RHENIUS, Charles Theophilus Ewald

[s. 642] : Born November 5, 1790, at the fortre of Gaudens, West Pru ia. He was led to become a mi ionary by reading the writings of the Moravians. He sailed for India as a mi ionary of the CMS, February 22, reaching Madras July 4, 1814. He soon proceeded to ‘Tranquebar, his appointed station. At the end of five months he was sent to Madras to found a new mi ion, being the first to labor there under the CMS. During the five years of his residence in Madras he was constantly employed preaching the Gospel in public meetings, conversing with individuals, holding discu ions with Brahmans or other learned men, studying the Tamil and Telugu, and making frequent tours to various cities and temples. It was then decided by the committee that Mr. Rhenius should establish a mi ion in Tinnevelli district, and in June, 1820, he removed to Pal am cotta, the chief city of the district. Mr. Hough, the English chaplain, having left Pal am cotta in 1821, Mr. Rhenius held an English service on the Sabbath for English residents until the arrival of another Relii^^lons Tract S35 •chaplain. In 1822 a seminary was established for the education of youth, “which has furnished catechists and schoolmasters for the mi ion. distinguishing feature of this mi ion, largely due to Mr. Rhenius, was the formation and settlement of Christian villages. In order to withdraw the converts from the influence of heathenism, pieces of land were purchased, those who forsook idol- A atry were located on them, and formed into a Christian congregation. catechist was appointed, a school established, and a small chapel A But when, in 1826 and the following years, the Christian villages had increased in number, to relieve the mi ionary of the burden of their management an a ociation of natives was called formed”The Native Philanthropic Society,” having for its object the settling of native Christians in villages, the building of.schoolhouses, the acquisition of grounds, etc., for these purposes, and the rendering of other a istance to the native Christians in their -erected. external affairs. In 1832 an unhappy controversy arose between Mr. Rhenius and the CMS on the subject of the form of ordination to be This led to his disused for native ministers. mi al from the service of the Society, and his •continuance in the same field as an independent mi ionary, often at variance with his former mi ionary a ociates. He continued this independent mi ion work until June 5, 1836, when he •died of a stroke of apoplexy. Mr. Rhenius was one of the greatest mi ion.aries working in India in the first half of the 19th •century. He had extraordinary power over those natives who came under his personal influence. The happy union of cheerful piety and masculine energy with a bodily constitution capable of great and sustained exertion rarely appears in the mi ionary field. In addition to this, Mr. Rhenius was an accomplished scholar and a master of the Tamil language. To him it was given to revise and improve Fabric i us’ version of the Tamil Scriptures. The New Testament was printed in 1828, but the Old Testament was left unfinished at his death. Differences of •opinion as to the principles of translation led him to publish in 1826 a valuable e ay of 60 pages on the Principles of Translating the Holy Scriptures. He also prepared in Tamil a Harmony of the Gospels, which remains in general use. Other works in Tamil were The E ence of the True Veda, A Summary of Divinity, and a very useful Tamil Grammar. RHENISH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. See Germany; Mi ionary Societies in. A RHODESIA: British territory and sphere of influence in South Central Africa, comprising the legion lying to the north and west of the Transvaal Colony and Bechuanaland, bounded on the east by Portuguese East Africa, on the north by the Congo Free State and on the west by German Southwest Africa. Total area is estimated to be about 600,000 square miles. It is divided by the Zambesi River into Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Northern Rhodesia was first opened by David Living stone. It is divided into Northeastern Rhodesia and Northwestern Rhodesia, both provinces being administered by the British ’South African Company, the defense of the territory being a umed by the British Central African Protectorate. Northeastern Rhodesia ihas about 120,000 square miles, and a population 40 of about 339,000. Rlbeirao Preto It comprises the region lying between Lake Nyasa and Lake Mwera, with its affiuent, the River Luapula, and extends from Lake Tanganyika nearly to the Zambesi. Northwestern Rhodesia, or Barotseland, with an indefinite area, somewhat larger than Northeastern Rhodesia, extends from the Congo Free State southward to the German territory and the Zambesi, and is bounded east and west respectively by Northeastern Rhodesia and Portuguese West Africa. Southern Rhodesia, with an area of 144,000 square miles and a population of about 500,000, embraces the territory from the Zambesi to the Transvaal and Bechuanaland, extending westward from Portuguese East Africa to the German territories. It includes Matabililand and Mash on a land. It is especially in the line of the British immigration and mining movements of Central and South Africa, and is fast being explored and exploited. In Matabililand about 15,000,000 acres of land, and in Mash on a land about 12,000,000 acres, have been surveyed. Townships to the number of 12 have been organized. In 1901 there were about 11,000 Europe ans in the territory. Lines, of railway, built and projected, connect the chief centers with Cape Colony. There are about 3,000 miles of telegraph. Tke territory has deposits of gold. The vast tab-leland of the north and northeast has an elevation of about 5,000 feet, and is well watered, with a rich soil and fine climate. The Matabili, so called from an immense shield behind which they were “hidden” in war, were originally a band of Zulu warriors, whose ranks were recruited from the lands they conquered. They are very fierce, daring, and proud. The Makalaka and Mashona were the former masters of the land. The former were nearly exterminated, the latter form the substratum of the northern population, and are very industrious. The Banyai are distinguished by their physical strength, light complexion, cleanly habits, and by the respect paid to women. In 1896 there was a native revolt in Matabililand, immediately followed by a similar disturbance in Mash on a land. Both these were thoroughly quelled. The Mi ionary societies operating in Rhodesia are the LMS with 8 stations, the SPG with 7 stations, the Paris Society in the N. W., the ME and the ABCFM, in the extreme east, besides the WMS, the PB, the SDA, and the Berlin Society. Brown (W. H.), On the South African Frontier, London, 1897; Greswell (W. P.), Geography of Africa South of the Zambesi, London, 1S93; Hensraan (H.), History of Rhodesia, London, 1900; Lenard (A. G.),How We Made Rhodesia, London, 1896; Powell (R. S. S. Baden-), The Matabele Campaign, London, 1901; Du Toit (S. J.), Rhodesia, Past and Present, London, 1897. RIBE A settlement in British East Africa, situated near the coast about 15 miles N. of Mombasa. It stands on a high tableland, with a fine view over the ocean. Station of the United Free Methodist Churches (1861). The estate Mi ion is about 750 belonging to the There are (1903) 2 mi ionaries, 8 native acres. workers, 2 outstations, 5 places of worship, 2 day schools, 5 Sunday schools, and 359 profe ed Chris: UMFC tians. 643