Lecture by the Bishop of Melanesia.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 66, 21 March 1901, Page 4

Lecture by the Bishop of Melanesia.

In the courso of his lecture in the Theatre Royal on Tuesday night, Bishop Wilson gave a most interesting description of the work accomplished by the mission, and said:—

Already the Gospel has reached the utteimost parts of the earth, included in which is Melanesia, and amongst the once wild and savage islanders there are now devoted Christians amongst the 14.000 native school people, and native priests, deacons, and teachers of the Melanesian and Papuan races. The now century will certainly see all these islanders gathered into the Christian fold, and the old savagery, with its infanticide, cannibalism, headhunting, and nameless cruelties will have passed away, and a new day have dawned, fraught with “peace on earth and good wiU amongst men.” A year ago I wrote a letter to the whole Church, laying before it the undermanned end illequipped condition of the Melanesian Mission. I appealed for twenty additional missionaries and a new vessel, much faster, larger, and stronger than our present one. My appeal for Missionaries brought us two priests—Mr Hopkins, of S. Catherine’s, Cambridge, and Mr Goddin, of Sydney. The appeal for a ship brought us nearly £IO,OOO towards the total cost of one, namely £15,000. There remains £5,000 to raise during _the new year. We cannot be sufficiently thankful for the manner in which tho collection for the ship was taken up. From all sides the money has come in; from Australia) by the Jubilee of Missions collection and by Sunday Schools; from New Zealanci, £2,800 by Archdeacon S. Williams’ generous donation of £I,OOO and by some successful sales of work; from England, £5,000 by donations. It needs now but to keep up the generous inflow for a few months more and we shall have enough money in hand to just'fy us in ordering the ship at an early date. If everyone helps, and is not afraid of sending the smallest sums—so long as everyone sends something—we shall pay for her by the end of the year, and early next year she will be lying at anchor in Auckland Harbor, reaay to begin her good work. Once more I must appeal for men. We have been more successful in collecting money than gainiug new missionaries. We need eighteen more men, some of whom should be clergy, some well-educated laymen, some doctors, and some mechanics, with trades that might be turned to good account in, a Mission such as ours. In speaking last year of the condition of the Mission at that time, I was obliged to say that we had some islands which we never had visited, and others we had never even seen. The reason for this apparent neglect is that the Mission has never possessed a ship fast enough to' get through in one year all the work she had to do. The larger half of the Solomon Islands, all of which are within our diocese, is still heathen, because it lies nearly 2,000 mi'es from Norfolk Island, and time has sufficed us to visit the Islands as far as Bugotu, in Ysabel, and no further. There is no reason whatever why this state of things should continue. With a ship, travelling 10 knots an hour, instead of four (like our present one), we have reckoned that we should do in 42 days the work which now takes 90 days, and so have plenty of time at our disposal to push on into the unknown places. A new ship to carry us to these islands, and eighteen more men to hold them, with good women to labor in the Christian parts of the diocese—these are what we ask for the Mission in the New Year. As for ourselves, we ask for the Church’s prayers that wisdom may be given to us all, and a Christlike love of our people, which will move us to do and suffer great things for them, and faith by which at all times, whether of solitude or sickness, of danger or difficulty, we shall see Him who is invisible and know that He is near.”