NEW ENGLAND COMPANY

[s. 551] : Headquarters, 1 Hatton Garden, London, E. C, England. In the early part of the 17th century the English colonists of New England, headed by the renowned John Eliot, “the Apostle to the North American Red Men,” began the work among the Indians which laid the foundations for the New England Company. The accounts of the work among the Red Men, circulated throughout London in writings called “tracts,” aroused so much interest in the great city that the needs of the Indians were brought before Parliament, and on July 27, 1649, an act was pa ed with this title: ” A Corporation for the Promoting and Propagating the Gospel of Jesus Christ New England.” In this act was recognized the nece ity of work among the Indians for the purposes of evangelization and civilization, and provision was made for the expenditure involved in the furtherance of such work. The ordinance enacted that there should be a corporation in England consisting of a president, treasurer, and fourteen a istants, and invested the corporation with power to acquire lands, goods, and money. History: Soon after the action of Parliament and the appointment of the members of the Corporation, a general subscription was directed by Cromwell, the Lord Protector, and nearly £12,000 was raised for the purposes of the corpora Commi ioners and a treasurer were aption. pointed in New England, and work was carried on by itinerant mi ionaries and school-teachers, On the restoration of chiefly near Boston. Charles II., in 1660, the corporation created by the Long Parliament became defunct, but through the eff’orts of the Hon. Robert Boyle a charter was granted by the king. This charter was comBy it the company was limited pleted in 1662. to forty-five members; the first forty-five named; the object defined; the name decided as “The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America;” the duties and powers of the officers defined; and, in fact, the complete constitution was made and adopted. In 1899 a supplemental charter was granted by Queen Victoria, authorizing the expenditure of the whole of the company’s funds in any part of British North America. The work progre ed in the New England m Guinea Newton, Rev. C. C. Weiiv states until the outbreak of the War of American Independence, when the to cease its labors there. company was obliged The field was, there- New fore, transferred to Brunswick, but after a fair attempt was found unprofitable, and was removed to Ontario, where since 1822 the work been permanently maintained. Between years 1823 and 1840 large sums were contributed toward aiding the mi ions in the West Indies, but the increase of the work in North America of late years has nece itated the withdrawal of funds from that quarter, and all have been devoted to the mi ions of the company. Present Work: The funds of the company are has “the derived from three sources, the original charter fund and two legacies. The money coming from two of these sources may be used only for work among the American Indians and work in American dependencies of the British crown,”while that from the third may be used for spreading the Gospel in any British colonies. The work tarried on now by the company is evangelistic and educational among the Indian tribes of British North America. The company’s stations at the present time are: 1. The Grand River Indian Reserves, among the Mohawks, Oneidas, On on dag as, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras, settled on the banks of the Grand River between Brant ford and Lake Erie. 2. Mohawk Institution, Brant ford, Ont., an industrial boarding school for Indian children of both sexes. 3. St. George’s School, near Lytton, British industrial boarding school for Columbia, an Indian boys. NEW GUINEA. See Papua. 552