Chapter XI ACCEPTANCE of the Bishopric by the Rev. G. W. H. Knight Bruce--The Bishop's Consecration at S. Mary's, Whitechapel--New English Settlements in Bechuanaland--Canon Crisp goes to reside at Vrybury--Archdeacon Croghan appointed Dean of Grahamstown--Arrival of Bishop Knight-Bruce--Energetic Visitation of the Diocese--Consecration of the Churches of All Saints', Beaconsfield, and S. Alban's, Kimberley--Rev. W. Griffiths--Sixth Session of the Diocesan Synod--Affectionate parting with Archdeacon Croghan--Canon Holbech accepts the post of Warden of the Sisterhood--Canon Crisp appointed Archdeacon--Rev. John Bell appointed Canon--Death of Sister Emma--Her Majesty's Jubilee--Canon Gaul appointed Archdeacon of Kimberley--Death of Rev. R. K. Champernowne--Bishop Knight-Bruce's pioneering journey to Mashonaland.
ON the failure of the Delegation, the Bishops of the Province had committed the choice of a. Bishop of Bloemfontein to Bishop Walsham How, Father Douglas' brother-in-law, the Suffragan-Bishop of Bedford, since translated to Wakefield. The See had been offered to several priests, but had for one or another reason been declined. During the latter part of 1885 the Metropolitan sent a circular letter to the Clergy of the Diocese, saying that the time had come when we must cease to expect a Diocesan from England, that the choice must now be made from within the Province, and asking their counsel as to the appointment. But before this letter could be answered, news reached us that the See had been accepted by the Rev. George Wyndham Hamilton Knight-Bruce, M.A., of Mcrton College, Oxford, then Priest in charge of the parish of S. Andrew, Bethnal Green, London.
The first half of the year 1886 was naturally one of preparation. Bishop's Lodge, which during Bishop Webb's episcopate had been considerably added to, was put into good order, the original thatched roof being replaced by one of galvanised iron. Bishop Knight-Bruce was consecrated on the Feast of the Annunciation, at S. Mary Matfelon Church, Whitechapel, by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. E. W. Benson), assisted by the Bishops of London (Dr. Temple), Bedford (Dr. Walsharn How), and Bishop Bromby, a former Bishop of Tasmania. The Sermon was preached by Canon Arthur Mason, Rector of All Hallows', Barking. The Bishop's Chaplain on the occasion was the Rev. W. E. Jackson, M.A., who afterwards accompanied him to Bloemfontein.
One of the reasons which, in addition to the need of change, had induced the Vicar-General to pay the visit to Capetown in 1885, had been that he might consult the Metropolitan as to the best way of undertaking a new responsibility which had fallen upon the Diocese. During that year Bechuanaland, which had been annexed to the British dominions, had been occupied by a military force under Sir Charles Warren. This had now been withdrawn, but a very considerable body of police was still located there, and two towns which bade fair to become important centres, Vryburg and Mafeking, had been built, With a reduced staff of clergy and diminished resources it was difficult to see how this new responsibility could be met. During r886, Canon Gaul, as Rural Dean, paid several visits to Bechuanaland. At the close of May, 1886, Canon Crisp undertook the temporary charge of the new district, residing at Vryburg, and paying a visit to Mafeking, then the head-quarters of the mounted police force. In July, the Rev. G. Harris, A.K.C., arrived from England and was licensed by the Vicar-General to minister at Mafeking.
Archdeacon Croghan, fearing to encounter the cold of another Free State winter, had left Bloemfontein in May, 1886, and spent the months of June, July, and part of August at Grahamstown. While there he was offered the Deanery of Grahamstown, which he accepted on the understanding that he should not be expected to enter upon it until the end of March, 1887. He returned to Bloemfontein on August 27th, 1886.
At the close of the mid-winter term, the Rev. C. E. Scratchley resigned the Principalship of S. Andrew's College, and became Rector of Barkly West. He was succeeded at S. Andrew's by the Rev. Barren Moore, B.A., who had been Assistant-Master at S. Andrew's College, Grahamstown.
Before leaving England, Bishop Knight-Bruce with Father Douglas visited many Associations, securing considerable help towards relieving the Diocese of its monetary liabilities. He left England on July 23rd, 1886, with Mrs. Knight-Bruce and his little son, accompanied also by the Rev. W. E. Jackson, and after landing at Capetown made his way to the Diocese, arriving at Kimberley on August 21st. After spending a Sunday there he reached Bloemfontein on August 2yth. At Kimberley a hearty address of welcome had been presented to him, and his arrival at Bloemfontein was marked by enthusiastic rejoicing. The Bishop was enthroned in the Cathedral on Sunday, August 29th. On the Monday a conversazione of welcome was held in the Town Hall. During the week meetings of the Cathedral Chapter and of the Board of Finance were held, at which the affairs of the Diocese were anxiously discussed. Among other matters it was arranged that Canon Crisp should for a while return to Bechuanaland, and that Canon Balfour, who greatly needed a change, should pay a visit to the Basuto Christians in the villages among the Maluti mountains and in the district of Mohali's Hoek, and prepare them for Confirmation.
Bishop Webb at this time paid a visit to Bloemfontein to confer with Bishop Knight-Bruce about S. Michael's Sisterhood, the Wardenship of which, with all its responsibilities, he had retained.
At the beginning of October the Bishop began his first visitation of the Diocese. He again visited Kimberley, where he consecrated a new and handsome brick church which had been built at Beaconsfield, to take the place of All Saints', Dutoitspan. Returning to Bloemfontein, he travelled to Harrismith, taking Winburg, Senekal, and Bethlehem en route. From thence he entered Basutoland, where after visits to Thlotse Heights and Sekubu, he undertook, with the Rev. T. Woodman, a long journey on horseback into the Maluti mountains, confirming the Christians scattered about the different villages who had been prepared by Canon Balfour. From thence he returned on December 22nd by way of Wepener and Dewetsdorp.
In the first week of 1887, the Bishop was again at Kimberley, from whence with Canon Gaul he made a tour through Griqualand West, visiting the many villages and farms at which the Canon had for some time been wont to hold occasional services. Afterwards he went to Phokoane, and from thence to Vryburg and Mafeking in British Bechuanaland, laying at the latter place the foundation-stone of a new church, and pushing on from there to pay a hurried visit to Molepolole, the town of the Bakwena chief Sechele. In passing through Kimberley on his return he consecrated a new church (S. Alban's) in the De Beers district, which had for some years been the special care of the Rev. W. Griffiths. Mr. Griffiths had come to the Diocese in 1880, and had studied at S. Cyprian's College. Ordained a Deacon in 1881, he had been assistant Curate at Barkly West until January, 1883, when he was attached to S. Cyprian's, Kimberley. In 1884, he was ordained Priest, and had worked with great care and diligence, winning in a marked degree the respect of the people among whom, in the district of De Beers, his chief work lay. S. Alban's is a brick church. Both it and All Saints', Beaconsfield, bear marks of the architectural ability of Mr. Sydney Stent, by whom they were designed. They are built of a whitish brick made from the shale thrown out from the Kimberley mines.
On February 11th, the Bishop again left Bloemfontein for the south and east of the Free State, visiting Fauresmith, Jagersfontein, Philippolis, Bethulie, Smithfield, Ladybrand, Modderpoort and Thabanchu. On his return home, on March 1st, he could feel that he had been in every town, village, mission, and even country centre of the Diocese.
On March 5th, 1887, the sixth session of the Diocesan Synod was held. It was attended by eighteen priests, one deacon, and seventeen lay representatives. On Sunday, March 6th, the Bishop ordained to the Priesthood the Rev. G. Harris, of Mafeking, and to the Diaconate Mr. Joseph Deacon and Mr. J. C. Todd, B.Sc. (Glasgow), who, after passing through the Chancellor's School at Lincoln, had come to South Africa for his health's sake. Very little constructive work was done in this Synod, indeed the still depressed circumstances of the country were not favourable to this. Investigation of Diocesan Finance was the chief matter, and in this the Synod was greatly assisted by the very careful statement which Mr. Oldfield, the Secretary of the Board of Finance, had prepared. At the meeting on the Friday in the Synod week an address of affectionate farewell was presented to Archdeacon Croghan, The Diocese felt that parting with him was "the severance of a tie strengthened by years of love and veneration, and hallowed by the most sacred influences." He had been "the wise councillor, the tender-hearted and faithful elder brother," the skilful pilot, who in times of distress, nay almost of dismay, had never lost heart nor flinched, while his brilliant gifts had reflected honour upon the Diocese which he had served so truly. It may be mentioned here that not long after his assumption of the Deanery of Grahamstown, his University (Trinity College, Dublin) conferred on him the Degree of Doctor of Divinity.
At the close of 1886 Canon Holbech had resigned his parish and left for England for necessary rest and change. His work at Harrismith was taken up by Canon Balfour, who rode there from South Basutoland, passing along the Maluti mountains; a memorable ride far away from the beaten route, through many villages in which a white man was still a rara avis. During the Session of Synod, news was received by cable that Canon Holbech on his return to the Diocese would assume the Wardenship of S. Michael's Sisterhood. This was welcome news, for it secured to the Community the guidance of a priest of great precision of thought and habits, of marked stedfastness and perseverance.
Canon Crisp succeeded Archdeacon Croghan. Appointed on March 7th, he made the necessary declaration on Lady Day, and his appointment to the Archdeaconry was formally announced in the Cathedral at the morning service on that Festival.
Archdeacon Croghan's retirement had left a stall in the Cathedral vacant. To this the Bishop collated the Rev. John Bell, Rector of Smithneld, the oldest clergyman in the Diocese, whose term of service dated back to its establishment in 1863.
On June 1st, 1887, news reached Bloemfontein of the death at Kimberley on that day of Sister Emma, the first Superior of the Sisterhood. Since 1882 her health had been failing, and she had passed through months of pain and weakness, heroically borne. In 1886, Sister Frances, who had come to the Diocese as Miss Harcourt Vernon in 1878, was elected Mother Superior, and Sister Emma then undertook the management of the branch house at Kimberley. A few weeks before her death she had become seriously ill, and had been removed to the Carnarvon Hospital. Sister Henrietta was still in charge of this. The modest iron house erected in 1877 had long since given place to a well-planned and furnished brick building, with Sisters' Chapel, near to which (in 1888) was built a Nurses' Home. A school of nurses now formed part of the work, and the Hospital was famous throughout South Africa. It is needless to say that Sister Emma received there all that tender care could give. On the Monday before her death she wrote cheerful letters to several of the Sisters, but on the Tuesday she was seized with violent pains of the heart, causing intense suffering, and early on Wednesday morning she passed away, sustained to the end by faithful trust in God's mercies through Christ, and a deep sense of His continued -loving-kindness towards her. She had "borne the burden and heat of the day." It had been no light task to form a young community amid the unsettling circumstances of a new country, and, moreover, one weighted from the first with the conduct of important works of piety; to undertake at the same time the anxieties of spiritual training, and the financial burdens attendant on providing for the physical needs of so many. She had done her work and passed to her rest. She was buried in the Sisters' portion of the cemetery at Beaconsfield, and the women in the Kimberley gaol which she was in the habit of visiting sent a wreath to be placed upon the coffin.
The sovereignty of Queen Victoria had been withdrawn from the Orange Free State, and from time to time acts of Her Majesty's Government had seemed arbitrary and uncalled for by the young Republic. Nevertheless nowhere in South Africa, not even in Kimberley, under the shadow, of the Union Jack, was the Jubilee of Her Majesty's reign celebrated with more honour and rejoicing than in Bloemfontein.
A week of festivity was held, marked by public illuminations, a Concert of British ballads with an orchestra of 250 people, a Club Dinner, a Ball, outdoor Sports, and concluding on the Saturday with a torchlight procession. On Tuesday, the Jubilee Day, a Thanksgiving Service was held in the Cathedral, attended by all the leading inhabitants. His Honour, President Brand, was there, wearing his scarf of office. He was in failing health, and, unable to kneel for any length of time, stood throughout the Prayers. The picture of the dignified old man, standing with bowed head in the midst of the large congregation, is before our mind as we write. While a Thanksgiving Hymn was being sung, accompanied by organ and band, the guns from the fort above the town boomed out a royal salute. Not only Englishmen but Dutch and Germans were joining, and that heartily, in the Jubilee; it was a breathing-time of peace and concord which those of us who were there to rejoice in it will not soon forget. The Bishop was in Basutoland at the time, holding an Ordination, that of the Rev. W. H. Ball of Sekubu, to the Diaconate, at S. Saviour's, Thlotse Heights, laying on the day itself the first stone there of a Jubilee Memorial Church, from whence passing on to Masite he dedicated Mr. Woodman's newly-built Mission Church of S. Barnabas.
In August the Bishop paid a visit to Kimberley, at which an important departure in the organisation of the Diocese was made.
Theoretically, Kimberley had been made a separate Archdeaconry as long ago as 1880, but practically it had been held together with that of Bloemfontein. Archdeacon Crisp now urged upon the Bishop the advisability of making a separate appointment. During this visit the Bishop offered the Archdeaconry of Kimberley to Canon Gaul, who accepted it; the appointment being publicly announced in S. Cyprian's Church on Sunday, August 21st. The new Archdeaconry comprised the Colonial District of Griqualand West, and the Crown Colony of British Bechuanaland.
On October 10th, at a Chapter meeting in Bloemfontein, the Bishop formally appointed Canon Holbech (who was still in England, but who returned to the Diocese on December 6th) to the Chancellorship, vacant through the preferment of Archdeacon Crisp. The Bishop, on this occasion, announced his intention of paying a visit in 1888 to Mashonaland. Before coming to South Africa, his Lordship had conceived the hope of a pioneering journey to the interior in search of a new field for missionary work beyond the confines of the Diocese; and S.P.G. had undertaken to bear the expense of it. This venture of the Bishop would prevent his attendance at the Lambeth Conference of 1888, but he undertook to forward to the Metropolitan a report on Polygamy, now presented by the Provost, in accordance with a resolution of the last Diocesan Synod.
Sir Donald Currie paid a visit to Bloemfontein on November 19th. He expressed great interest in the work of the Church, and on leaving sent a gift of £50 towards its support.
The work at Thlotse had been carried on during the year at some disadvantage. Mr. Reading had left at Easter for a time of study at Modderpoort, and his place had not since been filled. On December 15th another of those serious losses fell upon S. Saviour's which, since its establishment in 1876, had now twice attended the Mission. It would not be easy to describe the comfort and blessing which Mr. Champernowne's companionship had for nearly eight years been to Canon Widdicombe. His zealous and generous ministry, his cheerful mind and earnestness of life were indeed a consolation to one whose own experience had been chequered with sorrow and bereavement. Though never very strong he enjoyed fairly good health. On the 14th of December he was suffering from what seemed to be a bilious attack. He went to bed in the afternoon, thinking to sleep it off, and was in a deep sleep when Canon Widdicombe went to his room before retiring for the night. Next morning, when the Canon went to call him, he found him lying dead with a smile upon his face. A medical friend who was summoned pronounced the cause of death to be apoplexy. He was buried in the little cemetery on the afternoon of the i6th, his funeral being attended by a large concourse of the Basuto, and by all the European residents among whom he had toiled. He was taken from us in the holy Advent Season, while the Church was looking for her Lord. Apparently without pain he fell asleep, and the thought of what the awakening will have been comforted the hearts of those who mourned over their loss.
At the beginning of 1888 a change was made in the conduct of S. Andrew's College. Mr. Barron Moore resigned the Principalship, and after a further sojourn in Bloemfontein, became Head-Master of the Church School at George in the Cape Colony. The worst years of the depression were now over. During them, the boarding establishment of the college had been closed. A commendable sign of the return of prosperity in South Africa is that almost the first thing thought of is an effort on the part of the country people to send their children to school. The cost of this is always considerable. The fees themselves are, if anything, lower than in the endowed schools of the mother country, but there are many other expenses, especially that of travelling. We judged that the time for a new effort had come, and the college was offered to Canon Bell, who left Smithfield after a residence of nearly twenty-five years, and came with his family to Bloemfontein. At the same time Mr. Reading undertook the post of Second Master.
On January 3oth, 1888, the Bishop started on his tour to Mashonaland. He journeyed by way of Bechuanaland, and while at Mafeking had a fall from his horse, from which he sustained injuries which obliged him to return to Kimberley Hospital for surgical treatment. He started again at the beginning of April, and by June 5th reached Buluwayo. Lobengula had promised to permit him to enter Mashonaland, but on the Bishop's presenting himself withdrew his consent. Three unsuccessful interviews were held, but after the last the Chief was in a better frame of mind, and gave the necessary leave. In October, letters dated July 20th were received from him, showing that he had left his wagons at the Hunyane river, and gone into the more northerly part of Mashonaland on foot. After forty days he 'returned to them, having walked over five hundred and thirty-five miles. He had crossed the Zambesi at Zumbo, the Portuguese outpost. On one occasion, in the Barotse country, he had narrowly escaped a marauding party of the Gaza tribe. He had only once been ill, from inflammation of the lungs, and had quickly recovered. On December 6th he reached Mafeking on his way back, and arrived in Bloemfontein late on the evening of December 2oth. The remarkable promptitude which attended this journey was due to the fact that for months the Bishop had studied every point of it which could be foreseen. He had read everything available upon the subject, and pored over every map he could find. He showed a remarkable power of attaching native servants to him. "Devoted to him" is the only phrase which can adequately describe their attitude towards him. Two of his band were Basuto young men, sent to him from Thlotse by Canon Widdicombe, and splendidly trustworthy fellows they proved to be. Only a man of such intrepidity and determination as Bishop Knight-Bruce could have undertaken and carried through such an enterprise.
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