THE ISLANDERS'

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1042, 3 February 1911, Page 2

THE ISLANDERS'

AND THEIR BISHOP, .. SOME INTERESTING ANECDOTES. If ever Bishop Wilson, of the Melan* esian Diocese, writes the story of his mission work among the Pacific Islanders, his book will be well worth reading. From . tho' isolated glimpses of" his dailylife which he touched upon during the course of his address in the Concert Chamber at the Town Hall on Wednesday evening, -one gathered the. impression though the work of the Bishop"6f ' Melanesia, is not altogether "one long and delightful picnic, the trials and responsibilities .of the bishopric are not without their compensations. It was rather upon, the • "compensations" than upon the "trials"- that Bishop Wilson dwelt last evening, and some of his reminiscence* were quite delightful. : He was talking, for example, about the leavening influence of the Christian-reli-gion among tho islanders—the whole of Melanesia, he said, was bow "infected" with Christianity—and the contagion of example., Certain customs and observances of the Bishop's entourage were carefully noted, and imitated, by..the simple islanders. It was observed that the Bishop took a rest once a week. Some in the immediate vicinity followed- suit. Others, more zealous, rested .two" days aweek, while others again,. almost fanatical in their zeal, rested four days »• week.. . ■ . . - . • .

Vows, in- -the bad. old teathen days _of the islanders, must have been adamantine affairs. The Medes and Persians were merely a circumstance. This much could be deduced from a certain- vow-breaking contract which the islanders' Bishop waa once called upon.to undertake. ..He. waa sitting in his house one \ evening when a voluble controversy reached his ears from without. Investigating, the matter, tho Bishop discovered two natives who liad vowed to kill each other, but bad since repented of their blood-thirsty contract. But they had vowed their vows-there was the rub. Could the Bishop do anything? Yes—the Bishop thought it could bamanaged. He called them in,-made them shake hands, and solemnly announced that the vows had been annulled. Whereat the two joyfully departed. "Had they been Englishmen," said Bishop . "they would have gono off arm in. arm. Then the Bishop returned to .the house, but not for long. His powers as a breaker of vows had been bruited abroad, and he soon had his hands full. Husbands who had vowed never again to speak, to their wives; wives who had vowed never ■ to again sit in their husband's canoesr-tne whole island was weighed down by a tragic accumulation of vows-all these cams for a happy release, and. got, it. ine whole island was transformed. . There is an element of pathos about the blindness of the heathen - . Apropos, Bishop Wilson told-the story'of<ho.w-tho mission schooner came,to an island.ona day, and was most cordially welcomed by the" natires, who, .in this particular island, were of a magnificent type. But one of the ship's crew most unfortunately had a bad cold, which, .after-the manner of colds,- spread rapidly through the is. land, assuming the more serious form o! pneumonia. Some of the natives died, and deep suspicion was cast upon the ship. On her next visit thero was no one to welcome, her; the islanders remained aloof and distrustful. It all came out, of course, and the ' natives soon . became friendly again, insisting, however,, ■.that the vessel should not sound her whistle, for thev were 7 convinced that the whistle was responsible for the calamitous epiThese are a few of the incidents re-r lated by, the Bishop of-Melanesia last evening.' There .was' a large-attendance, the proceedings being tor part of the evening. by the Bishop ,of Wellington, and latterly by Archdeacon Harper. Bishop Mules, of Nelson, was also .on the platform. At the close ,of the lecture, a collection ■ in - furtherance of the work of the llelanesian Mission waSEteten33iE*-->'.---v-T-:'.<;-:-«vs ... .-.-.