MELANESIAN MISSION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9639, 14 January 1903, Page 2

MELANESIAN MISSION.

LECTURE BY REV. MR HO>»KINS.< An interesting address on t',ie< W ork of the Melanesian Mission was '/yen by the Rev. A. Innes Hopkins m <Jie Academy of Music last evening. /The" Rev. Mr Welsh briefly introduced r> ie speaker) and before tlie lecture comD> e iiced the audience rose and sang "AY. Hail the Power of Jesu's Name." /.-ftlter hymns were .sung during the course of the lecture, which, was of an instructive nature. The J illustrations were,, excellent reproductions, " and gave a good i.dea of the manners and customs of the natives of the extensive diocese of Melanesia. . Mr A. Thomson manipulated the lantern with Ids usual success. , In commencing, the rev. lecturer said that he interred to deal with' tlie .work at present engaged m instead of going back to the history of tlje Melanesian Mission. The first .'slide thrown on the screen was a capital photo of Bjshop Wilson, whose visit to Gistborne, the lecturer stated, had r.esulted m increased interest being takeyi m the work. here. Bishop Wilson liac 1 / gone Home to obtain monkey for a nf-w ship, and to get more men for the J.oission, and he was able to tell them that the Bishop ihad been successful m his objects. The ship had been obtained, and also eleven men for the mission, some of whom had come out, and others would arrive with the ne\v vessel, but they would need more funds to enable these workers to extend the mission. Views of the Norfolk Islands training school, and the boys at work on the farm and also at play, were shown. Proceeding .■ to the islands, the mission ship Southern Cross was depicted at anchor. The lecturer stated tlie last trip of the Southern Cross would soon be made, as they were getting a ship which was more suitable for the y work. Views of the New Hebrides Group were shown, Mr Hopkins stating that on the Banks Islands there were Christians of-.the third generation among the natives. The Solomon Islands wens next visited, ; and the houses of the natives, surrounded by the groves of the: graceful cocoanut trees, were diapJayedA collection of these trees was an almost certain indication of the presence of a village. Photos of natives were thrown on the canvas, ; which illustrated the custom of wearing ornaments m. the lobes of tlie ears, the lobes being so extended that; m some cases they reached down, to the shoulder. A fashion among the nativew was to make the hair white by liming it. Other interesting facts m connection with the habits and manners of the islanders were mentioned by the lecturer during the course of his address, and the last ojU the slides were photos of Bishop Patterson, and the two Bishops Selwyn, the elder the founder of the mission. In conclusion, Mr Hopkins appealed to the audience for their .sympathy and assistance m the work of bringing the islands to a knowledge of Christ. Help should be given, n&t casually, but as an annual : /abscription. He mentioned different '^ays by which the mission could be adva/iced, by joining the St. I3arriabas Assoc : <ation' to which each member paid 6d af year, and taking the mission newspaper, "The Log," which would enable them, t.o keep m touch with the progress of the "work. The Rev. Mr* Welsh referred to Gisborne contributions to missions, and said he had found that all tlie money they gave did not appear m the diocesan books as coming from them, and they wanted to correct this. 'If this wasj done, he felt sure Gisborne would stand, above any town m the . dibcese. ; H,'e appeded to the audience to assist the , mission as: far as possible m the coming , year. Anydesirous of helping could apply to Dr£p Williams, Mr Coleman, or. himself, wlru* would, be pleased to receive conAfcutions. lhey had been pleased to hear afFaccounti of the progress of the work that evening from Mr Hopkins. ' "o The meeting 'was brought to a close by bhe singing of the "Doxology;"