Related Letters - 1905.10.03 Wolfe on Crumpe
Letter
Church Missionary Society
October 3. 1905
My dear Mr. Baring-Gould
I have been asked by the unanimous vote of the Standing Sub-Committee to write to you respecting Miss Crumpe, formerly of the C.E.Z.S and to enquire if the P.C. would now be willing to take her on here as an agent of the C.M.S.
Miss Crumpe has not been in any way approached on this subject as to whether she would be willing to join the C.M.S. staff or not, and we do not wish to say a word to her about the matter or even to the Ladies Conference till we first communicate with you and hear from you whether or not the P.C. would be willing to take her on as an agent. Should you say no. Then of course the matter is ended and Miss Crumpe need never hear of the action of the S.S.C. or of the refusal of the P.C. to employ her.
We are now in very real need of more lady missionaries in this big City and suburbs whether for work in schools or in visiting among the women in their homes in the City or surrounding towns and villages, and it is the unanimous feeling of the brethren here, and as far as I know of the Ladies also, that we could not find a more competent one for this work than Miss Crumpe. We think she is amongst the most able and competent of our Missionary ladies in the Mission, whether for school or itinerating work. Of course you are aware of the difficulty which resulted in her separation from the C.E.Z.S. here. At the time most of us felt that Miss Crumpe was more sinned against than sinning and we keenly felt that she was unjustly dealt with. This however need not be entered upon now, but just to mention that some at least of those who were then unfavourable towards her are now among the most foremost in recognizing her value and wishing that she might be taken on by the C.M.S. for work here.
As I said above we do not know, nor have we enquired whether Miss Crumpe would be willing to join the C.M.S. staff here but we feel that if the P.C. should be willing and Miss Crumpe herself should consent, a great advantage would be on the side of the Society’s work in this place in having so able a worker and one in every way fitted for missionary work whether among women or girls. No one here can for a moment doubt as to the devotedness and spirituality of Miss Crumpe. She has now been working here independently among the women for several years, but under great and distressing difficulties which she has born nobly as a true Christian Missionary but we think her usefulness would be much enhanced if she were connected with some regular Society when she could throw all her energies into the work which she can hardly do under her present circumstances. Please send a private answer about this matter so that Miss Crumpe may never know that this request has been sent to you should your answer be a refusal.
I am dear Mr. Baring Gould
Your very Sincerely,
John R. Wolfe.
P.S. of course if you should be writing to take her on & she were willing to join the Staff application would be made in the usual way by both conferences here.