THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL
‘He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set
judgement in the earth; and the isles shall wait for His
law.’--ISAIAH xlii. 4.
(‘He shall not burn dimly, neither shall His Spirit be crushed,
until He has placed _the_ law _of Jehovah_ on the
earth; and for His teaching the nations are waiting.’--_New
Translation._)
Under French rule everything in Madagascar has been changed. Some of
the changes are decidedly beneficial, others are not, and some are such
as to cause the profoundest sorrow.
‘The whole administration of the island has now been completely
organized, and that of course on French principles. What strikes
an Englishman as strange in this administration is its elaborate
redundancy, especially when the primitive character of the native
community and the paucity of colonists are taken into account. If the
social condition of the people were ten times more complex than it is,
and if the commerce of the island were multiplied even a hundredfold,
the number of officials, European and native, would be quite ample
to meet all the needs of the community. First of all, there is the
civil administration, which is divided up into sixteen or eighteen
departments, including those of public works, mines, education,
exchequer, landed estates, forests, agriculture, police, topography,
taxation, post and telegraph, &c. Numerous law courts, both French and
native, have also been established, as well as a health department,
with hospitals, dispensaries, military infirmaries, and ambulances.
Then there come the chiefs or administrators of provinces, fourteen
in number, with their subordinates and a whole tribe of native
functionaries; and added to all these there is the army of occupation,
many parts of the country being still under military control. It is
certainly a great advantage, especially for Europeans accustomed to
such things, to have regular postal and telegraphic communication, not
only with different parts of the island, but also with the outside
world. Such things were formerly beyond the hopes of the most sanguine;
and when the capital is provided with electric light and a proper water
supply, and railway communication with the coast has been established,
all of which are at present in contemplation, even the dreams of the
most expectant will have been more than realized.
‘As to the present attitude of the French authorities towards our
mission, there is a complete and radical change. Their policy is all
that we could desire. We have the most absolute freedom to go about
our work in our own way, and religious liberty now exists, not merely
in theory, but in actual reality. We feel sure that General Gallieni
ultimately became quite convinced of our loyalty, for, before he left
the island, he had not only changed his policy, but gave many evidences
of a friendly feeling towards us. His successor, General Pennequin,
also has shown us nothing but courtesy and kindness. General Gallieni
returned, and so, through God’s overruling providence, the mission
has been released from a perilous situation and placed again on a
footing of freedom and hopefulness; and if this new and better policy
continues, the missionaries of the Society may still look forward to
many years of useful and successful labour in the cause of Christ in
the island[35].’
Everything points to the necessity of Christian workers doing more
in the future than has ever been done in the past for the moral and
spiritual elevation of the people. The military band which now plays
on the Sabbath afternoons in the centre square of Antanànarìvo gives
the note to society; and the vast crowd which gathers to listen to it
are not adverse to march to its music. All branches of manual labour
are carried on on the Sabbath, while Sabbath markets, open shops, and
stores are general.
The Malagasy in their heathen state were notoriously given to sexual
immorality; and one of the many effects of this evil trait in their
nature was painfully evident in the prevalence among old and young,
rich and poor, of loathsome forms of disease. One of the most serious,
and one of the most difficult duties of the missionaries, and of the
more enlightened and earnest of the native Christian leaders, has been
to wage war against this form of vice, and to create a new and healthy
public opinion on this subject of moral purity.
We had in a great measure succeeded in this direction. A fairly strong
public opinion had been created, favoured by the late queen and the
prime minister. Old heathen customs and vices were hiding their heads,
and many were becoming ashamed of what was formerly their pride and
boast. When the war came, followed by the annexation, the floodgates
of immorality were thrown open; and under the new _régime_ vice
and immorality are openly recognized. The gaily dressed paramours of
foreigners have lost all sense of shame, and go flitting to and fro in
the capital, and travelling with French officers the country over to
and from the coast. The Jesuits seem to take no notice of this shameful
state of things. With Montesquieu they seem to regard morals as a mere
matter of climate, and speak of such conduct as colonial morality. All
true Christian workers will have to contend everywhere in the future
against a much stronger tide than ever before of countenanced and
patronized irreligion and open sin.
French civilization is more adverse to the progress of mission work,
evangelical religion, and morality than even some phases of heathenism;
but perhaps we ought to be thankful that things are not worse than
they are. They are not so bad now as at one time we feared they would
be. The quiet Sabbath day is a thing of the past, as bands now play,
games and races go on, theatres are open, and there have been even
bull-fights on the Sabbath. On the part of the missionaries this will
mean the need of greater spiritual strength, a closer and more constant
supervision of the churches than, owing to their number, they have been
able to give in the past, and a much more direct and personal contact
with their native agents and fellow workers.
The new _régime_ has served as a sort of dark background--although
it has been at a terrible cost--to Protestant mission work. The
Malagasy themselves said: ‘We were bad, and our forefathers were bad;
but they and we too were poor, ignorant, dark-minded fools; but that
educated men, professing civilization, should behave as these men do
is shameful in the extreme. How different their lives and conduct from
that of the other foreigners! But is not the one class Protestant,
the other Roman Catholic? In the one case we see the fruits of Bible
teaching and religion, and in the other that of Jesuit teaching.’
In the days of Hova supremacy, although the London Missionary Society
Mission was in no sense connected with the Malagasy government,
and although its missionaries did their utmost to prevent any such
connexion--even going the length of informing the prime minister that
they would sooner leave the island than consent to his directing
the affairs of the churches in any way--still, it enjoyed a certain
prestige from the fact that the church of the sovereign and of the
leading people of the State was of the same order as those under the
charge of its missionaries. Moreover, the congregation known as the
Palace Church, which was in close touch with the court, and which very
jealously guarded itself from all interference on the part of any
European missionary, had a missionary organization of its own, which
brought government pressure to bear on the people for the furtherance
of Christian work, by means of the so-called Palace Church evangelists
who were supported for political purposes.
Hova governors and officials were often much more zealous than
intelligent in their ideas of Christian life and duty. There was
abundant evidence to show that in many cases they were not content
with the influence of personal example; but did not hesitate to make
use of their official authority in country districts, and at outposts
among other tribes, to compel the people to erect churches and attend
the services. In most cases in the central provinces this was done at
the instigation of a Palace Church evangelist. As a consequence of all
this, and of the queen, prime minister, and chief officers professing
Christianity, there always was a large number who went with the stream,
and who swelled the list of members and adherents, without adding to
the strength of the church. They rather added to its weakness, as
nominal members and adherents always and everywhere do. This state of
things, thank God! has passed away for ever. Never again will it be
possible for the London Missionary Society or any other mission to
enjoy the very questionable advantage of a worldly prestige, which
seemed for long to be one of the greatest helps; but in reality, one of
the greatest hindrances and perils which can beset the propagation of
the Christian faith. Henceforth the London Missionary Society Mission
and all other missions will have to depend for success entirely upon
God’s blessing, on the moral earnestness and spiritual power of their
agents.
Under the Hova government, the pastorate of the churches was an
office aspired to by many; not for the stipend--for there usually was
none--but because it gave exemption from the hated _fànompòana_,
or unpaid government service. In addition to the pastor, there were
in most places a number of local preachers, who took their share
of the service with him. Among them would generally be the village
schoolmaster and some of the deacons, or other leading men of the
congregation. Where there was a trained evangelist, he generally took
the oversight of ten or fifteen village churches, while the missionary
had the superintendence of the whole district, with its sixty or eighty
churches and schools. Under the new system there is a great change in
the position of the Protestant pastors. They no longer enjoy special
privileges, but are required, like others, to render a certain amount
of service annually to the State, or pay for exemption. The demands
made by the State upon the services of all and sundry are considerable,
and hence the number of local preachers has greatly diminished, and
in some places ceased altogether. If, as is to be hoped, the churches
generally rise to the recognition of the great importance of having
suitable men set apart for the work of the pastorate, faithful men able
to teach others also, the prospects for the future of the mission will
be brighter than ever.
[Illustration: RAINANDRIAMAMPANDRY, GOVERNOR OF TÀMATÀVE.]
‘By their cruel oppression and arrogant pretensions in the early days
of the French occupation, the Jesuits overreached themselves, and for
ever opened the eyes of the Hovas to their true character.’ Since
the people have been free to exercise personal choice with regard to
religion, they have turned in great numbers to the Protestant places
of worship from which they had been forced to withdraw during the days
of Jesuit persecution, and now four-fifths of the worshippers are
Protestants.
As I have said already, after the annexation and the emancipation of
the slaves, but mainly in consequence of the many false reports set
in circulation by the Jesuits, the Roman Catholic schools greatly
increased and the attendance at the Roman Catholic services. This
change was really a great gain to the strength and spirituality of the
Protestant churches, as it rid them of numbers of nominal members and
adherents, and although progress seemed slower than in former times, it
was more real, and what was lost in extension was gained in depth. The
French officials showed their partiality for the Roman Catholic Church
by making numerous grants of land for education and other purposes in
Antanànarìvo, its neighbourhood, and elsewhere. That some partiality
and favour may be shown from time to time in such matters is to be
looked for; but the facts remain that _four-fifths of the people_
of Imèrina and the Bètsilèo country are Protestants, and that the
Jesuits have less power and influence to-day than they had before the
war.
M. Bianquis, of the Paris Missionary Society, in a comprehensive
review of the present situation in Madagascar says: ‘Our earliest
missionaries thought that it would suffice for us to be the protectors
and guarantors, in the eyes of the French officials, of the English and
Norwegian missionaries. But time has cleared these brethren from the
calumnies with which they had been charged. The dignity of their life,
their absolute political rectitude, and the undeniable part which they
are playing in the civilization of the colony have assured to them all
the countenance they need for the peaceful continuance of their work.’
‘“Then had the churches rest ... and were edified; and walking in
the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were
multiplied”; in some such terms might the peaceful progress of the
Malagasy churches of to-day be described. The period of mistrust and
suspicion with which those associated with the Society were regarded
has ended, and the French Republic recognizes the loyalty of the
Protestant native churches, and frankly accepts the labours of the
British missionaries as contributing to the progress and enlightenment
of their new possession. No word of complaint now reaches us. For the
relief thus secured we can hardly be too thankful.’
Thus through God’s overruling providence the London Missionary
Society’s Mission has been released from a perilous position, and
placed again on a footing of freedom and hopefulness, and if this new
and better policy continues--as it seems likely to do--the London
Missionary Society and other missionaries may look forward to many
years of useful and successful labour in the cause of Christ on the
island.
The Imèrina Mission of the London Missionary Society may be in want
of much to thoroughly fit it to face the future, and meet and master
the many difficulties which are certain to arise under the new
_régime_; but what is most needed--as in hundreds of the churches
at home--is an increase of evangelical piety and fervour, and with it a
revival of moral earnestness and missionary enthusiasm, which will make
itself felt in the Christian work at home and abroad.
This cannot be the outcome of cold-blooded ethical teaching, empty
platitudes--‘toothless generalities,’ as some one has called them--or
of sensational preaching, the sort of sermon which only entertains
and pleases, while it leaves the sinner’s conscience at ease. These,
like mere intellectual preaching, are among the abominations that make
desolate the soul. The preaching and teaching of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ can alone generate the earnestness, enthusiasm, and zeal needful
to carry on successfully His work, and raise men up, whether at home or
abroad, to the measure of the stature of His perfect manhood.
When the French arrived in 1895 we had 1,300 self-supporting Christian
churches or preaching stations, 1,000 native pastors, some 6,000 local
preachers, 80,000 church members, 280,000 adherents, 800 day schools,
with 80,000 children in them, and 400 Sabbath schools with 20,000
scholars. From the burning of the idols in September, 1869, to 1895,
the people had raised for religious purposes upwards of £70,000, which,
seeing that money was five times the value to them it was to us, really
represented some £350,000! And yet there are still some ignorant,
thoughtless people who talk of foreign missions being a failure. If
that is a failure, I hope God in His goodness will give us a repetition
of such failures all over the mission field, and we shall be profoundly
thankful.
It is only fair, however, to the public to say that it is only the
grossly ignorant, or the prejudiced, and those more accustomed to
speak than to think, that indulge in such statements. Foreign missions
have not been a failure, but a great success in Central and Southern
Madagascar, in Manchuria, in Livingstonia, in India (recent critics,
a certain class of Anglo-Indians and travellers notwithstanding), in
China (as 4,000 Chinese converts dying for their faith proved), on the
Congo, in New Guinea, in the South Seas, and in South America.
Some cynic has sneeringly remarked that ‘nothing is so false as facts,
except figures.’ Statistics, however, can do a good deal, but they
can never convey a really accurate impression of the true results of
mission work. Facts and figures can tell much; but they do not and
cannot tell folks’ feelings, nor can they even tell all they imply.
Foreign missions properly conducted can never be a failure: that is
a moral impossibility; for that means the failure of Christianity.
Professing Christians may fail to realize their privileges and their
responsibilities, and so fail in their duty to the work of extending
the kingdom of Christ to the ends of the earth, and thus fail to carry
out the divine command: ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the
Gospel to every creature’; but foreign missions can never be a failure.
Bishop Butler taught us, even in student days, that it was a moral
impossibility that ever evil could be triumphant over good, in a world
where God was the moral Governor.
There are still some people, however, who have no belief in foreign
missions, or home missions, or missions of any kind. Some say they
only believe in home missions, while there are others who are always
pitting home missions against foreign missions, forgetting that they
are but the two branches of the same great work.
The late Bishop Brooks of America said that a man who opposed foreign
missions in the interests of home missions was like a man who had
murdered his own father and then appealed to the judge for mercy
because he was an orphan!
Where would we have been, and what would have been the state of our
native land to-day, but for foreign missions? Our forefathers the
Britons were cannibals. St. Jerome tells of seeing some of them in Gaul
when he was a boy; and he says, we are told, that they had great flocks
and herds in their own land, but that they preferred a ham of the
herdsman to that of any of their flock. These were our ancestors, so
that we have little to be proud of, but much to be thankful for which
the Gospel brought us--light, liberty, privileges, and blessings we
should never have known but for foreign missions.
Foreign missions can never be a failure. Directors may die, princes and
great men in the church may fall, and missionaries may be martyred;
but the Great Head of the church lives and works. He was dead, but is
alive for evermore, and has the keys of death and of Hades. He lives
and rules and reigns for ever and ever, and while He lives and reigns
His work must make progress. Amid the wreck of thrones and the falling
of dynasties, the revolutions of empires and the death of sovereigns,
the onward rush of successive generations, and the march of sweeping
centuries, God’s work must and shall prevail.
And the work being done now for the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom
will not die when the labourers’ task is over and they are called home;
but will live and bring forth fruit long after the green grass has
grown over their graves. ‘To live in hearts we leave behind is not
to die.’ His work must and shall advance until the kingdoms of this
world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ,
and they shall hang upon Him all the glory of His Father’s house; and
a glorious and blood-bought church shall yet rise from the ruins of
this sin-blighted world, and shall come forth ‘fair as the moon, clear
as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.’ May God hasten it
in His time, and help and bless all who are working for that glorious
consummation!
INDEX
Aepyornis, the, 16.
Affliction, use of, 156.
Almeida, Don F. de, voyage of, 17.
Ambàtonakànga (A-kànga), church at, 232;
state of, 233, 273;
Sabbath school at, 235;
state of schools in, 237;
collections for soldiers, 271;
troubles in, 279;
girls’ school at, 288;
kindness of people of, 365.
Amusements of children, 269.
Andrìamihàja, 26.
Àndrìamònana, story of, 143.
Andrìanaivoràvèlona, Pastor J., work of, 250;
banishment of, 346.
Andrìantàvy, Pastor, 131.
Andrìantsehèno, Pastor J., 266.
Antanànarìvo, fall of, 293.
Antsàmpandràno, church at, 169.
Arabs in Madagascar, 15.
Artisans, missionary, 22.
Baptisms, the first, 39;
forced, 114.
Bath, the, festival of, 14.
Beating, asking for a, 275.
Bètsilèo Mission, the, 267.
Bevan, Rev. T., death of, 21.
Bible, the, translation of, mistakes in, 113;
first Malagasy, 157;
revision of, 248;
changes in, 249.
Bible-classes, 145, 157.
Bible teaching, 174.
Blind girl, story of a, 143.
Bliss, Miss M. T., 243.
Boegner, M., visit of, 353.
Bond, Hon. John, 18.
Boothby, R., book of, 18.
Boy communicants, 116.
Brick-making, 125.
Brigands, 276.
British treaty with France, 286.
Bullock, a, presented, 189.
Burglars, 276.
Burning of martyrs, 56.
Cameron, Mr. J., on soap-making, 35;
story of, 38;
quoted, 85.
Carpenters, dispute with, 130.
Cases, the question of, 209.
Catechism, the, translation of, 244.
Catechizing, 193.
Cave, the, 50.
Certificates, use of, 106.
Chapel royal, the, 77.
Charms, native, 31, 223.
Chief, case of a poor, 219.
Children’s Scripture Mission formed, 237.
Chloroform, use of, 109.
Conscription, 180;
anecdote of, 181.
Contributions of native church, 220, 226, 271.
Cousins, Rev. W. E., quoted, 69, 70, 74, 76, 77, 86, 91, 186.
Criminals, treatment of, 66.
Crucifixion, punishment of, 24.
D’Abrew, J. G., 17.
Dead, burial of the, 202.
Delirium, native, 223.
Dentistry, 107, 151.
Diaz, Bartholomew, 16.
Discipline, church, 93, 272, 275.
Disease, native views of, 223.
Divorce, cases of, 34, 135.
Divorce of trade, the, 111.
Doll prizes, 269.
Drainage, 97.
Dress, the question of, 104.
Drink, question of the, 179.
Duchesne, General, expedition of, 292;
conquest of the capital by, 293;
character of, 301;
recall of, 305.
Edresi, writings of, 15.
Education, progress of, 39, 101, 163.
Ellis, Rev. W., visit of, 62, 63.
Emancipation of the slaves, 305.
Escande, Pasteur B., on shooting of natives, 325 sq.;
murder of, 353, 358.
Examinations, school, 178.
_Fànompòana_, the, 130.
Fàravòhitra, martyrdoms at, 57.
Farquhar, Sir R., 19.
Fees, a question of, 151.
Feudal service, 130.
Fever, malarial, 95, 99;
ravages of, 221.
Fìhàonana, mission at, 96, 99;
school at, 174.
Freebooters, 110.
French, the, difficulties with, 239;
banished the island, 240;
treaty with, 280;
disputes with, 291;
expeditionary force sent to the island, 292;
free the slaves, 305;
rising against, 307;
subjugation of the island by, 312;
severe policy of, 314;
conduct towards the London Missionary Society, 316;
murders by, 324;
take over the island, 355;
present policy of, 361;
administration of, 369.
French corporal, story of a, 365.
Frere, Sir Bartle, visit of, 106.
Funerals, native, 202;
expenses of, 227.
Gallieni, General, rule of, 314;
character of, 317;
his opinion of mission work, 318;
his proclamation banishing the queen, 355.
Gilpin, Miss H., work of, 175, 243.
Girl, native, story of, 175.
Girls’ school, difficulties of, 215.
Gore-Jones, Admiral, visit of, 229.
Government service, 130.
Griffiths, Mr. D., 47.
Hammond, W., book of, 18.
Hastie, Mr., first British Consul, 20.
Heat, the, 227.
Heathen revenge, 323.
Heathenism, character of, 28.
Horse-boy, story of a, 360.
Horses, 149.
Hova sovereigns, authority of, 312;
officials, character of, 373.
Hovas, history of, 15;
immorality of, 111;
politeness of, 112;
respect for the dead, 137.
Husband and wife question, a, 115.
Huts, native, 129.
Hymns and tunes, 184.
Idol, royal, burnt, 78.
Ile Dauphiné, 17.
Immorality, native, 110, 371.
Infanticide, 32.
Interpreter, treachery of, 229.
Jesuit priests, conduct of, 102, 241;
deceit of, 321.
Johnson, Captain, conduct of, 246.
Johnson, W. and L., murder of, 302.
Jones, Rev. D., first missionary, 21.
Knife prizes, 269.
Laborde, M. 70.
_Làmba_, use of, 202.
Lambert, M., 70.
Language reduced to writing, 23;
softness of, 62.
Laroche, M., character of, 305;
frees the slaves, 305.
Laurence, St., island of, 17.
Le Sage, mission of, 20.
Legacy, the first, to the church, 203.
Lightning, struck by, 217.
Livingstone, Dr., quoted, 133.
Local preacher, a, sermon of, 92;
a strange, 105;
story of a, 367.
Losses caused by the rebellion against the French, 311;
by French excesses, 323.
Lovett, Rev. R., quoted, 45, 47, 52, 63, 70.
Lucky days, 32.
Madagascar, description of, 13;
Jews’ connexion with, 14;
tribes in, 15;
Arabs in, 15;
French intercourse with, 17;
etymology of, 17;
slave trade in, 19;
orgies in, 24;
immorality in, 24, 110;
beliefs in, 29;
proverbs in, 30;
superstition in, 31;
scenery of, 84;
slavery in, 109;
progress of Christianity in, 138;
becomes a French colony, 355;
church statistics of, 377.
Magaster, 16.
Malagasy, family names of, 270;
present state of, 274;
traits of, 281;
conduct of, 297;
improvement in morals of, 371.
Manse built, 125.
Marco Polo, work of, 16.
Marriage, native views of, 206.
Married things, 184.
Martyr Memorial Church, building of, 158;
opening of, 186;
mending floor of, 196.
Martyrdoms, the first, 45.
Matthews, Rev. T. T., sent out, 82;
journey to the capital, 83;
illness of, 87;
visits Vònizòngo, 94;
builds a house, 96;
first Sabbath at Fìhàonana, 100;
mission work of, 102;
his medical work, 107, 118;
surgical operations, 108;
work on, language, 111;
cases of advice, 114;
visit to the capital, 123;
goes back to station, 123;
difficulty with palanquin-bearers, 123;
builds a manse, 125;
his palanquin-bearers, 150;
a quick journey, 154;
a trying journey, 154;
illness of, 160;
itineration by, 172;
turned out of bed, 172;
opens Martyr Memorial Church, 186;
on slavery, 190;
school built, 198;
attacked by fever, 208;
school work, 213;
marvellous escape from lightning, 217;
heat-apoplexy, 227;
return to the island, 230;
goes to A-kànga, 233;
becomes member of Revision Committee, 248;
visits Bètsilèo Mission, 267;
acts as gatekeeper, 268;
attacked by robbers, 276;
his literary work, 362.
Matthews, Mrs., illness of, 99;
starts a sewing-class, 101, 145;
accident to, 153;
illness of, 160, 216;
escape from lightning, 218.
Matthews, Miss, work of, 288.
Medical work, 107.
Miller, Hugh, quoted, 278.
Minault, Pasteur, murder of, 353, 358.
Mistakes in language by missionaries, 112.
Moon-stroke, 227.
Mullens, Rev. Dr., visit of, 98;
on school work, 162;
on Razàka, 263.
Native agents, importance of, 144.
New Testaments and the Customs, 367.
Normal school, the, 166.
Nurses, trained, 195.
Old disciple, 142.
Ophir, 14.
Pakenham, Mr., 70.
Palace Church Evangelist, conduct of, 119.
Palanquin-bearers, difficulty with, 123;
strike among, 150.
Paris Missionary Society, work of, 352.
Pastorate, the native, 374.
Persecution, the first, 42.
Pigs, 97;
adventure with, 172.
Pilkington, Colonel R., gift of, 199.
Pillans, Rev. J., visit of, 98.
Powell, Dr., 47.
‘Praying,’ 42.
Proclamation on education, 162;
of freedom, 216.
Proverbs, Malagasy, 30.
Quarterly meetings, 174;
vigour of, 215.
Questions put to converts, 54;
curious, 92.
Quinine, sale of, 178;
use of, 222.
Radàma I, reign of, 20.
Radàma II, reign of, 69;
character of, 71;
death of, 72.
Rafàralàhy, story of, 46.
Rafàravàvy, story of, 43.
Rafàravàvy Marìa, story of, 49.
Rainiàsivòla, death of, 58.
Rainihàrisòa, robbery of, 302.
Rainilaiàrivòny, deposition of, 300.
Rainitslandàvaka, 27.
Rakòtobè, 26.
Rakòtovào, story of, 101.
Ramàrindàlana, death of, 56.
Ràmitràha, story of, 51, 60.
Rànavàlona I, reign of, 26;
character of, 25, 27, 39, 68;
death of, 26, 65;
on soap-making, 35;
her edict against Christianity, 42;
her cruelty, 66.
Rànavàlona II, reign of, 74;
policy of, 75;
founds a chapel royal, 77;
a nursing-mother of the church, 203;
judgement of, 205;
death of, 243.
Rànavàlona III, reign of, 243;
deception practised on, 296;
surrender of, 300;
banishment of, 346;
arrest of, 352;
banished to Bourbon, 353, 356.
Rànìvo, death of, 59.
Ràsalàma, story of, 44.
Ràsohèrina I, reign of, 72;
her tolerant policy, 72;
death of, 74.
Ràsomoèly, death of, 283.
Razàka, story of, 50;
baptism of, 61;
his use of the Bible, 62;
liberation of, 67;
character of, 251;
story of, 254;
death of, 265.
Reading-classes, 208.
Religious Tract Society, grants of, 364.
Revival in the capital, 287.
Rising against the French, 307;
sufferings caused by, 311.
Robbers, 110.
Rock, the Tarpeian, 57.
Roman Catholic missionaries compared with Protestant, 23;
priests, policy of, 69;
persecution of native converts by, 325 sq.;
increase of, 375.
Sabbath desecration, 272.
Sabbath worship, 76, 78, 100.
Sàkalàvas, the, 245.
Salaries of native pastors, 207.
Saluting the fowls, 223.
Schools, statistics of, 39;
starting of, 101;
village, state of, 161;
state of, 193;
statistics of, 195;
building of, 198;
progress of, 213.
Scriptures, the, translation of, 23, 29, 40.
Sewell, J., visit of, 190.
Sewing-class started, 101, 145.
Sheep’s rump, the, 206.
Shoemaker, story of a native, 367.
Singing-classes, 183.
Slave trade, 19;
abolished, 20.
Slaves, position of, 109;
native opinion of, 190;
emancipation of, 216;
decree of freedom for, 305.
Small-pox, visitation of, 224.
Soap question, the, 35.
Soldier-schoolmasters, 164.
Soldiers, runaway, 109.
Soot, 270.
Spicer, Alderman Evan, visit of, 362.
Squire-pastors, 140.
Statistics, church, 317.
Stoning, death by, 64.
Storm, fearful, 217.
Tàmatàve, blockade of, 246.
Teacher, honesty of a native, 285.
Teachers, native, 164.
_Ten Years Review_, quoted, 291.
Thompson, Rev. R. Wardlaw, visit of, 362.
Thrashed to church, 119.
Traitors, native, 297.
Translation work, 23, 29, 40, 363.
Travellers’ tales, 173.
Tunes and hymns, 184.
Turning of the dead, 202.
Vaccination, 224.
Vanderkemp, Dr., visit of, 21.
Vasco da Gama, 16.
Victoria, Queen, message of, 73.
Vilers, M. Le Myre, 291.
Vònizòngo, mission work in, 48;
examination of converts in, 54;
description of, 88;
mission work in, 90;
state of people of, 120.
Wages, native, 128.
Wives of missionaries, their work, 147.
Women, position of, 34;
services for, 267.
Wreck of churches, 323.
Writing, introduction of, 23.
Zànakàntitra, the, conspiracy of, 303.
OXFORD: HORACE HART
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Cameron.
[2] Literally ‘The Fragrant One,’ suggesting freshness. ‘In primitive
religious thought, the idea of godhead is specially connected with that
of fresh unfading life, and the impurity which must be kept aloof is
associated with physical corruption and death.’
[3] Cameron.
[4] Cameron.
[5] Mr. Cameron was a lineal descendant of the massacred chief of
Glencoe. It was known that the three sons of the chief escaped on the
night of that terrible massacre; but they were lost sight of, and
historians could not tell what afterwards became of them. One of them
fled over the hills into Morayshire, changing his name, and two of
his descendants are to be found in a northern city to-day. The other
two, escaped into Perthshire, took their mother’s name of Cameron--she
was a Cameron of Lochiel. One of them, Hugh, afterwards emigrated
to Canada, the other lived and died in Perthshire. His eldest son
became the tax-collector of the village of Dunkeld, and his eldest
son James went to Madagascar in 1826 as a missionary artisan (he had
been instructed and greatly helped in his studies by the late Rev. Mr.
Black, Congregational minister of Dunkeld).
[6] Lovett, _History of the London Missionary Society_, vol. i,
pp. 703, 704.
[7] _Native Narrative of the Persecutions_ (unpublished).
[8] Lovett, _History of the London Missionary Society_, vol. i,
pp. 704, 705.
[9] Lovett, _History of the London Missionary Society_, vol. i, p.
708.
[10] _Native Narrative of the Persecutions_ (unpublished).
[11] _Native Narrative of the Persecutions._
[12] Ellis, _The Martyr Church of Madagascar_, pp. 168–71.
[13] Ellis, _Faithful unto Death_, pp. 153–4.
[14] _Native Narrative of the Persecutions._
[15] _Native Narrative of the Persecutions._
[16] Ellis, _Faithful unto Death_, pp. 147–8.
[17] Ibid., p. 155.
[18] Lovett, _History of the London Missionary Society_, vol. i,
p. 709.
[19] _Native Narrative of the Persecutions._
[20] Cousins, _A Brief Review of the London Missionary Society
Mission in Madagascar from 1861 to 1870_.
[21] Lovett, _History of the London Missionary Society_, vol. i,
p. 714.
[22] Cousins, _A Brief Review of the London Missionary Society
Mission in Madagascar from 1861 to 1870_.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Cousins, _A Brief Review of the London Missionary Society
Mission in Madagascar from 1861 to 1870_.
[25] Ibid.
[26] _Missionary Chronicle_ (London Missionary Society), Jan. 1870.
[27] Quoted by the Rev. W. E. Cousins in _Madagascar of To-day_.
[28] ‘The transition of any community from a state of repression to one
of supremacy tends to change the character of the offences of which
it takes cognizance. It accentuates the organization. It elevates
the by-laws to a new prominence, and makes offences against them
important.’--Hatch.
[29] See _Missionary Chronicle of the London Missionary Society_,
June, 1884.
[30] ‘The Malagasy love to give, especially for the Kingdom of God; and
this happy disposition, created by our English (British) predecessors,
is being carefully maintained!’--M. Bianquis, 1903.
[31] Shortened form of Ambàtonakànga.
[32] _Ten Years’ Report, 1880–90._
[33] _Ten Years’ Review._
[34] _Ten Years’ Review._
[35] _Ten Years’ Review._
Transcriber’s Notes: 1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling
errors have been corrected silently.
2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have
been retained as in the original.
3. Italics are shown as _xxx_.