EARLY MISSIONS IN CEYLON.
By Hon. N. F. Graves
THE Portuguese, the Dutch, and the English have held Ceylon since 1505. In that year the Portuguese conquered the country and took possession of the same. They fortified the principal towns and ruled the country with an absolute sway. The San Franciscan monks followed, and made Colombo the center of their operations and divided the country into sections in which there was a church and a priest. They instituted a new system of gaining converts. Those who were baptized were given positions, with pay for their services. By that means they gained many converts. The Tamils were gathered into their fold in large numbers, and many of the Brahmans submitted to the new order of things. The Cingalese were gathered in great numbers. The Catholics did not wait to educate or even to give religious instruction, but baptism became the channel by which they found employment and good treatment. The nation rebelled against this system, and the Rajah of Jaffna slew many of the converts, but he was conquered and deposed. The Dutch besieged and conquered the country and drove the Portuguese from the land, with all the priests, and all Catholic rites were forbidden under very severe penalties. The Dutch at first adopted about the same means to make Protestants as the Catholics had to make Catholics. They baptized all who offered, and no unbaptized person was allowed to hold any office or to own real estate. It did not take long to have an army of converts. The Hindus seemed to accept the government religion more readily than the Buddhists, and thousands became converts, but it was found that these forced converts were only in name, and that their belief and practice remained the same. When these proceedings became known, the classis of Amsterdam condemned them, and a new system was instituted and schools were established and a system of teaching was begun. It then took many years to gain converts. The work progressed slowly, but with untiring energy, and after many years of faithful labor churches were organized. In 1796 the English drove the Dutch out of the country, but many of the churches that had been organized continued, and some remain to this day. There are Dutch churches at Colombo, Point de Galle, and other places, now principally sustained by the descendants of the Dutch. There is a large class in Ceylon that are the descendants of European fathers and native mothers, and are called Eurasians, or frequently half-caste. Those born in Ceylon, usually partake of the condition of the mother, and generally have her features. They are so numerous that they have become a class of themselves, and most of them sustain the Dutch Church. Soon after the English took possession of Ceylon the English Baptist Missionary Society sent out Mr. and Mrs. Chater, who commenced their labor at Colombo in 1812, and were there most of the time for twenty-two years. Mr. Chater died on a voyage to England, and Mr. Daniel took his place and labored on for fourteen years alone. His labors were not lost, and he was held in great respect by the Cingalese among whom he had labored. That society has done a great work in Ceylon, reaching as many as one hundred and fifty villages. Their force has always been small, but they have many native helpers. In 1814 the Wesleyan Missionary Society sent out five men, who landed at Galle, and some settled there for work among the Cingalese. Others went to Colombo and Jaffna for work among the Tamils. The English governor favored them. The missionaries of this society have been faithful and persevering, and early organized a native agency. The schools and colleges have done an important work. They have a mission among the Veddahs, the most ignorant and degraded of all the people of Ceylon. They have a printing press at Colombo, which they call their "book room." This society has about thirty missionaries, a great number of catechists and native workers, nearly two thousand communicants, and five thousand scholars, and their work is pressed forward with energy. The American Board began a mission in 1813. The missionaries were excluded from Bombay, and one of them, Mr. Newell, went to Ceylon, and in 1815 four others sailed from Boston, and after a voyage of about six months reached Ceylon and began their work at Jaffna, and they continued their labors in that part of the island. Their stations extended to Tillipalli and Batticotti. Governor Brownrigg gave them the use of the old Dutch churches and schoolroom. In 1819 there were added to this mission four men and their wives. A printing press was sent out to them, but Governor Barnes, who had succeeded Brownrigg, forbade the use of the printing press, on the ground that the missionaries were Americans; but the press was not idle, being used by the English Church mission. In 1826 a seminary was opened at Batticotti, which became the best English school on the island. The seminary was a great expense to the mission, as no fees were charged. About twelve hundred students were taught in this school, a majority of whom became Christians. The school was changed into a training school for native helpers. The buildings are now used by the Jaffna College. The college has for its directors missionaries of different bodies, civilians, and native Christians. There is a normal school at Tillipalli doing a good work. The prejudice against female education has passed away, and the school for girls at Oodooville has had a continued success. The printing press of the society is now in the hands of the natives, and most of the churches have become self-supporting. There are eight stations and twenty-four missionaries, with thirty native preachers and nine teachers, with a large number of scholars. The English Church Missionary Society began its work in 1818 among the Cingalese and Tamils at Nellore, Point de Galle, and Kandy. Kandy was the center of Buddhism, and the people were under the control of the chieftains and priests. The society started schools for boys, and met with moderate success, but it was ten years before a girls' school was opened. The prejudice against the education of women was very great. The work was difficult and moved slowly. The center of this work was at Cotta, near Colombo. They had schools and a printing press. The work is principally among the Cingalese and Tamils, and there are over seventeen hundred native Christians, with schools and many scholars, and a college at Kandy. This society derives very much of its support from the planters of the island. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel entered this field in 1838. The society has worked among the mixed races of the island. They have a college at Colombo under the management of the church, with many schools and scholars. The important feature of this work is educational. There are other missionary societies at work among the people, and all the societies are giving special attention to schools and colleges, and the education of the young. The young men are anxious to learn the English language. Many of the schools, as well as the churches, are self-sustaining. Many of the Cingalese and Tamils that were educated in these mission schools have become teachers, some physicians, some lawyers, some are magistrates, and many have become ministers. I found that some are now holding positions of respect in Madras, and some are in Singapore and many other places.—Gospel in All Lands.