Related Letters - 1896.10.03 Wolfe to Baring-Gould
Letter
Foochow October 3rd, 1896
My Dear Mr. Barring-Gould,
I have endeavoured in as brief a manner as possible to answer the questions in the memorandum sent appended to your letter of August 7th. There are, however some points of difficulty, which I think I ought to notice more fully for your information in connection with our Church Council Organization here, with reference to the Systems of Church councils in themselves, no thing I think could be better calculated for the building up of the Mission, and training the Churches in the various counties the habit of self government and self support. But of course , as you may well imagine, considering the Class from which the vast majority of our converts come to us (“not many free, not many noble,”) the delegates who are sent from the various congregations to represent them at these Church councils, are themselves immature in many of qualities which are requisite for the complete carrying out of the objects of these Church councils. The result of this comparative want of experience and ability, throws upon the European Chairman a peak amount of of responsibility and often times places him in considerable difficulty with reference to his loyally carrying out all the rules and laws of the Church councils…
At this point the letter continues at length to discuss the challenges facing the local church council. Near the end of the letter, Archdeacon Wolfe comments on the state of the recently arrived women missionaries.
…The ladies are now settled in Hok Chaing. Miss Oatway and Miss Barber are staying for a short time at Ko Sang Zhe with Miss Wolfe Miss Harrison and Miss Andrews. I notice a good deal of feeling between the ladies trained at Highbury and those trained at the Willows. This is rather unsatisfactory. Can it be avoided. Things are now going on more quietly here. The rush to our Churches almost everywhere has subsided but it has left good behind in most of the Churches. There has been a good many disappointments as was supposed, but more understandably there has also been and is still much encouragement, the Chinese Authorities have taken alarm and have done and are doing all they can to put down the movement…
The letter ends after further discussion of the current state of affairs with the local authorities.