A. MISSIONARY RETROSPECT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2520, 2 July 1902, Page 40

A. MISSIONARY RETROSPECT.

\ THE EARLY MAORI FIELD

At the opening of the Maori Carnival on Tuesday afternoon Bishop Nevi'l made some interesting refeienees to the early missionary work amongst tho Maoris of this part of New Zealand, a feature of our history known, he thought, to but few. When he first came here, said his Lordship, and made an attempt to plant a clergyman afc Otakou Heads, it was pretty freely said that ho was jumping the claim of another denomination. There were letters ond leading articles in the papers of those days charging him with wrongdoing. However, after he related a little more of the early Christianity among th-? Nathes, he thought they would think he was right in attempting to plant a church of the Anglican communion at Olakou Heads. The first missionaries to the Native here were of the communion winch he represented. There was only one exception that he was aware of to that rule, and that was the Rev. Mr Watkin, who \va3 a Wesleyan missionary at Karitane, near to Wjiikouaiti. Mr Watkin was there before Bishop Selwyn's viiit, and there were also Christians repereaentiny the English Church before Bishop Solwyii tame. The honour of planting the Christian religion in this part of New Zealand belonged really to the son of a famous warr.er, whoso name was very well known by reason of the raid that he made upon the bou&hern Natives of New Zealand — namely, Te Rau p&raha. This son of Te Rauparaha, Tami liana Rauparaha, had been taiigbt by Bishop Hadfiek 1 . — long Ix-fo^e the latl'-r was a lu»hop ■ — at Otaki apd the isla.nd o£ Kapiti, at ■which 1 .la-ftnp nl»ca Bisiioo TTailfitJti had told h'rr) ho

had a sciioui lor a. considerable period, where he taught the Natives before it was safe to re«idc on the mainland. Tamihana Rauparaha was one of the first converts, and he with some other Natives came down to the very country that his father had invaded. He wanted to take the gospel of peace ro the same place where his father had taken the message of war. Tamihana came and planted himself at Moeraki, and made somrs converts there.. He also went down to the south to Ruapuke and Stewart Island. When B'shop Selwyn came — his first visit, as far as he (Bishop Nevill) could discover, was in 1844 — at the end of 1843 he came sout'i, and in January. 1844, lie rret with the celebrated chief Tuawaiki, who was, he believed, some relation of our excellent friend Mr Parata. Tuawaiki met Bishop Selwyn at Port Lyttelton. and brought him down in his boat (the Perseverance) to the Orakou Heads. On that occasion ho visited Moeraki, and took one of Raupara-ha's teachers and planted him at Otakou. That was th» first introduction of religion to that Icaik. The Rev. Mr Waikin lived at Karitane. and Bishop Splwyn visited there and eatec'used the Native children taught by Mr Watkin. On that occasion, in the year 1844. Bishop Selwyn proceeded also to Ruapuke and Stewart Island. He left there some prayer books, one of which he (Bishop Nevih) had been fortunate enough to recove r on a recent visit to the island. That was the beginning of Christianity there, so that they would see that, with the exception of the Rev. Mr Watkin at Karitane, the Anglican communion wa3 God's agent for carrying the Ohiistian religion to al! the kaiks of tho Natives in this southern portion of New Zealand. He was collecting the records of this portion of our early history, ard some day he hoped to have it printed and placed in the library at Selwyn College.

—An ancient custom in connection with the letting of a piece of land afc Bourne, known as "The Whito Bread Meadow," has been observed. The land is let by auction, and at each bid a boy is started to run to a given pubhehouse, and the land 19 let to the person whose bid has not been challenged when the last boy returns. The land was let for £5 7s 6d. The money is partly spent in a bread and cheese and onion supper at a publichouse, and the rc-rcainder is spent in loaves of bread delivered to every house within a certain district of the ton n.

— A modern boiler shop is far different from its congener of half a ce-ntuTy ago. It is not generally known that a boiler of 40 horse-power can be made and shipped in about eight hours. That is to say, if an order is put in by 7 o'clock in the morning it can be on the way to its destination by 3 o'clock on the same day, ready for steam when. set. This boiler will bo taken from tho flat sheets, rolled to dimensions, all rivets driven, tubes set and rolled, and the work made water and steam tight within the time named ; but it will be of the roturn-tubular type, where no smith work or flanging is required.

— Evensong on Easter Eve was the first se-rvice in St. Paul's Cathedral for which electric light was' used. The new lighting is highly successful in revealing the imposing beauties of the vast interior. In place of the heavy masses of gloom which the gas failed to dispel in the recessfs of tho lofty roof is a subdued refulgence which brings the sweeping lines of the pillars and arches into view, while avoiding any brilliancy which would have been out of keeping with the solemn dignity of the cathedral. The cost of alteration from the old style of illumination will be altogether about £10.000. and it is being borne by Mr J. Pierpont Morgan.

Growers of Fruit should consult Niinro and Blaie's general catalogue of Plants, in which will be found not only a collection of standard varieties, but all tho latest novelties worth growing. In this catalogue will also be found an up-to-date selection of Seeds of all kinds....