Related Letters - 1897.10.20 Wolfe to Baring-Gould
94 Park Lane Clissold Roan N(?)
Dear Mr. Baring-Gould,
There are one or two matters which I am anxious to write to you about. Last Novbm. application was made by the China Council of the Hok Chiang district of the .Wm. Jones Committee for grants for the selection of some 3 or 4 places of worship. Which the Christian themselves have Subscribed the amount usually required of them before such application as I have mentioned could be sanctioned. These applications were sanctioned by the Church Council, the minutes of which were read at the Sub-Conference and approved. No notice apparently has been taken of the applications and the Christians according to last news which I had from Foochow, are waiting and wondering whether they are to receive these grants or not. It is possible however that they have been made but that they had not reached Foochow before my information was sent off.
2 Ladies were sent out for the country viz. the large and populous district above Foochow in the Au Kwang Kien or country. These ladies viz. Miss Molloy, Miss Sutter & Miss Newton are still in the settlement at Nantai. As it is most important that this place (Aukwang) should be occupied at once of these ladies it will be necessary to provide a house for them there. It is one of the most important places in the whole district. Before I left, Mr. Lloyd & myself visited this place in order to secure a site. A most suitable site was offered to us for $300, but has we had neither the money to purchase the site or to erect the house, we could do nothing more in the matter. I should have brought this to your notice before now, but as I know you were over-pressed with work I refrained from troubling you with them. To our Foochow work however they are important matters to be dealt with and I trust you may be able to bring them before Your Committees and have them settled if possible.
3 I was asked by the Subconference to bring the subject of house accommodation at Foochow before you and explain the necessity for this. I have done so in one of the Papers I filled in the Committee with T. J. E.(?) I hope some steps may soon be taken to supply this great need at Foochow. The Conference more than once have pressed for a grant to erect this necessary building in or near the Foreign Settlement. There are so many missionaries, male and female, now passing to & fro from Foochow that it causes many serious difficult[ies] indeed to house them. All other missions have such places for the accommodation for their missionaries, but we at Foochow have nothing of the sort.
Yours very sincerely, John R. Wolfe
We have had rather bad news of some of the ladies with reference to health. Miss Leybourn & Miss Barber both are rather out of health. The later is in Hospital. Miss Leybourn seems to have been ill for some long time. I fear they have studied too hard. Miss Faithful Davis(?) has had bad fever & at one time [was] not expected to live, but she is now, I am thankful to say, out of danger.