Abstract
A gravestone in a Teignmouth cemetery displays the following inscription: Robert ArthingtonBorn at Leeds May 20th, 1823Died at Teignmouth Oct. 9th, 1900His life and his wealth were devoted to the spread of the Gospel among the Heathen.That unassuming epitaph bears testimony to one of the most remarkable figures in the story of Victorian missionary expansion. The missionary movement from both Britain and North America depended for its regular income on the enthusiasm of the small-scale contributor, but the munificence of the wealthy was essential to the financing of special projects or the opening up of new fields. The role of, for example, the jam manufacturer William Hartley as treasurer of the Primitive Methodist Missionary Society, or of the chemical manufacturers James and John Campbell White in providing much of the finance for the Free Church of Scotland’s Livingstonia Mission, is relatively well known.
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