"Mohr's Report for 1887"

Details of property: He gives the number of Christian houses in Begoro as 20-24. The DC for Akim was staying in the Begoro Mission House at the time of writing the report. The sleeping and eating accommodation for Middle School pupils in Begoro had been completed. All the Asiakwa Christians are settled on mission land. A chapel was in the process of being built in Anyinam. In Abomosu the Christian village and deacon‘s house had been destroyed. The Akim CC was using a temporary sleeping room put up previously for the Middle School pupils as his court house. And two of the ground floor rooms in the Mission house were being used at his prison. His 25 Hausa soldiers are living in the Christian quarter, and though paid 75d weekly subsistence the missionaries had to press to get any of this paid to the Christian’s providing food. Eventually 50d weekly was agreed on as a reasonable bill. Houses were being built for them, but since each house was earning them only 12 Marks, the people were not hurrying over them. The DC had surveyed a hill near Apapam as a possible eight for a Government settlement, but Governor Griffith had not authorised this. He gives Dr. Smith (the DC) the testimonial that he goes about the work with an unbending integrity and has thereby earned respect not to say fear. He is sharp on chiefs who do not keep that paths and villages clean, and he is much more decisive over against Kwasi Kuma than his predecessor (Captain Lethbridge) was. The missionaries will much regret his leaving when the time comes for that. In Kibi repairs were taken in hand during the year after the damage of the riots, and the buildings were far enough forward for the school to begin again in February. There is much building in the Christian village, since not only are damaged houses being repaired, all the Christians who had previously lived in the Christian quarter of Klbi have now moved onto mission land. In Apedwa and Apapam the damage to mission property was not large, however, the chapel in Apapam was unrepairable (it is not clear from the report whether this was because of riot damage or not) but since there are only 7 adult men in the community, on the missionaries' advice these have put up a temporary structure for services. In Kukurantumi all the Christians are now settled on mission land - in Asiakwa in the text it says they have all begun building, and the phrase is not resolved with the statement in the list of details of property. The mission has no house for its employees in Asafo, Tafo, Anyinasing, Tete, Akropong, Akim, Banso. Only in Asafo and Banso do they have to pay rent, however. Ata had dashed the missions a patch of land in Banso near the royal burial ground, just before the troubles of December 1886, but they had not been able to take possession of this because he was himself buried there now, and feeling was still strong against the Christians on the grounds that they had been responsible for his death. The houses in Abomosu had fallen in because they had been de-roofed. He remarks that the oil and rubber trades are almost in abeyance, and wonders whether something might be done to promote a local production of soap by improving the traditions process and to it adding the use of oil for lighting. The mission staff had not changed during the year. However, with illness, and the need to be present on the Coast for the court case, it was only September when Rösler could make the first tour of the Akim churches of the year. Mohr was forbidden from going to Kibi till December. Among the local employees the following changes had taken place: Cat. Jos. Labi from Tumfa to Apedwa. Evang. Botwe of Apedwa had disgualified himself by running away. Ewi from Abomosu to Tumfa though he has been almost constantly with his family in Kukurantumi and may have to be pensioned because of illness. Boabea to Tafo. Instead or going to Nkwatanang stayed for most of the year helping Ofori in Kibi, he has since been posted to Otumi where there is a little group of 7 Christians and 7 Catechumen. There are no Christians in Nkwatanang. For part of the year Teacher Asumeng was on 1/3 wages, because he had spent a long time sick with a local doctor, not going to see the mission doctor in Aburi as he was warned he should; In the end, when he went to Eckhardt, he was pronounced fit for work after a few weeks treatment. There had been difficulty between Ofori and Mohr during the year. They have adopted the administrative expedient of reducing holidays since so many of their local agents spend longer away from their station than they should on the grounds or sickness. In future this will be punished, unless they have a certificate from the mission doctor. People who do not have their wives with them, and have no good reason for this, are being put on half pay. The local agents travelled for a total of 200 days during the year. As he was writing he heard about a new Government decision on Government presence in Akim. A temporary station was to be built on the Pintang Hill, near Apedwa. In order to facilitate communication the path from Apedwa to Nsawam was to be improved - this would make Apedwa two days away from the coast, while at Bomso, Kade and Sankyi the people will be paid to maintain a boat as ferry. They took the opportunity to give the evangelists a ten week course in the period before they could return to their stations in October. He gives different figures from those in the printed Annual Report. According to this report the decrease was 210 overall, a reduction from 1389 to 1179 members of the Akim Christian community. However of the reduction of 210 53 died, and 95 moved away to another residence. In Begoro overall there was a slight increase in the numbers of people in the community though they suffered a serious loss in the death of their Senior Presbyter Mose. At one time there were as many as 139 soldiers quartered in the Christian village. In Apepam there was a reduction of 21 in the numbers in the community, it now stands at 87. Of these 14 were communicants, including 5 married couples. There are 23 non-communicant adults. Asafo - community at 16, the catechist and wife the only communicants. Mohr cannot understand why this should be. Asiakwa - reduction from 171 to 152, including all baptisms. Tate - a reduction of 15, of which 13 were exclusions. In the Kibi area it was the Apapam and Tete people who were foremost in attacks on the Christians. Tafo and Osiem – 26Cchristians together, 5 of them non-communicants, and 14 children. The Osiem peop1e had been fierce against Christians, beating those who passed through the village during the persecutions. Anyinasing - hard ground, but perhaps things will be improved by the main road from Apedwa to Nsawom when it is in use. Mmase - there are only four non-communicant Christians in this town. (The Kibi and Kukurantumi passages are printed in the Annual Report).

01.02.1888

01.02.1888

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