SOLOMON ISLANDS MISSION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 428, 10 February 1909, Page 10

SOLOMON ISLANDS MISSION.

A lecture on mission work in the Solomon Islands was given at the .Vivian Street Bap-, tist Church last evening by Miss Young and Dr. ■Northcote Deck, the Rev. J. J. North ■presiding. Miss-Young dealt at length with the-position of the Kanakas in Queensland. The work began in Queensland in 1882, when there were 10,000 South Sea Islanders working on :the sugpr plantations; having been brought there in labour "..boats' under- contratt for three' years, at the-end of. which term they could back or re-engage on'the-mantations. Eor the most.part, they were wild, ignorant savages, with no desire for religious instruction,' but this was all changed with the mission's work.. One of; the' great difficulties in reaching tlie Kanakas : was that they had .to be spoken to',in pigeon English/ JOn one plantation alone-the'Kan-akas, spoke fourteen different' tongues, and for simplicity pigeon English was the general tongue. Another difficulty was the prejudice of tho in the early. stages, the'_ idea being that learning would mako the natives cheeky. After a.few years, however, the-' results were undeniable..' The work which-.had begun with' one missionary was now'.-'thjß; field of nineteen men'J and - women, who.were giving the whole of their time to teaching the Kariaka-s.-: The last annual report of tho mission showed that 14,000'clas'ses had been hold, and that the average attondanco weekly was 6000. Tivo years ago ; a party was sent down to Malayta to start a mission in', the Solomon Islands, and the following year, after great difficulty, a. mission was started. All round the islands Christian natives who had returned from Queensland wore .doing glorious work amongst their brethren;; and there wore now three missions in the island and nine missionaries. ■ Dr. Deck supplemented Miss Young's' address with an' interesting: outline, of the work at Malayta, and amongst the islanders.' ■