[ VO. 99 III . SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS ( 1 ) RELIGIOUS (a) Christianity Protestant Missions.1 — The beginnings of Protestant missionary effort on the Congo are to be traced to the initiative of Mr. Arthington, who in May 1877 offered the Baptist Missionary Society £ 1,000 as a contribution towards a project of establishing a mission at San Salvador, which had long since ceased to preserve any but formal reminiscences of its former Christian con nexions. This establishment he regarded as prelimi nary to efforts to establish connexion with Nyangwe, a view which is interesting as showing that Cameron's researches had already convinced many that the Lualaba was none other than the upper Congo. The Society made a public appeal and obtained large subscriptions, which enabled it to select Messrs. Gren fell and Comber, who had done excellent work in the Cameroon . They finally reached San Salvador on August 8, 1878, and received a welcome from Dom Pedro. An effort to reach Stanley Pool failed , and Comber returned to England to obtain additional aid . This was accorded, and in 1879 Comber, with Crudging ton, Hartland, and Bentley, arrived at San Salvador ; on March 10, 1881 , Bentley and Crudgington actually attained the site of Léopoldville but had to retire. With the opening up of the country , however, by the activities of Stanley, the missionaries found it possible to proceed up theriver ; and by 1908 theyhadfounded nine stations, 1 Sir H. H. Johnston's George Grenfell gives full accounts of part of the Mission work . See also Masoin , Histoire, ii . 373-95 .