DEATH of THE Rev. JAMES HAMLIN.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 8, Issue 705, 2 December 1865, Page 4

DEATH of THE Rev. JAMES HAMLIN.

It is our painful duty to record the death of another of that noble band of early missionaries, who brought the message of " peace on earth and good will towards men " to the savages of New Zealand, a quarter of a century before it was contemplated making this country a field for British colonization. Day by day, almost, the pioneer missionaries are falling away from amongst us. They have lived long enough to see the Grospei and civilisation established in these beautiful islands. Although their cherished hopes may have been blighted, in not seeing the native race take their stand as a civilised and Christian nation, they have had the satisfaction of knowing that if they did not reap a plentiful harvest amongst the natives, at least that their labour was not in vain ; and that hundreds of thousands of thenown race and faith, attracted in great measure in former years by the reports from the New Zealand missions, are now living in the land of the Maori, in Christian fellowship and communion with each other. The missionaries have indeed reaped where they sowed not ; and for this, they have cause to be thankful. The Rev. James Hamlin, whose death we are called on to record to-day, was one of the early pioneers of Christianity sent out by the Church Missionary Society to New Zealand. He arrived at the Bay of Islands, with Bishop Williams, in 1823, and was engaged as a lay teacher at that station for many years. On the arrival of the Right Rev. Bishop of New Zealand, Mr. Hamlin received episcopal ordination, and was transferred from the mission station at the Bay of Islands to a station on the Upper Waikato. He was afterwards transferred to the Manukau, near Awitu, where he had charge of two mission stations in that district for several years. His next station was at Wairoa, in the province of Hawke's Bay, where he resided up to January, 1864, ministering with acceptance to the large native population in that district.

The native war having broken out in the North, the lately-deceased clergyman sustained a severe bereavement in the loss of his brother, Mr. Job Hamlin, whose barbarous murder by natives at Wairoa, near Drury, so recently formed the subject of inquiry in the Supreme Court at Auckland. When intelligence of his brother's murder reached him, the Rev. James Hamlin gave up his mission charge at Wairoa, Hawke's Bay, and came up to Auckland, where members of his family resided. Since then, his health has been precarious, but he occasionally assisted the Rev. Mr. Goold in his church at Pamnure, where he resided up to about a year ago. For the last twelve months he may be said to have withdrawn from the ministry. He was 62 years of age at his death ; and spent 41 years, out of the 42 which he passed in this country, in the work of the Christian mission. He was well known, and highly esteemed. He leaves a family of nine sons and three daughters, all of whom are established in, the country. — Southern Cross.