INSTEAD of relating in detail the gradual development of Church life and work in Jamaica since Archbishop Nuttall's consecration, it will be more convenient and less tedious to give brief notices of various Diocesan institutions and organisations, some of which have been brought into existence and into efficient activity under his initiation and guidance, others of which have steadily advanced into a position of more assured prosperity and security. And in this connection, as a sort of preface to what follows, I quote from the Report of the Committee appointed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to consider matters affecting the position and administration of Church Funds in England, generally known as the Archbishops' Finance Committee. Early in its Report (on page 10) the Committee writes:--

"The objects, which as a result of prolonged and careful investigation and deliberation appear to us to be essential to the Church's life and welfare, and to which therefore must be given their true place as vital departments of the Church's work, are the following:--

"(1) Training of candidates for the ministry.

"(2) Maintenance of the ministry, clerical and lay.

"(3) Provision of pensions for the ordained and lay ministers of the Church.

"(4) Provision for Widows and Orphans of the clergy, and for clergy in temporary necessity.

"(5) Provision for the erection and repair of Church buildings, and for building loan funds.

"(6) Provision for the Religious education of the young.

"(7) Provision for the necessary expenses of organisation and machinery, Central as well as Diocesan."

It will be seen in this and other chapters of this book that the Jamaica Church has been for some years endeavouring to satisfy all these essentials. I will in this chapter refer mainly to those institutions and societies which present annual reports to Synod and may rightly be styled Diocesan.

Home Mission Work.--Mention has already been made of the formation in 1861 of the Jamaica Home and Foreign Missionary Society, and of the gradual extension of its operations. In 1911 it celebrated its Jubilee, when commemorative services were held in every church and mission station in the Diocese. The number of stations at the present date is 122, showing an average numerical increase of three per annum during Archbishop Nuttall's episcopate. Anything approaching so rapid an increase in the near future is very unlikely, for there are few settled districts in the Island so remote and isolated as not to be within reach either of church or mission station. But there is still much unoccupied land with a rich soil and great capacities for cultivation; and with the keen and more intelligent interest now being taken in agriculture and fruit-growing it is impossible to say that no extension of the Society's work may be called for. If such extension should be necessary, there is in the Missionary Society an organisation, with gathered experience, both able and willing to meet such a demand. The Official Returns published in the last Synod Journal show that, with few exceptions, every church has connected with it two, and in many cases three or four, mission stations. The numbers of registered members is 8,221 and there are 9,209 children in attendance at the day schools, and 11,519 on the Sunday school books, with 507 Sunday school teachers. These figures may not to some people seem large, but they are very considerable and important and encouraging when we bear in mind that they represent a part of the result of Christian effort among people scattered in out-of-the-way places, often difficult of access, which without the Society's aid would be practically beyond the reach of central parochial ministrations. They mean literally Church Extension towards the outside in districts remote from the Mother Church of a parish. By no other agency could the Church meet the needs of a quickly growing population or the requirements created by the migrations of people seeking a home in some newly opened or partially settled district.

Each mission station is under the direction of the clergyman in charge of the parish, who receives a small remuneration, barely sufficient, in many cases, to exceed the cost of travelling expenses. As a general rule the catechist is also the schoolmaster of the elementary school conducted at the station, his small pay as catechist being supplementary to his income as teacher. One used to hear a good deal of unfavourable, not to say unfriendly, criticism on schoolmasters being allowed to undertake catechetical duty. If their attention to Church duties injured their day school teaching, there might be some good ground for this criticism, but that would soon be discovered at the official inspection of their schools, and a deficiency in teaching would result in a falling off of marks, and consequently a reduction of income and possibly dismissal from the teacher-ship. Experience, however, shows that good teachers are generally serviceable and diligent catechists, and vice versa. No teacher is under any compulsion to do catechetical work, nor on the other hand is there anything to prevent a clergyman seeking the services of a man capable of fulfilling the combined duties of teacher and catechist. We cannot dictate to a teacher how he shall spend his leisure time on Sundays and on week-days after school hours, and there can reasonably be no more objection to his spending a part of his Sunday in Christian work than there is to his cultivating the garden or provision ground attached to his house in his week-day leisure time after his school duties have ceased. The Church in Jamaica is indeed under great obligations to these men. Taken in many cases from the same social status as those amongst whom they are appointed to minister, living on an income little, if at all, in excess of that of a small settler or an industrious artisan, they are able to show how the influences of Christianity can be brought to bear on the actual, practical life of the poor. Since the above was written I have received a copy of a sermon preached by the Archbishop at one of the Society's Jubilee Services, from which I extract the following passage:

"The combination of the work of Catechist with that of schoolmaster is sometimes spoken of with scornful criticism by persons who know little or nothing of the real facts. The truth is that, as in other Denominations, so in the case of our Church, this combination has been a source of great strength to education and to religion, especially in some of the remote places where clerical visits cannot be very frequent or clerical oversight very vigorous. Strengthened by funds collected to aid the work in such districts and also by the visits of the Superintending Clergyman the schoolmaster-Catechist has been an influential person in these remote places: and there have been many really good earnest men engaged in this work. The teacher's work among the children during the week-days has given him an influence with the parents which otherwise he would not have possessed. His work of visitation of sick or careless members of his Church or Mission has strengthened his school work and helped him to secure and utilise opportunities of looking after careless children and stimulating regular attendance at school. His work on Sundays at Church and Sunday School has further added to his influence and the beneficent results of his efforts." The services and meetings at these mission stations are held in the schoolrooms. These buildings are the property of the Church and, though simple and unpretentious enough, are in appearance and suitability an immense improvement on their predecessors of thirty years ago. Some of them are entirely new; the majority have been enlarged or restored. In some cases the work of rebuilding or of renovation has been helped (for school purposes) by a Government building grant, no part of which can be received until a sum of money equal to the part claimed has been locally raised and spent on the building: in cases of new buildings theS.P.C.K. (for Church purposes) has assisted by a grant-in-aid, which cannot be paid until, in accordance with an excellent rule of the Society, the Archbishop certifies that, on receipt of the grant, the building will be both complete and free from debt. In every case a large part of the cost of building, enlargement, or restoration has been met by the unpaid labour or gifts of materials or money contributions by members of the station.

Nearly all the new mission stations mentioned above are in country districts, and are necessary to meet both the increase and the dispersion of the people. In the meanwhile the population of Kingston increased since 1881 more rapidly than that of any country parish, namely, at the rate of nearly 1,000 persons a year. The Church accommodation, barely sufficient for Church members, was plainly quite inadequate to meet fresh requirements. In Kingston, too, there had been a steady migration from the town to newly-opened suburbs, access to which was to be had by tram-car. The principal churches were well attended and the Parish Church had been considerably enlarged. The time, it is true, was not propitious for incurring any great expenditure, but something had to be done. Accordingly, in 1892, the Archbishop started a bold movement of faith and hope for increasing the number of Churches and Mission chapels in Kingston and its suburbs. This was known as "The Kingston Church and School Extension Fund." The response to the Archbishop's appeal, which did not err in the direction of excess, failed to discourage him, and two churches and three mission chapels were built. Plans were formed for gradually meeting the cost of the erection of these buildings. These plans need not be related here, for they were completely upset by the wrecking disaster of January, 1907. The churches and schools have all been rebuilt; the two churches have been consecrated and their districts form independent parishes.

An important step, which has already had a very beneficial influence on the well-being of the Missionary Society, was taken by the Synod of 1905, when the Rev. Canon Harty was appointed organising secretary.

East Indian Immigrants.--Evangelistic work among East Indian immigrants has never been so pressing a problem in Jamaica as in other dioceses, e.g., Trinidad, where they are present in much greater numbers. They were first brought to Jamaica in the year 1845, eight years after Emancipation. Many of the freed negroes preferred to cultivate their own "provision ground," others preferred to do nothing rather than continue in the paid service of their former owners. Thus there was created a demand for additional labour, mainly on sugar estates, which at that time represented a more profitable industry than in subsequent years. Referring to the 1912 Jamaica Handbook, we find that there are now 2,892 East Indians serving under indenture, and 12,523 who have completed both their indentures and a ten years' residence. Many of the last-named have definitely settled in Jamaica in preference to returning home. The material welfare of these alien people is carefully looked after by a Government Department. The organisation of mission work among them was no easy task. Their various languages and dialects formed one difficulty; differences of creed and delicate questions of caste had to be taken into account; very few showed any real interest in their religious welfare; the Church was established and not missionary. It was not till the year 1870 that a tentative beginning of mission work was made among East Indians, in the parish of Clarendon, by the late Bishop Douèt and the late Archdeacon Downer. In a few years the work was stopped for want of qualified agents. An attempt was made to secure from the C.M.S. the services of men who had had experience in India. The attempt failed, as did other appeals. Perhaps the mission in Jamaica was too small when contrasted with the millions in India. And yet there is reason to believe that, though not on any Society's list of missionaries, some East Indians who returned home on the completion of their indentures are bearing testimony among their own countrymen in their native land to the Christian truths which they were taught in Jamaica.

For some years little systematic work was done, though its necessity was not lost sight of, until, in 1894, when the income of the Jamaica Missionary Society justified it, a grant was made sufficient to secure the services of an East Indian catechist. From that date until now the East Indian Mission has been a recognised part of the Society's work; several special catechists are employed, and plans are being matured for further extension. It has to be admitted that the actual number of converts is small and that, if progress is to be judged by statistics, it has been slow, but if it be judged by influence exercised, and by interest created, and by a growing desire for instruction among the immigrants, it has been considerable. Few ways, more pleasant or more profitable, could be found in which a missionary from India could spend a part of his furlough than in paying a visit to Jamaica, where he could stimulate and encourage the work among the East Indian immigrants.

The Mosquito Indians.--The intention to extend the Missionary Society's operations to the Mosquito Indians on the coast of Central America was never given effect to. Everything cannot be done at once. More urgent work at home and in the Pongas Mission crippled the possibilities of carrying out the rather ambitious programme which the Society had in mind when it began its career. Happily other developments have made it unnecessary for any organised attempt to be made to minister from Jamaica to the Mosquito Indians, as their territory is now included in that under the episcopal care of the Bishop of Honduras.

Chinese Immigrants.--Under the Immigration Law of the Colony, 1,152 Chinese have been landed in Jamaica, the last to arrive being as far back as 1884: they all completed their indentures many years ago and, beyond a few who returned to their native land, are absorbed in the ordinary population of the Island, though most of them retain their own habits and dress and religion. Mission work among them, where it has existed, has been a part of parochial work. They had a place of worship in Kingston, where their own religious rites were celebrated, which was destroyed by the earthquake of 1907. Some Chinese converts have for several years been regular members of the Kingston Parish Church, and the present rector, the Rev. R. J. Ripley, has taken up work among them very keenly. Here, as in the case of the East Indians, the language was a great difficulty. Lately, however, Mr. Ripley has succeeded in securing the help of a Chinese Christian to act as interpreter, and has also completed arrangements for having regular services held every Sunday in one of the mission stations connected with the Parish Church. A goodly number of the Chinese in Kingston appreciate these efforts, and there are hopes of a successful mission being carried on among them. The next generation of Chinese in Jamaica will in all likelihood--as has happened elsewhere in the West Indies--be English-speaking and thus one great obstacle in the way of their evangelisation will be removed.

The Syrians in Jamaica.--Though of a fraternal and not of a missionary character, mention may appropriately be made here of another interesting feature which has recently been added to the many good works of the Kingston Parish Church. There are in Jamaica, sojourning for business purposes, more than a hundred Syrian Christians, members of the Orthodox Greek Church. A majority of these live in Kingston. They have no place of worship of their own and no resident minister of their own Church. For some years past they have been expressing their wish that something might be done for their spiritual welfare and were advised by the Bishop (Greek) of Brooklyn, U.S.A., to avail themselves, if possible, of "the good services of the Episcopalian priests as they are the most friendly to our Orthodox faith." As a consequence of this and of other communications, the Rev. R. J. Ripley invited in July, 1909, the members of the Syrian community in Kingston to meet the Archbishop. An address presented by the Syrians to the Archbishop stated that "nothing would give us greater satisfaction than to worship with our brethren in the Anglican Communion," The Archbishop's reply is thus summarised in the "Jamaica Churchman":--

"It is to me a very interesting opportunity of meeting fellow Christians belonging to the Greek Church--Syrians who have come to settle in Jamaica and to make it their home. I have had some acquaintance with some of your Bishops and in common with all the leaders of our Church. I have a strong wish and hope to see unity between the Greek and Anglican Churches. I am glad to be associated with Mr. Ripley in this good work, and I trust that we may be of real use to you in extending to you the privileges of Christian worship and fellowship and affording you opportunities of service and instruction. Mr. Ripley will tell you of such opportunities as he may be able to make for the better education of your children, and I know that you may confidently apply to any of our Clergy to support you in your endeavours in this direction. I fully recognise the great part that the Greek Church, with its various branches, has played in the history of Christendom, and I am especially glad to know that while here on business you do not wish to forget your God and Saviour or to be shut out altogether from these privileges which as members of the great Christian family we all enjoy."

Mr. Ripley promised that one of the mission churches associated with the Parish Church should be at the disposal of the Syrians at certain times when services could be held in their own language and in accordance with their own ritual, and also that he would hold a special service of recognition in the building then being used as the Parish Church at which those Syrians who desired could be received into the congregation. [The Parish Church was then in course of re-erection after the earthquake destruction.] This service was duly held and since then Syrians have been regular worshippers both at the Parish Church and at the Mission Church allotted to their use. A year later the ties of fellowship were drawn closer when Father Antonio Michael, a Syrian priest of the Orthodox Greek Church, acting under authority from the Patriarch of Antioch, visited his countrymen scattered throughout the West Indian Islands. When in Jamaica, with the hearty approval of the Archbishop and Diocesan Council, he administered the Holy Communion in the Kingston Parish Church to his fellow-Christians at a service conducted in Arabic with the ceremonials and rites of the Greek Church. At the close of this interesting service Father Antonio Michael commended the Syrians in Kingston to the pastoral care of the Rector. Thus was taken a distinct step in the direction of Christian Unity, which the Archbishop has so deeply at heart, and to foster which so much is spoken and, as the impatient think, so little is done.

The West Indian African Mission.--In its original Charter it was stated that the second purpose of the Society was the Evangelisation of that portion of West Africa bordering on the Rio Pongo. The Mission was for many years known as the Pongas Mission and is generally so-called now, though its correct title is the West Indian African Mission. The site of the Mission is about 100 miles to the North of Sierra Leone, and in territory on the mainland between the Rivers Nunez and Dubrika, and includes a group of Islands, called the Isles do Los, a corruption of the old Portuguese name Yolas de los Idolos, or Islands of Idols. The district was a favourite hunting ground of the old slave raiders, and the ancestors of many West Indians were stolen and deported from there. The idea of a West Indian Mission to West Africa had suggested itself rather vaguely to Archdeacon Trew, of the Bahamas, and to Bishop Parry, of Barbados; but it remained for the Rev. R. Rawle, principal of Codrington College (afterwards Bishop of Trinidad) to throw himself energetically and heartily into giving effect to his grand conception that as the ancestors of the West Indian population of African descent had been brought as slaves from West Africa, so their descendants should return there and preach the Gospel which they had learnt in the islands of their captivity. Mr. Rawle formulated his plans in 1851, and three years later the first two missionaries to the Pongas left Barbados.

The early--and indeed the later--history of this Mission is extremely interesting, but this is hardly the place in which to relate it in full. We have to do with Jamaica's share in it. At the beginning the Jamaica Church seems to have looked on rather coldly and unsympathetically: as we have seen, there was great need for missionary work much nearer home than West Africa. The Mission was regarded as a Barbados movement with Codrington College as its basis of operations and Mr. Rawle as its leader. There were no old Codringtonians in the island at that time, and Jamaica's active interest in the Pongas Mission dates from the formation of the Jamaica Home and Foreign Missionary Society. In addition to private donations and subscriptions of no great amount, the Missionary Society was a regular contributor to the Pongas Mission from 1861 to 1869. Then came disendowment and the demands of the voluntary Church, and for some years the purse of the Society was perforce closed to West Africa. For the next twenty years help could only be given by the struggling Church occasionally and fitfully. Since 1889, in spite of hard times and frequent depression, the Society has been able every year (with one exception) to forward a varying contribution. Nor in making the Pongas its special mission was the Jamaica Church forgetful of the C.M.S. and S.P.G., which in days gone by had been such helpful friends. It was decided some years ago that one-tenth of the amount annually received for the general purposes of the Society should be appropriated to Foreign Missions in the following proportions: five-sevenths to the Pongas, and one-seventh each to the C.M.S. and S.P.G.

In 1892 a further advance was made which linked Jamaica to the Pongas Mission more closely than any contributions in money could do, namely, the selection and training of two Jamaica catechists for educational and ministerial work in the Pongas. After preliminary training in Jamaica, they completed their course at Codrington and joined the Pongas Mission. One of them withdrew and the other, the Rev. W. A. Burris, after nine years' diligent service, has recently spent his first furlough in Jamaica, and by addresses and sermons has stirred up much keen interest in the Pongas Mission. The Mission, interesting as it is, is little known in England: in fact, Mr. Rawle from the first intended it to be distinctly a West Indian Mission. Speaking about it at a meeting at home he said:--

"Let it be well understood that it is to be a West Indian work in respect of origin, motive, and machinery; whatever help may be obtained from other quarters, the main labour and cost will rest with that colonial branch of our Church. It must be the joint act oi all our congregations there; it must be planned and appointed by the West Indian Bishops and carried on (independently of Societies here) on a system and by instruments on which they shall agree."

But the sixty years that have passed have brought with them changes, which Mr. Rawle in his sanguine zeal could not be expected to foresee. Agricultural and commercial conditions then were very different from what they are now. And also when he spoke, the West Indian Dioceses were liberally maintained by the State; now, with the exception of Barbados, they are either self-dependent or slightly subsidised under some form of concurrent endowment. And if Barbados does not, as it did in Mr. Rawle's time, almost carry the Mission on its own shoulders, it must in fairness be remembered that Barbados, though a distinct Diocese, takes on itself much responsibility for the up-keep of the poor and portionless neighbouring Diocese of the Windward Islands, which is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Barbados. When the Mission could not be maintained entirely by West Indian Dioceses, S.P.G. came to the rescue with a sufficient annual grant, and a few branch committees have been at work in England, of which that at Clifton is the most prominent and the most helpful. The control of the Mission is now in the hands of an English Committee (of which Dr. H. J. Wolseley is chairman) in consultation to the Barbados Board and the Bishop of Sierra Leone.

A visit in 1908 to the West Indies by the Rev. A. H. Barrow, for many years Honorary Secretary to the English Committee, did much to increase the local interest in the Mission in the Dioceses which he was able to visit. As far as Jamaica is concerned the efforts of Mr. Barrow and Mr. Burris have already borne fruit; and with a wider knowledge of the work being done and of that yet remaining unattempted, more desire and willingness to help the Pongas Mission exist than have been shown for many years past. There are many old West Indians at home and others interested both in the West Indies and in West Africa who, if they knew of the Mission, would be glad to help; as things are, the Mission is almost lost in the overwhelming records published in S.P.G.'s Annual Reports, and few people could find the Pongas country in an Atlas without the aid of the index of names of places.

A further connection exists between Jamaica and West Africa. The Bishop (Dr. Ingham) of Sierra Leone visited Jamaica in 1895, and it occurred to him that young Jamaicans might be trained, or partially trained, there for educational and missionary work in West Africa under the C.M.S. A visit in 1896 by the Bishop (Tugwell) of Western Equatorial Africa and by the Rev. D. H. D. Wilkinson (of the C.M.S. Secretarial Staff), provided opportunities for maturing Bishop Ingham's suggestion. Accordingly plans were formulated and, with variations, are still in existence, by which missionary candidates could take the two years normal course for students at the Mico College, and take a part, or the whole, of a third year at the Theological College, getting at the same time, when possible, training in dispensing at the Public Hospital, and instruction in the art of practical building. The ordinary number of such students is four, and their expenses are met by the generosity of members of the Buxton family, who are interested both in the C.M.S. and in the Mico College. Ten of these missionaries thus trained are at the present time at work in West Africa, principally in Northern and Southern Nigeria. Unhappily the prospective supply of capable and qualified men is largely in advance of the demand for their services, the C.M.S., while extending its labours in other directions and maintaining its existing work in West Africa, not being in a financial position to justify its sending out new missionaries. This will be rectified in time, but in the meanwhile several men who are fit and ready and eager for African service have had to find other employment in Jamaica.

Theological College.--For some years before Bishop Nuttall's consecration the question of the training of candidates for Ordination had been becoming more and more urgent. Years ago clergy had been sent out from England, licensed and authorised by the Bishop of London. The remuneration in those days was ample, the privileges were considerable, the work almost optional and at the best little more than nominal; and apparently there was not much difficulty in obtaining a numerically sufficient supply. From the arrival of Bishop Lipscomb until the disestablishment of the Church the standard of attainment required for Ordination had been gradually raised, and an attempt had been made to found a Bishop's College under the direction of Bishop Spencer, and under the charge, as Principal, first of the Rev. W. Handfield, and subsequently of the Rev. Dr. Bradshaw. In the early days of uncertainty after 1870, when the exigencies of the Diocese seemed to demand that vacant cures must be filled in order that congregations might not be deprived of ministerial services, it is quite possible that in the choice of clergy regard was had in some cases to moral fitness and general good character, quite apart from other considerations. At that time there was naturally some difficulty in getting a supply of men from England. Prospects were doubtful; the future was uncertain. Except for the call of duty and the pleasure of work, there was little to attract men to Jamaica. It was outside the range and protection of the great Home Missionary Societies. It was a missionary field without the romance of missions; there were no savages, no cannibals, no new language to learn; the Colony was becoming so Anglicised that few new habits had to be acquired or old habits shaken off.

From 1874 to 1882, under the direction of the Rev. C. F. (afterwards Bishop) Douèt, special training was given at Spanish Town to candidates for Ordination, some of whom proceeded to Canada, some to Codrington College, Barbados, for final preparation. But these were few in number. From Dr. Bindley's recently published "Annals of Codrington College" I find that between 1830 and 1909 there were only twelve Jamaicans educated at Codrington, some of whom (in later years) were able to go as holders of the West Indian Diocesan Scholarship, jointly given by S.P.C.K. and S.P.G. In this year's Jamaica Clergy List appear the names of six Codring-tonians, four of whom are Jamaicans by birth. But the distance (1,000 miles) between Barbados and Jamaica, the expense of the voyage, the cost of maintenance during vacations, combined with other circumstances, make it impossible for Jamaica to take that advantage of Cod-rington which other Dioceses nearer to Barbados have been able to do to their great benefit. To the above may be added Bishop Nuttall's strong desire that candidates for Ordination should, as far as possible, be under his personal supervision, and also that they should have some practical training and experience in the working of a Voluntary Church on the lines laid down in the Jamaica Canons: this latter could not be included in the Codrington curriculum, as the Barbados Church is still supported by the State.

Accordingly, one of the first endeavours of Bishop Nuttall after his consecration was to consolidate and develope the efforts above referred to and to establish a Diocesan College. He set to work and began in January, 1882, with such material as was then available, in a very unpretentious way, in some rooms in the courtyard of a building then used as the Principal's house of the Kingston Collegiate School. Shortly afterwards he obtained possession of the whole house, which was for some years the home of the College, then known by the more modest, and at that time certainly more appropriate, name of the Divinity School. In 1888 the work of the College was transferred to the Bishop's Lodge, where it was continued until its present substantial and suitable buildings were erected and opened for use in 1893, on the eastern portion of the Bishop's Lodge grounds. In this work the Bishop was largely helped by friends in England, and most especially by munificent gifts from the late Dowager Countess Howard de Walden, by means of whose generous help the buildings were so near completion that the Bishop was in a position to comply with the conditions enabling him to receive and use a grant of £1,000 from the Marriott bequest in the year 1897. The College Endowment Fund of £9,000 is one of the several permanent memorials of Lady Howard de Walden's interest in the Jamaica Church.

So much for the building. And with gradually growing conveniences and financial possibilities the work of the College has also grown. At the beginning the teaching was mainly that of preparing students for the Bishop's Ordination examinations, which for range of subjects and required standard of efficiency were those of any English Diocese in which Hebrew is not a compulsory subject. These examinations were conducted by the. Bishop's Examining Chaplains. In 1888 the Bishop was able to make an arrangement with the University of Durham, by which an outside test of the efficiency of the work was obtainable, that University undertaking the annual examination of College students on subjects required for the Durham Intermediate B.A. or L.Th. degree. The examinations were held at the College and the answers returned unread to the English examiners. A few years later a further advance was made, and the College was added to the list of those Theological Colleges the students of which, having satisfied certain requirements, are admitted to residence at Durham for three terms with a view of their taking the B.A., degree. The concession of this privilege, while accepted as an indication that the University recognised the status of the College and the value of the teaching therein given, was not really of much practical benefit. Advantage of it was taken by one, and only one, student. The expenses of the journey to and from Durham, the finding of College fees and other necessary charges during a three terms' residence were far beyond what an average young clergyman in Jamaica, with his limited means, could be expected to provide, even by the strictest economy; besides which, after some years of the wear and tear of a busy life in the tropics it is wiser to spend leave of absence in rest and recreation than in keeping terms and studying for a University degree. In the year 1910 the Durham authorities agreed that students in associated colleges such as that in Jamaica, might sit locally for the examinations required for the License in Theology, the questions being sent from Durham and the answers returned there. Writing of the affiliation of Codrington College to Durham, Dr. Bindley says that "by this delightful connection Codrington may be said to touch hands with St. Cuth-bert across the centuries and a West Indian College to claim an academic kinship with the schools of Melrose and Lindisfarne, of Jarrow and of Wear." In its teaching and endeavours the Jamaica College aspires to claim a similar kinship with Lightfoot and Westcott and Moule. Besides this connection with Durham, students may, at their option, be prepared for the London B.A.; and the College has quite recently been affiliated to the University of King's College, Windsor, Nova Scotia.

In addition to the endowment created by Lady Howard de Walden, annual contributions towards the upkeep of the College are given by the Taylor Trustees and for a considerable time by the executors of the late Mr. J. J. Cator, and in recent years by his son, Mr. J. J. Cator. The S.P.C.K. helps by way of scholarships, open to students born in Jamaica, and two years ago two scholarships were founded, one by the Coadjutor Bishop undertaking to secure £40 per annum for a Scholarship open to boys educated at any of the High Schools in Jamaica; and the other by an anonymous Jamaican friend of the Archbishop, who gave the sum of £1,100 to endow a scholarship, to be called the "Middlesex Scholarship."

The teaching staff of the College, which is necessarily limited by the available income, is aided by lectures given from time to time by the Archbishop, the Coadjutor Bishop, some of the more experienced clergy stationed near Kingston, and by several capable laymen; the subjects of these lectures include Education, Church History, Pastoral Work, English Literature, Church Music, Book-keeping, with special reference to the keeping of Church accounts as required by Synod, according to regulations laid down in the Appendix to the Canons. To the above must be added that definite parochial work is assigned to each student at one or other of the churches and mission stations in or near Kingston, under the direction of the clergyman in charge.

Another branch of the College work is the training in theological studies of the C.M.S. students preparing for missionary work in West Africa (see p. 150). Arrangements are also made under which catechists and evangelists come up in groups for short periods of residence in the College for special instruction in matters relating to their several duties.

The Theological College--the institution, not the building--has now been in existence for nearly thirty years, and more than half the clergy licensed in the Diocese have passed through its curriculum. The buildings suffered considerably from the earthquake of 1907 and are now restored.

The Brotherhood of St. Andrew.--From the early days when the C.M.S. sent its first lay missionary to Jamaica, and when some earnest planters were giving their slaves instruction in Christian truths, the services of laymen have been a notable feature in Jamaica Church life. There has been a remarkable growth of this lay work during the last thirty years. It has been the aim of the Archbishop not merely to avail himself on behalf of the Church of the good intentions of lay teachers but to build up their capacity for teaching and to make them more efficient Church workers. One of his first efforts in this direction was the institution of an annual examination for Catechists on such subjects as Scripture Knowledge, Church History, the Book of Common Prayer, and Christian Evidences. Thus, as the number of mission stations increased, so were more capable men found ready for the work. Very quickly other lay agencies arose as circumstances demanded: such as the Jamaica Church Army, and the later and more successful methods indicated by the names of the workers, as lay evangelists and colporteurs. This variety of service pointed to the need for some central organisation in which might be incorporated the different sections of the work of faithful laymen. Accordingly, at a Synod held at Montego Bay in 1896, it was agreed that the Brotherhood of St. Andrew should be introduced into the Diocese as the centre of lay work. The Brotherhood was founded in the United States by the late James L. Houghteling, of Chicago, and had for its object the banding together of Christian laymen to win, mainly by individual effort, men and boys to the Church and to the active service of the Lord Christ. Its constitution is such that it readily supplied what was needed to draw together into one Association the various branches of lay work in the Jamaica Church.

The Brotherhood, besides local Chapters attached to congregations, has three Diocesan Chapters:--

(1) The Evangelists' Chapter.--This Chapter not only aims at the carrying out of the Rules of the Brotherhood, but its special object is that of taking the Gospel into neglected and needy districts by the agency of trained Evangelists and colporteurs, and by conducting ordinary parochial missions by recognised missioners; thus taking over and extending the work formerly done under the auspices of the Jamaica Church Army. Arrangements are made for the training of Evangelists at the Theological College. There are in 1912 eleven Evangelists.

(2) The Lay Readers' Chapter.--Lay readers--often men occupying a prominent position in the Island--give voluntary service to the Church. They are licensed by the Bishop to perform, under the direction of their superintending clergyman, the following duties:

(1) To read Morning Prayer and the Litany, and Evening Prayer and the Holy Scriptures, as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer of the Churchof England.

(2) To catechise and read printed sermons, homilies and other religious discourses during the time of Divine Service in any consecrated or licensed building as the superintending clergyman may direct.

(3) To teach and instruct children and adults in the principles of the Christian religion, according to the tenets of the Church of England, at such times and in such manner as the superintending clergyman may direct.

(4) To preach, if their license contains a special provision to that effect.

(5) To read, as occasion may require, the Service for the Burial of the Dead.

The number of members in the year 1912 of the Lay Readers' Chapter was 171, who are classified as probationers, licensed lay readers, and licensed lay preachers. The last named have the Bishop's sanction to preach sermons of their own composition; and many lay sermons are preached in Jamaica which not a few clergy would be glad, as they certainly ought to be glad, if they could be credited with the authorship of such well-prepared and excellent addresses.

(3) The Catechists' Chapter.--The members of this Chapter are the catechists of the Diocese, 107 of whom are employed by the Jamaica Home and Foreign Missionary Society, and 65 of whom are known as Diocesan catechists, being in charge of mission stations, connected with certain churches and not on the Missionary Society's list. Most of these catechists are teachers of elementary schools, and in some instances receive some slight remuneration (over and above their school income) from either the Missionary Society or the Financial Board; a few, who receive no remuneration, are known as voluntary catechists. The work of the catechists has been more fitly referred to under the section dealing with the missionary work of the Church.

These three diocesan chapters represent centralisation and organisation of work previously going on, which would have gone on without the Brotherhood. But the main work of the Brotherhood is done in the parochial chapters, the number of which is now 80 senior and 13 junior, with memberships respectively of 1,175 and 125. The members of the parochial chapters strive to bring men and boys to Divine Service or to Sunday school, encourage them to pray, to read the Bible, to attend Bible classes, are a constant living protest against wrong doing and in a quiet and unpretentious way proclaim by teaching and example the Gospel of the Lord Christ. In proof of the usefulness and energetic influence of the parochial chapters may be mentioned the increased attendance of men and boys at church and school in parishes where a working chapter exists, and also the increasing number of young men and boys who offer themselves as candidates for confirmation.

Another noteworthy feature about the Brotherhood is that in parishes where a chapter has been formed, and has been diligently and sympathetically working, it is found to be so necessary a part of parochial machinery that it has seldom been closed for lack of interest or enthusiasm.

An annual Convention of the Brotherhood is held in Spanish Town, which is increasingly well attended and always enjoyed. Part of the time of the Convention is allotted to business, and part to devotional services, practical addresses and social intercourse amongst men who, except on occasions of this sort, have few opportunities of meeting. Local assemblies of parochial chapters are also held from time to time. As intimated before, the Brotherhood of St. Andrew did not originate lay work in Jamaica: it found it there and absorbed it and strengthened it, and has been the means of drawing Church laymen together in harmony and Christian fellowship, encouraging one another, helping one another and thereby helping many others and bringing them into personal communion with the Church.

While the Brotherhood is naturally desirous that a chapter should be established in connection with every church and mission station in the Diocese, the formation of a new chapter is quite optional. In some parishes there are branches of the Church of England Men's Society, in others similar work to that of the Brotherhood is being done through some parochial organisation of long standing and proved efficiency. Here and there, maybe, the help of the layman is not valued or appreciated as it should be. But one great fact stands clearly out which is that it would be impossible to carry on the Church's work, especially in country districts with a scattered population, without the large amount of lay help which is such a distinctive feature of Jamaica Church life. The extent, indeed, to which the work of the Church is thus aided and strengthened may partly be realised when it is remembered that Divine Service is held simultaneously every Sunday in 300 places of worship, such services in two cases out of three being conducted by laymen.

The work of laymen in Jamaica is by no means confined or limited to the ministerial and parochial work mentioned under the various sections of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, as sketched above. The duties of churchwardens and members of parochial councils and church committees are anything but nominal: the lay members of Synod take an active and useful part in its deliberations, and have often been the originators of valuable suggestions, which are now incorporated in the Canons of the Church. And beyond these, and sometimes including these, there has never failed a supply of good men and true, men of ability and of judgment, who, in the prominent positions of members of the Incorporated Lay Body, of the Diocesan Council and Financial Board, and the Business Referees of the Church, have quietly and cheerfully and gladly helped the Church by their counsel and advice. Space and "time would fail to tell" of their names and services in the past forty years, but neither their names nor their services will readily be forgotten by the Jamaica Church, which has benefitted so much by their capacity and steadfastness and willing devotion.

The Deaconess Home.--The Deaconess Home is the centre for organised work among women and girls in the Diocese. Its short name very inadequately describes the many useful purposes which it accomplishes. The duties of a Deaconess are declared in Canon XXX. to be "the care of our Lord's poor and sick; the education of the young; the religious instruction (under control of the parish clergyman) of the neglected; the work of moral reformation; and duties of a kindred nature. It shall also be an especial part of the work of Deaconesses to become sponsors for illegitimate children and others needing especial care, and to be to them effectual spiritual guardians."

Nursing in Jamaica.--In addition to the parochial and benevolent duties enumerated above, the Deaconess Home was the first institution in Jamaica to attempt properly to train women to be nurses. This department of the Home has received much sympathy and encouragement from medical men, especially from the staff of the Public Hospital, where facilities are given for practical training and learning. It would be difficult to over-estimate the value of the work done by this nursing side of the Home, which has in a few years almost revolutionised the art of nursing in Jamaica. Towards the close of the year 1908 it was found possible to put into effect an idea which had for a long time occupied the thoughts of the Archbishop, namely, the establishment of a Nursing Hostel. This institution is situated at 116, East St., Kingston, and is worked under the direction and responsibility of the Archbishop and the Council of the Deaconess Home.

The object in view is to provide skilled and careful nursing for persons of various classes, whether inhabitants of Kingston, or residents in the country who come to Kingston for special medical or surgical treatment, and for English and other strangers who need medical treatment and careful nursing. The Hostel is intended to furnish these advantages under the most favourable conditions as to locality and accessibility to doctors and patients, and as to comfort and convenience, the rates being fixed as low as possible with due regard to the institution being efficient and self-supporting.

The Hostel is personally superintended by Sister Adelaide, M.R.B.N.A., of the Deaconess Home, who is a certificated nurse and a former sister of St. George's and Bethnal Green Hospitals, London.

There is an aseptic operation room with the latest surgical appliances. Patients are received on the recommendation of their own medical advisers, by whom they are attended, and with whom they make their own financial arrangements. [In the case of country patients they are attended by Kingston doctors recommended or selected by their local medical advisers.]

Terms for residents at the Hostel have to be arranged in each case, and are payable weekly in advance. They range from two guineas to five guineas a week, according to the kind and amount of accommodation and nursing required. Special terms are made for special cases.

So far the institution has amply justified its existence, and if the necessarily heavy initial expenses and cost of further developments (about £800), and the sum of £1,200 required to purchase the premises, could be provided without much further delay, it would be possible to maintain in efficiency and usefulness an institution whose value will be more and more appreciated as the years go by. An eloquent tribute to the worth of the institution, so ably managed by Sister Adelaide, is the use made of it by the doctors in Kingston.

The Archbishop has recently issued an appeal to those persons in Jamaica who ought to be able to respond: the result so far is, I understand, encouraging.

Other and not less important features of the work springing from this centre are the Deaconess Home Schools for Girls, of which there are twelve, either in Kingston or in other towns; and the Bookstall, begun chiefly through the suggestion and advice of Bishop Joscelyne, is under careful management disposing year by year of an increasing number of books, mainly of a devotional character. Of the other activities of the Home there seems to be no limit to the number and variety: they include temperance work, Sunday school teaching, Bible classes, prison visiting, mission services.

The Home itself is in Kingston, on the site of the building which was formerly the Theological College. It is said, and I have never heard it contradicted, that in former days these premises were used as a slave-market, to which captured Africans, who survived the voyage, were taken on their arrival for a short rest, and to be well fed and made ready to be disposed of either by private sale or by public auction. The old Home was seriously injured by the earthquake of 1907, and a few weeks after the earthquake a fire destroyed any hope of repairing the old building. New and more suitable buildings have since been erected.

An annual conference is held at the Home, at which papers are read dealing with some specially chosen religious subject, either devotional or practical. The annual Report is presented to the Synod for approval and printed in the Synod Journal.

The Deaconess Home has been particularly fortunate in having been from its beginning under the management and control of two devoted Mildmay sisters, Sister Isabel and Sister Madeline. Other societies having for their object Christian work among women, though not officially connected with the Home, find in it a convenient centre for annual and other meetings, such as the Mothers' Union and the Girls' Friendly Society. These meetings are frequently held at the time of the Annual Synod, and afford opportunities for circulating information and enlarging the operations of various branches of Christian work among women and girls.

Mothers' Union.---About the year 1890 a branch of the Mothers' Union was started as an offshoot of the Central Society in England. The late Archdeacon Ramson, with the ready concurrence of the Archbishop, was the first clergyman to introduce the work of the Union into his parish. It may be of interest in Jamaica to note that Bishop Douèt was consecrated in Westminster Abbey together with Bishop Sumner, the husband of the foundress of the Mothers' Union. There are now 20 branches of the Union in Jamaica with a membership of more than 700. With so many calls on their time and so little time for their calls, many clergymen have not seen their way to incorporate this useful institution into the rest of their parochial machinery. But the number of Branches is slowly increasing, the influence of the Union is being more widespread, and in parishes where it is established and encouraged there is no doubt of its power for good in conditions where it is perhaps more needed than in England. The movement has taken root and is growing.

The Girls' Friendly Society.--The work of the G.F.S. was brought before the notice of a small gathering of clergy by the Archbishop at Bishop's Lodge towards the end of the year 1905, and opportunity was taken at the same time of a visit paid to the Island by Miss Brewin (Working Associate of the Twickenham Branch), who was good enough to address meetings and explain the methods of the Society's work. It was thought desirable in the first place to start the Society among the students of the upper and middle class girls' schools, and more particularly of the Deaconess Home Schools. Certain peculiar difficulties, which do not exist in England, are being overcome, and already there are a large number of young girls enrolled as candidates, and teachers admitted as associates. The results obtained in a few years are both gratifying and encouraging.

Widows' and Orphans' and Clergy Pensions Funds.--The accounts of these funds are kept in the books of the Financial Board, and the management and control are under the personal care of the Hon. Sec. the Ven. Archdeacon Simms, to whom the Diocese is under deep obligation for his wise and unceasing supervision of these funds. The inherent risks and anxieties attending the creation of such funds as these were safely and happily tided over, there having been few claims either for annuities or for pensions until the funds had reached a condition of stability.

The Widows' and Orphans' Fund is on a contributory basis, abatements being made from the monthly stipends of clergy, and is partly supported by one-half of proceeds of a yearly offertory which should, according to Canon, be given at every church and mission station in the Diocese to this and the Clergy Pensions Fund. Donations and bequests may be, but seldom are, made: if made, they would be welcomed and gratefully appreciated: up to date there has been only one donation and no bequest. The Fund has also, through a kindly decision of the Government, the reversionary interest in the Rectors' and the Island Curates' Funds of the old State-supported Church. In the natural course of things many years must elapse before anything can be realised from this source, and the amount to be received is problematical, but is not likely to be very great. It would occupy many pages of this little book if I were to relate all the details and conditions of the management of the Widows' and Orphans' Fund. It must suffice to say that, while the abatements are small, the advantages relatively are considerable and that it is practically a purely business fund dependent upon sound arrangements as to the disposal of the contributors' money. The last quinquennial valuation by the Actuary (Mr. T. E. Young, F.I.A.) revealed a condition of things so satisfactory that an increase was recommended--and authorised by Synod--both to the present and to prospective annuities.

The Clergy Pensions Fund differs from the Widows' and Orphans' Fund in that it is non-contributory on the part of the clergy. Its resources are (i) an annual contribution of not less than £100 from the Diocesan Expenses Fund; (2) any donations, bequests or collections specially made; (3) one-half of a yearly offertory to be given by every church and mission station in the Diocese for the Widows' and Orphans' and Clergy Pensions Funds. The amount of pension is decided every year by Synod, but it cannot at present exceed £2 for each year of service, and is fixed as near that sum as the Fund will allow. No pension shall be paid for less than ten years continuous service.

It is of course impossible that a Fund so maintained can offer its advantages to all clergy, irrespective of other circumstances. A Fund entirely contributory, or with compulsory contributions, would give a clergyman on his retirement an automatic right to a pension; but beginning as this Fund necessarily did with few contributors nothing short of prohibitory annual abatements from small stipends could have prevented its being swamped in its opening career if there had been heavy demands on it. Accordingly the Canon decrees that:

"No clergyman who has retired from the Diocese and has been granted a pension shall be entitled to receive any portion of the pension if from any other source he be in receipt of an income of £120 a year or upwards. If he be in receipt of an income which, with his pension, shall amount to £120 a year, or upwards, he shall only receive so much of his pension as shall make his income £120 a year."

That is to say, pensions are granted to those who really need them; not, however well deserved, to supplement an already sufficient, even though small, income from any other source. Moreover, other provisions are made in the Canon with the intention of safe-guarding the interests of prospective pensioners and of the Fund itself; The main points of these provisions are:--

(1) Whenever a clergyman, who is still in active service in the Diocese, has reached or passed the age of sixty-five years, he shall be entitled to retire and upon such retirement be entitled to a retiring allowance, according to the regulations for the time being in force.

(2) Whenever a clergyman, who has reached or passed the age of sixty-five, is, by the Bishop and joint resolution of the Diocesan Council and Diocesan Financial Board, declared superannuated, he shall be compulsorily retired, and upon such retirement shall be entitled to claim a retiring allowance according to such regulations as may for the time being be in force.

(3) A clergyman who has not reached the age of sixty-five may be compulsorily retired, under regulations laid down by Canon, for any of several reasons, such as want of harmony between himself and his congregation, or a diminution of congregation and especially of communicants: in such case he may be granted either a pension according to the rules in force at the time, or a compassionate allowance, the latter being subject to an annual vote of the Synod.

(4) If a clergyman should feel himself compelled to retire on the ground of ill-health after the completion of ten years' continuous service, he is entitled to claim a pension according to the regulations then in force if the necessity of his retirement be established on medical evidence to the satisfaction of the Bishop, or, under certain denned conditions, he may receive a compassionate allowance.

(5) If, after less than ten years completed service, a clergyman retires on account of ill-health, the Financial Board may--not must--pay him a gratuity not exceeding five pounds for each year of his service.

It will be seen from the above summarised regulations that the Fund is protected in the interests of the legitimate beneficiaries both from any premature and indefensible claim by a clergyman, and also from any unnecessary generosity on the part of its administrators.

One other point may without, I hope, giving offence, be alluded to in connection with the Widows' and Orphans' and Clergy Pensions Funds and that is the insufficient support they receive from churches and mission stations. The words of the Canons are explicit enough: they are, "one half"--not the whole--"of a yearly offertory from every church and mission station in the Diocese for the purpose of the Widows' and Orphans' and Clergy Pensions Funds." Nothing could be plainer than this. It is not optional: it is a canonical regulation. If the Canon is wrong in any way or is thought to inflict any kind of hardship it can be amended or repealed by Synod: if it is right, and so long as it is not repealed or modified, it ought to be obeyed. But, leaving on one side the ethical aspect of obedience to legislative authority, let us glance at another aspect of the matter, namely the result. In the 1911 Synod Journal it was reported that the contributions for the previous year from fifteen churches and mission stations amounted to between £16 and £17. If all the churches and all the mission stations had contributed in the same proportion the total would have exceeded £248 or £124 for each Fund. The sums received in the year mentioned were admittedly below the average of the previous five years, which amounted to nearly £25, or more than half as much again, bringing, if the Canons had been uniformly obeyed, the annual contributions up to more than £372 or £186 to each Fund. Of course the year in question was an exceptional year--a familiar expression both in Jamaica and in other places--but I venture to make the remark that, whe e finance is concerned, very few people are so old, or so inexperienced or so tenacious of memory as to be able to call to mind any year that was not exceptional. Now the Widows' and Orphans' Fund has been in existence for thirty years: Pensions date from 1886. If the canonical requirement had been generally complied with, it is not difficult to calculate to what a material extent each Fund would have profited and what increased benefits might now be given both to annuitants on one fund and to pensioners on the other. It is true that it may not always be easy for a diffident and sensitive clergyman to ask his congregation for a collection in the proceeds of which he is either directly or indirectly concerned. But this difficulty was met beforehand by the wording of the Canons. And after all it is a question which appeals to congregations quite as much as, if not more than, to clergy; for it must be painful to laymen to think that so slight a provision is made for the widows and orphans of clergy and for retired clergymen, who on small stipends have for years borne the brunt of heavy parochial duties and equally painful to think that they are deprived of the privilege, accorded to them by Canon, of helping to remedy a condition of things they deplore. It only remains here to emphasise the fact that, had the Canons been faithfully obeyed throughout the Diocese, the results would be seen to-day in increased annuities for widows and in the possibility for larger pensions for the clergy in their old age.

The Belmont Orphanage.--The Belmont Orphanage was started by the Archbishop in 1892, as a home and industrial school for destitute orphan children. Accommodation is found for twenty girls in buildings on a site adjoining that of the Archbishop's cottage home at Stony Hill. It is maintained in part by voluntary contributions and in part by a grant-in-aid from the Government under the Industrial Schools Law, but it owes much of its usefulness and success to the devoted and unceasing care of the Archbishop's daughter, whose official title of "Secretary and Resident Principal," give a very vague and insufficient idea of the amount of labour and affection and keen interest daily showered upon these happy children. They receive the ordinary infant school education and, when old enough, attend the day school attached to Stony Hill Church; they are also trained to become domestic servants and to be qualified (as far as their age will permit) for ordinary household duties required in Jamaica. The following extract from the 1910 Report gives us an idea of the varied character of the instruction given and the work done at the Orphanage, apart from religious training and secular education:--

"An approximate estimate of labour, exclusive of school and general housework is as follows:--41,808 articles washed; 4,149 Ibs. of brown and white bread made for sale and home use; 183 articles made in the sewing class, exclusive of weekly mending; 246 hats, baskets, brooms and mats made and sold; and 30,242 hours of work in th» field. . . . The field work includes weeding and keeping in order all the outside premises and gathering wood for kitchen, baking and laundry purposes. The girls work regularly every week in the field besides looking after the small stock--hares, donkey, goats and pigs--and gathering the large quantity of green food required for all these."

As must be expected in an institution of this sort the children on admission are usually very delicate and badly nurtured, and it says much for the patient and tender care and skilled medical attention which they receive when we learn that the Orphanage had been in existence nearly twenty years before death claimed one of its inmates.

Purity and Temperance Societies.--There are Diocesan Branches, recognised by the Synod, of the Church of England Temperance Society and of the Purity Society. Both of these branches present annual reports to Synod. Judging from these reports it does not appear that much is being done on the lines indicated in the regulations, though there are a few enthusiastic workers. But the truth is that very much of the work usually associated with these Societies falls under the care of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew or of some off-shoot of the Deaconess Home. Thus the annual reports, which are generally interesting and suggestive, by no means convey a complete idea of the work being done and the time spent in urging the practice of these essential Christian virtues.

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