A HUNDRED YEARS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2355, 11 January 1915, Page 6

A HUNDRED YEARS

MAORIS & MISSIONARIES PIONEER WORK "THE MAN OF THE IRON THUMB." It is now a hundred years since the Gospel was first preached in Ne* Zealand by Samuel Marsden, and the time ia appropriate for reviewing the progress of events 6ince that remarkable man gave the Maoris their first lesson in religion and civilisation. "4. History of the English Church in New Zealand," by Canon H. T. Purchas, of Christchurch (which has been published by Messrs. Simpson and Williams) may therefore expect a hearty welcome from a wide circle of readers. It is a well printed and well illustrated volume, and is a useful addition to the kistori„nl i.1,„ n

cal records of the Dominion. The beginnings and subsequent growth of Christianity in New Zealand, ij a fascinating story, and Canon Purcbas gives a graphic sketch of. the life and work of the Anglican pioneers and their successors. Some of them were really great men. Marsden, the 'Williams's, Hadfield, Maunsell, Selwyn, Harper, and others were men of outstanding ability and force of character, well as earnest Christian missionaries. The story of Marsden is well told, in the telling of it much interesting information is giyen as to the manners and customs of the Maori in his savage state. The journeys of Marsden, Henry Williams, and Bishop Selwyn before the advent of roads and railways, and bridges are vividly described. The signing of the Treaty of Wai.tangi, the Maori wars, and the new order of things brought out by -the progress of European settlement, are instructively dealt with. The author shows how missionary methods, gradually gave place to permanent ecclesiastical organisation, and the book concludes with aji account of the Anglican Church as it is at the ■present day. ... Henry Williams.' Canon Purchas does justice to that great pioneer, . Henry Williams. For various reasons the work of this able and resolute man has-never been adequately appreciated by the general publio. He was the connecting link between Marsden and Selwyn, and has been in a large measure overshadowed by these two striking personalities. Yet his solid achievements in spite of difficulties that would have dismayed the majority of men entitle him to a place in the front rank of the makers of New Zealand. Henry Williams arrived in New Zealand at a time when the affairs of the mission were in a critical state, and he succeeded •in giving it a new beginning. Canon Purchas tells us that 'ho brought to the mission-just those qualities of leadership and power in which it had hitherto been deficient." His personal force aid dauntless spirit made a great impression on the Maoris, and "Te Wireniu" soon obtained. a strong ascendancy over • them. . They called him "the man of the iron thumb," because on one occasion, while he held in his hand the" key of his study door, ;he felled to the earth the leader of a gang of bullies who were bent on doing him bodily injury. Rusden states that "Henry Williams had but to raise his finger, and his mana would have wejghed more with the Maoris than the devices of Coloner Wakefield-or the office of Hobson." , It has "been asserted that Henry .Williams was the author of the Treaty of Waitangi._ Canon Purchas is of opinion that this is an error, but says Williams may havo been consulted in the drafting of the document. "There can be no question but that it was his influence .which induced the ohiefs to sign it."

"What a Chance"! In reforenoe to the reproaoh of land speculating which has been brought against some of the early missionaries, Canon Purchas mentions the following incident which he states is "enough to furnish a decisive test, at least in the case of Henry Williams":— . "One of the first acts of Governor Hobson was to 6eek for a site for the capital of the new colony. Wellington ivas vetoed by the Home Government, and the only other European town wa3 Kororareka, in the Bay of Islands. In this place or its neighbourhood the governor would doubtless have fixed his headquarters, had it not been for Henry Williams. This sagacious man had'long noted the magnificent possibilities of the Waitemata Harbour, and on being asked his advice ho took the governor to the spot. Hobson at once saw the value of the position, , and' selected the,place where the city of Auckland was soon to rise. But before he could buy the land from its Maori possessors, he wa6 disabled'by a stroke of illness, and returned invalided to find nursing and medical attention at the inission station of Waimato. During the period of his convalescence he fixed his abode at Russell—a house just opposite to Paihia —and the Auckland scheme was left in abeyance. Speculators wore busy about other suggested .localities in the Bay of Islands, but the real site was known only to Henry Williams and to the governor himself. What a chance was Sere for a speculator! Never, perhaps, before or since, has such an opportunity occurred. Williamß, with his unrivalled influence over the Maoris, might have bought up largo tracts of land noar th® new site. If the charges against him are true, this i 6 what he would have done. As a matter, of fact, he never acquired a single acre of land in that district. He suffered the seat of government to be.removed a hundred miles away from his own doors to a place where he did not possess, or try to possess, a single foot. This fact should surely set at rest for ever the question of the disinterestedness of Henry Williams." 1 Canon Purohas is of opinion that' Henry Williams was the "greatest ; of New Zealand missionaries." He never lost the confidence of the Maoris. At the unveiling of the monument, which the Maoris erected to his memory at Paihia, one of the chiefs said: "This island was a very hard stone, and it wais Archdeacon, Williams who broke it." Hadfield and Rauparaha. A fitting tribute ;is paid to the splendid work done by Bishop Hadfield. How Hadfield saved -Wellington when Rauparaha threatened to . attack the town and destroy every man, woman, and child is a-thrilling story : „ "Forming his camp on an islet in the Otnki Biver, and taking up a bold attitude, Bauparaha endeavoured to secure the assistance of the Ngatirauka\va tribesmen. But Hadfield had followed him along the coast, ;'and how brought his great influence to bear on the Natives as they were gathered on ' the river bank. Rauparaha's . passionate eloquence failed of its effect, and he saw that tlie game;was lost. - With that rapid decision for whicli he was renowned, this Maori Napoleon now seized what seemed his one. remaining chance of safety; lie crept submissively to Hadfield. and applied to be received as a candidate for baptism. Somewhat to the amazement of his white .friends, Hadfield accepted him as a catechumen, and the two men actually became fast friends. Thus' was white New Zealand saved by Waikanae Christianity; and Waikanae Christianity was due, under God, to an invalided Oxford undergraduate, a Maori 'slave,~ nnd n' little girl with her Gospel of St. Luke!"