Letters to Dr Robert Laws, 1885-1953
Scope and Contents
Letters to Dr Robert Laws with matters arising.
1. Letter from David Scott, Blantyre, to Dr Laws. He asks Dr Law not to send copies of his translation. The Writer intends to 'feel hisown way into Manganja and cannot impose upon the community a mode of language with which he is not in full accord'. 21 January 1885. [David Clement Scott published his Cyclopaedic Dictionary of the Mang'anja Language in 1892].
2. Letter from David Scott, Blantyre, to Dr Laws. In order to allow Dr Laws to undertake the translation of the New Testament, David Scott had confined himself to translating the Old Testament, but now having seen Dr Laws' translation of St Mark, he felt he could not use it at Blantyre. Grantown, Strathspey, 20 July 1885.
3. Letter Horace Waller, Thrapston, to Dr Laws. Believes that at any moment the East African question could become serious. France is the prey of chauvinism, Germany is 'sore disgusted with her loss of prestige' owingto the failure of her African exploits, and, as Germany cools down, so will Portugal. Britain must stand fast now. The appearance of Rhodes does not help. His scheme for vast territories on both sides of the Zambezi is too large to be manageable. Waller believes it would break in two,'one half would be utilised and the other cast away'. He fears the latter would be the fate of Nyasaland. 18 September 1889.
4. Letter from Frederick Lugard [Lugard, Frederick John Dealtry, Baron (1858-1945), soldier, administrator and author], Camp Fuladoyo, to Dr Laws. His plans have been frustrated and his advice ignored. He had hoped to settle theconflict with the Arabs and receive the additional support and equipment for theprotection of Lake Nyasa, but delays, secrecy and commercial negotiations thwarted his schemes. Having returned to England, he attempts to obtain extended leave, but the War Office is slow to decide and offered a passage to Mombasa. He accepts. Stationed at Fuldago, one of the stockaded villages of fugitive slaves, he is about to make a journey inland to select posts for stations and build stockades. Once this is done, he will return to England in the hope that the War Office will have reached a decision that will allow him to undertake prolonged service in Africa. 5 and 27 January 1890. Notes: The letter is long and a page is missing. Lugard admits that he has been ill, and worried by personal problems – perhaps the cause of some confusion.
5. Letter from George Shepperson, Edinburgh, to Miss Margery Perham, Nuffield College, Oxford. He sends Miss Perham a Photostat copy of Frederick Lugard's letter to Dr Laws withthe comment that, for him, the value of the letter is its reflection of the intense secrecy with which the Scottish Directors of the A. L. Company surrounded their negotiations with the B. S. A. Company. 28 July 1953.
6. Letter from Margery Perham to George Shepperson. She thanks him for the copy. She would like to know what the Lakes Company thought about Lugard, and if they did treat him as badly as he said. 6 August 1953.
7. Letter from Margery Perham to George Shepperson. Miss Perham appreciated George Shepperson's long and most interesting letter. She understands that Lugard was furious with the Company and has no words hard enough to describe their treatment of him after his sufferings at Karongo. 27 August 1953.
8. Letter George Shepperson, Edinburgh, to Margery Perham, Oxford. He tries to answer her query about the relationship of the ALC to the BSA Company,and the possible connection between the ALC and Rhodes. 28 August 1953.
9-11. Letters from the Jumbe of Kota-Kota to Dr Robert Laws of Livingstonia. With transcript c. 1885.
12. Jumbe of Kota-Kota. Notes c 1844-1895.
13. Two letters to Dr Laws, 22 March and 8 April 1888. Untranslated.
14. Notebook. Untranslated.
Dates
- Creation: 1885-1953
Creator
- From the Fonds: Shepperson, George, 1922-2020 (Professor of Commonwealth and American History) (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Open. Please contact the repository in advance.
screened AB 07/05/2024
Full Extent
1 folder
Subject
- Laws, Robert, 1851-1934 (Scottish missionary) (Recipient, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk