Christianity the Means of Civilization: Shown in the Evidence Given Before a Committee of the House of Commons, on Aborigines

Christianity The Means Of Civilization: Shown In The Evidence Given Before A Committee Of The House Of Commons, On Aborigines" by Dandeson Coates. This volume collects the Minutes of Evidence presented to the Select Committee of the House of Commons inquiring into the treatment and civilizing of native populations. It includes the testimony of Dandeson Coates, Rev. John Beecham, and Rev. William Ellis, Secretaries of major missionary societies, with selections from other witnesses. The volume argues that Christian missions have advanced civilization and human welfare, citing cases from Southern Africa, the Canadas, Newfoundland, New South Wales, Van Diemen’s Land, New Zealand, and the South Pacific, and deplores acts of cruelty or oppression by European traders. It discusses protection, justice, and the means to promote moral and social improvement, including recommendations for government support, policing, and legal arrangements to safeguard natives while encouraging education, industry, land rights, and the spread of Christian teaching. Throughout, the work asserts that Christianity is the primary catalyst for civilization and moral progress among indigenous peoples, presenting a historically motivated defense of missionary activity in the British Empire.