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Clutha Leader, Volume III, Issue 138, 2 March 1877, Page 6

♦ j ITS HISTORY. (From tJie Guardian.) Among the first to break ground among the Maoris at the Kaik at Otago Heads was the Rev. Mr Creed, of the Wesleyan Church, whose headquarters were at Waikouaiti. Subsequently there laboured there a Mr" Baker, in deacon's orders, _ an Episcopalian, yet appointed by a general committee, of

whom the Rev. Dr Stuart was one. At this time there was no church- building 1 — nothing* more, at least, than the small schoolhouse. Then came the Rev. Mr Riemenschneider, who had acquired the Maori languag-e.in the North Island. A Reformed Lutheran, he laboured in connection with the Bremen Society. He set about the, building- of a church, planned it, and, with the help of skilled, labour, executed it himself. The church, recently repaired and reopened, may be considered a monument to his memory. It was aided by a sum from Government and the liberality of Dunedin residents. , The pulpit, somewhat elaborately carved, and almost in the very centre of the building-, was quaintly surrounded by a sounding-b oard, an appendage hardly needed where the accommodation was for about 100. At one end was the organ gallery;' but while the facing's closely resembled those of a small org-an, Mr Riemenschneider had put in a harmonium obtained from the Rev. Mr West's. The devoted missionary sickened and died in the mis-sion-house at the Kaik, and was buried, at Port Chalmers. He had sincerely! sought the welfare of the Maoris, but was somewhat disappointed at the northern stations, where tht» sympathies : were tinged with the Hauhauism of time. The Presbyterian Church now resolved to take up the mission, corresponding- through their convener, Rev. Dr Copland, .with the Bremen Society to ascertain their feeling, and with the Rev. Dr Duff, of the Free Church of Scotland, with the view of obtaining- a labourer. The Bremen Society was quite willing- and glad in the circumstances that the field was to be occupied by the Presbyterian Church. Dr Duff sent out the Rev. A. Blake, M.A., who was duly appointed by the Church here, and inducted early in 1869. He had the language to acquire, and long- distances to travel to other parts of the Province where Maoris resided. Mr Blake's residence there was chiefly marked by progress in matters educa"tional. He obtained Government aid for the erection of a schoolhouse, and communicated with Sheriff Watt to obtain suitable men as teachers. Previous to the present , teacher, Messrs Leask and Walker are worthy of mention, as having- laboured in a conscientious and praiseworthy manner for the best interests of the children. Mr Blake had long 1 journeys to Moeraki in the north, I and Taieri Perry in the south, and succeeded in getting- a school established j at Corner Bush, Waikouaiti, and an- [ other at Binn's Point. These are now combined at the mouth of the river. In 1872 Mr Blake was asked to transfer his services to the general work of his church, owing- to repeated illness in his family, but he continued to visit the Kaik every quarter, and conduct services on the JSabbath, Day. Bartholomew, who has for many years acted as native preacher, was engaged by the Presbyterian Synod as catechist. Reports of the work were laid before the public from time to time, and had a place in the Presbyterian Church paper, the l Evangelist,' and in the Synod'sannual reports up to January last. Mr Blake had from time to time during 1 his residence at the Kaik urged them to have the church lined, and the shing'lfi roof repaired, for the preseavation of the building. Such collections as were taken at the close of Divine service were ordered to form a fund for this service, and £9 were in hand at the close of 1871. The work of repair, however, was only undertaken last year, when some of the half-castes carried out the necessary work, and considerable alterations were made on the interior. The organ gallery and pulpit were removed, and the body of the church made available for small new seats, obtained from a firm in town, all to face towards the pulpit, which was placed in the south end. The expense of the repairs was fixed at £150. The Maoris raised £47, in addition to £17 raised by church collections. Bartholomew, the catechist, appeared at the Dunedin Presbytery in the course of last year, making application for a grant in aid of the repairs. The Presbytery informed him that they were quite willing to aid to the fullest extent, but the money could not be voted till the meeting of Synod, They recommended Bartholomew to occupy it at once for worship, and the formal opening was to take place when Taiaroa came back from W e lling-ton. Then it was postponed, as the shearers were up country,' ■ until they should return. This was the state of matters when, to the surprise of many, a paragraph appeared in the. Dunedin papers, showing that during the sitting of the Presbyterian Synod in January, Eisbop Nevill had gone down to the Maori Kaik and placed the Rev. Edward Ngara there to labour among the Maoris. In contrast with this unceremonious procedure appears the conduct of Bishop Selwyn, now of Lichfield. In Murray's narrative of "Forty Years' Work in Polynesia and New Guinea," he says : " Bishop Selwyn was the greater part of two days with us, and we had much pleasant intercourse. He manifested anything but an exclusive or intolerant spirit. His conduct and bearing 1 towards all the members of our mission were exceedingly kind and Christian; and in all our subsequent intercourse, though some serious difficulties arose, in arranging our fields of labour, he. uniformly acted as a Christian and a gentleman. With reference.

to an is.land on, which we ha4" teachers ait work, to which he took a.great fancy, he remarked to me, -M should, like very much to have it, but I will not take possession of another man's field without his consent. The Apostle Paul tells me not to do so, and I will not.' " (See December part of ' Sunday at Home,': 1876: "Forty Years in the pacific") This honourable and Christian part might have been taken with advantage in the present case, and have averted a state of matters to be deprecated between two Churches, both professedly aiming at the same good object— .the advancement of Christ's kingdom. The estimated- expense of- repair .has been increased quite recently from, the erection of a small room at the east end and the removal of the pulpit thither, as prayer in that quarter has been considered more in keeping with the new arrangements. As the Presbyterian Church made compensation to. Mr Riomenschneider, and laid out expense on the manse, it will be proper now for the self-constituted owners of the mission to recompense the Presbyterian Synod. The convener of mission is Rev. W. Bannerman, who will probably communicate with Bishop Nevill on the subject.