| Description | Dated 23 November. Coates will have heard from Mr Anderson at Mangalore concerning the need there for a schoolmaster for an English school for teaching Brahmins and high caste; a married man would be suitable provided his wife was willing to conduct a female school; the man must have a good knowledge of English grammar and the rules of composition as well as some acquaintance with general science and a practical view of the methods of tuition; doubts whether such a person can be found quickly enough as Anderson wants him sent in January or at the latest March; has had correspondence with Rev F. Close at Cheltenham regarding a possible candidate recommended by Lieut. Treunen at Basel, but the young man was not suitable; asks Coates to look out for someone; Basel will pay his salary and expenses and if he travels overland he should go to Marseilles via Basel so that the committee can meet him. Committee have considered question of their students spending more than one year at Islington and agree that past students have not had a sufficient knowledge of English; Basel have reintroduced a five year course of study and instead of three hours a week English instruction in two years they now have five hourly lessons a week for three years; they now have two teachers, one of whom has spent three years in London; the young students when they enter do not have the amount of elementary knowledge that the students at Islington do; asks that the longer period of study may be tried before any further steps are taken. Basel prospects in West Africa are good, the Moravian missionaries at Jamaica report the willingness of some very able agriculturalists [of black African heritage]
to go to Guinea, while those at Antigua and St Kitts promise the same about tradesmen and teachers from the Mico School; all that remains is to obtain a letter of protection from the King of Denmark; hope to obtain letter of recommendation from British Secretary of State for the Colonies to authorities in Jamaica to protect the Basel missionaries from the laws against 'negro-exportation'; Rev V. Latrobe has promised his help with this. Sends regards 'to your dear colleague Rev H. Venn whom I wish you might keep in his temporary place'. |