1874 - Carleton, H. The Life of Henry Williams, [Vol. I. ] - [Pages 5-50]

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MEMOIR.

IN compliance with a request that may not be gainsaid by me, I have undertaken to write the life of Henry Williams, forty-four years a Missionary in New Zealand.

Not without hesitation; being conscious of my own inability to do justice to the task,--to describe, as he ought to be shewn forth, one who is entitled to take rank among the great men of his age, and who is only not known as such by the accident of his work having been done beyond the pale of the civilized world.

But I have felt it a duty, having leisure, and personal knowledge of a most difficult period of his career, to offer my own humble tribute to the memory of a man who was looked up to by his own family with a feeling akin to veneration; by his intimates with admiration absolutely unqualified, and by that portion of the public which happens to know the real history of a country which he has served so well, with a respect and gratitude that year by year is striking deeper root.

Would that the pen could here be laid aside. But there is more, and of another character, to tell. Upon him, prominent as a man of mark, were concentered the assaults of those to whom mission work was a hindrance, of those whom he refused to follow in a tortuous path, and, above all, of those self-seekers who thought to profit by affecting sympathy for the native race. Though living to a ripe old age, he did not live down calumny, any more than did his predecessor, the unselfish and brave-hearted Marsden. Some, to whose lives his own was a reproach,--some, to whom the very nobleness of his character was an affront,--

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some, who were worsted in their attacks upon him during life, are busy even still, working, like moles, beneath the earth, but ever and anon rising to the surface, each to throw up his own little hillock of dirt. Few in number, to what they were, and of little note. Of no name, it might be said, being one and all anonymous. For it must be admitted, in justice to the leaders of that great persecution by which he was at one time well nigh overwhelmed, that they, at least, have grounded arms.

The character of his mind was of that stamp, which, in active public life, is only too sure to bring down the enmity of those who have irregular ends to serve. For no man would he turn one step aside, to the right or to the left. Go his own way he would, when once assured that it was the right way. Gifted with a resoluteness which refused to perceive the sufficiency of any obstacle to bar his course upon the straight and narrow way, coupled with a singleness of purpose which defied every attempt to lure him aside, he was deemed "impracticable" by every schemer whose road he crossed. Add to this an inborn love of truth, for the sake of truth itself, which rendered him not only averse to compliment, but likewise incapable of disguising his scorn for all that is mean, tricky, or evasive,--and then, to anyone who knows the world as it is, sufficient cause will have been shewn for the virulence of animosity that has been displayed against him.

Courage was, perhaps, his most prominent characteristic. Courage, both physical and moral; and, in truth, he came to have urgent need of both. Physical courage, backed as it was by great personal strength, which when compelled to put it forth he was not slow to use effectively, brought him through many a rough encounter, ensuring him the respect of a people the god of whose idolatry is "Force." Moral courage that never counted odds, but for which he must have succumbed when borne down with obloquy, buffeted by every wind that blew, though coming clear at last through all, putting his trust in God and a righteous cause. It remains to be told how he stood at bay against the combined assault of Bishop, of Governor, of

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Secretary of State, and of Church Missionary Society (the bitterest trial of all to him), never yielding one inch of the ground he first took up, nor advancing one step beyond; how he maintained, from first to last, his one condition,-- "substantiation or full and honourable retractation" of the charges brought against him; how each assailant in turn retired, without having ventured within arm's length, leaving Henry Williams, together with those others whose battle he had fought, in undisturbed possession of the field.

As the physical courage was made effective by muscular strength, so was the moral courage supported by a most logically constituted mind, the consciousness of which was a strengthener to conviction, A false conclusion, to a man at once so single-minded and so keen in apprehension, was impossible. Of the vigour of his faculties in this respect, his overthrowing in long-continued argument such an adept in mental gymnastics as the Bishop of New Zealand will be proof sufficient.

Among those who could not see below the surface, Henry Williams was thought to be "a stern man." Yet, where duty was not in question, he was soft-hearted, almost to a fault; of a winning and easy courtesy of manner that is reached by few; of a delicacy of feeling that none but kindred spirits could understand, or even perceive. The attribution of sternness was an error; yet not altogether a groundless one. The appearance, at least, was upon occasion there. When duty was once in question, he would not--perhaps could not--see or think of anything beyond that duty. Born with an instinct of order, which manifested itself in the smallest details of domestic life, and which was developed, through that noblest school of training--the British navy, into the most punctilious regard for discipline, he troubled himself as little about the inclinations of others as he did about his own, where once "The Service" was concerned. He had entered into a new service--a higher one; but carried into it the impressions graven by the old one. From his own great Commander above he took his orders, and in carrying them out he exacted that obedience which he so rigidly compelled himself to pay.

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It shall be moreover admitted, that the seeming "sternness" was carried a step further than even this. Courteous as he was, he never carried courtesy up to the point of feigning what he did not feel. To loose-livers, or to persons in any way objectionable, intruding themselves on his notice, he was able to put on a look that would effectually check any approach to familiarity. It was only to be expected that such as had supposed their dignity to be aggrieved would relieve their minds in the approved colonial fashion,--by reckless and unblushing abuse.

Wilful offence, indeed, he never gave to anyone,--that alone excepted which follows upon fearless proclamation of the truth. And even that need not have followed; for his natural high breeding was such, that his plainest utterance was free from the slightest tinge of rudeness. What he said was in the instinct of command: but rudeness pre-supposes equality.

Of "that deformed idol, Public Opinion," he took no note whatever. To borrow his own words, he steered always by his own compass. For what, indeed, was public opinion to him? He had come forth from home with his own special commission, --to serve and to elevate the Maori race,--"the people," as the old Missionaries, borrowing a Scriptural term, made a rule of calling them throughout; and with that charge he suffered none to interfere. Not out of any feeling of sentimentality towards the race; he carried too much ballast for that,--his practical hard-headedness was incompatible with flights of fancy,--but because it was his appointed work. None was more severe in reproof than he, when they swerved from their allegiance; none more unflinching in maintenance of Maori rights when those rights were unlawfully invaded.

His deep-rooted loyalty to the Crown he imported from the old into the new career; but gave no heed to "opinion," where the interests of the colonists were deemed to be in conflict with those of their native fellow-subjects. Deemed, I say; for, in truth, they never were in conflict, as we are slowly beginning to perceive. There are but few left who are now unwilling to admit that our native policy, with a few occasional gleams of

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light, has lowered like a thunder-cloud over the Colony from first to last; or that Henry Williams was arraigned upon two charges, foolishly incompatible,--treason to the Crown, and treachery to "the suffering and complaining natives." 1

With characteristics such as these, Henry Williams was not a man to achieve popularity. Nor would it have been to his credit if he had. For, in a colony, "a man must stoop to rise." A base-born maxim, 2 and a discredit to its author; for he said it, not in scorn, but in sympathy: un-English, but with more truth than Englishmen are willing to admit. And these rough-hewn characteristics, be it remembered, were prominent, obtruding themselves upon the sight of all. But the more finely-moulded ones were kept in the back-ground. Nor indeed were they of a nature, under any surroundings, to have been recognised by the many. It is unlikely that his utter unselfishness--his deadness to temporal interest should be appreciated, or even believed in, among those who nearly all came into the Colony for the sole purpose of bettering themselves in the world. His delicacy of feeling was not likely to win upon those who affect coarseness of demeanour as a virtue, or his deep-rooted loyalty to be held in honour among those who keep to their own allegiance only for the sake of the substantial advantages it confers. I speak of popular estimation only; for there were those in the country who understood him well,--who knew that a paltry or ungenerous thought could not so much as cross his mind. Among these he earned for himself the highest title of honour that can be conferred on earth,--that of A Christian Gentleman.

A few words may be permitted in regard to the execution of the work to which I have been appointed. An opportunity is afforded to compile a memoir of much interest to the general reader. The materials, at all events, are there. A subject as yet unhackneyed, if not absolutely new; much of the old history of the country, now rapidly fading out of sight, to be preserved;

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stirring events to be narrated, with fuller knowledge than when they were described before, and the story of a hard-fought battle, waged against him by some of the most able and influential in the Colony, supported by their allies in the mother-country, a contest from which Archdeacon Williams finally came out a victor. And, indeed, it had at first been intended to write for the general reader, confining the record to matters of a public character, excluding all topics of merely domestic interest. For many reasons, however, but for two especially, the plan has been changed. The direct descendants of Archdeacon Henry Williams are sixty-nine in number. The collateral branch, in New Zealand, is twenty-seven strong; and this without taking into account alliances by marriage. To these must be added the English relatives, who are not a few. It is for The Family that this work has been taken in hand, as a memorial, to themselves, of one who was inexpressibly dear to them. Therefore, in selecting from the large body of materials at disposal, preference will be given to such matter as is likely to be of special interest to the family itself, even though it should involve more of domestic detail than is suitable to biography in its most elevated style.

Moreover, it has been deemed expedient not to revive old griefs more than is absolutely necessary to preserve the continuity of the story. To pass over, without mention, the events which led to the dissolution of the Archdeacon's connection with the Church Missionary Society, and to his subsequent restoration, would be faithlessness to the subject, even to the memory of the deceased. But to give unnecessary pain, by severity of comment, to those who took a prominent part in these unhappy transactions, which, I believe, they now most heartily repent, is as far from the intention, as it is from the wish of the compiler. Certainly, there were some rough passages of arms in that memorable conflict; but seeing that the Archdeacon was not the smiter, but the smitten,--not the aggressor, but the victim for awhile, the first consideration must be--what measure of comment is in fairness owed to him? Due regard being paid to his fair fame; care being

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taken that nothing absolutely essential to his vindication shall be pretermitted, the endeavour shall be to confine the narrative as much as possible to his "Missionary" life,--to dwell upon that, while touching with a lighter hand those political complications, in which, despite of all his care, he became entangled.

Now this could not be done, with full justice to himself, were it not that the stormy period of his career has already been most thoroughly and publicly examined, in a book entituled "A Page from the History of New Zealand";--a book which has dealt unsparingly with his detractors, and of which no one has yet ventured to call in question one single line. I shall therefore now be able to write, with tacit reference to that work throughout; to presume that the reader of the "Memoir" has already read the "Page," and thus to avoid laborious disproof of much that is no longer believed. It will be at all events possible to give a simple recital of the facts of the case, without descending to the intricacies of controversy.

The desire has been to make him, so far as possible, his own biographer. By help of his own journals, supplemented by those of his wife, and by his private correspondence, this may be done. His letters shall be freely used, my own care being mainly to supply connecting links. There is but one objection to this,-- namely, that he does scant justice to himself; that he becomes a loser through his habit of keeping himself in the back-ground, of minishing the value of his own labours, and the many perils that beset him. His very work was as quiet as his account of it. It makes no display: one might almost wonder where it was. It is simply marked by a series of unostentatious success; success achieved not by flashy exploits, but seemingly without effort, though the fine tact shewn in hitting the right time, place, and manner, supported by that innate stubbornness, which refused to take one backward step, but made good the ground, inch by inch, as it was gained.

Because of the great numbers of these letters, a comparatively small selection only can be made. My own strong opinion is, that the whole series ought to be printed, without reserve, as a

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separate publication. The whole, because I have not seen one line that I could wish suppressed--not even of those which were written by him when suffering under the most galling imputations that could be brought against an honourable man. The whole, because they would shew his perfect consistency of thought and mind, from first to last, and the farsightedness of his judgment as to coming events. Not an instance can be found where forethought was wanting, or a prediction unfulfilled. How few could bear, as he can bear, to have every line written during a long, a harassed, and eventful life, brought up into noon-day light. I would print the whole, were it only as a hand-book for the guidance of all who shall hereafter labour in such a field.

Henry Williams was born in 1792. His father, Thomas Williams, of good Welsh family, came to Nottingham, where he remained until his death in 1804. Henry, the third son, was from early boyhood bent upon entering the Navy, to which profession his grandfather and three maternal uncles had belonged. This predilection, which tinged the whole of his career--his very phraseology when under the influence of feeling, seemed almost instinctive. When a child, with no guide but the Encyclopedia, he framed the model of a man of war, with rigging and sails complete. From the time that he was able to think for himself, he had made up his mind that he would be a sailor, and nothing else. Another final career was ordained for him, which was nevertheless affected throughout by the predilection of boyhood.

The sea-going associations did not stand alone. There were better still, indelibly impressed upon his mind by his mother, which, never quite lost sight of during the impulsive period of youth, rose up again in his mind with redoubled force before that period had passed. The mother was a Marsh, a highly accomplished woman, at a time when accomplishments were not so rife as now. The religious instruction, early imparted by her, was followed by abundant fruit. The son has often being heard to say (and he had no severer critic than himself), that among all the follies and weaknesses of youth, his mother's teaching had never been forgotten. The one leading thought did not exclude the other; for

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both combined in shaping out his future course of life. And in this wise--events are purposely anticipated--was it brought about. He had indulged himself with one single periodical--the "Naval Chronicle." On or about his wedding day, his brother-in-law, Edward Garrard Marsh, 3 of whom there will be much future mention in these pages, made him promise that he would take in the "Missionary Register" likewise. From this he learned how the Tahitians had burned their idols, and had become converted to the knowledge of the one true God. His seafaring instincts were strong upon him still; he resolved to embark in the service of Christ, and consecrate the rest of his days to those wild and dangerous islands which, now vulgarized by familiarity, were then the subjects of romance, of curiosity, and of dread.

To return to the chronicle of events.

A brief reference to the earlier incidents of his career shall suffice, stirring and adventurous though they be. For it is with the second period of his service that we are concerned. He entered the Navy in 1806, at the age of fourteen, serving under Sir Joseph Yorke, a friend of the family, first in the "Barfleur," afterwards in the "Christian VII"; in the "Maida," under Captain Lindsay; in the "Galatea," under Captain Losac; in the "Race Horse," under Captain De Repe; in the "Saturn," under Captain Nash, and in the "Endymion," under Captain, afterwards Admiral Hope. He was one of the volunteers who joined Captain, afterwards Sir Charles Napier, to co-operate with the army under the command of Lord Wellington; and after that expedition had been countermanded, though about to sail, he joined the "Thames," under Captain Walpole, and continued in her until the peace. At Copenhagen, in 1807, he served both afloat and ashore, working at the land batteries, and was told off to a forlorn hope on the eve of the capitulation. He was in the engagement of February 13, 1810, when the boats of the "Christian VII" attacked nine French gun boats in Basque roads. In the "Galatea," he took part in the engagement off Tamateve, May 20, 1811, between three English

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frigates, under the command of Captain Schomberg, and three French vessels of superior force; receiving a wound from the effects of which he never entirely recovered. For this service a war medal was given. It was sent out to him in New Zealand by the Admiralty in 1848, and is now an heir-loom in the family. He saw further service at the Cape, the Mauritius, Madras, and Calcutta. The last engagement in which he took part was the last naval engagement of the war--namely, that between the "Endymion" and the United States frigate "President." This is more specially referred to, as being a turning point in his life. It happened that Mr. Williams was one of the prize crew sent on board to carry the "President" to Bermuda. When taken possession of she had already six feet of water in the hold, and was only kept afloat by exhausting labour at the pumps. It blew a gale; in addition to that, the prisoners rose, and attempted to retake the ship. The attempt was repressed, but the situation was one of the extremest peril, without the sustaining excitement of battle. Had the gale commenced twelve hours sooner, all on board must have perished.

This it was that first awakened him to serious reflections, the first upward step towards a changed career.

On the conclusion of peace, he retired on half-pay, which he drew until 1827; when he was removed by an Admiralty order that all officers in holy orders should be struck off the half-pay lists.

Mention must here be made of one of the many calumnies to which he was subjected in after life, corroboration of which was sought in the fact of this very removal. It was put about in New Zealand, with assiduity of malice, that Lieutenant Williams had been dismissed the Navy in disgrace; 4 the half-pay list, where his name, for the reason given, was no longer found, being appealed to in proof of the charge. A written apology, under threat of prosecution, was demanded, and obtained. At the desire of Bishop Selwyn, publication of the apology was not exacted. The advice was well meant, but ill-judged, the Bishop being as yet but young in the Colony,--not yet made aware of the persistency of

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vulgar malice. The result has been, that the retractation is forgotten, and that the calumny is yet alive. But more remains to be said about this same half-pay. In order not to burden the funds of the Church Missionary Society, by drawing a stipend, --in order that the work to which he had devoted himself should be a free offering, not only of the rest of his life, but of all his worldly means, Lieutenant Williams resolved to maintain himself and his family upon his own half-pay, eked out by a few small bequests from relatives. He accepted a passage; also the rations which were served from the common store to the whole Mission, but drew no salary from the Society until the half-pay was stopped.

All papers connected with the retirement of Lieutenant Williams from the Navy are to be found in the Appendix to this volume annexed. 5 It is indeed a marvel that in this Colony, disproof of anything reflecting on his unblemished integrity should be still required.

In 1818, he took Marianne Coldham to wife; for fifty years, within a few months, his untiring fellow-worker, and comforter in his many troubles.

Mention has already been made of his brother-in-law, the Reverend Edward Garrard Marsh. 6 With him, Henry Williams maintained an uninterrupted correspondence, which will be largely drawn upon in the course of this work.

Mr. Marsh was a member of the Church Missionary Society. Through him, the attention of Lieutenant Williams was drawn within the circle of their work; the result of which was, a craving to serve on that scene of Mission labour which then appeared to present the greatest difficulty,--namely, the Islands of New Zealand. A beginning had indeed been made; but the Mission could not be said to be more than half established; and the difficulties were such, that withdrawal from it altogether had been contemplated.

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It was wisely ordered that Lieutenant Williams should have the counsel and guidance of so able an adviser as Edward Marsh. To him did he pour out his whole mind from the first; knowing well that the sober guidance of such a monitor would detect and check in him any excess of zeal or of ill-regulated enthusiasm, and prevent his being carried away by his own fervent temper, or by the hasty impulse of the moment. His adviser set forth, deliberately and temperately, all the difficulties of the undertaking; foretelling, again and again, as if by prevision, what actually came to pass in after times. Fiery zeal the younger had, and more than enough; but he felt and knew that he had not the maturer judgment of his elder brother.

His first intended step towards the new career was baulked, for a while. The disappointment was great, but the event proved that all was for the best. Having been informed that the Church Missionary Society were about to equip a vessel for their New Zealand station, he offered to take command. Their intention had been already relinquished; but he was told that he could be received as a missionary. He closed with the proposal, expecting to be employed as a layman, and addressed himself forthwith to preparation for the work. Final arrangements had been carried through, when disastrous news arrived from New Zealand. The Society itself was undecided, seemingly dispirited through the small success of the efforts already made. The violence of the natives seemed indomitable, their rapacity unquenchable. The house of one of their Mission had been plundered; himself driven out of it, and his wife's arm broken. Intelligence was daily expected in England that the Society's pioneers had been expelled the country, and that the Mission would have to be altogether abandoned. But Lieutenant Williams was not to be deterred; he steadfastly adhered to his intention, though his impatient spirit chafed under the repeated disappointment of delay. The time was not lost; he occupied it in training assiduously for his future duties. He turned his attention to surgery and medicine, for the practice of which, especially of the former, he found much occasion during his after career. In this he was assisted by Mr. Tuckwell, of Oxford, and

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by Mr. Fernandez, of London. He also strove to acquire general knowledge of all such arts as were likely to be of practical use in an uncivilized country.

The following observations, addressed to him by his brother-in-law, are prophetic in warning.

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For the sake of closer intercourse with his friend and chief adviser, Lieutenant Williams removed, in 1820, to Balden, where, with his wife and two children, he remained until September, 1821; when he followed Mr. Marsh to Hampstead. While at Balden, he was directed by the Society to remain at least two years longer in England, and to study for ordination. This was not in accordance with his original intention; but his old habits of discipline had trained him to obedience without demur. This was a wise and fortunate proceeding on the part of the Society, as in due time was amply proved.

He was ordained Deacon, June 2, 1822, by the Bishop of London; and Priest, June 16, 1822, by the Bishop of Lincoln.

After his ordination, further intelligence, of a disheartening character, was received by the Society.

The Society offered to change Mr. Williams' scene of labour; but he induced them to permit him to carry out his original intention.

Our story is of New Zealand, and of New Zealand only. With a view to making a beginning, incidents of early life are passed with as brief mention as will content those for whom alone this "Memoir" is compiled. Let us therefore proceed at once to the eve of his departure from England, setting out his reply to the final instructions of the Committee of the Church Missionary Society.

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Mr. Williams left England September 17, 1822, on board the "Lord Sidmouth," with his wife and three children.

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The "Lord Sidmouth" was a convict ship, carrying out female criminals, two hundred and seventy in all, including one hundred free women going out to join their convict husbands and children, at Hobarton and Sydney. This mode of conveyance, which few would have adopted unless by extreme necessity, was deliberately chosen by him, that not a day's work of duty might be lost.

So soon as quiet was established on board, he took his work in hand. Ill received at first, as might be expected with such a congregation, he won his way by degrees, and succeeded at last in obtaining at least an attentive and respectful hearing. In a letter to Mr. Marsh, he says:--

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While at Rio, Mr. Williams and his family received much attention from Mr. Bernie, Surgeon to H.M.S. "Conway," who volunteered to be their cicerone and interpreter on shore. There they were introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Crabtree, a young married couple, whose invitation to remain with them at their country house until the "Lord Sidmouth" should sail was so cordially given that it was perforce accepted. The unremitting kindness shewn by these worthy people, and by Mr. McCrae, Mrs. Crabtree's brother, is not yet forgotten.

On the voyage, Mr. Williams turned to account what time he could spare by cultivating the acquaintance of the ship's carpenter, in the hope of gaining a step towards a project he had never lost sight of,--that of building a Mission vessel in New Zealand, and so turning his professional knowledge to account. With the assistance of that functionary, he planned a schooner of 100 tons; burthen, breadth, depth of hold, size of timbers, &c., being all set down with precision. As usual, he looked ahead, and when the time came, reaped advantage of the forethought that had been bestowed. Shipbuilding will presently become a stirring episode in the tale.

The "Lord Sidmouth" reached Van Diemen's Land (so Tasmania was then called) February 10, 1823. At Hobarton, Henry Williams met Samuel Marsden, for the first time. Kindred spirits; resolute alike, uncompromising and enterprising; appointed to work in concert for many years; the succession, in the course of nature, remaining to the younger. Mr. Marsden, being on public duty, was unable to accompany the Missionary party to Sydney; but directed them to proceed thence to Parramatta, the

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place of his abode, there to await his return, and to prepare to be stationed, in New Zealand, at Whangaroa, the scene of the massacre of the "Boyd."

They sailed from Van Diemen's Land on the 14th, and arrived in Port Jackson on the 27th February.

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Much delay was experienced in obtaining a passage to their ultimate destination; but the time was improved by cultivating the acquaintance of two young New Zealanders--Te Puhi and Whatu, and studying the language with them. Mr. Williams also took whatever duty was committed to his charge.

He left Sydney July 21, 1823, on board the "Brampton," a fine roomy ship, in company with Mr. Marsden, the leader of the party. With them were Mr. and Mrs. Fairburn, in the service of the Church Missionary Society; also Mr. and Mrs. Turner and Mr. Hobbs, Wesleyans. On August 3, they came to anchor in the Bay of Islands, 9 off the mouth of the Kerikeri river. There they learned that Whangaroa had been pre-occupied by Mr. Leigh, a Wesleyan. It was consequently determined that Mr. Williams should be stationed at Paihia, a few miles further up the harbour.

It now becomes necessary to interrupt the narrative.

Let it be for once observed that this is not a history of the Mission, but of the life of one member of that Mission.

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Consequently, let it not be thought that the work of one man is brought into undue prominence, to the disadvantage or neglect of his fellow-labourers. One among them, having been gathered to his rest--Richard Davis--has already found his own biographer. To others, it may be assumed, the like tribute of memory will be paid, in due course; but it is to be hoped, for each, that the day which shall entitle to posthumous honour may not be very near at hand.

It will however be necessary, for the due understanding of correspondence which assumes complete acquaintance with the subject, and for the avoidance of multiplied explanations, to give a compressed statement of the condition of the Mission, when it was joined by Henry Williams; this to be followed, in due place, by corresponding statements, at the epochs of the arrival of Bishop Selwyn, and of Mr. Williams' decease.

The story of Ruatara 10 has been often told; how, impelled by restless curiosity and a craving for progress, he went forth from home, like Peter of Russia, bent upon mending the condition of his people by bringing back such fragments of civilization as he might gather in his wanderings; how he shipped before the mast,-- the only means of attaining his end; how he maintained his purpose, undeterred by ill-usage, privation, and repeated defraudment of his hard-earned wage; how he fell in with Samuel Marsden, and became, with him, the joint main agent in the christianizing of a barbarous land. For to Ruatara, as much as to Marsden himself, is the honour due. Each was necessary to the other; each furnished means without which the labour of his associate must have been thrown away. But for the determined support which Ruatara, as a high chief, was able to afford, Marsden could never have gained a footing in the land; and without the sustained labour of the civilized European, the work of the Maori innovator, too much in advance of the time, would have withered, like Jonah's gourd, and have come to an end with Ruatara's own premature decease.

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Marsden, however, before falling in with his native ally, had already conceived the idea of bringing New Zealand within the pale of Christianity. In the years 1808 and 1809, he brought that country under the notice of the Church Missionary Society, and obtained a promise of co-operation.

The Church Missionary Society resolved upon sending out, as pioneers, men who had been trained to the practice of useful arts, and would therefore be capable of teaching these to a quick-witted race as pioneers. Mr. William Hall, a ship-carpenter, and Mr. John King, who was expected to be able to effect improvement in the dressing of the phormium tenax [New Zealand hemp], through which Mr. Marsden had hoped to defray a portion of the expense of a Mission vessel, were the first chosen. They accompanied Mr. Marsden to Australia, in 1809, in the "Ann,"--the ship on board of which he fell in with Ruatara, working his way back to his native land.

But delay was still to intervene. Intelligence had been received of the massacre of the crew and passengers of the "Boyd," in Whangaroa harbour, in revenge, as was generally understood, for the flogging of a chief [Te Puhi, of Ngatiuru, commonly called George,] on board during the voyage. 11 Also of certain reprisals, as they were called, by the crew of a Sydney whaler--misled, it is alleged, by false information (possibly by resemblance of name-- Pahi, to Puhi), upon the Hikutu, a tribe that was entirely guiltless, killing men, women, and children, and severely wounding their chief, Te Pahi, who saved himself by swimming, but did not long survive. Now Ruatara was Te Pahi's near relative, and the inheritor of his influence.

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For some while, it was deemed unwise to allow the pioneers to proceed. Another volunteer, however, Mr. Thomas Kendall, having arrived from England, he and Mr. Hall were directed, in 1814, to proceed to the Bay of Islands, in the "Active," a vessel purchased by Mr. Marsden for the service of the Mission, there to re-open communication with Ruatara. They carried out their instructions with success, returning to Sydney, accompanied not only by Ruatara, but by Ruatara's uncle, the renowned Hongi, and five other chiefs of mark. 12

Success had now become at least a possibility. On November 19, 1814, the party re-embarked for New Zealand, this time accompanied by Mr. Marsden, as leader. It should be mentioned that Mr. Kendall had been gazetted by Governor Macquarrie into the commission of the peace.

On December 20, they anchored near Whangaroa harbour, between the Cavalles and the main land, off Te Ngaere. George himself, and about a hundred of the Whangaroa warriors, were encamped in view. War was raging at the time, and Mr. Marsden resolved to offer himself as mediator for peace. With this intent, he not only went on shore, but accompanied only by his friend, Mr. Liddiard Nicholas, passed the night, without misgiving, among savages whose hands might be said to be still reeking with English blood. It is enough to say that his object was attained.

On December 22, the "Active" anchored off Rangihoua, Ruatara's own place of residence, 13 a few miles within the northern head of the Bay of Islands, destined shortly to become the first established Mission Station in New Zealand.

To give the Mission a stable position,--to render them no longer interlopers, dependent upon caprice, but settlers, with a stake in the country of their adoption, it was necessary to secure for them a piece of land which they could call their own.

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Mr. Marsden succeeded in obtaining from the chiefs at Rangihoua a conveyance of two hundred acres to the Church Missionary Society, and, at a later period, thirteen thousand more, from Hongi, 14 at the Kerikeri, for a payment of forty-eight axes.

In February, 1815, he returned to New South Wales, leaving Mr. Kendall, Mr. King, and Mr. Hall, in New Zealand. Mr. Hanson, the master of the "Active," left his family there, and subsequently joined them himself. The total number of Europeans at Rangihoua, including a blacksmith, sawyers, and their families, was twenty-five.

Such was the germ of the New Zealand mission, destined in after time to cover with its branches the whole of the Northern Island.

In 1816, Mr. Carlisle and his brother-in-law. joined the Mission, from New South Wales. Of them we hear little more.

In 1819, Mr. Marsden paid his second visit to New Zealand, bringing with him the Rev. John Butler; Mr. Francis Hall, 15 who, however, did not long remain, and Mr. James Kemp, as lay settlers. Mr. William Puckey came from Sydney to assist in putting up the buildings at the new station, which was being formed at the Kerikeri, and finally settled in the country. The Kerikeri was taken charge of by Mr. Butler and Mr. Kemp.

In 1820, Mr. Marsden paid his third visit, in H.M.S. "Dromedary," bringing with him another lay settler, Mr. James Shepherd; also stores and cattle for the settlements. In the same year, Mr. Kendall, accompanied by Hongi, and Hongi's brother-in-law, Waikato, 16 visited England. There Mr. Kendall was ordained; and Hongi received many valuable gifts, by exchange of which at Sydney he succeeded in laying in a store of arms and ammunition, enabling him to enter on that career

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of havoc and wide-spread destruction which constitutes an epoch in the history of old New Zealand. 17

In 1823, Mr. Marsden paid his fourth visit, bringing with him the Rev. Henry Williams and Mr. William Fairburn, who had before been at New Zealand, in the Society's service. At this time, Mr. Butler and Mr. Kendall were no longer connected with the Mission.

This bare outline of early proceedings is little more than a key to names which must be presently brought in. It is needless to enlarge, the story having been already told by the Bishop of Waiapu, in his faithful book entituled "Christianity Among the New Zealanders."

Up to this time, not very much had been accomplished; nevertheless, the work of these few men had been not altogether without success. All suspicion of the objects of the Mission had been lulled; the natives had become satisfied that peace and good-will, however strange those terms might be to the existing state of things, was all they asked; and more,--that they had something to say for themselves, full of wonder at the least, even perhaps of truth. But two practical hindrances had yet to be got rid of; one, the inexorable operation of Maori law, which, though unwritten, was clear-cut and well defined; the other was, the determination of the natives to starve them out, unless they consented to barter arms and ammunition for food. It was of the first necessity that Mission land should be considered as privileged ground, like the precincts of an ambassador's residence in Europe; that the stations should become cities of refuge, and that taua or muru (of both of which we shall hear more anon) should lose force therein. The demand for arms had been resisted, not always with success; but, from this time forward, was never yielded to again. 18

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Mr. Williams at once addressed himself to the establishment of a new station at Paihia, making preparation with a view to removing his wife and family from the Kerikeri, where they had been left until their own house, or rather hut, should be built. Meanwhile the "Brampton" was wrecked, in working out of the harbour, on the reef of rocks to which she has given her unlucky name.

Mr. Williams, with Mr. Fairburn, hastened to give what assistance they could. From his account, mismanagement seems to have been the cause of the disaster.

The necessary preparations having been made at Paihia, Mrs. Williams gives an account of her first landing there.

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No difficulty was found in obtaining permission to found a Missionary settlement. On the contrary, the chiefs competed with each other for preference; not indeed, at that time, for the sake of the teaching, but for the sake of the iron tools and other European valuables, which all white men were deemed able to distribute in abundance. The main consideration for the new-comers in making choice of a site, was the selection of a chief powerful enough to afford continued protection.

Here are some domestic details from Mrs. Williams' journal.

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The first object of the Missionaries, with a view to obtaining freedom of action, was to obtain release from the trammels of native law; a law which, pharisaically strict in matters of observance, harassing to the extreme in trifles, maintaining a continuous supply of small offence, was wonderfully elastic where high-handed robbery was intended. A pretext for punishment,--of course in seeming accordance with law, was never wanting; and punishment would for the most part result in profit to the minister of the law. Not

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without difficulty, the Missionaries did succeed in getting themselves placed beyond the pale; but the accomplishment of this took many years to bring about.

The next object was the acquisition of the language; not in the slovenly style in which it may be learned by conversation, but in a scholar-like fashion, ascertaining the rules by which it is governed, compiling a dictionary, and fitting themselves to undertake a translation of the Holy Scriptures. For this purpose regular meetings were organised, at which notes and suggestions were exchanged, and formal rules of construction deduced. This, also, was the work of time.

Not only the language, but the men who spoke it had to be made matter of patient study. The Missionaries had to make themselves acquainted with the idiosyncracies of a race whose motives of action differ essentially from our own,--whose ideas of wrong and right in no wise tally with our own, and who are tenacious of time-honoured custom to an extent that the sturdiest of English Tories would scarcely understand. They had to set to work to learn; to fit themselves for the situation; and this, unfortunately, is what their successors in native management, the Colonial Government, forgot, or were too proud to do.

In 1823, day-schools were established, and Sunday-schools for the children. Visiting the natives round about, for religious instruction, was not neglected, though preaching, for want of more perfect knowledge of the language, was as yet impossible. It was moreover clearly seen, that any attempt to take the stronghold of the enemy by storm would be futile. The one fair chance was to proceed by sap, slowly and surely, making good every step in advance as it was won.

All privations, save one, were borne as though they did not exist. This one thing lacking was a Church for congregational service; and the want induced a craving which household service could not entirely allay. This feeling--perhaps remotely akin to nostalgia, is not unknown even to the rougher sort in strange lands. Denizens of an old country, thickly populated, know not what it means. They can suppose it, but cannot feel

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it, for the Church bell is always within hearing to them. They are free to attend, even though choosing perhaps to stay away.

But Mr. Williams aspired to more than a Church; he must needs have an organ within it; and prepared to endow the Church, when it should be built, with as good an instrument as his means would allow. He was saved this expense, by the gift of an organ from his maternal uncle, the father of the Rev. E. G. Marsh. Mr. Williams' passionate love of music, hereditary in his mother's family, followed him through life. Of all the fine arts, indeed, he had the most refined appreciation, and was himself no mean proficient in the use of the pencil.

The state of the natives at this time he thus describes:--

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The following letter may serve as a specimen, among many, giving a picture of every-day life at Paihia; also of trouble with the natives. Its homeliness and quiet good sense, the absence of any attempt at display, is characteristic.

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Upon the whole, the Missionaries were not ill-used. What they had chiefly to apprehend, was the chance of being "stripped" at any moment; not, indeed, recklessly or wantonly, but according to the strict letter of Maori law, for some offence unwittingly committed--possibly against etiquette,--which they did not at first even know to be an offence. For ignorance is no excuse in Maoridom, any more than in England, where every man is presumed to be acquainted with the law. Possibly, such offence might have been committed by a retainer, over whom control was only nominal. Yet, this also is not strange to England, where the master is answerable for the act of his servant. Sometimes, however, the angry passions of a chief would excite him to set law at defiance, and to follow the impulse of his own unbridled will. On such occasions, life was really in danger. Defence, of course, was out of the question. There was nothing for it but to shew a firm front, and manoeuvre for time. The following episode may serve as an example.

Tohitapu was of the Koroa, a great chief, tapued an inch thick, and a still greater tohunga [priest], largely endowed with the power of makutu [bewitchment]. This power, whatever it may be, is real in effect; as real as the Obeah of the African negro. That the victims of makutu waste away, and die, is an undoubted fact. Whether from fear, or from any mesmeric influence, must remain a question; but it is not without significance that Tohitapu, after

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exerting his power upon Mr. Williams in vain, lost it altogether from that time forward. While the karakia [incantation] was going on, the house servants were trembling with fear, expecting Mr. Williams to turn black in the face and fall from his seat. When failure became evident, the bystanders came to the conclusion that the white man's atua [divinity] had overpowered that of the Maori; and when Tohitapu died, which however was not until 1830, the idea prevailed that Mr. Williams had been strong enough to take up the curses, and to send them back. Some time after that, when strychnine came to be heard of, it was put about that Mr. Williams had administered a dose.

At the massacre, in 1772, of French sailors belonging to the squadron of Commodore Dufresne Marion, the body of the captain fell to Tohitapu's share, and was eaten by him accordingly. He was a man of unusual ferocity, even for a Maori of those days. But, after having been fairly worsted in the struggle, he became a staunch friend. A Maori seldom bears malice; he respects you, and likes you better for having beaten him. Revenge is with him, not so much a matter of feeling, as of duty.

Mrs. Williams must give the account of Tohitapu's behaviour at the Mission station in her own words.

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For the most part, coolness and self-possession sufficed to bring Mr. Williams quietly through these native rows. But, occasionally, he was compelled to exert that personal strength which he possessed in a remarkable degree. Of this, one instance shall suffice. He had bought and paid for a basket of kohutuhutu [fuchsia berries]. A plan was laid to extort further payment. The seller thrust himself in Mr. Williams' way, barring the road; hoping apparently to be struck. 24 Disappointed in this, he seized Mr. Williams in wrestling form, striving to throw him, the confederates abiding their time. In this also, though the natives are expert wrestlers, he failed. Mr. Williams called out to the rest, "If you do not take this fellow away, I shall give him something." No notice was taken. Happening to have the key of his study in his hand, with his thumb in the ring, he dealt his assailant such a tap on the temple, with closed fist and key, that the man dropped as if shot. Mr. Williams, though not feeling easy about the result of his work, which seemed more serious than he had intended, put a good face upon it, saying,--"See now; I told you what I would do." The fellow recovered after a while, when the whole party skulked away. But it was well for Mr. Williams that he did not get the worst of the encounter. He was subsequently spoken of as "the man with the iron thumb."

Commissariat difficulties were becoming serious. Native supplies were still withheld, in the hope of starving the Missionaries into bartering gunpowder and muskets for food. The main dependance

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was upon the chance arrival of stores from New South Wales,-- "the Colony," as it was then termed in New Zealand. But this source of supply was so uncertain that, at times, much privation had to be endured. Mr. Marsden agreed that Mr. Williams' long cherished project,--the building of a vessel,--must be carried out; not only to free the Mission from material cares, but also to enable them to visit the Southern tribes.

The hope of her completion in four months was over sanguine.

The calculation had been in accordance with English ideas. A series of hindrances, no longer worth recounting, arose. Everything had to be superintended by Mr. Williams and a few coadjutors. Felling timber at the Kawakawa, rolling the logs into the river, rafting them down to Paihia, the management of the sawyers, mainly natives, as well as of the carpenters, some of whom were very troublesome--no easy task in a new colony, where it is commonly said that "Jack is as good as his master, and a great deal better too,"--all this presented difficulties undreamed of by those accustomed to the old country style of work. Often had they to labour at the vessel themselves with adze and auger, for the sake of encouragement and example. But patience and quiet determination were rewarded at last. After a lapse of twenty months, the vessel was launched, January 24, 1826, and was named "The Herald."

The following narrative, extracted from Mrs. Williams' journal, shall serve as a specimen of the many troubles which beset the work.

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This firmness had the desired effect. The utu was brought in due form; and consisted of two pigs, five mats, and twelve large baskets of potatoes. The chiefs who had made the attack were after this on the best terms with the Missionaries; but a distinct understanding was come to that the station should be broken up, should any attempt to strip the Missionaries, under any pretext, ever again be made.

This was a more serious row than Tohitapu's. Tohitapu was wrong, according to Maori law, and he knew it. He had no take,--no real cause of offence. And it is not often that a Maori will proceed to extremity without a take. True, he will seek to compound with his conscience, as others will do elsewhere; he will twist and distort in the endeavour to prove to himself that he has a grievance--a just cause for revenge; but where he fails in this--where he is glaringly in the wrong, he

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will content himself with what is termed, in colonial parlance, "bounce." This is a style of proceeding, the whole merits of which he perfectly understands, and practises to perfection: may I be pardoned for observing, that one of the great errors of our Colonial Government has been, practising an art against the Maori, in which the Maori is immeasurably superior to his white cousin.

In this case, there really was a take--root, or cause, sufficient in native estimation, though not, perhaps, in ours. An imprecation had been uttered by a white man; and an oath, with a Maori, is equivalent to a curse,--a kanga, which has, of course, to be avenged. For, like most other uncivilized people (and not the uncivilized alone), they believe a malediction to be really effective. They believe it, as the Arabs and Italians to this day believe in the Evil Eye.

The launch of the "Herald" was to the natives a sensational event. Due notice had been given; a fleet of boats and canoes had assembled; numbers had come from inland, partly from curiosity, partly in hope of payment: upon a rough estimate, from three to four thousand persons were present. Mr. Williams had been out the night before, inspecting the ways, and taking every precaution against any risk of failure. The natives, who had supposed that the vessel was to be moved off in Maori style, by main force, had passed their time in calculating the amount of payment they were to receive, and in devising pretexts for extortion. As was the difference in size between a canoe and a fifty-ton vessel, so was to be the difference of payment for service. They declared that they would not move a hand till their terms should have been complied with, enforcing the demand by divers weighty and ingenious reasons, in reply to each of which they got nothing but a quiet nod of the head. They were already engaged, by anticipation, in apportioning the payment among themselves, when Mr. Williams announced that all was ready. But, instead of going among the mob, to clench a bargain, he walked up to the vessel and named her. This was the signal for the start. The dogshores were knocked away; the ship glided gently down the ways into the water, to the utter amazement of the natives, who

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rose as one man with a roar of "ana na, ana na-a-a-a." The young men rushing after her into the water, throwing their spears at her as she glided along, swam off and clambered up her sides; others, crouching at their knees on the water's edge, made hideous faces, thrusting out their tongues and rolling their eyes as they would to the enemy before battle. The Europeans gave out three hearty cheers; the natives on shore broke into a furious war dance, which was answered by those on board, to the no small risk of upsetting the light craft, as she lay, unballasted, high out of the water.

As the vessel was getting into deep water, she touched upon a sand bank, and stuck fast for a few minutes. A line was carried out to moorings which had been laid for the purpose, the end being brought on shore to haul upon. No demur, no talk of payment now; the natives rushed down with one accord, bent on to the line, and easily had her over the bank. All seemed delighted, Europeans and Maories vieing with each other in congratulation at the success of the launch. The natives were intensely gratified and amazed, deeming themselves amply rewarded by having witnessed the wonderful genius of the pakeha, who, by only knocking away a wedge, could launch such a huge canoe; and calculating how many fat hogs and kits of potatoes would have been consumed over a Maori toanga waka. 26 The wives of the Missionaries, who had witnessed the proceedings from a stage which had been erected for them, while sharing the gratification of their husbands, could not suppress a feeling of tremor at the sight of so huge a mass of wild and excited savages, considering how feeble and powerless they were, at the mercy of such a host.

Before Henry Williams left England, it had been agreed 27 that his younger brother William should follow; and the time was now at hand when he might be expected to arrive.