MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 417 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



ECCLESIASTICAL. 



Establishment— its cost. — Churches in Ootacamand, St. Stephen's, St. Thomas'. — 

 Coonoor, All Saints'. — Kotagiri. — Wellington.— Roman Catholic Churches- 

 Convent. — C. M. S. Tamil Mission. — The Basel Mission. 



There are three Chaplains on the Hills, ordinarily of the grade of CH. XXIV. 

 Senior Chaplains, stationed respectively at Ootacamand, Coonoor, ecclesus- 

 and Wellington. The Chaplain of Ootacamand attends the Euro- tical. 

 pean Jail, and has also spiritual charge of the western portions Establish. 

 of the district, including the Ouchterlony Valley and Gudaliir, ment. 

 whither he is expected to proceed for ministration once in every 

 two or three months. The Chaplain of Coonoor has also spiritual 

 charge of the eastern and southern portions of the district, including 

 Kotagiri and Kdt^ri. The duties of the Chaplain of Wellington 

 are exclusively confined to the military stationed at the depot. 



The cost of the three Chaplains to Government, including —cost, 

 establishment, &c., may be set at Rupees 30,000 annually. 

 Hitherto nothing has been done to render the Church of England 

 on the Nilagiris in any way self-supporting, though a considerable 

 portion of the Europeans resident at Ootacamand and Coonoor are 

 civilians, and consequently not strictly speaking entitled to the 

 services of a Chaplain. 



There are two churches belonging to Government in Ootaca- Churches in 

 mand — St. Stephens' and St. Thomas'. The latter may be ° acaman 

 regarded as a sort of chapel-of-ease to the mother church, 

 St. Stephen's. The lay trustees of St. Stephen's are also respon- 

 sible for St. Thomas'. The Chaplain of Ootacamand has the 

 right of attending meetings of the church committee at St. 

 Thomas', even when a clergyman may be especially deputed to 

 do duty there ; but hitherto he has generally not interfered in 

 the administration of this church. 



St. Stephen's Church was, as already stated in Chapter XII, St. Stephen's 

 built in 1830 partly by subscription, when Mr. S. R. Lushington 

 was Governor of Madras. It was consecrated in 1831 by Dr. 

 Daniel Wilson, the eccentric but admirable Metropolitan of India. 

 The building is of no particular style ; the square tower however 

 is gothic, and forms a marked feature in the town. The church 



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