THE MISSIONARIES AND THE NATIVES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 61, 15 March 1869, Page 2

THE MISSIONARIES AND THE NATIVES.

To the Editor of tub Nelson Evening Mail. Sir — I was much pleased iv reading Mr Whiteley's letter in your issue of 9th inst., the more so that it recalled to my mind the first time I met him, some 24 years since. He was then between one and two hundred miles from his home, travelling through the wilds preaching to thenatives wherever he could find hearers. He was indeed a real worker, aud one of the most fluent speakers of the Maori language that I ever heard. The natives were all delighted with him, and so thoroughly unselfish was he, that after 35 years labor, he has, I believe, died poorer than he was on the day he lauded iv New Zealand. Sir, the question has been very pointedly put to me of late — What of your roissior.aries now? In reply, I wish to speak of the Wesleyan missionaries only, who between 20 and 30 years ago had obtained great influence with the natives, as was acknowledged by Governor Grey some 23 years since, when on being called to Wanganui to quell native disturbances there, he asked, to what church do these natives belong ? and ou being told, replied, how strange it is that we have no trouble with (he Wesleyan natives, iv every part of the Island I find them loyal and peaceable. I believe, sir, that had the missionaries remained among the Maoris, and beeu well reinforced at that time, the calamities which have befallen us would never have occurred, at all events, without the influence of the missionaries the Treaty of Wai tang i would never have been signed nor would it have been possible to colonise New Zealand. All the mischief that has been done I believe to be attributable to the fact that uo sooner were the European settlements formed, thau the missionaries were called away from their legitimate work among the uatives to supply the wants of the Europeans. I could, did space allow, mention a long list of names of missionaries who were thus removed. I know of six who have been taken from | each Island. It is true, the Missionary Committee in London sent out several young ministers for the natives, but these on their arrival were pounced uporj by the Europeans and taken for their work. Mr. Kirk, than whom a more kindly man never breathed, was sent to the natives at Pipiriki, but he too was very soon taken away to the European work, and thus the Maoris, as far as the Wesleyan Missions were concerned, were left to perish from one end of New Zealand to the other. This was not the worst feature of the case, for numbers of escaped convicts from Australia found their way to New Zealand, as also many runaway sailors from American and French whalers, these men spread themselves over the country, aud settled down wherever they pleased, as almost every Maori Chief was glad to get a white man to live with him, supposing that all of them must be good and wise. The mission field being at that time almost deserted, these men as soon as they became acquainted with the Maori language, iustilled into the minds of the natives, especially tho youth, all the iniquity that was in themselves, "taught them every , species of wickedness of which they were capable, and told them that unless they prepared to defend themselves and their country, the English would eventually

kill them all and take possession of their lands, and, in proof of their assertion, they pointed to Australia and Van Dieman's Land. For 25 years have these meu been iudoctrinatiug the native youth who have been left without any missionaries to counteract the baneful teachings of their wicked advisers, aud now we see the result. Hence, iv all probability, the king movement, hence, the origin of most of the evils which have befallen us, aud the end of which we see not yet. Now, sir, I would ask, what right had we to rob the na< i vcs, and to take away from them their missionaries, all of whom were sent out from England aud supported for many years, at a great cost to the parent society, expressly for the native work, and who formed a band of men which if let alone to work the mission field, might by this lime have produced such efffects as another century wili not realise. Ti.es-o men, together with tho Church of England Missionaries, would in all. probability have conquered New Zealand for us by tin's time, but the mischief has been done — a whole generation of Maoris brought up under such teachers as I have alluded to, totally without moral restraint, moral help, or moral training, utterly depraved, untaught, and unchecked — an almost entire generation of uudiscipliued youth, trained by the vilest aud wickedest of men, trained only to evil, aud left without auy genial counteracting influence — such is the picture presented by the native population of the North Island. Yours, &c, W. Hough.