CHURCH-BUILDING FUND--SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE IRISH CLERGY--THE
MADRAS GRAMMAR SCHOOL--MEMORIAL TO GOVERNMENT--PRIMARY
VISITATION--DEATH OF MRS. CORRIE--ORDINATION--DEATH OF BISHOP
CORRIE.
On the return of the Bishop from Tanjore and Tinnevelly, he took
measures for securing that certain subscriptions collected in
Madras, toward the building of churches, and which had hitherto
been transmitted to Calcutta, to the “fund for all India,” should
henceforth be vested in Trustees, and be applied, under the direction
of diocesan and local committees, exclusively to the wants of the
presidency of Madras. The Bishop, also, in addition to his other
occupations, preached every Wednesday afternoon during Lent at the
church in the Fort, and on Friday evenings at the Cathedral. In a
letter which relates these circumstances, the Bishop also observes
TO MR. SHERER.
“April 5, 1836.
“A movement has lately taken place among the East Indian
community which indicates improvement. Arrangements are
being attempted for establishing an Indian Missionary
Society. One rule is to be, that no missionary engaged
by them shall receive above eighty Rs. a month, and as
much less as may be. This, originating with themselves,
looks well, but nothing is yet settled, nor any formal
announcement of the Society.”
The provisional Committee, however, of this projected Indian
Missionary Society, soon afterwards issued an outline of their plan
of operations, which was of the so-called liberal dissenting caste.
As the story of the persecutions and sufferings of the Irish clergy,
had by this time reached India, it is scarcely necessary to say that
Bishop Corrie sympathised deeply with those his brethren, in their
afflictions. Thus he writes
TO MR. SHERER.
“Madras, July 4, 1836.
“I was requested by some friends to call a meeting[180] to
consider on means for relieving the Irish Clergy. A failure
was predicted, but £300 were subscribed in the room, and
sent to the Archbishop of Armagh, by the last ship: £400
more have been since received by our treasurer; and by the
end of the month we expect to receive in all 10,000 Rs.”
The Bishop then goes on to state, that
“What seems of most importance to this place, is the
establishment of a Grammar school. About four years ago I
wrote, or authorised Mr. M. to write, for a master for the
Calcutta High School. Mr. M. and I, when I was at home,
talked over the subject of a master, and he renewed his
enquiries, and found one. Amidst my many new avocations,
the subject had quite escaped me, till I received an
official notice from the High School Committee, that they
did not require a master, and should not receive the one
engaged, nor honour Mr. M’s draft for his passage. At first
I was in trouble, but friends here viewed this refusal
as providential for Madras. The Bishop of Calcutta sent
me 1000 Rs. to pay the passage-money, on the young man’s
arrival in the Juliana. He agreed to remain here, and we
fulfilled all his expectations from Calcutta. On the 1st
inst. the school commenced, near Mr. Tucker’s Chapel, with
thirty-three pupils, and the prospect of not fewer than
100. But salaries of all grades are lower here than in
Calcutta; and instead of eight Rs. for each boy, as there,
we can only charge four Rs. So that we shall have more to
struggle with here. But the work is, I trust, indeed of
God, and will prosper. The new Roman Catholic Bishop and
his Chaplain, had opened a school near where ours is, and
had about forty boys, most of them sons of Protestants, who
will now come to us again.”
The school here referred to, is that now called by the Bishop’s name,
and was in fact, the resuscitation of a school known as the “Parental
Academy,” but which had been closed for nearly two years, in
consequence of the inability of the managing Committee to meet with
a suitable master. On its being merged in the Madras Grammar School,
the former laws of the Academy were remodelled, and a general outline
of a course of instruction prescribed; the whole being accomplished
mainly at the suggestion or by the assistance of the Bishop.
It was also about this time that the attention of Bishop Corrie, was
more particularly occupied by a desire to aid in abating the hardship
which Government imposed on the christian servants of the Company,
both civil and military, by obliging them to attend at the religious
festivals of heathen and Mahommedans; and, in some instances,
by calling upon them to present offerings, and to do homage to
senseless and impure idols. Many had been the representations, to
the authorities in England, of the sinfulness connected with this
direct encouragement of idolatry, and the violence which was thus
done to the consciences and feelings of the public servants of
the Government; not to mention the inconsistency of a compulsory
attendance on an unchristian ceremonial, with that toleration which
Government professed to afford to all their subjects in the East.
Wearied out, as it would appear, by the importunity of the aggrieved
parties, the Court of Directors, in a dispatch to the Indian
Governments early in 1833, ordered, among other things
“That the interference of British functionaries in the
interior management of native temples; in the customs,
habits, and religious proceedings of their priests and
attendants; in the arrangement of their ceremonies, rites,
and festivals; and generally, in the conduct of their
interior economy, shall cease.
“That in all matters relating to their temples, their
worship, their festivals, their religious practices, and
their ceremonial observances, our native subjects be
entirely left to themselves.”
It might have been thought that a dispatch so plain, and direct in
prohibiting any further outrages on the consciences of christians,
would have met with the ready attention of the local Governments
in India; but as regarded Madras, it does not appear that a single
step was taken to carry this positive order into effect. After
submitting, therefore, for three years more to this unaccountable
clinging of Government to Mahommedanism and idolatry, it was resolved
by a numerous body of the clergy, civilians, and military, under the
presidency of Madras, to address the local Government. Accordingly,
a Memorial was drawn up, in which the evils complained of were
enumerated, and the recital of them corroborated by documentary
evidence; and which concluded by respectfully but earnestly praying,
that the instructions of the Court of Directors might be practically
and universally enforced. This document Bishop Corrie was requested
to forward to Government, but in the first instance, he had thought
it better, as a matter of courtesy and good judgment, to submit a
copy of it to the Governor, in his private capacity; and in doing so,
the Bishop pointed out to Sir F. Adam, in what respects the relief
prayed for might, as he thought, be readily conceded. The Governor
was at the time residing on the Nilgherries, but the Bishop’s
courtesy was entirely thrown away, for no notice of any kind was
taken of his communication. In the month of July, therefore, the
Memorial was made public, and signed by about 200 of our countrymen
of all ranks; and on the 6th of August, the Bishop forwarded the
document to the Governor of Madras in Council, accompanied by the
following letter:--
“I have the honour to transmit to your Excellency in
Council, at the request of those who have signed it, a
Memorial, together with the original signatures to it,
enumerating instances wherein those whose duty it is to
engage in them, feel themselves aggrieved by practices
and orders which seem to them contrary to the command of
God; thereby subjecting them to the painful alternative of
violating the dictates of their consciences, or incurring
the displeasure of the Government; and praying, that the
same toleration and exemptions, which have been long
granted to their Mahommedan and heathen fellow subjects,
may be extended to the Christian members of this Presidency.
“It is my duty to state, that I fully concur in every part
of the Memorial, and its prayer: and I earnestly hope, that
it may be thought fitting to concede the full measure of
relief prayed for; and in respect to such part as rests
alone with the Government of India to grant, that your
Excellency in Council will be pleased to transmit the
Memorial to the Right Honorable the Governor General in
Council, with your powerful recommendation in its favour.”
For a length of time this Memorial, like the Bishop’s former
communication, was not honoured by any reply. Certain rumours,
however, were afloat, to the effect, that angry feelings had been
stirred up in the mind of the Governor in Council. And this proved
to be the case: for (that the whole history of this transaction
may be brought together) it may be stated, that early in October,
the Bishop received a letter from the Chief Secretary to the
Government, reproaching him in very unbecoming terms, for not
“using his influence to allay the zeal of overheated minds;” and
informing him that both the Memorial and a copy of that letter had
been forwarded to the Governor-general. A communication like this
could have no other effect throughout India, than to produce in
all who knew the parties concerned, and retained the feelings of
gentlemen, a blush of shame for the Governor in Council, and the
government Secretary. As regarded the insulted prelate, it had long
been a settled conviction in his mind, that to be truly civilized a
man must be truly a christian; his natural disposition, therefore,
disposed him to pass over this uncalled-for rudeness, as being but a
common-place manifestation of that want of delicacy and refinement
which characterises every modification of heathenism. But, holding
as he did an official station in the country, it seemed to him that
silence under such circumstances might be a compromise of the respect
due to his office; and therefore, as soon as the Bishop learnt that
a copy of this letter to him had been sent to Calcutta, he addressed
the following
TO THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD AUCKLAND.
“On my return to this Presidency a few days since, I first
learnt that the Right Hon. the Governor of Madras in
Council, had, together with a Memorial on the subject of
religious toleration, thought good to send to your Lordship
in Council, a copy of a letter dated October 11, addressed
to me, and which I had concluded was intended only for
the information of the Memorialists. In that letter the
Governor has been pleased to admonish me as to the duty
my office imposed upon me, with reference to the said
Memorial. The authority of Government to dictate to me as
to the performance of my duties, I entirely deny. I hold
myself free to act on my own judgment, as to what is my
duty; and differing entirely as I do from the Right Hon.
the Governor of Madras in Council, both as to the propriety
of granting the toleration prayed for by the Memorialists,
and as to the consequence of deferring to grant the relief
sought, I consider myself to have strictly been within the
line of my duty in forwarding the Memorial to Government.
“On this point, however, I need not have troubled your
Lordship.
“My object is to call attention to the fact, that the
Memorial, which I am told I should have used my influence
to suppress, was prepared and in circulation for approval
or correction, at several of the principal stations of this
Presidency, when I arrived at Madras, in the latter end
of October, 1835. Copies had been printed for more ready
circulation, as I afterwards learnt; and in March last,
one of those copies was put into my hands. Observing that
officers were employed on services in which I have never
known Europeans to be employed in the Bengal Presidency, I
took the liberty to forward privately, early in April last,
the copy of the Memorial sent me, to the Right Hon. the
Governor of Madras, then at the Neilgherries, concluding
that he had the power to grant relief to the military;
and would, when he knew the pain the performance of those
duties inflicted, be disposed to take measures to remove
the occasion of complaint. Of this communication no notice
was taken.[181]
“I observe that some of the Calcutta newspapers accuse the
Memorialists of asking for more toleration than they are
willing to grant to others; and similar opinions may be
held in other quarters. I therefore take the liberty, in
the name of all the clerical subscribers to the Memorial,
expressly to deny this; and I am persuaded that I speak
the sentiments of the lay subscribers also on this point.
If the firing a salute on Christmas day be considered a
claiming from the natives a concession in favour of our
religion, let the salute be discontinued; and if there
be any other ceremony of our religion, on which natives
are required to attend (though I know not of any) let
compulsory attendance be forbidden.
“If the Memorialists have expressed themselves strongly
respecting the object of some of the ceremonies in which
they are liable to be called upon to take part, they
express only their own repugnance to be associated in such
ceremonies, without the slightest wish to impose restraint
upon the natives, or to interrupt them in the smallest
degree in their own observances. That Protestants may be
exempted from taking part in proceedings, which imply the
violation of their own peculiar principles, is the only
desire of the Memorialists.
“In the hope that the information now conveyed may reach
your Lordship before the subject of the Memorial is decided
upon in Council, I have the honour &c.”
This letter was dispatched to Calcutta toward the end of November,
and was courteously acknowledged by Lord Auckland; but before the
official reply to the Memorial was made public in Madras, and in
which the conduct of that Government to the Bishop was faintly
reprehended, the Bishop was beyond the reach of further insult.
On Friday, Aug. 26, 1836, Bishop Corrie held his primary Visitation
in the Cathedral at Madras. The sermon on the occasion was preached
by the Bishop’s examining Chaplain, the Rev. J. Tucker, Fellow of
Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The Charge, after some preliminary
notices of what had been effected by those prelates who had
previously held Visitations in Madras, proceeded to touch upon the
subject of caste among the professedly Christian natives. On this
point the Bishop stated it to be his decided opinion, that those who
were engaged in missionary labours should require from all natives
desirous of baptism, an explicit avowal, that they regarded all
for whom Christ died as spiritually equal in Christ. The Bishop
adverted also to the subject of education, and spoke of the necessity
of uniting religious instruction with intellectual improvement. He
strongly recommended catechetical instruction, as a means of great
usefulness. As important auxiliaries to ministerial labours, he
mentioned several Societies with approbation; and suggested with
regard to Visiting Societies, whether paid agency might not be
beneficially employed.
The Bishop then alluded to the prospects of Christianity in India;
and whilst recognizing the good feeling which prompted some persons
to desire that christians of every denomination should unite to
spread the gospel among the heathen, he yet regarded such an union as
impracticable. He noticed, moreover, the subject of admitting persons
into Holy Orders, and expressed it to be his opinion that a competent
degree of learning should be found among the general body of the
clergy. Although there might be circumstances under which a Bishop in
India would have to be content with a lower standard of acquirements
in candidates for the ministry, yet, it was his opinion, that at
the very least a Bishop ought to demand a fair English education, a
thorough knowledge of history, chronology, the prophetical parts of
scripture, and of the evidences by which the Bible is proved to be
the word of God; besides a full acquaintance with the doctrines of
our Church, and a general knowledge of the arguments by which its
polity may be vindicated.
After referring to the age at which the Bishop wished young persons
to be presented for Confirmation, and mentioning some arrangements
and regulations he hoped to establish respecting the celebration of
marriages, the Bishop concluded his Charge by putting his Clergy in
mind of the great importance of self-devotion to the work of their
ministry.
With reference to this meeting of his clergy, the Bishop observes in
a memorandum, dated
“Aug. 30, 1836. On Friday last I held my first Visitation.
Preparing a Charge was a matter of much anxiety; especially
as the Bishop of Calcutta had entered so minutely, in
his Charge of Dec. 1834, into all particulars connected
with ministerial duty, and with the circumstances of this
country. By God’s goodness I accomplished my purpose, and
must leave the result to God. In the evening, the Clergy
dined with me, in number, including some catechists,
twenty. I now desire to consider what may be the proper
objects of my journey to the out-stations. 1st. The
encouragement of the pious, by preaching, conversation,
and joining in religious exercises. 2nd. The examination
of schools, and confirming the young, and exhorting them,
both before and after Confirmation. 3rd. By endeavouring
to set right many points of litigation; and to establish,
if possible, a good understanding between Chaplains and
military Commanders. There is at present much irritation
on that point; and the Government is disposed to act very
arbitrarily towards Chaplains. In all these attempts, may
my sufficiency be of God, and His strength perfected in my
great weakness!”
The day following the date of this memorandum, the Bishop prepared
to leave Madras for the purpose of visiting some of the out-stations.
The places he purposed to visit were Wallajabad, Arnee, Arcott,
Vellore, to Bangalore; thence to Bellary, Hyderabad, Masulipatam,
returning down the coast to the presidency. The following notices of
his visitation were drawn up, after his return to Madras:--
“I left Madras, accompanied by the venerable Archdeacon
Harper, on the evening of August 31st. Our first visit was
to Wallajabad. Every thing appeared well conducted in this
important Institution.[182] The youths, eighty-seven in
number, with the other members of the establishment, were
assembled for Divine service, and the orderly behaviour,
and cheerful appearance of the boys, manifested that Mr.
Hall, the sub-conductor in charge, deserves the good
opinion which has been entertained of him. He deserves also
much credit on account of his attention to the religious
instruction of the boys.
“All that seems wanting is a good school-master, with
leisure to the boys from their respective drills for two
hours each day, (which at present is not allowed) for
receiving instruction in reading, writing, &c. with a small
suitable library, which might be supplied at very little
expense. The good to be effected by this institution has
already begun to appear in the young men already appointed
to Corps. At Vellore we found a set of the Wallajabad
youths attached to the 25th N. I. of whose general good
conduct the adjutant spoke in high terms. Another set was
at Bangalore, who were also well spoken of, and from the
26th N. I. the adjutant writes, since my return to Madras,
‘the sixteen drummers and fifers, all protestants, from the
depôt at Wallajabad, are the most promising youths of the
kind I have ever yet seen.
“At Arnee there is no place of worship for the soldiers
to assemble in--a temporary place erected by subscription
of the officers and privates, had lately been blown down.
A small building erected at the expense of the pious
soldiers, and capable of holding only 150 or 200 persons,
was used for the services connected with the Confirmation.
The Chaplain of Arcot attends alternate Sundays, there
being no house at Arnee in which he can reside. He had
been indefatigable and successful in preparing candidates
for Confirmation, of whom seventy-one were confirmed;
several being rejected as too young, and some because of
unestablished moral habits. Should a regiment be again
stationed here, a suitable though temporary building should
be erected for public worship.
“A Temperance Society of about sixty members exists in H.
M. 41st Regiment.
“At Arcot, the church is small, but in good order. The
interior arrangements are not well done, so that much
room is lost. Thirty-two persons were confirmed, all East
Indians, including a few from Vellore. Here the care of
the Chaplain, as at Arnee, appeared in the intelligence
manifested by the young people of Arcot, beyond those of
Vellore. At Vellore, the whole christian community attended
Divine Service on Tuesday, 6th September. The place used
for Divine service is part of an old palace, which requires
being better fitted up. A school, containing seventy-two
children, including a few natives, is supported by
subscription, raised at the station. At Vellore, is also a
congregation of about 125 natives, including a few families
of European pensioners, who are attended to by a native
Catechist of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,
and assemble in a small, but neat chapel, belonging to that
Society.
“A peon should be allowed here, to take care of the
burying-ground, which was in a neglected state.
“At Bangalore, I remained from the 9th to the 20th
September. During that time, I found that the schools
and hospitals of the different Corps, had been regularly
visited by the Chaplains. A Temperance Society is in
existence, containing nearly 200 members. A charity-school
for boys, and another for girls, unconnected with the army,
each containing about twelve scholars, (who are boarded and
clothed also,) are supported by voluntary contributions.
A Friend-in-Need Society is also in operation, in which
relief is provided for sick natives, and money weekly
disbursed in small sums to the needy of that class. The
Chaplains have the superintendance of these institutions,
assisted by a Committee of the resident gentlemen.
“The regular Sunday services are, one at seven, for one of
H. M. regiments, and the Artillery horse and foot with the
Christians connected with the native troops. At eleven,
a service in the barrack of the regiment, for those who
may not have attended in the morning at church--and one
service at eleven in church, and at quarter past six in the
evening for the station generally. The attendance at these
voluntary services is better than at any station in India.
Ninety-eight persons were confirmed, and there were no less
than 104 communicants.
“From the inconvenient structure of a barrack-room, as
well as from the associations connected with it, much of
the benefit of Divine service is lost to the troops in the
barracks. I, therefore, at the desire of several of the
residents, advocated the erection of another[183] place
of worship, in a situation more convenient also for the
Artillery and Dragoons; and received considerable support
towards the attainment of that end. A place should also be
fitted up in the Fort, where many Christians connected with
the arsenal and public offices reside, and where one of the
Chaplains should officiate one evening in the week.
“A congregation of about forty native Christians
assemble in the church at nine on Sunday mornings, and
are ministered to by a catechist of the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel.
“I remained from 23rd Sep. to Oct. 3rd at Bellary. This
is a large and important field of labour for a clergyman,
but there has been no Chaplain here for about three
years past; and one consequence appeared in the smaller
number of candidates, compared with the population, for
Confirmation. Of the fifty who were confirmed, about one
half were unconnected with the army. Beside the regimental
school, which is well conducted, a charity school of about
forty children is supported by voluntary contributions
at the station, and a Society is in operation for the
relief of poor and sick natives. About 150 rupees a month
are expended in this way. Of the soldiers of H. M. 55th,
I found a few in communion with the missionaries of the
London Missionary Society at Bellary, and about fifteen
or twenty in connection with the Wesleyan Methodists.
Sixty-four persons attended the communion on Sunday,
October 2nd, of whom a considerable number were from the
private soldiers.
“Since my visit to Bellary, I learn that an officer of
the Brigadier General’s Staff, reads prayers and a sermon
in church on Sunday mornings, and that the attendance is
considerable. The church at this station needs enlarging;
and contributions in aid of the Church-building Fund were
set on foot to assist in meeting the necessary outlay. The
presence of a Chaplain is greatly desired by the residents,
and Ghooty and Cuddapah in this district, should be visited
by him.
“I remained at Hyderabad and stations dependent on it,
from Oct. 8 to the 25th. Beside the regimental school
at Secunderabad, a station school is maintained by
subscription, in which about forty boys, of whom seven
are entirely maintained by the charity, are educated in
English, Teloogoo, and Hindoostanee--also a large class of
Teloogoo boys, and a few Tamil boys.
“At Bolaram, in a school, about fifty boys, Christians,
Mahommedans, and Hindoos, are instructed in English, and
nearly an equal number in Teloogoo; the expences of which
are supplied partly by subscription, but chiefly by the
Nizam’s Government. An English school of about twenty boys
is maintained at the Residency. The Scriptures, in their
respective languages, are read in all the classes.
“There are two services in church at Secunderabad on
Sundays. The church here, as at Bellary, is far too small
for the European congregation. A subscription in aid of the
Church-building Fund was commenced here. A congregation of
native Christians also assemble in the church on Sundays at
9 A. M.: a native Catechist reads prayers, and a prepared
sermon, in Tamil. This congregation consists of about
ninety members.
“A Society for the relief of poor natives is also in
operation here. About forty sick are usually entertained at
a time till they get well; and, in all, about 150 rupees
a month, expended on the indigent natives. On Wednesday,
the 16th October, 141 natives, including 16 native
Christians, were confirmed; and, on the following Sunday,
110 communicants attended at the Lord’s Table.
“At this station, the services of a second Chaplain are
greatly required. Besides one of H. M. regiments, two
companies of Artillery, and the European details of a
regiment of Cavalry, and of four regiments of Native
Infantry, with their schools and hospitals, are to be
attended to. In addition to which, the Christians connected
with the Residency, and some engaged in mercantile pursuits
on the one hand, and Bolaram with its 180 Christians, all
Protestants, except one family, on the other hand, should
be visited on alternate Sundays.
“Jaulna, also within this district, is a large station, and
should have a Chaplain appointed to it as soon as possible.
“At Masulipatam I remained from Oct. 26 till Nov. 8th.
Here, as at Bellary, there has been no resident Chaplain
for several years. The school in the Pettah, founded by Dr.
Roy, is at a stand; and no means of education are supplied
in the Fort, but by a very aged and nearly superannuated
pensioned sergeant. Prayers are read, and a sermon once on
Sundays, in the Fort Church by the Fort adjutant, and in
the Pettah chapel by a Civil servant.
“The most urgent desire was expressed here, as at Bellary,
by the principal residents, for a resident Chaplain.
“On Friday, 4th of November, forty young persons were
confirmed, and on the 6th, upwards of forty attended the
Sacrament. A Chaplain is much needed here, not only on
account of the number of Protestants at the Station, but
also on account of the several out-stations in this, and
neighbouring districts.
“Passed Sunday, the 13th of November, at Nellore. About
sixty persons attended Divine Service in the Court House,
of whom fourteen remained to receive the Sacrament.
Returned to Madras on November 15th.
“The number of persons confirmed by me at the different
stations, amounts to 430; and since my return to Madras,
I have confirmed in the Cathedral 139,[184] and at the
Poonamalee 48, almost all of the newly-arrived recruits,
making a total of 617; of whom not above twenty were native
Christians. The remainder Europeans, or descendants of
Europeans.
“Archdeacon Harper rendered me the most efficient
assistance during my visitation, in inspecting the
Registers, and enquiring into the state of the Churches
and burial-grounds at the different Stations, as well as
inspecting schools, and visiting the sick in hospital. At
Bellary and Masulipatam, the labours of the Archdeacon were
very heavy in examining the candidates for Confirmation,
and baptizing many children, and attending several
marriages. Without his aid, my Visitation, imperfect as
this my first essay may have been, would have been far more
defective.
“I have to acknowledge the most ready and obliging
attentions of all the Authorities, both civil and military,
with whom my duties brought me into connection.
“In general, I found at each station a considerable
prevalence of true religious feeling and practice,
especially among the soldiers of His Majesty’s regiments,
and the Artillery. Temperance Societies are found to be
greatly aiding towards the moral improvement of the army;
and though from human infirmity the pledge is too often
broken, yet many examples of improvement of character, and
benefit to health, appear connected with these Societies,
and the general good of society is forwarded by them.
“A farther proof of the prevalence of Christian principles,
is the existence of associations for the relief of the
native poor, connected with the several stations. I should
have noticed in its proper place an association of this
kind at Masulipatam also. I have known considerable sums
contributed at different stations, for the relief of native
poor on particular emergencies; but this permanent care
for the native poor, is a manifest improvement in European
society.
“These associations have in every case I am acquainted
with, arisen under the care of a Clergyman, and supply
evidence of the benefit that might arise to the country
generally, were the Ecclesiastical Establishment properly
kept up.
“The deficiency in the number of Chaplains is greatly
felt, and deeply to be lamented. Not only are several
large stations without the means of grace, but smaller
stations are left without occasional visits of Chaplains,
and whole provinces without any appearance of regard by the
Government for their spiritual and eternal good. I would
earnestly request[185] the attention of the Honourable
Court of Directors to this most important subject.
“Sixteen Chaplains only are at their posts, and two are
sick (the Reverend Messrs. Cubitt and Græme.) Besides
the stations now supplied, and those I have enumerated
as calling for Chaplains, formerly there was a Chaplain
at each of the following stations, Poonamatee, Chittoor,
Vellore, Tellicherry, and Palamcottah. The circumstances of
most of these stations are somewhat altered; but connected
with each of them are other stations, which were visited
occasionally by the Chaplains, nearly all of which are now
without the ordinances of religion.”
Besides the information which these notices convey respecting the
Bishop’s proceedings on his Visitation, many additional particulars
of a more private nature are contained in his correspondence with his
wife and relatives. In several of his letters, he complains of having
had to undergo excessive fatigue, and from Secunderabad writes to
Mrs. Corrie:--
“I am desired by Dr. Meikle to ‘keep quiet’ for a day or
two. He says, I have been over-exerting myself, whilst my
feeling is that I do nothing to purpose. May God glorify
Himself in His very poor servant!”
The fact was, that in travelling by _dawk_ from the banks of the
Kistoor to Hyderabad, the journey was performed chiefly in the night,
and the Bishop’s rest was consequently disturbed at almost every
stage, by natives of rank, who came to pay their respects to him.
When entreated by the Archdeacon to spare himself, by declining these
civilities, the Bishop’s usual reply was, “When these good people
put themselves to so much inconvenience on my account, how can I
do less than get out of my palankeen, and exchange a kind word with
them?” In a letter, however, which the Bishop on his return to Madras
wrote to Mr. Sherer, he observes, “I must not, if spared, make again
so hurried a journey. Time is doing its work with me.” Yet very soon
after this, all thought of his own health was absorbed in his anxiety
respecting that of his wife, who had become so enfeebled as to render
it necessary that a sea-voyage should be attempted, as the only human
means likely to save her life. But before arrangements could be made
for carrying this object into effect, she became suddenly worse; and
after two or three days of suffering, died on the 21st of December
1836, in the hope of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bishop drew up, and printed for private circulation, a short
account of his wife’s last illness. There are contained in that
account, passages of much interest, but which cannot here be
transcribed: the substance of all is contained in a single sentence
of a memorandum, penned by the surviving mourner himself, dated
“Dec. 24, 1836. When the likelihood of her departure began
to be manifest, the Saviour alone was her only ground of
hope towards God, and that hope sustained her in peace,
though there was nothing of triumph.”
As regarded his own feelings in connection with this heavy domestic
trial, the Bishop adds:--
“My feelings of loneliness are indescribable. All before me
appears blank; I seem cut off from all earthly good. All
this I feel I deserve at the hand of God. He might justly
have cast me into the blackness of darkness for ever.
Just, therefore, art thou, O Lord, in this dispensation
which has laid me so low. Teach me, O Lord, to seek
spiritual improvement in it, and let it prove to me ‘loving
correction!’”
With reference to this mournful event, the Bishop also observes in
the last letter which he lived to address
TO HIS BROTHER.
“You cannot understand the change it [his wife’s death] has
wrought in every circumstance of my life; and how at every
turn a sense of loss is forced upon me. Yet you have felt
an aching void on the death of our own parents and near
connections, and can judge of the intensity of pain I at
times experience. I will not dwell longer on the subject. I
have everything which Christian faith and hope can supply,
as to the gain my wife has entered upon, but my own sense
of loss prevents, as yet, the consolation I might otherwise
possess.”
The necessary occupations, however, connected with his official
duties, tended, in some measure, to lessen the Bishop’s keen sense of
his bereavement. Among those duties, not the least engrossing, was an
Ordination of which he had given notice, previously to Mrs. Corrie’s
decease. The Ordination took place on Sunday the 8th of January
1837. The candidates who presented themselves for Holy Orders were
missionaries about to be employed by the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel--three for Deacon’s Orders and three for Priest’s.
Respecting these candidates the Bishop remarks, in the letter just
quoted, “both Mr. Tucker and the Archdeacon were well satisfied with
their attainments, as they have just cause to be with their piety.”
The Bishop himself preached the Ordination Sermon, from Ephes. iv.
11, 12; and took occasion thence to point out the existence of the
ministry, as a distinctly-instituted Office in the Church of God
throughout all time; explaining, also, the object and end of that
Office, and the solemn responsibility attached to it.
It is stated by one who was present on the occasion, that the Sermon
was “marked by lucid simplicity, pathos, fervour, and power; mingled
with kindly feelings toward other bodies of professing Christians.”
And as the opportunity for witnessing the admission, at one time,
of so many persons into the Christian ministry, had never before
occurred in southern India, the Cathedral was crowded throughout all
its usual accommodations.
During this month, also, the attention of the Bishop was a good
deal occupied with the subject of a new Church for _St. Thomè_. In
the preceding June he had addressed a letter to the Society for
promoting Christian Knowledge, stating that
“At _St. Thomè_, the original European settlement in
this place, is an immense population of all classes;
Hindoos, Mahommedans, Portuguese Christians, and very
many East Indians baptised in the Established Church,
and many connected with the Vepery congregation, distant
four or five miles. Bishop Turner, when here, supplied
money to purchase a piece of ground on which to erect a
place of worship: the purchase was made and the ground
lies waste. No further attempt has been made towards
providing Christian instruction for those hundreds who are
professedly of our communion.”
He undertook, therefore, to ask the aid of the Society
above-mentioned, toward building a Church for this
spiritually-destitute population; and was so sanguine of the success
of his application, that toward the end of January, he visited
_St. Thomè_, attended by the Archdeacon and the Rev. W. Taylor,
for the purpose of surveying the ground and examining localities.
He afterwards requested Mr. Taylor to prepare the heading of a
subscription-paper, the first name appended to which the Bishop
purposed to be that of “A Friend,” with a subscription of 1000
rupees; that “Friend” having placed a considerable sum at the
Bishop’s disposal. Meanwhile, the Society in England entered most
readily into his views, contributing from their funds all the sum he
stated to be required: but intelligence of that liberality was not
destined to gladden his spirit, for his earthly career was now fast
drawing to a close.
The Bishop, as has been observed, had complained of great fatigue
and exhaustion, when on his Visitation; but it appears that when at
Hyderabad, in October 1836, he had suffered also from a pain in the
head, which came on suddenly, and was so acute as to oblige him to
have recourse to medical advice. From that time this pain never left
him; and the constant and peculiar manner in which it affected him,
was only not much noticed because he attributed it all to the anxiety
of mind he had gone through, on account of his wife. During several
weeks, however, the Bishop had been frequently observed to make it a
matter of supplication at family-prayer, that himself and household
“might be prepared for any sudden or unexpected events which might
await them; and might be, moreover, enabled to bear all in a holy
temper of mind.” Nor did his petitions prove to be unseasonable: for
on Tuesday, January 31st, when on his way to the Fort, in company
with the Archdeacon, for the purpose of attending there a meeting
of the Committee of the Society for propagating the Gospel, he was
seized with an unusual giddiness, which prevented him from reading
a paper he had in hand. On reaching the vestry of the Fort church,
he suffered very much from pain in the head, and sickness, and was
altogether so ill that the Archdeacon (who scarcely ever afterwards
left him) had him conveyed home, and medical aid sent for. After
leeches had been applied to the head, the Bishop seemed to recover a
little from the state of stupor in which he was found to be on first
reaching his house; but, except at intervals, he was only partially
conscious throughout the four remaining days of his life. When,
however, he seemed to revive somewhat, he manifested great pleasure
at having passages of scripture read to him. And even on Saturday
Feb. 4th, (the day before he died) when sight and consciousness were
well nigh gone, he yet indicated his cordial assent to different
texts of Scripture which his daughter repeated to him. More
particularly when she read Isaiah xii. “I will say, O Lord, I will
praise thee,” &c. he asked her to recite Cowper’s paraphrase:
I will praise Thee every day
Now thine anger’s turned away;
Comfortable thoughts arise
From the bleeding sacrifice.
Here, in the fair gospel-field,
Wells of free salvation yield,
Streams of life, a plenteous store,
And my soul shall thirst no more.
Jesus is become at length
My salvation and my strength;
And his praises shall prolong,
While I live, my pleasant song.
Praise ye, then, his glorious name
Publish his exalted fame!
Still is work your praise exceeds
Excellent are all his deeds.
Raise again the joyful sound
Let the nations roll it round!
Zion shout, for this is He,
God the Saviour dwells in thee:
and himself repeated “From the bleeding sacrifice.” To the text
“Behold the Lamb of God;” &c. he answered “Yes;” and on her adding
“Him hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour;” the Bishop
remarked, “A Prince and a Saviour on _all_ occasions.” At another
time when his daughter read, “I am the resurrection and the life;”
&c. he asked, “Believest thou this?” Then when 1 John iii. 2, had
been suggested to him, the dying prelate repeated several times “We
shall see Him as He is.” The last Scripture of which he seemed to be
conscious, was Rev. v. 13. “Blessing, and honour, and glory, &c., be
unto the Lamb for ever and ever;” and in this spirit of praise and
thanksgiving he appears to have passed into eternity, for his last
words were, “For ever,”--“For ever.” And so this servant of Christ
entered into rest on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 5, 1837, in the 59th
year of his age.
The _post-mortem_ examination of the body exhibited a solid
_coagulum_ of blood, of the size of a turkey’s egg, situate on
the right side of the brain, in its substance. The situation and
appearance of the _coagulum_, when taken in connexion with the
circumstance that the Bishop always felt the pain in the same
spot, led the medical men to conclude that the disease was of some
standing: that it originated, in fact, in the fatigue and anxiety
connected with his Visitation.
The remains of Bishop Corrie were interred in the Cathedral
burial-ground, on the evening of the day of his death. The funeral
procession was led by the scholars of the Madras Grammar School, of
which the Bishop was Patron, and which had been so much indebted to
his fostering care. Then followed Gericke’s scholars, and the pupils
of the Vepery School; and these were succeeded by a train of Native
Catechists. After them, and immediately preceding the coffin, came
the Archdeacon and Clergy. The pall was borne by six gentlemen of
rank; and the Governor of the Presidency followed as Chief Mourner,
supported by the Chief Justice, and the Commander-in-Chief. The
Bishop was deposited by the side of Mrs. Corrie, and within a few
feet of the spot where, six weeks before, he had stood a widowed
mourner over his wife’s remains.
On Monday, 6th February, the Governor in Council issued an Order
expressive of his sense of “the respect which the unaffected piety,
benevolence and exemplary life” of the deceased Prelate “had
universally inspired.” This order appeared in the Government Gazette
on the 7th February;[186] and, on the following day, a public
meeting, at which the Governor presided, was held in the College
Hall, for the purpose of considering the most appropriate mode of
expressing the feelings with which the late Bishop was regarded by
the inhabitants of the Presidency. This meeting resolved to set on
foot a subscription, in order to raise funds for erecting a monument
in the Cathedral to the Bishop’s memory: and it was further agreed
that any surplus of the funds raised for the monument should be
devoted to the founding of scholarships at the Grammar School, to
be called “Corrie Scholarships.”[187] The Committee of the Madras
Grammar School now resolved also, that their Institution should in
future be designated “Bishop Corrie’s Grammar School.”--Funds having
accordingly been raised sufficient for the purposes specified, a
monument was executed by the skill and good taste of Mr. Henry
Weekes, which is now in the Cathedral of Madras.
Nor were the Calcutta friends of the deceased Bishop backward
to testify their regard for his worth. For at a public meeting,
which was held on the 16th March, in the Town Hall, Bishop Wilson
being in the chair, it was resolved to solicit subscriptions for
the purpose of erecting marble slabs, both in the old Church and
in the Cathedral, to the memory of the deceased Prelate; and for
the purchase of a Portrait of him. It was, moreover, resolved to
appropriate any surplus funds derived from such subscriptions, to the
founding of scholarships in the Calcutta High School, to be called
“Bishop Corrie’s Scholarships.”[188] And all these tokens of respect
were in due time effected.
In Ceylon, also, a general meeting was called at the King’s house,
Colombo, by His Excellency the Governor, at which, subscriptions were
entered into for the purpose of erecting a monument to the Bishop’s
memory in St. Peter’s Church, Colombo, and for founding scholarships,
which should bear his name, in the Grammar School at Madras. Both
which objects were accomplished.[189]
Thus terminated the earthly labours of the first Bishop of Madras,
after a brief but not unimportant episcopate, if a judgment may be
formed from the amount of good effected, from the general gloom which
the Bishop’s decease cast over the whole Presidency, and the respect
with which his memory was cherished. To those who were intimately
acquainted with Bishop Corrie, it will not excite surprise that his
death should have called forth all the public manifestations of
sorrow and respect, which have here been recited. For after making
every abatement for that human sinfulness and infirmity from which he
was not exempt, there still remained to him more than an ordinary
share of natural kindness of heart, benevolence of disposition, and
warmth of affection; so that he could not but be generally beloved.
Nor will the reader of these pages be disposed to question that
Bishop Corrie will long be remembered in India, as the man of God,
through whose instrumentality originated much of the moral good
which, since his time, has been slowly spreading itself over that
land of darkness and superstition.[190] But chiefly, it is believed,
will his name he held in honour throughout our Eastern Empire, as
one of that small band of heroic spirits who, in self-devotion to
Christ and zeal for the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom, manfully
struggled against difficulties and discouragements of which we can
form but an inadequate estimate:--who never suffered themselves to
doubt but that the cause they had by grace espoused would still go
on and prosper, until “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
and every tongue confess that He is Lord, unto the glory of God the
Father.”
[180] The meeting was held in the College Hall, at Madras,
on the 6th of June.
[181] The following was the communication here mentioned:
“The accompanying [Memorial] was brought to me a
few days since with a request that I would join in
a representation to Government on the subject of
its contents. I have always abstained from taking
part in such representations, being aware that
Government may have good reasons for measures,
which the public cannot be acquainted with; and, in
respect of interference with Pagodas, &c., I have
the fullest confidence that Government will pursue
the course which appears wise and proper. But with
reference to the Christian military servants of the
State, who are occasionally compelled to do honour
to the superstitions of the country, I am persuaded
you will not take amiss my bringing the case to
your notice. I have marked the statements in the
printed paper which seem to require relief, with
the instances cited in the Appendix, assured that
your own benevolent regard for the feelings of the
Christian soldiery will bring them all the relief
that is desirable.”
[182] A school for country-born children, who received a
Christian education, and became fifers, &c. to the
Company’s Native troops. The school was afterwards
removed to Arcot.
[183] About 1000 rupees were, in consequence, collected
toward another building; but it does not appear that
since the Bishop’s time any Church has been erected
there.
[184] The Confirmation in the Cathedral was held on
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 1836.
[185] It is satisfactory to know that this request has
been attended to.
[186] See Appendix I.
[187] See Appendix II.
[188] See Appendix III.
[189] See Appendix IV.
[190] See Appendix V.
CORRIGENDA.
Page 39 line 21, for enable, _read_ unable.
-- 48 -- 5, at Chunar--at Berhampore, _read_ to Chunar--
to Berhampore.
-- 59 -- 33, for Scirptures, _read_ Scriptures.
-- 149 note, -- Jounarain, -- Joy Narain.
-- 176 -- -- Tumna, -- Jumna.
-- 298 line 15, -- point, -- points.
-- 304 -- 21, -- exeeeding, -- exceeding.
-- 311 -- 32, -- Narian, -- Narain.
-- 519 -- 2, -- Culcutta, -- Calcutta.
APPENDIX.
I.
The following notice appeared in the Government Gazette of Feb. 7th,
1837:--
“With feelings of unfeigned sorrow, the Right Honorable the Governor
in Council, records the demise of the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of
Madras. The Venerable Prelate expired at half past three o’clock, on
the morning of Sunday last. As a tribute of respect to his memory,
the flag of the garrison was hoisted half-staff-high during the day,
and on the funeral procession leaving his Lordship’s late residence,
fifty-nine minute guns, corresponding with the age of the deceased,
were fired from the Fort battery.
“His Lordship’s remains were attended to the grave by the Right
Honorable the Governor, the Judges of the Supreme Court, His
Excellency the Commander-in-chief, the members of Council, all the
principal civil and military functionaries at the Presidency, and
an immense concourse of all classes of the community; desirous of
manifesting the feeling of respect which the unaffected piety,
benevolence and exemplary conduct of the Bishop, had universally
inspired.
“Published by order of the Right Honourable the Governor in Council.
“(Signed) H. Chamier, Chief Secretary.”
II.
On Wednesday evening, Feb. 8th, 1837, a public meeting was held at
the College, for the purpose of considering the fittest mode of
testifying the regard and respect entertained for the character of
the late Bishop Corrie.
The Right Honourable the Governor in the chair. The following
resolutions were proposed and carried unanimously:--
1st. That a subscription be entered into for the purpose
of erecting a monument in the Cathedral at Madras to the
memory of the Right Rev. the late Lord Bishop of the
Diocese.
Proposed by Sir F. Adam.
Seconded by Sir. R. Comyn.
2nd. That after setting aside a sum sufficient to defray
the expences of the monument, the residue form a fund
for the endowment of scholarships, to be called, “Bishop
Corrie’s scholarships,” in Bishop Corrie’s Grammar school.
Proposed by Sir P. Maitland.
Seconded by Mr. Sullivan.
3rd. That a Committee be formed for the purpose of carrying
the above resolutions into effect, and that it be composed
of the following gentlemen: Sir P. Maitland, Mr. Sullivan,
the Archdeacon, and Col. Cadell.
Proposed by Sir E. Gambier.
Seconded by
4th. That Messrs. Arbuthnot and Co. be requested to
undertake the office of Treasurers.
Proposed by the Archdeacon.
Seconded by Captain Dalrymple.
5th. Thanks to the Chairman (for his kindness in taking the
chair and for his able conduct in it) having been proposed
by Brigadier General Doveton, and seconded by Colonel
Waugh, the meeting was dissolved.
III.
At a public Meeting of the friends of the late Bishop of
Madras, held at the Town Hall, [Calcutta] on March 16, 1837. It
was resolved,
1st. That this Meeting has heard with the deepest regret of
the demise of the Bishop of Madras, and consider it a duty
which they owe to the Church of which he was so distinguished a
member, to raise some token of regard to his character at this
Presidency, which was the scene of his arduous labours, and his
preeminent example for almost thirty years.
2nd. That Subscriptions be solicited for the purpose of
erecting a Marble Slab in the Old Church, near those of his
revered friends Brown, Martyn and Thomason, and a similar one in
the Cathedral; and for painting a likeness of the late Bishop,
to be hung up in the Old Church Rooms.
3rd. That the surplus which may remain after defraying the
expenses of the Monuments and the Portrait, be appropriated
for the purpose of endowing Scholarships in the Calcutta High
School, to be called “Bishop Corrie’s Scholarships,” and
that especial regard be had in the nomination, to eventual
preparation for Missionary labour.
4th. That a Committee be formed of the following Gentlemen,
to see these objects carried into effect, viz. to nominate the
Trustees for the above purposes.
The Venerable Archdeacon Dealtry,
Rev. H. Fisher,
H. M. Pigou, Esq.
Major G. Hutchinson,
John Dougal, Esq.
A. Beattie, Esq.
C. W. Brietzcke, Esq.
Rev. R. B. Boswell, Secretary.
5th. That Messrs. Gisborne and Co. be appointed Treasurers,
and those who are friendly to the above design, be requested
to forward their Subscriptions to those Gentlemen as early as
possible.
Resolution of Committee on 6th April, 1837.
The Committee, understanding that an excellent likeness of the late
Bishop is in the possession of his friends in England,
Resolved that the Secretary be authorised to write to the Rev. George
Corrie, of Catharine Hall, Cambridge, and request him to obtain a
copy of this likeness, executed in the best possible way, and to have
the same suitably framed and transmitted to India with as little
delay as possible.
IV.
At a General Meeting held at the King’s house, Colombo, on March
the 3rd, and again by adjournment on March the 7th, called by His
Excellency the Right Honourable Sir R. W. Horton, Governor of Ceylon,
who presided; it was resolved,
1st. On the motion of the Rev. B. Bailey, seconded by C. E.
Layard, Esq.
That this Meeting cordially approves the objects
contemplated by the Madras Meeting as recorded in their
first two Resolutions. (See above p. 632.)
2nd. On the motion of J. Steuart, Esq., seconded by the Rev.
Joseph Marsh.
That the following gentlemen form a Committee, to
correspond with the Madras Committee, viz.
The Honourable Mr. Serjeant ROUGH, Chief Justice.
The Rev. B. BAILEY, SENIOR Colonial Chaplain.
The Rev. J. H. DE SARAM.
C. E. LAYARD, Esq.
and that the Rev. JOSEPH BAILEY, be Treasurer and Secretary.
3rd. On the motion of C. E. Layard, Esq., seconded by the
Rev. J. Bailey.
That a plain marble Tablet to the Memory of the Right
Rev. DANIEL CORRIE, LL.D. Late Bishop of Madras and
Ceylon, be placed in St. Peter’s Church, Colombo, at an
expense not exceeding thirty pounds; and that the balance
of the subscriptions raised in Ceylon, in excess of such
sum, be transmitted to the Madras Committee.
4th. On the motion of the Rev. J. H. De Saram, seconded
by the Rev. J. Marsh.
That the Secretary be requested to correspond with the
Reverend the Clergy at the out-stations of Galle, Kandy,
Trincomalee, and Jaffna, on the objects of this Meeting.
5th. On the motion of the Rev. B. Bailey, seconded by C.
E. Layard, Esq.
That the thanks of the Meeting be given to His Excellency
the Governor, for the information he has just given,
[respecting the proceedings in 1825, connected with
the founding of a Singhalese Scholarship in Bishop’s
College, Calcutta] and that he be requested to transmit
any further information he may obtain on the subject, to
the members of the Committee, for the regulation of their
proceedings with respect to CORRIE’S Scholarships.
6th. On the motion of J. Steuart, Esq., seconded by C. E.
Layard, Esq.
That the thanks of this Meeting be given to His
Excellency the Governor, for the interest he has taken
in the general objects of this Meeting, and for his able
conduct in the chair.
V.
The preceding pages bear sufficient testimony to the zeal and
activity of Bishop Corrie, in forwarding every plan for securing
a Christian education to the youth of India. But it is well
known among the deceased Prelate’s friends, that he was in the
habit of translating and compiling school-books for the use of
such Hindoostanee schools as more immediately came under his own
superintendance. It is a matter of regret that the many enquiries
which the Editors of these Memoirs have made, with a view to
obtaining a definite list of the books in question, have been but
partially successful. It may, however, be mentioned that besides
translating into Hindoostanee, Sellon’s Abridgment of Scripture,
Watts’ Catechism, The Assembly’s Shorter Catechism, portions of
Milner’s Church History, &c., the Bishop drew up in English, “A
general Outline of Ancient History,” for the use of the Hindoostanee
youth. A third Edition of this “Outline” was going through the press
at the time of the Bishop’s death; and other Editions have since
then been printed. Among his papers was found, also, a manuscript
translation into Hindoostanee of a brief Church History, by the Rev.
E. Sims, entitled “Christian Records.”
THE END.
LEONARD SEELEY, THAMES DITTON, SURREY.
Transcriber’s Note:
Words may have inconsistent hyphenation in the text. Obsolete and
alternative spellings were left unchanged. Typographical errors noted
in the Corrigenda were not corrected in the referenced text. Other
misspelled words were corrected.
Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like
this_. Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to
the end of the chapter. Obvious printing errors, such as partially
printed or missing letters and punctuation, were corrected.
Extraneous punctuation was deleted. Duplicate letters at line endings
were removed.
The following were changed:
changed “56” to “65” in the Table of Contents.
added “to” ... be so good as to order it ...
added “of” ... on this side of India.
changed “not” to “than” ... not less than ...
added “to” ... reduce the present number of Chaplains to seven ...