THE MELANESIAN MISSION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2051, 11 April 1907, Page 4

THE MELANESIAN MISSION.

Supporters of the Melanesian Mission to the number of over 200 attended a garden party at Bishopscourt, Auckland, which was given b3' Bishop and Mrs. Neligan, in honor of Bishop and Mrs. Wilson, and other workers in the Melanesian Mission, prior to their departure for Norfolk Island. One . of Auckland’s finest autumn afternoons favored the function, which was exceedingly pleasant. After tea, the guests assembled to hear an address by Bishop Wilson on the work of the Melanesian Mission and its prospects. Ail interesting preliminary was the presentation to Bishop Wilson, by Mrs. Neligan, on behalf of the original St. Barnabas’ Society, of a cheque for £SO, with which to build a missionary’s house.

Bishop Wilson expressed his thankfulness for the gift, and showed the importance of providing houses for the missionaries built after European style. Until recently, everyone in Melanesia lived in native houses, and 1 he thought it was because of that that the men broke down from time

to time. They could not keep their health long in a native house, because the ground was sodden with rain, Lho '.vails of leaves got very damp, and the roof of thatch, besides being damp, harbored insocts, including the mosquito, tile bite of which often inoculated t'ho victim with malarial fever. The dark cornel's of the native houses were favorable ( breeding-places for mosquitoes, because they could not bo seen and hunted out. 01 courso the workeis bad to get used to having fever, but lives wore much too valuable in Melanesia to bo thrown away, and they had now determined to build in every district of Melanesia a house tor the workers, which would be more comfortable and cleanly. A bachelor's house cost £SO, and one of two rooms £OO, while a house for a married man cost £IOO. He hoped that Christchurch sympathisers would give a house, and Wellington he hoped was going to give another women’s house, and the women’s work in the islands —-small as it was—had In,en so successful that he hoped next your to open another women’s house in a new centre. He also hoped next year to build another women’s mission station at Mota, making the third. He would like to say something about the workers. Ilis hearers would remember that' last October they lost Mr. Goddon. His hearers did not know at that time that the mission workers were wondering how the mission would get workers. It scorned as if they were losing continually, but since Mr. Goddon’s life was taken, offers of service had been regularly coming in. lie had the names of a't least thirty men and two ladies who had volunteered for the work. (Applause.) Ho had accepted ton men and two ladies. Of the ten men, two were

priests, the Rev. IV. H. Petrie, of Perth, and t'ho Rev Stanley Howard, of Sydney. Another was a layman, Mr. Roisclicr, of Wellington, and a fourth was Mr. Crawshaw, an Aucklander, who was now training at St. John’s College. Six young Englishmen, who had been accepted, had been sont to Warminster Training College. The two ladies, who belonged to Christchurch, would go out to the Islands this time next year. There were four men in Christchurch and three in Wellington who wanted to undertake the work, and lie looked forward with hopefulness and ideasure to the mission three years hence. In future the mission steamer Southera Cross, would make three voyages during the season. This would enable the outlying islands to be visited. The first voyage would be to the Solomons and outlying islands, and the third to all islands where the work was going on. The extra, voy„„o meant more expenditure, and the ship, instead of costing £4400 as it did last year, would cost about £OOOO to run. This meant that unless subscriptions were raised considerably the mission would be heavily in debt at the end of the year, but they must not leave out those people for whom the Melanesian mission had made itself responsible to preach the Gospel. He put it forward as an ideal subscription that the three big dicceses of the colony—Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington—gave a thousand pounds each. New Zealand had given £3300 annually to the mission, and he thought the colony might give at least £4OOO. and he was quite sure, now his friends knew how they stood, they would do more for the mission. He was most grateful for the helpers who had supported the mission in the past. In addition to Bishop and Airs. Wilson. the Rev. N. Drummond (South Australia), Rev. C. E. Fox, and Miss Kitchen (Victoria) were Melanesian mission workers present at the gathering.