THE MAORI KAIK AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 1319, 10 March 1877, Page 9

THE MAORI KAIK AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

At Wednesday's meeting of Presbytery, The Key. Dr Stuart said : Moderator, you are aware that this Presbytery arranged some three years ago, I suppose, that it should extend Christian ordinances to the Kaik. Previous to that time the Church had a missionary resident there, who also had charge of the several Maori settlements in the Provinces of Otago and Southland. It became l^ecessary to remove Mr Blake, in consequence of the poor health of Mrs Blake, and he speedily found employment in connection with the general work of the Church. But the Church, realising her obligations to attend to the Maoris ot the Province, made arrangements that Mr Blake should visit theKaik quarterly, and have also the assistance of a liative missionary — a man who was thoroughly recommended to us on account of his piety and good character — a man well conducted, and held in high estimation among the Maoris themselves. This Presbytery took that action, and brought the matter before the Mission Committee, and these suggestions were adopted by the Mission Committee. Dr Copland, who was at that time Convener of the Mission Committee, will be able to inform the Presbytery as to the action it iook in the matter. Well, duriog these years we concerned ourselves with the state of the Maoris. Again and again in the Synod and in the Presbytery I drew attention to their condition, and succeeded in getting the Presbytery to recommend the Presbyterian ministers who had Maoris amongst their parishioners to take more interest in them— to do everything in their power to bring the influence of the Gospel to bear upon them. That is the general instruction, andithasbeenobservedinßiverton,Waikouaiti, au<J Hampden j and we know that Mr Blake

undertook^ to .minister to, thVMapriVa£th<i Kaik. We did not .keep a resident minister am ? n S them. It now appears, that theChuroh of England, the Anglican community in, this Province, have, not paid respect to • us.' We have gone out of our way torespectthat Church in her connections, andrejoicein her success, and have no quarrel with her. I did feel grieved aa °?e? c «° to °k-at the -°«tset a lively interest in the Maori Miasion that a Bishop— that a mini- • ster of the Church of England Should have gone amongst them, had, meetings with them, and secured something like their consent and concurrence to get its ministry over them. , VI feel annoyed at .that and grieved because" I thought it-was likely to mterfere .with f the n harmbnious connection, between the two, Churches, in "this Province; Personally the Maoris sent ine 'a ' deputation to -attend lie re-opening of .the t church. They endeavoured .to show, me that they did not intend that the Mission" should be ,an Anglican JCssion, that the Bishop, had appointed a minister over them, andivthatf.tKey .were particularly axurious^thattHe Presbyterian. Church should ,take , an interest in ithe^pening ceremony.* I thanked tii«ni^br\their,kindde^! but told them, that L could not ,attend*ihe service under, the cttcumstanceft. ' -Indeedj I think that Mr Blake, .qur^ent ,at .^Ke ( Kaikj "has been, very shabbily treated' , , I have no hesitation m making that'statement. "^EGsV'want of euccess has been referred to. ■ '. Mir -Blake has not been able to reside in the one place!/ -His family has been<suffering for'anumber of years, and I think it was extremely uhbrotherly to mark him .out as unsuccessful. ~Bwl there is Mr Blake now', ; and I, f think that he should- have some instruction from s this Treabytery to .continue his visits .or discontinue them. ' I haVelan" o ei&eme, J dislike to theological discussions.- I-would.'prefer to withdraw Mr Blake., That -would -he "myjadvice. It, is a narrow field,'but Ido not .think that it has been properly got by the Church of England. We have, expended our money and our prayers on the work, and I think ,that the Presbytery should instruct >■ Mr Blake what to do. With regard, to the supporters of the Bishop at the Kaik, the Bishop thinks he will be able to do better for \the- Maoris !than we have been alleto do. Well,';! think that, in justice to Mr Blake and -6ur Church, wa should withdraw our minister from the Kaik. The Rev." Dr.- Copland:"l think that we as a Presbytery should take action in this matter, because the work of one of our ministers has been somewhat rudely interfered"with. .In connection with ihe Maori 'Kaik, I .think we have been treated with a deal of discourtesy' I may say that before entering, the .field tne Presbyterian Church communicated' with, the Bremen Society. Having commuiacateoT with Germany, they said they did not feel", justified in continuing the work among the, Maoris, and would leave it to the Churches here., We decided to recompense the , previous missionary for money laid out on the church at the Heads, and I think we t have laid outjoii ti»at;biiildihg over LIOO. l Now, while I feel quite agreeable, to fall in with the proposal pfjDr^Stuart^that'the Presbytery, should adjise^Mr BlaKeito, discpni tiaue, at least ,in the meantime^ his -visit' to the kaik; yet I th^t 5^ bytery, shoul(J allow jmifim?presentations, ( .6r;,at least.prejumcial remarks, r^garb^gj^e agents whom this^Church; though^ fit to, emnloy,...And I, am ,sorayrto c pbse^&.^ac;sucK'Jsl^hting^e. taem^Mr BJakek miaaionjh^vMg ■befoje^ared tholomew) having been* referred^.'tb '» . not much. of a. preacher, or, 'iiot, much of -^missionary. .Nqwy. „ItVfeglj^thw vmatter . more*, keenly -with^regard/ fo^,Mr ' Bartholomew, thau^ncerning^SK^iai^i^pWyg-^ the latter . £p ;Weli, known and, his ;laboura]oave been approved by. the Church ;■ but I think it is not. a very graceful act tp^cast such'slighting . remarks upon Baruxolqinew. Hejus^bjoeji acting, faithfully , and r irreproachably .among : ,thq Kaik Natives. fprith^laalt. twenty years.'., He has laboured with all the missipnarira whoihave succeeded :eaph;other) in, thajb place,, andjduring that time there has been no" stain cast upon his character. . : j Ij-Jjurije . vjsited^the, Kaik' several ; times, and had no grounds for supposing that either Pateramu or,, Mr Blake was justly liable to any such remarks as those made regarding them. I think the Presbytery should disown any such opinion that has ..been made, regarding them. Another statement is the small amount that was said to be the salary of r Pateramu." As I was engaged id.., this^matter; 11,1 1,, may state that the .'- employment, of „ Pateramu originated in ' a , suggestion' by the ) Maoris themselves— that he ought: to receive some salary, and they applied to the Mission Committee to make arrangements for this ; but it was suggested to them that the matter should be contributed to by the Maories themselves'; and if they were willing to do so, it was intimated that the Mission Committee would -be willing to assist them. Accordingly, arrangements were made by the Maoris for 'then! to contribute a portion of .the salary, and this LIQ paid by our Church was a contribution towards it. I can only express the hope that, under the new arrangements, <the services of Pateramu will be continued ,-to be recognised ; and while we feel that discourtesy- has been shown, I think that this Church will not lose its interest in the spiritual work, among the Natives there. The Rev. Dr Stuart,: Though the arrangement was for LlO, L2l was paid to Pateramu by the Church during the. year. ;;-, " . ,The Rev. Dr Copland: The Maoris contributed Lll in the first instance. ■ * ; The Rev. A. Blake : Their, contributions fell off. The Rev. Dr Copland : We. have paid L2O since. Professor Salmond : I notice,' in- regard to this matter, that there, has beert a great deal of confusion, at least in my own mind. Now, I find very contradictory statements in the newspapers. I notice in one paper chat the Bishop went down there and took possession of property that did not belong to him. • ■ ,It appears to me that it is neither the property of the Church of. England nor of the Presbyterian Church — neither the one nor the other. ~ I suppose that the truth is that it belongs to, the Maoris themselves. The Rev. Dr Copland : The church is on the Manse Reserve, and it was raised by subscription, or Government, subsidy, or something of that kind. We have paid money for improvements and have laid out more than LSO there, but it belongs to the Government Reserve. <- Professor Salmond : Still I am net clear. A Voice : It belongs to, the Government. Dr Stuaht :,The Maoris. Dr Copland : The Maoris built the church, which is vested in the cnief for them. Professor SALMOND: A good de?l of illfeeling- has been shown in the newspapers regarding the question as to whom the property belonged. Another question I want to get »t is this — are the Maoris satisfied with the arrangements the Bithop has made? Do they regard his arrangements as intruding upon them ? Is there dissatisfaction down there with the Bisliop's arrangements ? Dr Copland : That is not before the Court. ' Professor Salmond : If the Bishop is doing this with the consent of the Maoris themselves, I think we have nothing to do with it V/e should say nothing about it. Has he got the concurrence of the Maoris ? Is the. Bishop turrying these arrangements out with the concur-.

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tenceof "the, majority? With regard to, the ' discourtesy which the Bishop has done to ua.'l ' 'should like to know what he has done. What was he expected to do that he has not done? - Hie 'question is whether the Bishop was bound to go to Dr Stuart, or any other leading memfber of the Church, and intimate what he intended to do. Was that expected from him 1 Or should he have sent intimation to the Presbytery saying what he intended to do? Had lie sent a notice of 'his intention to the Clerk, would that have saved the discourtesy? Or was it expected from the. Bishop that he -~hould come down and discuss with us ? Would that have saved him from discourtesy ? And -if he -tad'said, "I see'ydtt'are doing'a'good work ' without much' progress, and I am in a position, to' pat a pastor on the field, and am in » position ip take the field better than your-; belves," worlld that have removed the' dis-, "conrfeayT^How does the matter stand? ' Sol indefinite ''is, the whole matter that 'l/am impt^edtibatwhatever theßishop did,heneVerj xnraldlalTeiniproTed the position. Itis'fio't what is OTuaUy expected from that quarter; for ' » Bishop to i»ut himself on a level with us, and ; negotiate ia to terms. * ' It. is plain to me* that the ' Bishop is carrying' put these' 'arrsngement? more. efficiently wan we have' dohp, and that '-he has the concarrence^-the' .hearty -ejncu?-rence^-^bf.the Maoris down there. I think 'we! have .nothing to 'do with jft, and a very little discourtesy has been committed. ' ', Dr Boflaso :■ I am : Burprised at the remarks i of " Professor Salmond, 'and his , want of $&:- j spicacity. Is not' a' gross act of 'discourtesy! committed wheni' without notice, one church! goes' into the field of another! whose machinery > is &fulT working order ? It is due from gentle- , meh^ and'mticKmbre from Christwins.- ', I think '• itiswpalpable^f-^ ! " • J ' '". •' j Prof esapr, Saih ond : ' I did not say that there ; wa« no 'uistio'urtesy committed.' 1 - I 'want- to; know more plainly- what' the -Bishop should ! have done that' 1 would have justified hinV A3> yet there 1 haw been hut vague charges of - discourtesy. ' . J J"" ' ' ' ' " ' - Dr' Copland : I- think that the Bishop should have followed the example of 'courtesy .and ' Christian dealing wlficKthe authoirities of this church presented^heii they went on'that work, ; which wasf conmienqed by the^l^nt of another Society. l It'- was : carried on "in a manner in which" coth&sy anii" Christian 'prmciple were conserved. "We negotiated' with the authorities ■who sent the former agents into the field they desired to', continue, their labours there, and if- they .were we; were prepared to leave the field to'their Church. -They intimated to us that'they did' not mean to continue, and at the. Same 'time "aaked compensation for the benefife'left J ljehjrid. :This we consented 1 *to give.' ''"Whsfc'- should have' been 'done in 'this, case was ;.' An'jntimation to the Mission GointtitteeT&f^ur'" Church inquiring whether ar»rio we desired to continue 'our labours; whether we intended 4^' have a resident missionary at the Kaikf whether it would he any intragion or e^iconragemeiitlif the Bishop found a resident missionary to reside fhere; whether arrangements could be made fpr hid agent and our agents ! to harmofalihsly' parry on the • work, or whether one tit vb sh"onldPretire.- : T Had that been dojle, fhere would haf g-beeh no discoortesy. -Had that been, done, we would have met the same In 'a Bpint- of ' cdprtefyi' wid dealt ' with r the tortterVni^bl^.^ i» * I spirit of Christian ccnirSeSw^^VW'mgjEfehaveS'piit another nuut in po^iSPl *Wd i&tx-c/duced! Mr' BlAke • again to tteiß^K^B^pejie'S'deiir of itiaaey on/this field] *n(iiM ? reaspn ! waß shown ;td us why .the Bishop .dhbuld '^aktf possession • of- it . T^here wisfa g^^t,di»<iofflftesyt. ■'Before entering-'upon Ihlif fiel^anff^akSng-'pOßijeasion'of it, he should iderh a^ed^Arfrwe'^ep*red to make over to _bni^«~« s »*'f s^*rs ß^ > vem'enW that we made nponif.'Vpid'to'iHakedver "dur^intetest in the bofldtog?. : Tt the question had been; put,' we Bh<rald ; haV'e I heeii quite prepared : to do ■ so. ! It is ,^eff known, Imt the Mapris-do not proceed in theiro'arHm^meiata' >the : ' same ' business Jnannef"whsch' f iß' 7 |oDt»wea' r by any- organised C^urcH.'' -At'thie' same 1 tSm#,"{he' enstom i'and genetta'ria^ Of the Christian^hurches should have; BeepCcarried /ont"in f this ' particular' instance; vod'l venture'to' say tHa^thia has mot Been.dope.T-' ' \[ ; y •;■ '-''■-■^ ■ '■ Dr Stuart : I -must cenfes^ that I smarted Botuewhat under the remarks of i Professor Saljnotd.' I *-'" '"•••>" '•' -,-".* '*'*" ' , • -' ; Professor Salmond : I was asking for inforxnatiin. I " . - . *'' ! ■ : Dr Sioabt : Havipg long felt a deep interest in tfie Maoris of the Province, and particularly in the Maoris altthe'Headsa I tthe'Heads- < -having been personally interested' iij them, I felt and still feel that Bishop Nevill did not comport himself as * Christian and a gentienian should have done. Bishop Nevin went down there, and proposed something good. I have not the least doubt that Taiaroa and others would say that, "That will do!" .The deputation aspired me that they never intended 'to hand over the building to Dr Nevill, I saidi "I 'am qnite satisfied if Dr Nevill would have gofc the concurrence and consent of the Maoris before going tbere, but when : this Church has had missionary operations in that quarter, and spent a great deal of money there, we expect that Dr Nevill will recpect our position.'' No man will persuade me that Bishop Nevill has not acted discourteously in this matter. He has acted discourteously- to our agents' and to our Church. In the general nussions.of churches, it is recognised that one shall not trespass On the fields of the other. I would gladly have retired in favour of Bishop Nevill if he only had been able to put a good resident missionary there; because it is importart. I will' have no hesitation in wiling him that his action is discouiteous and lacks something of the gentlemanly conduct. ' ■ Professor Salmond.: Dr Stuart and Dr Cop* land say that if comes to tbis— we laid' out money on the ; Church, and you should re 1 numerate a Ohnrch when you supply a vacancy in the mission field. That Dr Nevill should have made some communication, I do not deny ; but what that communication should have been was never distinct or definite.' There is a want of (lefinitenesa: ■ Now, what is the actual complaint ? I have no inf orruation on the princi* p&l pomt — ''Were the Maoris themselves in favour of the action of Bishop Nevill ?" The P«ev. John Gow : I am surprised at the speeches of Professor Salmond. Look at other fields—^say the New Hebrides — and fancy one Chnrch taking up the ground of. another Church without any notice whatever.: Would that' be a creditable thing? Perhaps youiwill get two 'or three representations from the Maoris, and I don't think that much stress should be hud upon them. The Rev. W. Will : I don't think there was a great difficulty in thia -matter. I think there was a great deal- of discourtesy. Had Dr Nevill placed himself on a level with the whole Presbytery, I don't think that it would have been disrespectful to his eminence. This Synod is more important than his whole diocese, and deserved some consideration from Ujshop NevilL He knew something about this motion. He knsw that Bartholomew was there pdiu to some extent by our Church. He took care to provide that the consecration would prevent Bartholomew holding his services the^e, and also Mr Blake. It would destroy the coßseeration of the Church altogether if a Presbyteriim went to hold service there. Dr Stoart : It wa> not consecrated. The Eev. W. Will : I understood that it jma. However, Mr Blako should receive m-

struptions from, the Church, whether he should continue his visits or not. The Native minister (Rev. Edward Ngara) is not always to be at the Heads, as we see that he will visit the other Maoris. If Bishop Nevill had mentioned it to Dr Stuart, Mr Mackie, or Profesaor Salmond, and said that as we were not able to put a missionary there, we would have wished him God speed and all success, and then there would be a friendly feeling between the two churches. However, we don't like to be snuffed out, even by a Bishop. I think that Professor Salmond coivnts himself as much a Bishop in an ecclesiastical sense as Bishop NevilL I count myself as much a Bishop as Bishop Nevill, in an ecclesiastical sense. We all count ourselves Bishops in an ecclesiastical sense as Bishop Neva]. 1 The Rev. John Gow : Biblical sense. The Rev. W. Will: Yes, in a Biblical sense. It was making too little of our own Church, and making too much of his own k Church to put a man into that church and take possession of manse and church. Had he 1 given intimation to us, we would have Handed the place to him, and wished him' all success in the mission. , As it has been brought up. I think it is calculated to give just offence. It is very much calculated to produce a' bad feeling between the two Churches, owing to this somewhat high handed way "of taking possession of the Kaik, not even, allowing Mr Blake to con-duct-his periodical-services.' --■ -•- Professor Salmond : But what prevents him? The Rev. W. Will : It -is iheir'anow, though the right to property is net much. It was certainly a high-handed step, and was not calculated to provoke that kindly spirit tha^ ought to exist between the two Churches. The Revl - Dr Stoart : I would be inclined to move — "That Bartholomew be referred to the Mission Csmmittee. That Mr Blake be advised, to discontinue his visits to the Maori ,Kaik, in the interests of peace and harmony, ahtil the meeting of Synod." • In the .'interests of Christian peace and harmony, I move that Mr Blake be requested to discontinue his visits in the meantime. Dr Copland: I think that the motion should be put ia this form — "T ( hatin view of the present position of affaire at the Kaik, that ,'jn.,the iheantiitie Mr Blake be requested to discontinue his visits." I think that that would l)'e ; the^b'est way— " That ,Mr Blake'be in the -meantime requested to discontinue his "visits." It was unanimously resolved that, o'jraiig to th« recent action of Bishop Nevill in appointing "a resident clergyman at the Kaik >! Mr, Blake be advjsed, to discontinue his visits.. ; : ,<■ MISCELLANEOUS. , ; ,-' ' . -The Presbytery, after going into Coipmittee, adjourned ,tfll the first Wednesday ,ia May nexji. . r . . v .