CENTENARY

[s. 154] : A station of the LMS (1897) in Rhodesia, Africa, about 90 miles west of Bulawayo, with (1901) 1 mi ionary, 2 native workers, and 2 elementary schools. CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE. See NyaS ALAND. CENTRAL PROVINCES of India: This chief commi ionership lies, as its name implies, at the very heart of India. Its limits of north latitude are 17° 50’ and 24° 27’ of east longitude, 76° and 85° 15’. Its greatest length is 600 miles, from east to west, while its longest north and; south line measures 500 miles. The population is chiefly (94 per cent.) rural. Only six towns have a population exceeding The most interesting fact regarding the 20,000. Central Provinces is that its hill and j ungle regions especially along the northern frontier, provided the refuge to which many of the aboriginal tribes resorted when too severely pre ed upon by the later Aryan immigrants. These aboriginal tribes were largely of the Gond stock, and before the present political divisions came into existence a large part of what is now known as the Central Provmces was called, after the name of this great family of tribes, Gondwana. Yet of the entire population of the Central Provinces, these aborigines form but a comparatively small element, including both those who have embraced Hinduism as well as those stUl persisting in the old worship of their people; the last (1901) census enumerated only 1,744,556. Hindus number 9,745,579, Mohammedans 307,202 and Jains 48,183. It is worthy of note that while in this province Hindus, Mohammedans, Spirit WorJains, and Buddhists all fell off in number in the decade 1891-1901, the Christians increased in the same time from 13,308 to 25,591, shipers, or 99 per cent. The first mi ion was planted at Nagpur by the Free Church of Scotland in 1844. The country was then governed by a dynasty, and the native rajah claimed to have absolute authority over his subjects, which in his opinion involved the right to prevent the baptism of Christian converts. The supreme government of India was appealed to by the mi ionaries, and declined to interfere; but public opinion became so aroused that the Nagpur prince finally receded from his position. The Church Mi ionary Society began work at Jabalpur in 1854, and it has since occupied 137 The German Evangelical Synod other stations. (US), the Swedish National Mi ionary Society, also have important work the FFMA, and the Altogether 12 Protestant in this province. mi ionary societies occupy 29 stations in the Central Provinces, with 142 mi ionaries, men and women. In 1856 a colporteur, in a journey of 200 miles, entered many large villages and saw but two schools, with hardly 40 pupils. In 1901 the schools conducted in connection with these mi ion stations alone number 116 of all grades. ch019.xhtml m 155