Welsh Journals

leave the college before he had finished the course. He had what Dr Goh describes as an 'elite consciousness' by which he means that 'Thomas was a man of intelligence and sometimes he seemed to be too proud of his talents and so on occasion he was criticized by those around him'. The New College Council minutes record that 'The Council feel great dissatisfaction with the conduct of Mr Thomas, and strongly condemn the spirit manifested in his letters'. Nevertheless, after many twists and turns (including an absence from college supposedly from ill-health when he was suspected of undertaking private tuition at Wrexham at the time!), Thomas brought his academic career to a successful conclusion and completed his course with distinction. He graduated as a Batchelor of Arts and, ironically, New College offered him two scholarships: the Mills Scholarship and the Selwyn Fund. (Incidentally, it is recorded in the Congregational Year Book for 1868 that he studied medicine with a Dr Waterman for 18 months). On his arrival in Shanghai he and his wife settled in the home of the senior missionary, a William Muirhead, and he concentrated assiduously to learn two of the major Chinese dialects spending at one period six hours a day in their study. He quickly established a circle of friends, an indication of his friendly outgoing nature. However, tensions began to appear between him and Mr Muirhead which led eventually to his moving to Hankow and breaking his links with his providing society namely the London Missionary Society which had pioneered Protestant missionary activity in China through Robert Morrison. Another famous Welsh missionary, Griffith Jones of Swansea' was already serving in the country and met Thomas at this time. Divisions arose between Muirhaed and the young missionary on matters of finance; concerning his wife's death whilst he was away in another part of the country. (He accused Mrs Muirhead of 'showing neglect towards my wife when dying and worrying and harrassing her when alive'); and issues concerning his accommodation. Undoubtedly they were both strong-willed men but despite their disagreements Thomas was able to write about Muirhead: 'I love him and respect him but I cannot work with him'. Underlying their disputes there was a deeper conflict about the nature of mission. Muirhead held firmly to the view that Thomas's place was to remain with him in Shanghai and to this end he tried to insist that he become headmaster of an Anglo-Chinese school, mornings only, for £500 per annum. One condition was that not a word about Christianity was to be uttered. Thomas wrote to the LMS: 'Mr Muirhead notwithstanding this prohibition against the mention of Christianity, urged me repeatedly to take charge of the school. I refused on two grounds, or rather three. I didn't want the money, I wouldn't be bound in the scope of my teaching, I couldn't take such a step at all without consulting the wishes of the Society'. Muirhead also wanted Thomas to preach regularly at the English language church which attracted large daily congregations but Thomas did not favour restrictions of this kind and felt that he had been called to be a missionary in a wider sense. He did not wish to be constrained in his