1932 - Elder, J. (Ed.) The Letters and Journals of Samuel Marsden - CHAPTER VIII. MARSDEN'S SEVENTH VOYAGE TO NEW ZEALAND

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CHAPTER VIII

MARSDEN'S SEVENTH VOYAGE TO NEW ZEALAND

MARSDEN'S account of his seventh visit to New Zealand is embodied in the various letters in which he gave an account of his experiences. As on a previous occasion, his voyage was occasioned by his desire to enquire on the spot into charges of grave misconduct which had been brought against one of the missionaries, the Rev. W. Yate, 1 who had left New Zealand in June, 1834, to visit England and who, while in Sydney, in August, 1836, in the course of his return journey to his station, had been suspended from his office by Bishop Broughton with the result that he again sailed for England.

That a New Zealand missionary should be involved in such circumstances as those in which Yate was now placed was naturally a matter of the utmost concern to Marsden, whose advancing years were fast depriving him of the strength necessary to withstand such blows. On June 25th, 1835, he had reached the allotted span. On that day he had written to Mr. Dandeson Coates: "I feel my natural strength failing me very much. My eyes are dim with age. I am seventy years old this day, so that I have no reason to expect a much longer period in this world. I have had my share of contentions with unreasonable

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and wicked men, but out of all the Lord hath delivered me. The full conviction in my own mind that I am in the situation Divine wisdom hath placed me, has at all times made me perfectly reconciled to every good and perfect gift for all His mercies. I have nothing to complain of. I have no grounds for murmuring, for Goodness and Mercy have followed me all my life long."

A great blow fell upon the man who thus felt the growing infirmities of age when, towards the close of 1835, his wife died. In a letter dated November 5th, 1835, he told the Rev. Henry Williams of his great grief.

"It is with the most painful feelings," he wrote, "I now sit down to write to you My affectionate wife departed this life on the 2nd October last. This has been the heaviest affliction I ever met with. The wound it has inflicted will never heal on this side of the grave. We have travelled together between forty and fifty years through many storms both by sea and land with mutual happiness and comfort. Mrs. Marsden was completely dead to the world for months before she died. She told me that her work was done and that she was no longer wanted here. Her children were now grown up and were provided for, and no longer required her care. She told me she had no fear of death. For three months previous to her departure her mind was composed and happy. She had set her house in order before death. I found after she was buried, on opening her writing desk, her will, which she had made thirteen months before she died, directing how her own trinkets should be disposed of to her children and her grandchildren that there might be no disputes amongst them when she was gone. The Scriptures were exceedingly precious to her soul, particularly the 46th Psalm. 'Let not your heart be troubled, ... In my Father's house are many mansions.' Her placid, heavenly countenance never changed to the last moment of her life, and she left us without a struggle. 2

"My heart is melted within me and my tears flow that I can hardly write. I do not murmur. I know infinite wisdom cannot err. Therefore I say 'Thy will be done.' My time cannot be long. I have attained to the age of more than seventy years. I pray that I may through Divine grace be prepared whenever my change may come. I feel myself an unprofitable servant, very poor and very ignorant, and am often afraid to go into the pulpit to preach to my people, from the fullest conviction of my own want of knowledge and ability. I could stand up to preach with more confidence thirty years ago than I can now. I am at a loss to account for my ignorance and want of courage. I pray that the great Head of the Church may support me and direct me in the way I should go.

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"Give my affectionate regards to all your colleagues. I pray that the God of Jacob may prosper all your labours amongst the poor heathens. Excuse this feeble note. My mind is greatly agitated."

Early in the following year, on February 15th, 1836, he again wrote to the Rev. Henry Williams with regard to his recent loss:--

"I believe my time will not be long here, I am so feeble," he wrote. "At the same time I wish to promote the general good. The death of Mrs. Marsden has been a severe trial, for I want her society. When I come home weary and tired, I appear to find an empty house. I also suffer from my eyes. They are very dim, and it is with difficulty I can write or read writing."

A note written at this time by the Rev. Richard Hill of St. James's Church, Sydney, to Mr. Dandeson Coates, shows how much Marsden had been affected by his wife's death. Writing on November 10th, 1835, he said: "I am sorry to report to you the death of the wife of the Apostle of New Zealand, the venerable friend of missions, Mr. Marsden. She entered into rest on the 2nd October. Her end was peace. I had the pleasure to see her the previous day when she was in the utmost sincerity waiting her departure. She had been in a declining state some time, and from what has transpired, more than a year before she began to 'set her house in order.' Her age was sixty-three, and considering that she had a severe paralytic attack about twenty years before, it is, humanly speaking, surprising that she has continued so long and, for one so affected, so active and well. Dear Mr. Marsden is much comforted under the circumstances, as he looks forward to a happier meeting. He is now, I think, in his seventy-first year, and during the illness of Mrs. Marsden he appeared in a very critical state. He, however, revived, and has returned in a measure to his former activity."

The cup of sorrow, however, was not yet full. Early in 1836 his son-in-law, Thomas Marsden of Sydney, became seriously ill; 3 on June 1st of the same year his friend and colleague, the Rev. Richard Hill, died with tragic suddenness in the vestry of his church, St. James's of Sydney.

Oppressed by his troubles, Marsden unbosomed himself in a letter dated June 7th, 1836, to his friend the Rev. Henry Williams, for whom he evidently had a sincere affection. "I embrace the present opportunity to acknowledge your last letter," he wrote. "I was happy to learn you were all well. This is a world full of trouble. I feel more of its vanity since my dear wife died. My affliction has been heavy but infinite wisdom knew that it was necessary. Mr. Thomas Marsden, my son-in-law, appears to be dying. His recovery is not expected. He has been and is afflicted with violent fits and brought very weak.

"My much respected colleague, the Rev. Richard Hill, died on Monday, 1st June, in a fit, while writing a note in the vestry of St. James's Church. This is a very heavy affliction also.

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"Bishop Broughton 4 arrived on Friday from England and landed at Sydney on Saturday. He preached yesterday at St. James's Church after I had performed the ceremony of installing him in the church. The loss of Mr. Hill cannot be repaired here. I feel it much. God knows and He rules over all."

It was at a time, then, when the aged clergyman was afflicted in many ways and almost prostrated by the sorrows which had come thick upon him that he was agitated by the fact that definite charges of misconduct had been brought against one of the servants of the New Zealand Mission--charges which included accusations both with regard to unnatural offences committed on board the Prince Regent and to others committed while employed at his mission station.

In spite of bodily weakness and affliction of mind, Marsden was roused to action by his anxiety to vindicate the reputation of the Mission upon which he had expended so much thought and energy throughout a period of almost thirty years, and, the old indomitable spirit conquering the frailty of age, decided to investigate these matters in person and to sail for New Zealand at the first opportunity. On February 7th, accompanied by his daughter Martha, he left Sydney in the Pyramus.

Writing from New Zealand on March 27th, 1837, Marsden explained to the Secretary of the Society his reasons for making this visit, which had been made at his own expense, 5 and gave him some account of his experiences. "When the reports relative to the Rev. William Yate's conduct in New Zealand became circulated through the Colony of New South Wales," he writes, "this occasioned me much trouble and distress. From the first I believed him to be a guilty man, while many of my best friends could not credit the things alleged against him. This naturally led many to entertain unfriendly feelings towards myself. 6

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"Mr. Yate exerted all his influence to justify his conduct. If he was innocent, as he contended he was, I called upon him to justify his conduct and meet the charges, but this he was fully aware he could not do. I then told him he must quit the Colony and return home. He promised he would do so immediately as a ship was to sail in three days. I immediately took his passage and took my final leave of him. He afterwards changed his mind. In about three months afterwards circumstances transpired which caused his friends to alter their opinions. Had he gone when I urged him, much censure would have fallen upon me from those gentlemen who considered him an innocent man. Divine Providence overrules all for the best. Mr. Yate remaining three months longer in the Colony removed all unkind feelings from the minds of my friends, and Mr. Yate left the Colony of his own account or with the advice of his friends.

"On Mr. Yate returning to England, I resolved to visit New Zealand as soon as I could to relieve the minds of the missionaries there, but I could not hire any clergyman to do my duty as there were none in the Colony who could leave their parish. At length the Rev. Mr. Bobart 7 arrived, on his way to England, in a very weak and feeble state of health.

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NORTHERN NEW ZEALAND, THE CHURCH MISSIONARY REGISTER, 1836
The map shows the mission stations founded as the result of the pioneering movement from the Bay of Islands to the south inaugurated by Archdeacon Williams in October, 1833.

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He came and resided at the parsonage with me and began gradually to recover strength. I told him I wished to go to New Zealand, if he thought he could do my duty until my return or at least be an assistant to the Rev. Mr. Forrest; during my absence Mr. Forrest would take the laborious duty. To this proposition Mr. Bobart agreed. I applied to the Bishop for leave of absence, which I obtained. I agreed to allow Mr. Bobart £100 per annum and to live in my family until my return. I left him very weak, but Mr. Forrest will relieve him all he can.

"On February 7th I embarked on board the Pyramus, a very fine ship which was going to the west side of New Zealand for spars. As I was very weak and feeble, I took with me one of my daughters 8 to assist me. I purposed to cross by land from the west side of the island to the east.

"On the 23rd we crossed the bar at Okianga (Hokianga) River. The sea broke awfully upon the bar. The captain was much alarmed, as we had no pilot and were in great danger of being overwhelmed by the heavy, violent waves constantly breaking about the vessel, and one rolled upon deck. Through the Divine protection we escaped a watery grave. After we crossed the bar we came to anchor for the night.

"Next morning we proceeded up the river and came to anchor again near the Wesleyan Missionary Station, when I went on shore and visited the Rev. Mr. Turner, whom I had formerly known. I remained here thirteen days and saw many of the chiefs whom I had formerly known. I found many were enquiring after the Saviour and a large number attended public worship. I had much important conversation with them on the subject of religion and civil government. They have no established laws amongst them, and they feel and lament the want of a government.

"When I left Okianga a number accompanied me--upwards of seventy. Some met us from Waimate. We had to travel about forty miles by land and water. The road lay through a very thick wood. The natives carried me on something like a hammock for twenty miles. We reached Waimate as the sun went down, where we were kindly received by the Rev. William Williams and his colleagues. One principal chief, who has embraced the Gospel and has been baptized, accompanied us all the way. He told me he was so unhappy at Okianga that he could not get to converse with me from the crowds that attended and that he had come to Waimate to speak with me. I found him a very intelligent man, and anxious to know the way to Heaven. I met with numbers wherever I went who were anxious after the knowledge of God. I was much pleased to find that wherever I went I found some that could read and write. The church service has been translated into the native language with the catechism, hymns, and some other

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useful pieces. 9 They are all fond of reading, and there are many who have never had an opportunity to attend the schools who nevertheless can read. They teach one another in all parts of the country, from the North to the East Cape. The prospect of success to the Mission is very great. Since my arrival at the missionary station I have not heard one oath spoken either from European or native. The schools and church are well attended, and the greatest order is observed amongst all classes.

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"On the opposite side of the harbour a number of Europeans are settled along with the natives. Several Europeans keep public houses and encourage every kind of crime. Here drunkenness, adultery, murder, etc., are committed. There are no laws, judges, or magistrates, so that Satan maintains his dominion without molestation. Some civilized government must take New Zealand under its protection or the most dreadful evils will be committed from runaway convicts, sailors, and publicans. There are no laws here to punish crimes. When I return to New South Wales I purpose to lay the state of New Zealand before the Colonial Government to see if anything can be done to remedy these public evils.

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"From weakness and want of light I cannot write correctly."

From Waimate, on May 6th, 1837, Marsden continued his account of his experiences in a further letter to the Secretary. "In February," he wrote, "I sailed from Port Jackson with a view to visit New Zealand in order to see the state of the Mission. It is upwards of seven years since my last visit.

"On my arrival I found two of the principal chiefs, Pomare and Titore, at open war, in consequence of which the whole island was in the greatest commotion. The chiefs from all parts have assembled with their men to support either Pomare or Titore. I have visited repeatedly both parties with a view of bringing them to terms of peace, but have not succeeded. The Rev. Henry Williams has used every means in his power, but as yet without effect. There were 131 Europeans in Pomare's pa or fortification, and a great number in Titore's camp. These are generally men of the most infamous characters, composed of runaway convicts and sailors, and publicans who have opened grog shops in the pas, where every scene of riot and drunkenness and prostitution are carried on daily. What will be the issue of the contest cannot be foreseen. Pomare's pa is very strong. It appears impossible for Titore to take it. A few days ago Titore sent 800 men in 42 war canoes to attack Pomare's pa, but they returned after much firing between both parties without effect. Two war canoes met and engaged, when three men belonging to Titore were killed. Two of them were brothers and men of high rank.

"In the midst of all the miseries of war God is prospering the Mission. Since my arrival I have visited many of the stations within the compass of one hundred miles, and have observed a wonderful change has taken place within the last seven years. The portions of the sacred Scriptures which have been printed have had a most astonishing effect. They are read everywhere by the natives where I have been. The natives teach one another, and find great pleasure in the Word of God and carry that sacred treasure with them wherever they go. 10

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"Great numbers have been baptized, both chiefs and their people. I have met with some very pious chiefs who have been invited by Pomare and Titore to join them in their present war, but they have refused. I met with one pious chief who was a great warrior and was severely wounded in action the very day I arrived in New Zealand on my last visit, who informed me Titore had sent for him but he would fight no more. I visited his station. He has built a neat, clean place of public worship which is visited by the missionaries. In this he teaches school, as well as his son.

"I am at present at Waimate, which was formerly one of the most warlike districts in the island, and I could not learn that one individual had joined the contending parties. Waimate is the most moral and orderly place I ever was in. A great number of the inhabitants for some miles have been baptized and live like Christians. There are no riots or drunkenness, no swearing or quarrels, but all is order and peace. The same effects I have observed produced by the Scriptures and labours of the missionaries in other districts. My own mind has been exceedingly gratified with what I have seen and heard, and I have no doubt but New Zealand will become a civilized nation.

"I consider the missionaries as a body very pious, prudent, and laborious men, and that they and their children are walking in the admonition of the Lord, so as to make them a national blessing when they have finished their labours.

"It was my intention when I came to have visited all the stations from the North to the East Cape, but from the state of the country at the present time it is not considered prudent for me to go to the south. I shall therefore return, God willing, to my duty in New South Wales. When this country is more settled in its political affairs something may be done in the south.

"My eyes are dim with age like Isaac's. It is with some difficulty I can see to write."

The visit of the venerable founder of the New Zealand Mission excited, as was natural, both interest and admiration in the minds of missionaries and Maoris alike. 11 Thus Mr. J. Matthews wrote from Kaitaia on April 8th, 1837:--"We are all much rejoiced to see this

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venerable person, who has come to visit us in the infirmity of his age. I went to Waimate to meet him on his arrival there and to bid him welcome to Kaitaia. He promised to come after he had been to the southward, but he altered his mind and came here first. On Saturday, April 1st, he, with his daughter and the Rev. H. Williams, arrived at our settlement. The natives came, party after party, to see him, and had his stay been prolonged to a week the whole tribes of the Rarawa would have been gathered together.

"Being anxious about the safety of the vessel, and the wind being fair, our venerable friend took his departure probably to see us no more in this world. He is now seventy-two years of age. He resided at our house, and I thought myself highly privileged to hear an old believer pray. It was evident that he had grown in spirituality of mind as he had grown in years. The natives looked upon his grey hairs, and expressed their admiration of his love for them in visiting them in his old age.

"Mr. Marsden learnt all particulars with regard to Toki and Huru, two natives who were taken away from this part by Governor King to teach the prisoners of Norfolk Island to prepare the native flax, that plant growing on that island. A native chapel for the worship of the true God is now finished on the spot whence these two natives came. They died about two years ago, and are well known to these tribes as having first introduced the potato. 12

"Mr. Marsden, on hearing that I came from the north, immediately made inquiry for these two natives, he having met them at Norfolk Island where they dined every day with the Governor. Mr. Marsden communicated this new information to us at the Waimate--that his meeting with these two northern natives first gave him a desire to benefit this interesting race. These two men were loaded with presents from Governor King and Mr. Marsden. They brought with them potatoes, and five very large pigs. There were no pigs in New Zealand before this, so far as we know, nor potatoes--this is more than forty years ago. 13 The potatoes they planted, but did not like them for many years; I suppose they attempted to eat them raw, as they did the corn, which was introduced also by Governor King in person at the North Cape. Two old chiefs mentioned his name to Mr. Marsden, I think, on the Wednesday, although we could not hear it by any of the younger men in the preceding days. Governor King told these people that if they were kind to the pigs they would have abundance in time. They received no produce from any of these pigs. They used to make sport of them by hunting them, and, according to them, one of these pigs would drag half a score of them along the ground. No doubt they killed them in this way, as they say one died full of young ones. The last large pig rooted up a corpse buried in a sacred place near our settlement, and was killed and eaten as a payment. Swine have been produced here from some introduced into the Bay of Islands, or somewhere in that

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quarter, of a later date. 14 The natives at the north have had maize for forty years, but being a long time before they knew how to cook it it did not gain repute till of late years: very fine corn is now grown about

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us. Mr. Marsden spoke to the natives through an interpreter, and he then gave the history of his first affection for their race. He told them that twenty years elapsed after his seeing those two natives before he saw another New Zealander, or did anything for them: he then went to England and brought out Mr. King, etc. 15 There were 300 natives to listen to his discourse." 16

Age and infirmity had neither dulled Marsden's enthusiasm for travel nor diminished his desire to find fresh fields of enterprise for the missionary cause. On May 30th, 1837, he reached Kerikeri in company with Mr. Busby, the officers of the Rattlesnake (Captain Hobson), 17 and the Rev. A. N. Brown. From thence he sailed in the Rattlesnake, accompanied by Brown, visiting the mission stations at the Thames, and travelling as far to the south as Cook Strait. Heavy weather, however, prevented Marsden from landing in the southern part of the island although, as he subsequently wrote, the information given him that 1,500 natives lived near Cook Strait and that no missionary had yet visited them made him strongly wish to do so. 18 Brown describes this part of Marsden's journey as follows:--

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"June 2nd, 1837.--Sailed with Mr. Marsden this morning in the Rattlesnake for the southward. We previously went on shore at Kororareka and saw the body of Titore, who died last night. 19 We were surprised at seeing some chiefs eating food within the sacred enclosure where Titore was laid out. The women, too, appeared to have laid aside their usual violent mode of showing grief by cutting and gashing their arms and breasts, nor does it seem probable that any of Titore's slaves will be killed out of honour to him. These are so many proofs that the edifice of superstition is crumbling away beneath the irresistible power of the glorious Gospel, and that, too, among a people of whom few have as yet bowed either the knee or the heart to the name of Jesus.

"June 6th, 1837.--I went with Mr. Marsden to our Thames station. During the evening a few chiefs called to converse with Mr. Marsden. One of them had accompanied Mr. Marsden, fourteen years since, from the Thames to Tauranga. At length we had to request the natives to leave, when one of them said, 'We wish to have a very long steadfast look at the old man, because he cannot live long enough to visit us again.'

"June 8th, 1837.--Rounded Cape Colville in the night, and, with light and variable winds, had a short run during the day through the Mercury Isles. We enjoyed a most lovely evening. In a long conversation with Mr. Marsden on deck, he spoke of almost all his old friends having preceded him to the Eternal World--Romaine, Newton, Thomson, Rowland Hill, Legh Richmond, Simeon, and others. 20

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"He then alluded, in a very touching manner, to his late wife. They had passed, he observed, more than forty years of their pilgrimage through this wilderness in company, and he felt their separation the more severely as the months rolled on. I remarked that their separation would be but for a short period longer. 'God grant it!' was his reply, and then, lifting his eyes toward the moon, which was peacefully shedding her beams on the sails of our gallant barque, he exclaimed, with intense feeling:--

Brown, who was stationed at Matamata, seems to have left the Rattlesnake at the Mercury Islands. He speaks with feeling of the parting scene:--"In the evening the vessel sailed with our valued and venerable father. This Mission, especially in its infant state, was deeply indebted to him for his advice, counsel, labours, and prayers, and his heart has now been cheered in witnessing the wonderful change which has taken place in this part of the island since he first landed on it as the herald of mercy to its savage inhabitants: for though his late visit to us has been made in troublous times and in the midst of war, yet the conduct, with few exceptions, of the baptized natives, the knowledge imparted in the schools, the steady progress of the translation of the Scriptures by the Rev. W. Williams, and the extensive preaching of the Gospel throughout the northern districts, have shown him that the great and good work which he was the honoured instrument of introducing into this land has been accompanied by the manifest blessing of Him in Whose favour is life; and I doubt not, from Mr. Marsden's own expressed sentiments, that he has left us with the language of good old Simeon in his heart, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation!'" 22

From the Mercury Islands the Rattlesnake sailed southward to Cloudy Bay, in Cook Strait, and thence sailed for Sydney early in July, reaching her port on July 27th. 23

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From Sydney, upon his return, Marsden wrote to the Secretary of the Society under date July 31st, 1837, again explaining the occasion of his New Zealand journey and giving some account of his visit. "I deemed it necessary for me to visit New Zealand and see the state of the missionaries and the natives," he said, "as I could not tell what effect might have been produced by the painful circumstances connected with Mr. Yate.

"The death of my much esteemed colleague, the Rev. R. Hill, and the awful fall of Mr. Yate were almost too much for me. I am very anxious to hear the final issue of Mr. Yate's return. In all this painful business I have acted to the best of my abilities, and had many and great difficulties to contend with from the powerful support he met with from his numerous friends here against all of whom I had to contend. They believe him to be an innocent man, but I was as much convinced of his guilt as I was of my own existence. Mr. Yate has been condemned by his friends for taking his associate with him to England. Time will bring to light the hidden things of darkness.

"Should your committee disapprove of my conduct in the affair of Mr. Yate, I have to request I may be favoured with the grounds of their disapproval and given an opportunity of answering for myself. The Bishop was very kind during the whole enquiry. If he had not supported me I should have been placed in a more painful situation. I cannot conceive what induced Mr. Yate to remain in the Colony for three months after he had solemnly promised me he would sail in three days. I shall say no more at present on this painful subject but wait until I hear from your Society, and turn to New Zealand.

"I left Parramatta about the 1st February last to visit the Mission in the above Island, and landed at Okianga (Hokianga) on the west side and proceeded overland to the Bay of Islands. I am happy to say I found on my arrival the missionaries all well at all the stations I visited from the North Cape to the River Thames. They were all living in unity and love and the native inhabitants exceedingly improved. The natives are very kind to all the missionaries and consider them their best friends. They are under no apprehensions of injury from the natives. They are at war, but I hope they will make peace very soon.

"I shall write to you soon again, but at present I have not recovered from my sea voyages. I believe I have travelled by land and water upwards of 2,000 miles, and met with some very stormy weather. You must excuse mistakes. My eyes are very dim. It is with difficulty 1 can see to write."

To his friend the Rev. Mr. Jowett he wrote in similar strain from Parramatta on August 11th, 1837. "The last year has been very trying to me and almost more than I could support. The sudden death of my much esteemed colleague, Mr. Hill, and the affair of Mr. Yate were two awful events. The latter was a very heavy trial from the influence Mr. Yate had acquired amongst the higher classes of our church, who could not believe him capable of committing the crime with which he was charged. I was convinced he was guilty, and informed him I would not admit him into my church until he had met the charges against him.

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"In consequence of the uneasiness created in New Zealand and in this Colony with respect to Mr. Yate, I determined to visit the Bay of Islands and other missionary stations upon that Island and see what state the missionaries were in, and applied to the Governor for leave of absence and obtained His Excellency's sanction. A ship named the Pyramus sailed from Sydney Cove for the west side of New Zealand. In her I took my passage and on the vessel arriving at Okianga (Hokianga) I crossed overland to the Bay of Islands, where I found the statement against Mr. Yate confirmed.

"I am happy to say I found the missionaries all well and living in mutual love, and their labour amongst the natives very successful. The natives as well as the missionaries were greatly rejoiced to see me again. Numbers of the natives have embraced Christianity and have laid aside their heathen customs. I found them much improved in Christian knowledge. Numerous schools are established for the instruction of the natives of all ages. Many amongst them read the Scriptures and instruct one another.

"You are aware there are no laws in New Zealand. There is no king. They feel the want of this, and they cannot make a king from their own chiefs as every chief would think himself degraded if he should be put under the authority of a chief of their own. There is a British Resident there but he has no authority to act. Why he is stationed there without powers I cannot tell.

"Amongst the letters I received I forward one from a chief addressed to me. It will show the committee how they are advancing in learning. I was sitting in my room when the chief came in with the letter in his hand addressed to me. He had no pen or ink and he had written it with a pencil. I gave him a sheet of paper, pen, and ink, and desired him to copy it, when he sat down and immediately complied with my request. I was much astonished to see him so ready with his pen. When he had copied it I got one of the missionaries to translate it for me. The translation I also enclose. The committee will judge from this letter the advances the natives are making towards civilization. This young man is a pious chief and succeeds the late Shunghee. 24

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"The missionaries have great influence amongst the natives, and according to my judgment they are doing much good. I wished to visit all the stations, but the stormy weather being against me I visited at the Thames and some of the missionaries there. From the Thames I proceeded to Cloudy Bay and Cook's Strait. A missionary is wanted in Cook's Strait. I was informed there were 1,500 natives in the Straits. Besides natives, there are some Europeans settled in the Straits and at Cloudy Bay. Cloudy Bay is not less than 700 miles from the Bay of Islands.

"I would have landed at the different stations on the east side to the south of the Thames, but the weather was very stormy and I could not.

"When at the head of the Thames I learned from the missionaries there that the missionaries at Manekow (Manukau) were going on very well. When I visited the North Cape I found that mission in a very prosperous state. The place was becoming in every respect to be a European settlement, the natives working as sawyers and carpenters, etc., etc.

"I shall now conclude as my eyes are bad."

A week later, on August 18th, 1837, he wrote to the same correspondent. "The sudden death of the Rev. R. Hill left the largest church and the most populous parish in the Colony without a clergyman. 1 therefore detained the Rev. Mr. Taylor for the present in this Colony until the arrival of a clergyman from England. I wrote for an assistant for myself some time ago, but none has arrived. The Bishop has also written for clergy. Mr. Taylor while here will be no expense to the Society.

"It would be desirable that your committee send out a clergyman to reside at Sydney, in order that he may carry on all the correspondence between your committee and the corresponding committee here and at New Zealand--a pious, good man. The Bishop has promised he will ensure him a salary of £200 per annum from Government and a free passage. Should one come out for the above purpose, perhaps it would be as well not to appoint him a member of the corresponding committee. Let him be a gentleman equal to the duties.

"I have just received information from New Zealand that the natives at the Bay of Islands have made peace since I came from there. I used my best endeavours before I left them for this object. I cannot write much. I am so unwell and my eyes are so dim.

"I am now upwards of seventy years old. My eyes are dim with age. It is with difficulty I can write a word. You must therefore excuse all errors."

Anxiety with regard to the case of Yate continued to weigh heavy upon the aged minister, and on October 2nd, 1837, he wrote from Parramatta to the Secretary in words which showed how much he had been

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affected by the dismissal of that missionary. "I have been very anxious to hear of the arrival of the Rev. William Yate and how he was received by the parent committee," he said. "Before he left New South Wales he informed me he took with him sufficient documents to vindicate his character, but he showed none of these testimonies to me. When he was here I wrote to him and told him if he could meet the charges which were alleged against him I would give him every support in my power; and I afterwards called upon him, when he told me he could not justify his conduct, and, as he had received information that his brother was dead, he would go home immediately. He had gentlemen here of power and influence who would have done all in their power to support him if he had dared to venture an investigation, but this he declined. I have no doubt but that he obtained some strong testimonies in his favour upon which he seemed to rely.

"From the distressed state the Mission was in at New Zealand, I determined to visit the missionaries and the natives and hear from them what had taken place, and accordingly I engaged Mr. Bobart to do my duty and embraced the first opportunity to embark for the Bay of Islands. I took with me one of my daughters to attend upon me, as I was very weak and poorly. The ship in which we embarked was going to the west side of the Island. After we landed I remained a few days before we took our journey to the east side. I crossed the country much better than I expected, and arrived at Waimate much better than I expected. The natives received me with great joy and the missionaries also, who were in much distress.

"On enquiry I found all the charges against Mr. Yate confirmed. A very fine young chief who has lived with me and with whom Yate associated was dead. It is most painful to me to revert to this subject. Your Society may think I acted towards Mr. Yate without due consideration, but be assured I did not. I felt delicate in sending the depositions taken in New Zealand against Mr. Yate, and therefore I detained them. The Rev. Mr. Taylor is of opinion they should be sent, and therefore I have given them to him. In my communication with your Society, I conceived to convince the committee that Mr. Yate was unworthy of their countenance and protection. I have the same conviction now of his guilt that I had then. You can form no conception what I suffered on account of Mr. Yate. My warmest friends set themselves against me because they considered him an innocent man. If the committee should be of the same opinion, I must submit to bear the reproach of ruining an innocent man. I did not send all the depositions against him which I had in my possession, as I hoped the information I had communicated to your Committee would be sufficient to prevent his return. In the whole of this painful subject I have acted according to my views of the Christian religion and the dictates of my own conscience. There were many things brought forward relative to Mr. Yate which delicacy forbade me to mention. I believe Mr. Taylor will forward some depositions by this conveyance for the information of the Committee. I laid them before the Bishop and the legal officers of the Colony, when assembled with the Bishop and other officers of rank to take this awful case into consideration in the presence of Mr.

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Yate, who made no defence. Under these circumstances I had no alternative but to remove him from the Mission and send him home.

"It can hardly be supposed that at my time of life, being upwards of seventy years old, weak and infirm, I would have taken a passage to New Zealand for myself and daughter unless I had been anxious to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I could have no will to injure Mr. Yate. He had always lived when in the Colony as one of my family in my house. I shall ever feel grateful to Bishop Broughton, as he was my friend in need. He will be a friend to the Mission and give what assistance he can. 25

"You will excuse this letter. My eyes are dim. I can see but little and may have made some mistakes. I intend to forward to you the notes I made in my last visit, but I have not them by me at the present time."

One cannot but sympathise with Yate's desire for a public investigation of his case. On the other hand, it is plain that all in authority, both in Australia and in England, who had been compelled to make decisions with regard to him had come to the conclusion that the state of affairs revealed by their private investigations was such as to compel disciplinary action, and that a public trial would merely bring discredit upon the Church and the Society to which the missionary belonged and would, in the end, in no wise benefit the man himself. One must note further that Yate himself consistently refused to produce evidence in proof of his innocence and at no time took steps to institute legal proceedings for wrongful dismissal or defamation of character.

On December 10th, 1837, Marsden again wrote to the Rev. Josiah Pratt with regard to the state of the New Zealand Mission. "I have previously informed you," he said, "of my late visit to New Zealand. Since my return the Rev. William Williams and Mr. Davis have come over to New South Wales to purchase sheep, etc., for the Mission, and returned this week to their station.

"I am happy to say the Mission goes on well in the midst of every difficulty. I visited many places in my last voyage: from the North Cape to Cloudy Bay. I have no doubt but New Zealand will become a civilized nation. The Gospel has made a deep impression upon many of the natives, who now live godly lives. If the missionaries had not been sent out at the time they were, I am of opinion New Zealand would have become one of the most abandoned places in the known world from its intercourse with Europeans. Numbers of merchant vessels and whalers constantly visit the Bay of Islands and other harbours, from which many sailors abscond on account of the women and other reasons,

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A Last Message

(DECEMBER 10th, 1837)

I am happy to say that the outward morals of the Colony are much improved. The influence and example of the convicts are much restrained from what they were. The convicts have not that influence they formerly had, nor that countenance and protection afforded them they once enjoyed. We have now some truly pious and devoted men and women, so that true religion is spreading its influence in different parts of the Colony. We are much in want of pious ministers. Our Bishop is a very laborious man. I have been on the most friendly terms with him. He will support the C.M. Society and their Mission in New Zealand. I think that he is perhaps too high a Churchman for our mixt population, but I may err in my opinion, and I may not be so high as I ought to be, tho' (I) love and esteem her services above all others.

I am now very feeble; my eyes are dim and my memory fails me. I have done no duty on the Sabbath for some weeks from weakness. When I review all the way which the Lord has led me in this wilderness, I am constrained to say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

Wishing that all your labours and those of your colleagues may be crowned with success,

I remain,
Dear and Revd. Sir,
Yours very affectionately,
SAML. MARSDEN.
REVD. JOSIAH PRATT.

[Inserted unpaginated illustration]

A PAGE FROM MARSDEN'S LAST LETTER TO REV. JOSIAH PRATT, DECEMBER 10TH 1837

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as well as convicts from New South Wales, and it would have been dangerous for vessels to enter their harbours, but now they are safe. A good understanding is maintained between the natives and the missionaries, and their influence extends far and wide. The last time I was there the Bay of Islands was the seat of war and continued so until I returned home. There were great numbers of natives who, from their knowledge of the Gospel, would not join either party, and many used their influence to prevent fighting. I did not leave the Bay of Islands until peace was nearly concluded. It will require time, and the deaths of some of the proud, warlike old chiefs, before they can live in peace like civilized nations, but we may confidently hope that this will soon be accomplished.

"I am anxious to learn the final issue of the charges against Mr. Yate. From the first to the present time his conduct has caused much unhappy feeling here. The Bishop conceived I had not communicated to your Society all the information I ought and called upon me for what official documents I had, which I transmitted to him, and His Lordship will forward them to you. Mr. Yate's powerful friends in England have created the alarm here that he is about to seek legal redress for the injury his reputation has suffered from the charge preferred against him from hence. A gentleman who was in New Zealand at the time and well acquainted with all the circumstances of his guilt, told me, not a month ago, that if Mr. Yate was tried he would, according to his opinion, be liable to suffer the penalties of the law for his crime. I am anxious to learn what is likely to be done or that the charge is sunk into oblivion."

That continued interest in the New Zealand Mission which remained a ruling passion in spite of the years was strikingly displayed in Marsden's next letter to the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, which was dated February 18th, 1838. After displaying some irritation at the advent of a Roman Catholic Mission in New Zealand, 26

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he proceeds:--"I have some intentions of visiting New Zealand again if my health will permit. I am very weak and feeble and cannot preach now to a regular congregation, but can only visit the hospital and prison gangs and the sick at their houses. My eyes are very dim with age. I have now been appointed chaplain to New South Wales forty-five years, and have gone through many toils and hardships and have often had to contend with unreasonable and wicked men in power. I have gone through many dangers by land and by water and amongst the heathens and amongst my own countrymen in New South Wales, and have both suffered shipwreck and robbery, but the Lord in His mercy at all times delivered me. It is my intention to visit New Zealand again when opportunity offers and see how the Mission goes on. I applied for leave yesterday to our Bishop to go to New Zealand, and he complied with my request. My health may not allow me to go, but if it does I have made up my mind on this subject as it will be a great gratification to me to see these poor heathens again and some of them possessed of a hope full of immortal glory. I am happy to say from what I can learn that the missionaries conduct themselves becoming their character and are an honour to the Gospel. There is much communication now between Sydney and New Zealand, and the natives come occasionally.

"You may not be able to read what I have written. My eyes are so bad I cannot see what I write."

Some six weeks before his death, on April 2nd, 1838, Marsden penned his last letter to the Secretary of the Society over whose interests in New Zealand he had maintained such a faithful watch. He had just had an interview with the French adventurer who styled himself the Baron de Thierry, who had informed him that he intended to sail for New Zealand to take possession of 40,000 acres of land which he maintained that he had purchased from the late Rev. Thomas Kendall. "Whether he will give the missionaries any trouble or no I know not," he said. "I shall write to put them upon their guard. I have had an interview with the Baron and shall see him again before he sails. He tells me he purchased for the purpose of improving the natives of New Zealand. I fear he shall be greatly disappointed in the end. 27

"I have had letters from New Zealand very lately," he continued. "The missionaries were all well and the Mission prospering. A Catholic

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Bishop and several priests have landed on the Island and are doing what they can to promote the Catholic religion amongst the natives. We have a Bishop 28 and many Catholic priests with us. I believe our late Governor (Sir Richard Bourke) was a Catholic and did what he could to promote them. I much regret that the Catholic priests should have landed in these islands.

"I have wished for some time to pay another visit to New Zealand, but I have been very unwell and not able to preach in my church and am still weak and feeble. My eyes are dim with age, being now upwards of seventy years old. It will be a great gratification to me to visit New Zealand once again, as well as to see the missionaries. I want to get Mr. Taylor also from the Colony. Our Bishop objects to his leaving the Colony until some clergyman arrives capable of taking his duty. Mr. Taylor is also anxious to proceed to his station. I shall be glad to see him leave New South Wales. 29

"Mr. Bobart is doing my duty and I pay him his salary. Government allows him nothing. Mr. Bobart is married to one of my daughters. Mr. Bobart is a man of weak constitution and not suited to a savage nation. He is very useful in my parish and much approved by the inhabitants.

"I have now been appointed as chaplain to New South Wales upwards of forty-five years, since the first day of January, 1793, and now feel my strength perfect weakness.

"When I visited New Zealand the last time, a young man, a chief, returned with me and has lived in my house to the present time. He is a pious young man and anxious to return to New Zealand to tell his countrymen something of the love of Christ. I intend him to go home the first opportunity that offers, and I hope he will be a blessing to his country. I pray that the great Head of the Church may bless all the labours of the Society wherever they send out missionaries.

"I am not able to preach in the church as my eyes are very dim. It is with difficulty I can read or write. You must therefore excuse my errors. I mentioned this in the former part of this letter. I have an intention to visit the missionaries in New Zealand if my strength will permit."

Another journey to New Zealand, however, was not permitted. The course was run. Samuel Marsden died at Windsor, New South Wales, on May 12th, 1838, having nearly finished his seventy-third year. He had been a servant of the Church for some forty-five years. He was buried in the churchyard of his church at Parramatta, the Burial Service at the interment being read by Archdeacon Cowper. 30 The Rev.

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H. T. Stiles of Windsor, 31 in a funeral sermon preached in St. John's, Parramatta, summed up Marsden's achievement in memorable words:-- "Samuel Marsden," he said, "was no common character. He was raised up for a special purpose. As Luther in Germany, John Knox in Scotland, and Cranmer in England, were sent by the Head of the Church and fitted with peculiar qualifications to unfold the glorious Gospel, . . . so no less truly was Samuel Marsden raised up in this southern hemisphere, abundantly fitted for the work, and made the honourable instrument of diffusing the light of that same Gospel and of bringing it to bear on the darkness of heathenism in New Zealand and the isles of the sea, and upon the darkness, too, no less real, of the depravity of society in eastern Australia." 32

Mr. Davis's correspondence contains a letter which shows something of the thoughts of the New Zealand missionaries when the news of Marsden's death reached them, and which is also of interest as bearing witness to the practical form of Marsden's interest in New Zealand affairs to the very end of his long connection with the Colony. Writing from Waimate on June 5th, 1838, he says:--"News is just received to apprize us of the loss of our dear father, Mr. Marsden. We have now no friend and father left in this part of the globe. He is gone. He can no longer be present, but he will now live in our affections and in the affections of our children and I trust those of our children's children. The poor natives will never forget him. In their country his name will be handed down through all generations. He will never be forgotten. His last act was to provide stock for us when we were in the Colony. This he did in a way I shall not soon forget. We have his best breed of cows, sheep, and horses, and I value it much. When I parted from him at his own door he said with a glow of pleasure on his countenance, 'Now, Mr. Davis, should you but arrive in New Zealand safe with your valuable cargo, it will be the making of the country.' We arrived safe, and I can say, as it respects the breed of stock, never did a new country possess at its commencement so valuable a collection." 33

While the missionaries in New Zealand thus put on record their feeling of loss at the death of the founder of the Mission and acknowledged gratefully the practical benefits which he had conferred upon the land of their adoption, the Committee of the Church Missionary Society set forth, in more formal language, their appreciation of his steadfast devotion to their interests:--"The Committee of the Church Missionary Society," their minute reads, "record the death of the late Rev. Samuel Marsden with feelings of deep respect for his personal character,

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and gratitude to the Great Head of the Church who raised up and who so long preserved this distinguished man for the good of his own and future generations.

"In him the Committee recognise an individual whom Providence had endowed with a vigorous constitution both of body and mind suited to meet the circumstances which ever attend a course of new and arduous labours. Entering upon the duties of his chaplaincy forty-five years ago, at a time when the colonists of New South Wales were, for the most part, of abandoned character and suffering the penalty of the law, he, with admirable foresight, anticipated the probable future destinies of that singular and important Colony; and never ceased to call the attention of both the local and the Home governments to the real duty of providing for the interests, both temporal and spiritual, of the rapidly increasing population by a proportionate increase in the number of colonial chaplains.

"In the discharge of his diversified duties, the native energy of his mind was conspicuously exhibited in the unsubdued ardour, public spirit, and steady perseverance with which his various gifts were sanctified by those Christian principles, which, from his youth up, he maintained and adorned, both by his teaching and his life.

"But it is to his exertions in behalf of Christian missions that the Committee are bound especially to call the attention of the Society. While he omitted no duty of his proper ministerial calling, his comprehensive mind quickly embraced the vast spiritual interests, till then well nigh entirely unheeded, of the innumerable islands of the Pacific Ocean, whose inhabitants were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.

"Under the influence of these considerations, Mr. Marsden zealously promoted the labours of the different societies which have established missions in the South Seas. And it is to his visits to New Zealand, begun twenty-five years ago and often since repeated, and to his earnest appeals on behalf of that people, that the commencement and consolidation of the Society's missions in the Northern Island is to be attributed.

"In calling to mind the long series of eminent services rendered to the Society by Mr. Marsden, the Committee notice with peculiar satisfaction the last visit made by him in the year 1837 to the Society's Missions in New Zealand--a visit justly termed by the Lord Bishop of Australia, 'Apostolical.' With paternal authority and affection, and with the solemnity of one who felt himself to be standing on the verge of eternity, he then gave his parting benediction to the missionaries and the native converts.

"The Committee, while acknowledging with thankfulness to Almighty God that combination of superior powers, largeness of sphere of action, length of days, and signal success which was graciously bestowed on this eminent servant of Christ, and which generally must fall to the lot of very few men, desire, at the same time, to express their humble hope and earnest prayer that it may please God to raise up and sustain, by the power of His Spirit, a large band of faithful and efficient

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labourers to tread in his steps, to follow up his holy designs, and to carry forward the blessed work of imparting to all those vast regions the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ." 34

Such words of appreciation stand as a valuable monument to the labours of Marsden. Without doubt, however, he himself would have regarded as still more honourable to his memory the simple white marble slab placed in his church at Parramatta in July, 1856, by some northern Maoris who wished to place on record their veneration of one who had done so much for their race, and who requested their missionary, the Rev. Richard Taylor, to have a memorial tablet erected. It bears the following inscription:--

SACRED TO THE MEMORY
of the
REV. SAMUEL MARSDEN
THE FATHER OF THE AUSTRALIAN CHURCH
and
THE FOUNDER OF THE NEW ZEALAND MISSION.
This Tribute to his Memory
was placed by a
New Zealand Missionary and His Native Converts.
Obiit May 12th, 1838 - Aged 73. 35

In Farsley Parish Church a beautiful stained glass window, and at the Bay of Islands the noble Marsden Cross, also witness to the achievement of the sturdy Yorkshireman for Church and Empire.

Meanwhile the times were changing. The advent of British sovereignty in New Zealand of which Marsden had dreamt was at hand, and those who guided the destinies of the New Zealand Missions were anxious for what the new era might bring. The Report of the Church Mission Society for the year 1839 sounds a note both of anxiety and of triumph:--

"Your Committee cannot close their Report of this Mission without adverting to the peculiar situation of New Zealand as it is now regarded by the public at large. What events may await this fair portion of the globe--whether England will regard with a sisterly eye so beautiful an island, placed, like herself, in a commanding position, well harboured, well wooded, and fertile in resources; whether this country will so stretch forth a friendly and vigorous arm as that New Zealand may, with her native children, become a well-ordered and Christian nation--it is not for the Committee of the Church Missionary Society to anticipate. But this consolation they do possess: they know that this Society has, for twenty years, done good to the natives, hoping for nothing again --nothing save the delight of promoting glory to God and goodwill

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among men. The Society has sent them heralds of peace and messengers of salvation, and has thus contracted such an obligation toward those whom it has sought to benefit that your Committee are constrained to lift up their voice on behalf of that island, and to claim that no measures shall be adopted toward that interesting country which would involve any violation of the principles of justice on our part or of the rights and liberties of the natives of New Zealand." 36

Samuel Marsden had gone to his rest, but men already recognized that his hopes for the spiritual and moral well-being of the Maori race had, in a large measure, been fulfilled in his own lifetime. The seed which he had planted had already attained to vigorous growth. Marsden, from the time of his first contact with New Zealand, had hoped that the Maori might ultimately find political freedom under the British flag. Within two years of his death that desire had been fulfilled, and the Maoris, to whom he had so frequently spoken of British law and justice, had become British subjects. 37

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The Marsden Cross.

at OIHI, RUSSELL, BAY OF ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND.

Unveiled by His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand, the Right Hon. William Lee, Baron Plunket, K.C.M.G., K.C.V.O. on Tuesday, March 12, 1907.

THE MEMORIAL COLLECT USED AT THE UNVEILING CEREMONY.

(Adapted from the Collect in the Sarum Breviary for S. Hugh, Bishop Lincoln, 1186-1200)

O God, who didst singularly adorn Thy servant, Samuel Marsden, with noble acts and shining signs of grace, grant that his holy pattern may enkindle us, and his brave and virtuous deeds enlighten us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE CROSS BEARS THE FOLLOWING INSCRIPTION:--

ON CHRISTMAS DAY, 1814,
THE FIRST CHRISTIAN SERVICE IN N.Z.
WAS HELD ON THIS SPOT
BY THE REV. SAMUEL MARSDEN

The cross, which is twenty feet eight inches high, is of hard volcanic stone from the Malmesbury quarries, Victoria, on a base and sub-base of Auckland volcanic stone.

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THE MARSDEN CROSS
AT OIHI, RUSSELL, BAY OF ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND.

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The following list of the missionaries employed in New Zealand by the Church Missionary Society was furnished to the Lords Committee of 1838. Their names stand as a monument to the growth and achievement of the New Zealand Mission within the lifetime of its founder:--

In these mission stations 2,176 persons attended public worship of whom 178 were communicants, while in 51 schools there were, in all, 1,431 scholars.

In addition the Wesleyan mission stations numbered six, situated at Mangungu, Newark, Kaipara, Whangaroa, Kawhia, and Taranaki, and in these there were ten missionaries. 39

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When Marsden, therefore, died in 1838, John King alone remained in the Mission of those who had reached the Bay of Islands with him in 1814. King wrote his last report to the Society on December 31st, 1853, when he gave thanks that he had been graciously preserved to commence his fortieth year of service in the Bay of Islands, although, crippled by rheumatism, he was unable longer to attend to his regular duties. 40 He died on May 6th, 1854, at the age of 67. "Throughout the course of a missionary life more than usually prolonged," the Committee of the Society remarked, in referring to his death, "he had witnessed all the changes of the Mission--its night of toil, the dawn of the morning, the full noon of large results, until his own eventide came." 41

A few weeks after the death of the veteran missionary, on May 26th, 1854, a special meeting of the Committee of the Church Missionary Society was held at which Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, who had just arrived in London, gave an account of the signal victory which had been achieved in New Zealand as the result of the Mission founded by Samuel Marsden forty years before. He stated "that he had visited nearly every station of the Society, and could speak with confidence of the great and good work accomplished by it in New Zealand; that he believed that out of the native population, estimated by himself at nearly 100,000, there were not more than 1,000 who did not make a profession of Christianity; that, though he had heard doubts expressed about the Christian character of individuals, yet no one doubted the effect of Christianity upon the mass of the people, which had been evidenced in their social improvement, their friendly intercourse with Europeans, and their attendance upon Divine worship; ... if the work should be consolidated and perfected, as he hoped, the conversion of New Zealand would become one of the most encouraging facts in the modern history of Christianity, and a pattern of the way in which it might be established in all other heathen countries." 42

Had Samuel Marsden heard the Governor tell thus of how his vision had been realised, he would, without doubt, from the fullness of his heart, have found expression for his thought in the words of the Psalm which he loved to quote, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name."

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APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VIII.

CAPTAIN WILLIAM HOBSON, R.N.

Governor of New Zealand, 1840-42.

WILLIAM HOBSON was born at Waterford, Ireland, in 1793, the third son in a family whose original home was Marylebone, London. The most prominent Waterford family of the time was that of the first Marquis of Waterford whose two natural sons, Admiral Sir John Poo Beresford and Field-Marshal Viscount Beresford, one of the most famous of Wellington's generals, both had distinguished careers. Through the patronage of Sir John Poo Beresford, who at the time was captain of a frigate, young Hobson entered the Navy in 1803 when he was not yet ten years of age, joining the 38 gun frigate la Virginie. A few days afterwards he set out on his first cruise. The greater part of his education was thus received in the Navy. The boy, nevertheless, must have been instructed with reasonable care in spite of his rough school for, as Dr. Scholefield remarks, "in later years he wrote a good hand and composed his despatches in irreproachable English."

A year after his admission to the Navy, he set sail for the West Indies in the Dart frigate of 28 guns and began a stirring career of service against pirates, French privateers, and slavers. In 1806 he became a midshipman. After some years of war service in European waters he was again, in 1811, sent to the West Indies as acting lieutenant in the flagship of Sir Francis Laforey, and by 1814, when the war with the United States broke out, he was lieutenant in the sloop Peruvian of 18 guns in which he served till the termination of the war with France in 1815.

After eighteen months of unemployment Hobson next saw service in the Mediterranean as lieutenant in the Spey and in the West Indies in the 28 gun ship Tyne, earning an enviable reputation as an officer of courage and resource in the numerous boat actions entailed by the effort to suppress piracy. By 1823 the young officer himself commanded a small flotilla of two schooners, the Lion and the Union, and two boats, detached from the squadron for the war against the pirates who infested Cuban waters, his success in this arduous service earning for him the thanks of the Admiralty.

Promoted commander in 1824 he saw further service in the West Indies in the sloop Scylla of 18 guns; his exploits in this vessel whose name he made famous are commemorated in the novels of his friend and shipmate, Captain Marryat, and in Michael Scott's "Tom Cringle's Log."

At the end of 1827 he married the daughter of a Scots West India merchant, Robert Wear Elliot.

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His distinguished services in the West Indies were rewarded by his promotion to the rank of captain. He left the scene of his exploits, however, with a constitution undermined by fever and never entirely recovered from the effects of his long sojourn in the tropics.

He was not employed again until 1834 when, through the good offices of Lord Auckland who became First Lord in that year, he was given command of the Rattlesnake, 28 guns, commissioned as part of the East Indies squadron which then and for many years afterwards patrolled Australian and New Zealand waters. It was in gratitude for Lord Auckland's service in thus saving him from being placed on the retired list that in 1840 Hobson gave the name "Auckland" to the seat of government of the new Colony of New Zealand.

By 1835 Hobson was senior captain on the East Indies station while Lord Auckland was Governor-General of India. In 1836 the Rattlesnake was sent to Australian waters, and throughout the latter part of that year her officers took a prominent part in the survey of the harbour for the new settlement at Port Phillip, the northern part of the harbour being called "Hobson Bay" at the suggestion of Sir Richard Bourke himself, who, in March, 1837, visited the new settlement in the Rattlesnake and gave his approval of the site selected for the city of Melbourne.

Meanwhile the urgent despatches of the British Resident in New Zealand with regard to affairs there had considerably perturbed Bourke, with the result that Hobson was asked to proceed to the Bay of Islands and to make a report upon the state of the country. The Rattlesnake arrived there on May 26th, 1837, and Hobson spent the next week in interviewing the leading chiefs, European traders, and missionaries. The local war between Pomare and Titore, however, made the situation difficult, and Hobson was about to sail southward when he was informed of the death of Titore, to whose memory he fired a salute of seven guns.

The Rattlesnake now visited the Thames, East Cape, and Cloudy Bay, returning on June 30th to the Bay of Islands, whence, four days later, she sailed for Sydney with Samuel Marsden and his daughter Martha among her passengers for New South Wales. From Sydney the Rattlesnake proceeded to Calcutta, and thence to England where Hobson early in 1838 gave up his command, regretful that he was again on the unemployed list.

His report of August 8th, 1837, on New Zealand affairs, however, had shown him to be a man of sound judgment and common sense and when, in December, 1838, the appointment of a British Consul in New Zealand was mooted by Lord Glenelg, Hobson had good reason to hope that he might be considered for the post. Glenelg, however, went out of office in February, 1839, and Lord Normanby did not reopen the matter till June, 1839, when Hobson was offered the post of British Consul in New Zealand "with a supplementary commission as Lieutenant-Governor over such territory as might be ceded to the Queen." Meanwhile, in May, 1839, the New Zealand Company had despatched the Tory and she had already reached her destination when, on July 30th, Hobson's appointment was confirmed. On August 25th, with his family, he sailed for Port Jackson in H.M.S. Druid, arriving there on December 24th. Sailing again from Port Jackson on January 18th,

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1840, in H.M.S. Herald, he reached the Bay of Islands on January 29th and landed on the afternoon of the next day, with a salute of eleven guns, to read his commissions and assume his office as Lieutenant-Governor.

Events moved quickly to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on February 6th, 1840. The strain of an arduous life, however, exacted its penalty within a few weeks of his arrival in New Zealand, when he was stricken by paralysis and gradually declined in health till his death in September, 1842, mourned as a man of honour and integrity even by those who had most strenuously opposed his measures By the Maoris who knew him he was held in high esteem, and some chiefs, in an address to the Queen at the time of his death in which they asked for a new Governor, said: "Let not the new Governor be a boy or one puffed up; let not a troubler come amongst us; let him be a good man like the Governor who has just died."

Hobson was buried at Auckland, and in St. Paul's Church there a marble slab, inscribed in English and Maori, was placed to his memory. His greatest memorial, however, is the city of Auckland, of which he chose the site. 43

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MARSDEN'S PORTRAITS

The portrait of Marsden which forms the frontispiece of this volume is taken from the engraving in William Yate's Account of New Zealand (London, 1835), and shows Marsden about the year 1833, when in his sixty-eighth year.

The portrait is found in the Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, as an oil painting and in the Mitchell Library, Sydney, as a water colour. The Turnbull Library portrait was bought by Mr. Turnbull in Sydney in 1907. It is unsigned but is ascribed by tradition to a painter named Bachler or Backler. The Mitchell Library portrait, which is also unsigned, came to the Library as part of the Mitchell bequest. The artist was a Sydney miniature and portrait painter named Read whose portrait of Mrs. Marsden is also in the Mitchell Library.

The Mitchell Library also has an engraved portrait of Marsden by a certain G. Terry, showing him as a young man of about thirty years of age.

The Fittler engraving, which is reproduced in this volume, is from a copy of the engraving in the Hocken Library. It represents Marsden as a man in middle life and must date to his one visit to England of 1808-9.

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HONGI HIKA'S WHAKAPAPA (GENEALOGICAL TREE) 44

HONGI HIKA'S WHAKAPAPA (GENEALOGICAL TREE)
THE DESCENT OF HONE HEKE

[Names in the whakapapa: Toi-Kairakau (arrived in N.Z. 1150 A.D.), Puhi-moana-ariki (from whom Nga-Puhi takes its name), Te Hau, Rahiri, (Rahiri, a famous Nga-Puhi ancestor, from whom most of the tribe take descent.) Whakaruru, Kakarau, Houtaringa, Taurapoho, Te Hau, Mahia, Tuawa, Tautahi, Ngahue, Maromuka, Riutaia, Waikainga, Te Wairua, Te Aukahui, Kaweata, Te Auwha, Pehirangi, Taingariu, Te Tahapango, Te Hotete, Tuhikura, Hongi Hika, Turikatuku, Hare Hongi, (Killed at Te Ika-a-ranganui). Harata Rongomai, Hone Heke, (Maori leader in the War of 1845).]

[Hone Heke also descends from Te Wairua but from a different wife. Te Wairua = Tutu (second wife) Te Whaka-aria, Waiohua, Te Koua, Tupanapana, Harata Rongomai, Hone Heke Ngapua (No issue surviving), Hone Heke, M H.R. (No issue) Matiri (Issue)]

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THE LINE OF PATUONE AND HIS SISTER TARI

THE LINE OF PATUONE AND HIS SISTER TARI

[Names in the whakapapa: Tapua 45 Te Kaweau, Te Wheke (Ngati Paoa), Patuone, Whakanene, Tari, Wharepataki, Toa, Hohaia, Te Koua, Tupanapana, Tarapata, Te Taue,(Hone Heke), Wi Pane, Harata, Tuhaere, Wi Pane Tarapata, Mere Tuhaere

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THE MARRIAGE OF PHILIP TAPSELL AND HINEITURAMA OF TE ARAWA

Philip Tapsell, whose full name was Hans Hammon Philip Jack Tapsell, was a Dane. Born in Copenhagen in 1777, he went to sea at the age of fourteen, serving first in the Danish and then in the British Navy; he took the name of "Topsail"-- of which Tapsell is a corruption--upon his transference to the British Navy, in order to hide his identity. He served in the war against France, and was a man of some thirty-eight years of age at its conclusion.

Taking to whaling, he entered first the Australian and then the New Zealand trade, becoming ultimately a trader between Port Jackson and the Bay of Islands, exchanging muskets and powder for flax and gum with the tribes of that district.

Armed with the new weapons, Hongi Hika's Ngapuhi descended upon Te Arawa in April, 1822, captured Mokoia Island in Rotorua Lake 46 and took many prisoners to the Bay of Islands, whose experiences there of the dealings of the tribes with the European traders quickly convinced them that their only hope for the future lay in the possession of firearms. Upon their return to the Bay of Plenty, therefore, they immediately opened negotiations with Titore whom they had met at the Bay of Islands and who knew Philip Tapsell well, and the Maori chief succeeded in persuading Tapsell to settle among Te Arawa, the promise being that he should have much opportunity for trade, receive a grant of land, and be married to a maiden of the tribe. Tapsell first reached his future home at Maketu, Tauranga, on March 9th, 1828, and there met his bride, the high born Hineiturama. Te Arawa still regard it as a blemish on their fair name that the maiden should thus have been sacrificed to the foreigner that the tribe might have muskets and powder, and many tribal songs preserve the tale. The marriage was subsequently legalised, as Marsden records, 47 at Kororareka, on April 21st, 1830. This, the family claims, was the first marriage between Maori and Pakeha blessed by the Christian Church.

Tapsell became celebrated both as a trader and as a leader among Te Arawa, and the guns from his vessel are still preserved and fired upon special occasions.

He himself died at Maketu in 1873, "the patriarch of the Pakeha-Maoris." 48 His tombstone, presented by the New Zealand Government in recognition of his services to both the New Zealand and the British Governments, records that he was originally a Danish naval officer who served Te Arawa and the Government well and died honoured both by Maori and Pakeha.

Tapsell's eldest son, Retiriti or Retreat Tapsell, was so called because he was born in 1829 just when Ngaiterangi of Matatua attacked Maketu and compelled Te Arawa to retreat. Retiriti's eldest son, Mr. Kiri Tapsell, of Maketu, Bay of Plenty, from whom this record has been obtained through the courtesy of the Rev. Alfred J. Davis of Te Puke, Tauranga, is the present head of the family.

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