THE MELANESIAN MISSION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4976, 5 March 1877, Page 2

THE MELANESIAN MISSION.

The newly-ordained Bishop of Melanesia (Bishop Selwyn) yesterday preached, in the morning at St. Paul’s, in the evening at St. Peter’s, in aid of the Melanesian Fund. He selected for his text 1 Cor. iii, 9 —“ For we are laborers together with God.” After a reference to the privilege acknowledged, and the duty impliedly enjoined by these words, he applied the text to the promotion of the Melanesian Mission, and urged earnestly and eloquently the claim the Mission had upon the colonial Church for support. Each day colonial commerce was being extended towards these islands, and with that extension of commerce came new and increasing responsibilities on the colonists to spread the Gospel among the heathen races by whom the islands were peopled. Men said the dark races must die out before the advancing tide of civilisation. It might be so; but that formed no excuse why every effort should not he made to ameliorate the results of crime and- consequent disease which was introduced generally by the civiliser—it was no reason why the law of God should be withheld from these poor benighted savages. Was the hand of blessing to be withheld because the hand which held the curses was so active ? To repeat the language of his (the preacher’s) father—“ Were not these people crying to us, ‘ Sir, come down ere my child die ;’ ” and was it not to be sincerely hoped the spirit of Christianity would not lag behind the spirit of commerce. ... . They of the Melanesian Mission sought to teach the Gospel, and to spread civilisation —to aid the natives in the material things of this world ; to teach them the value of their labor; to lead them to look forward to a better way of living. Therefore the Mission would encourage every kind of legitimate commerce. Doubtless commerce could do much good or much harm, just as it was conducted. If examples of truthfulness and fairness indealingwere set, if articles conducing to the comfort and happiness of the islanders were brought to sell, then good would be achieved; but if on the other hand, there was knavery and trickery, and spirits and gunpowder were made the principle articles of trade, irreparable harm would be done. He implored merchants to support the Mission by sending only honorable men to trade, and looked to pubßc opinion to put down the unscrupulous trader. After giving an account of the plan of operations, he said the result of the martyrdom of Bishop Bateson had been to raise a new and stronger interest in this Mission, and prospects were at no time so encouraging as they were now. He hoped success would follow their efforts. It mattered little whether he personally failed or succeeded; but it mattered a great deal if this mission or other missions failed. Let the Church pray for missions; let it help by reproof and by- council, and by wholesome criticism, and he believed much good would be done, and that the glorious light of the Gospel would prevail over the darkness of heathendom. The collection at St. Paul’s amounted to £42 3s. 10d., and -at St. Peter’dto £3O 2s. 6d., making a total of £72 odd, nearly twice the amount taken last year; and, in addition to the above, a sum of£6 ss. 7d. was collected at the Sunday-schools which the children of St. Paul’s and St. Peter’s churches attended.