PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION E. I25, 



his recent book, tells us of a certain wise old native chief, who 

 ilivided Europeans into two classes, viz., white men and mission- 

 aries — a distinction of some sionificance. 



Apart from the personal influence of individuals, there is 

 also the very real power acquired by the teacher over his scholars. 

 Every missionary-superintendent has a number of schools under 

 his charge, the number varying up to as many as 40 schools 

 in some cases. These are to be staffed with native teachers, and 

 controlled, and the attendances would amount to as manv as 1.500 

 children, probably more. Over most of these children the 

 missionary would retain no slight influence as they attained 

 years of maturity, and his advice would carry great weight with 

 them, and over a period of years his influence would be very 

 much enhanced in the aggregate as these large numbers of 

 children passed through the schools. When it is remembered 

 that over 70,000 children attend the Mission Schools of the 

 Transkei, it will be realised how great a class of school natives 

 is being created, and how powerfully the influence of missions 

 i§ being exerted in this one sphere of activity alone. 



Then, again, the bond between the missionan- and those 

 natives who identify themselves wnth his work by attending 

 his services is a fairly strong one. The very fact that thev 

 have broken away from their tribalism, with Its attendant 

 heathenism, and identified themselves with the missionary counts 

 for much. In the Union of South Africa, according to the 

 ■' World's Atlas of Christian Missions," a standard work published 

 in 191 1, the number of communicants is given as 322,673; of 

 baptised Christians, 622,098; and of native Christian adherents of 

 all ages, some 1. 145. 326. It will thus be seen that in a native 

 population of. roughly, seven millions, the direct influence of 

 missions alone is to be reckoned with, and when we take the 

 indirect effects into account this influence is seen to be verv' 

 much greater. 



(c) Testimonies to Influence — On more than one 

 occasion in recent years this class of school natives has 

 been, of the utmost value to the Administration in restraining 

 unrest and preventing open rebellion. Mr. Maurice S. Evans, 

 C.M.G., an ex-President of this section of the AsscKiation, 

 one of the ablest and sanest of our South .\frican writers on 

 the Native question, regards the influence of missions as 

 one of the three main forces acting upon the Native life. He 

 maintains that the first is the power of custom and habit, the 

 second being the influence exerted by the white man, with all 

 that that has meant in the way of assuming the government and 

 tribal disintegration, and " the third force is that exercised by 

 the missionaries." It is not clear from the passage quoted 

 which force he regards as exerting most influence. 



Then, again, I have recently been privileged to see the 

 manuscript of a book shortly to appear, written by the Rev. 

 William Eveleigh, and entitled " The Settlers of 1820 and" 



