Record

LevelItem
Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure)CMS/B/OMS/C I E/65
TitleLetter from Thompson to Pratt: 30 September 1814: Madras
Extent1 doc.
Date1814
DescriptionReports arrival of Schnarre and Rhenius and their stay at his house; still needs more good men; sent them off with a new palanquin each and money, being one quarter in advance and a half-year in arrears, bills endorsed to Mrs. De Morgan of Taunton, wife of Lieut. Colonel De Morgan "of the establishment"; salaries will be paid quarterly; asks CMS to pay their allowance quarterly or half-yearly also, to a friend of T.'s, Rev. E. Edwards of Lynn; considers salaries quite sufficient at 41 and two-thirds pagodas per month; of this sum, house, servants and household expenses will come to about 25 pagodas, leaving 16 and two-thirds between them for extras; feels they must move as Cammerer is a man of very different spirit to Dr. John; there is no hurry to move as Tranquebar is the best place for the study of Tamil and their influence and example must be felt; Rhenius is useful in the English schools; as to possibility of forming an auxiliary society, had hoped for auxiliary Bible Society, but hope is fading; had intended to present memorial to bishop "before he became Indianised", but he did not call at Madras on his way to Calcutta; the archdeacon-elect, a military chaplain, is "one of the veriest drones in the whole ecclesiastical hive, tho pleasant enough it is said in common society, and with the sting of a very scorpion for Bible and missionary friends and agents"; intends to speak to new governor on the matter and if he will not help T. has plans, with a few friends, for a corresponding committee, which will be in existence by the time this letter arrives in England; friends are Sir Samuel Toller the advocate general, Geo. Garron Esq., accountant general, Rev. Dr. Rottler, acting chaplain and secretary to one of the public institutions, Henry Mortlock Esq., deputy Persian translator to government, I. M. Strachan Esq., chief assistant in Mr. Garron's office; has hopes of a member of council as president; first discussion will be as to station for Schnarre and Rhenius, either Madras or Travancore; Madras has claims as chief town of peninsula, while Travancore has large number of nominal Christians, including some Syrians; the resident of Travancore, Colonel Munro, has assured T. of his patronage of missions and has asked for two men; neither place has a Protestant missionary, except for Mr. Ringeltaube at Badagherry, who is on the point of retiring; could use two, four or six men if suitable ones could be found; strongly recommends that they should be Englishmen and could well wish that Norton and Greenwood were to be allocated to Madras; English missionaries are not of as much importance in Ceylon as they are in India; a Church of England Englishman in India "would be, I believe, an entirely new thing"; will give all financial aid possible, guaranteeing at least their travelling expenses; has received books; in future asks that they be bound or half-bound as insects attack country binding rather than European "they will not touch one when they can get the other"
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