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Clutha Leader, Volume III, Issue 139, 9 March 1877, Page 6

TO THE EDITOR, Sir, — I fear that the extreme annoyance I felt at tho insinuations of dishonourable conduct on my part caused me to be less explicit than Avas desirable in my former letter to you. I shall therefore add a feAv Avords to my former communications, particularly because I consider that my friends have a right to know the grounds upon Avhich I have acted. When I have made I this clear I shall certainly Avrite no more. ; Let it then be fully understood, that i until the last few days, and particularly by the publication of the so-called historical statement, I had no knoAvledge of the claim now put forth by the Presbyterians to be in possession of the mission to the Maoris, I kneAv only the . circumstances set forth in my letter to Dr Stuart. I had heard of the mission of Mr Baker (Church of England), of Mr Riemenschneider (Lutheran), and of Mr Blake (Presbyterian), and they appeared all to have retired from the field. The house, occupied as I suppose by several of them in turn, has been vacant during my residence here, and when I inquired from the chief to Avhom it belonged, he informed me that he himself Avasthe sole trustee, but that he acted in the disposal of the house with the consent of his people. The question and anSAvers were each given publicly at a meeting of the tribe.

The house Avas then publicly offered to me, I consenting to find material for its repair, and Taaaroa pledging himself to get the work done. Bartholomew was present and never uttered a Avoid of objection, nor Avas I aAvare that any could be raised. Your leading article of this morning pursues, I think ad nauseam, the analogy of commercial transactions. I will not stay to argue the inapplicability of commercial principles to such a case — how far, that is, the purchase of the " goochvill " of a mission by one religious body from another is to be held tb be binding upon the conduct of those who Avere in no Avay parties to the bargain, especially Avhen the subjects contemplated by the transaction are human beings possessed of wills of their own, and disposed to act on them. But I don't think these commercial illustrations are in good taste, and they certainly had nothing to do Avith my action, for I never heard of the Bremen Society in this connection until the present correspondence. I did not consider BartholomeAV much of a missionary, and gave him no encouragement to think that I should employ him when he waited upon me at my house. I considered the mission vacant, and acted accordingly.

This explains my having taken no notice of the Rev, Mr Blake at the meeting Avith the natives, Avhen I made arrangements Avith them for sending a clergyman. Mr Blake contains that lvhile I stipulated for opportunities to b.e given to BartholomeAv as a Presbyterian 'agent, I said nothing about him, simply because I did not knoAv he considered himself in charge. I thought -he Avas in charge of tho church at Kaikorai. 1 have heard "of his going over to the Kaik, but I did not luioav that he did so regularly. I myself go over occasionally, and so does the, Rev, Mr Stanley, Avho, by the Avay, has lwld "baptismal j-ser-Aices there on other occasions than, those

mentioned in my last. I never, thought oi making arrangements for such occasional visiia*

I may say that my mission to the Maoris is by no means confined to those at the Taiaroa Heads. I have myself visited them j'lmost all along the coast, and have not only baptized, but confirmed some of them, and have visited others on their death-bed. Those of my clergy who have natives in their parish are not forgetful of them. The Rev. Mr Oldham" worked among them in Riverton, and the Rev. Mr Knowles holds periodical services at Port Molyneux ; and though it is arranged for Mr Te Ngara to reside, for convenience sake, at the Heads, he is to visit the natives throughout the diocese as opportunity shall offer.

As to my principles of action generally, I will only say that a short time ago I had the opportunity of establishing a mission to the Chinese ; but finding upon inquiry that almost the only place which presented a favouiable prospect for the pursuit of such work was Lawrence, where there is already a catechist, I have left the matter in abeyance.

I trust you will not discover much sophistry about this letter. You say in your article, "no sophistry will blind men's eyes to the fact that ho (the Bishop) had no standing at the Maori Kaik." I leave such a weapon to those who may stand in need of it • and, Sh-, I may say that I think you have gone something out of your way to stir up an excitement about what in a former issue you were pleased to characterise as an ecclesiastical scandal. I deny that there is anything partaking of this nature in the whole transaction, and though the times may be duli .and you have not much, to write about, I do think it undesirable that you should seek attractive matter for newspaper articles at , so grave a risk as the danger of fomenting religious division. — I am, &c, S. T. Dunedin. Bishop's Court, March 1,