ఎస్.పి.జి. మిషన్ — ప్రారంభ కాలం

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THE S.P.G. MISSION—EARLY PERIOD

Before referring to the history it is necessary to take a brief glance at the first Mission, recorded attempt at Christian work of any kind among the Telugu people of the Ceded Districts. nineteenth century a Eurasian named WiUiam Howell, of the Department a surveyor This good man spent his leisure stationed at Cuddapah. in evangelising the people about him. he had gathered a small congregation in Cuddapah town. At the same period the London Missionary Society were proposing to open a Mission among the Telugu people. In 1823, therefore, they took over this congregation and appointed Mr. HoweU to be in that town, and two years later he was made a regular congregation. minister the of (besides Tamils from other parts) Telugu Christians in Cuddapah. ministers who were several L.M.S. of England, of whom the themselves with the Church best known was Dr. CaldweU, an eminent linguist, who afterwards became Bishop in Tinnevelly. 51

the S.P.G. Telugu of Begin- JJJj^ffon. ary work, Early in the of Public Works, was In course of time their resident missionary By were 1842 there nearly one hundred About this time there to connect desired Mr. Howell

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52 was accepted as a missionary by the S.P.G. and soon afterwards was ordained and appointed to minister to the Telugu congregation In 1856 he retired on a pension. about 1867. When Mr. Howell joined the Church forty-six members of These were formed into a congregation of the with him. Church of England by the Rev. W. W. Whitford. that time there was no chaplain in Cuddapah, but the Cuddapah English residents were visited from time to time by the chaplain of Poonamallee. that post, did what he could for his new congregation, and, acting according to the ideas of the time, he gave them land on which to build houses. them a with catechist remained they for administration of the sacraments upon Mr. Whitford's and occasional visits, and encouragement help European the to Undoubtedly them. in them during these their own race, of prominent in the early history of the Mission, must be mentioned once. at by birth, named Basil and Afred Wood, who had been received with Mr. HoweU into the Church of They early showed the true pastoral Mr. Whitford finally left the country, although no funds were any longer available with which to carry on the

at Vullavaram, near Madras. He died in Madras of England, his congregation were admitted At Mr. Whitford, who then held He also provided Thus and a schoolmaster. dependent seven the for j'ears, looking the in intervals for and to lay-teachers their who an took residents interest upon the chief influence men was two years that of whose names, because they are These were two brothers, Tamils England. spirit and, when

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Mission, they continued the work, but at the same time to both the Bishop and to the sent earnest petitions S.P.G., begging that a resident They proved their sincerity by stationed in Cuddapah. twice undertaking the long journey of 160 miles by road to Madras in order to make a personal appeal. In 1849 their prayer was heard so far that the Rev. Uriah Davies was sent by the Additional Clergy Society to minister to the English congregation At the same time he took charge of the Indian Christians of the Church of England, and opened a school for boys girls under a European master. and tarily undertook evangelistic work and sent out Basil and Alfred Wood to preach in the villages. using Alfred Wood as his interpreter, he went out to preach himself. The first-fruits of this work were gathered at Kudra- varam, a miles village fifty-five The story is worthy of record. Mala community, a trader in thread, afterwards known as a Christian by the name of Moses, heard the Gospel while making his rounds on business through the villages. When last he found himself in Cuddapah, he pro- at ceeded earnestly to inquire about the new religion. last Alfred Wood met him and took him to Mr. Davies, with whom he stayed as an inquirer for many months. And now happened a singular coincidence. time the Malas of Kudravaram had come to Cuddapah. There had been a conflict between themselves and the caste people and officials of Kudravaram, and they came to Cuddapah to have the case settled in court.

53 might be clergyman in Cuddapah. He volun- also Later on, Kudra- varam. of Cuddapah. north A leading man of the At At this very There

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54 Alfred Wood helped them through their case and at the same time taught them the Christian they returned to Kudravaram, The whole community of Malas at that village them. placed themselves under instruction. the neighbourhood followed. panied by Alfred Wood, went to visit them and preached all classes of people. to at Kudravaram, persons thirty place in July 1852. The movement continued to spread and, in September were persons eighty 1853, Jammuladinne. In October, alapad (which since 1855 has been a headquarters of the to be placed under Christian instruc- applied Mission) They were immediately followed by many from tion. Gorigenur and Maddur. took alarm at the success of the preaching, and, at their instigation, in December 1853, Mr. Davies was attacked with violence and driven out by the Sudras of Vanipenta and Mutyalapad. Early in 1854, Mr. Davies' health having faUed, he was compelled to leave Cuddapah. of the Theological Seminary then ordained deacon and appointed to the charge congregation English the Mr. Davies had made a successful appeal to the S.P.G. to take up the Mission to the Indians at Cuddapah. Clay continued to work for six months under the Addi- tional Clergy Society, during which short period he lost wife and Then, child. his

When religion. Alfred Wood followed Other villages in Then Mr. Davies, accom- The first to be baptised were whose baptisms took at Gubagundam baptised of Muty- all the Malas The village magistrates then Mr. J. Clay, a student Madras, was at \^epery, of Cuddapah. Meanwhile, in Mr. in September, services his

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were transferred to the S.P.G. and he became the S.P.G. missionary to the Telugu people. Shortly afterwards Mr. Clay was joined by two lay from Mission the evangelists F. Spencer and Messrs.

J.

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ordained some years later and under whom steadily went In 1855 seventy-four persons were on. baptised at Mutyalapad and Maddur. numbers in these distant vOlages caused an important As it was thought advisable by change to be made. the authorities that the missionaries should live nearer to the new Christians, the three missionaries, in June 1855, removed to Mutyalapad. There was indeed more scope energies and more their for than the great in district which place did not congTegation in had been there Christians by the liberality of the Europeans, and dissensions had rife amongst them. become withdrawn, and the congregation mission work centres round Muty- the After 1855 The villages round were alapad. sionaries and their agents, who invited all classes, though only Malas came a matter as of fact Among these were taught. ' elders,' men of intelligence who consciously sought or its own sake, but the masses only knew the truth for that they sought something better than they had. Clay thus relates how one of them described asked him why he condition

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: he knew and what Christianity. of

55 first Seminary Madras, at Higgins, who were both the work The increasing Muty- the ^^^^ * promise in of fruit town Cuddapah, the of The long. last and pauperised spoiled In 1861 the teacher was finally broke up. visited by the mis- to be forward occasionally leading men Mr. his own desired instruction reply was His

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56 I do not know who or what God is. " I know nothing. I do not know what all this you can tell me, and But after death. come to be taught by you. will obey you in all things." Outward signs were not wanting to the people of the something was that villages One was the destruction of the missionaries was that, must put away their idols. visit to Bodamanur and the destruction of the idols in that place : ' The people of Bodamanur, a village ten miles west A visit to Boda- Qj Mutyalapad, on the other side of the Koondair, manur. came to me about the middle of September last, begging I would visit their village and receive them under that Christian instruction. before, and had, therefore, never proclaimed to vUlage them the truths of our most holy faith, I was not a little call, and asked them what were their surprised at the motives for seeking to join us, and what they knew of They our religion. during their visits to their friends and while on business at Mutyalapad, attended our services the truths of Christianity only way by which they can attain the salvation of their souls, they were induced to seek further instruction in it. They were very earnest in their entreaties, but, wishing to make further trial of their sincerity, come again that I might talk with them further on the Not many days after they returned, although subject.

I am or what wUl become of me I have Become our Guru, and we ' midst. in their stirring The rule imposed by idols. before baptism, the people Mr. Clay thus describes a first As had never been the to

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replied that they had frequently, and then heard and, believing that it is the ; I told them to

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H

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How cocoanut palms grow in the Kurnool District

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THE S.P.G. MISSION—EARLY PERIOD

they had to swim across the Koondair, which at that full, and entreated me time was quite them ; but as I had other pressing engagements on hand I could not gratify them then. till I was at liberty, and added from bank to bank, how can I cross it now with my tent " Pray don't let the river prevent and other things ? " you, Sir," was their reply. you by large earthenware vessels together and tying over them, and on fastening cots you Gladly over safely." myself the river to across minded men, but urgent presence at Cuddapah at that time. river was any rain nor quently to Mutyalapad, anxious to know when I would About the middle visit them. of my native catechists and character condition. their very favourable report of them, and on the evening of I set out, accompanied by Mr. Higgins, for October 29 Bodamanur. • At dusk we approached the banks of the Koondair, and, as the shades of evening were gathering round us, the scene was singularly beautiful this time shallow, river, with its high, precipitous banks, the dark outlines appearing like ruined ramparts, and lined with houses almost overhanging the stream little crowd of people on this side the collected together to see us cross*; welcome from our Bodamanur people who came thus far

57 to accompany I told them they must wait " The river is flowing : " We will construct rafts for these we will cross would have entrusted

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earnest and simple- these my required business To them neither they came for obstacle, fre- sent one of October

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into inquire particularly to He back brought a the broad, but at : the ; river, who had the cry of joy and

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58 to meet us, some of them on the opposite bank waving their fire sticks to light us across, and others hurrying on before us, showing the way and teUing us how eagerly they had been looking forward to our arrival. ' If the scene was one that excited our admiration, less were our interest and gratitude awakened by not the conduct of the people we had come to visit—so eager so happy to welcome us, " We were waiting here village. meet you, and some of us slept last night by the river." We rode on full of thoughts, whose best expression was It was late when we reached our tent, and so, silence. after a few kind words to the people, we dismissed them, promising to visit them the following morning. ' Early on the morning of the 30th, some of our men came to conduct us to the village, where we found the new catechumens assembled in the open air and arranged in three lines, first the children, then the men, and last of The the women. caste people all, great numbers, and listened very addressed those who had invited us on what would be required of them as professors of Christianitj^ how they its precepts, and particularly what were to conform to There was some surprise evinced they were to expect. by the caste people when they heard that those who embraced the of Christ must, religion heathen land, expect persecution, and that Christ had taught all His followers in such cases to return good for evil, " not railing for railing, but contrariwise, blessing." offered up a afterwards

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chumens repeated after me the Lord's Prayer, petition

conducting us to their in Sir, to all yesterday. flocked around in attentively while

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in a especially prayer, and the new cate-

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by petition. Afterwards I went to a little low building which had served as a temple, and directed the head men to pull up the stones which they had hitherto worshipped These were simple unhewn slabs as gods. marked with white and yellow streaks and painted at The of them the top. largest From time immemorial these had eighteen inches high. been regarded as gods, honoured in seasons of prosperity, appealed to for aid in the hour of calamity tell what dread of a curse sacrilege lurked in the minds of these ignorant people However, they did not hesitate. up and sent off to our tent whom a new light seemed to have dawned, could not refrain from giving vent to his new-born idea '' call these stones gods ! ' We next went into some which robberies had been committed during the absence of the men at Mutyalapad. people evinced a desire to become Christians, the caste people, and particularly the vUlage very persecuting active in How wonderfully does God suit His grace cheerfully. necessities of those who to the ' I stayed at Bodamanur two days, instructing and encouraging the people, and was assisted in this work by The Mr. earnestness Higgins. eagerness for instruction, and the joy with which they came together for prayers, struck me very much. ' I appointed a master in charge before leaving. congregation consists of a hundred souls, young and old.

59 of granite was more than not ; and who can following upon act this of ! The idols were plucked and one young fellow, on ; " They : of the houses, in two of From the time these poor officials, have been They them. endure it trust in Him ! the people, their of The

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6o Of twenty-nine these, attend school and are engaged in their alphabet.' be wondered not to It is of powers believed to be defiance wreak indiscriminate vengeance on the give rise to persecutions. The forms that the persecutions Persecu- first, violence, in the form of beating i<^ok were three Chris-° : burning down and persons of tians. false charges against the Christians in the magistrates' ; and thirdly, a form of boycott, the merchants courts refusing to sell goods to the Christians, and other classes refusing to do any work for them. by Mr. Higgins in 1863, of the persecution that generally followed destruction the abandons idolatry, the stone or stones worshipped are pulled up, and the little mud temple demolished. see what the missionary can do to quell the persecution which forthwith bursts out from the caste people. must no longer come into our village," said they. are generally about a villages

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have no houses.) "go elsewhere." merchant ; that bit of land," says the Curnum " I don't want you to do me up now." services," says the Reddy; him your perquisites." all refuse the Christians the leaves of the gogu, used by the poor as an esculent, and will not allow them to approach Two or three men, a deputation the wells. persecuted village, come to the missionary, who may be ten or fifteen miles away, and, heated with fast walking,

commenced children have to alarming a that at so easily provoked to village should houses secondly, of ; Here is a description

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the of village idols : Let us " You (Mala furlong from the caste you," to grain says the sell " I allowed you to enjoy " please to give it ; little menial " I'll get another, and give Then, they addition, in from the

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make a long statement of their grievances, slurring over some circumstances, exaggerating petition written in Telugu, and take it to the Tahsildar," is the utmost that can be suggested—a remedy which is sometimes more dangerous than the to cure, and which often when carried out only excites more determined opposition.' under this strain, some lapsed ? ' the catechumens, under terror of in the Report of 1858, being sacrificed to the fury of the heathen, have relapsed To such new converts persecution into heathenism.' was indeed a sore temptation, but by many it was borne with cheerful patience. of the earliest congregations was baptised, we are told ' an unprovoked attack was made upon the school- that master and Christians of the place, and the most violent threats held out against them, because they continued to hold their religious services. burnt down at midnight, and all endeavours to discover incendiaries proved the ' Notwithstanding this after : thank God that the Jammuladinne

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; and I pray that tinue faithful knit them more closely indeed Persecution another.' those who endured, and sifted out the unworthy. missionaries were not eager far back as i860 we read that applicants, and as of two years' Mr. Clay considered baptism ing necessaiy before converts was the exercised of

6i " Get a others. is intended it ill What wonder is it if, In one village, we read At Jammuladinne, where one Six of their houses were Clay reported Mr. fruitless.' severe these trials, all Christians con- this persecution may and one Saviour the to to deepened the of faith The accept untried crowds to instruction and test- The was given. faith by friends and both

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62 enemies, and by such means was built up. The growth was unmistakable, and in i860 we already Insuffi- ^^^ what has fact been the uniform experience in teachers the Telugu Mission the teachers applicants. for reported that he had six vUlages for which he could not Measures were taken to supply the need. find teachers. The broken-up congregation of Cuddapah furnished some; other promising young men were taken under his personal instruction and sent out as soon as village congregations. possible to school was opened at Mutyalapad, into which the best boys from the village young laymen, Messrs. Scott and HoUiday, from Madras, who joined the Mission in 1859, were placed in charge of This was the first institution opened for the this school. training of agents in the Telugu Mission. have worked in the Mission in more recent years know well what excellent men were raised out of the humble converts by those pioneers of the Mission. we wonder the remarkable growth at Church as contrasted with the scanty means put at its service by the Church in England, we must not note how well its foundations were laid, how carefully the first teachers were trained under the personal care of the early missionaries, and how just and strict was the dis- cipline through which the early congregations had to pass. The actual figures of the Mission in 1859, after seven 1859. growth, were years' Christians, and 527 persons under instruction.

well-disciplined church a of fifty years—an for insufficiency of Clay year Mr. that in by Mr. Clay Finally, a boarding- drafted, and two schools were Those who And when the Telugu of fail to congregations, 619 baptised 13 :

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At this time an important new territory was being opened to the Mission. the range of high hills called the Nallamallas, or The first preacher to cross these hiUs was mountains.' Basil Wood. In January 1858, accompanied by another teacher, he traversed the hills by one of the passes and preached in all the villages SagUeru a distance for again we must note, as we did in the record of the entry of the Gospel on the Mutyalapad side of the there was preparation before the arrival of the preacher. In one of these villages, Balayapalli, there lived an old Mala headman, named Dasari Chennugadu, who, before, had listened years Wood Dasari Chennugadu Cuddapah. in as a Hindu, a devout worshipper of Ramanuja, and had ' a vision of the Deity,' and had for years been seeking ' sitting at the feet of Brahman Gurus.' spent much time Led by him the Mala community of Balayapalli accepted In March the Gospel. informed these events, of appointed Basil Wood to be the resident teacher there, ' as having been, under God, the knowledge the people bringing to A year later thirty-one persons were baptised. Chennugadu took a Christian his famUy name and became Bhaktula time changed ' meaning ' Bhaktula Abraham, Abraham Bhaktula affectionately remembered by many as the first in that valley to adopt the Christian faith.

63 To the east of Mutyalapad is ' black in the valley of the river of some twenty Here miles. hills, that ten the preaching of Alfred to had been, having been Mr. Clay, 1858, and the visited village chief instrument the in the of truth.' Dasari name, and at the same ' of the faithful ones.' many years later, not died It is interesting to

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64 note that one of the first of our Telugu Christians to be was ordained a relative Lazarus Gnanaprakasam. The number converts of By 1861 there were already four congregations. rapidly. Kalasa- Mr. Higgins, therefore, who had already made an exten- Pgg' sive preaching tour in the valley and was familiar with many of the villages, was instructed to prepare a house for himself in order before taking up Shortly He arrived early in 1861. ordained deacon. officials thwarted in every way his efforts to Brahman secure a for the site {£1), he bought an rupees Sagileru near Kalasapad. of the been one of the Mission centres. isolated situation. its Cuddapah, from approached away and not wholly connected with At the present day, though the railway has been brought within twenty mUes, the projected road to the railway- station does not yet exist. is poorer and more subject to famines neighbourhood than that on the Mutyalapad side of the hills. begins to be mentioned as early as 1862 in Mr. Higgins' report, and the tale has been repeated, with sad per- sistency, in one year after another since that date. the other hand, the Christians of this valley have, from the very beginning, compared very well with those more fortunately situated. contrast there Christians

Bhaktula Rev. the of his, valley multiplied in this live on that of the to side hills. his new work he had been The village At for ten Mission-house. last, site on the banks excellent This has ever since Its drawback has been had days be In those to it mUes was which sixty it even by road. Moreover, the country in the Famine On ' The Mr. Clay 1862 wrote in : very some favourably in

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the Christians on respects with They are more independent and orderly, and more ready to adopt improvements and admirable way the to largely managed them.' Similar testimony has several times been given since that date. Mr. Higgins, having built a small house at Kalasapad, remained nearly there five and congregations Christian Progress was steady, and congregations in the villages. were formed in village after 1865 Mr. Higgins went away on furlough. he retired from the Mission. It may be interesting to read Mr. Higgins' account village, and to of the winning of one of that time the missionary Narsapuram, and it may be added that the congregation of that place has remained a flourishing one up to the Mr. Higgins writes present time. ' In the evening I left Kalasapad for Narsapuram, my first stage, and distant not more than five miles. is a new village, and one which I may say I acquired by adopting the Fabian policy of delaying. man of the village came to me, but I was not quite satis- ; for he had been a headman, and, fied with his motives his authority having been set at nought, he thought that he could best punish his rebellious clan by forming an alliance offensive and defensive with myself. these overtures, but told him that if he wished to join he might remove to one of my Christian villages. months afterwards he managed to reduce to submission

65 the Mutyalapad side. help themselves—due to in which Higgins Mr. the superintending years, preaching assiduously During the year village. Shortly after it were, as see, The at work. village is Narsa- P"fam. : This At first a single I rejected Several

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66 half of his people, and then he proposed again to place 1 had seen much of the unsatis- But himself under me. factory state of things in a village where half the people were under me, and the other half, being heathen, beyond my jurisdiction, so my decision still was to wait. time elapsed, and then all were of one mind except just ;—one of these owned the very spot two or three families I had long ago marked out as the site of ground which of the future prayer-house. ' I rode over one evening to find out for myself the the people. disposition of coming and requested all to be reached the village was disappointed to the women either hid themselves or stood at few there ; the doors of their houses quite unconcerned and careless, and some of the men, after a short stare, resumed their if the business on which several occupations as was connected nothing dismount from my horse, but regarding attentively all pear was not yet ripe, turned my rein and rode away A proceeding so quietly. astonished and had expected first heard confused villagers.

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cries of the children, "He to me to return, of which I took no heed. them, however, ran after and soon overtook me, to whom I explained that their reception of me was so different from what I had been accustomed to, that to have me wished they really " Go back then," teacher,

More of my had sent notice

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present, but when

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but very find I came with not did themselves.

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for a few minutes sat convinced the that then, ; different from all that they then alarmed the behind me, shouts the is going away," and calls A number of I doubted if priest and for their " and when you said,

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again learn that I am coming to pay you a second visit, be at least all assembled and stop for a few minutes from your occupation to hear what I may be about to tell you. You have relations and all villages and have often witnessed how they receive me. If at the very outset you are careless of my coming and going, what hope can I have of exercising any influence on you ? " This rebuke had its effect. ' When again, women and children were all I came present, a place had been prepared where all assembled, I began by and calling addressing the following questions to them idolatry and wish forsake to Having once joined (true religion) ? steadfast and not go back ? submit to me as your priest and teacher, and not to your On this occasion I also called up the ? " old Dhasaries few who still hung back and put all which cause they would espouse. once for very anxious that they too should join, otherwise they might oppose the destruction of their old Swami house, on the very site of which I intended that a small chapel I showed my anxiety in no way, But should be buUt. as I have observed that eagerness on one side too often, among natives, excites disinclination on the other. at last gave in their adhesion, and even the man who to the land relinquished that claim laid claim The schoolroom or prayer-house was the next favour. difficulty to be surmounted. at my and the disposal, church building purposes.

67 in my friends Christian before me and each family " Do you : join the Satia-matham will you remain will you In everything it to them to decide I was All in my I have no funds whatever nothing Society allows for have made a rule, it

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68 people the that therefore, I contribute two or three rupees places of worship, but on my own account to induce them to lay out something What for themselves.

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heavy timber, the centre posts or beams that support the smaller timber, the thatch for the roof, the roof ; the building of the walls, and the labour in general fall on the people themselves, and the cost and the trouble entailed in building is one of the best tests of the sincerity of a village. ' It was when the prayer-house at Narsapuram was completed, that the visit was made which I have in this day's journal to record. me, and proceeded at

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followed by them all, and to celebrate Divine worship in It was a small hut about twelve it for the first time. paces long by ten in breadth, and the walls and beams I knocked my head so low were that several times before getting accustomed to the place. Everything was very clean, however, and it was Ut up by a couple of little earthen saucers holding a cotton wick Such as the place was, it must have cost fed with ghee. a fifth of this sum I contributed, about Rs.io (or £i) ; the rest was divided among the villagers according to One advantage of their families. built by the people themselves being more easily be taken care of and kept in order. found that when a large room is built to which the people have contributed very little, they are apt to throw the burden of repairing and cleaning up the place on the missionary therefore, it is, ;

their own build generally give suf&ces to purchase the The people were waiting for once the enter to building, against them its being smaU and that is will it I have a great advantage to be

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" The chapel is not mine but yours, and it able to say : is to the credit of each village that of worship clean and in good order." ' The service this night was very short accustoming them to learn something, by teaching a short prayer they were to make use of on and taking their places for worship. constitute the congregation here, but the children are more numerous than other in being not far from Kalasapad, I shall be able, if it turn out well and the people remain steadfast, to attend to visits of myself and one or other of my by frequent young men. I hope ultimately to be able to have the also to come to Kalasapad once children week.' Meanwhile an attempt was being made This was mission third centre. a healthy and prosperous little town, and very suitable to be a centre of mission work. purchased by Messrs. Spencer and Scott in 1861 from the For a short time an interesting Collector of Cuddapah. An Anglo-Vernacular school was experiment was tried. opened for the higher class Hindus, which was attended chiefly by Brahmans. it was soon found that the But boys' parents raised objections to their reading the Bible, and after six months, therefore, the school was closed. There was other work for the missionaries to do. Spencer, during his residence at Jammalamadugu, was He remained there ordained. Higgins, he had the departure of Mr. No one was of the Kalasapad Mission.

69 it keeps its place ; but I began entering first About ten families This village, villages. twice a or to open a at Jammalamadugu, jammala- madugu. Two bungalows were Mr. till 1865, when, owing to to take charge replace sent to

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70 him at Jammalamadugu, and, up to the present time, the bungalow has indeed, In missionary. 1894, Jammalamadugu, occupy their European stations. educational, medical, of connexion with that Society. In 1862, one of the years just reviewed, Alfred Wood He was the younger died. played so prominent a part in the early history of the is said to have been much the Mission, and more learned of the two. he had studied Indian medicine on the Sanskrit system, and used it with skill. active, intelligent, and faithful worker, to whose labours much of the progress of the Mission was due.' be mentioned here that his brother Basil Wood, whom we have seen as the originator of the Kalasapad Mission, remained in that part of the country until the close of his In his old age he became blind and long life in 1898. feeble, but continued his daily attendance at church to the end. will be useful It 1869. Mission in 1869 with those in 1859. shows the growth of ten years Year.

rarely been the home of a in consequence of our failure to L.M.S. made it one of the is now a strong centre It work and in evangelistic brothers who of the two abler and Among his other acquirements ' an Mr. Clay describes him as It may to compare the the statistics of The following table :

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THE S.P.G. MISSION—EARLY PERIOD

From their lonely outposts work of the Church, they looked for years in vain for help from the Church at home. Of their lay assistants only Mr. remained. one, Scott, the Mutyalapad Mission was now beyond tendence of the powers of any one man, even in perfect health. the notorious that fever of pioneering work in so rugged a land, had left neither of the superintending missionaries sionary at Kalasapad remained at his post only at the cost of much physical suffering. it to see the discipline of the young Church, which had grown beyond their power to control, become slack, and in which ought enter evils Then to crown aU came the terrible famine of 1876-7. The mortality was appalling. swept away were never known, but thirty population had not reached the figure at which the Nevertheless stood the famine. before its crippled resources, by the good help with came triumphantly through statistics of this period again show a large increase over We append here the figures those of the previous one. for 1879 that they may be compared with those given above Year. Congregations. Christians. 1879 76 .. .. In the year 1877 some timely reinforcements arrived. These consisted of two students of St. Augustine's College, Messrs. R. D. Shepherd and A. Inman. The new help came

71 directing the ever-growing The adequate superin- But country, and the of toil The mis- as he was. More painful still was to have been prevented. Famine The numbers that were jsyg. years later it the Mission, of God, The this time of gloom. 1879. Baptised Catecbumeas. 2377 1795 ..

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

72 only just in time to enable the Mission to be carried on, for the year 1880 brought the retirement of Mr. Spencer from the Mission. In the next year the again strengthened by the arrival of Mr. A. Britten, but Death of once more the gain was followed by a loss, in the death, ° Mr. Clay, three years of Mr. later, 1884. For thirty years he had sustained the arduous great. toil of planting the Gospel in the villages of a wild and difficult country, and had guided the steps of the infant Church and laid down the lines of its future develop- He possessed a wide and accurate knowledge of ment. Telugu, and left several books, which are for the instruction of Telugu Christians. the revision also in At last, worn out by sickness and incessant toil, Book. this faithful worker post in Mutyalapad. We have now reached what may be called, for several the modern period reasons, thing, the men in whose hands the charge of the Mission was left on Mr. Clay's death are still in the field. certain characteristics come into greater prominence as this later period advances. of work at mission centres, and a greater consolidation the the missions of in There is also a more highly developed system country. for the training of Indian agents, and more efforts are being made to foster an indigenous Indian Church. before we proceed with the history a separate chapter will be required to deal with certain points which will help to an understanding of the problems of the Telugu Mission.

Mission was j < > loss was indeed This Clay. stiU in use, He had a share Bible and Prayer the Telugu of in 1884 laid down at his his life For one of the Mission. Again, There is more consolidation the Telugu areas different of But

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MISSION, S. INDIA. TELUGU CLASS NANDYAL, BIBLE

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Basket makers at work: Kurnool District