[Wesleyan Mission House.

Rev. D. Tyerman, etc., to Rev. G. Erskine and Rev. S. Leigh.

When we had the pleasure of seeing our mutual friends your worthy missionary brethren at New Zealand, we intimated our intention to write to the Secretary of your Society at Home, hoping that it might afford some gratification to him and the page 632 Society to have our views of that interesting mission. But as you are in immediate communication with your own Society, we have thought it preferable to write a few lines to you, leaving you at full liberty to make what use of them you think proper.

Though the time we spent with your friends at Wangaroa was short, it was to ourselves truly pleasant and highly interesting, and animated us with the lively hope that God is about to do some great things for the people among whom they dwell. We formed a high opinion of the piety, the good sense, and the missionary talents of the Rev. Mr. Turner and his coadjutor in office the Rev. Mr. White, and also of Mrs. Turner. They appeared to us well chosen for such an undertaking. We also think highly of their two young friends and fellow-labourers, Messrs. Hobbs and Stack, who seem to be pious and diligent young men of ingenious minds, and well adapted to great usefulness in various ways, and it is our opinion that it is highly advisable that they be recommended to marry; and should they make choice of women of piety and appropriate talents, that they should be fully identified with the mission as preachers of the Gospel. We are also fully convinced that Mr. White should be advised to marry as soon as possible, persuaded to no young man should be sent into the missionary field single, nor suffered to remain there without a wife. The ages of all these young men are also appropriate, for the difficulties of acquiring a foreign language so as to preach with acceptance are so great that they are seldom conquered after the age of three or four and twenty. All our societies have fallen into the error of sending men to missionary work too far advanced in life; but we hope that past experience will teach them all useful lessons to guide their future operations. We think it much better, should not persons be at hand of suitable talents, and age, and connexions, to defer the commencement of a mission, or sending it fresh supplies of labourers, rather than risk its success by employing unsuitable persons.

Most of your friends were doing well at the language, and appeared to us to have made considerable progress; and we doubt not that they will soon acquire it so as to preach to the New Zealanders in their own tongue the wonderful work of God. We presented them with several books in the Tahitian language, with the hope that they would find them of essential service, as the New Zealand language is radically the same.

Your worthy friends had built themselves a comfortable house, which possesses those characters of neatness and good style which are desirable among a heathen people; and its surrounding accompanyments of a good garden, outhouses, &c., are all highly appropriate. They have erected two school- page 633 houses also which answer the purposes of chapels, in different parts of the settlement, and they appear to be possessed of the esteem and confidence of the natives among whom they dwell, and from whom they had no apprehension of danger. They appear to have established themselves in their good opinion, and to have made some progress in removing their pagan superstitions, and gaining their attention to the truths of the Gospel. We confidently anticipate their ultimate success.

In the Bay of Wangaroa there is an island which contains a numerous tribe, who, we believe, are desirous of having missionaries, and it appears to us most highly important that some of your friends should be placed there. This island is, in fact, the key of the harbour; and while the desire of the chief and people to have missionaries among them will justify the hope of both their security and of their success in preaching the Gospel, their residence on this island would prevent the recurrence of those misunderstandings with foreigners when they come into the harbour, to one of which we ourselves had nearly fallen a sacrifice. We have already written to your friends to advise them that so soon as their confidence of their full security in their present situation will justify it, two of their party should remain, and the others to go and to settle on this island. But if they cannot separate, we think it very advisable that the Society at Home should send out two other young men with their wives to occupy this very interesting spot, where we think missionaries may reside in full security.

The kind and friendly attentions of all your friends at Wangaroa to us excite in our minds the liveliest feelings of gratitude and esteem; and it is our fervent prayer that the Great Head of the Church may constantly preserve and greatly bless them, and give them soon to see the pleasure of the Lord prospering in their hands.

P.S.—Were some of your pious and worthy friends in England to send to your good missionaries in New Zealand some cotton prints of lively and attractive colours they would be very useful both for the purchasing of such things as they want and also as presents to the chiefs. This might excite among them a desire for better and more decent clothing, and secure to your friends the greater influence. We offer an apology for presuming to give our advice in a case where it is not immediately our duty; but feeling the cause in which you have embarked and our own to be the same, we are happy to offer any hint that may be useful; and should we have taken a liberty, we rely on your kindness to be forgiven.