A GREAT COLONISER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20906, 21 December 1929, Page 4

A GREAT COLONISER.

LIFE OF THE REV. DR. BURNS.

_ A „ Gte » t Coloniser—the Key. Dr Thomas Northcroft Herrington, nf m £?: D - of the First Church ° f ot a8o; master of Knox College. Dunedin). Dunedin: The Otago Dally Times and Witness' Itewapapers Company, Ltd. (7s fid net.)

./‘When I’m a man. Til go to New Zealand, and then HU be able to look over the edge of the world.” Thus spoke I nomas Burns, nephew of the poet, when he was still a youngster, but it may be taken for granted that his parents only laughed at the idea, and that he little dreamed flow he would eventually go to New Zealand, or what great part he would ha.ve in the founding of the Presbyterian settlement in Otago. Mr Merrington’s book is. an impressive tribute to the man whose labours as minister and coloniser were so willingly given, and had so much influence, first in evolving the scheme for the establishment of a truly Scottish New Edinburgh in New Zealand, and later in bringing if to fruition. The Rev. Thomas Burns was .an important man in his Church long before he thought of coming to the new colony, and therefore his sacrir fices were.the.greater when he decided t 6 answer the call in . his heart and to set ? u j or 5/1 unknown, almost an uncivilised, land. ,Dr Herrington devotes the first chapters of his book, and by no means the least interesting, to an account of the history of the Burns family which gave to Scotland her greatest poet and to Dunedin a-great champion and friend. Thomas was ,a son of Gilbert Burns, the younger brother of the poet, and it seems to be particularly appropriate that this city should thus be_ linked inseparably, through his relationships, not only in name and sentiment, but also in blood fellowship, with Scotland.

Thomas Burns was born at' Mossoiel on April 10, 1795, three months before his iamous uncle died, and. Dr Merringtbn records, there is a vague legend that the future founder of Otago was once held in the arms, of the Bard, but the story'lacks confirmation. After receiving hia early education from his parents, he went to P ari £ih school and afterwards, to the Wallace Hall Academy, at Closeburn. and Jater he attended the Mathematical School ftten under the charge of Mr Edward Irving, who was to become famous as a preacher. The ministry, it would seem, was not Thomas Burns’s first, choice, but parental influence was strong overcame his fears that he would not be worthy of a sacred vocation. At the age of 16 he entered Edinburgh Univer“d “ J 822 he was duly licensed, although he afterwards acted as tutor to several families before being appointed to a living. His first charge was at Ballantrae, and while he was still there romance came suddenly into his life—ho met and married the young ladv with the blue eyes and the fair hair," who was .to he his constant companion and helpmeet through eueh changing circumstance.®.

The .Disruption resulted in Thomas the 451 ministers who seceded from the National Church, thus llp , the comfortable living of Monkton and Prestwich for the sake of a principle. The re followed a time of _ worry, during which he threw himself into the work of organising the Tree Church at Monkton, and he then decided to accept the invitation of Robert t.argil) and others who were interested in the planting of a Scottish settlement in Zpalan n io heroine minister to (h* colonists. *

. The ati&w-er given by Burns to this imitation was dictated by the purect and most spiritual motives. He was ,tii earnest Christian man, who desired before all else the extension of Christ's Kingdom to the uttermost parts of the earth. Ho was convinced that the evangelical message and the lofty ideals of the Free Church constituted the supreme blessing for mankind. He was also ,a fervent patriot who loved his native land with all the warmth of a .Scot, and he believed that Scotland had a place for herself in the portions of the southern hemisphere which were being occupied by the British race. It appeared to his dear, constructive mind (bat colonisation provided a wonderful opportunity for a great lay mission, which would be permanent in its nature and fruitful of good works throughout, all future lime.

T)r Mcrrington gives a clear. ■ unprejudiced account of the many difficulties and disputes which followed the original decision to found the Scottish colony, his research enabling him to state in concise

form the. whole somewhat sorry . story which has been dealt with so lengthily in other books. It will be sufficient to re-late-that throughout the troublous years that-followed Dr Burns helped to keep interest alive in. the project,'never deviatmg'from his decision,to make the pilgrini age, . and" ever having before him the spiritual; as well-as the practical aspects Of the experiment. It was not until 1848’ that, as every 1 Otago schoolboy ought to know, the settlers at last reached Dunedin Harbour, and from that year until his death in 1871, in his seventy-fit'lb year, Thomas Burns was a power for good in the land of his adoption. He was always deeply interested in everything affecting the spiritual life of the little communities in the south, and not only lost np time in establishing himself in Dunedin, but even went to Invercargill where he preached on seven consecutive Sundays and once at Mataura Bridge, the upshot of the tour being the formation of tho First Church 'of Invercargill under tbe_ ministry of the Kev. A. 11. Stobo. Neither the limitations of space nor admiration of Dr Herringtons noble biography, permit of even a bald paraphrase being hero given of Dr Burns’s labours in Dunedin. As the author remarks:— The true monuments to Thomas Burns are to be found in all the agencies that uplift the heart to higher things—the First Church, with its spire “ pricking through the mist” of earthly ambitions, and the sister spire of Knox Church, the largest of the Presbyterian south of the equator. Further still, in every town and village throughout Otago and Southland each equipped with its church and school, we may find-the living" harvest 'of his sowing. The University, Knox : College (with its Theological Hall), St. ‘ Margaret’s College, and the other schools; and colleges dedicated to the nacredness of Truth and Life, aoknowledge with-gratitude their debt to the ' dreams' and, - vision of a man who was old and yqt ever young in heart, imagination, and enthusiasm for the Kingdom of God.

, The story of Thomas Burns is also the story of Otago,' and Dr Herrington's ( book will be read with equal pleasure by. the* man whose first interest is with the foundations of this transplanted Scottish community, >and by him who is primarily concerned- with the work of the great coloniser in bringing the Church’s million ce to a new land and sowing the seeds of the"-present spiritual welfare of its people. The format of this book is pleasing, and the illustrations add to its value as a notable addition to the literature relating to'Otago’s birth. ' JVM.