BISHOP CROSSLEY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7, 13 May 1913, Page 5

BISHOP CROSSLEY.

ADDRESS BY HIS LORDSHIP. A social to enable Stratford parishioners to meet Bishop Cross ley was held in the Parish Hail last evening. Many were present, and the •Ashop added quite a number to his ever-growing circle of friends. His Lords.:ip gave an address, of which the qualification “interesting” is j scarcely adequate. His Lordship opened by remarking 1 that he wished to speak about two great causes. THE MARSDEN CENTENARY. The first, he said, was the greatest event that had happened in New Zealand, an event which would never recur and which gave Now Zealand a chance, if used, of strengthening the national character. He wished every man and woman to take an interest in it. It was, he said, on Christmas Day, 1814, that the Word of Christ was first spoken in New Zealand by Samuel Marsden, and the coming Christmas would mark the first centenary of that great event. His Lordship then briefly related the influences which resulted in that great missionary effort of colonisation by the son of a Yorkshire weaver. He told, of the almost insuperable difficulties put in his way—how be was compelled to protitle ins own ship, provision her, and enter into a bond for the lives of the men he got to man her—the onlyhelp he received from the Government being the services of representatives of two trades, a printer and a wheelwright. Marsden landed at Oihi in the Bay of islands on Christmas Day, 1814, and held service in an extemporised church. More missionaries followed, and in spite of much difficulty, hardship and danger, the church grow and prospered, so much sp that when Sehvyu arrived in 1842 he was able to write in his journal that he found “a wnole nation of pagans concerted to Christianity.” Mr Marsden was not only the founder of the church in New Zealand, he was also the founder of the nation. Before that memorable Christinas Day the only Europeans living mu these islands were a floating population of beach-combers and Bakeha-Maoris—chiefly runaway sailors and escaped convicts and tieket-of-leave men from the penal setlements of New South Wales. By establishing the little station at Oihi he took the lirst stop m the real colonization of New Zealand, and it wa< largely due to the influence of the missionaries, whom he supervised for ovei twenty years, that the peaceful occupation of the country was effected. Upon the famous spot at Oihi, now marked by a handsome stone cross, the Church, Synod proposed holding a great festival next Christmas. A great raupo cathedral would be erected by the Maoris, for the holding of services. Six weeks later in Auckland would be held the first church wo-jg-' -s m New Zealand. Representatives of every country in tin world could attend this unique gathering, wnere many important questions would he discussed. In connection with the celebrations, the Bishop said tne Church proposed raking by meilbv of thank offerings the sum of £20,001) for the purpose of''establishing a religious educational institute for teachers. A lady had already given the wished those present and all others ’to do anything and everything towards this means of propogating the teach ing of God. He did not ask for anymore than they could give, but he would like each one to place in an envelope a coin (any value) for eac year they had lived in New, Zealand for toe happiness of this country wai largely due to the man to whose memory they dedicated it. BIBLE-IN-SCHOOLS. The- other cause of which tin; Bishop spoice was that of introducing tin Bible into schools. He stated that dt. ough lie had a great respect for the New Zealand system of education, he did not think it perfect. He advo cated a system which had been successfully tried in certain parts of Ans tralia, in which pupils read, in tin course of their ordinary literary exercises, portions of the Bible’s teaching These were in the form of hand-books, and were given as reading lessons Classic works in literature and poetry were introduced into the school ir. thm form. Why he asked, should not extracts of the world’s greatest book lie also included. As indicative of the ignorance of a great number of children in this country on the subject of the Bible, the Bishop nine-tionc-d an instance where not one of the pupils of a country school could tell him one of the Ton Commandr.er.ts. He thought, however, that .he majority of parents in New Zealand wore in favour of Bible reading in schools, and ho desired as many as possible to sign the cards circulated by tim Bible-iii-State Schools League favouring the system of religions instruction in State schools and requesting the Government to take a referendum on the subject.

During the evening musical items \vere rendered by Misses N. Butler, H. Wilson, G. Black, Mieses O’Leary and Rogers. An informal dance concluded a very pleasant evening.