BACK-BLOCKS MISSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 242, 18 November 1909, Page 4

BACK-BLOCKS MISSION.

A public meeting was held at St. Mary's llall oil Tuesday night for consideration of the present position of j the Anglicau Baekbloeks Mission, In I the absence of the vicar, who was in Auckland, Mr. W. 11. Skinner presided. The earlier part of Hie meeting was occupied with a very interesting address hy one of the. niissioners. tin- Kev. M. | W arner, M.A., who described the work ol tlie mission. Mr. Warner' pointed out that it was the baekbloeks settlers who were tat; backbone of tlio nation. This country could not hope to be a great one except througii its baekbloeks settlers. And, too; no nation could hope to he a great one unless it was a (iod-fearng one. Hence the minion of the llev. Mr. Cruickshanks and himself. Mr. Warner showed a map of the great disti'iet oyer wliieb the operate. extending m one direction into Hie Kiuji t ountry ami in another to the Wauganui Kiver, with New Plymouth as it** headquarters. In lhi* district are two lartie cooperative More than halt of the area, oontilhiei! Mr. Warner. lutii no nit'talled roads. Thostf who had been over an uinuetalh'd road ill winter would know what that meant. One t hing that iiad particularly struck him was the great hospitality ol' the country people. Their hospitality wa- perfectly marvellous, especially 'lo an Knglishman. Mr. Warner graphically described to his audience a typical mission visit into the baekbloeks, with the missioned ilounder- | ing over unmctalled roads in heavy rain, or traversing an alleged six-feet wide track, probably only two feet six

inenes wuie in u'.uii.i, »jlu a -".*.,, on one hand and a sheer precipice on the other. In the 1200 sipiarc miles | of the home mission district the mis- ■ sions had 20 or 27 centres of work ill which tliev held or tried to hold services. Until eight mouths ago the whole of that district was in charge of one man, of whom the speaker could only sav: "Poor chap." ft was mauifesily ~,'possible tor one man to work thai glial district. To put one man in ciiarge of it really seemed to be providing a case for the Prevention of t ruelly to Animals. Tne wmi; was excessively exacting, both physically aud menially, il was impossioic lor one man to uoni the district wan any system, because lie could have no approximate idea whatever where he would be in a given time. Now they bad an opportunity oi organising the work on some delmite plan, aud the niissioiiers had wimsonie trouble drawn' up a list of places at which they iiH.cntlcd to hold regular Services for the next three monies, tins list had bein printed and disirii.aleu so that the settlers would know wlien services were to be held. At 2b centres they hoped to hold Sunday services once a niontn, and at the remaining centres they hoped lo arrange for wccK-tlay services. Hut just as the lnissioiiers were beginning to think they were really touching the fringe of tne work there arose a crisis, a nnancial one. To keep two men oil the work they must ask help ifrom outside. the mission could iiol be self-supporting lor many years, inose who knew the conditions hi whlc.i the baekblocks selilers lived would realise thai Uiey could not themselves even support, ouy inissioiier. Consideration ol tiuauce hampered the spiritual work. In the baekblocks many people looked on a parson witu suspicion, thinking lie was perhaps after money. It was not the proper work of a home missionur to have to go round hat m hand. Il mighl seem very hard to some people that the mission should conic for help to New Plymouth, whicii had aireauy done splendid work in assisting Hit: mission, but they returned the compliment anil came again lor help. .Mr. C. E. linker proposed that the meeting pledge itself to assist the mission in every possible way, and saoual appoint a committee to collect funds and generally assist the furtherance and extension of the aims of the mission. The chairman was sure Him Si. .Mary's parish would not neglect the call, lie paid a tribute to '.the great help thai the ladies of tne congregation, headed by -Miss (iodfrev, had given to the mission by their liackuloeks Mi-iun 1.,- i ,... 1 e. not only in gathering in money, luu m creating an inten-i in Hie won;, members of the congregation who not all'ord to help iinaueiallv covilu _ ip in other ways. .Mr. Bakers motion was carried unanimously. It was decided that the executive committee should coil,is ( „| .six. thiw lo In- nominated by me I'.nekbiock-, .\ii-,ioii League and three bv the parishioners. Tin- executive, w'iiicii will, ol ionise, lie under the standing commit lee in .Viuiilaud controlling the baekblocks musiou in the diocese, will not supersede the llackblocks Mission League. The latter will eany on its work as heretofore. The executive fcomjuiittee .ivjill consist of Mrs. J. Tiscli, Misses' Godfrey and Marshall (representing the llackblocks Mission League), and Messrs. W. 11. Skinner, W. P. Crawford, and Lush.