MELANESIAN MISSION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23364, 2 December 1937, Page 22

MELANESIAN MISSION

HARASSING DEFICIT (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, Nov. 3. “ The Southern Cross Log ” for November publishes a letter from, the Bishop of Melanesia, who is considerably perturbed by the financial position in his diocese. In spite of the utmost economies, there was an accumulated deficit of £6500 at the close of the last financial year. In order to maintain the present work the sum of at least an additional £2OOO is needed annually. The “Log” has in England 3250 annual subscribers to the mission, to each one of whom an appeal has been made to find four new subscribers of 5s each, or their equivalent. If all will respond, the bishop and his workers will be relieved from their heavy burden. The bishop says: “Medical work here is a really desperate need. I find it difficult to restrain myself from bitterness at times when I see the physical needs of so many hundreds. nay thousands, of these island people.” “The position,” the bishop explains, “has been aggravated during the last two or three years by a falling-off of income from subscriptions both in New Zealand and England; and by the inability of the Australian Board of Missions to increase their annual grant to the Melanesian Mission, although for the past 10 years we have undertaken missionary work in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea —which is primarily the responsibility of the church in Australia,"