SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND by John Norton Loughborough

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 6, 1879

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND.

By John Norton Loughborough

SOUTHAMPTON, with its suburban towns, is a city of 60,000 inhabitants, and is situated in the midst of what is called “the garden of England.” It is a seaport, commercially considered next in importance to Liverpool and London. In reality it is said to be one of the best harbors in all England. The waters in the harbor are of such depth that the largest ships, even the “Great Eastern,” can come up to the docks, while in many of the seaports of England the large ships can only reach the docks at high tide, if at all. In many of the ports the ships are obliged, because of shallow water, to discharge their cargoes upon barges and tug boats.

Taking Southampton as a centre, within a radius of twenty miles there are nearly a score of cities and villages. One of these cities to the south-east of us, Portsmouth, has a population of 120,000. It is probably safe to state that there are 300,000 inhabitants who understand the English language within twenty miles of the house where I am now writing.

Southampton is not a manufacturing or mining town, like many sections of England. While the laboring classes in the mining and manufacturing sections are just now suffering much distress in consequence of efforts to reduce their wages, “strikes,” etc., this part of England is not thus affected. As the Southampton Times stated last week, it is as prosperous as any part of the kingdom, because its laborers are not turned aside from their pursuits as are those in the coal mines and mills. At this important point vessels are arriving and departing almost daily, to and from various parts of the world. Much of England’s trade with the East Indies passes through this port. For this reason, it is a point where we can do much missionary work on ships.

Southampton is a place of no small note in English history. Here, at No. 21 French Street, still stands the old brick house in which Dr. Isaac Watts was born on the 17th day of July, 1674. This was the Dr. Watts whose hymns are sung with thrilling effect all over the world. It was when sitting on “pear tree green,” and looking across river Itchen to Southampton surrounded with its beautiful gardens and fields clothed in “living green,” that Watts composed his beautiful hymn,—

“On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand, And cast a wistful eye To Canaan’s fair and happy land, Where my possessions lie.”

Watt’s Park in the city contains, on an appropriate monument, a life-size statue of Dr. Isaac Watts. On last Sunday I went to the same church where Dr. Watts maintained a life-long membership. There I listened to the first sermon I have heard in England. It was a very impressive discourse from Dr. Carlisle, B. A., who has been for many years pastor of the church, from the words, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.”

Southampton is also the point from which the May Flower set sail for America with the Pilgrim fathers, who landed at the famous Plymouth Rock, Mass., and among whom, as many of our readers are aware, were the ancestors of our beloved brother, Elder James White, of Battle Creek, Michigan. Of the many interesting items connected with Southampton and its history, I hope to write more at length in the Youth’s Instructor ere long.

After arriving here, noting the situation, and learning from Bro. Ings of the interest already awakened in this vicinity, we decided, for the present at least, to make this place the headquarters of the mission. We have rented “Stanley Cottage,” on Stanley Street, near Shirley road, Fremantle, Southampton. It is a brick house, slate roof, with five rooms and an outside brick store-room 16x20 feet. The house is well supplied with cupboards, thus furnishing ample facilities for book and mission rooms. There is a fireplace in each room, which is quite essential in a climate subject to so much fog as South England has. We have been in the place only ten days, but our house is settled, the two large boxes of books we brought with us are all arranged, and we are taking hold of our work as fast as possible.

Last Sunday evening I spoke, by request, to one hundred and fifty in Shirley Hall, from Heb. 5:8-9. I had good freedom. Many of the congregation were moved to tears, and wished me to speak again. The hall is under the control of a society calling themselves “Free Evangelists.”

Bro. Ings is distributing tracts and papers, visiting from house to house, and gathering names of persons who will read our publications with candor. Those he visits give him names of their friends, and thus he obtains the addresses of persons from all parts of the kingdom, and elsewhere. This furnishes us the names of more individuals than we can correspond with; we have therefore to-day sent a number to various vigilant missionary societies in America that have requested us thus to do.

We are now engaged in writing to those whose names we have in Great Britain whom we know to be specially interested in the truth. If any of the missionary societies in America have sent papers and tracts to persons in England, Scotland, or Ireland, and have received favorable responses, please write us here, giving the names and the facts in the case. There is no difficulty in obtaining the names of thousands of persons here who will read with interest, and will then loan the papers and tracts to others to read. Out of these thousands God will move scores and hundreds to obey the truth; this is our faith.

In opening this branch of the work we found ourselves short of copies of the Signs. Bro. Ings had only a club of ten copies. He immediately sent to Oakland for another club of ten, and I sent for a club of ten, making us in all thirty copies. This is hardly a drop in the bucket. One sister in Massachusetts offered us a club of twenty-five; and we have written to her accepting them. This will make us fifty-five a week. For the next six months, we could use weekly at least five hundred copies of the Signs.

There are persons who said to me, while in the United States, that if we found interested readers in England they would like to send the Signs. I would say to such, If you wish to invest the sum of $6, $12, or even $24 in clubs of the Signs, to be sent to my address as given in this article, we will see that as many as five hundred copies are judiciously distributed each week; and as fast as we find worthy readers who are unable to pay, we will transfer names from the club to such readers.

Even outside parties here are willing to help us in the matter of distributing the papers. The way is already open to send a number of copies nearly every week to the English inhabitants of the East Indies. We see such a field open before us, and so much to be done, that our souls are stirred within us to do all we can.

We are negotiating for a hall in which to hold public meetings. In all probability we shall be engaged in our first series of meetings in Old England before this article is read by the readers of the Review. We shall have a meeting of interested ones in our own house next Sabbath.

We are well, though somewhat affected by the change of climate from California to England, a distance of six thousand miles. The weather just now is quite cold. The public prints say it is the most severe that has been known here in thirty years.

We long to be speaking to the people. We shall commence with about four meetings per week, and increase the number as health and strength will permit. We believe God will sustain us. We know we have the prayers of God’s people everywhere. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH Jan. 9, 1879.