Four years later, Evander J. Coward arrived and gave Bible discourses to hundreds gathered at the town halls in Georgetown and New Amsterdam.

Phillips’ son, Frederick, recalls Coward’s visit. He writes: “It was not long before Brother Coward became a popular figure in Georgetown, and through the message he preached, interested ones began to join our group of Bible Students. In those days, we discussed the books The Divine Plan of the Ages, The New Creation, and others.

In a letter to the press, Coward reviewed the world situation in the light of Bible prophecy. And at the Georgetown Town Hall, he gave a powerful discourse entitled “Battering Down the Walls of Babylon.”

“The clergy were so incensed,” says a report in the October 1, 1983, Watchtower, “that they prevailed upon the authorities to have Brother Coward expelled and to have a number of our publications banned, a ban that lasted until 1922.” Many people, however, respected Coward for his courageous witness. In fact, when he left, they lined the wharf, shouting: “He was the only man preaching the truth.” Dock workers even threatened to strike in protest of Coward’s expulsion, but the brothers advised them not to.