To the Secretary, S.P.G., 15, Tufton Street, Westminster, S.W.1.

Dear Sir,

By the time this report reaches you I shall have completed six months as principal of the A. I. School at Nazareth, S. India. I am glad to state that I am happy in the work, although this statement needs considerable qualification, and I propose to deal with this in Section I of this report.

Looking back over the last six months I cannot help feeling that the work which I am doing out here is rather too much in the nature of running a business, even if it does happen to be under the S.P.G. and even if I do have occasional Sunday duty thrown in. When I was assistant priest at St. James's, Gloucester, I made many happy contacts with members of the Choir and Bible Classes and with other young people connected with the church. Out here, though surrounded with young people at the A.I.S., I am making no contact with them and am not likely to as long as I remain at Nazareth.

What prevents my making these contacts is lack of any knowledge of Tamil, and also lack of time or facilities for language study. As I am situated at the present time, my work does not permit [me any] language study.

As might be expected, the A.I.S. is a blend of mission and commercial activity. To a large extent the school depends on orders for furniture and upon calls for building and carpentry work. All correspondence with regard to the former devolves upon myself, and frequently keeps me in the school office most of the morning. Morning office is followed by a round of the workshops where I inspect the work and answer (through an interpreter) any queries which may arise.

I have the misfortune to be a qualified architect as well as being a parson. My mornings being occupied as described in the preceding paragraph, what of the rest of the day? How much time does it give me for Tamil? A busy architect finds enough to keep him and his staff busy from early morning to late at night. I have only the afternoons, and, with no assistant draughtsman to help me, to cope with the architectural side of the work.

At present I have two churches under construction, two bungalows, some elaborate choirstalls, extensions to the High School, a Bank building and sundry pieces of church furniture in various stages of being designed. All this, as may be imagined, keeps me busy on the drawing board, often till dusk.

I wish to make clear that this work directly concerns the A.I.S. One of my conditions in taking in architectural work is that every bit of the constructional work (with the exception of coolie work) goes to the A.I.S. The school is working at top pressure at the present time and orders are coming in all the time. I am delighted to see the school in such a healthy condition and am also very pleased that my old profession is being made such good use of.

All the same, I am extremely dissatisfied with my present position. As I have said, it is now six months since I arrived. By this time, many a missionary is capable of taking a service in Tamil and of simple preaching in the language. In my case my vocabulary is less than 150 words, my conversational ability practically nil and any attempt to say the simplest prayer is out of the question altogether. With my love of young people, I miss more than I can express, being so completely out of touch with these Indian lads under my care.

My love of the architectural and business side of the school is quite secondary to my love of the personal and spiritual side of the work. As a Priest, my job ought not to be primarily running a furniture-making concern or spending hours doing plans and quantities. Until I have mastered Tamil, cannot fulfil the conditions of the first paragraph of the exhortation in the 'Ordering of Priests.'

It is merely foolish to say “You should find time." When, I should like to know? No one appreciates more than do the value of knowing a native language (and I have a very fair knowledge of Urdu) or misses more than I do, the lack of it.

My predecessor, the Rev. A. P. Randle, had over two years groundings in the language before he was appointed to the A.I.S. as principal and superintendent. When I was in N. India, nine or ten years ago, I took off over three months to learn Urdu. During this time I lived at a school near Agra, and did language and little else all the time I was there. I also spent my summer vacations at a language school. The result is that I have acquired a very fair grasp of Urdu and I only wish it were of some use to me now.

If I may be forgiven for saying so, I regard it as a short sighted policy for me to be plunged into what is really a very senior missionary's job. If I am here merely as an architect or merely as a business head to run a furniture factory, then, because there are people to interpret for me, language is not really a necessity. I am not out here in either of these capacities but as a missionary and as a priest, and doing or attempting to do the work of a missionary or priest without a knowledge of the language is trying to do the impossible.

I should like the Home Authorities to realize how extremely full my days are, through no wish or seeking of my own. Some days I am rushed off my feet, deputations wait on my verandah, I am waylaid on. my way across to the school from my bungalow and visitors call at any and every hour, often at most inconvenient times.

My only chance or learning the language and of fulfilling my duty as a missionary and priest, is for me to get right away from Nazareth for some months and to concentrate on Tamil. If I might make a suggestion, I might well go to Tuticorin [Thoothukudi] as temporary Chaplain of the English Church. Incidentally the church has gone downhill badly since Mr. Evans retired, and a temporary resident chaplain might, benefit the church considerably. I might reside at the Caldwell High School at Tuticorin and learn Tamil with a munshi. and get speaking practice with the High School boys. This idea, I may say, came from the Indian headmaster of the Caldwell High School, with whom I spent a weekend recently.

My idea would be to complete all current jobs and to decline to accept any more till the beginning of 1939 - I refer now to building jobs. Orders for furniture could be dealt with by my Indian staff under Mr. J. R. Manuel, Indian headmaster of the A.I.S., who carried on so efficiently when Mr. Randle left.

I very much hope that the Home Authorities will be prepared to sanction such a scheme as I am putting forward. Failure to do so will simply mean that I shall not be able to learn the language, and presumably, I shall remain indefinitely as a missionary 'on probation.' Under these conditions I should not volunteer for a subsequent tour of oversea service, in fact, I might sever my connection with the S.P.G. even before the five years of my first tour are up, as in either case, I should regard myself and my time as being far better employed in a home parish. My primary job, as have already said, is not to run a furniture factory nor to be an architect. If am to remain out here, both these must be secondary to my work as a priest and missionary, and this can only be realized by knowing the language.

The A. I. School is unquestionably in a most healthy and flourishing condition in every way, and more especially since I have carried out a bit of 'weeding.' Within six weeks of my arrival at Nazareth, I found it necessary to close the motoring section of the school, dismiss the teacher in charge and expel four of the senior boys for highly improper conduct about which do not propose to burden this report. These dismissals have had a salutary effect on the discipline of the school, though they have earned for me the reputation of being a 'hard' man!

The results of careful dieting and hard work are soon apparent in the A.I.S. boys. The school-joining age is 13, but many of tine boys when they join look more like 10 or 11. In a very short time they blossom out into fine-looking lads, as hard as nails. Football (played barefoot) and badminton are the favourite games, and are played after school, between five and six.

I have made myself responsible for one of the boys. A few Sundays ago, I was doing duty at the Anglo-Indian Church at Madura, about a hundred miles from Nazareth. My host was a police sergeant with a house in the police lines. A small boy - a bright handsome little fellow, was hanging about the kitchen, and every time saw him he greeted me with a big smile. I discovered that he was one of my host's butler's children, one of a very big and extremely poor low-caste Hindu family. The mother was ill in hospital.

My little friend, I found out from his father (who could speak a little English, N.B. fortunately for me) was 13 but looked 11 and had reached the necessary standard in education for admission to the A.I.S. His father was delighted when I offered to take the boy back with me to Nazareth. I call the boy 'Tumpi' (lit. "little brother" and the equivalent of “sonny” in English) instead of the long Hindu name he possesses.

The story of ‘Tumpi’ has its parallel in many of the A.I.S. boys. The vast majority come to the school desperately poor and physically undersized. The majority too, come to the school suffering from 'hook-worm' disease. Every boy is medically examined at St. Luke's Hospital by my good friend Dr. Vedabodakam who gives them the necessary treatment for 'hook-worm' disease - most of the newcomers require this, and he also prescribes special dieting and feeding up.

The boys enter the school, as ‘Tumpl’ has, poor, undersized and diseased, and, of course, as heathen. From the day they enter the school they begin to improve in every way, they are taught a trade, they are well fed, clothed and looked after, they are prepared for Baptism and their education during their first three years is brought up to Standard VIII.

‘Tumpi’ is now happily settled in the tailoring section, and, quite against all rules of the school, pays me surreptitious visits at my bungalow. He likes to tell me (with my old servant Moses to interpret for me) what he has been doing at school, what he has had for dinner, all about his games, etc., etc., and I really cannot be cross with him for breaking rules though, of course, l ought to be.

As my work at Nazareth does not permit of language study, I cannot help with Tamil services at all. I am often away, however, doing Sunday duty in English at the Anglo-Indian and European churches at Madura and Tuticorin. Due to my lack of Tamil, my Indian headmaster, Mr. J. R. Manuel, takes school Prayers every morning in our beautiful little A.I.S. Chapel. This, of course, is not as it should be. The Principal of the school should take Prayers, not the second in command.

SECTION III.

Under this section of my report I propose to deal with the question of S.P.G. property at Nazareth. During the short time I have been here, the question of property has involved me in a great deal of friction, bad feeling and a vast amount of correspondence -- chiefly with the Indian headmaster of the St. John's High School for Boys.

For the purpose of making myself clear, I am giving a sketch of the site on this page. The headmaster wants the whole site and, armed with documents which he claims are proof of a pledge from Mr. Randle, my predecessor, that he is entitled to the whole site, and that I, as Mr. Randle's successor, should abide by this pledge, he is trying to turn me out.

The whole position is preposterous and absurd and merely makes me laugh (or cross). He wants D for a High School Hostel and B for his own residence. I have rarely met with such childishness from anyone, and certainly never from a man who, by virtue of his status, I should otherwise respect. Let me take only one instance: last March, I was away for a few days from Nazareth. On my return I found coolies whitewashing bungalow B (S.P.G. property of which I am manager) on the instruction of the headmaster who told them to do so without any reference to myself. Of course, unpleasantness followed, I at once ordered them off.

The High School has a Governing Board. Without consulting this Board, the headmaster has offered me a price for Bungalow D - the A.I.S. bungalow where I reside and which he wants for his school hostel. My bungalow has from time immemorial been the missionary's bungalow and is S.P.G. property. I cannot sell in this casual way without reference to the Home Authorities, even if I wanted to. Now, without in any way yielding to pressure from the headmaster, this is, I feel, the only way to arrival at an amicable settlement. My bungalow would be ideal for a high School hostel. I find it much too large and inconvenient for myself (a bachelor). If the school Governing Board are prepared to give me a fair price and if the Home Authorities allow one to sell, nothing would please me more than to pass on this bungalow (D) to the High School and to build an A.I.S. principal's house elsewhere.

Property B, however, I shall decline to part with. I need the bungalow B as a showroom for A.I.S. stock furniture and as a guest room for any visitors I may have. The smaller houses on the site are occupied by A.I.S. staff and the banyan tree is historical - under its branches in the great famine year of 1871, Canon Margoschis started what has now become the Art Industrial School. It is a really magnificent old tree, perfectly healthy and with over forty independent branches which have become trunks. Playing field E, I can spare to the High School if the Home Authorities permit. Playing field F, I wish to retain. In other words, I wish to keep all S.P.G. property to the left of the right of way for half its distance from the top.

An unpleasant feature of the controversy with the headmaster has been the very obvious attempt on his part to take advantage of the Bishop's absence and of the fact that I am a newcomer imperfectly acquainted with the intricate policy of the mission. Without wishing to unduly criticize my predecessor, I cannot help feeling that he placed far too much confidence in the headmaster of the High School, and that I am now suffering from this misplaced confidence.

As I say, it will make for smooth running in future if sell property D and build elsewhere. I have designed and worked out the estimates for a small convenient bungalow - which can easily be extended if necessary - to meet my bachelor needs and to allow me to give hospitality to a visitor. I know where good land is to be had at a reasonable rate near the theological college at Tirumaraiyur (part of Nazareth).

I need hardly say how gladly I would have been spared all this unpleasantness, especially during my first few weeks and months out here. No one, more than myself, wishes to live on friendly terms with my neighbours, whether European or Indian.

Miscellaneous. Hill Holiday at Kodaikanal. I spent six weeks in the Hills from about the middle of April. I was one of a house-party in a very comfortable bungalow overlooking Kodaikanal. For more than a month I studied Tamil with a good munshi, putting in two hours with him every day. A month at a language like Tamil is enough to show what a lot still remains to be done before even simple conversation is possible. Towards the end of my time in the Hills, I took a week off and did several climbs and treks round about Kodaikanal.

CONCLUSION.

May I briefly recapitulate under the various sections?

Section I. Will the Home Authorities please allow me time of for language? I suggest I be appointed as temporary chaplain to the English Church at Tuticorin where I could live in Mr. Evans' old rooms at the Caldwell High School.

Section II. Descriptive of the School.

Section III. Will the Home Authorities please allow me to sell the A.I.S. Bungalow to the High School, Nazareth, (i.e., if the money is forthcoming) and allow me to build a new A.I S. principal's house near the theological college?

Section IV. Descriptive of my Hill Holiday.

I am glad to say that I am in excellent health, and it case this Report has given a wrong impression, I am also happy in the work here. At the same time, unless I am only going to spend a few years in the work out here, I must ask for time off to do language. Of course, I may be "too old at 40" to really grasp this difficult language, but ask that at least, be given an opportunity.

Yours sincerely,

George E. Hubbard

Copies to the Bishop's Comlissary, Tinnevelly, S. India. S.P.G., London.