60. David Livingston [Livingstone], Cape Town, to Rev Arthur Tidman, Mission House, Blomfield Street, London

Statement originally intended for Rev Freeman [Freeman died in Sept 1851], referring to extra expenses to be drawn on top of his usual salary to cover the costs of supporting Mrs Livingstone and their children while in England; recounts the obstacles to be overcome before they can plant the gospel i...

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Order number: CWM/LMS/Africa/Odds/Livingstone, Box 1
Date(s) of creation: 17 Mar 1852
Level: Item
Format: Archive           

Order number: CWM/LMS/Africa/Odds/Livingstone, Box 1
Summary: Statement originally intended for Rev Freeman [Freeman died in Sept 1851], referring to extra expenses to be drawn on top of his usual salary to cover the costs of supporting Mrs Livingstone and their children while in England; recounts the obstacles to be overcome before they can plant the gospel in the densely populated country drained by the Zambesi, including swampy nature of the region, deep rivers, fever, the tsetse, the death of Sebitoane [Sebetwane], the impropriety of removing Sebitoane's people from their only defences against the forays of the Matabele; justification for the removal of his family to England; acknowledgement of the risks to his own life; reference to Mary Livingstone's recurring paralysis [on her right side] and frequent pregnancies, which aggravate the condition; will devote his time to the formation of a mission in a healthy locality in the Borotse country or beyond, and the chance to solve "some interesting problems in relation to the slave trade, my full conviction being that this nefarious traffic will be abolished by the influence of Christian Missions"; travel to the Cape Colony with his wife and children; family have suffered from the heat during their journey, Thomas has had fever three times coming down the Zouga and Agnes has been ill from malaria; discussion of expenses, debts to the Society and financial support received from William Oswell - salary insufficient to cover costs; comparison with more favourable salaries of missionaries employed by the Wesleyans, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Dutch Reformed Church; Moffat's illness with "an affection of the head"; accuses the London Missionary Society of "injustice" in charging the expense of his son John's voyage [John Smith Moffat had sailed for England in March 1850 to attend school] to Moffat's own account in light of his own financial limitations; inequality in the allocation of funds between Colesberg and Kuruman, i.e. between missionaries in the Colony and beyond it.
Extent: 4pp
Access status: Open
User restrictions: For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance
Format: Archive