CHAPTER II. FROM THE YEAR 1831, TO MAY 1842...
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CHAPTER II.
FROM THE YEAR 1831, TO MAY 1842, WHEN THE FIRST BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND ARRIVED IN HIS DIOCESE.
IT would far exceed the limits of this little work, to detail minutely the operations of the missionaries, who successively arrived as fellow labourers with those already mentioned; and for many most interesting particulars, reference must be made to the periodical reports of the society, by whose funds they were maintained, and under whose directions they carried on their work.
We shall, therefore, only briefly narrate the events which preceded the colonization of the islands, and subsequent establishment of the diocese of New Zealand; premising that it was owing, under the Divine blessing, to the successful labours of the missionaries, that so great a
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change was wrought in the habits of the natives, as to render them no longer an object of terror to Europeans. Captain Jacob, writing in 1833, thus describes what he witnessed in the districts he visited:--
"The schools at Waimate and Paihia exhibit abundant proof of the zealous attention of the persons composing this mission. I observed all ranks and ages, chiefs and subjects, old and young, bond and free, receiving and communicating instruction, with a degree of decorum and regularity that would have reflected credit on a school of the same kind even in England... In another direction, I fell in with the chief Ripi, a convert, who, with his people, we found engaged in cutting a road through a dense forest, to enable the missionaries to get at a village beyond it, for the purpose of extending to them the same blessings which he and his people have now learned to enjoy. I was struck with the dignified appearance of this man; and when contrasting his present employment with that in which he was a few years since constantly engaged with hostile tribes, I felt the power and the beauty of the simile he himself used, when, reasoning with another chief on the evil of his former courses, he said: 'The name and reputation which a native acquires by war and bloodshed is like the hoarfrost, which
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disappears as soon as the sun shines upon it; but when a man is brave in seeking the things of Jesus Christ, his name lives for ever.' In his village, Ripi has regular daily prayers, and his example is calculated to do much good in the country." Mr. Clarke, in a letter written in 1832, says, "The villages which we visit on the Sunday, present a scene truly grateful. The Sunday is indeed a day of rest. The fire-wood necessary for cooking is regularly prepared on the Saturday. Whether visited or not, the natives commence the day by reading and prayer, and we always find some of them watching for our appearance. As soon as the chapel is opened, an effort is made to get a place; and for want of room, many are obliged to remain outside. The after part of the day is spent much as the former; all is silence and order, except hearing from the little cottages the voice of praise, by two or three families met together for that purpose."
In consequence of the earnest solicitations of the chiefs and people of the tribes who resided in the vicinity of the North Cape, a fifth station was formed in 1833, at Kaitaia, to the northward of the Bay of Islands; and Mr. Matthews and Mr. Puckey were established there, early in 1834. The site of this station is about half way between the two coasts, having the western
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coast to the north-west, and the eastern to the south-east; and here the island is so narrow, that you can distinctly hear the roaring of the surf on both beaches. About the same time, a sixth station was formed to the southward of the Bay of Islands, at Puriri, on the banks of the river Waikato; but proving unhealthy, it was abandoned in 1838, and Mr. Preece and Mr. Fairburn, who had been in charge of it, removed, respectively, to Kaweranga, 11 miles distant, and Marietai, about 60 miles from Puriri.
January 3d, 1835, was made memorable by the landing of a printing press, in the charge of Mr. Colenso and Mr. Wade. Mr. Colenso had a native assistant, by whose help 2000 copies of the Epistles to the Ephesians, and Philippians, were struck off in the form of tracts.
In 1838, the whole of the New Testament, in the New Zealand language, was printed under the superintendence of Mr. W. Williams, assisted by other members of the mission; the Prayer-book was also completed, and both printed by Mr. Colenso.
In the course of the years 1834 and 1835, several additional stations were formed: at Maungapouri, near the Waipa River; at Matamata, on the Waikato; at Tauranga, and Rotorua; and in 1836, on Manukau harbour,
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near the present town of Auckland. Here the Rev. R. Maunsell was placed.
The desolating wars which unhappily prevailed between the still unconverted natives, who pillaged the property of the missionaries at Rotorua, and other adjoining stations, and which extended even to the northern settlements, caused a temporary suspension of the labours of the missionaries; but at the close of the year 1837, peace was entirely restored. Mr. Brown was enabled to return to Matamata; Mr. Stock was established at Tauranga; and Mr. Chapman and Mr. Knight re-occupied Rotorua, situated near the lake of that name.
In the spring of the year 1837, the venerable founder of the mission, Mr. Marsden, paid his seventh and last visit to New Zealand; and, with the solemnity of one who felt himself standing on the verge of eternity, gave his parting benediction to the missionaries and their native converts. In his letter to the Church Missionary Society, dated May 6, 1837, he thus speaks of them:--
"I have visited many of the stations within he compass of one hundred miles, and have observed that a wonderful change has taken place. I am at present at Waimate, which was formerly one of the most warlike districts in the island, but it is now the most moral and orderly
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place I ever was in. A great number of the inhabitants, for some miles, have been baptized and live like Christians. There are neither riots nor drunkenness, neither swearing nor quarrels, but all is order and peace. The same effects I have observed to be produced by the Scriptures and labours of the missionaries in other districts. I have no doubt that 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."
Mr. Marsden was enabled to visit the stations to the southward, and also to perform a cruise to Cook's Straits, in H. M. S. Rattlesnake, Captain Hobson, afterwards Governor of New Zealand. Mr. Brown, who accompanied him, thus alludes to his reception by the natives:--"During the evening a few chiefs called to converse with Mr. Marsden. At length we had to request them to leave, when one of them said, 'We wish to have a very long stedfast look at the old man, because he cannot live long enough to visit us again.' 1 In the evening of
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the 8th June, the vessel sailed with our valued and venerable father. 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; the conduct, with but few exceptions, of the baptized natives, the knowledge imparted in the schools, the steady progress of the translation of the Scriptures, and the extensive preaching of the gospel throughout the northern district, have shown him that the great and good work which he was the honoured instrument of commencing in this land, has been accompanied by the manifest blessing of Him in whose favour is life; and he has left us with the language of Simeon in his heart, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy, salvation.'"
On the 12th March, 1838, this venerable servant of God was called to his eternal rest, having nearly reached the age of seventy-three, and having performed the duties of chaplain at Port Jackson for upwards of forty-five years.
In December, 1837, Dr. Pompallier, a Roman Catholic bishop, and two priests, landed in New Zealand. They settled themselves on the Hokianga river, on the coast opposite to the
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Bay of Islands, in the neighbourhood of the Wesleyan missionaries. A chapel has since been built, and the number of the priests has been greatly increased; and in March, 1840, four priests and eight catechists arrived at one time. The Romish mission appears to have large funds at command. They have since visited most of the stations occupied by the Church Missionary Society, and have been zealous in their endeavours to proselytize the natives by means of valuable gifts. It is, however, very encouraging to know, that the natives now possess in their own tongue a large portion of the word of God, the only weapon by which Popery can be successfully opposed. The letters of the missionaries contain some interesting accounts of the manner in which their knowledge of the Scriptures has enabled the native converts to refute the errors of Popery. Thus, a baptized native at Tauranga met in the Pa there, the Roman Catholic bishop and a priest who was with him. Opening his catechism, he called the attention of the bishop and priest to the second commandment, and told them, "Our teachers tell us that these are the commandments of God, taken from the Bible. Now this tells me, that I must not bow down to idols, which you do; and I find, moreover, that you have not the second commandment among the
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others, but that it is altogether omitted. I, therefore, do not believe that your religion is true."
On another occasion, the Romish bishop met one of the converted natives, and speaking of the missionaries, he said, "They have houses, and wives, and children--all their love is for them--but we have none, therefore all our love is for you." The native replied, "Is it then wicked for a missionary to have a wife and children?" The bishop answered, "I am an apostle and bishop of Christ, and I tell you it is." The native replied, "St. Paul was also an apostle, and he said, 'A bishop ought to be the husband of one wife.'"
The exertions of the Romish bishop and his clergy have consequently been attended with little success, their baptisms being chiefly confined to the children of heathen natives, and there appears to be little or no foundation for their statement of many thousand natives having joined their communion.
The first Bishop of Australia, Dr. W. G. Broughton, having, at the request of the Church Missionary Society, undertaken to visit the New Zealand mission, fulfilled his engagement in December, 1838. During his short stay, he consecrated the burial grounds at Paihia and Kororareka, and confirmed several
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Europeans and natives. The Bishop was accompanied by the Rev. O. Hadfield, who had been recently admitted by him to deacon's orders, and who subsequently devoted himself most successfully to the work in New Zealand. The Bishop preached at Paihia on Christmas day, 1838, which completed the twenty-fourth year of the establishment of the mission; and on January 6th, 1839, Mr. Hadfield was ordained priest, the Revs. H. and W. Williams, and Rev. R. Maunsell, assisting the Bishop in the ordination service. The whole of the report addressed by the Bishop of Australia to the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, 2 deserves, and will reward an attentive perusal; but we must limit ourselves to a few short extracts from it, comprising his testimony to the conduct of the missionaries, his account of the converts made by them, and his suggestions for the future welfare of the mission.
"With regard to the missionaries," (the bishop writes,) "I must offer a very sincere and willing testimony to their maintaining a conversation such as becomes the Gospel of Christ. Their habits of life are devotional, they are not puffed up with self-estimation, but appeared to me willing to learn, as well as apt
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to teach: and among themselves, they appear to be drawn together by a spirit of harmony, which is, I hope, prompted by that spirit whose fruit is love, gentleness, and goodness. At every station which I visited the converts were so numerous as to bear a very visible and considerable proportion to the entire population; and I had sufficient testimony to convince me that the same state of things prevailed at other places, which it was not in my power to reach. In most of the native villages, called Pas, where the missionaries have a footing, there is a building, containing one room, superior in fabric and dimensions to the native residences, which is set apart as their place for assembling for religious worship, or to read the Scriptures, or to receive the exhortations of the missionaries. In these buildings generally, but sometimes in the open air, the Christian classes were assembled before me. The grey-haired man and the aged woman took their places, to read and undergo examination, among their descendants of the second and third generations. The chief and the slave stood side by side, with the same holy volume in their hands, and exerted their endeavours each to surpass the other, in returning proper answers to the questions put to them concerning what they had been reading.
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"A very great work has been accomplished in providing them with a translation of the whole New Testament, which will ever remain a monument of laborious and well-directed piety.
"In speaking of the character of the converted natives, I express my persuasion that it has been improved by their acquaintance with the truths of the Gospel. Their haughty self-will, their rapacity and sanguinary inclination, have been softened, I may say eradicated; and their superstitious opinions have given place, in many instances, to a correct apprehension of the spiritual tendencies of the Gospel. Their chief remaining vices appear to be indolence, duplicity, and covetousness. Their habit of doing nothing may be overcome, if they are properly trained, by the influence of superior understandings, and encouraged by the personal example of those to whom they look almost as beings of a superior race. The great problem at present, I think, is how they may be preserved to form a Christian nation; for such, if they be preserved, they assuredly should become. But, in mournful sincerity of heart, I express my own opinion, that their numbers have diminished in a fearful ratio since our first connexion with them. It presented itself to me as a most remarkable circumstance, that
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wherever we went, the children were very few compared with the number of adults. The practice of infanticide, I hope and believe, does not prevail among any who are Christians by profession; but in their native state there can be no doubt that it docs prevail." The bishop attributed much of the illness and debility he observed among the natives to the want of nourishing food, and to their habits of inattention to providing for warmth and comfort during the winter season. In concluding his report, the bishop expressed his opinion, that, though actuated by a good spirit, and animated by a desire, according to their several abilities, to work the work of God, the missionary body were inadequate to the successful prosecution of their labours of love, being too few in number for the rapidly increasing wants of a widely diffused population. He adds: "Many stations are from necessity left without a resident minister, and the occasional visits which may be paid cannot be of that frequency or that duration, which are necessary to make them fully profitable.......The Church of England requires to be planted in the full integrity of its system; its ordinances administered by a clergy duly ordained, and the clergy themselves subject to regular ecclesiastical authority."
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After commenting upon the bishop's letter, and expressing their entire concurrence with his sentiments, the Committee of the Church Missionary Society closed their report for the year 1839 with these words:--"Should it please Divine Providence to favour their views, and to raise up an individual eminently devoted and thoroughly right-minded, to exercise his paternal authority in the midst of this infant flock, the blessings to be anticipated to New Zealand would be truly great."
In 1839, the first attempt at colonization was made in New Zealand, and a settlement formed at Wellington, near Cook's Straits. It is foreign to the objects of this work to enter into any detailed account of the proceedings of those who subsequently emigrated to the settlements of the New Zealand Company; but it may be briefly stated, that in the course of two or three years another settlement was formed on the southern island, at Nelson, and another at New Plymouth, to the northward of Wellington, near Mount Egmont, all which will be more fully described in the Journals of the Bishop of New Zealand.
In the year 1840, New Zealand was formally recognized as a dependency of the British crown; and Captain Hobson, appointed by her Majesty Lieutenant-Governor of New Zea-
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land, arrived in January, 1840, in the Bay of Islands.
In April, 1841, it was resolved that New Zealand should be one of the first of the additional colonial dioceses; and on October 17, 1841, the Right Rev. G. A. Selwyn was consecrated the first Bishop of New Zealand. That such an event had long been desirable, the foregoing extracts will abundantly prove; and in a letter dated October 1, 1841, Mr. H. Williams thus writes:--"Many questions of moment frequently present themselves, on which we possess no authority to enter. We much hope that a bishop for this colony will soon make his appearance."
In April, 1842, the Bishop of New Zealand arrived at Sydney, where he was detained some weeks by an accident to the vessel in which he had intended proceeding to his diocese. He employed this interval in consultations with the Bishop of Australia, and in gaining from him information as to the state of his diocese.
During his stay, he preached in the church where Mr. Marsden formerly officiated for many years, and had the gratification of receiving from his son-in-law a copy of Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, which had been Mr. Marsden's own. In a speech which the bishop made on the eve of his departure, (in answer to the
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address of the bishop and clergy of Australia,) alluding to this gift, he observed that "he was sure Mr. Marsden would have rejoiced to have seen that polity carried out in New Zealand, and the Church planted there in all her fulness. He could not help thinking of the state of New Zealand now, and comparing it with that eventful night, when, after trying for two years to get a vessel to take him there, but prevented from the savage character of the natives, Samuel Marsden at length succeeded, and landing, slept there in safety, with the spears of the savages stuck around the stone on which, like Jacob, he had laid his head for a pillow; and it was to his exertions that, under God, the difference was owing."
The bishop left Sydney on May 20th, accompanied by his chaplain, the Rev. W. C. Cotton, and embarked in the brig Bristolian; the remainder of his clergy and family waited till their own vessel could convey them to New Zealand. Before leaving England, the bishop had engaged a native New Zealand youth (who had been for two years in a school at Battersea, under the charge of Dr. Kay Shuttleworth,) as one of his domestic servants; and by his assistance, the bishop obtained sufficient knowledge of the language to be enabled to catechise fluently and intelligibly.
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On Friday, May 27th, the bishop first saw the coast of New Zealand, and thus records in his Journal the feelings then experienced:--"I remained on deck till midnight, full of thoughts suggested by the first sight of my diocese. God grant that I may never depart from the resolution which I then formed; but by His grace be strengthened to devote myself more and more earnestly to the work to which He has called me."
On Sunday 29th, at midnight, the vessel cast anchor in Auckland harbour. There being then no church erected, the bishop preached on the following Sunday in the Court-house, and was assisted in the services by the Rev. J. F. Churton, who was then chaplain to the Governor, and since appointed to the charge of St. Paul's church.
On the 20th June, the bishop visited Paihia, and took up his abode at the house of the Rev. H. Williams. He preached to the natives in their own language, and also read portions of the Liturgy in the same tongue. The bishop's arrival was cordially welcomed by the missionary body, and Mr. H. Williams, the senior clergyman in New Zealand, thus expressed his satisfaction at the fulfilment of their wishes:--"Our most worthy bishop has now been beneath my roof ten days. We have had very
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much conversation, and upon all points so far we have fully agreed. He appears not only to be the head of the Church in this country, but at the head of the mission, which is quite in accordance with our views. It will quite relieve us from a multitude of perplexities in committees, and give a tone and character to the mission it never possessed before."
