Mr Sayres Despairs

View from Golden Island, 2011. The Yangtze maintains to this day a majestic beauty.
It was into this remote wilderness and ancient culture that the Missionaries sought to bring
their Christian value set.  

One member of the mission, William Sayres meanwhile purported to be in despair and resorted to a statistical analysis to back up his diagnosis of the mismanagement of  the Protestant Episcopal Mission, settling on a one-to-one comparison with the achievements of the Mission with their Presbyterian rivals:

These are the figures last year:

Presbyterian Mission--
Missionaries 55, Native Preachers 16, Native Assistants 134, Communicants 3,302, Stations 10, Scholars 2,092, Expense of Mission $98,240.

Protestant Episcopal Mission--
Missionaries 13, Native Preachers . . . , Native Assistants . . ., Communicants 400 [Annual Report 1884 says 326.], Stations 2, Scholars Expense of Mission $44,000.

From the above you will notice the Presbyterian Mission have over four times more missionaries in the field than we have; five times the number of stations and the communicants exceeds by more than eight fold. Why is this? We were on the field three years in advance of the Presbyterians. What a showing ours is after nearly forty-nine years of labour and expense. 

All these complaints however were to no avail, and it was reported finally on October 29th 1884, that William Jones Boone had been consecrated in Shanghai with Herbert Sowerby in attendance. Boone was to die of tuberculosis just seven years later in 1891, by which point the mission of Herbert Sowerby and Ann Fanny Wombwell was entering its last chapter. Which, as it happened, was just as well for them. 

The Attacks Continue

Figurines on Golden Island on the Yangtze, 2011. Missionary attitudes towards Chinese culture and history varied wildly, and at their worst were racist and dismissive.

A chief mover in the assault on the Rev. W. J. Boone and his acolyte, Herbert Sowerby, was Ferdinand McKeige, a prolific and energetic contributor to the ongoing discussion, who never seemed to tire of singling out Herbert Sowerby for further criticism and invective:

I would like to state here, that in replying to Mr. Sowerby's letter, I had not the slightest intention of bringing Mr. B. prominently before the public, but simply to show Mr. Sowerby he could not write such a disingenuous letter without running the risk of being replied to. ..

The editorial in the Star in the East of June 6 (if its statements were untrue) ought to have brought forth an unequivocal denial from someone connected with the mission, thereby correcting what is the general impression and belief among missionaries, that ritualism does exist at St. John's and that the College is a poorly managed affair at the best. No attention, however, was given the article until June 11, when Mr. Sowerby, over the nom de plume of "A Member of the Mission," sent to the North-China Daily News for publication one of the most disingenuous letters I have ever seen… 

Every member of the Shanghai mission is aware of the fact that it is believed by outsiders that ritualism exists at St. John's. I have before me the entire correspondence in regard to this matter as it appeared in the Southern Churchman; there are eight letters and two editorials. 

This of itself is abundant proof that Mr. Sowerby knew that absurd reports were actually facts. If Mr. Sowerby's letter was not an attempt to dodge the truth, then I do not know what to call it... If Mr. Boone was not the originator of Mr. Sowerby's letter, he was a party to the statements it contained...

The accusations about Boone’s mission continued to mount: Gambling at the Mission School in Shanghai, drunken native staff, opium use, incoherent preaching by Mr Boone and physical fights between staff were just some of the accusations that now received a public airing. Another member of the mission, William Sayres concluded with a full-fronted personal assault on the Reverend Boone:

I shall not go here into further particulars regarding studies, further than to point out the absurdity of Mr. Boone's being in charge of what he knows so little about. His ignorance of the language is well-known in China, among both foreigners and natives. I do not believe he is able to read an ordinary Chinese book or newspaper, and I will venture to say that he does not even know by name the books used in the College, and could not give a list of them. Nay more, I believe that he could not give the name of any book used in the college. I mean, of course, Chinese book.

In response to this sensitive assessment of the prospective Bishop's virtues, another correspondent was inspired to pen the following generous and charitable assessment of the Chinese character more generally:

I am convinced, after a residence of six years in China, almost every day of which I have been brought in contact with Chinese in connection with business matters, and have had every opportunity to observe their traits of character--that they need very careful watching, the man that looks upon a Chinaman as a fool, is indeed a fool himself--it has been the great mistake of more than one Missionary in this land to accept the honesty and morality of a Chinaman upon a profession of faith, and this one thing has done much to retard the progress of the work. 

The missionaries, it seemed had a special term for locals who made false professions of faith in order to benefit from missionary largesse. They called them ‘rice Christians’. It is not entirely surprising in the light of all this that there were certain groups of Chinese who had decided that they had very much had their fill of the Missionary sense of humour, and indeed their presence more generally. 

The Knives Come Out

Approaching the Three Gorges Dam and Yichang, 2011, 

in the heart of the Missionary lands.

The next response to Herbert’s contribution showed just how vicious the missionaries could be when it suited them, as well as how the Protestant Episcopal Mission itself seemd to have degenerated into a state of civil war:

On the 13th of June last there appeared in the columns, of your paper a letter from "A Member of the Mission," in which, after giving Mr. Boone's pedigree, he goes on to say, "Whereas certain absurd reports are believed to be current as to ritualism at St. John's College, it may be well to add that Mr. Boone's election is not only satisfactory to the members of the mission, but is also spoken of in the leading Church paper." 

The above statements, coming as they do from one clergyman under the sanction of another, I have never seen excelled in point of disingenuousness. The writer has evidently sought to make the public believe that the reports which are current on the subject of ritualism were without foundation. "A Member" cannot be ignorant of the correspondence of members of the mission in regard to, this very matter, no less than five of its members having taken part in it. [Appleton, Graves, Sayres, Thomson, and Boone (through Mr. Kimber.)] 

How then can he write, "certain absurd reports are believed to be current"? 

This is easily understood when it is known that "A Member" is a candidate for priest's orders and his passing the necessary examination depends in a measure upon the leniency of the Bishop-designate. [Came to China (a Baptist by profession) a member of the China Inland Mission, after remaining in this mission about eighteen months, left and joined the American Bible Society, remained one month, and became connected with the P. E. Mission.] 

With this in view, one is forced (although unwillingly) to the conclusion that it was a diplomatic move, and not a wish to correct any false impressions…

I am prepared to state, and I do so advisedly, that "A. Member's" letter was submitted to the Rev. Wm. J. Boone for approval before its publication and its appearance in the columns of your paper is positive proof of Mr. Boone being a party to his own eulogy…

F. McKeige

The knives were well and truly out. And Herbert Sowerby’s transfer from the China Inland Mission to the Episcopal Mission, it is revealed had come via a short stay of a month with the American Bible Society. What was more, he was initially a Baptist. 

The implication is clear – Herbert was nothing more than a calculating denominational opportunist, interested only in climbing the church career ladder.