimportant he may be, is safe from the imprudence of 
 well-meaning, but injudicious biographers, who, to use the 
 words of a great legal authority, " have added an additional 
 pang to death." 
 
 Soon after the London Conference of 1872, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shaw paid a visit to their friends Mr. and Mrs. May, at 
 Bristol, (8th of September,) and had the pleasure of renewed 
 intercourse with sundry old friends, visiting also Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ford, of Eyeford House, Stonehouse, and returning 
 to London by the 17th of September. On the 23rd of 
 September, (Sunday,) Mr. Shaw preached at Peckham in 
 the morning, and on the 29th of September, (Sunday,) at 
 Brixton in the evening. On the 9th of October, (Wednes- 
 day,) he attended the Missionary Committee. No one 
 imagined, or had any reason then to suppose, that this 
 would be the last occasion of his meeting with us. Imme- 
 diately after the Committee, he set off to meet Mrs. Shaw 
 at the railway for Southampton. As the representative 
 of the Committee, he went to see Mr. and Mrs. Calvert 
 embark for South Africa, feeling himself no ordinary 
 interest in their mission. 
 
 Mr. Calvert' s name had been so long connected with the 
 Mission in Fiji, that his entering upon the South African 
 field created some surprise. But the reasons which guided 
 the Committee and the worthy Missionary himself, were
 
 THE LAST DAYS. 353 
 
 sufficiently weighty. A senior Minister of his weight and 
 high religious character was much needed to meet the case 
 of the heterogeneous multitude of all colours and all 
 nations which had recently rushed to the DIAMOND FIELDS 
 on the Vaal River, to the north of the great Orange River, 
 in South Africa. Mr. and Mrs. Calvert were the more 
 ready to undertake this arduous duty, as one of their 
 daughters had been residing with the Chairman, the Rev. 
 James Scott, (son of the late Dr. G. Scott,) at Bloernfontein, 
 in the Orange River Sovereignty ; and her death in the 
 mean time, before they had embarked, made no difference 
 in their determination. To some, the land which holds, 
 the remains of their dead is almost as dear as their father- 
 land. On the morning of the 10th, (Thursday,) Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shaw accompanied Mr. and Mrs. and Miss Calvert in 
 the tug to the steamer, which was moored at some distance 
 down the river. The day was cold and windy ; and after 
 the usual preparations and leave-takings on board the 
 steamer, the bell sounded about two o'clock P.M., for 
 visitors to leave and return on shore by the tug. Mean- 
 while, the wind had become almost a hurricane with 
 beating rain. As they came out of the cabin on deck, 
 prepared to enter the tug, the mails were being placed on 
 board the steamer, and no one was permitted to enter the 
 tug until this transhipment had taken place. Most of the 
 passengers returned to the cabin; but Mr. Shaw remained 
 on deck, and on Mrs. Shaw's inquiry some time after why 
 he had thus exposed himself, he replied, " 0, the officer 
 asked me to shelter him with my umbrella, and I could 
 not be so unmannerly as to refuse." This was quite 
 characteristic ; but at his age, and in his rather feeble 
 
 A A
 
 854 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 health, it was, as the event proved, a very serious risk. In 
 returning in the tug to Southampton, Mrs. Shaw noticed 
 that he was thoroughly chilled ; hut after a night's rest, 
 and the use of some simple remedies, he felt quite well. 
 But no doubt he had taken a severe cold, which had no 
 small share in developing the disease which cut short his 
 valuable life ; but as yet, and for some time, there were no 
 outward and visible signs. However, within ten days 
 after his return from Southampton, he became aware of 
 symptoms indicating some disorder in the functions of the 
 bladder. Like most men who have enjoyed long periods 
 of uninterrupted health, he was unwilling to resort to 
 medical skill, and delayed so doing for some time. 
 
 Meanwhile he went on in his usual routine, attended the 
 monthly ministerial meeting at the City Eoad on Monday, 
 the 21st of October, and the Westminster Committee on 
 Tuesday morning, the 22nd, and the same evening at "The 
 "Watchman" office. Just at this time the death of Mrs. 
 Butters, (the wife of the Rev. William Butters, from 
 Australia, residing near us,) followed by the news of the 
 paralytic seizure of that excellent man and thorough friend, 
 Mr. John Chubb, threw a gloom over our neighbourhood. 
 Mr. Shaw attended the funeral of Mrs. Butters on the 
 morning of Thursday, the 24th, and took part in the 
 religious service at the house ; but as the day was rainy 
 and bleak, it had been arranged beforehand that he should 
 return home in a carriage provided for that purpose. On 
 the 26th of October, yielding to Mrs. Shaw's urgent solicita- 
 tions, Dr. Ord was called in, and Dr. Kadcliffe also was 
 consulted, and he submitted to a surgical examina- 
 tion by Dr. Ferguson. On Friday, the 1st of November,
 
 THE LAST DAYS. 355 
 
 he made an effort to go to Ealeigh Hall, the residence of 
 Alexander M' Arthur, Esq., to baptize the baby, called after 
 the Rev. E. E. Jenkins, "Ebenezer." There was a large 
 dinner party of friends. In a long and fervent prayer 
 Mr. Shaw invoked all spiritual blessings and temporal 
 mercies for the child and its parents. This was his last 
 ministerial act; and to me it is very gratifying that the 
 occasion was in connexion with my daughter's child. 
 
 On Monday, the 4th of November, Mr. Shaw, accompanied 
 by Mrs. Shaw, visited the city on business, and then 
 came to the Mission House. He was much exhausted, and 
 for the first time I began to anticipate a serious illness. 
 When Mrs. Shaw rejoined him in my room, he was dozing 
 on the couch. Little did we think that this would be his last 
 visit to the Mission House, and to the city. We took a cab 
 to make a call in Moorgate Street, and thence home by the 
 railway. I took tea with him that evening, and nothing 
 appeared to me indicating anything beyond recent fatigue ; 
 but Mrs. Shaw was alarmed at his drowsiness at supper 
 after I had left, and sent for Dr. Ord to see him. Next 
 day, the 5th of November, Tuesday, he remained 
 upstairs in his bed-room, as Dr. Ord thought he would be 
 there more comfortable, quiet, and free from draughts. 
 From this time the symptoms of his disorder varied; 
 alternately we hoped and feared, for some time we 
 were sanguine. I had the fullest expectation that 
 this disorder would yield to medical skill and the unre- 
 mitting attentions of Mrs. Shaw. I had known of his 
 serious illness in Africa from fever, and how he had been 
 almost miraculously recovered from the jaws of death, 
 thanks to the blessing of God on his excellent constitution 
 
 2 A 2
 
 356 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 and temperate habits, and I saw no reason for alarm. 
 During the interval the attentions of his eldest daughter, 
 Mrs. Elaine, were a comfort to him and to Mrs. Shaw. Up 
 to my leaving for Australia, on Tuesday morning, the 
 26th of November, we all imagined that his symptoms 
 were improving. I took leave of him on the 25th, without 
 any suspicion of that being my last interview. Mrs. Shaw 
 thought I was very much subdued, though trying to be 
 cheerful; and Mr. Shaw remarked after I had left, " He 
 could not get the steam up." On leaving, my old friend 
 took my hands in his, pressed them warmly, and said, 
 " God bless you, my dear friend, and give you a prosperous 
 voyage, and may all your desires be more than fulfilled." 
 
 Within a few days there was an evident change for the 
 worse. The day after I left he was much weaker, and 
 continued to be increasingly feeble each day, until Sunday, 
 the 1st of December, when for the first time he kept his bed. 
 
 We will not give the details of the progress of the 
 wearying disease, during which the patient endurance of 
 the dying man was specially conspicuous. Not a word of 
 complaint was extorted by his almost unremitting suffering; 
 his mind retained its full collectedness, and all his faculties 
 were unimpaired. His sympathy with Mrs. Shaw and his 
 two younger children was evident ; but he had no anxiety 
 respecting them. " God will take care of you, and my 
 dear children," was his remark to her outbreak of sorrow 
 in the anticipation of her loss. Mrs. Elaine, the eldest 
 daughter of Mr. Shaw, shared in the labours and anxieties 
 of the sick room. It was evident that Mr. Shaw's bodily 
 strength was gradually failing, and that recovery, humanly 
 speaking, was impossible. He was calm and collected,
 
 THE LAST DAYS, 357 
 
 patiently waiting until his change came. His testimony 
 in this dying state was clear and satisfactory. It was that 
 of a firm, unshaken confidence in the reality of his past 
 and present experience. The Eev. "William Arthur had an 
 interview with him on Sunday, the 1st of December. "His 
 countenance was sweet, his voice sound, his mind clear, 
 his manner full of love and gentleness." Among other 
 things he said, "I have firm hold of Christ, and strong 
 consolation. Though in my present circumstances I deeply 
 feel my nothingness and less than nothingness, the Lord 
 is exceeding good, and whatever He is about to do with me, 
 it is well." Then followed some words of personal affection, 
 and " the two Missionaries, who had so recently in the 
 Conference stood on opposite sides of the Education question, 
 felt in united prayer and mutual smiles and tears the 
 blessing of that true love which twines together the 
 servants of God, and above all men Methodist preachers." 
 From that day he became weaker, and slept almost 
 constantly. His youngest son was sent for from school 
 on Monday, the 2nd of December. On Tuesday morning, 
 the 3rd, he would rise, and sitting on the side of his 
 bed, he called for his youngest daughter, Mina, and 
 exhorted her to continue to love the Lord and serve 
 Him, and "He will bless you." He then spoke to 
 Alfred, and Mr. Joseph Ogle, exhorting them to seek an 
 early conversion, and to be loving sons to their mother. On 
 being laid down he said, " I can't speak any more." In 
 the afternoon, on being assisted to lie down, he said, "That 
 will do. Now I have nothing to do but die." For some 
 months before his illness he had at family prayer and at 
 rthe Class-meeting constantly used this expression, " And
 
 358 CHAPTEB XVI. 
 
 then may we have nothing to do but to die," which had 
 struck Mrs. Shaw as singular, and she had often thought 
 of asking him respecting it, but failed to do so and all was 
 explained now. Mrs. Gibson, wife of the Eev. William 
 Gibson, of Peckham, and youngest daughter of Mr. Boyce, 
 called to inquire respecting her father's oldest friend, and 
 afterwards sent a galvanized belt ; but he was too weak to- 
 be troubled by an attempt to apply it. On Wednesday, 
 the 4th, his last day in this world, he was very feeble, 
 and slept most of the day ; but he was sensible, and 
 recognised and acknowledged Mrs. Shaw's watchful atten- 
 tion, saying, as long as he could speak, " Thank you," 
 "Bless you," and, on one occasion, ''Bless you, bless 
 you a thousand times." Though so weak, and sensibly 
 dying, he could still love : so like the man. At half- 
 past eight o'clock the children were summoned to see him 
 die ; and from that time to a quarter to eleven he was 
 struggling into life. I may quote Mrs. Shaw's words, 
 " The agony of these hours to us, who can tell?" 
 
 The funeral took place on Tuesday, the 10th of Decem- 
 ber. The procession first proceeded to the Wesleyan 
 chapel, Brixton Hill, where the burial service was read 
 by the Eev. Charles Prest ; then a hymn was sung, and 
 an eloquent and most suitable address was delivered by 
 the Eev. George Osborn, D.D. Much is it to be regretted 
 that no reporter was present, and thus one of the happiest 
 extemporaneous efforts of one of our readiest and most able 
 speakers cannot be recorded for the benefit of many of 
 Mr. Shaw's friends necessarily absent on this solemn 
 occasion. Another hymn was then sung, the Eev. W. 
 Arthur engaged in prayer, and the funeral cortege pro-
 
 THE LAST DAYS. 359 
 
 ceeded to Norwood Cemetery, where the body was placed 
 in the grave. The two sons of the deceased, the Rev. 
 "William Maw Shaw, Vicar of Yealand-Conyers, and Mr. 
 A. B. Shaw, together with his step-son, Mr. Joseph Ogle, 
 and his son-in-law, Mr. Henry Elaine, with Mr. Milne, of 
 Leicester, his brother-in-law, and Dr. Huggins, of Tulse 
 Hill, a near relative of Mrs. Shaw, were present. The 
 deputation from the Missionary Committee consisted of the 
 Eev. G. T. Perks, one of the General Secretaries, Dr. Job- 
 son, the Treasurer, the Eev. W. Arthur, Honorary Secretary 
 of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, the Eev. Messrs. J. 
 W. Greeves, William Gibson, Charles Haydon, Dr. Osborn, 
 Charles Prest, with Messrs. Griffith, G. M. Kiell, Alexander 
 M'Arthur, William M' Arthur, M.P., and others. Several 
 of the leading members of the congregation at Brixton 
 chapel were also present at the service ; and others sent 
 their carriages to follow in the procession, thus doing all 
 possible honour to the Minister who had been so lately 
 identified with them, and who for so many years had been 
 so faithful and distinguished a Missionary. 
 
 There was a service at City Eoad Chapel on Monday 
 evening, the 23rd of December, 1872 ; on which occasion 
 the Eev. Luke H. Wiseman, President of the Conference, at 
 the request of the Missionary Committee, preached a funeral 
 sermon. Though but a brief notice was given, and several 
 other meetings occurred on the same evening, which must 
 have interfered with the attendance, there was a good 
 congregation, many Ministers being present, with several 
 Missionaries who, like the venerable Minister whose decease 
 occasioned the gathering, had done good service in the 
 Mission field.
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM NICHOLS, 
 46, HOXTON SQUARE.

 
 A 000 059 331 9