MISSIONARY LECTURE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3109, 13 June 1917, Page 3

MISSIONARY LECTURE

At tho Wesley Hall, Taranaki Street, last evening, a lecture was delivered by the Rev. 11. 0. Nicnolson, a missionary of the Solomon ' Islands, who .is visiting New Zealand in tho interests of tho Methodist Mission 'Society. Mr. Nicholson was the first white missionary to work amongst the people of Vella Lavella, and when lie first went to the place, he said, the islanders were absolute savages, ana nead hunting was a popular pastime, while all their practices wcro heathenish. There- had been a large number ol obstacles in his way at Vella Lavella, the principal one being the unscrupulous white men. He had nothing to say against the traders a« traders, and some were tho whitest men living and helped very much, but others were entirely unscrupulous, and did their utmost to wreck tho wort of the missionaries. Further, ho said that it had become-, imperative to develop mission worjis on industrial lines. The condition wnen he wont there was that the natives wore tlie most ferocious fighters, and were Known as the Zulus of the Pacific, As an evidence of the good work done by the grace of <3od, there were now 83 places of preaching, 53 preachers taken Irom the band of one-time cannibals and head hunters, ZOflO enurch members, 2415 Sunday-school scholars, and 9000 attendants at public worship. The whole moral atmospnere had been changed, and the church was now firmly established in the'western islands. All such heathenish customs as head hunting and widow strangling had completely vanished i'rom Vella Lavella, and the low living Ixeathons had been attracted to the Christian faith and become Christianminded, attractive people. A typical native chief, in the person of one Bula, was also present atl;he meeting in company -with Mr. Nicholson, and ho spoke a few , words which were translated to the audience. He drew a comparison between his early Uic, when lie was taught as a boy that to kill a man was the only sign Of bravery, and his life of to-day when all such thoughts had been banished. He also mentioned the good work done by Mrs. Nicholson anions the women of the islands. They could not understand the European way of being kind to the women, bnt now the women were very much better off. One- of the principal things had been the building of the home tor widows, who were now allowed to live. As a result of appeals on Sunday and last night a sum of about .£l2O has been raised for the funds.