This False
Ideal Formed By The Native From His Empirical Observations Of Some
Of The White Men Around Him, Has
Been the cause of great mischief.
He sees the white man is his ruling man, rich, powerful, and
honoured, and
So he imitates him, and goes to the mission-school
classes to read and write, and as soon as an African learns to read
and write he turns into a clerk. Now there is no immediate use for
clerks in Africa, certainly no room for further development in this
line of goods. What Africa wants at present, and will want for the
next 200 years at least, are workers, planters, plantation hands,
miners, and seamen; and there are no schools in Africa to teach
these things or the doctrine of the nobility of labour save the
technical mission-schools. Almost every mission on the Coast has
now a technical school just started or having collections made at
home to start one; but in the majority of these crafts such as
bookbinding, printing, tailoring, etc., are being taught which are
not at present wanted. Still any technical school is better than
none, and apart from lay considerations, is of great religious value
to the mission indirectly, for there are many instances in mission
annals of a missionary receiving great encouragement from the
natives when he first starts in a district. At first the converts
flock in, get baptised in batches, go to church, attend school, and
adopt European clothes with an alacrity and enthusiasm that
frequently turns their devoted pastor's head, but after the lapse of
a few months their conduct is enough to break his heart.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 660 of 705
Words from 182312 to 182587
of 194943
