Spirit of Prophecy Counsels Relating To Church-State Relationships
Correspondence Relating To The Question Of The South African Land Grant
October, 1893. Offer Of Free Land Withdrawn.
In October of 1893, Elder O. A. Olsen, President of the General Conference, arrived in South Africa. In a letter written from there to the Foreign Mission Board in November, he reported that there was no longer any free land to be gotten, that the British South African Company were no longer giving free grants to any denomination. SPCCSR 147.1
12,000 Acres as a Special Gift. In the latter part of 1893, Elder A. T. Robinson secured an interview with Cecil Rhodes, premier of Cape Colony, and head of the British South African Land Company, operating in Mashonaland. Rhodes was especially pleased with the plan outlined for operating a mission among the natives of that country, and handed to Elder Robinson a sealed letter addressed to Dr. Jameson, Secretary of the Company, to be handed to him in Bulawayo. The brethren had expected to purchase land, and did not know till Jameson told them that Rhodes had ordered him to give them all the land they wanted. 12,000 acres were selected, and became the site of the Solusi Mission, the first one operated by the denomination among the heathen. The Foreign Mission Board set about to find personnel to man this new mission enterprise. SPCCSR 147.2
August 17, 1894. African Land—F. M. Wilcox. Foreign Mission Board. Secretary Reports.
“I am sorry that the work of our Board during the last few weeks has been somewhat retarded. It is pretty slow work with the President away in Europe and several of the other members of the Board away.... SPCCSR 147.3
“This was true with reference to Mashonaland.... SPCCSR 147.4
“So, so far as that field is concerned, we have not yet been able to find any one whom we have thought best to recommend to go. The last report I heard from the company who were on their way there was dated July 5, from Bulawayo, Matabeleland. The company were well and of good courage, and they had met with no accident or mishap. Dr. Jameson, the Governor, was called upon at that place, and talked very favorably of giving to our work twelve thousand acres of land, six thousand at Bulawayo, and six thousand near Fort Salisbury. However, he would want to give this land on conditions that we make the work self-supporting, employing native labor, and teaching then useful arts. He understands very fully the object of our work there, and that we propose to evangelize the natives to what we believe to be the truth for this time; but he does not seem to have any religious prejudices against our work.”—(F. M. Wilcox to W. C. White, Aug. 17, 1894.) SPCCSR 148.1
November 1. American Sentinel 1 Comments on British South African Company.
“Some weeks ago, in calling attention to the grant of an alley in Washington, D.C., to a Roman Catholic institution, we said:— SPCCSR 148.2
“‘The Sentinel has protested, and, will continue to protest, against all such donations, whether of land or of money, and whether made by the Government of the United States or by the Governor of Mashonaland; for if the principle is worth anything, it is just as good in the wilds of Africa as on the plains of our own fair West or in the alleys of our Capital City.’ SPCCSR 148.3
“At the time we had in mind certain grants of land made in Africa for mission purposes by the British South African Company. It was thought and urged by some that these grants were legitimate because made by a company. But we now have in our possession the annual reports of said company from 1890 to 1893, inclusive, and are in a position to prove conclusively, that the British South African Company is nothing less than a British Colonial government, and that grants of land from it differ in no sense from similar grants from any other civil government.”—American Sentinel, Nov. 1, 1894. SPCCSR 148.4
November 8 1894. South African Land Accepted For General Conference—
President O. A. Olsen Not Clear. SPCCSR 149.1
“I would like to have time to write at some length on the situation in Africa both at Capetown and also up in Zambesia, or what has been known as Mashonaland and Matabeleland. Brn. Haskell and Sisley are both in Africa at the present time. I have been expecting to hear from there for some time but have not done so. I expect that they are busy in their annual meeting.... SPCCSR 149.2
“Brn. Druillard and Peter Wessels that went to look up the matter of location for a Mission in that country selected a farm for the. Gen. Conf. as a missionary farm. The Charter Co. made a donation of this farm to the General Conf. on the condition that we go on and cultivate it and help the natives. I have noticed that the American Sentinel has taken the position that this is all wrong. That is that it is not right for us or any one else to receive any such favor from this Company. I have not given this matter much thought. It may be that they are right. Sometimes I begin to think, that there may be a possibility that we will go too far in some things.” (O. A. Olsen to W. C. White, Nov. 8, 1894.) SPCCSR 149.3
November 22. Editor of American Sentinel Comments Further.
“The gospel of National Reform, the gospel of force, is being carried into the newly opened portions of Africa by the missionaries that have followed closely upon the heels of the troops of the British South African Company, to which was committed the conquest of Matabeleland and Mashonaland. First, the so-called company, which is in fact the colonial government of that part of Africa, despoiled the natives of their territory by force and fraud, and then doled out grants of land to the missionaries as a speculative investment, the returns to be made in ‘influence’ in civilizing the natives. How the missionaries who have thus sold themselves for a mess of African pottage will succeed in serving two masters, remains to be seen; though, in view of our Lord’s declaration that it cannot be done, the issue can scarcely be considered doubtful”—American Sentinel, Nov. 22, 1894. SPCCSR 149.4
December 4. Foreign Mission Board Finds South African Land Grant A Perplexing Question.
(F. M. Wilcox to W. C. White)
“There is one question about which I have been thinking considerably of late and that is this: what should be our relation to the various governments with which we will come in contact in our labor in foreign fields? We have contended very earnestly against anything looking toward a union of church and state, and even went so far at our last General Conference that we protested against exemption clauses and against exemption of church property from taxation. SPCCSR 150.1
“Now I do not suppose that there will ever come a time in this country when we could secure state favors if we desired, but may it not be possible that the Lord will test us right upon some of these principles in our work in other places, especially as we come in contact with some of these petty governments of Africa or the islands of the sea? They are just as much civil governments as the greater powers of earth. From them, in a great many cases, we will be offered a great many favors. What relation should we sustain on some of these points? SPCCSR 150.2
“You know the British South Africa Land Company has offered us 12,000 acres of land. The question naturally arises, will it be a compromise of principles to accept this? The matter has been talked over considerably outside of the regular meetings of the Board; and although the question has never come up for action, I think that the majority of the Board feel that it would be better to go through a form of purchase, at least, and thus obviate any difficulty which might arise in this respect.” (F. M. Wilcox to W. C. White, Dec. 4, 1894.) SPCCSR 151.1
December 9, The President Of The General Conference Writes A. T, Robinson.
“Now in regard to the land. The opinion prevails among the brethren here that it would be best to buy the land, ... though we greatly appreciate the kindly attitude of the Chartered Company, and want to reciprocate their interest in every way possible,”—Letter of O. A. Olsen to A. T. Robinson, Dec. 9, 1894. SPCCSR 151.2
December 20. S. N. Haskell On The Ground In Africa, Explains The Deal. 2
“I have supposed from your standpoint over in America we over here are in the wrong in taking the land. But I think one position we have taken is a sound one nevertheless. (1) The land is stolen from the natives. (2) It is on the consideration we let them remain on the land and educate them to work that we take the land. Therefore we pay them for land in doing what they wish us to do, and that happens to be just what we want to do. Is not that the same principle almost every bargain is made? (3) It is not public money we take or any land that has been purchased by public money, but it is land that was taken from them (the natives) in war of a company not a government, 3 but those who wish to form a colony under the British Government. But financially, they refused the offer from the home government, so the financial interests might be theirs and they financially be enriched by the transaction and then after the company has enriched itself, establish a colony and it enrich the home government. (4) They, this Company, consider they have made a good trade when they engage any religious society to enter upon a scheme to educate the natives to work and live in the country rather than drive them off and simply turn all their efforts to enrich themselves the same as others do who have SELFISH ends alone in view. (5) We being anxious to educate this very class of people with the truth gladly accept the proposition and enter into the arrangement agreeing to let the original land owner to live on the land, and instruct him in civilization.”—S. N. Haskell to F. M. Wilcox (Secy. FMB), Dec. 20, 1894. SPCCSR 151.3
January 1, 1895. S. N. Haskell Protests Jibes in The American Sentinel.
28 Roeland Street,
Cape Town, South Africa
Jan. 1, 1895.
Dear Brother Olsen:—
This morning I sent you a letter and since I mailed that the Sentinel of Nov. 22 has come to hand and on the last page I find some remark which appears to me rather unchristian in its nature. Now what I write is on the supposition it has reference to the Seventh-day Adventists of South Africa. It is true that no name is called but I judge so from the correspondence we have had, and from the position taken by us and by the Foreign Missionary Board in the U. S. A. SPCCSR 152.1
“Now laying aside ALL questions of whether the brethren have done the right thing or not in taking the land, I wish to inquire if that is of a Christian spirit or not? Brother Wilcox kindly sent me a letter of Brother Bowman and I took pains to make inquiry about the matter and then wrote a letter in reply giving what I supposed a Bible view of the matter, also tried to show how these circumstances varied from government grants, etc. SPCCSR 153.1
“There has been two other flings in the paper. But instead of writing a word back and showing, or trying to show wherein we made a mistake from the Bible or otherwise then comes out a fling, and a charge of our taking the land by force, etc. This is made on the ground of our taking the land as a gift to give back to the natives although it is stated to have an influence. And then to make it appear more ridiculous, give a misspelled word and holding it up to public view in our leading paper on Religious Liberty. Do the brethren think that will serve a unity of feeling and faith? Do our brethren think this is answering the Saviour’s prayer as He prayed for the oneness among the disciples as He and the Father is one? SPCCSR 153.2
“I do not wish in any way to throw back on our brethren any reflections but wish to say they had better come over into this country and view things from an English standpoint. And further, I think it would be a good plan to come into a conference and try to unite the element over here who already bring charges against our brethren in America. Some of them I fear they have some grounds for, and much they have no grounds for.... SPCCSR 153.3
“The editor of the Sentinel [A. T. Jones] is held up by Sister White and others so his influence is sustained by our brethren all over the field. And now is it right to use that influence in that way? Personally of course it does not affect me. But it does affect our work here. Such language does not at all appear to me to bear the marks of Christ. SPCCSR 154.1
“Of course I do not believe a word of the paragraph, as it is applied to us in our work.... We shall have to vindicate our brethren here until we see some argument of a different nature than appears in that paper. We cannot say the article is Christian or gentlemanly. SPCCSR 154.2
“We have elements over here rather of a different character than the Americans. Should we deal in such language as is sometimes used in the Sentinel and as it is used in some of the speeches in America, our work would be brought into the greatest straits in a very short time. And to use such language and apply it to our brethren it creates a wound that is not easy to heal. SPCCSR 154.3
“I have no new argument to bring, and had I an argument I should not argue one word against such a spirit as is manifested in that article. SPCCSR 154.4
“We are in the midst of our conference and we are trying to get our position before the public in the papers outside. And I hope in the Lord that He will paralyze the influence of such an article on the minds of certain ones who profess our faith, and our enemies. So they will not find out we are in what would appear to be a quarrel among ourselves. I sometimes wish some of our American brethren could see the effect of some of their unguarded speeches in these foreign fields. If this was the only thing that had been said, perhaps it would not have had the effect. I never labored harder to retain the confidence of our African brethren in our American brethren and get them converted. This does not help much.”—S. N. Haskell. SPCCSR 154.5
January 1, 1895. S. N. Haskell Asks: Does Ellen White 4 Have Light For Them?
“Claremont College,
Claremont, South Africa.
Jan. 1, 1895.
“Dear Brother White:—
“I enclose you in this a letter I have just sent to America. This morning I mailed one to you and one to him. In the one I sent to you I sent a copy of the one I sent to him. In this I send another copy which speaks for itself. I am now glad that I have sent you my correspondence on the land question which we have had.... But it is not very encouraging to find such words in our Sentinel, especially with the elements we find over here. SPCCSR 155.1
“I hope you will call your mother’s attention to the position we have taken and see if she has any light on the subject—if in taking that land have we violated any principle of the gospel? I write this to you without making any allusion to it to her. Now I write this so you can have how it is and how it will be looked upon at this end of the line.... Such articles do not help the cause any over here. But the main question is, are we right in it or are we not? If we know what the right is, we shall fight it out on that line and that line alone.... SPCCSR 155.2
“You have the matter before you and now if you do not object I wish that you would read to her copies of the letters which I have sent you or in some way get it before her mind so we can know her mind on the matter. SPCCSR 156.1
“I write this in great haste... SPCCSR 156.2
“In hope, (Signed) “S. N. Haskell” SPCCSR 156.3