My first thought, on reading these delightful letters, which came to me in my last English bundle, was, that I must not keep them to myself. I venture to believe that, beyond their personal attraction for myself, there is that connected with them which will make them interesting to all my fellow Churchmen. "He is one of that noble crew," says the Quarterly Review, (vol. lxxi. p. 30, 31) speaking of the Rev. William Charles Cotton, author of "My Bee Book," "mainly drafted from aristocratic Eton, that have gone out in the first missionary enterprise that has left the shores of England, worthy of the Church, and the country that sent them. The good ship Tomatin sailed from Plymouth for New Zealand, on the 26th of December, 1841, (St. Stephen's Day,) with a 'goodly fellowship' of emigrants, schoolmasters, deacons and priests, with a Bishop at their head. And we, an Apostolic Church, have been these many years in learning the first lessons of Apostolic discipline and order; wasting the lives and energies of an isolated clergy—a few forlorn hopes sent out without a commander, to conquer the strong holds of heathenism. However, it is never too late to do well. The solemn ceremonial of the Consecration of five Bishops to the colonies, within the walls of Westminster Abbey, in August last, which produced an effect on those who witnessed it which will not soon pass away, shows that the Church is not neglectful of her duties; though they, like the Bishop of New Zealand, should have led the van, on the foundation of the colonies, instead of following, after a lapse of years, when the usurpations of schism and disorder have more than trebled the difficulty of the task. There are among the crew of that gallant vessel—and not least of that number, the chief Shepherd himself, and our author Bee-master—men of the highest mental attainments, of the gentlest blood, on whom our Public Schools and Universities had showered their most honorable rewards, and to whom, had they remained in this country, the most splendid prospects opened—who have yet borne to give up all these prospects, and sever all the ties of blood and old affection, to cross, at the call of the Church, in the service of their Master, half a world of ocean, to an island unfrequented and barbarous; and where, for at least many years to come, they must give up all idea, not of luxury and comfort, but of what they have hitherto deemed the very necessaries of existence; and, what is more to such men the refinements of intellectual intercourse, and the charities of polished life. God forbid that we should not have a heart to sympathise in the struggles of those uneducated and enthusiastic, but often misguided, men, who are sent out with the Bible in their hand, by voluntary associations, on a pitiable payment, barely greater than what they might have earned with their hands in their own parish. It is the system and the comfortable committee at home with which we quarrel, not with the painful Missionaries themselves. But while we grieve over the martyred Williams, we have nothing in common with that sympathy which is monopolized by the exertions of Missionary artisans, enured from their cradle to a life of hardship, and which can feel nothing for the ten-fold deprivations, mental and bodily, both in what they encounter, and what they leave behind, which the richl and the educated endure, who are authoritatively commissioned to plant the standard of the Cross, within the ark of Christ's Church, in our distant colonies. It becomes us, who sit luxuriously in our drawing-rooms at home, reading the last new volume in our easy chairs, to cast a thought from time to time, on the labours of those men, of like tastes and habits with ourselves, and encourage them in their noble work, be it at New Zealand or elsewhere, not only in good wishes and easily uttered 'Godspeeds,' but in denying ourselves somewhat of our many daily comforts, in forwarding that cause which they have 'left all' to follow."
The Episcopate of New Zealand was the first fruit of the noble enterprize, for the Colonial Bishoprics. And none, surely, can be better. It was my happiness to meet Mr. Selwyn, [2] and to have much conversation with him, on his great work, after he had been designated to this office, and before his consecration. An hour spent with him, in Mr. Coleridge's sweet garden at Eton, will ever be remembered, as one of the greenest spots in my brief English pilgrimage. A gentler, lovelier man, I never saw; nor one that seemed less likely to encounter and endure the rigours of what seemed to be the rudest Missionary station in the world. I can seldom look upon his portrait now, that it does not remind me of the sacred record of the earliest Martyr of the Cross: "and all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face, as it had been the face of an angel." Yet it is he—such courage is there, and such hardihood, in Christian love—of whom one writes, "the Bishop of New Zealand is making the visitation of his diocese, much of it on foot;" and Dr. Pusey, in a very recent letter, "the Bishop of New Zealand is, amid unceasing fatigue and with unwearying energy, carrying out the system of our Church in a way in which, perhaps, it has not been developed yet; sleeping sometimes, in his expeditions, on a heather bed, and living on a crust of bread, perhaps, fourteen days old, or fish which may happen to be caught:" and yet, whose "favourite text" is, "The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground; yea, I have a goodly heritage."
It may be said with justice, that, under God, the scheme for the Colonial Bishops, received its impulse from the Missionary action of this Church, in 1835. The Daughter then provoked the Mother "to good works." And now, it must be feared, the Daughter has grown "weary in well-doing." [3] I have thought that at this time the perusal of these letters, through the divine blessing, might be instrumental in reviving in us the Missionary Spirit, and in illustrating the Church's, which is the Apostolic, plan of Missions. In the hope that it may be so, I send them abroad, a thank-offering for the blessings of THE EPIPHANY.
"Did not the Gentile Church find grace,
"Our mother dear, this favored day?
"With gold and myrrh she sought Thy face,
"Nor didst Thou turn Thy face away."Behold, her wisest throng Thy gate:
"Their richest, sweetest, purest store
"(Yet owned too worthless and too late,)
"They lavish on Thy cottage floor."They give their best—O ten-fold shame
"On us their fallen progeny,
"Who sacrifice the blind and lame—
"Who will not wake or fast with Thee.Riverside, Feast of the Epiphany, 1844.
G. W. D.
LETTERS
FROM
THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND.I. AUCKLAND, July 29, 1842.
My Dear Sir,—You will have already heard from other quarters of my arrival in New Zealand; but I have hitherto delayed writing any official letter, that I might have time to verify my first impressions by more extended observation. 1 have now been two months in New Zealand, and from the first day of my landing until now, have seen, day after day, more and more reason to be thankful, on the part of the Church, for the establishment of the Bishopric of the Colony, and for myself, that I am allowed to share in so great and hopeful a work. I find myself placed in a position such as was never granted to any English Bishop before, with a power to mould the institutions of the Church from the beginning according to true principles; and I earnestly desire the prayers of the Church at home, that I may be enabled clearly to discern that truth, and consistently to follow it.
I landed first at Auckland, on Monday, May 30, from the brig Bristolian, in which I had proceeded from Sydney, in consequence of an accident to the Tomatin at Sydney, which caused a delay of several weeks before that ship could be repaired. Auckland now contains a population of 1,900 persons, of whom more than 1,100 are registered as members of the Church of England. The Rev. J. F. Churton, late Chaplain at Wellington; has officiated here during the last year and a half. A brick Church, in the early English style, which will contain about six hundred persons, is in progress; but from the great cost of materials and labour, the funds are at present inadequate for its completion. It is well placed on a commanding eminence in the centre of the town, and will form a striking object from the harbour. At present Divine service is performed, by permission of the Governor, in the court-house, where a very respectable congregation is assembled every Sunday. Mr. Churton also performs divine service at the barracks and at the prison. He receives
£200 per annum from the government, to which I have added £100 per annum from the annual grant voted to me by the Society for stipends of clergymen. He has built a house for himself on an allotment which he purchased for that purpose.
The Governor, on my application, has vested in me as trustee, two pieces of ground of eight acres each, "for the burial of the dead, according to the usage of the Church of England," allotting, at the same time, two similar plots to be divided among the other denominations of Christians. Our burial grounds are about half a mile from the centre of the town, on the sides of two of the ridges which slope down gradually to the harbour, and conveniently situated at corresponding distances from the two Churches. The first ground was consecrated on Sunday last, on which occasion I was assisted by the Rev. J. F. Churton, the Rev. R. Cole (whom I propose to place at Wellington,) and the Rev. R. Maunsell (one of the Missionaries of the Church Missionary Society.) Divine service was performed in the Church-tent, presented to me by Mr. Cotton, which is completely fitted with Communion-table and desks, and will contain three hundred persons. This will be of great use to me at Nelson and Wellington, where there are at present no places appropriated to public worship. In the event of the population of Auckland rapidly increasing, this burial ground will form a beautiful site for another Church. In the meantime 1 intend to avail myself of the natural beauties of the spot to give it such a character as will accord with the reverential feelings with which it will be visited by the friends and relatives of the dead who are there interred.
The Church now in progress is called the Church of St. Paul; on .the central one of the three ridges on which the town will stand. I have obtained another excellent site on the western ridge, on which I intend, as soon as possible, to build a wooden chapel, and to lay the foundation of a Church on a grand scale, to be proceeded with gradually, as funds can be obtained. On the third, i. e. the eastern ridge, nearest to the mouth of the harbour, and on a high ground commanding a view of the whole frith of the Thames, I have given directions for the purchase of twenty or thirty acres of land for a site for the Cathedral, and for a Cathedral close. By this arrangement I may hope to secure a future provision for every possible increase of population, as sites will be prepared for three Churches in
the main part of the town; and when the houses extend half a mile into the country, the two burial grounds will meet the wants of the people, by additions to the chapels which I intend to build upon them for the funeral service.
I have obtained permission to select and purchase sites for parsonage houses, contiguous to the Churches and burial grounds, which I shall endeavor to let upon building leases, reserving one central piece of ground sufficient for the residence of all the clergy of the town, who may find it more desirable for some years to come to live upon a collegiate plan, than to incur the expense of so many separate establishments.
Any money that I may be able to spare from Auckland itself, will be required for the establishment of the Church in some of the suburban settlements, where villages are beginning to be formed. From one of these, Windsor, distant four miles from Auckland, I have already received an Address expressive of the desire of the inhabitants for a Church and clergyman, and their willingness to contribute.
I am now (July 29, 1842) off the harbour of Auckland, in the government brig Victoria, bound to Wellington and Nelson. On board with me are the Rev. R. Cole, for Wellington, the Rev. C. L. Reay, Church Missionary for the South-Western district, and Mr. Evans, as my travelling companion. Mr. Whytehead having been advised to pass the winter at Sydney, I was obliged to leave Mr. Cotton and Mrs. Selwyn at the Waimate.
At Wellington, every thing will have to be begun. There appears to be neither School nor Chapel connected with the Church, nor provision for either. Mr. Cole will, I think, prove well qualified for the position for which he is designed. On board the Tomatin I appointed him Chaplain to the intermediate and steerage passengers, to whom his ministrations were most beneficial, and I was very thankful to see nine out of the thirteen come to the Lord's table on Easter Sunday.
One of my first public acts has been the appointment of the Rev. W. Williams to be Archdeacon of the Eastern District. In taking this step, I have acted upon the strongest recommendation of the Bishop of Australia, confirmed by personal intercourse with him at the Bay of Islands. Archdeacon Williams is a man universally beloved, and one who, during twenty years of residence in a savage country, has lost nothing of that high tone of feeling which distinguishes the best class of English Clergymen. He will act also as one of my examining Chaplains, especially for the native language; for I find the natives so interspersed among the English that I must require every clergyman to make himself acquainted with their language. My excellent friend, Mr. Whytehead, will act as my other examining chaplain; and never, I am sure, was any Colonial Bishop better supplied with confidential advisers.
The power which has been accorded to me of creating Archdeacons is most necessary; for the communication between the different parts of this country is very uncertain. I have now been waiting three weeks at Auckland for a passage to Wellington. The Bishop of Australia, at Sydney, is in a better position for communicating with Wellington and Nelson, than I when I am at Auckland. New Plymouth is a perfect "terra incognita." However, my plans are now so laid, that, God willing, I hope to have seen every settlement, and every clergyman and catechist in the country, before the end of the year. But to secure the efficient administration of the Church in all parts of the diocese, each division of the country must have its responsible head, capable of acting with authority without constant reference to me. I intend, ultimately, to arrange the diocese into four archdeaconries for the Northern Island, and one or more for the Southern; the first to include the Northern part of the North Island, to the isthmus on which Auckland is built. The centre of the Island to be cut in two by a line running North and South. The Eastern portion now forms the archdeaconry of Mr. Williams. The Company's territory, with the settlements of Wellington and New Plymouth, will form the fourth archdeaconry; and the fifth must be located at Nelson, for the care of the Northern part of the middle Island.
I have consented, in compliance with the urgent request of the Governor, and most of the principal inhabitants of Auckland, including many members of the Church Mission, to undertake the formation of a School. The buildings for this purpose are already to be had at the Waimate, and my young catechists will, I hope, be useful assistants. I have hopes of a married gentleman from England, to take charge of the School; but if this should fail, I must conduct it by the assistance of my Chaplains, till I can procure a head master. It will be in connexion with a small collegiate institution for candidates for Holy Orders, to be under the care of Mr. Whytehead, upon the plan of King's College, London, and its tributary schools.
With my grateful remembrances to all my friends in the Committee, and with earnest prayer for the success of your endeavors, I am, yours most faithfully,
G. A. NEW ZEALAND.
AT SEA, OFF KAPITI, November 3, 1842.
My dear Sir,—I have now completed my first visit to the different English settlements in New Zealand: Kororarika, Auckland, Wellington, Nelson and New Plymouth. Other smaller settlements are springing up in the following places: Whanganui, Petoni (Port Nicholson,) Hokianga, Windsor (near Auckland.) The population of these settlements in about as follows:—
Auckland, 1,800
Wellington, 2,500
Nelson (Blind Bay,) 2,100
New Plymouth (Taranaki,) 900
Kororarika (Bay of Islands,) 300
Petoni (Port Nicholson,) 700
Whanganui (West coast, South,) 100
Hokianga (West coast, North,) 100
Windsor (near Auckland,) 100Total, 8600
From the nature of the country of New Zealand, the population is likely to be divided into a number of villages; a distribution likely to be favorable to morality, but adding to the difficulty of providing the people with adequate pastoral superintendence. At the same time, I find in all the settlements a very considerable willingness, on the part of the inhabitants, to bear their parts in the maintenance of ministers, and hope, therefore, to be enabled, by the assistance of the Society, to go on from year to year, endowing the Church in perpetuity in the new settlements, as fast as they arise. Of course, at first, the glebe lands will yield little or nothing; and I shall be obliged to divide the sum which the Society may be enabled to allow me, for annual salaries of clergymen among the ministers, who may be expected to increase in number, and, therefore, must gradually become less and less dependent upon the allowance of the Society. This diminution of their dividend of the Society's grant, may be met by the increase of the Local Church Fund, arising from the rental of lands, and the contributions of the congregations.
In all the settlements where there is a bank, I have opened an account, styled
Archdeaconry of Auckland, }
Archdeaconry of Wellington, } Church Fund,
Archdeaconry of Nelson, }to receive contributions, and collections made at the Offertory by the whole congregation, every time the Lord's Supper is administered. I have begun this practice at Auckland, Wellington and Nelson, and have requested the clergymen at those places to continue it. The fund thus formed, I propose to vest uniformly in five trustees: the Bishop, the Archdeacon of the district, the Senior Minister, and two laymen, one selected by the Bishop, and one by the Archdeacon: the proceeds of the fund to be applicable to the building and endowment of Churches, Schools, Parsonage Houses; and to the payment, in part, of salaries of Clergymen. I hope to bring all dues, such as surplice fees, Easter offerings, &c., into this fund, that they may be looked upon as the dues of the Church, and not as gratuities to particular Clergymen, for services performed.
I require every town Clergyman to learn the native language and be ready to minister to the spiritual wants of the Aborigines; and I find it will be necessary also, to establish the converse rule, that every Missionary to the natives, shall also be ready to minister to the English settlers; for in this country English and natives will live side by side, unless some rupture (which God avert,) should take place between the two races.
The probable increase in the number of small secondary settlements in this country, will make the necessity apparent of my having the means of educating my own Clergy, at least the greater number of them. This object, I hope to accomplish, with no other expense to the Society than an allowance for outfit and passage, similar to that already granted to the three young students who accompanied me from England. It has pleased God to deprive me of the assistance of one of them; Mr. Evans, who died at Wellington, on the 3d of October. I have lost a most valued friend; one who promised to be a zealous and able Minister in the Church. My brother, William has a candidate of the name of Button, who has been studying under him, and will probably be recommended to the Committee to supply the place of my departed friend. These young men will, I hope, be able to maintain themselves, during their preliminary course by private tuition, in connexion with the Collegiate School, which I have been encouraged to undertake to establish in the immediate neighborhood of my own residence at the Waimate. Our institution there will probably consist of a small College for candidates for Holy Orders, under the care of the Rev. Thomas Whytehead; [4] a Collegiate School, under the direction of a competent master, assisted by the young students of the College; and a native Boarding School, for the education of native children, selected from the different mission stations. By putting our plan of life upon a collegiate system, and by aid of a good extent of land, formerly the farm of the Church Mission, I hope to be enabled to make the whole institution support itself without much assistance from home.
I am now on my way from Yaranake to Kapiti, with the intention of going up the Manawata river to the East Coast, and proceeding round the East Cape, and then through the centre of the country to Auckland. On my return I hope to be able to give you a correct Missionary map. The Chief Justice, Mr. Martin, is my companion.
In every part of the country I find great occasion for thankfulness and hope. Of course little has been done yet; but the comfort is, that very few hindrances have grown up to prevent the establishment of a sound and efficient Church system. May God give us grace to use with earnestness and understanding the peculiar advantages which are placed within our reach. We have not to combat with a host of full-grown difficulties, such as usually stand in the way of the ministers of religion when they come late in the day into ground already pre-occcupied. Thank God we are foremost in the field, and may prevent, I trust, much opposition, which otherwise would have been most injurious to the interests of religion hereafter.
I beg to be most kindly remembered to all my friends in the Society; and beg to assure them and you that I remain
Ever your grateful and affectionate friend,
G. A. NEW ZEALAND.
Some further information with regard to the proceedings and prospects of the Bishop, may be obtained from the following extracts from his private letters to friends in England.
"My friend, Mr. Chief Justice Martin, and myself, feel that in the line of our new duties, a door of great and effectual usefulness is opened to us. We have been appointed joint Trustees, with the chief Protector of the Aborigines as our colleague, of the lands and funds reserved for the benefit of the native race: a trust of immense importance, both as regards the magnitude of the property, and still more the high moral and spiritual interests which it involves. The native Reserves amount in land to between thirty and forty thousand acres; and the money fund, to fifteen per cent, upon the produce of all land sales effected by the government. The moral and spiritual considerations involve the earnest endeavour to advance seventy or eighty thousand of the most intelligent people in the world in the knowledge of true religion, and in the scale of social existence.
I speak of the natives first, because they are the great bulk of the population; and, I think, the hinge upon which the prosperity of the colony will turn. But add to the Native Trust the necessity of providing every one of the English settlements with every one of its Ecclesiastical Institutions, for there is not so much as a Church of England school in any one of them; that the whole system has to be framed by the gradual addition of that "which every joint supplieth;" that upon the soundness of the principle upon which this system is framed, depends, under God, much of the future character of the people of the country; and I confess I should tremble at my own insufficiency, if the work did not display so manifestly the finger of God in all its parts, that I can look upon myself only as one portion of the clay, over which He has power, and which He is moulding evidently according to His will.
"But I have not yet concluded the sources of comfort which may be drawn from the effectual working of God's grace in this country; the care of the Church Mission by itself is an employment to which 1 should have been thankful to be allowed to devote my whole life. Taken as a whole, the Missionary body more than equal my expectations. The great majority too of the catechists whom I have seen are men who, with few advantages of education, have been both faithful and successful in their exertions. As for the people, I love them from my heart, and my desire to serve them grows day by day; there is something so cheering in the frank and cordial openness of their countenances and manner, and in the blameless and devout tenour of their lives."
"On the 29th of July I sailed from Auckland, in the government brig Victoria, for Nelson, which is one of the largest and most flourishing settlements in New Zealand, situated at the very bottom of Blind or Tasman's Bay, on the northern shore of the middle Island. I arrived there on Sunday, August 21, and immediately went on shore, and preached at the afternoon service in the Emigration Barracks.
The next day I pitched the Church tent, a most complete cathedral, with pulpit, reading desk, communion table, rails, kneeling boards, &c. It was fitted up with boards resting on trunks of small trees, let into the ground, which the natives cut for me. I thus provided seats for 200, which were well filled on the following Sunday. "On Sunday, Sept. 4, I collected at the Offertory £33 for Church purposes, and administered the communion to seventeen communicants. After service, a native carne to me, and after much hesitation explained, that he had seen the Pakehas (English) giving their money, and wished to give something also, upon which he produced 1 s. 6d. as his contribution to the Church.
"A lovely site for a Church and cemetery has been reserved here: a small mount, rising to the height of 100 feet, in the centre of the little plain on which the chief part of the town stands, and with a flat summit, sufficient for the base of a fine building. The site is already occupied by wooden buildings, convertible into a temporary Church and School, at a small expense; and the Company's Agent, Captain Wakefield, has consented to let me have them at a valuation; by which means I can at once provide for the reverential performance of divine service. In the meantime, I have left my tent, with all its appurtenances, for the use of the Rev. Mr. Reay, the Clergyman, who is staying to take care of the arrangements made for the benefit of the natives at Nelson, and to act conjointly with Mr. Saxton (another Clergyman whom I found there) in the charge of the English settlers.
"A very strong feeling exists among all the respectable settlers at Nelson, in favour of the natives, only requiring to be guided in a right direction. I gave instructions for the establishment of a small School for native children, and of a room for the reception of a sick surgeon at Nelson. Observing that the natives of the surrounding villages had no place to lodge in when they came to town, to bring their potatoes and pigs for sale, (for which articles the English are almost entirely dependent on the native supplies,) I ordered some little dwellings to be built for them on an acre of their own land, the name of each party being affixed to the dwelling allowed to them, in which they can lock up their goods."
"On the 10th of October I left Wellington, on foot, accompanied by several natives, who carried our tents, beds, food, clothes and books, and set out on a land journey to New Plymouth, one of the principal settlements of the Company, which is situated to the North of Cape Egmont, the Western extremity of New Zealand, and near the Sugar Loaf Islands. After a few days' journey I was detained by a slight inflammation in my heel, and was obliged to rest while some of the natives went forward to procure me a horse. I was encamped near the river Wangamie, on some low sand hills, with three of the natives as my companions. My little tent was pitched in the hollow of the sand hills, and my native attendants made themselves comfortable round a large fire, under a little hut, which they soon constructed of drift-wood and coarse grass. You would be surprised with the comparative comfort which I enjoy in my encampments. My tent is strewn with dry fern or grass; my air bed is laid upon it; my books, clothes, and other goods lie beside it; and though the whole dimensions of my dwelling do not exceed eight feet by five, I have more room than I require, and am as comfortable as it is possible for a man to be when he is absent from those he loves most. I thus spent October the 17th, the anniversary of my consecration, in my tent on the sand hills; and while in that situation, I was led naturally to contrast my present position, with the very different scenes in England last year. I can assure you that the comparison brought with it no feeling of discontent; on the contrary, I spent the greater part of the day, after the usual services and readings with my natives, in thinking, with gratitude, on the many mercies and blessings which have been granted to me in the past year. Indeed, in looking back upon the events of the year, upon my happy parting from all my friends, my visit to the Bishop of Australia, my voyages, (eight in number,) my favorable reception in every town in my diocese, my growing friendship with the natives, who hear of me in every part of the country, and receive me with characteristic cordiality, all form an inexhaustible subject for thoughts of joy and thanksgiving, which sometimes fill the heart to overflowing."—"Here," he afterwards adds, "my favorite text came into my mind, 'The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground; yea, I have a goodly heritage.'"
The Bishop is at present residing at the Waimate, a village about sixteen miles from Auckland, described as by far the most settled place in New Zealand. He thus describes his situation at this place:—
"Next door to our own house, which is the College, is the Collegiate School, which has not yet been opened, but will probably be set on foot after Easter. The premises have hitherto been used as the Missionary School, and are very complete for the purpose. The Cathedral Library is established at Kerikeri, ten miles from this place, in a fine stone building, partly used as a store. I have just completed the arrangements of the library, so that the goodly presents of my friends are all accessible; and a beautiful sight they are. It is enough to cheer the heart to see such a body of sound divinity collected in this most distant of the dioceses of the Church of England. Add to this the private feeling of knowing that every one of the books is the gift of some friend, whose heart and whose prayers are with us.
"One of the chief advantages of the Waimate is, that we have a spacious Church close to the house. It is built entirely of wood, painted white, and gives a very English look to the village. In the interior we have; a stone font, an altar cloth and cushions, a pulpit and beautiful large books, all the gift of different friends in England. "Here I held my first confirmation, at which three hundred and seventy-five natives were confirmed. A more orderly, and I hope impressive, ceremony could not have been conducted in any Church in England; the natives coming up in parties to the communion table, and audibly repeating the answer—E wakaoetia ana e ahau, "I do (confess.)" It was a most striking sight to see a Church filled with native Christians, ready, at my first invitation, to obey the ordinances of their religion. On the following Sunday three hundred native communicants assembled at the Lord's table, though the rain was unceasing. Some of them came two day's journey for this purpose. My Windsor communion plate was used for the second time on this occasion. The natives were much pleased when they were told that it was a present from my congregation in England, and seemed to enter fully into the spirit of the gift,'
[1] What could I say, when an intelligent lady asked me, when in England, "Why is it that so few of your rich men's sons take holy orders?"—I thank God, that there is an improvement in this respect. Not that the one are better than the other: but that the silver and the gold are His.
[2] Then the Rev. George Augustus Selwyn, Curate of Windsor.
[3] See the discouraging statements of the two Secretaries, in the "Spirit of Missions," for this month. What place should there be for "a crisis" or for "bankruptcy" in "the Church of the living God?" Should there be such words in the vocabulary of Christians? Especially, when all experience shows that the adoption of the simple plan of weekly offerings would entirely meet the case; the contribution of one cent on every Lord's day from the rank and file of Churchmen would create an annual income of more than half a million? Is it not written, "will a man rob God?" And is it not written again, "Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings?"
[4] The Society has to add, with deep regret, that the Bishop has been deprived of the assistance of his excellent Chaplain, of whom, in all his letters he had spoken with so much affection and esteem. He died at Waimate, on the 19th of March, 1843. [A scholar, a poet, a missionary, a young man of the very highest promise, and loved as few are loved. G. W. D.]