1974 - Williams, W. The Turanga Journals - 1850 Letters and Journals, p 556-574

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1850

WILLIAM WILLIAMS DIARY

[January 1-7. Eastern District Committee meeting attended by Williams, Baker and Hamlin. On January 3 a messenger arrived with news that Kissling and Ralph Barker had arrived at Hicks Bay.]

January 14. Began the Teachers School which is to be held for two weeks. Read Scripture, History, Exercise on the Catechism, & Sums.

January 18. A party from Opotiki bring word that the R. Catholics there are in great rage on account of what passed here with the priest last month & they propose to shoot me as a payment when I go that way. Time will shew what their good intentions may come to, but I trust they will be overruled to their own discomfiture & to Gods glory.

January 20. Sunday. A very large congregation about 700 being present. The communicants were 210.

February 3. Sunday. The morning of the sabbath at a native village where the people are numerous is most interesting. [He was at Waerengahika.] At an early hour the women are all out preparing the ovens for breakfast, and as soon as they are sufficiently heated the potatoes are covered up with earth according to the general practice, after which the food is about three quarters of an hour before it is cooked. In this interval the chapel bell is tinkled four or five times when the voice of psalmody bursts forth in different directions and the morning prayer of each household is offered up before the throne of grace. At nine o'clock our public service commenced & I administered the Lords Supper to 160 communicants. In the afternoon I baptized 10 children.

February 11. [Journey to Opotiki and Tauranga]
Hurried off the natives before breakfast. Before I could follow there were many natives at the door with applications for medicine which I

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had to attend to. Set out a little before 10 accompanied by the two boys & Mr. Rich. Mr. Harris joined us over the water . . . Overtook our natives at Wairerehua & then we travelled slowly to Kauangawa where we dined. Saw Ruka Mokaituatine of whom I have lost sight for the last four years ever since he caused the death of his wife by severely beating her. I spoke of the enormity of his conduct, but while he acknowledged his sin he dwelt upon the aggravation given him by his wife. He has since had another wife & she hung herself a few months ago. Travelled on to Waikohu where we found two old men, a woman & a boy. One of the men is a christian & one of the first to receive Christianity, but he cannot read & I could not but tell him that he was placing himself unnecessarily out of the way of instruction. His wife is very ignorant & I talked with her for some time about her souls welfare. As soon as our natives came up we pitched the tent & then I had prayers.

February 12. Heavy showers fell in the night & this morning the weather was too wet for us to proceed. Towards noon Mr. Rich and the boys returned . . . Talked with the old christian native & asked him whether he thought of Christ & how often he prayed. "If I did not pray", said he "I should do wrong. I pray daily but I cannot read the Testament." He then asked me if he were wrong in praying when [he] awoke in the night, or when he was out at work in the daytime. I told him that prayer was acceptable to God at all times, but that as he cannot read, he had better return to his own village where he could hear the scripture daily.

February 13. Rain still continued & gave me a bad prospect for my journey. At noon it cleared but the river then began to rise & continued to do so till sunset when I was glad to see that it gradually subsided. The natives went out in the afternoon to hunt wild pigs & were successful. This supply will help out our otherwise scanty stock of food.

February 14. Proceeded on our journey. At the first crossing of the river I had the misfortune to get a ducking. I was safely ashore on the opposite bank, but the horse made a plunge in trying to get up the bank & pulled me in after him. 1 Continued till eleven when we passed the last crossing & halted to breakfast. The hill we had now to ascend was a hill of difficulty. The path is so little used that in many places it was not to be discovered and we had to make our way as best we could. Encamped by a small stream.

February 15. Breakfasted at Rangiriri. At Tauawahia the natives killed two pigs but they turned out to be not eatable, or rather our supply of food was too good to make them palatable. It was quite dark when we reached Pukukiwi & we had some difficulty in lighting a fire & in obtaining firewood, but after a time we were comfortably settled for the night--2 1/2 hours from the top of the hill.

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February 16. In 3 1/2 hours we reached Motu & from there to Pakihi in four hours but we had many rests by the way, so that it was five when we came to the last place. We have an encampment for the sabbath romantic in the extreme, with the river Pakihi rumbling over the stones about 200 feet below us. We laid in a stock of firewood in anticipation of the sabbath and after a refreshing meal we had prayers & retired to rest.

February 17. Had the usual services morning & afternoon & in other respects endeavoured to spend the sabbath profitably. The mere rest alone was most grateful to us after our three days hard travelling.

February 18. Went on to the Wairapukao to breakfast (2i hours) thence to Whakanguru (3 hours) to Turangatohu (3 hours) & to Okarakia (2 hours). Here we encamped, it being nearly dark.

February 19. In an hour & a half we reached the river & after crossing it a few times we halted for breakfast. Got to Mr Wilsons at four.

February 20. Talked with Mr. Wilson & wrote. Heard that Mr. C.P.D. had been directed to order his house at Whakatane & that it is now building. 2

February 21. Left Mr. Wilsons house at nine & proceeded to Ohiwa. At Waiotahi the tide was coming in rapidly & we were carried over upon the shoulders of a very tall native belonging to the Papists but withal very civil. At Ohiwa we had to wait, there being no canoe, and during the interval in which the natives went to fetch one arose two difficulties in the way of proceeding. First a very strong wind from the west which made the river too rough, & secondly I was attacked by lumbago which has arisen I believe from my imprudence in wading through the Opotiki river the day before yesterday. By the river side was a party belonging to a native cutter lying at anchor which had been shark fishing. They had taken a goodly number and were securing the oil which they obtain in great abundance. This is all got from the liver and the process is most simple. The stomach which is in size about as large as a calves udder is tied at the extremity & filled with the liver crushed into a pulp; and in a few days the whole becomes a mass of oil. There was an encampment about a mile off of natives who were

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taking up potatoes to ship for the Auckland market. Here we have pitched our tents. At evening prayers I addressed the natives about forty in number.

February 22. My lumbago keeps me a close prisoner so that I can scarcely get outside the tent. Read Simeons life.

February 23. Being still unable to walk I returned with Mr. Wilson to Opotiki carried upon a native litter which eight natives carried alternately. The increase of comfort in a warm dwelling in the time of sickness is a blessing I wish to be thankful for.

February 24. Sunday. Unable to accompany Mr. Wilson to the pa, but I held English service morning & afternoon with Mr. Wilsons sons ....

February 25. Remained a close prisoner. Mr. Wilson is taking steps to obtain a native vessel to carry me to Tauranga. Spent part of the day in revision of first Corinthians.

February 26. John Wilson left for Auckland with a cargo of sheep & wool. 3

February 28. A fair wind. Sent off early to the Pa to enquire about the vessel & soon received an answer to say she is ready for sea. Left Mr Wilson at nine o'clock & embarked. It is a vessel of about 12 tons, not in the best of order as to her sails & ropes & the owner requested me to obtain for him at Tauranga two large nails to secure what is called the bits & answers to the windlass in a large vessel, which is now secured by a flax leaf. The tide was out & we struck two or three times on the sand bank outside & I was fearful we might have to remain there until the next tide, but providentially we were soon swept over the bank by the strong tide & on our way with a fair wind. We glided along with a fair breeze & at sunset were off Otamarakau. Our whole party was quartered on the deck & I tried to compose myself but the excitement was too great to allow of sleep. It was a splendid night with a full moon to shew us our course & at twelve we were up with Maunganui. We then lay off & on till two when I supposed the tide would have flowed. Our two native seamen did not shew much skill in working into the harbour & for some time we were making no progress though there was a strong tide. At length at a little past six we came to an anchor not far from the mission station.

March 1. Went on shore in the little boat belonging to the vessel, . . . I disguised myself in a blanket that I might not be recognized & landed at the boat house without anyone knowing I was there. A vessel was lying at anchor ready to take Christophers goods to Whakatane. All

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the members are here except Mr. Kissling. Mr. Chapman also & Mr. Morgan are here attending the local Committee. . . . Marianne & her family are well & the little baby is a fine little fellow. 4

March 2. Central Committee began ....

March 4. Committee . . . Talked with Mr. Maunsell about Whakatane & Turanga, but can get little encouragement. In the evening we began our revision of Corinthians.

[March 5-15. Central Committee & Revision. Williams then made his way home via Rotorua and Lake Waikaremoana.]

March 16. . . . Dr. Davies, 5 Mr. Braithwaite 6 & myself set out for Maketu. After a fatiguing walk we reached Mr Chapmans house at sunset. . . .

March 17. Sunday. Held service at the Pa, about 120 natives being present. Catechized a class at the school during which time some of the pikopos came to the window to listen. At the afternoon service also there were several more at the distance of a few feet from the window when I suited my subject to them.

March 18. Rose at break of day & left Maketu at seven o'clock & after a hard journey we reached Rotoiti at eight o'clock. Our course was the more slow from an accident Dr. Davies had with his foot. We encamped at a very small village where the natives seemed to be but little removed from their native state. They attended however at evening prayers.

March 19. Dr. Davies very lame & unable to walk even to the canoe. We were happily able to go all the way by water & got to Mr. Chapmans at eleven. 7 Found Mrs. Chapman & Mrs. Smith with her invalid son. Mr. S. is much better since he used the hot baths & has still some hope of recovery 8 .... In the evening Mrs. Chapmans children came in according to custom to sing with Mr. Smith.

March 20.....Left after breakfast for Tarawera & reached Mr. Spencers early in the afternoon. I was glad to see a degree of comfort & neatness about the place notwithstanding the difficulties with which this family have had to struggle. 9 Went to the chapel & held prayers

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with about forty natives . . . Talked in the evening about the schools in America upon the industrial plan which are just contrary to the principle at St. Johns.

March 21. Rose before break of day & left at 6 o'clock accompanied by Mr. Spencer. It took us near two hours to get across the lake to Piripai 10 where Mr. Spencer & I walked over to Rotomahana. I had a good opportunity of seeing the beautiful cascade of boiling water & then we ascended to the boiling lake by which the cascade is supplied. 11 Time would not allow me to go onward to another of the curiosities of the place & I hailed back to my natives to continue our course of the dreary plain at the back of Whakatane. By hard walking we got to a small wood called Motumako just before dark but not without a sprinkle of rain.

March 22. Travelled on to Rangitaike river to breakfast not having any water last night. Having crossed the plain we came to a pa just at the foot of the hilly district without any inhabitants, but as there is plenty of food growing, I presume the people are absent only for a time. We now entered upon a new road which had evidently been made under Mr. Preeces direction & we flattered ourselves that the mission station could not be many miles off. But we travelled hard for six hours without seeming to be any nearer to our destination & night was now closing upon us. We were in a dense wood when just at sunset we were gladdened by the sound of a bell which assured us we were near the end of our journey and we soon found ourselves at Mr. Preeces house. 12 Here I found the two Mr. Bakers 13 who had left Tauranga a few days before me but had been obliged to take a circuitous rout for want of natives. The settlement is in a dreary part of the country with very few natives & consequently there is not much interest.

March 23. Rose early but the weather at first was very unpromising. Left a little past eight & happily obtained the assistance of a native to carry me over the many crossings of the river which has to be crossed 68 times. We reached Oputao 14 before sunset & pitched the tent...

March 24. The natives of the village are only about 40 in number, but they seem to be a quiet & orderly little community . . .

March 25. Our journey today was hindered by a southerly wind with rain & I was glad to move my tent into a cooking house which was most willingly offered for my accommodation. The people of this

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village seem to be glad of our detention and are very hospitable. In the evening I catechized the natives after prayers.

March 26. A fine frosty morning, the ground being quite crisp which made the natives rather backward to move ... In the afternoon we crossed over the high land of Huiarau above the lake Waikare and in many places the snow was still lying which fell yesterday. When we reached the side of the lake we hailed a canoe and were soon carried over to a small village where the people sent for a large canoe in which we might cross the lake. During the time of our delay I talked with a sick woman who seems to be drawing near her end & finding that she is a candidate for baptism & that she appears to be sincere in her desire to be admitted into the church of Christ, I baptized her. On the arrival of the canoe we had prayers & I addressed a few words of exhortation to the people. We then set out to cross the lake, the night being beautifully clear & the moon nearly at the full. It was just eight when we started & it was near ten when we reached the opposite shore, and not until a strong breeze had sprung up which would have rendered our position dangerous if we had been further from the shore, as the waves in the fresh water rise so suddenly & the water more readily breaks over the side of the canoe than is the case with salt water. The natives of the opposite shore soon assembled on the beach when we had given the alarm & assisted to drag up the canoe. There were some papists at the place who came to look on but soon withdrew without rendering any help. In a little time the wind blew quite a hurricane & the only place where I could have my tent was in a verandah of a house where most of the natives were. The papists again made their appearance when I had a long conversation with them recommending them to look for authority in the scripture for their doctrine as the priest acknowledges that our testament is correct and that if they cannot find any authority, to cast off their present creed. At about 12 o'clock the teacher asked if we should not have prayers. I said I understood that you had had prayers. Yes he replied, but we can have them again. About an hour afterwards I retired to rest but could not sleep for the wind which blew the tent about so much.

March 27. Rose at day light & had prayers. We then proceeded to Wakamarino to breakfast. While food was preparing a native opened his book & proposed several questions for me to answer. At two o'clock we reached the village of Whataroa & the people were very pressing that we should stay until the next day. I did not at first consent, but as they proposed a new road by which I hoped to have some distance I at length agreed. At the chapel there were about 60 natives.

March 28. Rose before daybreak & left at six hoping to reach Te Reinga. After a walk of 3 1/2 hours we came to Rerepiti 15 upon a branch of the Wairoa river where we hoped to find a canoe to take us forward.

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But a settled rain came on and we were glad to accept the pressing invitation of the people to remain quietly. I catechized the natives in the afternoon & had prayers.

March 29. Good Friday. Morning service at half past nine. A native who was sent off yesterday to enquire after a canoe returned this morning & reported that the party about ten miles further down have left yesterday & there is no canoe to be had. It was agreed therefore . . . that another native should proceed to Te Reinga & get the people to meet us tomorrow while we proceeded a part of the way on foot. . . .

March 30. As I had determined to spend Easter Sunday at Te Reinga several persons accompanied us this morning which rendered our journey all the pleasanter. In about 3 hours we reached Te Uaua ... we found some food ready prepared & a commodious canoe in which we embarked & in 2i hours we reached Te Reinga. One canoe which accompanied us was laden with dried eels in baskets which are prepared as food for the people at work upon our church at Turanga. The people of the village seemed to be very glad to have our company for the Sunday. After evening prayers I catechized a large class of the inhabitants of the village.

March 31. Sunday. On comparing the state of the village with that of former years there is a manifest improvement. The people are more quiet & orderly & have become accustomed to the salutary yoke of Christianity. Our service & school were attended by all the inhabitants . . .

April 1. The weather looked again unsettled, but we started up the river 16 in a canoe on our way to Turanga. Having two days journey before us we were supplied with as many potatoes as the natives could carry, and on our course up the river we came to an eel net belonging to a man in the canoe from which he gave us 6 very fine eels. Soon after we left the banks of the river one of my natives pointed to the spot of a murderous attack made some years ago by a party from the Thames upon some natives of Wairoa. 17 The latter were following their occupation of catching eels when they were unexpectedly fired upon & killed .... About noon the weather became very unsettled & we had to proceed some miles in the rain, when there being no prospect of amendment, we halted in a sheltered situation where there was plenty of wood & we soon had a large fire as the first preparation for the night. The natives then put up a good shed for themselves & erected my tent after which we were in a condition to weather a heavy storm. . . .

April 2. The weather still continued bad so that there was no stirring from our quarters & the only movement made was to add to the shelter

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we already had & to prepare for another night, but our food was now beginning to grow short. At night we were cheered by the appearance of stars and the prospect of a fine day tomorrow.

April 3. The road we have travelled has not been traversed by more than a very few persons for the last two years so that it is much overgrown; a more circuitous rout being generally taken. We went on however very well till noon when the rain again set in & it frequently fell very heavily, but before sunset we were down on the plain of Turanga & hoped to reach home in the evening. But we had a small wood to pass in which the path was very intricate & when about half way through it we lost ourselves in the darkness of the night & just at this time the rain fell in torrents. We managed however to get a fire after some efforts & were glad to pitch the tent & dry our clothes & most providentially the night turned out remarkably fine. I had expected that some at least of our party would suffer seriously from the weather but I was very thankful to find that we none of us experienced any inconvenience as soon as the heat of the fire had had its effect upon us.

April 4. Set out soon after day fight & in about an hour we met with a man preparing his eel net in the river from whom we heard a favorable report from home . . . Passing down the valley 18 we met a few stragglers going to their work, & at one place our party being announced to a man who was at the top of a lofty pine tree gathering the berries for food, 19 he gave notice to the whole neighbourhood. We reached home in about three hours thankful to find that all was well as had been reported. Here I was met not only by our own family but by Mr & Mrs Baker. The former had come at my request to attend to my flock during a part of my absence.

[Diary for 1850 ends on April 11.]

JANE WILLIAMS TO LEONARD WILLIAMS Turanga 8 March 1850

My pen has long been silent, not willingly I assure you, but my multiplied duties leave me no time to call my own till I am (too frequently) so fatigued that I can make but little use of it. A soaking rain obliged me to relax a little today and you shall have the benefit of it. . . .

Your dear father is again from home and his absence I fear will be a prolonged one. He is gone to the meeting of the central committee which is again held at Tauranga and started on his alpine journey on the 11th of last month. The commencement of his journey was rather unfortunate, indeed it was a signal mercy that he and we too experienced

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in his being rescued from imminent danger. At Waikohu (you will remember the place) his first nights resting place, heavy rain came on which compelled him to spend two whole days there. On the morning of the fourth of his journey he was able to set forward, but on crossing the river on Pompey, the animal stumbled and fell dragging his rider with him under water. Of course he was much entangled but succeeded in keeping his face above water till he received assistance from one of his companions who seeing his danger plunged in and was enabled to extricate him & convey him to the opposite bank. Henare who went to bring back the horse, gave me this as your father not having time to write without delaying their progress which he was unwilling to do just then. I have heard nothing of him since ....

James & Joseph are getting on tolerably well. Your Father works them pretty hard in Latin when he is at home. Cooper teaches them writing and figures and Mrs. Rich takes them for other things. We have been sadly disappointed in not having a boys' school established, for almost all the missionary children are feeling the want of one and your father will bring the subject before the central committee this time and press it upon their notice. He has left no stone unturned in order to get a good school set on foot . . . Mr. Kempthorne has a boys' school, but as he is also a member of council, 20 his scholastic duties must be a little neglected. We know nothing now of the proceedings at St. Johns; only we hear that Mr. Abrahams is expected in July. 21

Your sisters I hope write to you more regularly than I have done. Mary has been suffering from her old enemy the headache and has been induced to try the cold water system wh. has been so beneficial to Mr. Hadfield. The last accounts were better and Mr. H. was so far recovered as to be able to return to Otaki and to take a share in the duties of the station. W. Baker who has been two years with Mr. Taylor is now expected home and they seem to have some idea of sending him to England. I think Ebenezer would profit most by a visit to the other side of the globe, but it might do William good and perhaps lower him in his own estimation. Cousin Hutton & his pretty wife seem to be very happy; they are living at the Hutt. Christopher's destination will be settled at this committee. He was ordered to Waiapu this time last year, and since then to Whakatane--where he will go eventually seems to be wrapped in mystery at present. The Bishop is not at this committee, he was going to the Chathams instead, and when he returns I believe he contemplates another trip to New Caledonia to take back the natives he brought from there in the spring. Mr. Thatcher is married to Miss Wright & will not

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live at the college: his location, I think, is at that end of Auckland where the Romanist church and schools are. 22 Your father has written to you since his encounter with "te minita Katorika", Hoani Rapari, who would certainly be considered a monomaniac were he in a civilized country. He gave it out on his return to Whakatane that te Wiremu wanted to put him on a fire which greatly exasperated the pikopo natives there and they threatened vengeance.. . .

March 15. I wish you would tell us . . . what your course of religious reading has been, for I trust that while working hard to improve your intellect, you are not neglecting your spiritual concerns. I have lately read a striking article in the Christian Observer for last April--the title, 'May not Education be mistaken for Real Faith?', and it struck me the more because I have always felt a dread lest such should be the case with any of my own dear children, and it has long been an especial subject of prayer with me, that your religion, my dear Leonard, may not be that of the head only, having the form of godliness without the power thereof.

THE WILLIAMS FAMILY MS (AUCKLAND INSTITUTE)

JANE WILLIAMS TO CATHERINE HEATHCOTE Turanga April 1850

I have just been reading a nice long letter from you to Marianne, a very interesting one too for it chiefly relates to your own dear self and good news from a far country is indeed like cold water to a thirsty soul. I can scarcely picture you to my mind's eye now-a-days, a quarter of a century has wrought great changes both with you and with us . . . The changes here too are very marvellous when we look back only ten years, and we have reason to be thankful for being so far from the chief resorts of our countrymen, for the towns and their neighbourhood present many great difficulties to the missionary and innumerable temptations to the poor natives who are all as yet but little children in Christ, who require the greatest watchfulness & care to keep them in the narrow way. The great wonder is that they go on as well as they do considering that half the year they are left entirely to themselves when their pastor is ministering to other tribes .... Indeed we have many many mercies that we know not how to be sufficiently grateful for, not the least have been the recovery of two of our dear children from scarlet fever, and that of dear Mary from a confinement with a still-born child under circumstances of more than ordinary danger. At the present time I am thankful to say that we are all well, and I am enjoying the comfort and pleasure of having my dear husband at home. He has the prospect of a little relief from the arrival of Mr. Ralph Barker who is located at

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Mr. Kissling's former station .... The central committee have appointed Christopher Davies to this place to take charge of our boarding school, an arrangement which will be a most satisfactory one if the Bishop will assent to it. All depends on his yes or no, and I am greatly afraid he will oppose it, he has such an incomprehensible aversion to allowing relations to be together. If he says yes, we hope to have a boys' boarding school set on foot and the girls' school put on a more efficient plan. It numbers now 36, but they cannot be properly attended to without help, and if his Lordships says no, 23 I am afraid it must fall to the ground as we know not where to look for the requisite assistance and I cannot keep on as I have done the last twelvemonth, neglecting other duties and not doing one half of what these children require ....

I shall hope to interest your young people a little on behalf of our maori children, but they must not picture to themselves an infant school conducted on the beautiful system now happily so common in favoured England. Of our thirty six, not more than one third are little girls, the majority are large, stout, almost full-grown girls, who from having been allowed from their babyhood to have entirely their own way and to become accustomed to the full indulgence of all their evil passions and propensities, have become totally unmanageable at home, and their friends, wishing now to restrain them from evil, find that they are unable to do so: they consequently bring them to us, urging as a reason (which is unanswerable) that if we do not receive them they must be ruined. One or two we have been obliged to dismiss, a few, but very few, have taken french leave and returned to their homes preferring the unrestrained licence they enjoy there, but the greater number have remained quietly and submit cheerfully to the restraints and regulations imposed upon them. They have a nice roomy building close to our own premises and are under the charge of a native couple. Andrew, 24 the husband, keeps school with them every morning and teaches them to read and write upon slates the catechism, and some of the older and quicker ones he instructs in addition, but they all require to be taught the very first principles of religion and to be trained in the decencies of christian life. Habits of obedience and cleanliness, it is very difficult to enforce, but if I get my niece Marianne to help me I think we shall soon bring them into good order. 25

Perhaps you have heard that since last August we have had a governess for our little girls who has been a great assistance to me in many

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ways, but in a little while she will leave us being about to open a school for English girls at this place. She has rendered me some service in teaching a few of the native girls to sew and helping me to prepare their clothing--the providing of which and the care of it when it is provided, all devolve upon me and take up a great portion of my time. Mrs. Rich is the second wife of a respectable person who hoped to succeed in a New Zealand farm, but like too many others he has ruined himself and now does not know either how or where to find employment and a maintenance for his family. Mrs. R. has not been more than 5 years from England and has no family of her own, but there are two grown up daughters by the first wife who are at present with their married sister at Auckland. Her school will be chiefly but not exclusively for missionaries children, and being a well educated conscientious woman, I trust it will succeed. 26 We should have been well pleased to retain her in our family, but as her husband did not go to California, of course she cannot remain. Our little girls have improved under her tuition and will become her day pupils when she leaves us.

THE WILLIAMS FAMILY MS (AUCKLAND INSTITUTE)

WILLIAM WILLIAMS TO HENRY WILLIAMS Turanga 26 April 1850

I am writing for the chance of an opportunity as a vessel was seen sailing about this afternoon. It must seem quite ridiculous to you to hear that a vessel sailing about excites an interest, but so it is. Our chances are few and far between ....

We want to know . . . whether Mr. H. Clarke has any mind to come this way or no. I am ready to launch out upon the large scale if only there is any encouragement to do so. Our house for Mrs. Rich building at the joint expense of Mr. Baker, Mr. Hamlin & myself is getting on and we hope will soon be inhabited ....

I rejoice to hear that your natives are beginning to rally. As Mr. Baker observes in a note of yesterday, "When it is low water we may look for tai pari". 27 I think this remark will soon apply to California and that we shall have the people come pouring back from thence. The Turanga party which was about to go in great strength have given up the idea, judging it more wise to enjoy their morsel with contentment than to grasp after the stalled ox. We have no news of any kind and very few of the vexations which fall to the lot of those who dwell in more favored situations. . . . Mr. Baker has now his whole family around him--a good table full. 28 I should think he is at times rather "thoughtful". I dont think he quite knows what to do with the elder ones. William has left

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Mr. Taylor under the idea of going to England, and Ebenezer has had a quarrel with Mr. Maunsell.

THE WILLIAMS FAMILY MS (AUCKLAND INSTITUTE)

WILLIAM WILLIAMS TO C.M.S. Turanga 2 May 1850

[On government assistance to mission schools]

Two years ago the Legislative Council voted the sum of £2000 for the support of Church schools. This was committed to the Bishop who gave notice to the different Districts that a certain portion was set apart for the Central Schools. Some of my brethren were afraid lest by accepting money from the Government, the liberties of the Church Missionary Society might be compromised, and they did not receive it. For my part I had no such scruples inasmuch as I determined to spend the money on food and clothing, considering it would be time enough to refuse their assistance when it should be found out that their interference was inconvenient. At the last Central Committee it was announced in a letter from the Bishop that he holds for the present year the sum of £600 and that the Governor proposes that this money should be expended upon the schools which are near to the seat of government --a very reasonable proposal which would give officers of government the satisfaction of seeing what was done with the money. The Bishop therefore proposed that the said money should be appropriated to the schools upon the river Waikato and to that which is in the charge of Mr. Kissling, and that the money allowed by the Society should go to the support of the schools more distant from the seat of government. There was no idea of cutting off Mr. Kissling's school or of making that school in any respect a Government school. The case to my view is most simple. The master derives no support from the Government, and if a person in the capacity of a Government Inspector should present himself and propose to interfere upon the ground of the money already received, my reply would be, "these scholars have eaten and worn out in clothing the sum the Government has already paid, and I decline to receive any further support unless I can carry out the principle of the Church Missionary Society without let of hindrance".

WILLIAM WILLIAMS TO ALFRED BROWN Turanga 3 June 1850

You have heard of course that the Roman Catholics are returning with increased energy to the charge. 29 I wonder whether those of our

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clergy who come in contact with them, particularly in the towns, will continue to pursue the same quiet, non-interfering course they have hitherto maintained.

We have lately had a little variety in this quiet place. An American barque called a few weeks ago and sold a quantity of tobacco and spirits to parties here which had not paid duty. News was taken to Auckland and a party of police have been sent and have made a seizure, though nothing like so great as they might have made. Four boxes of tobacco are now in my house, I being required in the Queen's name to give them house room until the vessel returns from Table Cape whither she is gone with a warrant for Mr. Perry, formerly of the Bay of Islands, and also to endeavour to catch some runaway convicts & soldiers who have been living there for some time. This visit will do good even if the people should not be taken. It will disturb the haunt and relieve us from some at least of the characters who do the natives much harm. 30

A. N. BROWN PAPERS MICRO MS (ATL)

WILLIAM WILLIAMS TO EDWARD MARSH Poverty Bay 17 June 1850

At length we hear in a round about way (for no letters have reached this place either from you or from the Society) that the Society has dissolved their connection with Henry. 31 The news was brought by a passenger from Auckland who reports it to be the talk of the town. In the absence of the Societys documents, I write in the dark, but I can still draw the following conclusions: First the Society allow no weight to the Memorandum which I presented to the Central Committee in April/49 nor yet to the Protest which I entered. Secondly the fact that Henry had alienated the land granted by Captain Fitzroy by transferring it to his sons, and that consequently he had no land to surrender, & in reference to which step, you, after conference with Mr. Venn, express yourself satisfied. Thirdly that the Society gives implicit credence to the statement made by Govr. Grey which charges the missionaries with being the cause of the late disturbances. All of which statements we are able most fully to disprove ....

[refers to George Clarke's case]

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At the time appointed Mr Clarke appeared by his Attorney. The Attorney General on the part of the Govt, argued the case against the claimant, & when the charge called upon Mr. Merriman for a reply, he stated that his client had instructed him not to defend the case. Does this agree with the declaration that the Missionaries have felt it necessary to keep open these questions by an appeal to the courts of law? Yet such are the assertions made by our Govr. & supported by the Bishop. The matter will not end here. It cannot. If the statements put forth by the Society are correct, I am not worthy of being a missionary of the Society. I am one of those who have purchased land for my children, & have by consequence contributed to the expenditure of blood & treasure. I am not certain what course to take, but dont be surprized if some day I should give you a call at Aylesford. I am now writing to Henry & as he is disconnected from the Society, he can come and hold my post at this place, & if it be thought desirable by the parties interested, I shall offer my services & go, by the Bishops leave if he gives it, & without his leave if he refuses it. There are a variety of matters upon which I think it would be for the benefit of the Society & of the Mission if they could have communication (personal) with an old missionary.

THE WILLIAMS FAMILY MS (AUCKLAND INSTITUTE)

WILLIAM WILLIAMS TO HENRY WILLIAMS Turanga 18 June 1850

... my opinion gathers strength that there is no prospect of obtaining just measure from the Society, or for bringing them to a right view upon many subjects, without personal communication with them. Since the days of good old Mr. Pratt and Mr. Coates, there has risen up a new generation. It is most clear that in disposing of many points they have gone to work in a summary way and that there has been a disposition to close their eyes and their ears to all evidence....

I have never had a desire to go to England since I left it and my feeling now is quite opposed to such a step . . . but I believe that our existence as a body of missionaries depends upon it, & certainly our reputation does. The step the Society has thought proper to take is not merely a victory for an unrighteous governor, but it declares that the missionaries have done wrong in all that they have done. It damages our reputation in the eyes of the natives as well as of the Europeans. The report among the natives here which I heard today & which they have got from the pakehas here, was that the Govr. had required you to give back the land to the natives, and that you having refused, he had written to the Queen, & that now you are turned adrift as the utu ....

I now wait for your answer to my proposal. If you think it well I should go & will come down here with Marianne & remain, then I will go, and the sooner the better. I should prefer going without opposition & I should request the Bishop's sanction when I had proceeded as far as Auckland--(packed up & ready). If the Bishop should refuse his

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sanction, I should quietly tell him that his refusal would not make any difference in my proceeding. If the Bishop assented I should then go through the form of requesting (perhaps) to send the proposal round to members of the Central Comm. but this I should not much care about....

I had almost forgotten one important part of the business. Jane proposes to go with me leaving our children behind us. 32 She says she has no wish to be left for an uncertain period.

I pray that we may be all directed to take the course which will be pleasing to our heavenly father.

THE WILLIAMS FAMILY MS (AUCKLAND INSTITUTE)

WILLIAM WILLIAMS TO LEONARD WILLIAMS

St John's College 6 September 1850

I am now sitting with Mrs Abraham in the Bishops drawing room and have had the satisfaction of hearing something about your welfare .... Mr & Mrs Abraham I like and hope that Mr A. will do much good here. What may [be] his peculiar views upon certain points I know not, but at any rate he will do much towards the introduction of good order & discipline and also a better system of study etc. He has also a coadjutor who is spoken highly of, a Mr Lloyd 33 ....

I have delayed writing some time because I have had an idea in my mind which was only half formed, but now being in a state of progressive action I will give it to you. You mentioned in a letter of last December that you had just heard that the Society had dissolved their connexion with your uncle at Paihia. Upon the whole course of proceeding which has been going on for three years or more in this country, I am quite persuaded that the C.M.S. are very much in the dark. I further believe that if they had more light they would be led to reverse their late decision. At the same time I feel assured that writing to them from this country will be no use whatever. I have therefore concluded to propose a visit home. I have not mentioned this as my ostensible reason, but I have simply proposed to the Bishop that having now been twenty five years in the service of the Society I wish for his sanction in visiting England for a time. On my first interview I was received most graciously, the Bishop saying that no one had a greater right to make such a request. His Lordship proposed a special meeting of the Central Comm. to consider wh. subjects might be advantageously laid before the Society. The meeting was held yesterday and I have now the full sanction of the Bishop & Central Comm. to back this step. One principal duty I will be charged with will be to carry through the press the

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revised translation of the Testament together with an edition of the Prayer book. You had better not make any reference to your uncles case, the other matters are of sufficient importance without naming any thing.

When I first mentioned this to your Mother, she gave her hearty concurrence, but she soon told me that if I went she should propose to go to take care of me. She subsequently proposed to take James & Maria for the sake of giving them the benefit of the advantages of a little English education, the only difference in the expense being the amount of passage money. We are not likely to leave before the month of December as I must spend some time with Mr. Maunsell in order to complete our work....

The chief difficulty, that of provision for Turanga, has also been met by the timely arrival of Rev. T. S. Grace, who with Mrs Grace are to occupy until my return. Though ignorant of the language they are the sort of people who will take with the natives. With great solidity of character they are most lively and cheerful, and smiling with kindness upon the natives, they will be smiled upon in return. 34

I have just been to Pakaraka to which place your uncle has removed, 35 though he still continues there a large amount of his ministerial & missionary work . . . This removal has been a painful step but I am satisfied that all will be hereafter arranged to our satisfaction, and in the meantime it is one of those trials which will be made to work the peaceable works of righteousness. The removal has served to bring out strongly the better feelings of the natives, & it has also elicited a strong & decided expression on the part of the respectable settlers both at the Bay of Islands and at Auckland.

THE WILLIAMS FAMILY MS (AUCKLAND INSTITUTE)

WILLIAM WILLIAMS TO ALFRED BROWN

Auckland 17 December 1850

I had hoped that I should have seen you here before my departure, but it is not to be ....

The suggestion you offer about the Prayer Book & Testaments being printed in two types 36 I will lay before the Committee. I think it most desirable that your idea should be carried out. The annoyance you have experienced about the accounts I will rectify. Also the matter of

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correspondence with the missionaries. We used to think poor old Mr. Coates a very cross man, but we have not had so warm and zealous a friend since his day & I doubt whether we shall have another ....

I have had notice to send our things on board immediately but whether we sail today or not I cannot say . . . We have the prospect of a most comfortable passage. The vessel is very superior and we shall have exclusively a missionary party--Basil Taylor, the two Maunsells & ourselves.

A. N. BROWN PAPERS MICRO MS (ATL)

[John Wesley, 237 tons, missionary brig of the W.M.S., left for London on 19 December 1850. Her cargo included five cases and one box of New Zealand curiosities, half a ton of sandlewood from Fiji and seven cases of specimens. As in their voyage to Poverty Bay, almost ten years earlier, William and Jane sailed with their same two children--James and Maria. The other passengers were Walter Lawry, general superintendent of the W.M.S. in New Zealand, Basil Taylor, son of Richard Taylor, two of Robert Maunsell's sons, a Mr. Perry, and, as expressed in the shipping intelligence, 'Mr Thompson (a native)'. The last named was Te Rauparaha's son, Tamihana Te Rauparaha, who was going to England with William Williams 'to inform himself of the wealth, power and grandeur of that country, . . . and after having drunk at the fountain head of civilization, to return to the land of his birth'. 37 In case civilization and its attendant microbes proved too much for Tamihana, he had wisely made his will before sailing.

'After a long & stormy struggle with wind & waves', Jane recorded in her Journal, the John Wesley arrived at Plymouth Sound, 29 April 1851.]