Superintendent and Secretary REV. THOMAS JACKSON, 279, Whitechapel Road, London, E. 1. Assistant REV. J. DOBSON, 37, Hartington Road, W. Ealing, W. 13. Lay Assistant (FOR INSTITUTE AND HOME) MR. WM. JACKSON, 279, Whitechapel Road, E. 1. Matron (HOMES OF REST) MRS. TYLER, Marine Parade, Southend- on -Sea. Assistant Matrons BANHAM, MRS. TOMSON, and Miss ARTHUR. Sister of the People SISTER ANNIE, 114, Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, E.2. Prison Gate and Police Court Missionary MR. H. E. KINCHIN, 53, Carey Road, Leytonstone, E. Scout Leaders and Gymnasium Instructors MESSRS. A. J. GILL and J. MULHOLLAND. Trustees THE BOURNE TRUST CORPORATION, LTD. Committee REVS. G. ARMITAGE, J. T. BARKBY, A. BALDWIN, J.K. ELLWOOD, T. JACKSON, COUN. W. E. MORSE, MESSRS. ADAM LEE, S. A. BUTT, J. W. HARTLEY, C. R. MAYNARD, and W. TYLER, J.P. Treasurer C. R. MAYNARD, ESQ., Dawlish, Northfield Road, Stamford Hill, N. Solicitors MESSRS. E. C. RAWLINGS, BUTT, & BOWYER, 2, Walbrook, E.C.4 Auditor A. E. TURBERVILLE, ESQ., Chartered Accountant, 15, Queen Street, E. C. Bankers BARCLAYS BANK LIMITED, Mile End Branch, 234 36, Whitechapel Road, E. 1. Soldiers' Hostel Mr. Jackson and some of his West Indian Guests. Whitechapel Mission. ANNUAL REPORT, 1919. Forty Three Years Service Completed.

In preparing this report of another year's work of the Whitechapel Mission for the friends it is my privilege and pleasure to call my supporters, the one fact that impresses me the most powerfully is the goodness of my Heavenly Father in favouring me with unbroken health and uninterrupted activity during the past year. Having entered upon the fourty-fourth year of my London ministry and the seventieth year of my age, I cannot be indifferent to the special obligations I am tinder to praise God for His goodness and to thank my many friends for their kind interest and support. It has fallen to my lot to serve in the active ministry of our Church, in London, for a longer period than any other minister, and I feel more eager to serve successfully the poor and needy of the East London slums in the name of my Church and Divine Lord than ever before. The daily task is often arduous but never irksome; the common round is repeated but not monotonous; the cry of need and suffering still falls upon sensitive ears, and the sight of sorrow and wretchedness finds a responsive chord in our hearts. An eminent journalist has recently stated that---The world is too full of unreal facts, and too empty of real feeling." Whether there are such things as unreal facts, I leave for others to decide, but of this I am certain, there is not enough of real soul-feeling in respect to the masses herding together in our East End slums. I presume it is an inspiration to our Missionaries in Africa to believe and feel that a black skin and nude body are but the heathenish covering of a soul redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. What renders efforts in our mission area so urgent and constant a challenge to our faith and patience is the recognition of the claim of those who are, from whatever cause, in the " horrible pit and miry clay " of our present day slum life. What has greatly cheered and stimulated me and my esteemed colleagues during the past year has been the evidence of continued confidence, sympathy, and liberality of our friends. Next to the conscious favour and blessing of God upon our endeavours there is no more valuable possession we prize than the esteem and support of the friends whom our forty-three years slum work has secured for us. A Remarkable Year

Whitechapel Women's Meeting Members, August, 1919.

In many respects the past year has been a most remarkable one. A number of brave soldier boys have returned to their homes and the mission ; our public religious services have been relieved of the depression caused by the war and the remembrance that one hundred and sixty of our comrades were exposed to death on the stricken battle fields. Our Sunday School has more teachers and has an increasing number of scholars. Attendances at Women's Meetings, C.E. Society, and Open air Services have been most encouraging. Financially, it has been the best year in our history. The effort of our people in raising £200 for the Hospital Sunday Fund is a record one in Metropolitan Primitive Methodism. The Secretary of the Hospital Sunday Fund, when acknowledging our remittance, wrote :-"I must send you a line beyond our formal acknowledgment stating the gratitude of the Fund for the wonderful collection you have been able to make for the hospitals of London. It is an example indeed, and if it could be followed, how much lighter the work of the hospitals would be rendered. Please accept for yourself and your workers the best thanks of the Council." Our bold ventures in opening a Soldiers' Hostel and in acquiring an additional Holiday and Convalescent Home have been unqualified successes. The manifest appreciation of our work by many outside the limits of our Church has been most gratifying. Jews, Roman Catholics, Church of England, and some Free Churches are represented in our subscription list. The one shadow that falls upon this joyous review is the loss of so many dear friends during the year. One, our beloved brother, Rev. H. B. Kendall, B.A., and the other, Mr. F. A. Bevan. So many of our generous supporters has death struck off our list, that did we not trust in God to raise up others in due time to fill their places we should be inclined to be depressed. But He who has taken away can fill the vacancies His providence has created. Soldiers' Hostel. After the armistice had been signed and our soldiers be-an to return home, the demand for sleeping accommodation for those arriving in the evening at the London Railway Termini was so great that hundreds of our brave men had to spend the night in the streets, without any shelter and exposed to the inclement weather. When this scandal became known to the public, through the columns of the newspaper press, we at once offered the authorities to provide sleeping accommodation for at least one hundred and thirty men per night. The offer was accepted, and with all possible despatch we transformed the Institute and Brunswick Hall into an hostel for soldiers. During the months of December and January, while the need existed, we had the pleasure of welcoming men from all parts of the British Empire. The charge per night was sixpence. To protect the valuables of the soldiers from mal-appropriation we had a cloak room for their safe keeping. Those who wished for simple refreshments were provided with them at a small charge, and the sojourn with us was free from the temptations that many others fell victims to. Of all the representatives of the various parts of our Empire we give the palm to the coloured men from the West Indies; for cheerfulness, politeness, honesty, and affability they surpass all others. We were delighted to comply with their request to be photographed with a group of them. By this temporary hostel we were the means of rendering welcome and appreciative service in a crisis to upward of six hundred soldiers.

Front View of Home of Rest, NO. 2, facing South.

Home No. 2. In aggressive mission work, as in the duration of human life we know not what a day or an hour may bring forth. So it was in respect to our coming into possession of Holiday and Convalescent Home, No. 2, Southend-on-Sea. The accompanying illustrations, that will make this report a speciality, will give our friends a fairly accurate idea of the splendid addition that has been made during the year, not only to the valuable freehold property we possess, but what is far better, the increased facilities we have secured for doing a unique service for many needy and respectable members of our own and other Churches. On March 21st last, the chance to acquire this valuable property was presented to us. Less than five minutes was sufficient to enable us to decide to take it. A deposit was at once paid and the freehold conditionally secured. Before we had had possession of the property a week an offer was made us of £2,000 more than we had given for it. This was declined. We at once set to work in earnest to repair and re-paint the premises, make certain desirable alterations, put the extensive grounds in order, and furnish the twenty-five rooms in the Home. This latest venture of ours met with most generous reception. Through the generous action of the Editor of the 'I Primitive Methodist Leader," we were able week after week to report the progress of the undertaking, and on Whit-Monday the Home was formally opened as the Second Sea-side Holiday and Convalescent Home of the Whitechapel Mission. The response of friends exceeded anything we had experienced in our ministry. Quite a number of friends subscribed the cost of Memorial bed.. The Arnold, Pearce, Whitford, Rudd, Allpress, Hopkins, and Oliver rooms were furnished by the respective donors, and other gifts of useful articles, including piano and harmonium, were given. The total cost has been £3,010, and the whole has been paid off and the premises are debtless. The present value of this latest addition is little short Of £5,000 Already upwards of four hundred visitors have been entertained at the Home, and of these some forty have been respectable and worthy poor members of various Churches, who have been accommodated for a week or longer period free of all cost to them. Two rooms have been furnished specially for needy Superannuated Ministers, who have the first claims upon their use. Home of Rest. The year has been one of exceptional interest in the work of our Home, No. 1. 1 he Matron and her staff at both Homes have had a most difficult task, owing to the cost and conditions of catering and securing the needful domestic servants. But they have with commendable devotion met the demands of the situation, and upwards of eight hundred persons have visited Home, No. 1. Several of our esteemed supporters have sent contributions to meet the cost of giving

Home, No. 2, looking West. Home, No. 2, Grounds, West side.

poor persons a weeks holiday who greatly needed one, and in addition we have been able to entertain, free of charge, some thirty others. The premises of Home, No. 1, have been repainted, and needful external repairs attended to at a cost of £110, and this has been met out of current income. Our charges for paying visitors are very modest, yet the margin of profit from these enables us to do much benevolent kindly service as well as keep the Homes self-supporting. Poetical Visitor. The following lines were composed by an aged and worthy sister who has often shared the hospitality of the Home of Rest.

The Primitive Methodist Home of Rest In this, the Home of Rest, A welcome you will find, The Matron and the servants, too, They always seem so kind. You are greeted with a smile As if you were a friend ; It seems just like a real home Where happy days you spend. If Mr. Jackson's here, (He comes, though not to stay), You may be sure at meal times, He something has to say, A pleasant little story, Or else some merry jests; He likes to see bright faces On all his happy guests And then at morn and eve Our thoughts are raised above, To the Giver of these mercies, Our Father: God of Love. The days, they pass so soon, That when we go away From this, the Home of Rest, We wish to longer stay. ANNE BEARMAN.

A welcome surprise. Some years ago I received by post a very pathetic appeal from an unmarried woman who was in very feeble health and impoverished circumstances. She was distressed by the intimation the doctor. had given her, that unless she could go to the seaside for rest and change for a few weeks, there was little hope of her restoration. As she was entirely without means, she pleaded to be admitted free to our Home. She stated that she was a member of the Church of England, but did not know of any friends who would help her. We admitted her to our Home. The weeks she was there produced a remarkable improvement in her health, and she left the Home rejoicing that once more she would be able to earn her living by her own industry. In following years we received occasionally a small donation from her in aid of our Mission. In November of last year she died, and in grateful recognition of the friendly service our Home of Rest had rendered her she made our Mission the residuary legatee in her will, and we had the welcome surprise in March last to receive a cheque for £590/4/-. The scattered seeds of kindness, in this instance, bore fruit after many days.

Home, No. 2, The Arnold Room, looking West.

A Good Dinner for a Penny When we embarked upon the scheme of National Service for Slum Children, which closed last Easter, we undertook the responsibility of supplying a good dinner to a necessitous poor child for a penny. It was a bold venture, for at the time we had no funds and our account was overdrawn. It seemed the right thing to do and we did it. Before we had proceeded in this special service of sympathy for hungry children a week, an anonymous donor sent us a donation Of £50 to cheer us in the work. When at Easter we closed this chapter of service, the number of meals supplied during the previous two years reached seventy thousand and the whole cost had been raised. Considering the many difficulties we had to contend with, we regard this result as one of the remarkable items of our work in recent years. A gentleman from the West End who had heard of our supplying children with a dinner for a penny, but whose scepticism led him to doubt whether it was true, paid a visit to Brunswick Hall. Meeting a Whitechapel urchin at the entrance door, who had been to dinner, he asked him what sort of dinner Mr. Jackson gave him. The ready answer was: "A good 'un for a penny and a buster for two pence." While we have closed the chapter of National Service, yet we have not ceased supplying poor slum children with the needed meal, and so our Penny Dinners are in full swing. Will our friends make a note of this fact, and help us with the needful.

A Poor Man's Lawyer It seems a contrast to write of the Poor Man's Lawyer immediately after penny dinners, but in its order this branch of our mission is doing a most useful work on behalf of a needy class of clients. The extent of this work is shown by nearly 2,000 cases having been considered, and advice given. The rights of many poor persons have been vindicated, their interests safeguarded, and their wrongs redressed. Jews and Gentiles are alike eligible for consultation with our solicitor, but if there is evidence that an applicant is seeking to impose upon The Poor Man's Lawyer by getting free advice he is in a position to pay for, he soon finds the door opens to allow him to go elsewhere. The Lawyer sits on Thursday evenings, and is usually fully occupied for two or three hours. We wish to gratefully acknowledge this splendid service gratuitously given by our Solicitor. It is greatly appreciated by the poor of the East End, and is gratefully remembered in thousands of homes.

Home, No. 2, The Arnold Room, looking East.

Heroic Women. The accompanying photo of the women leaving the Monday Afternoon Meeting, in August last, will give some idea of the class of women amongst which our Mission exerts such a helpful and beneficent influence. The brave fight many of them make in the struggle for daily bread is one of the most pathetic features of slum life. Some of these women, who find their brightest hour of the week when attending our special service for them, are widows with children dependent upon them, others are unmarried women and widows who have to earn their livelihood as best they can, washing, charring, office cleaning, or by casual jobs in factories and warehouses. Others are old age pensioners who daily struggle to make seven shillings and sixpence pay rent, provide food, and help to keep body and soul together. These represent the worthy struggling poor to whom an occasional gift of an article of cast-off clothing, sack of coal, or parcel at Christmas, are such welcome aid and well-bestowed help. Many of them have to be expert financiers to make ends meet from week to week with the amazing high prices of all commodities they have to buy. It is a real pleasure to us to help them in their struggles, for we know some are worthy to be classed with the excellent of the earth. We were able to give twenty of these women a week's holiday at the Home of Rest, and some had to have their railway fare paid to enable them to enjoy this privilege. Broken Earthenware. Our weekly suppers for poor and broken men have continued, but with diminished numbers, during the year. A prison record is no barrier to our Men's Meeting ; the pitiable slave to strong drink is riot shunned ; the morally, as well as physically and socially, halt and lame are welcomed and supplied with a good, if plain meal, and then follows a sympathetic gospel address. It Would be an easy task for an unfriendly critic to wax eloquent in giving a description of the demerits of many of these men. He could prove that some were in rags and disgrace through their own faults ; that some had spent their substance in riotous living ; that wrongdoing had been the parent of their hardships and privations. There are others, who would provide a refrigerator and not a heating apparatus for this class of our slum population, but neither the critic nor the cynic distrust us in our efforts to provide an opportunity for the " prodigal to return to his father " and the lost sheep to be restored to the fold. In dealing with our fallen brothers, we try to practice the Golden Rule, and to follow the example of Him of whom it is said, "Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him." A most convincing proof that our labour in not in vain has been brought to our notice during the year. A few winters ago a man in rags, and starving, came to us and pleaded for a meal and admission to our night shelter for the homeless. He was shivering with cold, and presented a most forlorn and deplorable appearance. We complied with his wish. After the supper we gave an address to our guests ; all unknown to us " the arrow shot at a venture " had hit the mark. The word spoken had been impressed by the Holy Spirit upon the conscience and heart. An inspoken resolution had been formed To give up drink and evil conduct and start a new life. We left the meeting that evening without knowing of the effect produced by our address, but last July, a well-dressed man and woman called at our Whitechapel Home, and had an interview with us. The man asked if we remembered him, to which we gave a negative answer. He then told the story of his appealing to us on a cold winter's night for-food and shelter ; of his being convicted of his sin and led to resolve to seek salvation ; how that after a few days he started on tramp to get free of his wicked associates in Whitechapel, reached a Yorkshire town, found employment, joined a Primitive Methodist Society ; had become a local preacher; had been promoted to the position of foreman in his department of the works where he was employed, and on Whit Monday last was married to the lady who accompanied him, and for whom he had been able to furnish a house that was their teetotal and Christian home. He had made that special visit with his wife to thank us for the kindness shown to him when he was a broken man, and homeless, and for which he should never cease to praise God. As he told his story, tears and smiles alternately were seen on the faces of man and wife, and our hearts were not unmoved. The one hundred and twenty thousand free meals we have given to poor and homeless men have helped to compile a record of philanthropy from which we derive much comfort to-day.

Home, No. 2, The Recreation Room. Home, No. 2, The Frances Rudd Room.

Somebody's Boys The Institute's activities are more lively and extensive than they have been for the past five years. Gymnasium, Clubs, Scouts, and other attractions for boys are now full of animation and attended with much success. The conductors, Ex-Privates Gill, Mulholland, and Pruce, are taking up the work with commendable zeal and success. The Boy Scouts, to the number of thirty six, went for their camp to Dagenham Dock, Essex, and spent a happy fortnight there. The cost of motor lorry to convey them to and from the camp and the expenses of food while there was nearly all raised by the lads themselves. It was a great treat to them, to exchange Whitechapel slums for green fields and country scenery and air. Give Him a Chance We still keep an open door for the homeless, the destitute, and the orphan lad. All, who have become acquainted with the work of our Refuge and Rescue Home for lads, urge us " not to weary in well doing." There are aspects of this class of work that are not very attractive and far from conducive to personal comfort and pleasure. Rags, dirt, and vermin, in which many of the lads present themselves to us, have no charms for us, and their habits and character are not quite angelic, still we receive them in the hope that by the Divine blessing we may assist in transforming them into worthy citizens and sincere Christians. From Police Courts we receive the largest proportion of our guests, and we accept a difficult task in attempting this social and moral reformation, but experience proves that it has been, and is, far removed from a hopeless enterprise. Once destitute and homeless lads, who found shelter and a home with us, are now prosperous business men, married, have homes of their own, and are prospering in spiritual as well as temporal affairs. Prison Gate and Police Court Mission A long cherished wish has matured during the year, and we have now our Prison Gate and Police Court Mission established. Mr. H. E. Kinchen, a local preacher in the Stratford Circuit, has been led to offer his services for this special work, and has been engaged. His first half-yearly report is an encouraging one. He has found entrance into 24 Police Courts ; got into personal touch with Probation Officers and Court Missionaries ; received official recognition at one of the courts; and lads have been placed under his direct supervision. He has paid 127 visits to various courts, and lads have been saved from prison and entering upon a criminal career by his timely intervention. His visits to the prison gates require him to be there by 7a.m. The first lad befriended by him was brought from Pentonville Prison to our Home. This is a work that is most humane and practical and gives access to the darkest side of the under-world life of London. This extension of our rescue work will mean a costly item to our expenses, but we believe it will commend itself to the sympathy of our supporters and call forth their generous support.

Home, No. 2, The Pearce Room.

Invitation to father Christmas What a "hive of busy bees" Whitechapel Mission is at Christmas. Sister Annie takes special interest in the cripples. The happy weekly meetings held during the year find their climax in toys and sundry gifts at Christmas. The poor women have their final meeting of the year, when a few sprigs of holly and flags remind them that the festive season is here, and kind friends have been thinking of them in their poverty by their evidence of gifts of various kinds ; the poor and homeless men anticipate a good dinner as an exception for them) before the old year passes away ; and hundreds of slum waifs count the days and hours as the time for the visit of Father Christmas draws near. The Home lads anticipate the time of their lives, when they will have games in a warm room and a feast of ,fat things" the like of which they have never shared in before ; while the aged, the old-age pensioners, the widows and fatherless, will have welcome visitors, conveying suitable cheer and help to then. in their homes. As we write these lines it is the time of dreams, but faith and experience both assure us that there are many in the ranks of our supporters, who will so interpret our dreams, as to render them realities before the year 1919 vanishes. Appreciated Helpers We have been loyally supported in our work during the past year. Our esteemed colleague, the Rev. James Dobson, has taken a large share of the responsibility for the evangelistic services, and his services have been greatly appreciated by our people. Sister Annie, in addition to the meetings for cripples, has now the chief responsibility for the women's meetings, and in the office duties has continued to give most useful assistance. The annual 'gift of toys for Christmas distribution from Aid. J. D. Kiley, M.P., is a valuable aid to our children's entertainment at Christmas. The Purton Friends and Christian Endeavourers have again given delight and splendid assistance by the large contribution of vegetables sent us. There has been no lessening of the interest shown to our work by friends in New Zealand, who for several years past have cheered us by their generous gifts. We have been able to respond to the invitations of a few circuits that have given us the proceeds of our sermons and lectures for our Mission. We have taken no fee for our services but what has found its way into our Mission Fund. Touring the Connexion for personal advantage is not in our line. To one and all who have sent contributions, whether large or small, whether in cash or kind, we tender our most sincere and grateful acknowledgments.

The Beach, Southend, opposite Home of Rest, August, 1919.

A Strange Reason One of our liberal subscribers, in sending as his excuse for not continuing to subscribe, says, " You have worked your way honourably to the notice and confidence of the entire Connexion and, therefore, will be able to dispense with my assistance in future." This is like penalising us for our self-denial and success. Still, any and all of our subscribers are free to give or withhold their contributions. It does strike us as being a reasonable hope, however, that our forty-three completed years of service, in which we have given, not only our best, but our all for the Connexion and the cause of the poor and outcasts, should ensure for us the sustained sympathy and help of those who have hitherto been interested in our labours. Of one thing we are certain, that should a day ever come that it would be needful to appeal to any Connexional Fund for a grant to sustain the work of the Whitechapel Mission, then that day would register the close of our active ministry. For twenty two years we have carried on the work of the Whitechapel Mission without any grant from Connexional Funds. and it will be regarded as the highest honour my Church has,' or can, confer upon us, if we are enabled to continue the work of the agencies we have established by the free-will offerings of those who believe in our work and have sympathy with it. We not only need substantial assistance at the present time, but urgently need it, and most earnestly and respectfully appeal to all our supporters to render us as liberal aid as they possibly can and so make the Christmas of 1919 for us, as we wish it may be to you, a most joyous and happy one.

Institute Boy Scouts, Camp Drill, Mr. Jackson addressing the Boys in Camp. "There's many a gem in the path of life, Which we pass in idle pleasure, That is richer far than a jewelled crown, Or a miser's hoarded treasure. It may be in the love of a child, Or a mother's prayer to heaven, Or only a beggar's grateful thanks For a cup of water given." THOMAS JACKSON.

279, Whitechapel Road, London, E. I. December 1st, 1919.