MISSIONS IN FIJI.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12669, 4 May 1905, Page 3

MISSIONS IN FIJI.

"Last evening.there was a fair attendance in the Wesleyaii Churchy to. listefeyto an address on the Hindustani, mission>in : Fiji. Rev. Mr Sejpell. took the chair,;;a:flfeh'riefly introduced the Rey, .Mr : ;BurteMysjid the native preacher who accompanieynm:; -The Rev.-Air Stinsbn'was also;bn ; pjatfoTm, The native preacher opened'the; lirpteedings by a short address in Hindustani, ; 'in-/ terpreted by the Rev, Mr Bvwto'ff, andi.in'it he showed'by ciuotatibns'from !.thS"Sacred Books of the Hindoos that avSayiQur of the world was expected, who wbiildj besides curing men of their"bodily"it)firmities, also heal the wounds of their souls.,;: ' The Rev. Mr Burton commehce'd his discourse by contrasting the early ; days of missionary life in Oceania/ with its;;perils' and dangers, to; the' prosaic' and plodding work of the present day. Different, churches have done sp'endid work all over the Pacific, but the Methodist Church: stands out pre-eminently in"Fiji, when, out ;i>f:ft'native population of 98,000 souls, it claim to have -. 92,000. within its fold, ■ For perhaps the last'century; certainly, before the introduction of Christianity; the native races.had begun to decay, and they are now dwindling at the" rater-pf a year. For some years past large numbers of Hindoos have 'been arriving, under indenture to work in the sugar , plantations; .Their term of service is fiyi years, : ind at. its expiry' they are fiee to settle:in theVequntry for another when"; they will be returned to India" if they: do not. desireito, remain permanently "in. -Fiji. The.>great majority of them elect, to remain "'and so there are already more than 20,000 Hindoos in Fiji, and it is only a matter of, time when they wrl 1 possess the land,.of; : the; native races, and if the Church does not, meet them. as. they enter the country, the great Work of such devoted pioneer); missionaries as J. Hunt, and J. Galyhv;wiU have to be begun all over again.:, The Methodist Church, which has gained--:feuch glorious successes in this field, must,not lose ground, no jnatter how .heavy is the drain upon it. The Hindoo worship'ls a very, ancient one,; it moulded the thoughts of men eveh when Jacob was sent from his father's house, and. it wa&hoavy with antiquity at the time of the Apostles.■■•' At first- sight ite teaching seems to accord with the Christian faith, as for instance; its • belief in one God, the Teality of the spiritual wojrld, etc., but; on closer inspection It proves to be but a "jumble of. Inconsistencies,"'and the rqajbr.statements of its tenerits but serve to.further mystifythe.initiated. When they say God is one, .'they do not mean that there'is a. living God who cares for and loves his creatures, but*,that.».the ;world and, : universe forms one entity;? i.e., God. Again, in regard to theirl.beief in the spiritual world, their meaning is not the Christian one of. the life beyond-,the grave, but that, our Jife is, as it were,' a dream, and all we see, and taste, and feel, is but imagination, nbt reality. ' A; like this naturally tends tp, kesp the.:iwop!e from proggrgssing' in'the arts and sciences, for "ginee "things are but passing shadows, no attention sliould be given "to-..acquire or retain them.". With them: ethics and religion are divorced completely;-and sin is practically confined;to faults of omission or' eommissfon against the cerembhial law. Now the.. Hindoo 1 reaches his; : heaven.- (obsorption Into the Infinite) «ifter':S,4do,Qop re-births, and as these can only rbe delayed. by of the aforesaid law, the stah,* dard of morals receives very little , help ■from such Reaching., . Superstition of,the most; degrading and revolting descriptions is rampants,among them, and .they have exalted vices to ,the, rank of virtues ; 'and contrawise. Some of their saints gain their holiness ;by means, that.-\vquld call for the intervention c|-the police or the fire brigades ht oth«r lands;. he in T . one, p/d.'rQa.n. had not-OBeripd his eyes or • mouth for- seven ygars, having to be sustained hy liquid* food:;- passed through a lube for' that time, and as,he sat by the wayside, h> foes conwd hy. the accumulated , djrt eJ . yearsj". he-.-: was visited by crowds of worshippers"; «11 eager to do him honour; Such are the people they have to convert, a "people of a subtle and profeund aamd, deep thinkers on. metaphysical and speculative questions, J and still inconceivably careless (judged .-rora our standards) as regards the value of-thislife. Two missionaries are now engaged/amongst them;; but more are urgently needed, and in conclusion he appealed t» a,"l to help on the good werk, by. their prayers and a ln}S: Mt Burton spoke for 'more- than ah hour, in a rich fu'.l voice, brightening the solidity..of^bjs,jlisc.ojy;se with manv a- welltold incident, fresh! from the islands, that drew forth hearty applause..' ' . ' • o; . : After the stewards had taktn up a colle.atJQH, a hearty'vote of thanks was moved by Mr Holdgate and carried with applause; Rev. "Mr S'erpell brought the meeting to a close by thanking the. lecturer.for tb>: in- : structive and edifying:'disoourse, --which he considered one of the best missionary expositjqng ever given In that church: '