The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-01-29
A Missionary Novelty.

NEW YORK, Jan. ia revolution.
ist missionary sailed from this port to-day.
lie is going to make campaign in
Africa on o new and astonishing plan.
Should be succeed, the whole system Of
evangelization among the heathen would
be radically changed. There would be
no more collections in the churches for
foreign missions, and the millions upon
millions devoted annually to that cause
could be used in other directions. This
remarkable religious adyenturer is Bishop
William Taylor, of the Methodist Epis.
copal Church. He has for months been
preparing for the work. His army Of
forty men are enlisted. They will begin
to hold public meetings tomorrow in
this city, for the purpose of gaining the
praverful interest of Christians, and on
Thursday next will embark to join their
leader in London. On the vessel with
them will be taken a supply of tents,
clothing and food. This small army will
penetrate a region of Africa utterly uu-
known to civilization, South of the Con.
go, inhabited by tribes of the widest
and least intelligent of negroes. The
missionaries who have volunteered for
the expedition are mostly young men, in
whom Bishop Taylor, a veteran cam
paigner, has inspired high degree Of
hope aud zeal.
But the project has not the favor Of
the Methodist Bishops in general. They
do not believe in the practicability of the
principle on which it is based-which is
that all missionary work ought to be
self-supporting. When the general
Missionary Committe met last mouth to
arrange for this years movements, ap-
propriatons were voted to one after an
other of the foreign missions supported
by the church, until Africa's turn came.
That continent had previously been ap.
portioned to Bishop Taylor. He had
travelled to New York to be present at
the meeting, and there was vague ex-
pectation of something odd from him,
but the radical nature of his views was
not suspected. 1t was decided to author.
ize au incursion into the middle of
Africa, aud then discussion of the ex-
pense was begun. Then the bombshell
was exploded.
81 am the Bishop of Africa" said
Taylor, "and I only ask hands off. /
propose to inaugurate self.supporting
missions. If it is understood among the
natives that l have missionary society
behind me with fund, all kinds of tel-
lows will want to screw on their hose and
draw. Christ sent out the 70 without
purse or scrip, and said that he sent them
as lambs among wolves. Very good for
the wolves men would say; but they
went, and had such great spiritual results
that they forgot the financial matter in
their report, until the Master called their
attention to it by the question, Lacked
ye anything?' 1 claim the right to go
to the people, accept their hospitality,
and teach them to sustain their own
Christianity. 1 only demand to be let
alone"
Bishop Taylor has reputation for
earnestness and determination amount
lug to doggedness, and all efforts to dis
suada him availed naught. II was deter
mined, therefore, to permit his expert
ment, which he has now set out to try.
He takes along all the requisites for
travel to the region selected and for
camping there few months, but is not
to have single dollar from the church
fund.
Nothing but failure is looked for by
the Methodist managers. 1t is pointed
out that Taylor tried his hobby to lin
tied extent in South America, and in
year did not make convert. Bishop
Merrill says that it will undoubtedly
prove futile to attempt the establishment
of selfsupporting missions in purely
heather regions. "There is no shadow of
promise in this matter" he declares,
1.-THE idea is absurd. But men have been
led into the affair, and the Church will
have to be ready to give them a helping
hand when they come to need it,"
Bishop Bowman says that Bishop Tay-
lor's position implies that missionary
work, as heretofore conducted, is a
scheme of pauperization, which is far
from the truth. Bishop Merrill thinks
that, in case Taylor should die in the
field, his white followers would be left to
die, unless succored by the Church.
Altogether, the expedition is regarded as
foolhardy in the extreme, and it is wholly
discountenanced by the Methodist rulers,
Though they have never felt warranted
to iDterpose officially. Bishop Taylor
said while before his departure: "Just
as surely as there is d God in heaven, l
shall reform this whole business of for.
eirn missions"