Rev A Brandram No.40
Kingston 21st January 1835
My Dear Friend
I am no longer in Spanish Town, having returned to this city the other day. When I went to Spanish Town some time ago, I expected I should before this date have something more and better to say to you of our affairs there than I have yet written to you, or have now to write. Some of our hinderances you already know, and as you know something of the world, and something of the West Indies, you may suppose other hinderances over and above those I have mentioned. After the Council and Assembly were prorogued, I made some endeavours to get up a public meeting, but was obliged to desist. I requested the Governor to favour us with his presence at such a meeting, but he replied, that, "much as he felt interested in the object which I had in view, he had most particular reasons for wishing not to preside at a public meeting." I hardly wonder that he came to this conclusion, however much I regretted it, for his path as a governor among us is not without its difficulties. Another hinderance followed immediately on this, which was, that both the Wesleyan and the Baptist missionaries had to leave Spanish Town to attend conferences held of each of their bodies in other parts of the island.
My time and my attention in Spanish Town continued to be given to the formation of the Bible Association I before spoke of; and though no great results were produced nevertheless so much as done as to let us see what fruits we might expect by properly cultivating the Bible Association field in that quarter. Mrs Thomson and myself visited a considerable number of houses, and saw with our own eyes, and heard with our own ears, specimens of our poor in that place, and also of some of the better classes. We were uniformly well received, our object met with a favourable hearing, and was readily entered into by a very encouraging proportion of those whom we visited. Our next object was to enlist friends to help us, and on whom the business might devolve after we should leave the place. For a while our success in this enlistment was little, but at length we obtained a few persons whom we saw enter readily on this work of faith and labour of love. In the hands of these we left the matter until in the providence of God we might return again to that town. What has been seen and experienced of this trial of this branch of Bible Society work is, as I have already hinted, amply encouraging. I could wish to see all the towns in our island properly farmed out in this way, and if they were so, together with the Estates, they would yield a good rent to you, besides affording ample provision for themselves. May the Lord direct to this cultivation, by the farmers and the reapers whom he may choose and honour in so holy and useful a work.
All our vessels are arrived, but and except the Westbrook, and for her we are looking every hours with all our eyes, and with all our hearts too. She will come safe I doubt not, buoyed up as she is with the word of God. I have already apprised you of our protracted day for delivering your Gift Book as I term it. After writing my last letter to you, we obtained some accessions of friends in aid of the circulation of our volume from among the clergy, and but the other the whole of the remainder fell in to us at once. I wrote to the Bishop a few days ago, and on the 17th current I received the following answer:―
"The Bishop of Jamaica presents his compliments to Mr. Thomson, and begs to acknowledge the receipt of his letter of the 13th instant. The Bishop is in expectation of receiving from his clergy throughout the Island lists of such apprentices as are enabled to read with a view to the distribution of copies of the Book of Common Prayer among them. The Bishop will avail himself of the same opportunity of presenting such copies of the Testament and Psalter as have been sent out her by the Bible Society if Mr Thomson will have the goodness to transmit them to the Rev G. D. Hill, the Bishop's Secretary and Registrar of the Diocese, who has received the Bishop's directions to forward to Mr Thomson an account of the Books, and of the manner of their distribution."
The Bishop's note conveying the above pleasing intelligence is dated from his residence "Union Hill," a name every way appropriate to the case, and on Union Hill let us stand in the Kingdom of God.
Tomorrow, if the Lord will, I set out on my tour round the Island, going first to St Thomas in the East. After performing this tour, I shall be enabled to inform you of the prospects of Bible Society concerns here better than I can do at the present time. The field is large and interesting, and should the spots that one might be able to till and sow here and there in the course of this journey prove fertile and fruitful, they will prove encouragements to the cultivation of the whole ample field by some one at some future time.
I remain, Sincerely Yours,
James Thomson.
P.S. Please apprise Mr. Tarn that I have this day drawn a Bill for Fifty pounds stg. in favour of Messrs. Jones and Osborn of this place at sixty days sight. ― To be paid to Travelling Account.
Be so good as to make the address of my letters in future, besides the name, Agent of B & F Bible Society, Jamaica", without directing them to the care of any person here.