A SCATTERED PARISH.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 185, 8 August 1927, Page 9

A SCATTERED PARISH.

MISSION WORK IN POLYNESIA. BISHOP'S EXTENSIVE TOUR. MANY ISLANDS VISITED. "The mi*sion work in Polynesia is briii£ well carried out. niiJ the prood effect i« felt over the whole of Polynesia." said the Bishop of Polynesia, the Right Rev. L. S. Kempthore. on his return to Auckland this morning by The Tofua.

The lii?hop left Auckland on ."tune It last by H.M.s. Diomede, disembarked at Suva, and then commenced a visit of inspection of a very scattered parish, including the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, and a large number of the small islands in the vicinity of the various groupe.

"Perhaps the most important development in connection with our work is that we have opened a school for Chinese at Suva," said the bishop. 'We have got a teacher from Hongkong. There are. forty pupils, and instruction is given in both the English and Chinese languages/' Bishop Kempthore said that to visit the islands of the Western Pacific wae to be impressed with the strong affinitv between the islanders and the New Zealand natives, and he mentioned that at Rarotonga they point out the place where centuries ago canoes left for Vew Zealand.

The bishop said that much of the good work of spreading the Christian faith was now being done- by zealous native teachers who were trained at Karotonra At every island he called he had a wonderfully cordial welcome from the natives, who were keenly appreciative of the advantages that they had gained as the outcome of the missionary work which had now been going on for a great number of years. fa