Annual reports, 1796-1858 (printed)
Transactions, 1795-1818 and 1827-1832 (printed)
Correspondence
a)
Incoming from Batavia and addressed to the secretary of the LMS, 1814-1843.
Letters from J.C. Supper, G. Brückner, J. Slater, W.H. Medhurst, W. Popkens, G. Huttman, H. Capellen, L. Tomlin, W. Young, H. Hardy, dr. Fritze. From 1822 onwards almost all letters are from rev. Medhurst who was the leader of the Batavian mission until his departure for China in 1843.From 1832 onwards frequently reports on mission. April 1834 enclosed first annual report of Parapattan Orphan Asylum (printed with a litho of the asylum).
Some of these letters were published in the Quarterly Chronicle:
12 August 1816, J.C. Supper, in: 1 (1816-1820), p. 54-57
29 July 1819, J. Slater, in: 1 (1816-1820), p. 438-439
4 Jan. 1825, W.H. Medhurst, in: 3 (1825-1828), p. 165-174
3 Sept. 1825, D. Tyerman and G. Bennett, in: 3 (1825-1828), p. 299-304
20 July 1827, in: 3 (1825-1828), p. 385-389
b)
Incoming from rev. Joseph Kam sr. at Amboyna addressed to the secretary of the LMS, 1814-1831.
All in English, partly translated from Dutch, partly in Kam’s own deviant spelling of English.
Special attention deserve:
1818 list of ‘negorys’ with numbers of church members and people being not members yet, number of schoolchildren and those who are not under instruction, people who have been baptized from the heathen. In total 41 ‘negorys’; total number 15.316 Christians of whom received baptism 951.
1819 plan of a church ‘which I already am bulding’[sic], it will be called the slave church, indeferent of the common malayan church; inside it will all be aranged in that way as I have seen everywere in the churches of the Moravian brethren’
1821-1822 ‘staat der christen scholen’ op de Molukken (= state of Christian schools on the Moluccos), i.e. on Amboina, Boeroe, Manipa, Boäno, Haroekoe, Saparoea, Noesalaut and Ceram, with numbers of pupils. Total of 4.190 pupils, divided into three classes.
1821-1822 ‘staat der Schristen gemeentens’ (= state of Christian communities) on Amboina, Boeroe, Manipa, Boäno, Haroekoe, Saparoea, Noesalaut and Ceram, with numbers of members, new members, candidates, baptized children, children in and outside schools and totals. Total number of Christians 24.541; baptized from the heathen 79 and expelled (‘uit geslotene’) 68.
Two other similar statistical tables from 1821 with regard the same islands.
1826 report of a five-month travel from May to October 1826 to Timor, South-Western and South-Eastern Islands, Banda Islands, Aroe Islands, Tanimbar; during this travel 900 baptisms were administered; also visit to Nusalaut, Saparoea and Haroekoe.
Two of Kam’s letters were published in the Quarterly:
1817 (no date nor month), in: 1 (1816-1820), p. 152-153
20 Nov. 1818, in: nr. 1 (1816-1820), p. 472-476
c )
Incoming Netherlands Mission Society (NMS, in Dutch: Nederlands Zendeling Genootschap), 1799-1845.
Most letters dating from 1799-1819, some letters 1826-1830, 1833, 1835, 1836, 1840 and 1845. Almost all of them in English, some in Dutch with English translation. Names of frequent writers are B. Ledeboer, first secretary of the Netherlands Missionary Society. Most letters deal with missonary activities in Dutch possessions like Ceylon, the Cape Colony, Guyana and the Dutch East Indies. The NMS received assistance from the LMS in maintaining contacts with the former Dutch possessions, even when they were occupied by the British. So missionariés like Joseph Kam sr. could be sent out to the Dutch East Indies when the seas were closed off for Dutch vessels by the British navy.
Special attention deserve:
Papers about the erection of the Netherlands Missionary Society (NMS) in 1797 and contacts with the LMS, 1798-1799.
Letter from C. Gützlaff to LMS about his plans to preach among the Bataks in Northern Sumatra and about eight missionaries of the NMS to be sent out for Timor and the Moluccos to fill in vacant posts, 1826.
Letter from B. Ledeboer, secretary NMS, to the LMS about the transfer of the missionary Dutch post in India to the LMS, as the Dutch possessions there had been handed over to the British, 1827.
Journals
Written by the missionaries to inform the Board of Directors who occasionnally decided to publish extracts from them to make propaganda for the work of the LMS. The journals are generally written in diary style with details about weather, conversation, meetings, all this mixed with pious exclamations and foresights. Especially the journals of Walter H. Medhurst are extremely interesting as he tells in a very detailed way about his attempts to get into contact with Chinese, Javanese and 'Malayan' population and has frequently discussions with them and with Arabs. His favourite tactics was to start conversation and then switching over to the salvation and the uselessness of adoring idols. The last journal is from a native assistant of Medhurst, Mr. Lukas Monton who travelled around Java and visited Madoera.
J.C. Supper (1782-1816)
Originally his name was Süpper.
30 dec. 1813 – 8 april 1814:voyage from England to Cape Town
Number of pages unknown because of bad condition of original
Supper travels with rev. Joseph Kam sr.
9 April 1814 – 31 May 1814 from Cape Town to Java
20 pages
G. Brückner (1783-1857)
30 Dec. 1813-13 June 1814 from England to Java
19 pages.
Arrival in Batavia in May 1814. Encounter with Dutch minister Ross of the Reformed Church, who proposed one of us should stay in Batavia, the others should go to Soerabaya and Amboina, where there were Reformed congregations but no ministers. The Dutch congregation of Batavia is small and they have only one church where rev. Ross preaches on Sunday mornings and rev. Robinson, a baptist missionary, in the afternoon in Malay. June 2 Brückner was received by Governor-General Raffles and received an invitation to be present at a Saturday night party being King’s birthday; ‘it would have been rude to refuse such an invitation’. On June 4 an auxiliary Bible-society was established.
J. Slater
24 Dec. 1819-24 March 1820 Batavia
3 pages
W.H. Medhurst (1796-1857)
Medhurst’s journals give detailed information how this missionary tried to convert Chinese, Javanese and ‘Malayan’ people. Despite of his efforts, the results were very poor. He also writes about his sermons and services held in the chapel. Besides doing his conversion work he led the services for the Anglican community in Batavia and founded an orphanage called Parapattan. Some journals deal with long journeys Medhurst and other missionaries made to Middle and East Java, Borneo and Bali. The aim of these voyages was to find regions where the population was more receptive to the new creed, as the Islamic Javanese and the ‘idolatrous’ Chinese appeared to be very persistent in their own traditional creeds.
22 Oct. 1820-31 Jan. 1821 Batavia
16 pages
Some symptomatic parts taken from this journal:
a)
‘Dec. 6 [1820] visited an old man afflicted with the asthma. He appeared in the last stages of the disease having been confined to his bed for a year and being looking almost like a skeleton. I spoke to him of a superior being as having always near and very merciful, ever ready to hear the cries of the afflicted and urged him on his distressed condition to seek God for comfort and support. He said that as soon as he could obtain a little money he would send his son to the temple to make an offering; probably it might have a good effect. In this I replied that a persistent heart was the best offering he could make as for making offering to wooden gods it was entirely useless as they could neither save nor destroy. As far as I have observed, the Chinese only petition the gods in seasons of distress and calamity or to obtain success in any undertaking on some temporal good […] He lamented that his misfortunes were great and said that they must have been occasioned by the sins of a former life for he was not conscious of any evil committed in this life which could deserve such a punishment. I endeavoured to shew him that he had no previous existence but that the sins of his present life deserved all the ills he felt [… ]This he acknowledged but I fear he is far from a conviction of his danger, guilt and misery.’
+
‘Dec. 27 [1820] This day the old man afflicted with the asthma died. Thus my labors with respect to him have closed and I shall see him no more until we meet at the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of the manner in what I have discharged my duty towards him. I feel ashamed that I have done so little for the salvation of his previous soul: I was just about to visit him to take him a bottle of medicine which I had already made up for him but was quite thunderstruck when I heard that he had passed the bounds of mortality.’
b)
‘Dec. 19 [1820] The number of my patients continue [sic]; after receiving the medicine they all sat down quietly to hear what I had to say on divine things and then joined in prayer in which I particularly prayed that my patients might be restored to health[…] My teacher complained that they were a set of wothless fellows and did not deserve healing for their diseases were but the consequences of their corrupt practices and when healed they would immediately return to them again.’
c)
‘Jan. 28 [1821] A man came for medicine today with whom I conversed a while privately. I asked him how long he had left China and whether he ever thought upon his family there. He said he frequently thought on them and intended next year to return and visit them, for he had three sons and one daughter who was married: “I had another daughter he added but I did not bring her up.” “Not bring her up (said I) what did you then do with her? “I smothered her (said he) this year; also heard by letter that another daughter was born, I sent word to have that smothered also but the mother has preserved it alive.” I was shocked at his speech and still more of the indifference with which he uttered it… Oh! no, said he, it is a very common thing in China: we put the female children out of the way to save the trouble to bring them up; some people smother five or six daughters.’
6 Jan.-31 May 1825 Batavia
75 pages.
Published (partly?) in Quarterly Chronicle 1827, p. 272-281, 338-345, 376-380 and 390-393.
8 April-28 August 1825 Batavia
196 pages
1 June-20 Sept. 1825 Batavia
40 pages.
2-28 Sept. 1825 Batavia
2 pages.
1 Oct.-31 Dec. 1825 Batavia
34 pages.
1 Jan.-23 Dec. 1826 Batavia
112 pages.
14 Oct. 1828-18 Jan. 1829
Tour of west coast of Borneo with visits to Pontianak and Sambas and gold mines dug by Chinese koelies in the interior.
60 pages.
14 Nov.-1829-24 Jan. 1830
Tour along north coast of Java and visit to Bali with account of manners and customs on that island.
68 pages.
Published (partly?) in Quarterly Chronicle 4 (1829-1832), p. 225-247, 257-267, 333-340
12 July-8 August 1832, Batavia, tour round Java
14 pages
L. Monton
19 July-3 Sept. 1833, L. Monton native assistant, tour round Java and Madura
22 pages
Lukas Monton was ordered by his master W. Medhurst on July 19th 1833 to make a journey over Java and to Madoera for distributing religious tracts in Chinese, Malay and Javanese. He visited Cheribon, Semarang, Soerabaya and Soemenep and had problems with Dutch government officials. In Soerabaya he met Mrs. Emde and Douwes. As his tactics were less careful the Dutch residents (regional governors) suspected him of causing unrest. He was having discussions with Arabs and other Islamics and told them Mohammed was wrong and only Jesus could save them from eternal damnation. He was forbidden to give away Javanese tracts. He was received into an audience to the sultan of Madoera and had a discussion with him about Jesus and Mahomet. The journal ends with a statistic about books distributed, a total of 2775.
J. Kam sr. (1769-1833)
Two journals of rev. Kam have not been preserved in the LMS-archive, but, fortunately, they have been published (partly?) in the Quarterly:
Journey to Ternate, Menado and Sangihe islands, Autumn 1817, in: 1 (1816-1820), p. 280-285 and 298-300.
Journey to Haroekoe, Saparoea and other Moluccan islands, 1818, in: 1 (1816-1820), p. 472-476
Property deeds, 1818-1872
Most documents deal with properties in Penang (Malaccan peninsula), Malaca and Singapore.
Relevant are only title deeds concerning plot of ground outside the city of Batavia in the Westerveld, sold by A.G.P. Fetmenger to John Slater acting on behalf of the LMS, 1821.
(in Dutch with English translation; file 7, item 46)
