The Basuto Mission
The Basiito Mission — The speech of Mosheshe — Extended operations — Omnipotence of the Gosj)el — Hope for Africa — The Niger expedition — The duty of the Church of Christ — Anticipated results — Potency of the Scriptures — Agreeable surprise — Christian hospitality.
Having already exceeded the limits of the present AYork, the Author feels it necessary to confine the different subjects on which he intended to dilate, within a very narrow compass. It is with the greatest satisfaction he refers to the French and Wesleyan brethren in the Basuto country, south-east of the Kuruman, whose labours have been abundantly blessed, not only in that district, hut to the borders of the Colony. Mosheshe, king of the Basutos, had long desired to receive a missionary, in order to procure for his subjects those advantages which he had heard other tribes had derived from the residence of a missionary among them. After long reflection, in 1833, he sent two hundred oxen to some of his servants, ordering them to go and find the great chief of the white people, and obtain from him, in exchange for the cattle, men capable of instructing his subjects. Ilis servants obeyed; hut, after a few days’ march, they fell in with some Corannas, who deprived them
of their cattle. This adverse circumstance did not discourage Mosheshe; for, having heard that a Griqua from our missionary station at Philippolis was hunting in his dominions, he sent for him, inquired respecting the object and labours of the missionaries, and en¬ treated the stranger’s assistance in the accomplish¬ ment of his wishes. This was promised; and on the Griqua’s return to Philippolis, he related the affair to his missionary; and it is worthy of remark, that just at this juncture three missionaries from the Paris Society arrived at the station. They were on their way to the Bechuanas beyond the Kuruman; but, on learning this circumstance, they could not but consider it as an unequivocal call, which they were bound to obey. That was a part of the country which had been but little traversed by Europeans, and had been made the theatre of crime and blood¬ shed by the Bergenaars. The brethren arrived in July, 1833, when Mosheshe gave them a most friendly reception, and assisted in selecting a suitable spot for a mission station, which they called Morija. Messrs. Casalis, Arbousset, and Gosselin, commenced this important mission, and they now exert an influence over at least twelve thousand souls. Public worship is well attended, and the Sabbath punctually observed, by those of the people who make a profession of the Christian religion. The unremitting and self-denying labours of these valuable men have been remarkably blessed, and their hands have been strengthened by additional labourers from the same Society. They have translated portions of the word of life into the native language. The influence exerted by Mosheshe over the minds of the people has
been a most effective auxiliary to the labours of our brethren. The following remarks, in a speech of his, taken from the journal of J. Backhouse, Esq., who himself heard it, will show that he is a man of considerable talent: —
“Rejoice, you Makare and Mokatcliani! you rulers of cities, rejoice! We have all reason to rejoice on account of the news we have heard. There are a great many sayings among men. Among them some are true, and some are false; but the false have remained with us, and multiplied; therefore we ought to pick up carefully the truths we hear, lest they should he lost in the rubbish of lies. We are told that we have all been created by one Being, and that we all spring from one man. Sin entered man’s heart when he ate the forbidden fruit, and we have got sin from him. These men say that they have sinned; and what is sin in them is sin in us, because we come from one stock, and their hearts and ours are one thing. Ye IMakare have heard these wmrds, and you say they are lies. If these words do not conquer, the fault will lie with you. You say you will not believe what you do not understand. Look at an egg! If a man break it, there comes only a watery and yellow substance out of it; but if it be placed under the wings of a fowl, there comes a living thing from it. Who can understand this? Who ever knew how the heat of the hen produced the chicken in the egg? This is incomprehensible to us, yet we do not deny the fact. Let us do like the hen. Let us place these truths in our hearts, as the hen does the eggs under her wings; let us sit upon them, and take the same pains, and somethinsr new will come of them.”
Mosheshc’s son is a convert, and several have been admitted into church fellowship. In 1840 they bad a large number of candidates. “Thus,” they write, “the hope of the missionary Jias not been deceived; for under the influence of Christianity there has been effected a sensible amelioration in the mind, character, and manners of the natives.” Nor can we overlook the remarkable successes which have crowned the
labours of Messrs. Rolland and Pellisser, of the same Society, located among the Bechuanas of the Caledon River.
The Wesleyans had laboured among the Barolongs alternately at Makuase, Platberg and Boochap, on the Yellow River, and eventually removed with their people to the Newlands, in the country of the Basutos. Among the Barolongs, Basutos, Mantatees, and Corannas, they have flourishing stations, and the Divine blessing evidently rests upon their labours. Chapels have been erected at all the principal places. A printing press is in operation, the work of civilization is advancing, and youths are under tuition for native agency; on which subjects copious information is before the public.
It is impossible to look to the noble band of Church, Wesleyan, and Baptist missionaries, on the west coast, without being compelled to acknowledge the special blessing from on high which has rested upon their labours; and to admire the zeal of these men of God, who, with their lives in their hands, venture on those pestiferous shores. The result of their truly self-denying labours at once solves the problem: it is now demonstrated that the Gospel can transform these aceldamas, these dens of crime, weeping, and woe, into abodes of purity, happiness, and love.
I leave these details of missionary labour to the judgment of the reader, who must now be in some measure acquainted with the character and extent of the operations of the London Missionary Society, as well as those of others, on behalf of the greatly injured and still suffering tribes of Southern Africa. From what has been stated, it must be evident, that if the tribes which still survive the devastations to which they have been exposed, are to he saved from annihilation, it must be by the diffusion of the Gospel. It is omnipotent; and if we had only a tithe of the money, which is expended on the defence of our colonies against incursions of barbarous nations, we could adopt those means which, under the promised blessing of Him who holdeth the reins of universal sway, and who willeth that all should come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved, would bring them under the reign of the Prince of Peace. And melancholy as is the past history of Africa, we are fully warranted to anticipate that the warlike and savage tribes of that immense continent will ere long present a scene, in the intelligence, holiness, and happiness of its regenerated nations, which will far exceed the most sanguine expectations of those who have laboured, and are still labouring, in behalf of her afflicted children. If we bring within the mind’s view the history of that vast portion of our earth, — to only one speck on the surface of which the author has been directing the attention of the reader, — can we refrain from exclaiming, O Africa! how vast, how overwhelming thy burden! Plow numberless thy wrongs, — the prey of fiendish men, — the world’s great mart of rapine, bondage, blood, and murder! On no part of earth’s surface, in no state or condition of mankind, can we find a parallel to thy woes! Thy skies have been obscured with smoke of towns in flames! — thy lovely landscapes and sunny groves transformed to lions’ dens! — thy burning deserts bedewed with th(4 agonizing tears of bereaved mothers! — and thy winds have re-echoed back to thy blood¬ stained soil the orphan’s cry, the widow’s weiil!
There is yet hope for Africa. The deep groan of her untold sorrows has been responded to by the sympathies of the ‘British heart. Her almost bound¬ less plains have invited the enterprise of nations; a vast amount of property has been expended, and a still greater sacrifice of life and talent has been made, to heal her bleeding wounds; but are these to suffice, or have we paid the debt we owe? Are we, on slight discouragement, to abandon the noble project of Africa’s salvation? Have all the energies which have been employed been spent in vain? Surely not. They have been the developments of moral worth, the results of Christian philanthropy. We have thereby become better acquainted with her real condition, more conversant with her wrongs, and more convinced that it is to the everlasting Gospel we must look, as the instrument to chase away the mass of darkness brooding on her bosom. Yes, her un¬ known regions must be explored by the messengers of the churches, and her vast moral wastes must be watered by the streams of life. The truth of God is the grand engine by which the demon of slavery will be repelled from her shores, and her sable sons and daughters made to sit under their own vine and fig-tree, — when her ransomed millions shall reiterate from shore to shore her jubilee.
Yes, even now thy beams Suffuse the twilight of the nations. Light “Wakes in the region where gross darkness veil’d The people. They who in death’s shadow sat Shall hail that glorious rising; for the shade Prophetic shrinks before the dawning ray That cast it: forms of earth that interposed Shall vanish, scatter’d like the dusky clouds Before the exultant morn; and central day, All shadowless, even to the poles shall reign. Volume of God! thou art that eastern star Which leads to Christ; soon shall thy circuit reach Round earth’s circumference, in every tongue. Revealing to all nations — what the heavens Rut shadow forth — the glory of the Lord.^
Although the noble scheme of ascending the Niger, for the purpose of scattering the blessings of peace and plenty in the centre of Africa, has in a measure failed, it has taught the world what England can do, and what she is ready to do again. It has taught the Africans that their cause is not forgotten at the foot of the British throne, and that it has pledged itself to encourage every project calculated to bring about the anticipated event, when Ethiopia will stretch forth her hands unto God. This subject has occupied the attention of the noblest minds in ‘our kingdom, and the excellent of the earth are generally agreed that, in order to civilize we must evangelize Africa. Nothing can be more to the point than the following extract IVom the valuable work on the Slave Trade, and its Remedy, by Sir T. F. Buxton, who has so long laboured with intense interest to alleviate the sad condition of untutored minds, and to eradicate “that gigantic and accursed tree which for ages has nourished beneath its shadow, lamentations, mourning, and woe.” ‘‘ Nationally and religiously the duty is plain,” continues that great philanthropist; we have been ynit in trust with Christianity; we have been the depositaries of a jiure and holy faith, which inculcates the most exy)anded benevolence and yet have not only neglected, as a nation, to confer uy)on Africa any real benefit, but have inflicted upon it a positive * “Star in the East,” by Josiah Concler, Esq.
evil. Covetousness has dimmed our moral perceptions of duty, and paralysed our efforts during many generations; and now that the nation has awakened from its lethargy, it is high time to act up to the principles of our religion.
Africa still lies in her blood. She wants our missionaries, our schoolmasters, our Bibles — all the machinery we possess, for ameliorating her wretched condition. Shall we, with a remedy that may safely be applied, neglect to heal her wounds? Shall we, on whom the lamp of life shines, refuse to disperse her darkness?
If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels of mercies; we must awake to the duty, amidst every difficulty, of freely and liberally distributing to others those rich and abundant blessings which have been entrusted to us.
“Missionaries find less difficulty than any other class of persons, perhaps, in winning the confidence of the native tribes. The’ secret of their success is the spirit of fair dealing, and the manifestation of upright and benevolent intentions which they carry with them. These speak to all men, but especially to the uncivilized, in a language which they accurately comprehend, and to which they freely respond.’’
These principles speak for themselves, and they ought to speak; for the destinies of unborn millions, as well as the millions who now exist, are at stake. To rescue Africa from the abyss of misery in which she has been plunged, as the same able advocate writes, Let missionaries and schoolmasters, the plough and the spade, go together, and agriculture ►will flourish, the avenues of legitimate commerce will
1)6 opened, confidence between man and man will be inspired, whilst civilization will advance as the natural effect, and Christianity operate as the proximate cause of the happy change.”
The preceding chapters show what has been accomplished among the tribes in the southern portions of this vast continent. What now remains to be done, but to go up and take possession of the land? The means have been described, and our prospects are inviting; avenues have been opened up; translations of the word of God have been made into different languages a native agency is in operation. The once enslaved negroes of the slave-cultured islands of the west, unmanacled, and freemen in the Lord, are now ready to go and proclaim the liberty of the Gospel to their captive brethren, while creation is groaning for her redemption. We are warranted to expect, from what has already occurred, great and glorious results, as the consequence of the simy)le distribution of scriptural truth, and the influence of that truth in connexion with native agency. When only the Gospel of Luke was printed in the language, and the first edition of Scripture Lessons had been
* Since the author arrived in England, he has been enabled, by the munificence of the British and Foreign Bible Society, to carry through the press a translation of the New Testament and the Psalms in the Sechuana language, some thousands of which have been sent out to the interior of Southern Africa, to supply the increasing wants of a people rapidly acquiring the art of reading; thousands of them being able already to read in their own language the wonderful works of God. A large edition of the Scripture Ijessons has also been printed, the whole expense of which has been defrayed by a number of the Society of briends. Numerous elementary works and tracts have emanated from printing-presses in the Bcchuana country.
put into the hands of the natives, Mr. Hughes writing to the Author from an out-station, made the following striking remarks: —
“The good work here is making progress. What has been accomplished by feeble means (in our eyes) makes me exclaim, ‘ What hath God wrought?’ The sword of the Spirit is truly in unskilled hands, but it hath shown itself two-edged. Its success here is evidently not owing to the hand that wields it, but to its own native power and destination from above. Jesus and the apostles teach here without any human infirmity intruding ’ between them and the hearts of the hearers. The great principles of the Bible Society are exemplified here, the simple reading and study of the Bible alone will convert the world. The mission¬ ary’s work is to gain for it admission and attention, and then let it speak for itself. The simplicity of means in connexion with the greatness of the effect, is quite in character with its Divine Author. To Him he all the praise.”
The vast importance of having the Scriptures in the language of the natives, will be seen wdien we look on the scattered towns and hamlets which stud the interior, over which one language, wfith slight variations, is spoken as far as the Equator. When taught to read, they have in their hands the means not only of recovering them from their natural darkness, but of keeping the lamp of life burning even amidst comparatively desert gloom. In one of my early journeys with some of my companions, we came to a heathen village on the banks of the Orange River, between Namaqua-land and the Griqua country. We had travelled far, and were hungry, thirsty, and fatigued.
From the fear of being exposed to lions, we preferred remaining at the village to proceeding during the night. The people at the village rather roughly directed us to halt at a distance. We asked water, hut they would not supply it. I offered the three or four buttons which still remained on my jacket for a little milk; this also was refused. We had the prospect of another hungry night at a distance from water, though within sight of the river. We found it difficult to reconcile ourselves to our lot, for in addition to repeated rebuffs, the manner of the villagers excited suspicion. When twilight drew on, a woman approached from the height beyond which the village
lav. She bore on her head a bundle of wood, and %/
had a vessel of milk in her hand. The latter, without opening her lips, she handed to us, laid down the wood, and returned to the village. A second time she approached with a cooking vessel on Iffir head and a leg of mutton in one hand, and water in the other. She sat down without saying a word, prepared the fire and put on the meat. We asked her a-ain and arain who she was. She remained silent
till affectionately entreated to give us a reason for such unlooked-for kindness to strangers. The solitary tear stole down her sable cheek, when she replied, I love Him whose servant you are, and surely it is my duty to give you a cup ot cold water in his name. My heart is full, therefore I cannot speak the joy I feel to see you in this out-of-the-world place.” On learning a little of her history, and that she v as a solitary light burning in a dark ])lace, I asked her how she kept up the life of God in her soul in the ‘entire absence ol the communion ot saints. She chew tioin
her bosom a copy of the Dutch New Testament, which she had received from Mr. Helm when in his school some years previous, before she had been compelled by her connexions to retire to her present seclusion. “This,” she said, ‘‘ is the fountain whence I drink; this is the oil which makes my lamp burn.” I looked on the precious relic, printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the reader may conceive how I felt and my believing companions with me, when we met with this disciple, and mingled our sympathies and prayers together at the throne of our heavenly Father. Glory to God in the highest,
AND ON earth PEACE, GOOD WILL TO MEN!
“THY KINGDO-M COME.”