CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY ARCHIVE
Section VI: Missions to India

Part 4: South India Mission, 1834-1880

This part covers the South India Mission Books for the years 1834-1880, continuing on from Part 3 which focused on the years 1820-1834. Included in Part 4 are letters to and from missionaries and secretaries regarding mission business, missionary reports on their work and itineration, annual letters from the missionaries (for 1875-1880), and minutes of meetings and conferences. One of the highlights of this part is the missionary journals which contain many interesting anecdotes as well as much detail on missionary work and the life and customs of the local people.

The reports remain as diverse as ever, with details on the Mayaveram, Mavelicara, Tinnevelly, Cochin, Dohnavar, Allepie, Cottayam and Palamcottah missions. There is news on missionaries, catechists, schools, congregations, seminaries and societies as well as an account of the conversion of a Brahmin, descriptions of a visit to Madras, and of the Prince of Wales' visit to Palamcottah in 1875.

Other miscellaneous items featured range from an account of the practice of hook swinging to statistical returns for the mission stations to papers and correspondence relating to the caste question.