MADRAS

[s. 443] : Capital of the Madras presidency, and the third city in size and importance in all India, being outranked only by Bombay and Calcutta. It is situated on the east coast of the peninsula of India. Population (1901) 509,346. The first settlement was begun in 1639, when a grant of land was obtained by Mr. Francis Day, a servant of the East India Company, from the Hindu prince who po e ed jurisdiction in A factory or mercantile establish that region. ment of the Company and slight fortifications were at once erected, and the city has grown The origin of the steadily from that beginning. name is uncertain. The word “Madre a” signifies a Mohammedan school, and some scholars consider the name of the city to have been derived from that word. In 1653 Madras waa made the seat of the local government or presidency of the East India Company’s territory in South India. In 1746, during the time when the French power in South India threatened to eclipse the English, it was taken by the French commander La Bourdonnais, but was restored two years later by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Within a century of the first settlement Madras Madras Blaaras Presidency had become the largest city in South India. Its growth since then has been le than that of Calcutta or Bombay, for its natural advantages are It far le than those enjoyed by its sister cities. has no natural harbor; ve els are obliged to lie from the -off at a distance of a mile, more or le , shore, and for many years freight and pa engers were transported between the shore and the ships in surfboats, for the skilful management of which, through the surf which breaks unceasingly on the beach, the boatmen of Madras are famed. In 1862 a pier was constructed, which extends out 300 yards into the sea; and more recently still the construction was undertaken of an artificial harbor, consisting of two parallel breakwaters curvThe ing toward each other at the outer end. city is by no means compact, but stretches along the shore of the Bay of Bengal for more than 9 miles, and its territory extends 3 miles inland. Of the population more than three-fourths are The Mohammedans number only one Tamil is nearly as many. spoken by more than half of the entire population; Telugu by a litle le than a quarter. Danish mi ionaries had been operating at Tranquebar and other points south of Madras for a number of years early in the 18th century before any form of Christian work was attempted in Madras itself. In the year 1716, with the Hindus. eighth; Christians help of the English chaplain at Madras, they commenced a Christian school, which, however, languished and soon ceased altogether. In 1726 Schultze, one of the mi ionaries at Tranquebar, made a journey to Madras, began the school work again, and laid the foundations of the first Protestant mi ion in the capital of South India. A few years afterward the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, of England, undertook its support, Schultze continuing in charge of it. The mi ionary labored hard, preaching, teaching, translating and writing. Results were not slow in appearing. In the one year 1729 Schultze baptized 140 persons; by the end of 1736 the converts numbered 415. The mi ion was encouraged by the Madras Government. Other mi ionaries arrived from Europe, and the work went on apace. In 1746 the capture of the city by the French was the occasion of much distre to the mi ion; its work was interrupted, its buildings destroyed, and its church used by the French conquerors as a magazine. In 1748, when the city was returned to the English, the mi ionaries and Christians who had fled during the troubles came back, and operations were resumed still under the fostering care of the government. By the end of the 18th century some 4,000 persons had been received into the With all this apparent sucChristian church. ce it may be doubted if the real achievements — were very great. These numerical results were not carried over into the present century; on the other hand, when the first converts died off there seemed to be no vital Christianity behind them as a basis for further progre . With all their devotion and industry the earlier mi ionaries did not use the best methods of labor. With the beginning of the 19th century began the new era of mi ionary work in Madras and throughout all India. Of the great mi ionary which were formed near the year 1800 the London Mi ionary Society was first on the ground at Madras in 1805. Their collegiate institution was begun in 1852, and has had a societies most succe ful and useful career. The CMS began work in 1814. 426 From the first this mi ion paid much attention to education, as well as to preaching, and schools for both sexes were carried on with vigor. The CEZ began its work for women in 1876. The WMS came in 1816. About the year 1826 just 100 years after its establishment by Schultze the original mi ion of the Christian Knowledge Society was transferred to the care of the SPG. The ABCFM — — entered the field in 1836, but withdrew in 1864 in order to concentrate its strength more effec- The Leipzig Society entered The Established Church of Scotland began a mi ion in 1837, and devoted its energies, as in Calcutta and Bombay, espetively elsewhere. Madras in 1848. cially to the higher education, medium of the English language. through the The fervid eloquence of Dr. Duff of Calcutta during his first visit home is said to have been the exciting cause of the beginning of the Madras work. The Scotch institution was begun in 1837 with 59 pupils, but had 277 on its rolls before the end of the following year. After the disruption of the Scotch Church the Madras mi ionaries sided with the Free Church and their work is now carried on by the UFS. In 1843 another mi ion of a similar character was begun by the Old Kirk, and in 1893 the Church of Scotland Woman’s Committee took up work there. The Strict Baptists have a small mi ion in Madras, begun in 1866, and the Danish Luther ans another dating from 1878. The Christian Literature Society for India has here its central station, tho its schools for the training of teachers are in other parts of India. There is also a mi ion especially for lepers, over 400 of whom were reported in the census of 1881. The usual mi ionary agencies are reenforced by the Bible and Tract Societies and by the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge the venerable organization which so long supported the mi ion started by Schultze, but which now works wholly through the pre . The ME, under the lead of Rev. Wm. Taylor, began work in 1872, at first directing its efforts especially to unevangelized Europe ans and Eurasians, tho not neglecting persons of other races who might be brought under its influence. The commenced its opera also tions in 1878. The and the have flourishing centers in the city. The Salvation Army has a strong post here. Besides the mi ion chapels, the city is well provided with Protestant churches for the accommodation of Europe ans, and with Roman Catholic churches for persons of all nationalities who adhere to that form of Christianity. The usual institutions of a philanthropic or literary character which spring up everywhere in the path of enlightened and liberal government, such as hospitals, libraries and the like, are not wanting in Madras. Education is in a fair state of progre . Taking all of the societies together the Protestant mi ionary enterprise in Madras and its suburbs now (1903) has 104 mi ionaries, — ABMU YMCA YWCA men and women; 766 native workers, men and women; 36 places of worship, 135 day schools, 18 boarding schools and higher educational institutions, 2 printing houses and 8,551 profe ed Christians, including baptized children and 4,508 communicants. 444