CHAPTER XXI.

CHURCH-BUILDING FUND--SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE IRISH CLERGY--THE MADRAS GRAMMAR SCHOOL--MEMORIAL TO GOVERNMENT--PRIMARY VISITATION--DEATH OF MRS. CORRIE--ORDINATION--DEATH OF BISHOP CORRIE.

On the return of the Bishop from Tanjore and Tinnevelly, he took measures for securing that certain subscriptions collected in Madras, toward the building of churches, and which had hitherto been transmitted to Calcutta, to the “fund for all India,” should henceforth be vested in Trustees, and be applied, under the direction of diocesan and local committees, exclusively to the wants of the presidency of Madras. The Bishop, also, in addition to his other occupations, preached every Wednesday afternoon during Lent at the church in the Fort, and on Friday evenings at the Cathedral. In a letter which relates these circumstances, the Bishop also observes

TO MR. SHERER.

“April 5, 1836.

“A movement has lately taken place among the East Indian community which indicates improvement. Arrangements are being attempted for establishing an Indian Missionary Society. One rule is to be, that no missionary engaged by them shall receive above eighty Rs. a month, and as much less as may be. This, originating with themselves, looks well, but nothing is yet settled, nor any formal announcement of the Society.”

The provisional Committee, however, of this projected Indian Missionary Society, soon afterwards issued an outline of their plan of operations, which was of the so-called liberal dissenting caste.

As the story of the persecutions and sufferings of the Irish clergy, had by this time reached India, it is scarcely necessary to say that Bishop Corrie sympathised deeply with those his brethren, in their afflictions. Thus he writes

TO MR. SHERER.

“Madras, July 4, 1836.

“I was requested by some friends to call a meeting[180] to consider on means for relieving the Irish Clergy. A failure was predicted, but £300 were subscribed in the room, and sent to the Archbishop of Armagh, by the last ship: £400 more have been since received by our treasurer; and by the end of the month we expect to receive in all 10,000 Rs.”

The Bishop then goes on to state, that

“What seems of most importance to this place, is the establishment of a Grammar school. About four years ago I wrote, or authorised Mr. M. to write, for a master for the Calcutta High School. Mr. M. and I, when I was at home, talked over the subject of a master, and he renewed his enquiries, and found one. Amidst my many new avocations, the subject had quite escaped me, till I received an official notice from the High School Committee, that they did not require a master, and should not receive the one engaged, nor honour Mr. M’s draft for his passage. At first I was in trouble, but friends here viewed this refusal as providential for Madras. The Bishop of Calcutta sent me 1000 Rs. to pay the passage-money, on the young man’s arrival in the Juliana. He agreed to remain here, and we fulfilled all his expectations from Calcutta. On the 1st inst. the school commenced, near Mr. Tucker’s Chapel, with thirty-three pupils, and the prospect of not fewer than 100. But salaries of all grades are lower here than in Calcutta; and instead of eight Rs. for each boy, as there, we can only charge four Rs. So that we shall have more to struggle with here. But the work is, I trust, indeed of God, and will prosper. The new Roman Catholic Bishop and his Chaplain, had opened a school near where ours is, and had about forty boys, most of them sons of Protestants, who will now come to us again.”

The school here referred to, is that now called by the Bishop’s name, and was in fact, the resuscitation of a school known as the “Parental Academy,” but which had been closed for nearly two years, in consequence of the inability of the managing Committee to meet with a suitable master. On its being merged in the Madras Grammar School, the former laws of the Academy were remodelled, and a general outline of a course of instruction prescribed; the whole being accomplished mainly at the suggestion or by the assistance of the Bishop.

It was also about this time that the attention of Bishop Corrie, was more particularly occupied by a desire to aid in abating the hardship which Government imposed on the christian servants of the Company, both civil and military, by obliging them to attend at the religious festivals of heathen and Mahommedans; and, in some instances, by calling upon them to present offerings, and to do homage to senseless and impure idols. Many had been the representations, to the authorities in England, of the sinfulness connected with this direct encouragement of idolatry, and the violence which was thus done to the consciences and feelings of the public servants of the Government; not to mention the inconsistency of a compulsory attendance on an unchristian ceremonial, with that toleration which Government professed to afford to all their subjects in the East. Wearied out, as it would appear, by the importunity of the aggrieved parties, the Court of Directors, in a dispatch to the Indian Governments early in 1833, ordered, among other things

“That the interference of British functionaries in the interior management of native temples; in the customs, habits, and religious proceedings of their priests and attendants; in the arrangement of their ceremonies, rites, and festivals; and generally, in the conduct of their interior economy, shall cease.

“That in all matters relating to their temples, their worship, their festivals, their religious practices, and their ceremonial observances, our native subjects be entirely left to themselves.”

It might have been thought that a dispatch so plain, and direct in prohibiting any further outrages on the consciences of christians, would have met with the ready attention of the local Governments in India; but as regarded Madras, it does not appear that a single step was taken to carry this positive order into effect. After submitting, therefore, for three years more to this unaccountable clinging of Government to Mahommedanism and idolatry, it was resolved by a numerous body of the clergy, civilians, and military, under the presidency of Madras, to address the local Government. Accordingly, a Memorial was drawn up, in which the evils complained of were enumerated, and the recital of them corroborated by documentary evidence; and which concluded by respectfully but earnestly praying, that the instructions of the Court of Directors might be practically and universally enforced. This document Bishop Corrie was requested to forward to Government, but in the first instance, he had thought it better, as a matter of courtesy and good judgment, to submit a copy of it to the Governor, in his private capacity; and in doing so, the Bishop pointed out to Sir F. Adam, in what respects the relief prayed for might, as he thought, be readily conceded. The Governor was at the time residing on the Nilgherries, but the Bishop’s courtesy was entirely thrown away, for no notice of any kind was taken of his communication. In the month of July, therefore, the Memorial was made public, and signed by about 200 of our countrymen of all ranks; and on the 6th of August, the Bishop forwarded the document to the Governor of Madras in Council, accompanied by the following letter:--

“I have the honour to transmit to your Excellency in Council, at the request of those who have signed it, a Memorial, together with the original signatures to it, enumerating instances wherein those whose duty it is to engage in them, feel themselves aggrieved by practices and orders which seem to them contrary to the command of God; thereby subjecting them to the painful alternative of violating the dictates of their consciences, or incurring the displeasure of the Government; and praying, that the same toleration and exemptions, which have been long granted to their Mahommedan and heathen fellow subjects, may be extended to the Christian members of this Presidency.

“It is my duty to state, that I fully concur in every part of the Memorial, and its prayer: and I earnestly hope, that it may be thought fitting to concede the full measure of relief prayed for; and in respect to such part as rests alone with the Government of India to grant, that your Excellency in Council will be pleased to transmit the Memorial to the Right Honorable the Governor General in Council, with your powerful recommendation in its favour.”

For a length of time this Memorial, like the Bishop’s former communication, was not honoured by any reply. Certain rumours, however, were afloat, to the effect, that angry feelings had been stirred up in the mind of the Governor in Council. And this proved to be the case: for (that the whole history of this transaction may be brought together) it may be stated, that early in October, the Bishop received a letter from the Chief Secretary to the Government, reproaching him in very unbecoming terms, for not “using his influence to allay the zeal of overheated minds;” and informing him that both the Memorial and a copy of that letter had been forwarded to the Governor-general. A communication like this could have no other effect throughout India, than to produce in all who knew the parties concerned, and retained the feelings of gentlemen, a blush of shame for the Governor in Council, and the government Secretary. As regarded the insulted prelate, it had long been a settled conviction in his mind, that to be truly civilized a man must be truly a christian; his natural disposition, therefore, disposed him to pass over this uncalled-for rudeness, as being but a common-place manifestation of that want of delicacy and refinement which characterises every modification of heathenism. But, holding as he did an official station in the country, it seemed to him that silence under such circumstances might be a compromise of the respect due to his office; and therefore, as soon as the Bishop learnt that a copy of this letter to him had been sent to Calcutta, he addressed the following

TO THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD AUCKLAND.

“On my return to this Presidency a few days since, I first learnt that the Right Hon. the Governor of Madras in Council, had, together with a Memorial on the subject of religious toleration, thought good to send to your Lordship in Council, a copy of a letter dated October 11, addressed to me, and which I had concluded was intended only for the information of the Memorialists. In that letter the Governor has been pleased to admonish me as to the duty my office imposed upon me, with reference to the said Memorial. The authority of Government to dictate to me as to the performance of my duties, I entirely deny. I hold myself free to act on my own judgment, as to what is my duty; and differing entirely as I do from the Right Hon. the Governor of Madras in Council, both as to the propriety of granting the toleration prayed for by the Memorialists, and as to the consequence of deferring to grant the relief sought, I consider myself to have strictly been within the line of my duty in forwarding the Memorial to Government.

“On this point, however, I need not have troubled your Lordship.

“My object is to call attention to the fact, that the Memorial, which I am told I should have used my influence to suppress, was prepared and in circulation for approval or correction, at several of the principal stations of this Presidency, when I arrived at Madras, in the latter end of October, 1835. Copies had been printed for more ready circulation, as I afterwards learnt; and in March last, one of those copies was put into my hands. Observing that officers were employed on services in which I have never known Europeans to be employed in the Bengal Presidency, I took the liberty to forward privately, early in April last, the copy of the Memorial sent me, to the Right Hon. the Governor of Madras, then at the Neilgherries, concluding that he had the power to grant relief to the military; and would, when he knew the pain the performance of those duties inflicted, be disposed to take measures to remove the occasion of complaint. Of this communication no notice was taken.[181]

“I observe that some of the Calcutta newspapers accuse the Memorialists of asking for more toleration than they are willing to grant to others; and similar opinions may be held in other quarters. I therefore take the liberty, in the name of all the clerical subscribers to the Memorial, expressly to deny this; and I am persuaded that I speak the sentiments of the lay subscribers also on this point. If the firing a salute on Christmas day be considered a claiming from the natives a concession in favour of our religion, let the salute be discontinued; and if there be any other ceremony of our religion, on which natives are required to attend (though I know not of any) let compulsory attendance be forbidden.

“If the Memorialists have expressed themselves strongly respecting the object of some of the ceremonies in which they are liable to be called upon to take part, they express only their own repugnance to be associated in such ceremonies, without the slightest wish to impose restraint upon the natives, or to interrupt them in the smallest degree in their own observances. That Protestants may be exempted from taking part in proceedings, which imply the violation of their own peculiar principles, is the only desire of the Memorialists.

“In the hope that the information now conveyed may reach your Lordship before the subject of the Memorial is decided upon in Council, I have the honour &c.”

This letter was dispatched to Calcutta toward the end of November, and was courteously acknowledged by Lord Auckland; but before the official reply to the Memorial was made public in Madras, and in which the conduct of that Government to the Bishop was faintly reprehended, the Bishop was beyond the reach of further insult.

On Friday, Aug. 26, 1836, Bishop Corrie held his primary Visitation in the Cathedral at Madras. The sermon on the occasion was preached by the Bishop’s examining Chaplain, the Rev. J. Tucker, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The Charge, after some preliminary notices of what had been effected by those prelates who had previously held Visitations in Madras, proceeded to touch upon the subject of caste among the professedly Christian natives. On this point the Bishop stated it to be his decided opinion, that those who were engaged in missionary labours should require from all natives desirous of baptism, an explicit avowal, that they regarded all for whom Christ died as spiritually equal in Christ. The Bishop adverted also to the subject of education, and spoke of the necessity of uniting religious instruction with intellectual improvement. He strongly recommended catechetical instruction, as a means of great usefulness. As important auxiliaries to ministerial labours, he mentioned several Societies with approbation; and suggested with regard to Visiting Societies, whether paid agency might not be beneficially employed.

The Bishop then alluded to the prospects of Christianity in India; and whilst recognizing the good feeling which prompted some persons to desire that christians of every denomination should unite to spread the gospel among the heathen, he yet regarded such an union as impracticable. He noticed, moreover, the subject of admitting persons into Holy Orders, and expressed it to be his opinion that a competent degree of learning should be found among the general body of the clergy. Although there might be circumstances under which a Bishop in India would have to be content with a lower standard of acquirements in candidates for the ministry, yet, it was his opinion, that at the very least a Bishop ought to demand a fair English education, a thorough knowledge of history, chronology, the prophetical parts of scripture, and of the evidences by which the Bible is proved to be the word of God; besides a full acquaintance with the doctrines of our Church, and a general knowledge of the arguments by which its polity may be vindicated.

After referring to the age at which the Bishop wished young persons to be presented for Confirmation, and mentioning some arrangements and regulations he hoped to establish respecting the celebration of marriages, the Bishop concluded his Charge by putting his Clergy in mind of the great importance of self-devotion to the work of their ministry.

With reference to this meeting of his clergy, the Bishop observes in a memorandum, dated

“Aug. 30, 1836. On Friday last I held my first Visitation. Preparing a Charge was a matter of much anxiety; especially as the Bishop of Calcutta had entered so minutely, in his Charge of Dec. 1834, into all particulars connected with ministerial duty, and with the circumstances of this country. By God’s goodness I accomplished my purpose, and must leave the result to God. In the evening, the Clergy dined with me, in number, including some catechists, twenty. I now desire to consider what may be the proper objects of my journey to the out-stations. 1st. The encouragement of the pious, by preaching, conversation, and joining in religious exercises. 2nd. The examination of schools, and confirming the young, and exhorting them, both before and after Confirmation. 3rd. By endeavouring to set right many points of litigation; and to establish, if possible, a good understanding between Chaplains and military Commanders. There is at present much irritation on that point; and the Government is disposed to act very arbitrarily towards Chaplains. In all these attempts, may my sufficiency be of God, and His strength perfected in my great weakness!”

The day following the date of this memorandum, the Bishop prepared to leave Madras for the purpose of visiting some of the out-stations. The places he purposed to visit were Wallajabad, Arnee, Arcott, Vellore, to Bangalore; thence to Bellary, Hyderabad, Masulipatam, returning down the coast to the presidency. The following notices of his visitation were drawn up, after his return to Madras:--

“I left Madras, accompanied by the venerable Archdeacon Harper, on the evening of August 31st. Our first visit was to Wallajabad. Every thing appeared well conducted in this important Institution.[182] The youths, eighty-seven in number, with the other members of the establishment, were assembled for Divine service, and the orderly behaviour, and cheerful appearance of the boys, manifested that Mr. Hall, the sub-conductor in charge, deserves the good opinion which has been entertained of him. He deserves also much credit on account of his attention to the religious instruction of the boys.

“All that seems wanting is a good school-master, with leisure to the boys from their respective drills for two hours each day, (which at present is not allowed) for receiving instruction in reading, writing, &c. with a small suitable library, which might be supplied at very little expense. The good to be effected by this institution has already begun to appear in the young men already appointed to Corps. At Vellore we found a set of the Wallajabad youths attached to the 25th N. I. of whose general good conduct the adjutant spoke in high terms. Another set was at Bangalore, who were also well spoken of, and from the 26th N. I. the adjutant writes, since my return to Madras, ‘the sixteen drummers and fifers, all protestants, from the depôt at Wallajabad, are the most promising youths of the kind I have ever yet seen.

“At Arnee there is no place of worship for the soldiers to assemble in--a temporary place erected by subscription of the officers and privates, had lately been blown down. A small building erected at the expense of the pious soldiers, and capable of holding only 150 or 200 persons, was used for the services connected with the Confirmation. The Chaplain of Arcot attends alternate Sundays, there being no house at Arnee in which he can reside. He had been indefatigable and successful in preparing candidates for Confirmation, of whom seventy-one were confirmed; several being rejected as too young, and some because of unestablished moral habits. Should a regiment be again stationed here, a suitable though temporary building should be erected for public worship.

“A Temperance Society of about sixty members exists in H. M. 41st Regiment.

“At Arcot, the church is small, but in good order. The interior arrangements are not well done, so that much room is lost. Thirty-two persons were confirmed, all East Indians, including a few from Vellore. Here the care of the Chaplain, as at Arnee, appeared in the intelligence manifested by the young people of Arcot, beyond those of Vellore. At Vellore, the whole christian community attended Divine Service on Tuesday, 6th September. The place used for Divine service is part of an old palace, which requires being better fitted up. A school, containing seventy-two children, including a few natives, is supported by subscription, raised at the station. At Vellore, is also a congregation of about 125 natives, including a few families of European pensioners, who are attended to by a native Catechist of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and assemble in a small, but neat chapel, belonging to that Society.

“A peon should be allowed here, to take care of the burying-ground, which was in a neglected state.

“At Bangalore, I remained from the 9th to the 20th September. During that time, I found that the schools and hospitals of the different Corps, had been regularly visited by the Chaplains. A Temperance Society is in existence, containing nearly 200 members. A charity-school for boys, and another for girls, unconnected with the army, each containing about twelve scholars, (who are boarded and clothed also,) are supported by voluntary contributions. A Friend-in-Need Society is also in operation, in which relief is provided for sick natives, and money weekly disbursed in small sums to the needy of that class. The Chaplains have the superintendance of these institutions, assisted by a Committee of the resident gentlemen.

“The regular Sunday services are, one at seven, for one of H. M. regiments, and the Artillery horse and foot with the Christians connected with the native troops. At eleven, a service in the barrack of the regiment, for those who may not have attended in the morning at church--and one service at eleven in church, and at quarter past six in the evening for the station generally. The attendance at these voluntary services is better than at any station in India. Ninety-eight persons were confirmed, and there were no less than 104 communicants.

“From the inconvenient structure of a barrack-room, as well as from the associations connected with it, much of the benefit of Divine service is lost to the troops in the barracks. I, therefore, at the desire of several of the residents, advocated the erection of another[183] place of worship, in a situation more convenient also for the Artillery and Dragoons; and received considerable support towards the attainment of that end. A place should also be fitted up in the Fort, where many Christians connected with the arsenal and public offices reside, and where one of the Chaplains should officiate one evening in the week.

“A congregation of about forty native Christians assemble in the church at nine on Sunday mornings, and are ministered to by a catechist of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.

“I remained from 23rd Sep. to Oct. 3rd at Bellary. This is a large and important field of labour for a clergyman, but there has been no Chaplain here for about three years past; and one consequence appeared in the smaller number of candidates, compared with the population, for Confirmation. Of the fifty who were confirmed, about one half were unconnected with the army. Beside the regimental school, which is well conducted, a charity school of about forty children is supported by voluntary contributions at the station, and a Society is in operation for the relief of poor and sick natives. About 150 rupees a month are expended in this way. Of the soldiers of H. M. 55th, I found a few in communion with the missionaries of the London Missionary Society at Bellary, and about fifteen or twenty in connection with the Wesleyan Methodists. Sixty-four persons attended the communion on Sunday, October 2nd, of whom a considerable number were from the private soldiers.

“Since my visit to Bellary, I learn that an officer of the Brigadier General’s Staff, reads prayers and a sermon in church on Sunday mornings, and that the attendance is considerable. The church at this station needs enlarging; and contributions in aid of the Church-building Fund were set on foot to assist in meeting the necessary outlay. The presence of a Chaplain is greatly desired by the residents, and Ghooty and Cuddapah in this district, should be visited by him.

“I remained at Hyderabad and stations dependent on it, from Oct. 8 to the 25th. Beside the regimental school at Secunderabad, a station school is maintained by subscription, in which about forty boys, of whom seven are entirely maintained by the charity, are educated in English, Teloogoo, and Hindoostanee--also a large class of Teloogoo boys, and a few Tamil boys.

“At Bolaram, in a school, about fifty boys, Christians, Mahommedans, and Hindoos, are instructed in English, and nearly an equal number in Teloogoo; the expences of which are supplied partly by subscription, but chiefly by the Nizam’s Government. An English school of about twenty boys is maintained at the Residency. The Scriptures, in their respective languages, are read in all the classes.

“There are two services in church at Secunderabad on Sundays. The church here, as at Bellary, is far too small for the European congregation. A subscription in aid of the Church-building Fund was commenced here. A congregation of native Christians also assemble in the church on Sundays at 9 A. M.: a native Catechist reads prayers, and a prepared sermon, in Tamil. This congregation consists of about ninety members.

“A Society for the relief of poor natives is also in operation here. About forty sick are usually entertained at a time till they get well; and, in all, about 150 rupees a month, expended on the indigent natives. On Wednesday, the 16th October, 141 natives, including 16 native Christians, were confirmed; and, on the following Sunday, 110 communicants attended at the Lord’s Table.

“At this station, the services of a second Chaplain are greatly required. Besides one of H. M. regiments, two companies of Artillery, and the European details of a regiment of Cavalry, and of four regiments of Native Infantry, with their schools and hospitals, are to be attended to. In addition to which, the Christians connected with the Residency, and some engaged in mercantile pursuits on the one hand, and Bolaram with its 180 Christians, all Protestants, except one family, on the other hand, should be visited on alternate Sundays.

“Jaulna, also within this district, is a large station, and should have a Chaplain appointed to it as soon as possible.

“At Masulipatam I remained from Oct. 26 till Nov. 8th. Here, as at Bellary, there has been no resident Chaplain for several years. The school in the Pettah, founded by Dr. Roy, is at a stand; and no means of education are supplied in the Fort, but by a very aged and nearly superannuated pensioned sergeant. Prayers are read, and a sermon once on Sundays, in the Fort Church by the Fort adjutant, and in the Pettah chapel by a Civil servant.

“The most urgent desire was expressed here, as at Bellary, by the principal residents, for a resident Chaplain.

“On Friday, 4th of November, forty young persons were confirmed, and on the 6th, upwards of forty attended the Sacrament. A Chaplain is much needed here, not only on account of the number of Protestants at the Station, but also on account of the several out-stations in this, and neighbouring districts.

“Passed Sunday, the 13th of November, at Nellore. About sixty persons attended Divine Service in the Court House, of whom fourteen remained to receive the Sacrament. Returned to Madras on November 15th.

“The number of persons confirmed by me at the different stations, amounts to 430; and since my return to Madras, I have confirmed in the Cathedral 139,[184] and at the Poonamalee 48, almost all of the newly-arrived recruits, making a total of 617; of whom not above twenty were native Christians. The remainder Europeans, or descendants of Europeans.

“Archdeacon Harper rendered me the most efficient assistance during my visitation, in inspecting the Registers, and enquiring into the state of the Churches and burial-grounds at the different Stations, as well as inspecting schools, and visiting the sick in hospital. At Bellary and Masulipatam, the labours of the Archdeacon were very heavy in examining the candidates for Confirmation, and baptizing many children, and attending several marriages. Without his aid, my Visitation, imperfect as this my first essay may have been, would have been far more defective.

“I have to acknowledge the most ready and obliging attentions of all the Authorities, both civil and military, with whom my duties brought me into connection.

“In general, I found at each station a considerable prevalence of true religious feeling and practice, especially among the soldiers of His Majesty’s regiments, and the Artillery. Temperance Societies are found to be greatly aiding towards the moral improvement of the army; and though from human infirmity the pledge is too often broken, yet many examples of improvement of character, and benefit to health, appear connected with these Societies, and the general good of society is forwarded by them.

“A farther proof of the prevalence of Christian principles, is the existence of associations for the relief of the native poor, connected with the several stations. I should have noticed in its proper place an association of this kind at Masulipatam also. I have known considerable sums contributed at different stations, for the relief of native poor on particular emergencies; but this permanent care for the native poor, is a manifest improvement in European society.

“These associations have in every case I am acquainted with, arisen under the care of a Clergyman, and supply evidence of the benefit that might arise to the country generally, were the Ecclesiastical Establishment properly kept up.

“The deficiency in the number of Chaplains is greatly felt, and deeply to be lamented. Not only are several large stations without the means of grace, but smaller stations are left without occasional visits of Chaplains, and whole provinces without any appearance of regard by the Government for their spiritual and eternal good. I would earnestly request[185] the attention of the Honourable Court of Directors to this most important subject.

“Sixteen Chaplains only are at their posts, and two are sick (the Reverend Messrs. Cubitt and Græme.) Besides the stations now supplied, and those I have enumerated as calling for Chaplains, formerly there was a Chaplain at each of the following stations, Poonamatee, Chittoor, Vellore, Tellicherry, and Palamcottah. The circumstances of most of these stations are somewhat altered; but connected with each of them are other stations, which were visited occasionally by the Chaplains, nearly all of which are now without the ordinances of religion.”

Besides the information which these notices convey respecting the Bishop’s proceedings on his Visitation, many additional particulars of a more private nature are contained in his correspondence with his wife and relatives. In several of his letters, he complains of having had to undergo excessive fatigue, and from Secunderabad writes to Mrs. Corrie:--

“I am desired by Dr. Meikle to ‘keep quiet’ for a day or two. He says, I have been over-exerting myself, whilst my feeling is that I do nothing to purpose. May God glorify Himself in His very poor servant!”

The fact was, that in travelling by _dawk_ from the banks of the Kistoor to Hyderabad, the journey was performed chiefly in the night, and the Bishop’s rest was consequently disturbed at almost every stage, by natives of rank, who came to pay their respects to him. When entreated by the Archdeacon to spare himself, by declining these civilities, the Bishop’s usual reply was, “When these good people put themselves to so much inconvenience on my account, how can I do less than get out of my palankeen, and exchange a kind word with them?” In a letter, however, which the Bishop on his return to Madras wrote to Mr. Sherer, he observes, “I must not, if spared, make again so hurried a journey. Time is doing its work with me.” Yet very soon after this, all thought of his own health was absorbed in his anxiety respecting that of his wife, who had become so enfeebled as to render it necessary that a sea-voyage should be attempted, as the only human means likely to save her life. But before arrangements could be made for carrying this object into effect, she became suddenly worse; and after two or three days of suffering, died on the 21st of December 1836, in the hope of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bishop drew up, and printed for private circulation, a short account of his wife’s last illness. There are contained in that account, passages of much interest, but which cannot here be transcribed: the substance of all is contained in a single sentence of a memorandum, penned by the surviving mourner himself, dated

“Dec. 24, 1836. When the likelihood of her departure began to be manifest, the Saviour alone was her only ground of hope towards God, and that hope sustained her in peace, though there was nothing of triumph.”

As regarded his own feelings in connection with this heavy domestic trial, the Bishop adds:--

“My feelings of loneliness are indescribable. All before me appears blank; I seem cut off from all earthly good. All this I feel I deserve at the hand of God. He might justly have cast me into the blackness of darkness for ever. Just, therefore, art thou, O Lord, in this dispensation which has laid me so low. Teach me, O Lord, to seek spiritual improvement in it, and let it prove to me ‘loving correction!’”

With reference to this mournful event, the Bishop also observes in the last letter which he lived to address

TO HIS BROTHER.

“You cannot understand the change it [his wife’s death] has wrought in every circumstance of my life; and how at every turn a sense of loss is forced upon me. Yet you have felt an aching void on the death of our own parents and near connections, and can judge of the intensity of pain I at times experience. I will not dwell longer on the subject. I have everything which Christian faith and hope can supply, as to the gain my wife has entered upon, but my own sense of loss prevents, as yet, the consolation I might otherwise possess.”

The necessary occupations, however, connected with his official duties, tended, in some measure, to lessen the Bishop’s keen sense of his bereavement. Among those duties, not the least engrossing, was an Ordination of which he had given notice, previously to Mrs. Corrie’s decease. The Ordination took place on Sunday the 8th of January 1837. The candidates who presented themselves for Holy Orders were missionaries about to be employed by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel--three for Deacon’s Orders and three for Priest’s. Respecting these candidates the Bishop remarks, in the letter just quoted, “both Mr. Tucker and the Archdeacon were well satisfied with their attainments, as they have just cause to be with their piety.” The Bishop himself preached the Ordination Sermon, from Ephes. iv. 11, 12; and took occasion thence to point out the existence of the ministry, as a distinctly-instituted Office in the Church of God throughout all time; explaining, also, the object and end of that Office, and the solemn responsibility attached to it.

It is stated by one who was present on the occasion, that the Sermon was “marked by lucid simplicity, pathos, fervour, and power; mingled with kindly feelings toward other bodies of professing Christians.” And as the opportunity for witnessing the admission, at one time, of so many persons into the Christian ministry, had never before occurred in southern India, the Cathedral was crowded throughout all its usual accommodations.

During this month, also, the attention of the Bishop was a good deal occupied with the subject of a new Church for _St. Thomè_. In the preceding June he had addressed a letter to the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, stating that

“At _St. Thomè_, the original European settlement in this place, is an immense population of all classes; Hindoos, Mahommedans, Portuguese Christians, and very many East Indians baptised in the Established Church, and many connected with the Vepery congregation, distant four or five miles. Bishop Turner, when here, supplied money to purchase a piece of ground on which to erect a place of worship: the purchase was made and the ground lies waste. No further attempt has been made towards providing Christian instruction for those hundreds who are professedly of our communion.”

He undertook, therefore, to ask the aid of the Society above-mentioned, toward building a Church for this spiritually-destitute population; and was so sanguine of the success of his application, that toward the end of January, he visited _St. Thomè_, attended by the Archdeacon and the Rev. W. Taylor, for the purpose of surveying the ground and examining localities. He afterwards requested Mr. Taylor to prepare the heading of a subscription-paper, the first name appended to which the Bishop purposed to be that of “A Friend,” with a subscription of 1000 rupees; that “Friend” having placed a considerable sum at the Bishop’s disposal. Meanwhile, the Society in England entered most readily into his views, contributing from their funds all the sum he stated to be required: but intelligence of that liberality was not destined to gladden his spirit, for his earthly career was now fast drawing to a close.

The Bishop, as has been observed, had complained of great fatigue and exhaustion, when on his Visitation; but it appears that when at Hyderabad, in October 1836, he had suffered also from a pain in the head, which came on suddenly, and was so acute as to oblige him to have recourse to medical advice. From that time this pain never left him; and the constant and peculiar manner in which it affected him, was only not much noticed because he attributed it all to the anxiety of mind he had gone through, on account of his wife. During several weeks, however, the Bishop had been frequently observed to make it a matter of supplication at family-prayer, that himself and household “might be prepared for any sudden or unexpected events which might await them; and might be, moreover, enabled to bear all in a holy temper of mind.” Nor did his petitions prove to be unseasonable: for on Tuesday, January 31st, when on his way to the Fort, in company with the Archdeacon, for the purpose of attending there a meeting of the Committee of the Society for propagating the Gospel, he was seized with an unusual giddiness, which prevented him from reading a paper he had in hand. On reaching the vestry of the Fort church, he suffered very much from pain in the head, and sickness, and was altogether so ill that the Archdeacon (who scarcely ever afterwards left him) had him conveyed home, and medical aid sent for. After leeches had been applied to the head, the Bishop seemed to recover a little from the state of stupor in which he was found to be on first reaching his house; but, except at intervals, he was only partially conscious throughout the four remaining days of his life. When, however, he seemed to revive somewhat, he manifested great pleasure at having passages of scripture read to him. And even on Saturday Feb. 4th, (the day before he died) when sight and consciousness were well nigh gone, he yet indicated his cordial assent to different texts of Scripture which his daughter repeated to him. More particularly when she read Isaiah xii. “I will say, O Lord, I will praise thee,” &c. he asked her to recite Cowper’s paraphrase:

I will praise Thee every day Now thine anger’s turned away; Comfortable thoughts arise From the bleeding sacrifice.

Here, in the fair gospel-field, Wells of free salvation yield, Streams of life, a plenteous store, And my soul shall thirst no more.

Jesus is become at length My salvation and my strength; And his praises shall prolong, While I live, my pleasant song.

Praise ye, then, his glorious name Publish his exalted fame! Still is work your praise exceeds Excellent are all his deeds.

Raise again the joyful sound Let the nations roll it round! Zion shout, for this is He, God the Saviour dwells in thee:

and himself repeated “From the bleeding sacrifice.” To the text “Behold the Lamb of God;” &c. he answered “Yes;” and on her adding “Him hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour;” the Bishop remarked, “A Prince and a Saviour on _all_ occasions.” At another time when his daughter read, “I am the resurrection and the life;” &c. he asked, “Believest thou this?” Then when 1 John iii. 2, had been suggested to him, the dying prelate repeated several times “We shall see Him as He is.” The last Scripture of which he seemed to be conscious, was Rev. v. 13. “Blessing, and honour, and glory, &c., be unto the Lamb for ever and ever;” and in this spirit of praise and thanksgiving he appears to have passed into eternity, for his last words were, “For ever,”--“For ever.” And so this servant of Christ entered into rest on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 5, 1837, in the 59th year of his age.

The _post-mortem_ examination of the body exhibited a solid _coagulum_ of blood, of the size of a turkey’s egg, situate on the right side of the brain, in its substance. The situation and appearance of the _coagulum_, when taken in connexion with the circumstance that the Bishop always felt the pain in the same spot, led the medical men to conclude that the disease was of some standing: that it originated, in fact, in the fatigue and anxiety connected with his Visitation.

The remains of Bishop Corrie were interred in the Cathedral burial-ground, on the evening of the day of his death. The funeral procession was led by the scholars of the Madras Grammar School, of which the Bishop was Patron, and which had been so much indebted to his fostering care. Then followed Gericke’s scholars, and the pupils of the Vepery School; and these were succeeded by a train of Native Catechists. After them, and immediately preceding the coffin, came the Archdeacon and Clergy. The pall was borne by six gentlemen of rank; and the Governor of the Presidency followed as Chief Mourner, supported by the Chief Justice, and the Commander-in-Chief. The Bishop was deposited by the side of Mrs. Corrie, and within a few feet of the spot where, six weeks before, he had stood a widowed mourner over his wife’s remains.

On Monday, 6th February, the Governor in Council issued an Order expressive of his sense of “the respect which the unaffected piety, benevolence and exemplary life” of the deceased Prelate “had universally inspired.” This order appeared in the Government Gazette on the 7th February;[186] and, on the following day, a public meeting, at which the Governor presided, was held in the College Hall, for the purpose of considering the most appropriate mode of expressing the feelings with which the late Bishop was regarded by the inhabitants of the Presidency. This meeting resolved to set on foot a subscription, in order to raise funds for erecting a monument in the Cathedral to the Bishop’s memory: and it was further agreed that any surplus of the funds raised for the monument should be devoted to the founding of scholarships at the Grammar School, to be called “Corrie Scholarships.”[187] The Committee of the Madras Grammar School now resolved also, that their Institution should in future be designated “Bishop Corrie’s Grammar School.”--Funds having accordingly been raised sufficient for the purposes specified, a monument was executed by the skill and good taste of Mr. Henry Weekes, which is now in the Cathedral of Madras.

Nor were the Calcutta friends of the deceased Bishop backward to testify their regard for his worth. For at a public meeting, which was held on the 16th March, in the Town Hall, Bishop Wilson being in the chair, it was resolved to solicit subscriptions for the purpose of erecting marble slabs, both in the old Church and in the Cathedral, to the memory of the deceased Prelate; and for the purchase of a Portrait of him. It was, moreover, resolved to appropriate any surplus funds derived from such subscriptions, to the founding of scholarships in the Calcutta High School, to be called “Bishop Corrie’s Scholarships.”[188] And all these tokens of respect were in due time effected.

In Ceylon, also, a general meeting was called at the King’s house, Colombo, by His Excellency the Governor, at which, subscriptions were entered into for the purpose of erecting a monument to the Bishop’s memory in St. Peter’s Church, Colombo, and for founding scholarships, which should bear his name, in the Grammar School at Madras. Both which objects were accomplished.[189]

Thus terminated the earthly labours of the first Bishop of Madras, after a brief but not unimportant episcopate, if a judgment may be formed from the amount of good effected, from the general gloom which the Bishop’s decease cast over the whole Presidency, and the respect with which his memory was cherished. To those who were intimately acquainted with Bishop Corrie, it will not excite surprise that his death should have called forth all the public manifestations of sorrow and respect, which have here been recited. For after making every abatement for that human sinfulness and infirmity from which he was not exempt, there still remained to him more than an ordinary share of natural kindness of heart, benevolence of disposition, and warmth of affection; so that he could not but be generally beloved. Nor will the reader of these pages be disposed to question that Bishop Corrie will long be remembered in India, as the man of God, through whose instrumentality originated much of the moral good which, since his time, has been slowly spreading itself over that land of darkness and superstition.[190] But chiefly, it is believed, will his name he held in honour throughout our Eastern Empire, as one of that small band of heroic spirits who, in self-devotion to Christ and zeal for the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom, manfully struggled against difficulties and discouragements of which we can form but an inadequate estimate:--who never suffered themselves to doubt but that the cause they had by grace espoused would still go on and prosper, until “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord, unto the glory of God the Father.”

[180] The meeting was held in the College Hall, at Madras, on the 6th of June.

[181] The following was the communication here mentioned: “The accompanying [Memorial] was brought to me a few days since with a request that I would join in a representation to Government on the subject of its contents. I have always abstained from taking part in such representations, being aware that Government may have good reasons for measures, which the public cannot be acquainted with; and, in respect of interference with Pagodas, &c., I have the fullest confidence that Government will pursue the course which appears wise and proper. But with reference to the Christian military servants of the State, who are occasionally compelled to do honour to the superstitions of the country, I am persuaded you will not take amiss my bringing the case to your notice. I have marked the statements in the printed paper which seem to require relief, with the instances cited in the Appendix, assured that your own benevolent regard for the feelings of the Christian soldiery will bring them all the relief that is desirable.”

[182] A school for country-born children, who received a Christian education, and became fifers, &c. to the Company’s Native troops. The school was afterwards removed to Arcot.

[183] About 1000 rupees were, in consequence, collected toward another building; but it does not appear that since the Bishop’s time any Church has been erected there.

[184] The Confirmation in the Cathedral was held on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 1836.

[185] It is satisfactory to know that this request has been attended to.

[186] See Appendix I.

[187] See Appendix II.

[188] See Appendix III.

[189] See Appendix IV.

[190] See Appendix V.

CORRIGENDA.

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APPENDIX.

I.

The following notice appeared in the Government Gazette of Feb. 7th, 1837:--

“With feelings of unfeigned sorrow, the Right Honorable the Governor in Council, records the demise of the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Madras. The Venerable Prelate expired at half past three o’clock, on the morning of Sunday last. As a tribute of respect to his memory, the flag of the garrison was hoisted half-staff-high during the day, and on the funeral procession leaving his Lordship’s late residence, fifty-nine minute guns, corresponding with the age of the deceased, were fired from the Fort battery.

“His Lordship’s remains were attended to the grave by the Right Honorable the Governor, the Judges of the Supreme Court, His Excellency the Commander-in-chief, the members of Council, all the principal civil and military functionaries at the Presidency, and an immense concourse of all classes of the community; desirous of manifesting the feeling of respect which the unaffected piety, benevolence and exemplary conduct of the Bishop, had universally inspired.

“Published by order of the Right Honourable the Governor in Council.

“(Signed) H. Chamier, Chief Secretary.”

II.

On Wednesday evening, Feb. 8th, 1837, a public meeting was held at the College, for the purpose of considering the fittest mode of testifying the regard and respect entertained for the character of the late Bishop Corrie.

The Right Honourable the Governor in the chair. The following resolutions were proposed and carried unanimously:--

1st. That a subscription be entered into for the purpose of erecting a monument in the Cathedral at Madras to the memory of the Right Rev. the late Lord Bishop of the Diocese. Proposed by Sir F. Adam. Seconded by Sir. R. Comyn.

2nd. That after setting aside a sum sufficient to defray the expences of the monument, the residue form a fund for the endowment of scholarships, to be called, “Bishop Corrie’s scholarships,” in Bishop Corrie’s Grammar school. Proposed by Sir P. Maitland. Seconded by Mr. Sullivan.

3rd. That a Committee be formed for the purpose of carrying the above resolutions into effect, and that it be composed of the following gentlemen: Sir P. Maitland, Mr. Sullivan, the Archdeacon, and Col. Cadell. Proposed by Sir E. Gambier. Seconded by

4th. That Messrs. Arbuthnot and Co. be requested to undertake the office of Treasurers. Proposed by the Archdeacon. Seconded by Captain Dalrymple.

5th. Thanks to the Chairman (for his kindness in taking the chair and for his able conduct in it) having been proposed by Brigadier General Doveton, and seconded by Colonel Waugh, the meeting was dissolved.

III.

At a public Meeting of the friends of the late Bishop of Madras, held at the Town Hall, [Calcutta] on March 16, 1837. It was resolved,

1st. That this Meeting has heard with the deepest regret of the demise of the Bishop of Madras, and consider it a duty which they owe to the Church of which he was so distinguished a member, to raise some token of regard to his character at this Presidency, which was the scene of his arduous labours, and his preeminent example for almost thirty years.

2nd. That Subscriptions be solicited for the purpose of erecting a Marble Slab in the Old Church, near those of his revered friends Brown, Martyn and Thomason, and a similar one in the Cathedral; and for painting a likeness of the late Bishop, to be hung up in the Old Church Rooms.

3rd. That the surplus which may remain after defraying the expenses of the Monuments and the Portrait, be appropriated for the purpose of endowing Scholarships in the Calcutta High School, to be called “Bishop Corrie’s Scholarships,” and that especial regard be had in the nomination, to eventual preparation for Missionary labour.

4th. That a Committee be formed of the following Gentlemen, to see these objects carried into effect, viz. to nominate the Trustees for the above purposes. The Venerable Archdeacon Dealtry, Rev. H. Fisher, H. M. Pigou, Esq. Major G. Hutchinson, John Dougal, Esq. A. Beattie, Esq. C. W. Brietzcke, Esq. Rev. R. B. Boswell, Secretary.

5th. That Messrs. Gisborne and Co. be appointed Treasurers, and those who are friendly to the above design, be requested to forward their Subscriptions to those Gentlemen as early as possible.

Resolution of Committee on 6th April, 1837.

The Committee, understanding that an excellent likeness of the late Bishop is in the possession of his friends in England,

Resolved that the Secretary be authorised to write to the Rev. George Corrie, of Catharine Hall, Cambridge, and request him to obtain a copy of this likeness, executed in the best possible way, and to have the same suitably framed and transmitted to India with as little delay as possible.

IV.

At a General Meeting held at the King’s house, Colombo, on March the 3rd, and again by adjournment on March the 7th, called by His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir R. W. Horton, Governor of Ceylon, who presided; it was resolved,

1st. On the motion of the Rev. B. Bailey, seconded by C. E. Layard, Esq. That this Meeting cordially approves the objects contemplated by the Madras Meeting as recorded in their first two Resolutions. (See above p. 632.)

2nd. On the motion of J. Steuart, Esq., seconded by the Rev. Joseph Marsh. That the following gentlemen form a Committee, to correspond with the Madras Committee, viz. The Honourable Mr. Serjeant ROUGH, Chief Justice. The Rev. B. BAILEY, SENIOR Colonial Chaplain. The Rev. J. H. DE SARAM. C. E. LAYARD, Esq. and that the Rev. JOSEPH BAILEY, be Treasurer and Secretary.

3rd. On the motion of C. E. Layard, Esq., seconded by the Rev. J. Bailey. That a plain marble Tablet to the Memory of the Right Rev. DANIEL CORRIE, LL.D. Late Bishop of Madras and Ceylon, be placed in St. Peter’s Church, Colombo, at an expense not exceeding thirty pounds; and that the balance of the subscriptions raised in Ceylon, in excess of such sum, be transmitted to the Madras Committee.

4th. On the motion of the Rev. J. H. De Saram, seconded by the Rev. J. Marsh. That the Secretary be requested to correspond with the Reverend the Clergy at the out-stations of Galle, Kandy, Trincomalee, and Jaffna, on the objects of this Meeting.

5th. On the motion of the Rev. B. Bailey, seconded by C. E. Layard, Esq. That the thanks of the Meeting be given to His Excellency the Governor, for the information he has just given, [respecting the proceedings in 1825, connected with the founding of a Singhalese Scholarship in Bishop’s College, Calcutta] and that he be requested to transmit any further information he may obtain on the subject, to the members of the Committee, for the regulation of their proceedings with respect to CORRIE’S Scholarships.

6th. On the motion of J. Steuart, Esq., seconded by C. E. Layard, Esq. That the thanks of this Meeting be given to His Excellency the Governor, for the interest he has taken in the general objects of this Meeting, and for his able conduct in the chair.

V.

The preceding pages bear sufficient testimony to the zeal and activity of Bishop Corrie, in forwarding every plan for securing a Christian education to the youth of India. But it is well known among the deceased Prelate’s friends, that he was in the habit of translating and compiling school-books for the use of such Hindoostanee schools as more immediately came under his own superintendance. It is a matter of regret that the many enquiries which the Editors of these Memoirs have made, with a view to obtaining a definite list of the books in question, have been but partially successful. It may, however, be mentioned that besides translating into Hindoostanee, Sellon’s Abridgment of Scripture, Watts’ Catechism, The Assembly’s Shorter Catechism, portions of Milner’s Church History, &c., the Bishop drew up in English, “A general Outline of Ancient History,” for the use of the Hindoostanee youth. A third Edition of this “Outline” was going through the press at the time of the Bishop’s death; and other Editions have since then been printed. Among his papers was found, also, a manuscript translation into Hindoostanee of a brief Church History, by the Rev. E. Sims, entitled “Christian Records.”

THE END.

LEONARD SEELEY, THAMES DITTON, SURREY.

Transcriber’s Note:

Words may have inconsistent hyphenation in the text. Obsolete and alternative spellings were left unchanged. Typographical errors noted in the Corrigenda were not corrected in the referenced text. Other misspelled words were corrected.

Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like this_. Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to the end of the chapter. Obvious printing errors, such as partially printed or missing letters and punctuation, were corrected. Extraneous punctuation was deleted. Duplicate letters at line endings were removed.

The following were changed:

changed “56” to “65” in the Table of Contents. added “to” ... be so good as to order it ... added “of” ... on this side of India. changed “not” to “than” ... not less than ... added “to” ... reduce the present number of Chaplains to seven ...