The American Missionary. Volume 42, No. 12, December, 1888

Relating to the work of the Association may be addressed to the Corresponding Secretaries; letters for "THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY," to the Editor, at the New York Office.

OUR ANNUAL MEETING

The Annual Meeting at Providence, R.I., will long be remembered in the annals of this Association. Its general characteristics were earnestness and enthusiasm. The interest did not flag from the beginning to the end. We were glad to welcome our newly-elected President, Rev. Wm. M. Taylor, D.D., who, by his dignity and facility as a presiding officer, as well as by his able addresses, added largely to the interest of the meeting. The sermon of Dr. Little was an uplift at the outset; the Memorial Service for Dr. Powell was a loving tribute to his memory; the papers read were of a high order, and dealt in a practical way with living themes bearing on the work of the Association; the reports on the several departments of that work were discriminating, and showed a mastery of the subjects reviewed; and the addresses of Drs. Mears, Behrends and Taylor, on the last evening were, by their fervor, their broad range of thought and spiritual power, a fitting close for the whole series of meetings.

But the marked and peculiar feature of the occasion was the announcement of the munificent gift of Mr. Daniel Hand, of more than a million of dollars, to aid the Association in its efforts for the colored people of the South. This event, so inspiring in its immediate effect, and so far-reaching and permanent in its beneficial results, deserves full and special mention.

THE DANIEL HAND EDUCATIONAL FUND FOR COLORED PEOPLE

The gift of more than a million of dollars by Mr. Hand for the education of the colored people of the South, was a noble deed—alike patriotic, philanthropic and Christian. The gift was wisely made. It was after mature deliberation; it was during his lifetime, and thus avoids the possibility of future litigation; it is bestowed upon a race with whose wants Mr. Hand had become thoroughly familiar; it was given to a Society that from the first, amid obloquy and danger, has been true to the colored man; and it is made a permanent fund, the income only to be used, thus securing its perpetual usefulness.

The conditions of the grant are simple, easily applicable, practical and not liable to render the fund inoperative by any change of circumstances. It aims simply to give to the colored people a training that will fit them for every day life, or to become teachers of their race. Hence it will be confined to primary, industrial and normal education. We have no doubt that Mr. Hand values the missionary future of the African in his native land; that he realizes the importance of his religious training in this country, and that he appreciates the need of the higher education of a portion of the race; but his gift, large as it is, cannot cover everything, and he has, therefore, wisely chosen the definite sphere in which his money shall accomplish its work. Opportunity is thus given others equally liberal to provide for other parts of the great work to be done for the negro race.

Mr. Hand may not live long enough to see for many years the practical working of his far-reaching gift, but generation after generation of the Negroes of the South will rise up to call him blessed.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GIFT

[Abridged from the Providence Journal.]

The Address of Secretary Strieby.

It is my privilege, and I esteem it a great honor, to be called upon to announce one of the most surprising and gratifying facts, financially considered at least, that has ever occurred in the history of this Association. The American Missionary Association has this week received the largest gift ever made in this country by a living donor to a benevolent society. Daniel Hand, an aged resident of Guilford, Conn., formerly a merchant in the South, has given to the Association $1,000,894.25, in interest-bearing securities, to be held in trust and known as "THE DANIEL HAND EDUCATIONAL FUND FOR COLORED PEOPLE," the income only to be used for the education of colored people in the Southern States. Mr. Hand, having made his money in the South, and having seen the ignorance and consequent disadvantages of the colored people there, felt that he could not use it better than in providing for their education, and has chosen to entrust to the American Missionary Association, whose work is so largely devoted to the elevation of that people, the care of this magnificent gift, and the disbursement of its income in accordance with the provisions of the trust.

This announcement was received with great enthusiasm, which was prolonged for several minutes, and the most intense excitement prevailed. An address was then given by John H. Washburn, Esq., Chairman of the Executive Committee, after which Rev. Dr. Mears made an address, which was followed by the singing of the Doxology with great fervor and emphasis.

Remarks by Mr. John H. Washburn.

Mr. President.—The last few years have been remarkable in gifts and legacies. Some have endowed colleges and universities; some, as in this case, have been for the benefit of a peculiar race, but no one in his own lifetime has ever selected a benevolent association as beneficiary, and endowed it with such a munificent gift as Daniel Hand has bestowed upon the American Missionary Association. He was, it seems to me, wise in choosing this course. Others have seen fit to put their funds in the hands of trustees organized and incorporated to hold the trust. He might have done that, but what would have been the gain over the present plan? Those trustees must have availed themselves, as the trustees of the Peabody Fund and the trustees of the Slater Fund are compelled to do, of existing organizations for knowing the needs of the people; where and how the money can be used to the best advantage. Mr. Hand availed himself of an organization ready to his hand, one whose agents are better qualified to judge of the needs of the people, the plans to be pursued, the work to be done, than any other organization in this country.

Now the first thought of the executive officers and committee in receiving this magnificent gift is gratitude to God, who put it into the heart of this man to entrust to us such great means of usefulness for the people for which we labor. But there is a second thought; is this gift to be a blessing to us or a curse? That depends upon our constituents, the men and women personally, and on the churches, not on the officers of the Association. How do you, the individual givers to this Association, regard this gift? Every special gift to such organizations as this, whether it be for special endowment or to establish special schools, implies more money, an increase of contribution. Gifts for new buildings, gifts for establishing new plant are apt to be an embarrassment unless the individuals will respond with increased donations. Now this fund which is given us, while the terms are liberal, is limited in its scope,—it is strictly for the education of the colored youth in the Southern States of America. Not one dollar of this can be used for general work, not one dollar for the Indian, or for our Mountain Work; strictly limited in its use, we need in consequence even more money than before. We are endowed with this great gift, but we may not be able to use it efficiently if there is a lack of supplementary contributions, and for that reason we make a new and strong appeal for them.

You pay your money where you have your interest. That man who, in building a mission church in a rough, uncouth neighborhood, called on the hoodlums in the vicinity to make a contribution of a brick apiece for the new church, was a wise man. Every bootblack, every newsboy, every garbage gatherer in it who put a brick in that church had an interest in it. It was "Our Church," and at once the interest of the neighborhood was secured for this mission church, as it could have been done in no other way. So we ask you to withhold not your bricks; with the bricks will come the interest, the heart, the prayers.

Remarks by Dr. Mears.

Rev. Dr. Mears, who occupied the chair temporarily, followed the address of Mr. Washburn, voicing the gratitude of the Association. He spoke of the feelings almost of depression after the great wants of the work had been so evident from the various reports and addresses of the meeting. The words of reply to the prophet in the famine stricken city of Samaria had been often repeated as to the possibility of relief for those despised; "Behold if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?" This munificent gift of a million dollars seems like a gift dropped from the pierced hand into the lap of this Association. It seems a seal of the divine favor upon this organization, whose sole care is for those races that are poor and despised. The speaker referred to the suggestion of Mr. Washburn, that the gift must be either a blessing or a curse. It would be a curse if the benefactions of the churches should be withheld because of Mr. Hand's munificence. The divineness of the gift, however, precluded such a fear. There is too much consecration in the hearts of God's children to keep back a single offering for those for whom Christ died. The great promise of the Master will prove itself true; "To him that hath shall be given." Turning to the members of the Executive Committee, the suggestion was made that the manner in which they should guard this great gift would be a potent factor in urging greater gifts from the churches. In such hands was left the burden of showing that only a blessing and not a curse was possible. Be true to your great trust. His closing words were in recognition of the blessings sure to rest upon the venerable giver whose last days have been so near heaven as to catch the beams of holy light.

SKETCH OF MR. HAND'S LIFE

Daniel Hand was born in Madison, Conn., July 16, 1801, and was therefore in the eighty-eighth year of his age when he made his gift for the education of the colored people at the South. His ancestors have resided in that town for several generations and were always landholders, industrious, quiet and respectable. To this ancestry Mr. Hand is probably indebted under God for his physical vigor, long life, strength of character and success in business. He was the fourth son of seven, and was on the farm under his father's direction until he was sixteen years of age, when he was put in charge of his second brother, Augustus F. Hand, who was then a merchant at Augusta, Ga., and whom he succeeded in business. In 1854 Mr. Hand went to New York in connection with his Southern business, and remained there in that capacity until the beginning of the war in 1861. He resided in some portion of the Southern Confederacy during the entire war, and was never treated with violence in any way, and no Confederate officer ever offered him indignity or even an unkind word.

Mr. G.W. Williams, a native Georgian, was, at about the age of sixteen, employed by Mr. Hand as a clerk in Augusta, and in a few years was taken in as partner. Mr. Williams suggested a branch of the business in Charleston, and conducted it successfully. When the war came on Mr. Hand's capital was largely employed in the Charleston business, which Mr. Williams as a Southern man continued, having the use of Mr. Hand's capital, which the Confederate Government vainly endeavored to confiscate by legal proceedings against Mr. Hand, as a Northern man of pronounced anti-slavery sentiments. After the war Mr. Hand came North and left it to his old partner, Mr. Williams, to adjust the business and make up the accounts, allowing him almost unlimited time for so doing. When this was accomplished, Mr. Williams came North and paid over to Mr. Hand his portion of the long-invested capital and its accumulations, as an honest and honorable merchant and trusted partner should do.

Many years ago Mr. Hand was bereaved of wife and children, and he has since remained unmarried. This fact, together with his benevolent impulses, led him to form plans to use his property for the benefit of mankind. He thought at first of devoting a part of it to some Northern colleges, but his attention being turned to the needed and successful work done among the colored people of the South, his purpose was soon formed to aid them. He said he knew them, and the disadvantages arising out of their ignorance, their inability to keep accounts, to secure their rights in making settlements, and consequently the hindrances they encountered in their industries and in the acquisition of lands and homes. As it was known that he had money and benevolent intentions in regard to the use of it, many methods were suggested to him for that purpose. Some of these he investigated with care, but he never saw occasion to change the purpose which he formed more than ten years ago, to make the colored people his beneficiaries through the American Missionary Association, which he found was doing so large and successful a work among the very people whom he wished to benefit, and in methods in accordance with his own views. More than ten years ago he had incorporated in his will a legacy of $100,000 for the Association. It was suggested to him at that time that he should become his own executor, but he felt that his securities were safe and productive, and at last it became a cherished purpose with him to make the gift a million of dollars as soon as he could do so with due regard to other objects he had in view.

The consummation of this great purpose was finally closed by the transfer (October 22nd) of the securities to the Association by the Hon. Luzon B. Morris, who has been throughout his trusted and honored legal and financial adviser. This gift enrolls Mr. Hand among the honored names of wealthy men who have devoted their fortunes, not to mere display or personal gratification, but to elevate and bless the ignorant and needy.

Mr. Hand is a man of tall, commanding presence, and still at the age of eighty-seven writes with a firm and bold hand, and expresses himself in brief and vigorous language.

THE DEED OF TRUST

The purposes and conditions of this great trust are as follows:

"The said Daniel Hand, desiring to establish a permanent fund, the income of which shall be used for the purpose of educating needy and indigent colored people of African descent, residing, or who may hereafter reside in the recent slave States of the United States of America, sometimes called the Southern States; meaning those States wherein slavery was recognized by law in the year A.D. 1861, and in consideration of the promises and undertakings of the said American Missionary Association, hereinafter set forth, does hereby give, transfer and deliver unto the said American Missionary Association the following bonds and property in trust, viz.: (Here follows a list of the property transferred, amounting at par value to $1,000,894.25. The market value is more than that sum.) Said bonds and property to be received and held by said American Missionary Association, upon trust, and for the following purposes, viz.: To safely manage the said trust fund, to change investments whenever said Association may deem it necessary or advisable to reinvest the principal of said trust fund in such securities, property and investments as said Association may deem best, and to use the income thereof only for the education of colored people of African descent residing in the recent slave States of the United States of America hereinbefore specified.

"Such income to be applied for the education of such colored people as are needy and indigent and such as by their health, strength and vigor of body and mind give indications of efficiency and usefulness in after life.

"Said American Missionary Association and the proper officers thereof, shall have the right, while acting in good faith, to select from time to time such persons from the above described class as are to receive aid from the income of said trust fund, hereby confiding to said Association the selection of such persons as it shall deem most worthy and deserving of such aid, but I would limit the sum of $100 as the largest sum to be expended for any person in any one year from this fund. I impose no restrictions upon said Association as to the manner in which they shall use such income for the education of such colored people, whether by establishing schools for that purpose, and maintaining the same, or by furnishing individual aid; trusting to said Association and the officers thereof the use of such means in the execution of said trust as in their judgment will be most for the advantage of that class of people.

"Said trust fund shall be set apart and at all times known as the 'Daniel Hand Educational Fund for Colored People.' And the said Association shall keep separate accounts of the investment of this fund, and of the income derived therefrom, and of the use to which such income is applied, and shall publish monthly statements of the receipts from said fund, specifying its source, object and intention."

SUGGESTIONS

Something to Remember.

Our first thought is for the pastors and churches to whom these words may come. It is this: Remember that the American Missionary Association has not a million of dollars to expend in its work.

It has the yearly income of this great gift as a Trust Fund to be used, not for the work which our churches have taken on, but to do a specific work which would not otherwise be undertaken. The American Missionary Association will carry out the wishes of this large giver in their trust, and the Hand Fund will not be used to supplement the other work committed to the Association.

Do not say then, that we have a million and need nothing. Our execution of a trust to do additional work to the extent of $50,000 a year or more, in no way changes our dependence upon the constituency of the A.M.A. We have no balance whatever at the bank to supplement any lack from the churches. The Hand Fund stands out distinctly committed to its appropriate work. This it will do.

It will, however, make the work to which we are already committed more imperative. We do not believe that the churches will in any degree defeat the purposes of Mr. Hand by devoting less than before to their own work, but that they will rather encourage larger gifts than ever, by an emulation of a like spirit, to be used for the redemption of a race. This is not a Trust Fund to relieve the churches. It is to make their work greater and more effective.

The reports of the several committees at Providence all called for an enlargement of our work. It was recommended that $375,000 be raised and used in the fiscal year 1888-1889. This means something more than $30,000 a month. The receipts for October were $16,416.07, being but a little more than half of that which is needed. Our dependence must be where it has been; first of all upon God, and then upon those who are his stewards. We do not believe that God's stewards will be willing to use this signal illustration of fidelity to stewardship as a reason why they should do less rather than more in their working together with him. The American Missionary Association begins its year with a debt of $5,000 and needs $30,000 a month to carry on its regular work.

Large Gifts no Substitute for Small Ones.

A Pope of Rome in the midst of his great wealth once said, "I cannot say as Peter did: 'Silver and gold have I none!'" To which the reply was made: "Neither can you say, 'In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.'" Peter and the Pope are types of two conditions of the church of Christ. When it is dependent on Christ, it can bless the bodies and souls of men; when it relies on its wealth, it can do neither. A missionary society that should be so thoroughly endowed as to feel itself to be independent of God and man for funds would soon be thoroughly dead. Its power is in proportion to the faith it uplifts to God, and to the constant sense of dependence with which it rests down upon the sympathy and support of the churches. It can never flourish except as it is refreshed by the little rills of benevolence that flow from praying Christians; that treasury is poor, indeed, that does not receive the widow's two mites. The American Missionary Association can come with blessings to the neglected races of our land only as it lays hold with one hand upon the arm of the Lord and with the other grasps the hands of the pastors and members of the churches—as it enables them to feel that it is their society doing God's work for them.

But does not the magnificent gift of Mr. Hand lift the Association above such dependence on the churches? Is it not at least so well provided for that the churches need not be so regular and liberal in their contributions? We answer emphatically that if this should be the result of that gift, we should esteem it no blessing; and in this we are sure Mr. Hand himself would unite with us. We are told that he was accustomed to read the "Receipts" acknowledged in the AMERICAN MISSIONARY, and was greatly delighted that so many small donations were reported. He said that one thing that confirmed him in the choice of the Association as the almoner of his bounty was the hold it seemed to have upon the mass of intelligent and praying members of the New England churches, No! the gift of Mr. Hand, generous and large as it is, provides for only a part of our great work. It does not touch the Church, Mountain, Indian, Chinese or Higher Educational Departments. It is wisely appropriated; it goes directly and practically to a point where help is much needed. But it is limited to that and does not cover even all of that. Let the churches do neither themselves, the Association nor Mr. Hand the great wrong of withholding because he gives; rather let them take this gift as God and the generous donor meant it to be—a help in lifting the heavy load, to be responded to by heartier co-operation and larger contributions.