"Begoro Stations Conference"

A contemporary report of the Middle School pupils' wish to leave Begoro in middle March. One of Sitzler's tactics was to warn the teachers that if the pupils went away the mission would having nothing for them to do and they would go onto 1/3 pay. The stations' conference in fact asks full powers to send people on 1/3 pay for an unlimited period from 31 Mar if they do not return to their stations. They had had a meeting with the local employees over this point in which harsh words had been spoken, and the protocol reflects the missionaries' anger at the lack of voluntary spirit among their subordinates. The fact that none of the local agents gathered in Begoro had offered to take prayers instead of the sick teacher Asumen was an immediate cause of hard feelings. Mohr had explained that if there was no work for them in Akim then they would have to go back to Aburi to either be posted to another place or sent on leave. Into the general tense feelings Mohr inserted the accusation that had Ofori stayed at his post in Kibi things would have gone differently, to which he replied that he was there for the Christians, who had in fact all gone away, but Mohr pointed out that he had repeated given him instructions to stay to look after the missions’ property, both initially orally and later in writing it. Other points raised in discussion were Ofori’s accusing Mohr of hating him - he was after all as old as Mohr, while Mohr resented Ofori's pressure for more subordinates, especially when the Tumfa district was taken from his responsibilities in 1885. Mohr evidently saw him as pursuing the status of a senior position without being prepared to do the work – one point of friction was Ofori's wish to be allowed to use three rooms of the Kibi Mission House for his household, another that the weekday services were handed over to Boabea instead of being taken by Ofori himself. He had also had 11 weeks' leave in 1886. He has now however gone with Captain Brenan to Kibi to see what has happened to mission property and his own.

21.03.1887

21.03.1887

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