Rev A Brandram No. 24
St. Kitt's, August 14, 1833.
My Dear Friend
My last letter to you was from Antigua, and dated the 1st of July. On the day following I left that island, praying that God, who has begun and has carried on so gracious a work there in the Gospel of his Son Jesus Christ, may be pleased to prosper his own great cause, until the whole island be covered with the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour.
Early next morning I landed at Montserrat, and passed the day there. I saw our friends in that island, who, I am sorry to say, do not amount to many. The Rev. Mr. Collins is now rector there instead of Mr. Luckock. He was formerly in Antigua, and is a sincere friend of the Bible cause. The Wesleyan missionary who was there last year had removed, according to the custom of changes among that body, and another had come into his place. We are never, however, disappointed by any of these changes, as all the Wesleyan missionaries are our friends, and we therefore never experience more than the change of one friend for another. Some little has been done there in the Bible Society formed last year; but Dr. Dyett says he is ashamed of its littleness, and did not like to write to you on the subject till things should stand somewhat better. He and his friends intend to move a little forwards if they can, and he has promised to write to you at least before your next annual meeting.
On the morning of the 4th we sailed from Montserrat, and in the afternoon of the same day arrived in Nevis. The Rev. Mr. Britten and other friends there were anxious to have a Society regularly formed for that island, which, yon will recollect, was not done last year during my visit. They begged me to stop for this end, but as I had a hired vessel I wished to go on with as little delay as possible. I promised, however, to return in a few days, as St. Kitt's is close by Nevis, and vessels are daily running between them.
On the evening of the 5th I arrived at St. Kitt's. I was kindly received by Mr. M'Mahon, one of the secretaries of the Society formed last year, and under his hospitable roof I have since remained. I have met the committee of the Society here, and find that some progress has been made, though not equal to their wishes, yet the beginning is good. Their Annual Report has been sent to you, and you are therefore in possession of a statement of their operations. All the committee manifested a desire to see their Society extend its labours, and thought that something might be done in the way of forming associations in this island on the plan adopted in Antigua. We accordingly commenced operations in this way, by holding a public meeting in the Moravian chapel in this town, which was numerously attended.
On the 10th I went over to Nevis, according to agreement, and on the same evening we held a meeting at a little village, which was very well attended, and chiefly by the slaves of the neighbouring estates. Here we formed an Association. On the following day we held a meeting in the court-house of Charles Town, the Capital, where we had the Speaker of the House of Assembly in the chair. An Auxiliary Society was forthwith formed, and, in connexion with it, a Ladies' Bible Association. These things you will see detailed in the newspaper already forwarded to you.
Having thus installed our new Auxiliary, I returned to St. Kitt's. We next held a meeting in the St. Giles of this town (of Basseterre), called Irish Town. It was well attended, and has been productive of good results in the way we intended it should. Our next meeting was held in the large Wesleyan chapel of this town, where we had a numerous congregation, and formed another Association. In the mean time preparations were making for having some meetings on the estates or plantations, as in Antigua. On the evening of the 16th our first meeting of this kind was held, at a place called Stone Fort. It was well attended by the slaves on that estate and on some neighbouring ones; our statements were attentively listened to, and an Association was regularly formed. This estate is now the property of Rev. George Washington Phillips, and it has thus happened that the first association found in Antigua and the first one here have both been formed on the estates of clergymen. We have also formed Associations on the estates of two resident Proprietors, one of whom is the President of the Council of the Island, a gentleman who has for many years been friendly to the religious instruction of the slaves under him. We have in prospect other estates to which we intend to pay visits in due time.
When I left Antigua it was not my intention to make much stay in this island; but I have been induced to alter my plan by the solicitations and advice of Mr. M'Mahon and other friends here. They have stated to me that, as the season is now come when sailing is dangerous in these seas, I ought to take up my quarters for some time, and that I could, in all probability, do more here than I could do by making a stay in any other part of my tour during this season. I had planned to be in Hayti at this time, but my detention in Antigua threw me out of that; next, I contemplated stopping at St. Thomas's; but, after maturely considering the advice of my friends, the state of this island, and all the other circumstances connected with my objects, I have resolved to stay here till the end of September, when the hurricane season will he about over. Something, I trust, will be done during this interval, both in this island and Nevis, which I include with it, in promoting the great object of Bible circulation.
I send you three newspapers, each containing articles on our Bible Society concerns. I shall afterwards send you some others, with articles on the same subject in continuation. The editors of the newspapers here are friendly to us, as we have found them to be in the other colonies, and our cause has been considerably served by them.
The meetings we have held here have proved a stirring up with many about the Scriptures, and numbers have come forward to purchase copies for themselves, according to our recommendation, and even some who cannot themselves read have obeyed our advice, and bought Bibles for their children. This has caused a scarcity with us of the Sacred Volume, and that notwithstanding the arrival of the £30 case you sent, and which reached this a short time ago. These, I may say, are all gone. I have advised our friends to write to you for more, but they say they cannot with any propriety do so, as they have not money to pay for them as yet: I therefore write for them, and beg you to send here, by the very first ship coming, either to this island or to Nevis, the following supply:—200 Bibles; namely, pearl, 20; ruby, 30; minion 24mo, 30; nonpareil, 110; quarto, 5. Also pearl New Testaments, 10; ditto, with Psalter, 10; minion 24mo, and brevier, both with Psalter, 10 each. We have still on hand a few Bibles of large sizes, but our small ones are all gone, and there is a great demand for more. In truth, we almost fear to form new associations, lest, by thus creating fresh demands which we cannot satisfy, we should discourage the people by hope deferred in so important a matter. In Irish Town, our St. Giles, we had a request the other day from one of our collectors for thirty Bibles at once, and we were obliged to put him off with only half the number. I have added these items by way of urging you not to lose the opportunity of the very first ship coming this way, be it from London, Bristol, or Liverpool.
And now say a few words in regard to the Monthly Extracts for these islands. I consider it a matter of some importance to keep up an interest in Bible Society concerns here, and conceive that one grand means of doing so is by regular remissions of these Extracts from month-to-month, so that they may be look for and found as regularly as the packets pay their visits among these islands. After much consideration as to the mode of accomplishing this, the plan I would propose to you is the following: – to make interest (as I think you may easily do) with the Postmaster-General, or with the Commander on the Falmouth station who has the packets under his charge, and having obtained this, to make up and send every month by the Leeward Island Packet a parcel containing the proper supply for all the islands, and to forward it to Barbados. The Leeward Island Packet sails on the Saturday after the third Wednesday of every month, and this would suit well for the time of your publishing which is generally, I understand, in the middle of the month preceding the date. Should your interest be made with the Postmaster-General, your parcel might be put in at the General Post Office; but if with the Commander it Falmouth, you would have to forward your parcel by the van. Should you agree to adopt this plan and be able to do it, your parcel I think should be made up in the following mode: make a small separate parcel for each island, and tie it up by itself and address it. Then put the whole together And address this general parcel to Barbados. The contractors for the mail boats there, Messrs. E. B. and I. Haly, are as I formerly mentioned to you, very friendly and ready to afford us help. You could therefore send your large parcel to them, and they would open it and send the smaller parcels by the male boats to their several destinations. It would of course be well to write a few friendly lines to the Messrs. Halys when you send your first parcel, noticing former favors and begging their kind offices in this matter. The separate parcels for the several colonies should in quantity I think be as follows: – Antigua 100, Barbados 30, Demerara 20, Tobago 20, Grenada 20, St. Lucia 10, Dominica 10, St. Kitts 30, Nevis 20.The proportion of annual reports might be as one fifth of the above numbers, and the abstracts equal to the extracts.
By the last mail that arrived here I received your letters of May, June and July sent me from Barbados. The Postmaster there is very attentive in forwarding my letters whenever I notice to him where I am. Please continue to send all my letters there until I advise you to the contrary. I received your March and April letters in Antigua, and I believe all have come to hand.
(P.S. Upon reconsideration I think the following paragraph should be private only.)
I am truly sorry to see that your funds are so deficient at the close of this year's account. This however will turn out to you for good, if you manage things right; it will prove to you like the conflagration of the Serampore Printing Establishment, which I believe did more good to the Society concerned than anything that ever came their way. Your funds, I am persuaded will turn out to be greater next year than ever they have been, if you manage these things right. Excuse my repeating this clause. I see you have put forth an appeal on the subject, stitched up with the anniversary speeches, and coupled with the Rules .......supplies for Sunday schools, new societies, remittances, and all that. Now this I would not call doing the thing properly, nor an appeal direct at all. You should move the whole country from Dan to Beersheba by a well and strongly written paper upon the subject and stitched up or combined with – nothing, but let it be a right direct thrust with a strong hand. And in addition to this or rather through this, get your friends here, there and everywhere over the country to preach and to cry aloud for you in the closet and in the Pulpit, and then will your coffers be filled, and you will be obliged to have new ones made in addition. Should any of our friends in the Committee say that this advice is not needed, nor comes seemly from a Servant, be so good as say, it is only to you I am speaking, and I know you can bear anything from anybody. But, for all I have said, I believe you are in truth making strong and direct appeals besides the one referred to, and upon a plan better than any I can advise you to. What therefore I have said above you will please consider as coincidence, and as sympathizing with you at the very appearance of a hindrance to the great and mighty work of sending the Holy Scriptures to all nations, and at a time when all nations are crying out for them, and from your hands.
I observe what you say in your last letter about Mr. Wray. I have written to him at your request, and have filled every nook of my sheet. I have also sent and will send him the newspapers containing articles on our Society.
Your letter also contains accounts from Mexico which have proved very gratifying to me as you rightly supposed they would. I had observed only the day before that Santana had been elected president, which verifies a prediction I made three years ago, and which I ventured from a knowledge of that man and of that country. Zavala is again Governor of the populous State of Mexico, and he is our friend. In Mexico with its eight millions, and Guatemala with its two, making together ten millions of humans souls have great claims on the Bible Society, and claims which I doubt not you will listen to as attentively as you have heretofore done. May the Lord bless your society, so evidently raised up in these latter days and bless to bless the Earth, and to bring the Son of Man in his Kingdom and Glory. May we stand in the happy place my dear friend, in the glorious day!
Ever affectionately yours,
James Thomson.
P.S. I see Dr. Pinkerton is about to publish a work on Russia by subscription the price I think is a guinea. Please put my name down for one copy.