MISSIONARY MEETING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4967, 22 February 1877, Page 3

MISSIONARY MEETING.

A public missionary meethg was held lust eveniiiv in the Presbyterian Church, 'VViI lisstreet, the chair being taken by the Rev. Mr. Oes at half-past 7 o’clock. There was a fair attendance of ladies and gentfemen, and a good number of the members of to choir were preProceedings were commenced by singing the 16th hymn, “ Rise oh Cod and shine, after which the Bev. Mr. Treadwell, of Wanganui, engaged iu prayer. The Bev. Mr. Ogq then remarked that the office of chairman had devolved upon him, not in consequence of any connection with or par- ■ ticular knowledge of missicnary work, but by ■virtue of his position as Moderator of the Presbytery. He then to describe the Geographical position occipied by. tlie new Hebrides, the mission in connection with which ' he thought should receive the sympathy and support of every colonist. The devoted men who were laboring in the great cause m these islands had made a great deal of progress; because although the grand object had not yet been obtained, namely, the converting of all the people there from heathen darkness into the light of Christianity, yet the work done waa such as to give great encouragement. The tree of the Gospel had been planted, and had taken root, and ultimately they, hoped that it would overspread the entire archipelago. Mr 0"G then proceeded to speak of the ministers engaged in mission-work, which required great self-denial and devotion accompanied by powerful resolution to enable them to wait for the appearance of fruit from their efforts. Having made these remarks, he called upon Mr. Watt. * ■ The Bev. Mr. Wan said he had great pleasure in being called upon to give an account of the work in which he was engaged. He remembered having addressed an audience -in the Presbyterian Church some eight’years ago, when he was only acquainted with the New Hebrides by such means as those he. was addressing possessed. Since then, however, he had himself been engaged in the field of labor, and should be glad to tell them what he had seen there, and of his varied experiences. But in the first place he would say a word or two about the missionary schooner, which was now lyinG in the Wellington harbor. The Dayspring had been brought to New Zealand in accordance with a promise made to the people of the colony last year. The Church of New Zealand in both islands had contributed so largely to the purchase of the schooner, and so liberally to its support from year to year, that it was thought to be time the people here should have an opportunity of inspecting the vessel to whose maintenance they were contributing. It might be asked what use the vessel was, and he might answer them in this way : what the coaches, steamers, railways, telegraph, and the post were to us here, the Dayspring was to them in their mission work. It was by that means they .received their letters and provisions, and it was their only means of communicating with the civilised world. After describing the geographical position of the islands, he proceeded to say that a few of them were uninhabited, and estimated the population of the inhabited islands to be 30,000 or more. He then referred to some of the difficulties of the work in which the missionaries were engaged. First, as to the seventy of the climate, and secondly, the necessity of acquiring an acquaintance with the different languages, the language 1 of, each island being peculiar to itself,’and the dialects, even in one territory, differing extremely. However, he proposed to confine himgalf more particularly to island of Tnnnfl, as being the one with which he was most acquainted, and, speaking of the people there, remarked that their characteristics were highly immoral. If the laws were taken away with all' those inclined to improvement some Idea would be gained by observations of the natives there. They lived from day to day in strife, contention, vice, and all maimer of degradation. On the island of Tanna, as the island with which he was best acquainted, the speaker might safely say that not a day passed but what was going on in some part of the island, _ on. which there were some fifty or sixty tribes. He continued to describe the habits of the people in the island. Three thousand of the people had placed themselves under -Christian control V/hen the missionaries settled'on Tanna, about eight years ago, there were about twenty natives attending the services, and the number after a time greatly increased. Owing, however, to some quarrelling among the natives, the number was again reduced, and now the attendance was about sixty, but these attended with great regularity, One great drawback with which the missionaries had to contend for long time was a superstition among the natives which led them to imagine there was something dangerous to their safety in the books prepared for them, and they rejected them accordingly; but it was satisfactory to note that of late this superstition was becoming undermined, and the books presented to the people had less of terror than before, insomuch that they had been brought to accept and study them. The Sun-day-schools, too, were conducted on a system similar to that which was common in civilised portions of the world. speaker proceeded to describe the signs which manifested themselves. . The people were beginning to see and acknowledge the benefits of anity, such as consisted in the adoption of a civilised mode of dress, etc., -and there were ■many of them who had worked hard in the interests of the gospel, and in inducing the people to accept its truth. Then followed a hymn, after which the Chairman called upon Mr. Inglis. The Rev. Mr. Inglis, who delivered a most interesting and somewhat humorous address, remarked that there was scarcely any part of the world of which most people hod less correct knowledge than the islands of the South Seas. He then proceeded to describe the situations of the various groups, and turning his attention to the New Hebrides, outline of their leading features, delivering what might be called an essay full of interest and attraction on the subject of the coral which to a considerable extent entered into tbe formation of these islands. [We regret being unable iu the present issue to print the address in full.] He then dwelt on the products of the island, speaking of the cocoanut tree, the bread tree, and the sandalwood - tree. No cereals grew there—no wheat, no barley, no oats. Maize, however; had been introduced and cultivated by the settlers. There was, notwithstanding, no lack of food, there being an abundance of yams, sweet potatoes, bananas, sugar-cane, and other productions. But he could not enter into a full description of the islands. Suffice it to say that they were all extremely beautiful and highly productive, whilst the climate, though not for a moment to be compared to the salubrious climate of Australia and New Zealand, was by no means unhealthy ; and if this condition, was fulfilled, namely, of the natives being Christianized, a great and noble future lay before those islands, both for natives and Europeans. The one would supply the stock and capital, the other would Supply the labor, and by this mutual arrangement they would benefit and enrich each other. The rev. gentleman then proceeded to speak of the people, their customs, and mode of life, and in this part of his lecture he was particularly amusing. Turning to the history of the New Hebrides Mission, he said the first attempt to civilize the people of the islands was made by the well-known Mr. John Williams, under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, in the year 1839. He landed teachers on Tanna, and on the following day he was murdered, along with Mr. Harris, on Eromanga. From that date other missionaries came to the islands at different times, and suffered much hardship in the cause of the missions ; and in 1852, he (Mr. Inglis) and his wife joined the mission, and had been connected with it ever since. After dwelling for some time on the work of the mission, and the results up to the present time, the rev. gentleman concluded by making an appeal to all for assistance in the great cause, and felt no doubt that ultimately their labors would be rewarded by success. • As before stated, the address was full of interest, and* was listened to by those present with the deepest attention. [We shall take an opportunity of publishing it in full.] A collection was then taken.

The Rev. Mr. Treadwell proposed a vote of thanks to the missionaries present, which was seconded by Mr Hutchison, and carried. A verso out of the 100th hymn having been sung, the meeting dispersed.