Chapter VI

FOURTH Session of the Synods--Rev. W. Crisp elected Canon--Rev. C. O. Miles appointed Canon and Chancellor--The Archdeaconry of Harrismith--The Dutch Reformed Church--Rev. N. A. B. Borton undertakes S. Andrew's College--Munificent gift from Rev. E. W. Sergeant--Archdeacon McKenzie chosen Bishop of Zululand--The Bishop's visit to North Basutoland--Disturbances at Thabanchu--Rival Claimants to the Chieftancy--President Brand's arbitration--The continuance of the Mission--The Chief Sepinare killed--Annexation of the Barolong Territory to the Free State--The study of the Secoana language and the work of translation--The Mission Printing Press--A Secoana Grammar--Translation of the New Testament and the Book of Common Prayer--Further particulars as to the Thabanchu Mission.

THE fourth session of the Synods of the Diocese was held in the Cathedral in January, 1880. The Synod of Clergy met on the Feast of the Epiphany, and sat for three days, concluding with a visitation of the clergy on January gth. The Cathedral Chapter claimed the right of being visited in their Chapter House, and this was recognised by the Bishop. On January 8th the Rev. W. Crisp was elected to the stall vacated by Canon Doxat; the Bishop creating a new stall, to which he appointed the Rev. C. O. Miles as Chancellor, this office being vacant through Archdeacon McKenzie's preferment. It may here be stated that at the first Chapter meeting held after the Synod, Canon Crisp was appointed Treasurer. One important departure was decided during this session. It had on former occasions been customary for matters brought before the Synod of Clergy to be put to the vote. This was shown to be contrary to ancient precedent. Instead of it, the clergy were invited to express their opinions on the different questions, the Bishop at the close of each giving his ruling, and these being published at the end of the session as Constitutions of the Bishop in Synod. The Diocesan Synod assembled on Sunday nth; the new Canons were installed at the mid-day service, at which, after the Nicene Creed, the

Bishop delivered his Charge. One passage in it we desire specially to record.

The Church of England on entering the Free State had found the Dutch Reformed Church, to which the great majority of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of South Africa belong and are devotedly attached, in active operation, and largely aided by the Government. Bishop Webb had always recognised it as one of those "Presbyterian Churches, which in varying degrees preserve a continuity with the ancient national Churches of their respective countries." He could not but value the sense of religion which it had preserved in the land, and the discipline which, amid the rough circumstances of a pioneering people, it had maintained. In this Charge he spoke as follows:--"It is not impossible that such a body as the Dutch Reformed Church, whose work in this country we cannot but respect, may be led one day to receive its own Bishops, consecrated according to the canons of the Nicene Council, so that, without in any way sacrificing its corporate independence, or ignoring its ancestry or history, it may recover that completeness which was sacrificed, not on principle, but in consequence of the special circumstances of the continental Reformation." Perhaps in connection with this we may be permitted to leap at a bound over thirteen more years, and to record by its side the following extract from the first Charge of Bishop Hicks, delivered on April itjth, 1893. It runs thus:--"But we find ourselves here in this State face to face also with a great and old-established Christian religious organisation, apart from ourselves, and from which we hold aloof. While we maintain firmly our own Catholic and Anglican principles of the need of the historic Episcopate for the life and work of the Church, and of the doctrines of grace, especially of grace flowing through sacramental channels; we owe to the Dutch Reformed Church very great respect and consideration in that, in a lax and careless age, it holds fast the traditional faith, and sets us an admirable example in the enforcement of Church discipline."

Twenty-two priests, five deacons, and twelve laymen attended the Synod. The important questions of Church Discipline and Patronage Were brought forward, provision made for the representation in the Synod of Churchmen not living in constituted parishes, and a trust deed determined upon for the future tenure of Church property.

Archdeacon McKenzie's appointment necessarily left the Principalship of S. Andrew's College vacant. It was offered to and accepted by the Rev. N. A. B. Borton; his place at Barkly being filled by the Rev. R. H. Godwin, a priest who had come to the Diocese with Father Douglas, and who, during Mr. Miles' temporary absence in England, had taken charge of the Theological College.

Considerable alterations were at this time made in S. Andrew's College buildings. In 1879 the Rev. E. W. Sergeant, of Winchester College, England, had offered to join Canon McKenzie in the work at S. Andrew's. Family circumstances had prevented his doing so, and finding this to be the case, he sent a benefaction of one thousand guineas to the College. It was decided with this money to enlarge the buildings. Mr. Borton was well known at the Diamond Fields, and large numbers of boarders came from Kimberley and thereabouts. The staff of masters had to be increased, and in spite of the enlargement of premises, additional accommodation had to be hired. In 1882 the Bishop created a new stall in the Cathedral, and collated Mr. Borton to it.

Before entering upon his new work Archdeacon McKenzie left at the close of the Synod for a visit to England. On his way he stayed for a time with his uncle, the Bishop of Grahams-town, and afterwards with the Metropolitan at Bishopscourt. At that time the Bishops of the Province were anxiously seeking a clergyman of sufficient power and zeal for the oversight of the vacant see of Zululand. The Archdeacon had always taken the keenest interest in missionary work. His fitness for the Bishopric laid powerful hold of the minds of both Bishop Merriman and the Metropolitan. The Bishop of Carlisle (Dr. Harvey Goodwin) and other patrons of the Zululand Mission were corresponded with, and a little later on the see was offered to the Archdeacon. Before accepting, he wrote to ask for the consent of his Diocesan, and Bishop Webb conveyed it in the following telegram: "Eheu; moerens, benedicens." Bishop McKenzie was consecrated in Capetown Cathedral on S. Andrew's Day, 1880, by the Metropolitan, assisted by the Bishops of Grahamstown, Maritzburg, Blosmfontein and Pretoria. After the Provincial Synod of 1883, he gladdened the hearts of his old friends and fellow-workers by a visit to Bloemfontein, returning to his Diocese via Thabanchu, Modderpoort, Thlotse, and Harrismith. After more than nine years of devoted labour and self-sacrifice, he died at Isandhlwana on January gth, 1890, from an attack of typhoid fever, being then in his forty-ninth year.

After Easter, in 1880, Bishop Webb paid a visit to the north of Basutoland. The mission at Thlotse was then a well-established one, and a Training College for Basuto boys was being built by the aid of Mr. Champernowne's family and other friends. At Sekubu a little stone church had been built by Mr. Balfour. He had himself left to take care of the parish of Harrismith (Mr. Clark having returned to England after severe domestic bereavement), and Sekubu was now in the charge of Mr. Woodman, who had been ordained Priest on S. Thomas' Day, 1879. Already there were premonitory signs of discontent on the part of the Basuto at their proposed disarmament by the Colonial Government, but the war which broke out later in the year, crippling the young mission, and proving so destructive to their property, was hardly at that time apprehended.

The Bishop returned by way of Ficksburg, Modderpoort, Ladybrand, and Thabanchu. At Thabanchu the Bishop found the Barolong amid circumstances of great political excitement. The old chief Moroka had died on April 8th, 1880, without formally declaring his successor. He had for some time been in failing health, and his stepson, Sepinare (Tshipinare), had acted as regent. At Moroka's death Sepinare had assumed the government, but his right to do so was challenged by a large and influential portion of the tribe, which claimed the chieftainship for Samuel, the son of Moroka's first wife. A few months later a fracas occurred, which called forth a remonstrance from President Brand. The Barolong Territory was encircled by that of the Free State, and any violent dispute among the people there was sure sooner or later to lead to trouble in the Free State. President Brand invited the disputants to submit the matter to his arbitration. This they did, and on July 16th, 1880, to the discomfiture of Samuel's very considerable following, the President gave judgment in favour of Sepinare. Samuel came to Bloemfontein to ask for the Bishop's advice, and was earnestly counselled by him to live quietly in that portion of the territory which was acknowledged to be his inheritance. "Dwell in the land," said the Bishop to him, "and verily thou shalt be fed." The position of things became more and more strained, and on August 28th Sepinare, with the aid of a band of white men, successfully attacked the village of Samuel's chief adherent. Samuel and his people then took refuge in the Free State, and the difficulty seemed to be at an end. The dispute had an immediate effect upon the Church's Mission at Thabanchu. Mr. Mitchell withdrew from the station, and undertook the care of S. Matthew's Mission at Kimberley, while Canon Crisp took up the work which had been so seriously interrupted.

It may be as well, perhaps, to continue the story of the Thabanchu Mission, since what has been narrated above has so greatly affected its future. Many of the most trustworthy of the converts left the country with Samuel. Before the disruption the communicants had numbered one hundred and sixty-three; some eighty-nine remained. Many of the refugees settled in Bechuanaland, some in Bloemfontein, others in Basutoland, and were thus within reach of the Church's ministrations. Gradually matters at Thabanchu itself became apparently more settled, and the Mission again prospered. The church, to which a southern aisle had been affixed in r872, was now further enlarged by the addition of one to the north. The Printing work, of which later on we shall speak more particularly, which had been a prominent feature in the first eight years of the Mission, was resumed. A Normal School, to the building of which the Chief gave £50, was begun. Sepinare had determined upon a careful survey of the whole territory, fixing definitely the bounds of each petty chief, and indeed of each representative of a family, and thus practically dividing the country into farms. The Church was advantaged by this, for the boundaries of the Mission Station were now clearly declared. Besides this the Chief presented to the Church a farm about twenty minutes' ride from the Station, which has proved to be a valuable endowment. For more than a year (1881-2) Canon Crisp had Mr. Crosthwaite's assistance, especially in the work of the Normal School, and later on that of Mr. Roberts, who had come to the Diocese as a Master at S. Andrew's College.

Altogether the work was a very hopeful one, when in 1884 it was suddenly and violently broken in upon. Samuel's followers had during the four years of their exile been quietly preparing themselves for an attack upon Thabanchu. During the long winter's night of the full moon of the 9th July, by a concerted effort they met at Thabanchu, and on the morning of the loth the missionaries were awakened by the noise of firing, and to find the town in flames. Sepinare was unprepared, his followers were principally unarmed, and unable to offer serious resistance. He defended himself with great bravery, but the house in which he had been surprised was set on fire, and being thus obliged to leave it, he was at once shot. The whole attack occupied some six hours.

The object of the assailants was simply to kill Sepinare, for though a few others were shot, their deaths were in most cases the result of accident. One of them was one of our male converts, whose corpse was obtained from the victors, and buried in the cemetery. No further injury was done; the few white inhabitants were assured that they and their property would be safe, but nevertheless, great anxiety if not alarm existed, and the mission premises were crowded with refugees, aged people, women and children.

On the news reaching Bloemfontein, the President summoned an armed Commando, and on the evening of Saturday, July 12th, at their head he entered Thabanchu and proclaimed the annexation of the Barolong Territory to that of the Free'State. A large Burgher force now assembled at Thabanchu, but every effort was made by the President to give Samuel and his followers time to consider their position, with the hope that recourse to arms would be avoided. On the 17th they surrendered, and the Barolong territory has since formed one of the districts of the Free State under the name of Moroka.

In so styling the district, the legislators of the Free State were desirous of retaining in memory the name of the old chief who had borne it. In the beginning of this record reference has been made to the disastrous attack made upon the emigrant farmers in 1837, by Moselekatse. Though the guns of the farmers protected them and their families from massacre, and enabled them to repel the Matabele, their cattle were driven away and they were left with their wagons, unable to proceed or retreat. From this position of peril they were rescued by Moroka, who brought them to Thabanchu, and settled them in safety until the advent of a later trek enabled them to make a more successful advance. The farmers of the Free State never forgot this, and the kindly feeling thus originated was cemented by an alliance with Moroka which continued all through his life.

Naturally the change ol government and the circumstances which had preceded it were followed by a time of much unsettlement, during which the mission work proper was virtually at a standstill. Advantage was taken of this to undertake an important work of translation which the missionaries had long had at heart.

We have said nothing hitherto about the translations and publications which work among the native races necessarily entailed. At the beginning of the work, almost the only book to hand was a translation of the Scriptures into the Setlhaping dialect of the Secoana language. This had been done many years previously by Dr. Moffat, at a time when but little assistance could be given by the natives themselves. It was a monument of industry and patience, but it was the imperfect work of a foreigner. But now, here and there, natives were to be found who had a knowledge of English, and by their means much progress could be made. Mr. Mitchell was the first to attempt the study of Secoana, and when Mr. Crisp and afterwards Mr. Bevan joined the Mission they were both eager students of it. A special infirmity from time to time seriously hampered Mr. Crisp in engaging in more regular ministrations, and this gave him greater leisure for translating. Earlier in life he had seen enough of printing to enable him to work a small press and some type which, with Mr. Doxat's aid, he had brought with him in 1867. At first, portions of the Prayer-Book, then a few Hymns, then a spelling-book, and (in 1872) a First Catechism were issued. Hymn writing was especially difficult. The accent of most Secoana words is upon the penultimate, and the task of fitting this to our ordinary Church tunes is no easy matter. After a time this part of the work was principally undertaken by Mr. Bevan. Our Secoana Hymn-Book contains translations of most of the favourite hymns in use in the Church. In 1874, Mr. Mitchell, with the help of a clever Morolong who understood English, devoted himself to translating the Epistles and Gospels from the Prayer-Book, and at Easter, 1876, the whole of the Prayer-Book, except the Ordinal and a portion of the Psalter, had been printed and was in use. Before this, the little press had, through the kindness of S.P.C.K., given place to one capable of carrying a double demy forme, and a very serviceable amount of type had been acquired.

When Mr. Bevan and Mr. Crisp left for Bcchuanaland, the Printing Office was removed to the Theological College at Bloemfontein, and when Mr. Crisp was appointed to the Native work there, it was again employed in Secoana work. Mr. Grimsley was then the chief Mission Printer. He had come to the Diocese in 1875, and with here and there a break continued to conduct the printing work till the middle of 1886.

While it was still in Bloemfontein, an important work was passed through the press, styled "Notes towards a Secoana Grammar." In 1864 M. Fredoux, a French missionary of great linguistic ability, had published in Capetown a tract of twelve pages upon the language. It was, as he called it, a mere "Sketch of the Secoana Grammar," but it had been drawn with a master's hand. Our task was to fill in the details within the lines laid down by him, and to carry on the work into the Syntax and other parts which lie had not attempted. In 1885 a second edition was called for, and published with revisions and additions in London by S.P.C.K. The book (which contains one hundred and four pages) is at present the recognised text-book in South Africa.

The task entered upon in 1884 was the translation of the New Testament. A well-educated and industrious native assistant was at hand. The need was a crying one, for though a revised edition of Dr. Moffat's translation had been often talked about, the Bible Society had contented itself with reprinting it. Retranslation rather than revision was decided upon. Small-pox was in the country at the time, and outbreaks of it and other hindrances delayed us. But an average of seven hours' work per diem was achieved, and in July, 1886, the book was in print. The press was now at Thabanchu, and the support of it was assisted by both S.P.G. and S.P.C.K. A new and revised edition of the book has recently been published in London by S.P.C.K.

Side by side with this work, that of revising and completing the translation of the Prayer-Book was carried on. S.P.C.K. undertook its publication, and in 1887 the new edition was in use among us.

Besides these considerable undertakings, a number of smaller books, &c., were issued from the press in Secoana, Sesutho, Dutch, and English. Our Mission Catechism, which grew as years went on (each edition containing additions sanctioned by the Bishop), though written in Secoana, has been translated from it into English, Dutch, Sesutho, Kafir, and Zulu. When an assured circulation had been secured for them, our books found their way into the hands of publishing houses. The press had done its work. In 1890, just before the illness of which he died, Bishop McKenzie wrote saying that he had broken the platten of his press, and we at once offered to give him ours. When Bishop Carter took his place it was sent to Zululand, and is, we believe, now in use at Isandhlwana.

In 1886 the Archbishop of Canterbury, in recognition of the assistance given to the Church by the above-mentioned translations, conferred upon Canon Crisp the degree of Bachelor in Divinity.

It may, perhaps, be well to complete the record of the Thabanchu Mission. In 1886 Canon Crisp left to undertake a pioneering work among the newly-formed European settlements in British Bechuanaland. After his appointment to the Archdeaconry of Bloemfontein in 1887, the Mission at Thabanchu was left in hands too inexperienced and too little trained; an error in judgment which caused much unsettlement, and led to serious loss. At Easter, 1891, Mr. Crosthwaite became director of it, and from that time the work has grown stronger, and is recovering from the effects of the many vicissitudes through which it has passed. The Easter returns of 1894 show the number of communicants to be 348, and that of catechumens 104.

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