Correspondence.

Anglo-Maori Warder, Volume 1, Issue 17, 17 August 1848, Page 2

Correspondence.

[ln compliance with "Observer's" repeated request, we give insertion to the abridgment of his letter, although ill able, with two mails newly arrived, to spare the room It is only because the sentiments which it express ate to mAmtftricu ly opposite to our own, that a place for it hh bt-eu made. Once for .all, however, we have litUe wish to see these columns madeau arena for controve s\—and a veiy deckled cbjectmo, the combaU'.ts should prove sufficiently mastc.s of th ir weapons to h<» abJe to insti act as well as to vhow The suoject upon which *' Obsetfcr 1 * write?, one of great lotu-e importance to the Colour, will he <a'cluUy ami dispassionately considered at the projer tune—Ed. A.M.W*} ; ,

To the Editor »f ihe Anffi.Maort Warder. ! Srn —ln your issue of Thursday last, I observe a i report, (presumed to he an authentic one), of a mee iug I oi the irwrnls of the Church of England, held at Eden. | crescen , on Tuesday the ff.ith July, in pursuance of a circular from ihe Bishop of .New Zealand to that efivet, for the purpose of taking into consideration the be*t mode oF carrying out a certain object therein specified, J in the course of which occurs the fallowing passu e "It was finally ruled tha thiee gentlemen should be appointed by the assembly, who should exert themselves \ in raising funds, which should be paid over to tie | Bishop for general purposes," to which is added, •* the reason lor this special disposition of the fund? ih.-t ' might be raised, was. that the appearance of my appna-'h to what is called the voluntary system wig t , i e avoidid." And a h tie further on, Die llicht liov. ihe Lord R*liop lim-&l1i is uuder&tuori to have ol - . served, " that the pure ( faurcb ot England being tl e most dem icra ic iustiuuion in existence, he would w fh , to see included in the commission (for raising fund's > 1 one or two not occupying, what is sometimes called high i stations iu society, i\.c." Sir, under favour of your indulgence, may 1 beg to offoi here a few remarks on . the character of the stntuncms contained in the above quotations from the report ailnded to ; Iu the first place, I observe, it is said, that the-funds : to be raised by the Oimuuttee ibr iha purpose, though : Ittetuted i% m another place expres,sed,./oi- tha imine- ! dtate benefit of ihe toynof.AtiffyMl, are to be handed oyer to ilm bishop -(of £e*h«l lon-poscs, with the dissuasive hmt again rep,ea'ed\ (lyhich however appears to have unaided : sell here malicious n-o- ------■ tivej, tha 1 the ),uctcititir want* ofike ton-1 of Aitcft- . lautt.arc not to be neglected. Arid fjither, that all i this is to be done in order " lo avoid iht appearance of > conforming to wh,r. is called the voluntary s>stein I'* j —" against which," pioeeeds the report, (this is by I far the most admirable par of the sentence), ** against which ihcre appea cd t.» be a strong prepossession in the assembly ! V* Really, Sir, could 1 be persuaded , you wen* not intent on raillery in giving expression to l this passage iu your report, I fear I should have been j compelled, however loth, to suspect you of a yet less ] worthy motive, and have concluded you intended but an ill compliment to the common seu&c of your readers in placing before them a statement so irrecouci (cable with the preceding portion ot the same paragraph. I What do we understand ? A strong prepossession whs I entertaiued agiinst—against what pray? Not against j carrying out the business of the inciting ? Oh no! ' But against bstensthly eonntfutmcutg the avowed , measure, fv»r composing whiuh, they had together deliberately agreed to act I Truly this r pens a veiu of i pleasantry iu the report, which few would expect to, i find in such a document. The gentlemen who are to j , act the chief part in carrying out the resolutions, no* ■ doubt pariicipitte in the common sentiment expressed by the great body of the m .-cling, and lor equally snffi- - eient reasons : re opposed tu the vulgar system so ind gnantly repudiated. It U to be fuped, however, tha the same efierve-cence of independent feeling so gene* 1 tously indulged in on the occasion, may uot conmiuuicate itself hy any unlucky sympathy to the crowd out of doors I.Jthat case, the *' appearance," so judiciously reprobated, would indeed have been got i id of, and hi a manner much more radical tban had been dreamt of, in the philosophy of the spiritual caterers of Edencrescent ; but then alas, the religious wants of the town of Auckland would also still remain unsatisfied. New what is to be gathered from all this ? What else than that this respectable convocaticn, representing the collective interest of the Church of England in this colony, has committed itself by one glaring act of inconsistency,—iß adopting measures towards carrying out a system wHch ifcpreiends to despise. That afterwards it lud to shield it fromjbgrace; and tint finally, it has put for h a statement, nmßo much as ingenious enough to admit of ambiguity «L meaning, but virtually opposed to, and in r.iwlemnamu of the unhappy act it was intended to eucimate. would be vain to follow up this with ihe reflections that nrvurally arise on the contemphtioii of the subject. I shall therefore. Sir, with your p.-imissrm, pass on to that next portion of he renon, quo'ed above, V o irp here informed by the Bishop of N.w Zealand —mu «i tun. i ausc oi circuralocation—that the pure Church of. Engbind is the most democratic institution, in caKtenre! This is certainly ihe newest thing we have heard, since leaiiug the tntclliguaco of the laa-

• * l*e»wtheiess,the -pore" Church of :t 4&ati nary be*" «h»t it inhere represented. As his iL jrdship has not thought it necessary to be mote explf. et, I m« nothing to oppose toastatementof whole merits he alono can be competent to judge. 1f we were told by one wh(> had lately ai rived from there, that the moon ■me made of green cheese, I do not know that we should be justified in contradicting a report depending to manifestly foritttrathor falsehood, on the result of practical investigation. If, however, by the pure Church of En»hnd, his Lordship inte..ds the Church of England as by law established—if he refers to that peculiar constitution of Charcb government, under which patronsge is exercised by the wealthiest a,istocracy in Europe—if he means so to designate that formidable array of princely Pontiffs and mitred dignitaries, decked in armorial ensigns and ducal coronets, and clothed «n all the trappings and embellishments of royalty—if he intends, by the expression, that most special oliearchy of Lords Spiritual, Bi.hops, Archbishops, and Chi f Ecclesiastics, which we recognize under the t'rm Episcopscy—if, I say, by all the eor aor part of them, be would convey to us a correct inteiprctation of his meaning in the use of the expression, and should he, moreover, assenting thereto, cliim for this body tbt, character bestowed on it in the report—then it must he admitted that words have no longer the meaning which was once attached to them, and we may abandon altogather the art by which men, from earliest time, have been accustomed to express their thoughts and convey right impressions of their ideas to each other. The Church of England, forsooth, the most dimopratic institution in existence ! Tru'y, my Lord Bisbop, this comes of beine at the jntipudes! Io Eng'nnd men were not wont to to confound terms. Bat probably a ,».«£* phase of cirenmstences rather than change of lo* ' tally, might be given its the more appropriate espla« nation for so monies! a deptnu-e f>cm estabts'-ed mag*,-.' Be that as it may, the m velty is a ptculiar one—ararchi»l in principle-it must be con'essed, and mischievous in i's tendeocj—calculated to wise t'e the acknowledged liuths of i-ges, and cur found the immutable distinctioi sof right aod wrong. But, never.lielesß, it may be made to bi of service in a despera'e csusp. '1 here is a bo'dness in it wo'rh ma; po-silly rcc.mmend itself in » fins of onusunl i-lcrvt. Ii the prewut instance it has teen emj-lojetl in a cause, aud with a. motive, not unworthy of soj'e regard—that of seckiug identitv with the spirit of the ate. The growth of liberal seni'menf io a free proi.l-, It.s rlone much tcwards lowei .ng the t ne ot vo.ies oire lar.d 10 their defeuce of dominating and exclusive institution*. The ttu.his, pupuWiily has heroine ot late more tnea, tint to tbe ex su-r.ee of the thu.cli of England bun kad b"rn felt before, or iban the nature ot her eons ilutiou will adroit of now. Hw.ce the. abandonment, lv s'ealth, oftbeajirinciidrs. liun.c the -ukiviird apoio- ies tue%sVoWelo»k the c.,..,i i..mise. lltnre the attempt to* alljw 'ka»cttr °" a " insli "" ll ' u already breakup: iipwtn -rive a coloring of bealtHuluess to a subject fast auikingxfrnm the iav»g<s of a chronic The Bystem of State Church establishments is, at the present day, prttty generally undeiiloorl tnd appreciated. The veil so"long overhaugin* men's minds, is being removed. The pomp au'l ci cumstance that had served to cast an air of sacredness ond mystery around time-honored al.mes, no luuser inspire ei her awe or admiration. The tyranr.y of prietttj despotism in beine, succeeded by the milder government r,f a Christian Ministry, a -1 formality in religion, the growth of ages, is yielding bef-re the advance of a purer dtvo'-ion, and a more ardent and Ire-giviug principle. Let us hope that the system of whit h these were a part, isapprooetiing also towards its (irt<il di's.lutiop. That lhs reiun cf pre'acy and'iccl.s astic.d usurpation is about >o be abolished—and'tbauttuit peactinl and unassuming ir fluence tvhicrkis 'the tru - characteristic of - .our rno-t lto'y relig'oirrFmay .henceforth esert its puwir, utiiinpedtri by excrescences of mere human invcnti'sir, antl uncorrwpted by the sophisms df arrogant ai.d designing nun. Religious fcaaic-iustttu-ions have long exercised a di basing luncenre in the n ligious world. Tile first Bl'Oßtii'V in the Christian Cliu.cli ow.d its u.i'in to the same system. From that period io the p esenr, it lias served >o spread igno'SQCe and etror far and w.de. It Ins «"i.-l ved men's minds by ueju l r.s.ni t>, a id arigr-iuit-d tiie evils it ~nte< ded lv re i.ve. The peiod of i'-i tx.mcion is looked for by the fiiend. t>f frctdom lhr<.u.!U"Ul lie world. They rijoice in the beliel that its days aie uuuilicied. Toe lime for its fall we believe is ioming. It c.mot IrU 100 soon It bbs loue. ecu. h chained to ils chariot wheels the minds of se.v.le millitus —long enough levied itspriucely revenues at the point ol tuebayuuel—loug euough tquan-* dered a nation's wealth on its parasites and millions. Ii has pe setu'.ed Christens enough by the abuse of its unlawful imwer, and bmdsMd enough the spread of apologizing for th&intfeCon, 1 beg to subsixibe myself Sir, *—a* lA^ Your obedient servant, Obseuveb. Aug. 3, 184S,

Vo the Editor of the Anglo Maori Warder. i,—Allow uie, as one of your early subscribers, jod my congratulations on the resuscitation, or . > 2T contiDtiiiiKe, of your Jcninal. hen we ou6crve the character of most Colonial , ii cations, we cannot but hail the advent of one >, will ih-: fV dings of the gentleman, poiuis the ft of the scholar. to maim am principles and not to decry persons I, I hope, ever be your lending object; ami if you j compelled sometime* fe> men'ion individuals, you will, I am »or dignity by iLamfestinjj the respect doe totbose«An y^Mbsil. Allow me. as a missiowß the unfavourable position in which, friend, \i*u have placed our ct''. :>e \ You seem to contemplate us as a body involved in the present di cussion on the land claims. Such a View as this, although, it mights reaj: then the cause of the claimants, is, I submit, not coirect. But a small portion of our nurrber are interested i i the di&cubsion; and I believe I may say wi b tru>b, that the number is still smaller which would (eel gia iIted at any. proceedings which woUJ issue in Governor Grey* departure fr<>m th-s colony. That Govtrnor Grey's dtspjtches hsve most seriously misreprefen'ed our body none can deny; siiH we should be indeed blind to the interests of our feljw colonists and of the aborigines, f we could not petceive that, as a poiticiaa, he has been the at tier of more good than evil. He seems \o have enlarged and enlightened views oF the wants of tbt country. The aborigines are contented and quiet j and every other depar ment of his government seems 10 be nVuiisiuu*;. Under such circumstance* it «ou!d not be either wile or seemly for any missionary, ninth less the body, to organize, or abet, an opfositijn to bis Excel 1 eocy. Though not in any way conmcud with the land question myself, 1 cannot *ish Governor Grey success iu the crusade into which he has en'ered ag-iinst so snapy of my fe.loiY colouioti \ oeiihtr can I nuuder at

the pungent retmrks contained in one of your Iste papers. H : s Excellency will, I trust, profit by those remartj, and hasten to ussttms a position to which his talents and his merits justly en'itle him s and will, I hope, moreover acknowledge, in reference to yourself, that alihoujh yoor arrows have been sharpened, they have not been poisoned, I remain. Sir, Your obrdient servant, I A Church Missionabt.