THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Tablet, 2 September 1909, Page 10

THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND

MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY DAYS

(Contributed.) Writings of the Early Missionaries (continued). We may rely., on the zeal of Father - Forest to keep the sacred flame burning. I assure you I was very much pleased with my Sunday in Napier on the 2nd of February. I assisted at the offices, and listened .to the organ of the little "church ; there is nothing approaching it, I am sure, in either' New Zealand or several -othe'r^missions. I was deeply edified, though at the same time pained, to witness the^eal of the good Father. His church being too small to contain" all the Catholic population, in consequence of the garrison, he is obliged to say two Masses on Sundays — one at 9' o'clock for the soldiers, and the other at 11 for the civilians. He preaches at each Mass, and this does not prevent his attendance at catechism, and preaching again at Vespers. You can easily imagine how all this fatigue must prey upon an already delicate constitution. Fortunately, he has now to assist him Father Sauzeau, who is delighted to be formed for the missionary life by such a -model; and Brother Athanase' is also with him, and will be most useful, under the present circumstances of the mission. At present all Father Forest's interest seems to be directed to the schools, for which he -has, already made many sacrifices, and suffered much anxiety ; but all this labor" is necessary in order to gain- souls to God. I must now give you some account of Father Regnier'3 labors; he has continued his visits to the Catholic settlements dispersed in the various parts of the province, and also to the Maoris who belong to his mission, and are scattered amidst the mountains and the valleys; but, in the. meantime, he has not» neglected his great, work, one which is probably destined to contribute largely to the spread, of religion in the province. I told you four years ago of his having removed his house to thfo land he had purchased from the Government; that he had extended his property to 400 acres in all, and that it was surrdunded.by a rivar or roads so as to be isolated from- the rest of the country. [This evidently refers to Meeanee.]' I was_ able to congratulate the Father and the two Brothers on the success of their labors and devotedness. All this large territory is surrounded by a deep trench, with an entrance only by a large gate of galvanised thick iron bars. The land has been cultivated, and the live stock seem thriving. Of course, what has been as yet done is little if compared with all that still must be accomplished, but progress is made every year, and the establishment will become more fruitful. A road that passes by the land, and a bridge thrown across the river, render easy access to the town. I was not a little surprised to find that in this vast plain, which four years since presented nothing but bog, covered with furze and bushes of phormium-tenax, was now dotted with pretty houses, meadows, corn, and numerous herds of cattle. The weather was beautiful, and everything around beamed with life and vigor. Such has been the improvement in the land, that .what was sold by Government for 10s 6d could now ' easily bring twelve pounds sterling an acre, even for tho part not yet cultivated. Father Regnier invited me to accompany him to a great festival of the Maoris, which took place in the environs, and at which a good many Catholics attended. I could not accept his invitation.. I intended to' leave Napier on the 3rd March, but a violent tempest broke out on the night of the 2nd, and lasted for three days, causing terrible ravage in several places. I have often heard the climate of New Zealand lauded as being the most beautiful and agreeable in the world, possessing the winter of Naples and the summer of London : the latter is not very wonderful in the way of temperature, and I can equally aver that if the winter of Naples is like ours here, it is not so very desirable. But it must be remembered that New. Zealand lies between 33 degrees to 49 of southern latitude,, so that the temperature must consequently vary in its different parts. It is, however ,take it all in all, a beautiful country, though it -is damp and exposed *to violent winds. . During the afternoon of the sth of March, the heavens became clouded, the wind seemed to change, and the storm bird was seen on the sea in the evening. We were soon obliged to take shelter "behind a cape, for to have tried to make head against the "storm would have been only to burn our coals uselessly. We made another attempt to sail on Friday, but were again obliged quickly to seek a second refuge, and it was with great .difficulty that we were able to reach Wellington at nine o'clock on Wednesday evening. I began to feel very uneasy, as the steamer for Sydney was to leave the very next day, and had I not reached in time to go in it, I should be delayed a -month, and perhaps longer, in New Zealand. Father Petitjean was absent visiting the Catholic Maoris of Otaki. Monsignor was unceasing in kind attentions to me. To my great regret I was unable to go to see Father Scon. 1 -I have already told you how I met him for a few moments on the first day of my arrival in Wellington. . On "my return from the South, the Father was in the Wairarapa visiting this distant part of his parish. I went to spend a Sunday at Hutt, but our dear old friend was not there.

It so happened that he who is generally the easiest to be tound of all- others, was not permitted hy Divine Providence to meet me. When I was returning, I spent two' days at .Nelson. Father Garin was in the Wairau, Father Michel' very often ill, and- Father Martin only awaiting orders to depart and exercise his zeal in a large sphere. On the 18th 1 arrived safely in Sydney' in time to celebrate ' with the Missioners, newly arrived from France, a family feast in honor of our glorious and kind protector St. Joseph. Before concluding, allow me, dear Father, to say a tew words on the -emulation, activity, and even ambition exhibited by each of those little provinces in New Zealand an their efforts to surpass -one another. On all sides searches are being made in order to discover gold mines and a large reward has been offered to him who shall indicate where such are to be found. Then, when any gold is found, we hear on all sides the cry : Come here and you will make your fortune. The southern provinces consider themselves very fortunate not to have been visited by the troubles of the Maoris, and they are anxious to separate their interests from those of the northern provinces, so that they may not be obliged to share in the expense- of the war: Auckland insists on remaining the capital, being already in possession of the title; Wellington, on the other hand, puts forth claims to that honor, founded on its beautiful harbor and central situation. I have already told you of the liopes of Otago; Canterbury will assuredly put forth reasons for claiming the first FnT^l 1 S01 1 1 '- , pr ° U l? f ib f little exports chrome to England while waiting for some more precious metal What zeal and what perseverance they give evidence of! Ihe objects of interests they seek to secure are, I am well aware, very important; and we may well praise their energy and imitate their example. May we also be animated by a holy and noble emulation for the salvation of their souls, while enlightening them, and may we not allow our courage to fail either when exposed to sacrifices or privation or contradictions, no matter from what quarter they reach us! Above all, may we, in the midst of the various and powerful sects, keep . our eyes fixed on God and rely on Him alone to grant us strength and patience tor in Him and by Him alone is salvation to be obtained! State of the Diocese of Wellington in 1864. Since the Rev. Father Poupinel visited New Zealand ? acl \ J™ r he llumber of the population has become largpr! In 1860 there were but 73,000 Europeans, and at the beginning of 1864 their number amounted to 109 000 The emigration is directed chiefly to the south, whither it has been drawn by the discovery of new gold mines. From the Jl tqq J an «ary to the 30th of November, 1863, there were -2a,7«38 emigrants landed in the province of Ota°-o alone and at the end of 1863 the population of that district has been stated to >c from 60,000 to 80,000. A new province has been created at the mines; this is called Southland its capital Invercargill. This little town of 500 inhabitants is situated on the sea, at the opening of a magnificent plain which stretches to the mountains, where the richest dico-inus are. A brilliant future is in prospect for this town? and its , population will be speedily tenfold what it is. Other towns have sprung up as if by enchantment in Southland and become larger every year. Dunedin, the capital of Otago had but 3000 inhabitants in 1862 at present its population amounts to 30,000. The following list gives the names of the nine provinces of New Zealand, their capitals, and the population of each: North Island. Auckland; capital, Auckland 15 000 Wellington; capital, Wellington B'ooo Hawke's Bay; capital, Napier I*soo Taranaki; capital, New Plymouth 3'ooo South Island. Nelson; capital, Nelson 6 000 Marlborough; capital, Picton """"" '500 Canterbury; capital, Christchurch 6 000 Otago; capital, Dunedin 30 000 {southland; capital, Invercargill 500 nn SllTTa b?««oeb ?««o ei l *£% Natives and English was ended on March 18, 1862, but began again towards the close of the year, in spite of all the efforts of the Government to ?W™ 'J^i T I™ 68 t0 day. The principal heatre of the first. war was the province of Taranaki; this bime hostilities commenced near Auckland, and are continued in Waikatp The Natives of the other provinces of the north, * whilst preserving their sympathies for the Maori king whom they have elected, have taken no open part in the contest; they will not mix in it unless they are first attacked. < The result of this unequal war disastrous to both parties, is no matter of doubt; the English Government have about 10,000 soldiers or, volunteers, the Maoris have scarcely half the number. Sad will -be^ the rate or tins population, so worthy of sympathy, and which excites the deepest interest in the English Governors To the war which decimates them are added diseases, which destroy life bring on an ever-increasing mortality There are but few children, and those which are borri die M; an early age There were 56,000 Maoris alive in 1860; it is to be feared that the approaching census will show a considerable diminution amongst their number. (To be continued.)