SLIP OF THE PEN

Hokitika Guardian, 21 September 1933, Page 8

SLIP OF THE PEN

BISHOP SELWYN’S DIOCESE. THE GALL 'OF MELANESIA). The s ory of ia slip of a pen by a Crown offical, which resulted in a bishop’s diocese being enlarged by 4f> degrees of latitude, was referred to by the Right Rev. J. T. Steward, formerly Bishop of Melanesia, preaching. at a special • service in connection with the dedication festival of AH Soulg’ Church at Hastings, England, on July 23

The preacher was referring to 'the spread of the church -overseas, which he said, had come as a result of the Oxford Movement and the current spirit of reform, and told how New Zealand, was first made into a giant ilipeese.

. In those days bishops received t-heP’ authority from letters, or legal documents, .signed by a member of the llioyaj Family, and it was intended to give Bishop Selwyn jurisdiction over New Zealand and the islands up to 23 degrees south of the Equator. But the official who wrote out. the authority before it received the Royal signature put 23 degrees north! And so the bishop’s diocese was enlarged by 46 degress of latitude and (came t 0 include the Solomons, the Reef Islands, the New Hebrides and those which came to be known as Melanesia. The white men of those districts h d little ir no respect for law arid order ; they wanted to be a law unto themselves and had no care or consideration for the rights of the natives, whom they 'thought- wore there to be exploited, killed or gold, whichever happened >o be the most profitable course to take. In consequence the .natives, hod -as bad a name for treachery and savagery as possible. The bishop, however, said Mr Stewart, did not treat his enormous mandate as a mistake but as a call from god, and after seven years going over lijs diocese and founding bishopries, he turned his attention to the islands, where the greatest difficulty was that of language. Hundreds of languages were spoken there, but none of them were written. But the bishop rea'lisd,o. that if Christianity was to be understood by the natives it must be presented to them in their own tongues.',

“Me call ourselves the heirs of such people,” said the. preacher. . “Wc call ourselves the heirs of the Oxford Movement.- Here as you meet together today to commemorate the dedication of this beautiful church, cast out vour thought® wider to embrace the other meaning of ‘church,’ riot this building. in which we worship, but the body to which we belong j with Christ as the head, the winning of all mankind to the knowledge and love of God by the', sacramental gifts of our Holy Church.”