KAIAPOI—WHAT NEXT?

Globe, Volume VI, Issue 625, 20 June 1876, Page 3

KAIAPOI—WHAT NEXT?

To the Editor of the Globe.

Sir,—ln ending my little essay on the body miscalled Anglican I must recapitulate, in order to make the truth stand out clearly in all its parts. I first showed that this body was a nonconformist heretic Church, without tests ; and then, turning to history, showed the absurd attempt of Messrs Godley and Co, to undo the great work that the Anglo-Saxon race had taken three hundred years to fight for and to gain (i. c. religious freedom). Then, taking up history, I sought to prove that it should be written in four distinct works, each having six parellel columns, because—and here is the root of me whole matter—it will be found that the real motive power, or actual cause of all the changes that have convulsed the world for the last three centuries was the “Freedom of the Human Will,” asserted by certain numbers of men, as against other numbers of men, who asserted the “Slavery of the Will.” • it is impossible to unravel the tangle into which history has.got unless you get all the threads into your hands. [See 'Fronde, with Letters, &c., of the Spanish Ambassadors, open the most dreadful secrets and upset all our historians, even the cautious judicial Hallam coming horribly to grief, helplessly upset, and Lingard completely routed.] The Church of England, they all admit, was a political compromise ; thus, here was a State Church subject to the Pope’s jurisdiction, when the Pope’s power was destroyed by Act of Parliament a head was wanted, the King was chosen ecclesiastical head, spiritual head, able to nominate bishops, and, as history proves, able to remove and even to destroy them. The supremacy is established in article XXXVII, to"which X understand Anglican ministers have to swear. The most utter of all political absurdities arises thus : The Anglican Colonial Churches deny the supremacy, and act against it, and yet swear it; and so commit perjury—if conscious of their deeds ; charity, however, draws the veil of ignorance oyer such nonsense, and hopes thev do not know that which they swear. The final result is that our Anglican < ’denial Churches must alter the Thirty-nine Articles, to escape perjury, and they are in truth Calviuistic Episcopal nonconformists. Several other queer political truths crop out.

1. England possesses a State Church, while the colonies have no such thing.

*2. The Supremacy Act makes the Queen head of the English Church only in England, not in the colonies, although the 37th article states the contrary.

3. The Anglical Church in the colonies, unendowed, dis-established, is positively more progressive, missionary, propagandist, successful, in a Gospel view, than the endowed established Church of England.

' 4. Would it not be infinitely letter to “ free the human will ” by bursting the last

chain, by disestablishing the English Church, putting the bishops out of the House of Peers, and by destroying that last relic of slavery, the Supremacy Act, by assimilating the Church of England to the Canterbury nonconformist ? 5. Queen Victoria is placed in a most absurd position. By the Supremacy Act head of the Church, appointing its bishops (although this is really done by a Jew), and yet not head of the Church, for in her dominions the mpst part of her subjects arc not Anglicans, even if we judge them by that fearful test of Mr Carlyon’s, viz., “ I, G. The English-speaking races here again have shown that practical common sense can win “real freedom” under the actual nominal “badge of slavery,” for there is no part of the globe where religious freedom is so thoroughly secure as in that very empire whose Queen is said to be head of the Church,

For myself I have long looked at this and other matters with astonishment ; but, in pointing out to my friends of the so called Anglican body their false position, and their false swearing, I have striven to do it in the quiet, discursive, historical style, without giving offence, although it must be very offensive to Mr Henry Harper to find that he has no legal title to claim ike name of Primate of New Zealand, and i» must he still more offensive to the body of clergy- and of highly respectable gentlemen (among them his Honor Mr Greaser.) fo find A. ; dor a race... ui.’r.g ’ ■ VJT„ TFF ZWOFNT DISOOVx!RDUS IE V.nw GUINEA. AX/CJ.GiiU n m~ C'T'/IL.MtATZCIT, Not long since a telegram from Australia mentioned the discovery in New Guinea of a community possessed of civilised habits in a high degree. The Sydney Mail of Saturday. June 3rd, contains despatches from the Eliangowan, missionary and exploring vessel, from which the substance of the telegram was taken. We reprint the portion of the despatches relating to the particular discoveries under notice, from which it will be seen that their importance has been a little exaggerated, although there is no doubt about the community discovered being far advanced of other savages.

“ 10. Air Lavven joined us at Port Moresby, where Dr and Mrs Turner remained until our return. Having, on a previous voyage, visited the villages from Port Moresby to the western side of Hood Bay, we decided to commence with Kerepunu, which is situated on the eastern side of ihe bay, at the entrance to Hood Lagoon. We left Port Moresby on the afternoon of the 3rd April, and steamed through the Basilisk Passage, hoping to run down under sail during the night, and to save our fuel, but the wind fell off, obliging us to keep up easy steam. On the following morning we stood in for Hood Bay, running along the reef on the eastern side. This reef, it appears, is fine fishing ground. We saw about 100 natives at work there. Being anxious to get as near the village as possible, we steamed slowly along the reef, hoping to find some passage through which we might push our little steamer, but there did not appear to be any opening. We returned to try and find anchorage under the lee of the barrier, but could not find a bottom at twenty-five fathoms. Evening had set in, and we felt that we must anchor in the bay somewhere for the night, so we returned towards the head of the bay, and when well up, saw to our delight a fine passage bchicd the reefs, large enough for a vessel of a thousand tons. We steamed up to the lagoon and anchored in the entrance, close to the village, which is a quiet and safe anchorage at all seasons.

“ 11. It very soon became evident that we had dropped into a thickly-populated place. Canoes came off thick and fast, blit there was no cause for fear, as the people are friendly with those at Port Moresby, and some of the chiefs had met Mr Lawcs there. Our decks were soon crowded with men, women, and children, all talking at once, as loud and as fast as they could. They are a fine, healthy, strong, and active people ; seemed mightily .'pleased with all they saw on board, urged jus to go and see their villages on the morrow, and went on shore to have a big dance, and dream of beads and hoop iron. We heard the drums and singing nearly the whole of the night. “ 12. At an early hour in the morning the nine chiefs came off with a crowd of “people. In order to secure a -little space for breakfast, which we generally have on the skylight, we fastened a rope across the deck. It was highly amusing to see the dusky crowd pushing and fighting for good places to see the lions feeding! They seemed astonished at the ‘ set out’ on the table, and I dare say some of our friends at home would have been astonished too, though from a different point of view ! They were evidently in doubt about the salt beef, and asked if it were human flesh. We gave them a piece of bread, which they examined and smelt, and passed from one to the other, also a little sugar, but no cue had the courage to taste, although what the taste would have been in their dirty mouths, filthy and constantly chewing the betel nut chunuvn, and a kind of bark, it is hard to say. At prayers they seemed bewildered, although they had evidently an ifier*. that they ought to be quiet.. We bad some talk with the chiefs, some of whom could speak the Port Moresby language. Having made them a small present each, we accompanied them on shore, and were delighted to find on every side evidences of intelligence, industry, and cleanliness, We were conducted by the chiefs, and followed by a crowd of natives through the township, which consists of nine villages connected by gardens and lanes neatly fenced in, the former being well weeded, and the latter, like the villages, cleanly swept. Although the houses and streets are overshadowed by trees, not a dead leaf or cocoaaut bush is to be seen. They must be swept at least ones a day. Parrots and cockatoos are great pets, and are to be seen on the verandahs of many of the houses. One part of the people devote themselves to fishing, and the other to planting, neither interfering with the special work of the other, but each returning in the evening from fishing and planting to barter their provisions. The agriculturalists never try to catch fish, or the fishermen to plant, although they live together. A large plot of land is turned over very systematically and quickly by a number of men standing in a row with a pointed sties in each hand, which they raise and plunge into the ground simultaneously, arid then use them as so many levers to turn over the soil, It is surprising how

quickly they can turn over an acre of soil in this way. They make and use a great number of canoes ; some have outriggers, though they are mostly double, two lashed together about 18 inches apart. We saw them at working making a number of canoes, and were surprised at the adaptability and durability of the stone axes, and their dexterity in using them. They cut very much better than many of the common axes sold to natives by Europeans. The houses of Kerepunuitcs are well built, their canoes neatly made, their gardens carefully cultivated, their streets kept clean, everything, indeed, appears to be done decently and in order. They understand well how to drive a bargain, and may be considered a commercial people in a much higher state of civilisation than many of their neighbors. The chief seemed delighted to walk with us arm in arm through the town carrying our umbrellas. I noticed that walking arm Jin arm was quite common amongst them, even, or I should perhaps say especially, with young men and women. Wo suppose the town to consist of not less than 2000 inhabitants. “ 13. From the natives we learn that a river runs into the lagoon, which takes its ihe behind the Astrolabe range, so we took our small boat and crossed the lagoon, which is about fifteen miles in circumference, and from five to nine fathoms deep at the entrance and for more than half way across, although it baa hitherto been supposed that there was no passage into it : now. however, we have found it to bo a splendid anchorage, large i, *■ '1 Q- : ' .'•} fie ’■ J.Vo TpS" I; f-w r. v.~9 pv.llci vp it ife: v, i .lie an:; s hr...... .nd .icr.r.i! olgi.i fact de ;p aaci abor.t eighty yard;! vide, aithoxga shall or/ at the entrance, ther* uofc bc~g (the \ -ay v/o vnnt) move than two feet of viator at low tide. At 2r.iL it bore to tire east, ana then took a r ov. v -fiarp fern rv and ». or.rge or? h ; ii3 nud lore to ihc'N.W., :;unnin;f, the aafe/es say, between the Mrcgillivray red Astrolabe ranges. From tie account o:: the natives, it would appear that the .Astrolabe range is the water shed or source of this river and the Manumanu, the one running to the east and the other to the west. We have named our discovery the Dundee, It runs into a basin about a mile in circumference just before entering the lagoon.”