|
Principal Henderson’s Testimony—Last
Year’s Report—The Future of Lovedale—The Career of Lovedale Boys and
Girls.
‘When I hear any one objecting to missions, my reply
is "Lovedale."—A Glasgow Merchant.
‘Lovedale is the very best possible institution for
Africa.’—Major Malan.
‘Our aim is not to glorify Lovedale or ourselves by
reflected rays.’— Dr. Stewart
THE
Rev. James Henderson, M.A., J.P., Stewart’s
successor, thus describes the present position of Lovedale :— ‘Lovedale
To-day. — The circumstances
of the Institution from the outstart made for greatness. The presence of
European pupils postulated well-trained teachers. It became the principal
high school—for long it was the only one—in that part of the country. It
was the centre of a great and successful missionary movement. It
inevitably attracted to itself men of force with an outlook upon the
future. One of the most difficult problems of the age is being worked out
in practice by a European population no larger than that of a second-rate
city, spread over territory of greater extent than the Continent of
Europe. Lovedale was from the outstart the leading force making for a
peaceful solution of the Native question; and
that position it has retained, changing and adapting itself to the
changing circumstances of the times. Lovedale stood for a clear-cut policy
when there was no definite Native policy of any kind in the minds of the
non-missionary settlers. The same statement applies to it to-day. There is
a Lovedale policy to-day, believed in and disbelieved in, respected and
hated, but, however regarded, a force to be always reckoned with. That
this is so is unquestionably due in great measure to the faith, the
courage, the sagacity, and foresight of the late Dr. Stewart. Lovedale was
Dr. Stewart and Dr. Stewart was Lovedale for nearly half a century.
‘What first strikes strangers
visiting Lovedale from elsewhere in South Africa is the attention given to
outward arrangements and amenities. No where in the Eastern Province are
there grounds so well laid out and kept in such good order as those at Lovedale. The stately oak and pine avenues, the well-kept gravelled roads
and paths, the trimmed turf, the flower and shrub plots, the substantial
and well-appointed buildings are worthy of a great English school, and
there is a spaciousness in the distribution of the buildings that few
schools enjoy. The dining-halls may even be described as noble. The
class-rooms are worthy of a University College. [Some
thought that too much money had been spent on these buildings. By far the
greater part of it had been secured by Dr. Stewart himself. He wished
everything to be done adequately and handsomely, so that Lovedale might
supply tangible evidence of the greatness of its aims. The avenue was
worthy of the buildings.] The staff has
generally been of a high order. These circumstances have been regarded by
critics as extravagances on the part of Dr. Stewart. Some of the visitors
who come to Lovedale are sorely grieved at all this "waste" upon Natives.
They do not see that these elevating circumstances are of the essence of
Dr. Stewart’s Native policy. His aim was to bring the Native people into
line with the European occupants of the same land, and he realised that
the basal necessity on the part of those that would uplift them was
respect for them. He believed that they were capable of high attainments,
and he made it his business to bring the best and highest influences,
outward and inward, to bear upon them. Time is, of course, vindicating his
faith.
‘It is apt to be supposed that the
development of Lovedale to what it now is involved no excessive effort or
strain, and that it grew like a river receiving many tributaries. But the
contrary is written large across every block of its buildings. The
Institution has grown by accretion. Dr. Stewart did not hesitate to enter
upon new branches of work when necessity arose, whatever the difficulties
were. Consequently buildings were incessantly undergoing extension, and
all kinds of makeshifts to surmount financial difficulties were devised. I
have seen the remains of three marquees that did service as dormitories
and class-rooms to meet emergencies. No doubt Dr. Stewart had large-minded
and very liberal friends, but the needs of his work and his daring
outstripped even their generosity.
‘The Institution has tended latterly
to become an unwieldy organisation. This is to be met, and has been met
so far, by breaking it up into complete individual entities as in the case
of the Girls’ School and the Hospital. This process must be carried
further to make the Industrial Departments also a separate entity, all of
course under one head. If this is done, further development, should such
become necessary, may be undertaken with safety. The finances of the
Institution steadily improve, the burden falling increasingly upon the
beneficiaries, and they are becoming stable. The Institution, under the
hand of God, has the promise of a future even greater than its past.’
During his last visit home Stewart
collected about £7000 for extensions at Lovedale. That sum has recently
been spent in enlarging the buildings for boys and girls. During the past
year the enrolments of students rose to 894, the highest number yet
reached. The Rev. F. B. Meyer writes that ‘he addressed there between
thirty and forty sons of chiefs, some of whom are heir-presumptive to vast
territorial influence.’ The other year one hundred applicants had to be
turned away for want of room. You can hardly go to any town or village in
South Africa where you will not find Lovedale pupils. In spite of the
prevailing financial depression, the income from the fees showed a decided
increase. [The sum for last year was over £5500, and the whole sum paid
for fees since the commencement is £83,988.] It is a remarkable fact that
cultivated Hindus pay less money for education than savage Kafirs pay at
Lovedale. The host of Clubs and Societies with which the Institution
abounds maintains a vigorous life. Many reasons dispose us to believe that
Stewart’s work at Lovedale will be permanent. For it is in very capable
hands; great is the power of its past and traditions; its palpable
atmosphere of goodwill to the natives is very attractive: it will be
reinforced by the Native College; it appeals to the chief needs of the
natives, many of whom are ambitious to better their lot. It will probably
thus continue to be the mother and model of South African Educational
Institutions, and the fosterer of peaceful and blessed revolutions. The
name of Lovedale will thus be a symbol of that co-operation between the
white and the native races, without which the prosperity of the country
cannot be secured. And it will be Stewart’s best monument—more enduring
than brass and loftier than the pyramids.
[In 1900 a record was published of
6640 Lovedale students, including 753 Europeans. The following is a list
of their occupations:—
Missionaries or Ministers 57
Evangelists or Catechists 55
Teachers—Male, 458; female, 310, Total 768
Farming their own land 385
Tradesmen, Carpenters, Printers, etc. 352
Interpreters, Magistrates’ Clerks, or in
Postal and Telegraph Work 112
In Railway and Police Work 86
Law Agents and Clerks 15
Engaged in Transport, General Labour, or at the Diamond and Gold Fields,
about . . . 1000
In Domestic Service, or Married Women, or Girls employed at their Homes,
about . . . 500
The numbers employed at the mines
and other labour centres and in domestic service are constantly varying,
and are thus stated approximately. These numbers are significant as
supplying one answer to the frequently repeated statement that
Christianity and education spoil the native and make him lazy.
Lovedale has been a good recruiting
ground for ‘Christ’s militia.’ During 1906, 46 of the pupils
volunteered for Foreign Missions. |
