History Of The Missions Of The American Board Of Commissioners For Foreign Missions Volume II Part 20

Appeal to the government seems useless, for it is from the government that their chief oppressor gets his power to persecute.

All who went back came to call on me, and most of them attended the services. They said, in palliation of their course, 'We are flesh and blood, and have families to support. We have waited for deliverance for years, and now Tamir (the chief oppressor) says, Come back and I will restore to you all; remain as you are, and I will strip you of the little you have left, and drive you out of the country. And so we went back, but our hearts are with you, and we will come here too, though they compelled our bodies to go with them.' One woman showed a striped gown, threw it on the ground, and trampling on it said, with tears in her eyes, 'With that they bought my husband.' Some of the women, with tears and entreaties, tried to keep their husbands and friends from going, telling them that death was better."[1]

[1] _Missionary Herald_, 1869, pp. 407-409.

Twenty men were standing firm at Safeeta in February of the following year, though there had been little abatement of persecution. In April Dr. Jessup wrote, that it had just terminated, and the brethren at the Tripoli station had good hopes that there would be peace in that long persecuted community. This was owing, in great measure, to the interference of the American and English Consuls-general, and their influence with the Governor-general of Syria.

The people of Hums becoming dissatisfied with their pastor, Suleeba, his connection was dissolved, three years after his settlement. The church remained in a divided condition for a year or more, without any celebration of the Lord's Supper. In the summer of 1869, Mr.

Samuel Jessup visited the city, and finding the Protestants in a better state of feeling, invited the communicants to a.s.semble at the Lord's table. All came and seemed to enjoy it as a season of rest and refreshment, after a long and weary wandering. They were ready to take a native pastor who suited them, and pay the larger part of his salary. They needed one well acquainted with the historical defenses of the Gospel, because of the inroads of European Jesuits and French infidel literature. Suleeba found demands for his faithful labors in other places. "The news," says Dr. Jessup, "from 'scattered and peeled' Safeeta and from distracted Hums, is alike cheering, and indicative of progress in the right direction."

The Tripoli station sent forth two of the Safeeta church-members as missionaries to visit the villages to the north and east, sending two together, as it would not be safe for one to go alone. The native missionary society at Beirt employed a zealous colporter, whose tours took a wide range, from Acre on the south to Hamath and even to Aleppo on the north, and his monthly reports showed that, throughout the country, there was not only urgent need of such labor, but also an increasing number prepared to profit by the visits of the gospel messenger. During the latter part of the year, another person was employed in similar work near Beirt. He also testified to a great increase of desire among the people for religious instruction.

Daoud Pasha, alter inaugurating important reforms and improvements on Lebanon, was promoted to a seat in the cabinet at Constantinople.

He had started a newspaper, "The Lebanon," established telegraphic lines, commenced a carriage road, encouraged education, and made his pashalic the safest in the empire for travelling. His successor was Franco Pasha, a Latin Catholic. The Beirt Arabic official journal, in speaking of his arrival, says, that "although attached to his own religion, he is free from bigotry, and will guarantee liberty of conscience to all."

The mission was strengthened in 1867 by the arrival of Samuel S.

Mitch.e.l.l and Isaac N. Lowry, and their wives; and in 1869, of James S. Dennis, and Misses Eliza D. Everett, and Nellie A. Carruth.

Messrs. Berry and Mitch.e.l.l were constrained, by the failure of health after a short service, to leave the mission. Miss Carruth, also, though deeply interested in the work, and after valuable service in the girls' school, felt constrained soon to return to the United States.

Among the books printed in this time, were Edwards' "History of Redemption;" Bickersteth's "Scripture Hand-book," with additions by Mr. Calhoun; a large Psalm and Hymn Book; Curwen's "New System of Musical Notation;"[1] a Children's Hymn Book; Bistany's Arabic Dictionary, and his Elements of Grammar; and an Arabic Almanac, probably the first ever printed in Arabic, although "Al-Manakh" (the climate) is an Arabic word. The press was now under the direction of Mr. Henry Thomson, a son of Dr. Thomson, who relieved the Beirt station of a heavy burden of care. The necessary preparations were completed in 1868 for electrotyping the Arabic Scriptures in Beirt.

[1] By this, musical notes written in a syllabic form can be given, like the Arabic, from right to left. The staff, notes, and signatures are dispensed with, and single letters are arranged in succession, with separations by dots and marks. As a result, the ordinary Arabic types can be used to print the most intricate music.

CHAPTER XLI.

SYRIA.

1869-1870.

Though the Seminary at Abeih had a few students preparing for the ministry, under Mr. Calhoun, it could not properly be called a Theological Seminary. Only at Hasbeiya, Hums, and Ain Zehalty had native pastors been found for the churches. There were five churches without pastors. The eight churches had two hundred and forty-five members. The thirty-one common schools numbered a thousand male and one hundred and seventy female pupils. Eight of the teachers were church-members, and four of these were females. The demand for education was beyond the ability of the mission to supply.

At the recommendation of the Prudential Committee, a Theological Seminary was commenced at Abeih in May, 1869; and Dr. Jessup from Beirt, and Mr. Eddy from Sidon, were a.s.sociated with Mr. Calhoun in its instruction. Seven students composed the first cla.s.s, and, with but one exception, evinced a good Christian spirit, studied hard, and seemed anxious to live an active and useful Christian life. The five winter months of their vacation were spent in evangelical labors.

As far back as 1865, there was a prosperous female boarding-school at Beirt, under the care of Mr. Aramon and Miss Rufka Gregory, natives of Syria. In the following year, this school had thirty boarders and twenty day scholars. It was the first Protestant school in Syria that demanded pay for the education of girls, but its receipts for tuition and board equaled about half the expenses.

"Among the causes," say the brethren of the Beirt station, "which operated to prevent the raising of the rates of board and tuition to a self-supporting basis, was the existence of competing schools furnished with European teachers, rendering it difficult for the seminary to induce parents to pay the full expense. This was a grave difficulty, and one which, in one form or another, has met every attempt to establish the principle of self-support in Syria, in all departments of our work; but it only makes it the more important that this native inst.i.tute, with native teachers and adapted to native tastes and habits, should be steadily sustained, lest the impulse already given in the direction of self-support, be lost." A building was completed for the school in 1867, at the cost of about $9,000, chiefly the result of contributions in the United States, but without any organic connection with the mission. Of its seventy-six pupils fifty-seven were boarders, and the income was $3,220 in gold, which was $1,000 short of its expenses. There was still the impediment of unwise compet.i.tion. The pupils were from Moslem, Greek, and Greek-Catholic, as well as Protestant families; though it was well known that the inst.i.tution was an evangelizing agency, and that all were expected to attend Protestant wors.h.i.+p on the Sabbath, and were daily taught in the Bible.

In the absence of Miss Gregory on account of failing health, Mr. and Mrs. Aramon carried on the school, with the a.s.sistance of ladies from the mission. The school increased in numbers and the examination in 1868 was attended by a great throng of the people, from all cla.s.ses and all sects. It was a noticeable fact that Mohammedan parents in Beirt were beginning to insist earnestly upon the education of their girls. The Beirt Arabic official journal, the "Kadethat el-Akhbax," published a list of schools in the city,--possibly somewhat exaggerated,--in which it was said, that there were two thousand girls and three thousand boys and young men in the various Protestant, Greek, Maronite, Catholic, and Mohammedan schools.

The school pa.s.sed under the care of Misses Everett and Carruth on their arrival in Syria, and substantial progress was made towards self-support, but less than would have been but for the French, English, and German schools, which tended to draw away the girls, and the families they represented, from the influence of the missionaries.

There was, also, a female boarding-school at Sidon, which had been growing in numbers and influence. The scholars were all Protestants, selected with care from the various schools of the country. "They have come," wrote Mr. Eddy, "from all parts of the land,--from Hums and Safeeta on the north, from Mount Lebanon on the east, and the district of Merj Aiyun on the south; and besides the good they gain for themselves while here, they will carry light and civilization, and we trust religious influence with them to their widely scattered homes." The school was in the immediate charge of Mrs. Watson and her daughter, English ladies, and more recently Miss Jacombs, for five years a teacher on Mount Lebanon, and supported by a society of ladies in England. It was fully in sympathy, however, with the mission, and had the sympathy, prayers, and aid of English Christians. The number of pupils was twenty.

THE SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE.

The desire for education had visibly increased, and was due, in part, to commercial intercourse with western nations, and the interference of foreign powers in the political affairs of the country; but far more to the schools, books, preaching, and personal influence of missionaries. Schools had been multiplying for elementary and high school instruction, but there was no provision for a liberal education. The Jesuits, indeed, had inst.i.tutions, but their teaching was partial, fitted to repress inquiry, and exclusively to foster their own ecclesiastical and sectarian ends.

THE SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE. [image]

The demand for a Protestant college was discussed at a meeting of the mission, in the spring of 1861, and again in the following August, when an outline of the proposed scheme was presented.[1]

[1] In this statement concerning the College, I make such use as my limits will allow, of an able doc.u.ment, drawn up by Prof. D. Stuart Dodge, and kindly sent me, at my request, by the President, Dr.

Daniel Bliss. It bears date May, 1872.

"The objects deemed essential, were to enable natives to obtain, in their own country, in their own language, and at a moderate cost, a thorough literary, scientific, and professional education; to found an inst.i.tution, which should be conducted on principles strictly evangelical, but not sectarian; with doors open to youth of every Oriental sect and nationality, who would conform to its regulations, but so ordered that students, while elevated intellectually and spiritually, should not materially change their native customs. The hope was entertained, that much of the instruction might at once be intrusted to pious and competent natives, and that ultimately the teaching could be left in the hands of those, who had been raised up by the College itself."

The curriculum embraced a period of four years; and the studies were the Arabic Language and Literature, Mathematics, the Natural Sciences, the Modern Languages, Turkish Law and Jurisprudence, and Medicine,--the last to have special prominence, since the East was filled with ignorant native quacks and medical jugglers. A leading place would also be given to Moral Science, and Biblical Literature, with the Scriptures as a constant text-book. Theology, as a system, would be left to the care of the several missions.

It was thought that the American Board could not undertake so large a literary work in any one mission, and that the College should be separate from and independent of the Board and its missions, as such; but that, being on so broad a basis, other evangelical bodies among the Arabic-speaking race might be invited to share in its advantages and control. Denominational distinctions set aside, those engaged in similar missionary operations could unite in an enterprise designed to advance their common interests.

The College was to be at Beirt, the chief seaport of Syria, and a place of enterprise and growing importance, occupying a central position in respect to all the Arabic races. The local Board of Directors was to be composed of American and British missionaries and residents of Syria and Egypt, with several consular officials and leading merchants; of which a quorum should always reside in Beirt and its immediate vicinity.

The Rev. Daniel Bliss, six years a missionary of the American Board on Mount Lebanon, was cheerfully released by the Prudential Committee from his connection with the mission, that he might take the Presidency of the College, and visit the United States and England to obtain the needful endowment.

To secure public confidence, it was found indispensable to have the inst.i.tution incorporated in America, with a responsible Board of Trustees. A charter was accordingly obtained, in April, 1863, in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, and in May, 1864, additional power to hold real and personal estate was granted by act of the Legislature. A const.i.tution was framed, binding the inst.i.tution to evangelical and unsectarian principles; formally const.i.tuting the body, appointed by the mission, a local Board of Managers, with large liberty in administration; and defining the relations between the Boards in America and Syria and those of the various officers to be connected with the College. It further provided, that the Board of Trustees should have the right to exercise final authority in all matters, and that funds for endowments should be retained in the United States, the income only to be transmitted to the East.

An endowment fund of $100,000 was secured from a small number of contributors, the Trustees and their immediate friends being the largest donors.[1] In addition to this, Dr. Bliss obtained 3,000 in England; Lords Shaftesbury, Stratford de Redcliffe, Dufferin, Strangford, and Calthorpe, among the n.o.bility, indorsing the enterprise; and the Turkish Missions Aid Society rendered valuable a.s.sistance. The "Syrian Improvement Committee" gave 1,000, from funds remaining after the relief of sufferers from the Lebanon ma.s.sacres.

[1] Among the more active and influential of these, as I learn from other sources, was the Rev. D. Stuart Dodge. In 1872, the endowment fund was reported to be $130,000.

Dr. Bliss returned to Syria early in 1866. The first college cla.s.s consisted of fourteen members. A preparatory department was afterwards added, and eighty names have been enrolled in the two departments. The students have evinced, in most instances, an apt.i.tude and zeal for study, that would be creditable in more favored lands. The charge for tuition is twenty-five dollars for the collegiate year of nine mouths; and fifty-five dollars additional for those who board in the inst.i.tution. The sects represented are the Protestant, Orthodox-Greek, Papal-Greek, Latin, Maronite, Druze, Armenian, and Coptic.

All boarders are required to be present at morning and evening prayers, and to attend Protestant wors.h.i.+p and Bible cla.s.ses on the Sabbath; and Bible lectures or Scripture recitations are of daily occurrence. A voluntary prayer-meeting is maintained by the students.

Most of the thirteen who have graduated from the Academic Department, are acceptably employed as teachers of a higher grade in Syria and Egypt. Two have entered the Medical Department, and two are studying Law. The first Commencement was in July, 1870, and the addresses were in three languages. The College has a Medical Department, and the first medical cla.s.s was graduated in July, 1871.

A building fund of about $70,000 having been contributed chiefly by the donors to the endowment fund, a plot of nearly twenty acres of ground was purchased at Ras-Beirt, in the immediate vicinity of the city; facing Lebanon, overlooking the Mediterranean, healthy, accessible, yet sufficiently retired; and the edifice is in the process of erection. The corner stone was laid, December 7, 1871, by the Hon. William E. Dodge, and appropriate exercises, in English and Arabic, accompanied the ceremony.

The Medical Hall is located at some distance from the College edifice. These buildings may be seen from almost every quarter of the city, and from the villages on the western slopes of Lebanon; and they will be the first objects to greet the eyes of all who enter the harbor, and will stand as the exponents and dispensers of sound Christian learning.

The connection of this mission with the American Board continued until the latter part of the year 1870, wanting only two years of half a century, when the reunion of the Presbyterian Church gave rise to the question of a transfer of the mission to the Presbyterian Board. The events above described, connected with the Syrian Protestant College, favored such a result, and the question was kindly, though reluctantly entertained. On the 20th of September, 1870, the following paper was received at the Missionary House:--

"The Syria mission, at a special meeting held in Abeih, August 16, 1870, had laid before them two doc.u.ments, one from the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and the other from the Committee of Conference of the General a.s.sembly of the Presbyterian Church with the American Board,--touching the transfer of the mission from the American Board to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions; and having given the subject their serious and prayerful consideration, they have adopted the following action:--

"1. That the mission regard the subject thus presented as one which has not originated with themselves, but as having been brought before them by the Providence of G.o.d; and as not to be decided at all by them on personal grounds or ecclesiastical preferences, but to be decided solely in view of its bearings upon the cause of Christ in this land, and among the churches at home.

"2. That the mission appreciate the delicacy and kindness with which the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions conveyed the consent of the Board to the withdrawal of its members from their service, with the view of forming a new connection, if they deem it expedient, and the hearty a.s.surance of their readiness to continue the support of the mission should they decide to remain as heretofore.

"3. That they also equally appreciate the cordial invitation extended to them by the Committee of the Presbyterian Church, and the pledge conveyed to the mission, that they shall enjoy, in the new proposed connection, all the freedom of action, 'in respect to their policy and ecclesiastical relations,' which they have hitherto possessed.

"4. That the mission find great difficulty in considering calmly and impartially a question involving their separation from the American Board, the severing of ties which have existed until within two years of half a century, which have been interwoven with the earliest recollections of childhood, which have grown strong by personal connection and active cooperation during years of service, and which we had antic.i.p.ated would only be dissolved by death. No language can express how much of pain to their hearts the thought of this separation involves. Their relations to the Secretaries, to the Prudential Committee, and through them to the churches, have been most tender and happy.

"In these relations they have found the largest liberty and the fullest sympathy, and personally, the mission have no cause to desire a change.