Rev A Brandram No.39
Mexico 27 October 1829
My Dear Friend
Your letter dated Lyme Regis, Dorset, August 11th is now before me. You state in this your private thoughts regarding Dr. Mora's wish to be considered a person in the service of your Society. The delicate circumstances in which the Committee is placed regarding such connexions I am fully aware of, and should a negative be put upon this request I shall not feel that it arises from anything else than the delicacy of these circumstances, and most sincere desire to do what may be approved of God and of man. I fully believe indeed, according to what you notice, that nothing gives you greater pleasure than to accede to the wishes of your agent here regarding measures proposed by him for the circulation of the Holy Scriptures in this quarter. In the same unofficial manner in which you communicated to me your thoughts regarding Dr. Mora I mentioned your difficulties to him, and I had the pleasure of seeing that he received the notice in that proper manner which one could wish. He perceived the circumstances in which you are placed, and said that on account of these he could not in any way be dissatisfied at your backwardness to accede to his request, and that however you may be led to do that in the matter, he will still cheerfully do for the Society what lies in his power, his object being to make the word of God better known in every sense of the term in his native land.
Your fears regarding Mr. Matthews have long been my own. A second packet after his arrival at Bogota, bringing you no letter from him excited my fears that all was not right. I hope you have written to Mr. Henderson about him. As a friend of the Society, and as the British Consul General in that city he is every way the fittest person you can write to upon the subject. I shall anxiously look for the result of your inquiries. This subject reminds me of the abundant cause of thankfulness I have to the Father of mercies, for all his gracious goodness to me in traveling through those quarters, where I fear some evil has befallen our fellow labourer and I pray that these mercies may stir me up to every godly feeling and practice.
In regard to the hint you throw out for my consideration, I would say, that I should be glad to accede to your wishes were there not other circumstances sufficiently many and important to stand in the way of it. Since the day I first embarked for South America I have endeavoured to consider that my will was to be guided to this or to that according to the greater or less probability of advancing the Redeemer's cause in these new countries. This same principle would prevent me from entering upon what you propose to me, because I consider there is a more ample field of usefulness which I now am. True I am hedged up, and have been so for many months past in regard to the circulation of the Scriptures. Yet still the Scriptures do circulate though slowly, and I consider my presence here necessary in order to remove existing obstructions, and should they be removed, to extend the circulation of the sacred volume as widely as possible among a population about as great as that contained in the whole continent of South America. In addition to the opportunities I have and hope to have of promoting the circulation of the word of God here, I have other opportunities besides of advancing as I think the kingdom of our Lord. All these taken together would hinder me from changing this field for the one in question. In short there is only one object, and one of which I believe you know something, which could induce me to leave my present concerns in this country. When an opportunity offers in the dealings of Providence for carrying into effect the object now referred to, I shall only apprise you of it, and beg to be released from my present engagement with the Society. But nothing short of this I believe will lead me to change my present field of operations. Should we not succeed in removing the present restrictions, there will still be a field for our operations in forcing as it were the Scriptures into circulation here at present. And from the gradual emancipation of this country in religious matters, we may expect that all ecclesiastical restrictions will ere long be set at nought, and that the Scriptures will be bought and read in spite of them, and the more so probably on account of such prohibitions.
I intended to notice these things to you at a very early period, though no such hint had been given as the one you mention, and I now only anticipate by a short time the results of my late thoughts, meditations, and prayers regarding my circumstances in this country. Of course what I have said regards only one side of the question. The other side of it is, how long and under what circumstances you may wish to maintain an agent in this quarter. On this I hope you will with all freedom state to me whatever occurs to you as your duty to do.
The fittest person will I know of for visiting the different quarters in South America in your service is Mr. Edelyartha. He is still in this country, in the neighborhood of Oajaca, I had a letter from and only a few days ago. He has met with several misfortunes here and more than once his life has been in imminent danger, but he remains joyful in the Lord under all these things, saying (and in his heart I believe) good is the will of the Lord, let him do what seemeth good. I think Mr. Edelyartha would enter upon this work, and regarding his qualifications for it, I refer you to what I have said of him in a letter written to Mr. Roberts some time ago.
The Council of Government has as yet decided nothing in our case. The reason is that there exist some little battlings between the Council and the executive which makes the former unwilling to do anything lest the latter should perhaps undo it. I have still good hope in this matter.
I told you in my last letter that the Spaniards had come here to reconquer this country and to restore all former things among us. The attempt has completely failed, and the humbled reconquerors, stripped of their arms, are waiting for ships to carry them back to the Havannah agreeably to the terms of capitulation. The external enemy is thus destroyed, but our internal state here is anything but stable. In all probability we shall have new troubles and changes in this country before long. But the Lord reigneth and careth for his kingdom. Therefore I trust that all the changes which take place will be overruled for the establishment here of that Kingdom which cannot be moved.
I remain, Truly Yours, James Thomson.
P.S. Mr. John Davis of 56 Paternoster Row will call on Mr. Tarn with a draft for £50, dated the 22nd instant. J.T.