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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Rare Volume

I. The Services Rendered by the Missionary Body

I. The Services Rendered by the Missionary Body.

(1.) Services in the earlier periods of European inter course with New Zealand, and at the time of its colonization.

New Zealand became known to Europe about the middle of the seventeenth century; and the first representation given to the world of its inhabitants was that they were "a bloodthirsty race who had commenced hostilities with their western visitors without provocation."* Even Cook suspected them of evil, and some untoward collisions took place between the natives and the ships of his expedition, in spite of his steady discipline and friendly policy. A few years later, the island had acquired a character which made them the very bye-word of abhorrence in the civilized world.

"New Zealand was at this time proposed in the House of Commons as an eligible field for convicts; but the cannibal propensities of the aborigines overpowered every argument in favour of the scheme." Indeed "it is difficult to convey an idea of the terror in which the New Zealanders were held about this

* Thomson's Story of New Zealand, vol i., p. 229.

Ib. p. 231, 232.

Ib. p. 241.

page 3 period. Sailors groaning under scurvy, and in sight of a country covered with vegetables—the specific of the dire disease—preferred toothless gums to contact with cannibals. As the deer drend the tiger so do all men dread the eaters of men. . . In 1791, Captain Vancouver anchored in Dusky Bay, in the Middle Island, on his voyage round the world; but no vessel entered any of the northern harbours during that year; and an idea of the dread in which the natives were held even by educated travellers might be drawn from the following incident:—Admiral d'Entrecasteaux, when searching for La Perouse, arrived off New Zealand in 1793. His naturalist represented the importance of obtaining several flax plants, but the Admiral refused, out of terror, to approach too near to the const, although the natives were friendly, and paddled in their canoes to the ship to barter mats and weapons of war for iron and fish-books."*

The South Sea whale fishery, the excellence of New Zealand flax, and the establishment of penal and other settlements in the neighbouring seas, gradually led to further intercourse between our commercial navy and New Zealand. New Zealand chiefs found their way, not only on board our ships, but to Sydney and even to England. But this growing confidence was checked by lamentable instances of disgraceful cruelty and breach of faith on the part of our misguided navigators; till in 1809 the illtreatment of Tarra, the son of a Wangawa chief, issued in the well-known massacre of the Boyd; the captain, crew, and passengers of which, were, with four exceptions, treacherously murdered and eaten, and soon after as remorselessly avenged. The natives were denominated "the enemies of mankind"; and so great was the estrangement between the two races that "every vessel approaching the coast had boarding nets, and during the three years ending 1817, one hundred New Zealanders were slain by Europeans in the immediate vicinity of the Bay of Islands."

At this crisis it was, that the Missionary stepped upon the scene. Missionaries, indeed, had been ready to enter upon the work in 1810; but the state of excitement on all sides was such as to render a postponement of their enterprise imperative, and it was not till the end of 1814, and while a bloody feud between two native tribes, arising

* Ib. p. 241.

Ib. p. 252.

Ib. p. 253.

page 4 out of the massacre of the Boyd, ran high, that the Rev. Samuel Marsden, with his little band of followers, landed in the Bay of Islands. With noble intrepidity, Mr. Marsden and Mr. Nicholas spent the night among the chieftains of Wangaroa, the very perpetrators of the massacre; and by this bold act healed at once the open sores which existed between the hostile tribes, and laid the foundation of that better understanding which, with few, though sometimes fearful interruptions, has reigned between the European and the Maori to the present day; and which, there is good ground to hope, will, under God, be yet perpetuated.

The influence gained by the Missionaries may be traced in the records of the Missionary Societies which have laboured in the island, in Mr. Marsden's interesting memoirs, and in Miss Tucker's beautifully delineated "Southern Cross."* It is sufficient here to adduce, in proof of it, the thankful recognition of it by those who have since realized the substantial benefits thus secured to them.

The Governor of New Zealand, on opening the second session of the Legislative Council (Dec. 14, 1841) said :—

"Whatever difference of opinion may be entertained as to the value and extent of the labours of the Missionary body, there can be no doubt that they have rendered important services to this country, or that, but for them, a British colony would not at this moment be established in New Zealand."

And these words have received the imprimatur of Mr. Swainson, who was at that time and for many years afterwards, Attorney-General of New Zealand:—

"Whatever difference of opinion may be entertained by the settlers of the extent of Missionary influence among the natives, all are now agreed that the Missionaries have rendered important services to both races, and that but for their labours, a British colony would not at this moment have been established in the country."

New Zealand, which by various public acts had been ac-

* Life of Marsden, by the Rev. J. B. Marsden. The Southern Cross and Southern Crown, by Miss Tucker.

Purl. Papers, Aug., 1812, p. 199.

Swainwon's New Zealand, p. 93.

page 5 knowledged independent,* became a part of the Queen's dominions by cession, under the treaty of Waitangi, in 1840.
It is well known that the Missionaries were "prominently forward" in obtaining this treaty. Mr. Taylor, in whose handwriting the treaty was drawn up, observes that "this was mainly accomplished by the influence of the Missionary body." Captain Hobson bears the most decisive testimony to the same effect. In a letter dated May 29, 1840, and addressed to Mr. Davis, he says :—

"The period having arrived for proclaiming the sovereign authority of Her Majesty over these islands, it accords no less with my public duty than it gratifies my personal feelings, to acknowledge in the most ample manner the efficient and valuable support which I have received from the resident members of the Church Missionary Society, in carrying into effect with the native Chiefs the views and objects of Her Majesty's Government.

"As the official organ of that body, I beg you will accept and convey to every member of the Mission in New Zealand my cordial and hearty thanks for the very zealous and effective assistance which they have rendered me in the execution of this duty.

"The station which I have the honour to fill may justify my recording in this public manner, my thankful sense of the personal attention which I have received from the gentlemen of the Mission, &c."

Captain Hobson further manifested his confidence in the Missionaries and the high sense he entertained of their qualifications for regulating the intercourse between the natives and the colonists, by appointing Mr. George Clarke, for sixteen years a catechist in the Mission, to the important office of "Protector of the Aborigines."

The state of the Colony at the beginning of 1840 was critical, and it was of great consequence to secure the cession of the sovereignty both cordially and without delay. In the effort to secure this important object, the Missionaries rendered a service deeper and more opportune than is conveyed in the mere assertion of their having assisted in the negociation. But it is not so much to this service, valuable as it was, that the Governor and Mr.

* Pari. Papers, Apr. 1840, p. 68. Thomson, vol. ii. p. 11.

Taylor's New Zealand, p. 210.

Report of the Church Missionary Society for 1840-1, p. 95.

page 6 Swainson refer in the passages cited above, as to previous exertions extending over a period of a quarter of a century, by which the native race had been prepared to welcome British settlers, and to allow "the shadow" of a British Queen to rest upon their beautiful and productive islands.

(2.) Services since the colonization of New Zealand.

The beneficial effects of Missionary influence has never ceased to be felt. The testimony of Governor Grey on this point, and as to the devotion of the Missionaries to their work, is full and explicit. It was given in person to the Committee of the Church Missionary Society in May, 1854, and afterwards embodied in a Minute, which was corrected by himself.

"Sir George Grey stated that he had visited nearly every station of the Society, and could speak with confidence of the great and good work accomplished by it in New Zealand; that he believed that out of the native population, estimated by himself at nearly 100,000,* there were not more than 1000 who did not make a profession of Christianity; that though he had heard doubts expressed about the Christian character of individuals, yet no one doubted the effect of Christianity upon the mass of the people, which had been evidenced in their social improvement, their friendly intercourse with Europeans, and their attendance upon divine worship; . . . . that the great want in the native church at present was a consolidation of the work, and its establishment upon a basis of self-support; that it was impossible for a single bishop to accomplish such a work, from the extent and geographical isolation of the different parts of the diocese; that he understood it was the opinion of the bishop that there should be four bishoprics in the Northern Island, in which opinion he concurred; that the most suitable persons to be appointed to the new sees were those he understood to have been recommended by the bishop, namely, three of the elder Missionaries of the Society, who had commenced the work, and brought it to its present state; that the appointment of these gentlemen would, he believed, give satisfaction; that he believed nothing could induce the Missionaries to desert the natives; that they would rather give up their salaries and throw themselves upon native resources; that they possessed the full confidence of the natives, and were thoroughly acquainted with their character;

* The result of the census of 1858 gave a native population of only 56,049. But this was an estimate rather than a census; and is generally believed to be an under-statcment. Other authorities give the numbers at from 70,000 to 80,000.—Sec C. M. Intelligencer, Jan., 1861, p. 19.

page 7 but that, if the Society were now wholly to withdraw from New Zealand, the work would, he believed, fall to pieces, and the Mission do an injury to Christianity; whereas, if the work should be consolidated and perfected, as he hoped, the conversion of New Zealand would become one of the most encouraging facts in the modern history of Christianity, and a pattern of the way in which it might be established in all other heathen countries."*

The Parliamentary Papers are prolific of letters and reports furnished by the Missionaries of different Societies who have been consulted by the various Governors, examined by Commissioners on native affairs, and thanked for information furnished respecting movements in progress among the people around them.

It is sufficient to mention, specifically, that several were examined by a Board of Commissioners on Native Affairs in 1856; and again by a Committee of the House of Representatives appointed in November of last year; and that the present Governor has invited their opinions on matters of native policy, and availed himself of the information their position enabled them to give, up to the date of the latest letters which have been received from them.

In a Report on Native Affairs in the Waikato District, by F. D. Feuton, Esq., Resident Magistrate, lately printed by order of the House of Representatives, that gentleman remarks:—

"The Government owes a deep debt of gratitude to the Missionaries. Most dilemmas have been solved, more or less, by their interference. When Sutton was assaulted, the agent sent by Government to obtain the surrender of the offenders was insulted and defied. The chief, Te Katipa, who was present, declared his wish that they should be given up, and pleaded his total want of power. Ultimately they were surrendered through the influence of one of Mr. Maunsell's native teachers. The powder stolen by the Manaia natives was, I believe, returned through the agency of the Missionary clergy."

And again:—
"The time will come when these Missionaries, the only efficient state police now existing in the country, will be taken by death, or

* Report of the Church Missionary Society for 1853-54, p. 153.

Fenton's Report, p. 9.

page 8 rendered unable by advanced years and much labour to render that assistance to Government which has often and again been their only reliance in the time of trouble;—and we quietly await that time without an effort to supply the vacancy. When we see the great things these men achieved and the influence they have gained, without gifts of money to covetousness or offerings of power to ambition, we must admit that some secret existed in their system which would be a valuable knowledge for Government when they are no more. The secret is simply this: they worked upon Maories with Maories, choosing talent before birth, a new energy rather than an ancient name."*

This passage affords incidentally an important testimony to the value and efficiency of native agency; and to the existence of materials for its supply. Mr. Fenton, it need hardly he remarked, is far from having brought out the whole secret of the Missionaries' power, and docs not touch the deeply penetrating tap-root through which it draws its true support. It is, however, an important testimony to the reality, the extent, and the beneficial nature of that influence.

The powder referred to by Mr. Fenton was stolen early in the year 1850, and restored a few months after, through the instrumentality of Mr. Lanfear of Hauraki.

To the instances adduced by Mr. Fen ton, we may add an earlier but still more important one. In 1843, immediately after the collision at the Wairoa, the thanks of the Governor of the Colony were given to Archdeacon Hadfield, for services thus described by Mr. Swainsou:—

"Now was the time to attack the white people before they were prepared. Happily for the peace of the country, the people of the district had for some time been living under the ministration of one of the most devoted and influential Missionaries in New Zealand; and it is hardly too much to affirm that Wellington owed its safety at that moment to a single individual, the Rev. Octavius IIadfield."

The last mail has supplied a further example of the wholesome interpositions of the Bishop, the Missionaries, and other Clergy, in the case of a threatened attack upon Auckland. The details of this affair will be referred to hereafter in illustration of another point. In alluding to it here, there

* Fenton's Report, p. 12.

Swaineon's New Zealand, p. 118.

See p.18.

page 9 is no intention in the slightest degree to undervalue the exertions of the Government officers and of Mr. McLean, especially, whose part in the transactions appears to have been a leading one. There can be as little room to doubt the substantial aid the latter received from the active efforts of the Clergy.

These instances are sufficient to vindicate the general conduct of the Missionaries. It is quite true that, in common with the Bishops and other Clergy of the Church of England, they have, for the most part, if not uniformly, taken a position adverse to the Government in respect to the justice of the present war. This they have done, not hastily, or out of preconceived hostility to the Government. On the contrary, the earlier letters of those remote from the scat of war, distinctly reserved the opinion of the writer till after fuller investigation, and it is only as the result of deliberate inquiry and well grounded conviction that they have at length come to the conclusion now openly avowed by them. This obviously was not only a question on which they had a full right to form and express an opinion, but on which it was their bounden duty to do so. The censure directed against them falls with equal weight upon the many independent members of the House of Representatives who have taken a similar view, and as boldly proclaimed it. Neither class of men can be justly charged with having "aided the rebels" or taken part with the natives in the present war.

The Missionaries, indeed, deplore in the strongest terms the infatuation of those among the natives who evince a determination not to listen to reason. Thus Archdeacon Kissling comments upon the demands which, in the first instance, were made by the party who threatened Auckland—demands from which happily they were induced to recede—in these words (Nov. 1, 1860) :—

"It is clear that the attack upon Auckland is altogether different from the Taranaki affair. If the murderer can be discovered, all will be done by British law and justice to convict him, and make him suffer for his guilt; but, even if he were found, to deliver him up to the revenge of natives can never be done. They have been warned by our Missionary Brethren on their course down the Waikato river; but they seem to be reckless of life. They are now warned and admonished by the Bishop of New page 10 Zealand, and no opportunity will be left unimproved to show them their error both from the Scriptures and reason; if in the face of these warnings they persist on adopting and carrying into effect their self-made law, 'that if a native is killed by a white man, the white man must be delivered up to the natives; and if a white man is killed by a native, the native will be delivered to the white men,' there is no other prospect than war between the two races in this province."

And Mr. Morgan speaks thus of the headstrong self-will which hurried on the war parties with whom he was brought in contact (Oct. 2, 1860) :—

"At present things look very dark. Many of whom we had hoped better things join the movement. I wish, poor creatures, they could see their true interests, and that they would remain at home. It is useless to speak with them on this subject. They leave in full confidence of victory. It is not a pleasant thing to see the armed bands passing our home, and to fear that many may never return. All we can do now is to pray that God may open their eyes to see their danger."

Against Archdeacon Hadfield, a charge less vague and general, yet scarcely less unsubstantial has been advanced. He is accused of having withheld important information and even of having declined to forward to the Governor an offer on the part of Wiremu Kingi, to submit the question of his rights in the Waitara Valley to arbitration. In vindication of the Archdeacon it may be observed, that Kingi's letters, which will be found printed at length in the Appendix, contained nothing which had not already been said by Kingi himself to the Governor and his subordinates; that, so far from expressing any willingness to submit the matter to arbitration, they announced his determination to hold the land to death—"Man first, the land next"—that the Archdeacon was actuated by an implicit confidence in the moderation of the Governor, never anticipating that he would push matters to the extremity of war; and that the Governor was expected at Wellington in March, (the last letter being dated in December) when he looked forward toan opportunity of personal conference on the subject. The feelings which influenced the Archdeacon were shared with him by the Bishop of Wellington;who, in a letter to the Governor, page 11 printed in the Southern Cross (Sep. 1, 1860), has openly avowed the responsibility of having given advice in accordance with the course actually pursued. The Bishop's words are:—

"I think you have been misled in the matter of Archdeacon Hadfield'a conduct about the Taranaki war. He told me, months back, that he wished to write to you about the state of the natives at Taranaki, as he had received a letter from William King; but as I then expected you at the General Assembly in February or March, I recommended his waiting till you came, and then to talk the matter over. We had no idea of the sudden coup de main your Excellency was planning, and the proclamation of martial law in the province of Taranaki came upon us before we had any opportunity of remonstrance. Both the Archdeacon and I were out of the country and on the high seas when your Excellency made the speech you allude to at Taranaki; I never saw it or heard of it till last month. But at the same time I should say that if I had seen it, I should never have understood from it that you were going to introduce a new principle in the deciding of native titles to land; and that you were going to ignore the tribal right of ownership, and to accept the usufructuary possession as being a title to the fee simple."

The unprejudiced reader will now be able to appreciate the justness of the imputations against the Missionaries and Clergy generally, as regards their conduct in the unhappy state of affairs in New Zealand.